SOMEWHAT FRANK

Wolfram Alpha Co-Founder Interview

Last week I traveled to the Midwest to Champaign, Illinois to speak to a group of entrepreneurs about building brands and social media as covered by the Champaign News Gazette and to host another TECH cocktail. The event was sponsored by Wolfram Research which is based in Champaign and has been creating products like Mathematica for over 20 years.

Wolfram Research recently received quite a bit of buzz on TechCrunch, GigaOm Network, ReadWriteWeb and Mashable among others for the launch of the consumer facing product called Wolfram Alpha. Wolfram Alpha is a the computational research engine that helps to find anwsers to questions that don't exist on the Web.

I got a chance to visit with Co-founder, scientist and author, Theodore Gray and discussed the lastest from Wolfram Research. He was a joy to talk to as his office was filled with a number unique items which all had an interesting scientific story behind them. Theodore also created periodictable.com and authored the book Mad Science - Experiments You Can Do At Home But Probably Shouldn't. Check out the video interview with Theodore Gray (above). It is episode 82 on the SOMEWHAT FRANK Video Adventures Podcast which is available on iTunes.

Washingtonian Names & Unites DC 100 Tech Titans

I just got back from an unbelievable experience in the Washington, D.C. technology scene as Washingtonian Magazine recently assembled a list of the 100 DC Tech Titans, and tonight gathered them to celebrate. The group is lead by innovators like Steve Case, Ted Leonsis and Vint Cerf among others and I was happy to be included as part of the group. It was brought to my attention that Ted Leonsis was overheard referring to Nick O'Neill, Jen Consalvo, myself and a few others as the "future of DC tech." It was a rather memorable, flattering and humbling moment as I got a chance to rub shoulders with some of the mothers and fathers of technology as we know it. I feel I still have a lot to offer to the advancement of technology so please stay tuned as I share the adventure on SOMEWHAT FRANK.

I had an enjoyable time at the event and thank Washingtonian Magazine and Garrett Graf for writing the 100 DC Tech Titan article. Also fellow "titan" Shashi Bellamkonda from Network Solutions had his camera and snapped these photos (below).

Nick O'Neill & I talking with AOL founder Steve Case & NHL Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonsis.

Nick O'Neill and I with Ted Leonsis (and Steve Case over my right shoulder).

Check out a few of the videos (below) I captured while attending the event.

Headed to the DC 100 Tech Titan Event from Frank Gruber on Qik.

Hanging at the DC 100 Tech Titan Event from Frank Gruber on Qik.

Visiting Intel Portland Today

Today as part of the Intel Insider program, a social media brand ambassador program, I am visiting Intel's Portland, Oregon microchip manufacturing facilities. I am excited to be in Portland for the first time and look forward to learning how they make chips. I will most likely be streaming some videos today and tomorrow via Qik and UStream.TV on my iPhone so be sure to check back (videos streams shown below). I will be using Brightkite, Flickr, Tumblr, Facebook and Twitter to keep you updated on how things are going.

SOMEWHAT FRANK on Qik:

Headed to find Intel HQ in Portland

Outside Intel FAB 20 with Intel Insiders

Clear WiMax Ride in Portland

Segway With WiMax

Intel Health Gadget

Intel My Wifi Demo Lab

Hopefully my iPhone will have enough juice to keep the content flowing all day long. Our day concludes at the Social Media Club Portland Tweetup event tonight with the rest of my Intel Insider pals, so if you are in the area come by and say hello!!!

Video: BrickFair LEGO Fest 2008

LEGOs could be considered the building the blocks of your childhood war chest, as the tiny pronged bricks offer the ability to create just about anything you put you mind to.  I have not played with LEGOs in years but age is no barrier as both kids and adults alike can share a creative moment with LEGOs. I recently attended the 2008 DC BrickFair LEGO Fest to see some of the creative innovations being constructed with LEGOs. Also it is worth noting the event offers up a charity contribution to the SladeChild Foundation.

This weekend edition and episode 41 of SOMEWHAT FRANK TV, explores the LEGO Universe at the DC BrickFair LEGO Fest. Check out BrickFair video below as I chat with Todd Webb who organized the event for the first time. LEGO fans of all ages share their creations, films and knowledge with the rest of LEGO Land. Also you can check out these photos from the event.

