At the Apple Store

It’s been a while since I’ve been to the Apple Store (my home, away from home)! The nearest one is about 45 minutes away, so I don’t go that often. I was meeting some friends for dinner last night at that area, so I had to stop by.

I’m a big fan of the colorful iPods posters and ads, but those of course aren’t new, so they’re not on display. But one thing I noticed is that they’re using iPad 2′s as a type of kiosk. There’s an iPad 2 mounted on the table next to each item which plays a video about the item. It’s a pretty cool idea and a great way to show off the iPad 2. (See them on the table behind me in the photo.)

Anyhow, as you can see, I look wayyyy too happy in that photo. That MacBook Air is quite adorable. ;)

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Hulaween Tweetup

Albert and I are heading back to the Islands — one of our favorite vacation spots! — and we would be greatly honored if you could accompany us for a lunch tweetup. We would love to meet all of our Hawaiian Twitter friends in person. Feel free to invite friends!

Last year we met a lot of amazing geeks, and we’d love to meet some more! Come join us for lunch and geeky chit chat. Last year we got into a discussion about gadgets. I think we’ll see a higher percentage of iPhones this year. ;) Maybe we’ll talk about favorite iPhone apps instead. :)

Date: Saturday, October 31, 2009

Time: 12:00pm – 2:00pm

Location:
Nico’s At Pier 38
1133 N Nimitz Hwy
Honolulu, HI

RSVP

For more information and RSVP, please see bit.ly/hulaween!

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Blog World Expo 2009

Neal Campbell – Daynah – Cali Lewis – Photo by Albertech.net

Another Blog World Expo has come and gone. This is actually my first Blog World Expo event, and I greatly enjoyed it. There were just so many amazing sessions taking place that it was very hard to choose which to go to. In addition to the panels, I met a lot of amazing people who are changing our world through social media and online tools.

I took a lot of notes that I need to review before writing a full article, so come back later for that! Here is a list of the panels and events that I attended:

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Attending Blog World Expo 2009

I’m heading off to Blog World Expo 2009 tomorrow and I’m so excited! It’ll be my first Blog World event. I did go to New Media Expo 2008 last year, but now the two conferences are combined into one.

BlogWorld & New Media Expo is the only trade show and conference created for the industry of blogging and new media. It will give participants the strategies, tools and technologies they need to stake their claim in the blogosphere.

It’s a great conference to learn from the industry’s top leaders. There’s so many great educational opportunities and all the panels look great, it’s hard to choose just one for each time slot! The conference will cover various areas of blogging, new media, and so much more!

If you have an iPhone, be sure to install the Blog World Expo Sched iPhone app. It will also sync with the schedule you created online. Here is my schedule. Also be sure to stop by the Exhibit Hall for sessions at WordCamp Las Vegas.

I will be attending as iProng Magazine’s correspondent. iProng Magazine is the publication for iPhone, iPod, music, podcasting, and social media lovers. There are many reviews of iPhone apps, iPod accessories, and interviews with musicians. Check it out if you haven’t already! Best of all, it’s free! Also, if you haven’t registered for BlogWorld yet, you can still get a 20% discount using the code IPRONGVIP. I’ll see you there!

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Twestival Local LA

What is Twestival?
A Twestival or Twitter-Festival is a global series of events organized by volunteers around the world under short timescales, which bring people offline for a great cause. Twestival is run 100% by volunteers and independently from any not-for-profit; although the organizing teams do work closely to outline an achievable and measurable fundraising target. Twestival also sets out to identify key skills of volunteers and match these with the needs of the cause; particularly communications strategy, tech integration and social media training. Twestival Local takes place in cities around the world during September 10-15, 2009.

Twestival LA
Last February, Twestival LA raised close to $20,000 for charity:water in just one night and two weeks of planning! It was a night of music, comedy, fun, and meeting new friends, while raising money to help bring clean water to those who need it.

Twestival Local LA – Sunday, 9/13 at 6pm at Level 3 at Hollywood & Highland

Now we’re back, raising money and supporting two of our local organizations — CHRYSALIS and the LA Food Bank. And I’d like to invite you to our charity event!

