SOMEWHAT FRANK

Amazon To Acquire Zappos For $807 Million

I just got word that Amazon has acquired Zappos for over $800 Million. Amazon Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos just released a video sharing the Amazon story and mentions Zappos (above). Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh shares the good news from his perspective too.

Zappos has been setting an example for companies to follow by putting customers first and embracing social media religiously to do so. CEO Tony Hsieh is a big Twitter user and you can follow him at @Zappos. This past year Zappos has also been on a mainstream media tear, sharing its culture and views on happiness along with selling LOTS of shoes and gear along the way.

Over the past year, I have worked with Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh on a few occasions, co-hosting a CES Kickoff party in Vegas and I even got a suitcase from Zappos at SXSW. Not to mention, seeing him speak at SXSW and Startup2Startup among other industry events.

Showing our phones at CES Kickoff event. Photo by BrianSolis.com

NASA Connects With Community via #NASATweetup

Yesterday, I attended the first NASA Tweetup at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. The NASA Tweetup was not like other Tweetups that I have hosted or been to but was run in a more official capacity. There was a registration process and only confirmed guests were accepted and given access to the event. This process was probably done for security reasons and it contributed to a private event feel. The event was run during business hours from 3 to 5 p.m. EST which is a little early for most but the event was still packed with over 200 attendees. The program schedule showcased the STS-125 astronauts who recently returned from Hubble telescope repair mission and they shared their experiences on the mission. For anyone unable to attend, the event was streamed live on the Web via UStream.

I think NASA accomplished the following key things with this first Tweetup event:

1. Connected astronauts with fans and enthusiasts in real life in an open and transparent manner
2. Enabled social media by allowing hundreds to take videos, photos and twitter about the event real-time
3. Inspired by having real astronauts in attendee to share their perspective and stories

NASA provided gift bags to all attendees which included some very nice freebies like a 3 DVD set about NASA, mission patches, pins and stickers and more. Also I posted some photos:

STS-125 Crew on stage at #NASATweetup

3121: Private Social Network For The Hill Coming

 

In an effort to help increase transparency and communication in the Nation's Capital, the National Journal Group is launching 3121, a social network and directory for people that work on Capitol Hill. If you have a valid Senate or House Committee email you can request a beta invite. The site was designed by DC interactive agency Jess3.

Social Times just called 3121, "LinkedIn for Congress Members" and I think they nailed it. This could become a very useful tool for anyone working on the Hill. The hope is that it helps communication and collaborative efforts between congressional members and staff. The official launch will be in September, but until then you can follow the 3121 blog for updates.

Hard Drive Full? Try Online Storage via Amazon S3

I do a lot of multimedia work on my Mac Book Pro and with all the videos, photos and other content I am constantly trying to shuffle content to backup storage drives to keep from filling up my hard drive. I back up my computer via a portable drive which I carry with me as well as with the an Apple Time Machine. But I recently was concerned with the overall wear and tear and dependency on other hard drive devices. To help minimize the risk of data loss I decided to seek out a solution that uses the Web to back up my files. In doing some research and asking around a bit I found JungleDisk which I initially tested. JungleDisk is only $2 month and can hook to Amazon S3 to store all your data. It even encrypts your data if you so desire.

I also looked at Mozy, Box.net, Chronosync and a few others but I since I was looking for a simple interface for connecting to an Amazon S3 account these solutions were a little too feature rich and heavy for what I was looking to do. I wanted a little more control similar to an FTP client.

While I was testing out JungleDisk, my friend Jimmy Gardner suggested I giving, Transmit 3 by Panic for Mac OS X, a try. In doing so I found just what I was looking for. Transmit 3 allows a simple FTP interface for connecting to Amazon S3 storage. It allowed me to connect and drop 22 gigabytes of .AVI video files over in a matter of hours. The cost was only $29 for the software and then you pay Amazon directly for transfer and storage. My first bill was $2.31 for 22 GBs. Not too bad at all. So I think I found a solution that I will be able to use for clearing up my hard drive space from anywhere I can access an Internet connection. If you are in the same situtation I was in you might want to give Transmit 3 a try. This cloud solution works better with my on-the-go digital nomadic lifestyle than carrying a hard drive at all times.

I am curious, what products or services do you use for online storage?