Video: Foodzie Web Gourmet Food Marketplace

Are you a foodie? If you love food you might want to watch episode 40 of SOMEWHAT FRANK TV as it explores the new gourmet food marketplace called Foodzie. Foodzie looks to make it easy for gourmet food producers to sell their products online similar to how Etsy creates a marketplace for handmade goods. Foodies should love it as it offers a brand new channel for buying gourmet food. Foodzie is based in Boulder and was founded as part of the 2008 TechStars incubator program by Emily Olson, Nik Bauman and Rob LaFave.

I had a chance to meetup with the Foodzie team recently and talk with them about their new food product marketplace. Check out the video with Foodzie (below).

Video: JamLegend Offers An Online Guitar Hero

It seems like just yesterday that I talked to Andrew Lee at the Lijit breakfast that followed the last TECH cocktail DC event. Andrew explained how he was looking to create a free online alternative to the popular music video games Rock Band and Guitar Hero as part of the 2008 LaunchBox Digital incubator program. I have to admit I was a little skeptical of that becoming reality in just a summer. But Andrew and his team made me eat my words a few weeks ago when they demonstrated JamLegend at LaunchBox Digital.

I was able to capture a few video clips with JamLegend and have compiled them into an episode 39 of SOMEWHAT FRANK TV. Check out the video (below) which shows off JamLegend and stars myself, Andrew Lee and the JamLegend team of Ryan Wilson and Arjun Lall, as well as well as cameos from Jimmy Gardner and Nick O'Neill.

JamLegend LaunchBox Digital Preview from Frank Gruber on Vimeo.

Video: Talking Blogs & Book Writing With "Blog Mother" Amanda Watlington

A "blog mother" is a person that inspired you to start a blog. For me, it is was a session which covered blogging led by Amanda Watlington and Jeremy Zawondny which inspired me to start Somewhat Frank, and the rest is history. I ran into Amanda while hosting TECH cocktail Boston 2 a few weeks ago who I had not seen since ad:tech Chicago back in the summer of 2006.

I was able to sit down with Amanda Watlington and chat with her for a bit about search,blogging and the book writing process for episode 38 of SOMEWHAT FRANK TV. Check out the video (below) as I chat with my "blog mother" Amanda Watlington.

Thanks to David Dalka for filming the episode.

Yep, It's True, AOL To Acquire SocialThing

A few weeks ago Mike Arrington gave me a call asking me if, my employer, AOL, had acquired SocialThing. Though it struck very close to home, I had to bite my tongue since the deal had not yet closed and did not comment on the matter. Now that is has been officially released, I can. It is true, AOL has entered into an agreement to acquire SocialThing, the Boulder, Colorado based social aggregating lifestream startup. The terms are not disclosed and the acquisition is still subject to the satisfaction of certain closing conditions.

I met founders Matt "indiekid" Galligan, Ben Brightwell and the team as they demo'ed at TECH cocktail Boulder on March 6th. Matt is originally from Illinois, like I am, and moved to Boulder to create SocialThing as part of the TechStars incubator program. I got a preview of the SocialThing private beta at TECH cocktail (shown in the video below) which was a few days before they launched at SXSW Interactive and were written up favorably on TechCrunch as being easier to use than FriendFeed. I was impressed by what this startup had created as it offered a wrapper for all your social activities making it easy to post to multiple networks at once. SocialThing is integrated with 13 social media properties including Facebook, Twitter, Digg and Flickr and is currently still in private beta.

Video: A Day With The Dash Express GPS

Do you get lost a lot while driving? If you do you might want to get yourself a GPS navigation system. Dash Navigation, a Sunnyvale, California based startup, which I previously previewed in episode 30 of SOMEWHAT FRANK TV has created an innovative GPS system that connects to the Internet. I recently tested the Dash Express GPS system myself as I spent the day navigating DC with the hot new gadget.

Check out the video (below) which is episode 36 of the video podcast SOMEWHAT FRANK TV. If you like what you see you can purchase your own Dash Express GPS.

Don't forget to subscribe to the SOMEWHAT FRANK TV video podcast.

Video: Clearspring Widget Startup Explained

Clearspring, a Virginia-based startup, offers a number of widget solutions for publishers and advertisers. I got to catchup with Clearspring Community Manager and genunine good guy, Justin Thorp as he "tells all" about the widget making startup. Is Clearspring soon to be acquired? Watch the video and maybe you will find out.

