3 Geeky NYC Places

1) Toy Tokyo

91 Second Ave (between 5th and 6th)
Meet my favorite store in the entire world - Toy Tokyo. If you ever make a trip to NYC Toy Tokyo is a must. It is appropriately located in the heart of the East Village and carries an eclectic variety of all things geek. So whether you are looking for a George Jetson Bobble Head, Light Saber Chop Sticks, Carny Qees, Pac-Man candies or just a happy meal toy from 1990 they will have you covered.

2) Dylans Candy Bar
1101 3rd Ave (between 60th and 61st)

Created by Dylan Lauren (daughter of Ralph Lauren) with inspiration from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory - this candy shop will blow your mind. Candy cigarettes to Charleston Chews to choose your own bulk assortment - something for everyone. It is likely that will spend at least $100.

3) Toys R US

(Times Square)

Worth the trip just to see the indoor ferris wheel. Each cart is different from My Little Pony to Monopoly to Cabbage Patch Kids.

Social Networking and YOU

While 74% of Internet users turn to social networking sites (up 24% from last year) that still leaves nearly a quarter of all users without. On CNN we decided to track down a few people that weren’t on the sites and give them a digital media makeover which will air again at 10pm EST Saturday.

I wanted to share some interesting random thoughts/observations from the digital makeovers:

First, statistics. The largest growing group of Facebook users is 50+.

Also (in my experience) older individuals approach social networking sites different than younger users. They use a more methodical, calculated approach asking lots of questions wanting to really wrap their head around understanding it. They’ve heard of the privacy issues and want to make sure they don’t make any mistakes - (which of course is a good thing!)

We also discussed who should be taking advantage of social networking. And while it depends on the individual its at least worth trying a test site if even the slightest interested. However, for a business it’s an absolute must. It is low-cost / high traffic and in many cases FREE resource for marketing and promotion.

But of course this isn’t a complete love fest of social networking. It’s very important to understand these sites and the repercussions of oversharing. Just keep in mind there is no such thing as Internet privacy and just as amazing as it can be to make a long lost connection it could be detrimental on the other hand if you upload a picture you should have thought twice about.

Social Media - Ways to Capitalize

Recently, I had the chance to give individuals social media makeovers which will air on CNN Saturday, September 4th at 330pm. This was interesting for me - as a techie sometimes you have to step back and realize not EVERYONE is connected to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn etc. But should they be?

In short, for businesses and individuals that are looking for networking opportunities it is an absolute must. You have to stay ahead of trends and utilize FREE opportunities any way you can to both promote and interact.

I want to share with you two examples I thought were relevant:

1.) I am a heavy purchaser on Thinkgeek.com and often organically use a lot of their products on-air. With that said the other day my LED umbrella broke. I was not happy. I called ThinkGeek and received fabulous customer service. I immediately tweeted about it and received instant feedback from their Twitter account @thinkgeek. I was impressed. Case in point. Twitter gives you instant connectivity and feedback with your customers for FREE. It gives you ways to change and make a good impression or just say "Hey, we're listening." which is valuable to customer retention.

2.) In our CNN social media makeover we met with a very talented actress. This is a perfect example of someone who spends thousands of dollars on headshots and marketing tools (trust me I've been there) when she could be using Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter to promote herself for FREE. She admitted she has lost out on a lot of opportunities both personally and professionally and was willing to give social networking a shot.

Again, with trends ever changing its important to adapt. You always want to be one step ahead. But it is also equally important to approach these platforms carefully and understand them before making the leap. For more on this topic catch our piece Saturday CNN, 330PM EST.

Wheres Waldo? App a Must

For just 99 cents you can get time burglarized for at least an hour! And for 2.99 you can have your mind blown with the iPad HD version.

Bring the nostalgia and frustration back with the wizard, the dog and the scroll. Swipe through the screen to find Waldo and co. Great narration and music and even animation in each of the worlds. Its so cool that you can hear the people talking underneath the music. A true upgrade from the books!

Never will you be so annoyed but yet equally pleased with stripes again.

Add Color and Ghosts to Photos

Color Splash, $1.99
Android, iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch
Convert photos to black and white and choose which details you want in color. Adding a splash of unique!



Ghost Capture, Lite Version - FREE, Full Version $0.99 (Full Version has about 20 more ghosts)

iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad
Add a ghost to any photo! Change the transparency for real effect. Ghosts range from ridiculously not believable to holy crap there is a civil war dude with a rifle in my photo!

Combining Tech, Art and Fashion

It's easy to put a skin on a laptop - as a matter of fact there are thousands of designs you can pick from with sites like Gelaskins, MacStyles and even sweet options from users on Etsy. But truly integrating art, fashion and tech right into the hardware is a bit trickier.

I'm all about these new trendy options being released August 31st by Athena. The designs are actually a film-thermal transfer (not a stick-on graphic) and has the standard specs you would expect from a netbook; Intel Atom Processor (most), under 3.2lbs, 2GB RAM, 320GB HDD.

Athena is a Hong Kong based company and has been distributing internationally for the last three years- now breaking into the US market.

Art options include kids choices from Sweet Dream to Alice in Wonderland and women's choices with titles like Safari and Chic Cafe.

Allow Me to Make Your Day

I'd like to call this news of the day. Great find by a fellow geek!