What: Twestival Local LA

Where: Level 3 at Hollywood & Highland – 6801 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA (Map)

When: Sunday, Sept. 13th, 2009, 6:00pm – 12am

Cost: $20, $50, $100 donations

Website: LA Twestival.com

Of course, our event will have to be LA-style! Fox LA’s Good Day LA reporter, Suzanne Marques, will be hosting Twestival LA event! There will also be live musical performances by Dr. Hollywood, The Truth, and Terrakroma as well as comedy show by Ben Gleib, Ben Morrison, Tom Womack, and Josh Wade! And if you enjoy video games, check out the GirlGamer Lounge. And don’t miss out on the amazing raffle prizes and silent auction! Some of the amazing things that will be raffled/auctioned off are Poken, original artwork by Natasha Wescoat, Fatburger, Wildcard T-Shirts, Singelringen, Gift Bags from MegsMakeup, Vonster Books, Yoga Gals, Piknic, and many more surprises! Be sure to check back at LATwestival.com for up-to-date details!

Our Causes:

• CHRYSALIS is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping economically disadvantaged and homeless individuals become self-sufficient through employment opportunities. It currently helps more than 2,000 individuals a year change their lives through jobs.

• LA Regional Foodbank’s mission is to mobilize resources to fight hunger in our LA Community. Each dollar received by the food bank can actually provide four complete meals to those in need.

What is Twestival Local?

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Comic-Con 2009 On-Site Report

On-site report from Comic-Con 2009 in San Diego, which included appearances by everyone ranging from Joss Whedon and Felicia Day to Wil Wheaton and, well, pretty much every fictional character ever created…

Comic-Con is where geeks meet annually to celebrate their passion for comics, science fiction, fantasy, and their inner-geekiness! Many dress up as their favorite comic book characters and pose in photos, getting a dose of the celebrity life for a weekend.

Comic-Con is also where many long-awaited special announcements are first heard, and I believe the best surprises this year came from The Guild panel. So what is The Guild? It’s an online comedy show about the online and offline lives of a guild (group of gamers). Whether you play games or not, it’s worth checking out. You’ll find yourself laughing at all the characters, because we all know people in real life that reminds us of each character!

The Guild panel was on Friday morning, and to my surprise, the line was wrapping around the hallway! Every seat in the room was taken, and many of the attendees stood against the back walls. The session was quite packed!
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WordCamp LA

I just registered for the first WordCamp LA and I’m super excited! There’s a lot of great speakers and they’re adding more each day.

What is WordCamp you may ask? It’s a conference that focuses on everything WordPress. Attendees include the casual users, designers, plugin developers to the core WordPress developers. If you have the slightest interest in WordPress or even blogging, I highly suggest you attend!

The first WordCamp LA will be taking place on Saturday, September 12th, 2009 at Loyola Marymount University, which is very close to LAX airport for those of you coming from out of town.

Tickets are selling fast, so be sure to get yours soon! I’ll see you there!

Related Links

• WordCamp LA
• WordCamp.org
• WordCamp LA 2009 Facebook Event Page
• WordCamp SF
• My Experience at WordCamp SF

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LA Tech Karaoke

The LA Tech community isn’t just about geeking out. They work hard, but play harder. I had a blast at the The FATHER of All Karaoke Parties event last night! The Roxy on Sunset was closed to the general public and only the Tech Geeks were allowed inside.

What do you get when you bring a lot of geeks to a club? The answer is a lot of craziness and tons of fun! It was a nice relaxing night after a stressful work week. I’m already looking forward to the next event. :)

If you are interested in these kinds of LA Tech events, please let me know and I’ll give you a heads up.

Read more on my personal blog: LA Tech Karaoke Party

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Wordcamp SF 2009

I’m so excited to be attending Wordcamp SF for the first time! I’ve been using WordPress way before it was even WordPress and the evolution of the software has been amazing to watch all these years.

It was originally written by Michel V and called b2 (then cafelog). I use to help him beta new versions of b2. Michel moved onto new projects and stopped developing b2, and that’s when Matt Mullenweg stepped in. WordPress has come such a long way. To me it’s like watching a child grow up!

I hope to see you at Wordcamp SF 2009! It’s on Saturday, May 30th. And I will most likely organize a Tweetup the night before, so keep an eye out. :)

WordCamp San Francisco is a conference organized by the creators of WordPress for our users and developers. Everyone from casual users to core developers participate, share ideas, and get to know each other. The event is open to WordPress.com & WordPress.org users alike.

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New Media Vault Event

Daynah & iJustine / Taken by Albertech.net

I attended LA Mixers & Tubefilter‘s "The New Media Vault" event at the Crocker Club on Thursday, Feb 26th, 2009 and had a great time! It was great meeting Twitter friends for the first time, as well as making new ones!

The venue was quite unique. It use to be an old bank that was converted into a bar. We had a ton of fun exploring the vaults and such. ;)

One thing I forgot to bring this night was a CF card for my Digital SLR. Boy I was bummed! So I can’t tell you I how happy I was when Wm. Marc let me borrow one of his. Thanks so much Marc, you saved the night!