Don't forget to subscribe to the SOMEWHAT FRANK TV video podcast on iTunes of via your favorite feed reader.

Video: Sarah Lacy Book Tour Hits DC

Yesterday I spent some time with Sarah Lacy, a Silicon Valley BusinessWeek reporter, Yahoo Tech Ticker host and author of the new book Once You're Lucky, Twice You're Good: The Rebirth of Silicon Valley and the Rise of Web 2.0. She was visiting Washington, DC as part of her user generated book tour.

Sarah spent time on the AOL Dulles campus in the morning. I sat on a panel with her discussing Web 2.0 Startups to a crowd of AOL Commerce and Shopping employees moderated by Michael Tolosa of DC Tech TV. It was a lot fun as we talked about her book and exchanged various startup stories. In the evening we headed to DC for her user-generated book tour which visited the DC Twin Tech Party hosted by iStrategyLabs and SOMEWHAT FRANK and TECH cocktail were sponsors.

I captured a few photos and video clips which make-up episode 34 of SOMEWHAT FRANK TV. You can check out episode 34 of SOMEWHAT FRANK TV featuring Sarah Lacy (below).

Video: AOL Radio iPhone App & Listen Anywhere

The Apple iPhone application was opened last week and AOL launched the AOL Radio application. The application is free and worth giving a try and a listen. It allows users to connect to both XM and local radio stations. It even is able to connect users with popular stations in larger markets. For example, I might want to listen to a popular Chicago station sports talk radio station like AM 670 the Score while in Washington, DC and AOL makes this possible.

I gave it a try and was shocked at the utility. I also now understand why the AOL Radio application was awarded by Apple for its superior design. I demonstrate some of the value the AOL Radio application adds to the iPhone as episode 33 of the SOMEWHAT FRANK TV video podcast.

Video: Zembly 'Wikipedia For Social Apps'

There are a number of developers creating social applications leveraging APIs which can cause developers to recreate common components. Zembly recently launched to help facilitate collaboration among developers. I spoke with Zembly founder Todd Fast and he said he wants to "be the Wikipedia of social applications." What he means is that he wants to create a development community with Zembly where collaboration runs rampant thus saving rework and time. I think Zembly is a great idea and could save developers from novices to experts a lot of time while facilitating collaboration.

Live Video: Personality Not Included Q&A

Watch and interact live over the Web! Today at 7 p.m. EST, I am chatting with Washington, DC local marketing/PR guru Rohit Bhargava the author of the new book, Personality Not Included: Why Companies Lose Their Authenticity And How Great Brands Get it Back. I am excited to be able to chat with Rohit tonight as part of the Network Solutions powered event that SOMEWHAT FRANK teamed up to host.   

I met Rohit last year as he moderated a panel that I sat on with fellow social media experts, Gary Vaynerchuk and Geoff Livingston. You can watch that video here, as I recorded it from a video camera mounted to my head. Interestingly, my three colleagues have all since published books - now doesn't that make me feel like a slacker. :) 

Personality Not Included is different from your typical marketing book and we are going to discuss it at this event. The actual event is sold out but you can watch it below thanks to BlogTV.

Video: Inside Intel As An Intel Insider

I got a chance to visit Intel this week as I was selected to the "Intel Insider" advisory board as the leading microprocessor chip maker anchored in Silicon Valley looks  to make some changes in the way they reach out to their customers. What does this mean? It means that Intel has embraced social media and has pulled in a dozen bloggers, video bloggers and social media/community experts to pick there brains on Intel's brand strategy. It means I will have the scoop on products and new developments at Intel. As an Intel Insider I will be a part of the conversations related to leveraging social media at Intel and lend some brand association for my own personal brand to Intel.

Why would I become an Intel Insider? First, I think it is a great experience and should be a lot of fun. Second, I want to be in the know on the latest Intel advancements and technology so I can offer it up to SOMEWHAT FRANK readers. Additionally, Intel will be supplying me with a MacBook Air which they worked with Apple to ensure an Intel chip would fit inside the slim notebook.

Intel Insiders from left: Frank Gruber, Chris Heuer, Brian Solis, Sarah Austin, Christian Perry, Justine Ezarik, Ken E Kaplan, Adriana Gascoingne, JD Lasica