Last night I attended a “pre-launch” party at Sxip, for their new software program, Sxipper.

It’s an identity management app that makes logins and registrations easier and more secure by storing your encrypted contact information and passwords and auto-inputs it into pre-mapped forms and fields. Or something like that.

Rob and I arrived early, and we were in one of the first groups to sit down in an orientation (beers in hand, can’t forget to mention that) that in many ways resembled a focus group, although they insisted it was anything but. We were asked a series of questions about our browser usage, and how often we login or register for things online. The invite list consisted only of what they called “power users,” so the consensus was that we do it an awful lot. After answering a few questions about how much of a pain it is and how much we’d like to see it fixed, we were set free to mingle again; hot dogs, beer et al.

(Roland uploads his photos on the fly at the Sxipper pre-release party)

As neither Rob or I had brought our laptops, we weren’t able to install it on site and try it out. Instead we were treated to a projected demo, that scratched the surface of what Sxipper does.

From what I could see in the demo, it is something that I would use. Anything that makes my life easier and my data more secure is useful to me, as long as it is indeed easier.

We were specifically asked not to share screenshots of the program, so I can’t show you examples of Sxip’s hip (and very Apple/Fido-centric) interface. And it was also clear that the folks at Sxip didn’t want a flood of users crashing the gates right away, but were rather inviting a few local users to try it out, tell their friends to have a look, and let the buzz grow organically.

As for the event, it was a great. Lots of friendly and familiar faces, and it was neat to get a sneak-peek at a local software product that could just become a mainstay for the average user across many platforms. And the free beer and smokies must have worked, because here I am blogging about it.

For now, it’s optimized for use with Firefox and Safari (I think) and is still a sleeping giant. You can sign up to be the among the first to try Sxipper by signing up here. You can see a video by Roland Tanglao here.

tag: sxipper

He’s done it again. Rob has authored a very comprehensive post entitled: “Protect Yourself Against MySpace Profile Hacking,” which lays out how such a thing happens, and how to make it stop once it does.

This information is useful, but only to the 150 million or so members of MySpace.

Before we launch ours, I thought I’d show you some of my favourite video podcasts, so you’ll know exactly where I’m borrowing most of my ideas from.

So today I present you with two great episodes from two different shows, that actually go oddly well together. Both address the question, “What is a podcast?” Both are funny and informative, and a bit cheeky, too.

First, I point you to an episode of The New Wrinkle, hosted and produced by Traviss and Amir, right here in Vancouver:

And…Welcome back! The second video in this installment is from Ze Frank’s ‘the show,’ where he explains “video blogging,” and introduces a new word; Rocketbooming! (No affiliation to the site)

Now that we’ve been suitably ridiculed by these fellars, we return to video mode next week with exactly what Ze said we should; we’re going to talk about video blogging!

Christina Kerley (CK of CK’s Blog) has created a great .pdf “collage,” that features comments from a whole bunch of marketing bloggers (including yours truly) who have shared their responses to the question: What is the single greatest point of value you receive from blogging?

(Click the image to view the entire collage in .pdf)

It all started with this poll, where CK first posed the question.

If you’re on the fence about blogging, and you want to understand the real value of using blogging as part of your marketing, then read each comment. Every speech bubble and corresponding comment links you to that person’s blog, so have a read of a few while you’re at it.

At long last, you can now subscribe to our feed using email. Check out our sidebar on the right and enter your info for email updates direct to your inbox.

Perhaps some newsletter subscribers would like to receive all of the blog content as well, and vice versa. If you’re not already part of the newsletter database, maybe now’s the time.

Via Rob Cottingham of the Social Signal blog and Darren Barefoot, a Vancouver-based company called GiveMeaning is taking the old Unicef coin-collecting box concept to the next level.

This is cool for so many reasons; you can trace the donated money from the source right to how the charity spends it, and the “moderator” of the process is a small child; old enough to know how to operate an online blog, and to learn the importance of donating to charity:

Each BankBox has a unique serial number. At a secure  web site, children enter their box’s serial number and a password they’ve been assigned. Each child chooses a cartoon avatar and gets her or his own web page (GiveMeaning wants to protect children’s privacy, so photos aren’t used and pages are reviewed by the organization before they go live). The child chooses any charity to receive the money they’ve raised, and reports on how much they raise.

Cooler yet, each box comes with tear-off cards that kids can give to every neighbour who makes a donation. The cards also have the serial number printed on them, so donors can see the child’s web page and where their money went – and have a chance to donate again.

Once GiveMeaning collects the money and disburses it to charities, the recipients are encouraged to post a letter on the child’s web page explaining how they used the money.

Add this to the number of reasons why I miss trick-or-treating. There might even still be time to sign up, kids. More info on the project (still in its ‘pilot’ stage) here.

This is more of a business-related post than anything else, and I can’t lie; it’s a stop-gap between entries of my copywriting series, the next part of which is fairly large in scope, so it’s been sitting in the hopper as a draft that I revisit whenever I get time.

