iMix: A Dustland Fairytale

Looking for some new jams? I recently made an iMix for a friend and thought I would share with you too. Enjoy...

If you're reading this on Facebook, click here to view the iMix.

Fistful of Dollars: The Kiva Story

Wanna change the world? No, I'm not kidding. You can do just that with $25 and 10 minutes.

I'm 97% sure that if you're reading this right now, you have both. Either way, you should check out this powerful video.


A Fistful Of Dollars: The Story of a Kiva.org Loan from Kieran Ball on Vimeo.

Kiva.org is not waiting around for any politicians or parish to try to change the world. They are doing so, one person at a time. You can donate directly to someone in the world, which means you are contributing to their startup capital.

In essence, Kiva is turning the world into a massive network of mini-VC's and entrepreneurs. I'm pumped about where this road will lead.

But regardless of whether you donate to Kiva or a similar fund. The main idea is that you are blessed. And I am blessed. And with that blessing comes responsibility.

It's time to stop thinking about changing the world, and get busy changing it. Beginning with just one person: you.

You Influence Me

If you're reading this right now, you've influenced me. You may not realize it. Perhaps it was in a major way with a close friendship, or just something you posted a few days ago that I read in passing.

Either way, I want you to know that it affected me. I share that, to say this: you have more influence than you know.

In today's hyper-connected world, we encounter hundreds (if not thousands) of messages a day. Phone calls, text messages, banner ads, emails, tweets, facebook posts, etc.

Our generation can't lift a finger without telling the world about it. And the interesting thing is, influence is a double edged sword. There's the positive kind and the negative kind. But regardless, you are influencing those around you (and virtually connected to you) in more ways than you can begin to fathom.

So why not dial down the negative banter, and step up the inspirational blog posts and words of advice? I for one would really appreciate it.


Get your weekly influence fix, subscribe to john blog.

Bush vs. Obama: Tag Cloud Edition

Two men. Two speeches. Two watershed moments in our recent history. Seems to me President Obama really highlighted a "New Nation" where President Bush had a lot to say about "Freedom."

Obama's First Inaugural Speech (2009)



Bush's Second Inaugural Speech (2005)



gracias to ReadWriteWeb

From MLK to Obama: a (very) brief history

Tomorrow our great nation will inaugurate the 44th President who also happens to be the first African-American to hold this ultimate office. But today we remember one of our country's greatest leaders: Martin Luther King, Jr.

Two score and five years ago, he headed to Washington, D.C. to give a speech entitled "Normalcy Never Again" (aka "I Have a Dream.") On that day, our country finally began the healing process that President Lincoln laid the groundwork for with his great proclamation.

I can hardly imagine how Martin Luther King, Jr. would feel if he had lived to see today. In theory his dream has become reality. His sons and daughters have the freedom to play with children of all colors.

But what about that other bit? You know the one about being judged by the content of our character, not the color of our skin. Well, that gets a bit more tricky.

We have Civil Rights Laws, Affirmative Action, NAACP, and countless other measures to try to ensure that his dream continues to become reality.

I use the word "continues", because I don't think we're there yet. We've made a ton of progress, but I believe we have a long way to go. From Rodney King to the Jena Six, racially motivated hate crimes have not gone away.

As talented and controversial poet, Kanye West, coined "Racism still alive, they just be concealing it." It's all around us. You've seen, and I've seen it. Today we call it by different names, but prejudice will not die at the stake tomorrow as President Elect Obama takes the oath of office.

But one thing should happen. We should all pause to take a step back. Take a giant breath. And realize just how far we've come.

Tomorrow our country will turn a figurative page in yet another chapter in our storied history. Our Union may still be imperfect, but we're striving feverishly. And that gives me great hope.

Normalcy, never again.

Apply Now: Best Job in the World!

Out of work? Looking for a job? Or better yet, looking for a better job than the one you currently hold? Look no further...

From Tech Crunch:

Australia’s Tourism Queensland is looking for a caretaker to live on Hamilton Island in the Great Barrier Reef. Job duties include fish feeding, snorkeling and blogging about your experience.

Pay? AU$150,000 for six months (about $100,000). Plus “return airfares from your nearest capital city (in your home country), accommodation and transport on Hamilton Island, travel insurance for the contract period, computer, internet, digital video and stills cameras access."



You can apply here. Applications are due by February 22.


Looking for (one of) the best blogs in the world. Look no further...subscribe to john blog.

In God We Trust?

I received the following email this week...