More about the event.
Beautiful photos taken by Albertech.net. Thank you so much!
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LA Mixers & Tubefilter’s “The New Media Vault”

I’m really excited about going to the LA Mixers & Tubefilter’s “The New Media Vault” event tonight! I hope you can join me!

Date: Thursday, February 26, 2009
Time: 7:00pm – 11:00pm
Location: Crocker Club
Street: 453 S. Spring St
City/Town: Los Angeles, CA

LA Mixers is back and this time we’ve joined with the wonderful team at Tubefilter and Suicide Window to co-host our best event yet, The New Media Vault. The event is sponsored by Verdouw & Associates, Screen Actors Guild & ExchangeWeb.NET

Come join us Downtown at the beautiful new Crocker Club. Not only does the regal new venue recall the glamour of long ago LA nightspots, the lounge features an honest-to-goodness bank vault amidst its ornately styled rooms.

Join many others from the worlds of TV, Film, New Media, Tech, Advertising and Venture Finance to make new acquaintances and catch up with old connections.

Also, meet online dating expert, Julie Spira, who will be signing copies of her new book, The Perils of Cyber-Dating: Confessions of a Hopeful Romantic Looking for Love Online.

We’ll have a business card raffle for prizes that include a 1928 Jewelry gift bag valued at $500, drink specials, and best of all, No Cover! Just RSVP to let us know you’re coming.

RSVP here!

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SF Swig Tweetup

I’m up in Northern Cali this weekend again to visit relatives. My cousin goes to school in the city, so Uncle and Auntie asked @dragonal and me to take her to her apartment. That was a great opportunity to have a SF Tweetup!

So I planned a SF Swig Tweetup in the morning, and met up with everyone later tonight. It was nice!

Traffic to the city was kind of bad, so we didn’t get a chance to eat a big meal. We met up with @hotmilkgt and had dinner at the pizza parlor called Milan’s. I tweeted that, and who should walk in but @tonydg and @mr_o? ;) Funny. Now I wished I lived in SF… friends are just within walking distance!

After our quick dinner, we headed back to Swig… and spent the next three hours geeking out. Towards the end, we were kind of kicked out of the bar because we were all just playing games on our phones. lol

@inferno10 @emilychang @mingyeow @kyeung808 @ckueda @hotmilkgt @tonydg @mr_o @mcnitt — Thank you for meeting up with us! We had a great time!

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CES 2009

This year was the first time I’ve been to CES. It’s fun, exciting, and very exhausting! There’s just so much to see and do. One day was definitely not enough time.

The one booth that caught my eye was definitely Sony. They had live music, a Jeopardy game going on, and lots of new innovative technology.

The 3D TV screens were an interesting idea. We were given 3d glasses to watch the movies on the screen. It’s quite amazing. It’s like having a 3D theatre in your home. I can’t say how useful that is.. unless you’re watching special 3D movies though. Very cool idea, but not too practical (for me) in my opinion.

The super thin LCD screen was so amazing. They can bring the “zen” look to any house! And I absolutely loved the new cameras with the Smile Technology! By default, the camera will take photos only when you smile! These new cameras use face-detection and smile technology; amazing stuff.

While at CES, I also went to the “It Won’t Stay in Vegas CES Blogger Party!” The party was amazing. I love the energetic atmosphere. There was great music, excellent swag, and incredible people!

After Robert Scoble’s party, I attended a GeekBrief Tweetup. Fun! I finally got the chance to talk to Cali and Neal (in a more quiet place). :) And I met some amazing people at the tweetup as well.

I had a great time in Vegas during CES. I can’t wait til next year… Jan 7-10, 2010!

Photos from CES 2009!
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Macworld Expo 2009

Macworld SF 2009 for me has been a great experience. I didn’t spend much time at the Macworld event itself, but all the little events in and around San Francisco for the few days were all very nice.

My plane finally landed in SF on noon on Sunday, and I spent the day with my college friends in the city. We had lunch there and walked around Union Square. It was a lovely day. We spent the night driving to Sunnyvale to meet up with some other college friends.

Monday, I had a great lunch with my friends at Qik! They’re based in Downtown Redwood, which was a hop-skip away from where I was staying. We talked about all sorts of geeky stuff and planning for the night’s tweetup. ;)

Monday night came, and our crazy tweetup at 21st Amendment was underway. It was so nice to see everyone! There were a few surprises too. :) Thank you all for coming and making the Tweetup so much fun!