Instead, I just wanted to sing the praises of 37 Signals, who provide an excellent selection of business management software. On Nathaniel’s (NSHB) reccomendation, I started using Backpack a few months back, and it has been great. But recently I took on a client where I’m working as a third party contractor, and they’re using the full version of Basecamp.

The Project Manager, myself and the client have been back and forth several times daily, with all of our conversations neatly organized in one place, with different topics, etc. As the copywriter, I’ve made great use of the writeboards feature to upload drafts of my work. I have to say, I love Basecamp. If you’re using an archaic system for CRM, especially if that system is offline (what are you thinking?), then definitely check it out. I’ll be buying an implementing it for my needs in no time.

They offer free services if you want to ‘test the water’ first, so to speak, so you can check them out risk and investment free. Not a bad deal. If you’ve used any of these products, or something that you think is superior, let’s hear from you in the comments. I have yet to commit to a complete CRM solution, and I’m open to suggestions. (I’m not paid to evangelize 37 Signals, for what it’s worth)

Update: Eerily enough, Darren references Basecamp today too, just with a more critical eye, and a raises a good question:

What obligations do web-based applications like Basecamp have in terms of their customer data? Should they store it indefinitely or delete it when I stop paying them?

That should cause a fairly lively debate. Your thoughts?

Rob has made some upgrades to the blog, and I want everyone to check it out, so if you’re reading this in a feeder, please click through. Please?

Okay, thanks for that. Here’s the list of changes:

• Each post now has a spot where you can rate it, above. If you’re so inclined, feel free to search through my archives and rate your favorite posts.
• Also above you’ll notice the “email this post” to a friend link. How a blog called ‘Tell Ten Friends’ ever got along without that one before, I just can’t figure.
• We’re also wearing our stats on our sleeves, so to speak, as each post also has a snapshot of most popular items, and:
• You’ll notice in the sidebar (of the homepage), I’m now dislaying the number of readers that my feed is pulled down by each day. I consider each and every one of you a friend.

Obviosuly, I’m anxious to see those numbers climb, so search through, find your faves and vote, or be brutally honest and tell me when I’ve missed the mark with a scathing ‘one star’ rating if that’s how you play. These tools are here for you, and they’ll help me to deliver more of what you love, in the same casual, no-bullshit style that I can’t help but emit.

Thank you all very much for reading. Now don’t be strangers, let’s hear from you in the comments! Also, if you’re a newsletter subscriber, I promise…PROMISE…that the newest issue is coming soon.

Just a quick “what’s up” post, as I am still buried under a large amount of copywriting work. The rest of my web copy series is still jostling around in my skull, so stay tuned.

In the meantime, a bit of Tell Ten Friends news. Rob, who you likely know by now is our graphic designer, coder, and photographer, is having a busy week. His site crashed earlier this week, and as he says in a post today, it was a result of a spike in traffic from Netvibes after they discovered his great step-by-step Netvibes tutorial. It sucks when a site crashes from traffic, but there are bragging rights involved too, I suppose.

Also, earlier this week he pointed me to the new Sony Bravia ad, a great follow-up to the “bouncy balls” ad from earlier this year. These guys have got one thing figured out; that the process of making these ads is just as exciting as the ads themselves, and therefore they have a much better chance of going viral (anybody else starting to choke on that word?) getting passed around on the in-ter-nets. The first thing you ask when you see the new ad is “What about the cleanup?” Well, they’re smart enough to answer that question for you. Follow the links through Rob’s post and watch it for yourself. It’s worth two minutes of your day. -Unless you’re on dial-up

Lastly, today I was featured in a short article in the Lifestyles section of the Vancouver Province (a very large daily here in town) and although they didn’t run my web address (Aaaargh!) they do have a very large of photo of my goofy grin, and few quips from me about “why I like Fall.”

(photo by Sam Leung. Click the image to see full size on flickr)
Not sure how long the link will last, but here you go.

Here it is folks, the definitive guide to RSS for beginners:

My good (Australian) friend, and the designer behind this site (and every last scratch of our stunning client work here at Tell Ten Friends) Rob Masefield has just published an incredible tutorial on how to set up a netvibes.com home page, complete with your own favorite RSS feeds:

He takes a very patient step-by-step approach, without getting too complex, and even provides a bit of anecdotal “what is RSS” stuff, in case you don’t know a feed from a chain email. (yuck)*

My advice: follow the links from his post to the tutorial, and skip through most of the stuff on the second tab of the tutorial about tabs, until you’ve got your first tab full of goodies (skip to the third tab once you’ve named your page, but you’ll need that tab info later).

This is great stuff, folks. You can unlock the secret behind the RSS feed, and open a new world of fast browsing, the news you want, and content that is controlled by you. Like a living, ever-changing subscription to every magazine and news source you ever wanted, all on your home page, and just a click away.
P.S. don’t forget to add: http://feeds.feedburner.com/TellTenFriends on your first tab! (Always ask for the business, right?)

*If you’re already familiar with RSS feeds, and you’re still reading this, then God bless you. Please pass the word along and open a friend’s eyes to the world of RSS feeds, and for good measure while you’re at it, make sure they subscribe to your blog.