"Here's your chance to let the media know where the people stand on our faith in God, as a nation. NBC is taking a poll on "In God We Trust" to stay on our American currency.

Please send this to every person you know so they can vote on this important subject. Please do it right away, before NBC takes this off the web page.

Poll is still open so you can vote. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10103521/

This is not sent for discussion, if you agree forward it. If you don't, delete it. By my forwarding it, you know how I feel. I'll bet this was a surprise to NBC."


After thinking about it for a few minutes. Here was my response...

"86%. I would say "In God We Trust" is staying put.

But does God really care whether his name is on our money? Maybe we should ask Him. And if money is the root of all evil, perhaps He doesn't want to be any part of it.

Just a thought."


What do you think? Is it important to you to have God mentioned on our money?

Social Media: Hip Hop Edition

It's 2009. Are you tired of explaining social media to your friends and co-workers?

Why not let Poetic Prophet handle it for you...



If you're reading this on Facebook, click here for the video.

iPhone App Wish List

Dear iPhone Cocoa Developers,

Here's a Top 10 list of iPhone Apps I'd like to see in 2009...

10. iLike
9. Super Mario Brothers 3
8. Grand Theft Auto
7. Qik*
6. Kayak (w/ online booking)
5. Slideshare
4. ESPN
3. eTrade
2. Contra

1. Hulu

What really awesome apps would you wish for in 2009?

If you're on Facebook, be sure to check out the group I recently created: Really Schweet iPhone Apps.

Twitter Me This...

Barack Obama does, Don Lemon does, heck you dad might even dabble in it. Twitter was the Facebook of 2008. By the end of next year, most of you're friends will be micro-blogging their most intimate moments to you through tweets.

There are a handful of different kinds of Twitterites, but the way I see it there are three main types:

1. Yaks - You're addicted. In fact, you're probably twittering about this post as you're reading it.

2. Wanna Be's - You post anywhere between once a day and once a month.

3. Foreigners - What's a tweet?

There's nothing wrong with any of these three categories. I think there are a thousand different ways to use it, and to each their own.

Do you tweet? If so, which one of the three are you? (I'm just beyond the wanna be stage currently.)

Friends that tweet together, stay together. Follow me on Twitter.

Here's to Bigger Failures

In lieu of resolving to exercise, learn a new skill, or travel somewhere exotic my New Year's Resolution is simple: I want to fail, more.

I know that on the surface that sounds ridiculous. But let's unpack it for a second. Some of the most successful people talked a lot about their willingness to fail. And fail often.

Edison said he wasn't failing with his first 10,000 attempts at creating a light bulb...he was just learning what didn't work. Brilliant.

Or consider these...

"Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill

"You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.” - Walt E. Disney

"I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed." - Michael Jordan

"Every strike brings me closer to the next home run." - Babe Ruth

Why do so many famous people talk a great deal about failure? Simple, their willingness to fail is directly tied to their ability to succeed.

So the logic goes: the more risks you take, the more often you fail. And the more often you fail, the greater chance you have to succeed.

Over the next year I am hoping to increase my failures significantly. In doing so, I hope to achieve great things. Now, I just need to figure out what I want to fail at first.

Any ideas?


Learn about more of my failures and successes, subscribe to john blog today.

My Predictions for 2009

It's several days into the new year, and no doubt you have read a whole host of predictions for the year ahead. Some serious, some hilarious, and some downright useless.

I decided to combine all three in my predictions for 2009...

10. iTunes U puts community colleges out of business
9. Facebook grows to 500 million members worldwide
8. Mike Tyson vs. George Foreman
7. Chysler/GM merge to form even worse business model
6. Spirit Airlines will begin service to Cuba!
5. Larry King finally admits the truth: he's Elvis Presley
4. Reality TV will outnumber all other TV shows 2:1
3. First black President will take office (oh wait, check.)
2. Oprah bails out 100 million Americans

1. Your mom will began following you...on Twitter


What do you think will happen in 2009, any predictions?

Tune in to see how my predictions play out over the next 361 days, subscribe to john blog.

Poker 101: A Lesson in Business

There's an interesting post on Zappos' blog right now with the CEO explaining how he learned everything he knows about business from poker.

"Don't play games that you don't understand, even if you see lots of other people making money from them.

"Act weak when strong, act strong when weak. Know when to bluff."

"Table selection is the most important decision you can make."

Brilliant.

If you're interested in poker or business (or both), give it a read.


Pull up a chair, the ante is free. Subscribe to john blog.