My Tuesday was really short. I browsed around the Macworld show room for a bit, and had to catch my plane. I was happy to see Veronica Belmont walking around. And I caught a live taping to Macbreak Weekly with Leo Laporte.

I wish I had more time to look around… but maybe I’ll save that for next year! Yes there will be a Macworld next year! ;)

For more photos, click below!

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YogurtLand Tweetup

I made it out to the first LA Tweetup at YogurtLand! It was fun seeing @christinelu again, and meeting her son, @mikeprasad from gamerGirl, @rocknrollgeek from TechZulu, and @jspepper from Pop! PR Jots.

Excited to see each other, we forgot to take photos of the yogurt! But you can trust me when I tell you that it was very yummy. ;) My favorite of course is Taro! You have to try it!

And what’s a Tweetup without Twitter Badges?! That idea just came to me this morning.. so I had to print some out. ;)

After dessert, @mikeprasad, @rocknrollgeek, and dragonal went walking around Little Tokyo to get a snack. I know, it’s a little backwards. ;) We had weird eating habits that day.

After 5pm, we parted, dragonal and I went to the event at The Grove to meet up with friends and see the Christmas Tree Lighting show! ;)

See the YogurtLand Tweetup Photos from 11/23/2008

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Honolulu Tweetup #2

Many thanks to Ed for setting up a farewell Tweetup for us! So sweet! We had an amazing dinner at Longhi’s and had the chance to meet Neenz and Noe! Thank you for coming. :) Lots of talks about the delicious food and social media, and of course, Twitter. ^_^

I was happy and sad all at once, knowing this was the last meal I’ll have in Hawaii with my friends on this trip. But that just makes me count down to the next time I’ll visit. <3 my Hawaii Twitter friends. I can’t wait to see you again soon!!

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Honolulu Tweetup

Thank you Ryan for setting up my first Honolulu Tweetup! It was so much fun, great food, and great people! I love how people kept trickling in. :)

We had a two hour or so lunch at Nico’s at Pier 38. Great location! We talked about all sorts of things, from cameras, to the best snorkeling spots, to iphones and web development. Loved it!

The funniest part was when we were all asking each other our Twitter names. And DragonAl said, it’s Dragonal, but no one follows me. And every whipped out their iphone and said, “we’ll take care of that!” LOL

Here’s a short clip of the Tweetup. I took while Hawaii was Qikking us.

More people came in after this photo was taken!

Photo and video taken: Monday, Sept. 29th at 11:30am

Twitter friends at the Tweetup: Hawaii, PineappleJuice, Bytemarks, Tadasauce, NctrnlBst, JPhilipson, DragonAl, and I! (Please let me know if I missed anyone!)

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TechCrunch50 Day 1

TechCrunch50 is a conference with the goal of finding the best start-ups and launch them in front of our industry’s most influential VCs, corporations, fellow entrepreneurs and press.

I’m always excited to learn about new startups and technology ideas. That’s why I’ve been obsessed with listening/watching the TechCrunch50 stream online today. Yes, I was there virtually!

Of the ones I saw, I thought BlahGirls, Angstro, DotSpots, and OtherInbox were the more interesting startups.
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Geoff on TwitLive

This is Geoff Smith’s first live appearance on TwitLive.tv! I was lucky enough to see him perform on Leo Laporte’s show at the New Media Expo 2008. If you like “I’m a Twit,” check out his other songs as well. “Digg the Code,” “Ones and O’s,” and “Hello, Hello” are some of my favorites on his latest cd.

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New Media Expo Photos

I haven’t had the chance to write a decent post about my experience at New Media Expo yet. But it was definitely amazing. I met a lot of wonderful, incredible, and quite inspiring people. And I also got some great photos of my one day at the event. Here are a few that I’d like to share. I finally purchased a Flickr Pro account too, so I’ve been busy customizing that as well!

New Media Expo was like Hollywood, for geeks! And I mean that as the best compliment possible! I’m happy that I got the chance to meet Felicia Day, iJustine, Mostly Lisa, Veronica Belmont, Robert Scoble, Sarah Austin, Colin Devroe, Rob Sandie, Brandice, Rachel, Michelle Galvan, DJSteen, Geoff Smith, Chris Marquardt, Christine Lu, Chris Luckhardt, Greg Walker, Tony Wang, and so many more!

I also got to see Leo Laporte and Amber Mac do net@night live! Didn’t get to meet them because they were usually behind the camera. :)

I’m looking forward to next year’s event. :)

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