Cool Person of the Day

People often look at social networking sites and public blogs as a way of journaling or recording one’s life online.  However, there is one inconsistency with the “journal” metaphor.  Most people have never posted the content of their physical journals or diaries in a public place for anyone to see and add comments whenever they want.  Meanwhile, social networks and blogging sites such as Facebook and Tumblr set everyone’s status updates and photos to public by default so that anyone can see or comment on them.  Cool person in technology Siqi Chen has created an app that seeks to address this inconsistency by giving users a truly private multimedia journaling experience.  Chen calls this new app “Heyday”.  While users can update their Heyday profiles the same way they would update their social network accounts and even set automatic updates, none of the information on Heyday appears to a public audience.  Chen wants Heyday to be a private experience, unlike so much of what social media is on the rest of the web.  Read more »

Sports and athletic competition have been a pastime of choice for human beings for literally thousands of years. With all our technological advancements, people have never had more opportunity to improve their skills than they do today.  Competitors can track their health and fitness with countless mobile devices and smartphone apps.  They can also view HD video to study both their own performances and the performances of others on their phone, tablet, computer, or large screen TV almost any time they want.  Cool person in technology Chen Sachar has introduced yet another way that players can use technology to improve their game—real-time analytics and 3D visualizations.  Read more »

Using existing customers to create more business has always been a key aspect of marketing.  However, the introduction of social media to the equation has created even more potential for more business with each customer.  Previously, customers would refer others to a business purely through word-of-mouth, which has a somewhat limited reach.  With social networks allowing people to broadcast their actions and thoughts to large audiences, each existing customer can now promote a business to hundreds or even thousands of people instantly.  The difficulty in this process from the business side of the aisle is finding ways to encourage customers to promote their products and services online.  Cool person in technology Bob Whitson has founded a company called iSnap to give brick-and-mortar stores a new way to encourage customers to spread the word on social media. Read more »

Trying to react to how customers interact with and perceive a website is one of the most difficult challenges of modern marketing.  Companies devote extensive time and resources to constantly updating their websites in reaction to how visitors spend time on and engage with their sites.  Usually, companies perform long-term tests, which help them decide on new designs and content for their pages.  However, a new startup has released a product that can help businesses react even more quickly and dynamically to how people use their sites.  Cool person in technology Karl Wirth founded Evergage to create a system where companies can react to visitors on their site in real-time and provide specially tailored content to users depending on their behavior.  Read more »

Hiring in specialty industries such as computer repair or food service can be a tricky situation.  Finding the best employees in these fields doesn’t quite work the same way in other, as resumes and static lists of qualifications mean much less than demonstrable skill in a certain area.  When employers post specialized positions in these fields on public job boards online, they often end up with many applications from unqualified people who do not have the specific experience and skillset necessary for the job.  Cool person in technology Mike Wagner wants to make it easier for employers to find qualified applicants in one of these specialized industries—restaurants and food service. Read more »

One of email’s biggest limitations is the fact that only smaller files are transferable through attachments.  One of the reasons that cloud storage services have had such success as products in office-based situations is that workers can’t send larger files through email.  Cool person in technology Mike McEvoy runs a company that has made a product that allows people to send files of unlimited size to one another as easily as they send emails.  McEvoy’s product, Scayl, works just like an email messaging system, expect that it allows people to send files of unlimited size through attachments.  Whereas email will prevent people from sending very large files or giant folders of data, Scayl gives people the ability to share any amount of data with their colleagues or clients quickly and simply.  McEvoy’s product could make life easier for many people working in media and technology.  Any interested users who have trouble while trying to download McEvoy’s program from the Scayl website should find a remote tech support service to assist them. Read more »

Small independent retails stores local chains face an uphill battle when trying to compete with national chains and large corporations.  Bigger companies can hire large teams to manage social media and email campaigns on the web for branding and marketing purposes. However, many small retail businesses do not have the personnel or time to dedicate to online marketing.  Cool person in technology Ted Teele founded his company SnapRetail to help independent retail stores maintain an online presence without having to dedicate many resources to the task.  Teele’s company provides stores with a social media and email platform that uses well-known promotional tactics and marketing concepts to provide small retail businesses with email and social media campaigns that they can set up easily. SnapRetail actually gives shop owners pre-created promotional templates and social media posts that only require minor customization.  Shops can schedule these prefinished emails and social media posts for weeks at a time using the SnapRetail dashboard.  Using Teele’s product, one person can manage long-term online campaigns with minimal effort and time involved.  Any storeowners who are unclear on the basics of social media sites will want to speak to a business computer services company to learn about the issue before trying Teele’s service. Read more »

Selling artwork or photography is not an easy profession.  Finding interested buyers, promoting one’s work and finding a viable model for distribution are all obstacles for visual artists trying to make a living off their work.  The Internet provides an opportunity for photographers to reach a wider audience and sell more pieces, but setting up the infrastructure needed to do those things is not always part of an artist’s skillset.  Cool person in technology Matt Munson has created Twenty20 in order to solve this problem.  Twenty20 is an online marketplace where graphic artists and photographers can sell their work with little to no technical expertise.  Twenty20 lets users create galleries where they offer the public either digital copies or physical prints of their work.  Munson’s company handles the printing and shipping of each physical item and splits the profit of each sale with the artists on the site.  Read more »

While many people use digital projectors at home for their excellent pictures and cinema-like feel, most home projectors are less than convenient.  While the machines are small, the requirement for users to install large viewing screens into their houses makes them a problem in many cases.  In addition, many projectors require special remote controls sold separately, making it more expensive if users want to control their devices from a distance.  Cool person Pierre Lebeau has founded his company Keecker to create a new product that changes the status quo for home projectors.  Lebeau has reimagined the product from the ground up to try to give users an easier and overall more satisfying experience.  Read more »

The Internet changed the nature of healthcare in many ways and one of the biggest ways was the amount of medical knowledge available to the general public.  Sites such as WebMD have allowed people to save time by checking for medical information and advice about minor and major health issues.  Online medical sites have even saved lives in some cases by giving people information that alerts them to potential health problems they could have without realizing it.  Furthermore, sites like WebMD help people with chronic medical conditions deal with issues by allowing them to learn more about how to handle their health problems appropriately.  However, when children experience serious medical issues and have trouble understanding, online medical sites aren’t much help to them.  Places like WebMD explain things in advanced language and use terms that children will not understand generally.  That’s why cool person in technology Dr. Kim Chilman-Blair founded Medikidz.  Medikidz provides children with a medical website that explains different medical conditions to them in ways they can understand.  Anyone with a child who wants explore the Medikidz website but can’t seem to connect to the web will want to see if they can get home network support to fix the issue. Read more »