Tretakoff Musings

It's not as often as you would expect, but occasionally the Internet proves yet again that there is far too much of a temptation to act emotionally, while in a professional position. Whether it's congressmen sending shirtless photos of themselves to women they want to cheat on their wives with, or news commenters (note not the completely made-up "commentator") using Twitter to say things they never would in person , it continues to be a plague on the digital house. Today's abject example comes from TechCrunch, the technology blog. In an unusual move, the blogger chose to make a private e-mail exchange with a PR rep from a company public to expose the rep's poor attitude. This is a little surprising for TC, as they are usually pretty professional organization, so it's bizarre that they went out of their way to call this guy out. Unfortunately, it blew up a bit on them, as their interpretation of the exchange was a bit tone deaf, and the comments from lo...

I was checking out a story on Chris Simms , the occasional backup quarterback for the Titans and son of former NY Giants QB, Phil Simms. I've always admired the guts of this man, as he played an entire half of a football game with a ruptured spleen. That's seriously  tough. Anyway, I was amused that the story, about Simms losing a key ruling in a traffic stop where he was suspected to be under the influence of marijuana, described him in a "zombie" like state. The ad that ran intext with the article? Shows Saints QB Drew Brees in a state that could easily be described as "zombie like." That's either really good ad targeting or really bad ad targeting. Either way, makes for a funny distratcion!

I am an avid user of eWallet , a great application to store your personal information safely and securely: passwords, credit card info, back accounts...you name it. Unlike my advocacy of "living in the Cloud" for just about every other application and data set, I still think security is a concern: do you really want your passwords stored on a server that can be accidentally obtained or hacked? Nope, and neither do I, so I use eWallet to store it all: it's a Windows/Mac/iPhone/Android app that syncs locally, and stores everything in 256 bit encryption. Problem is, I want to access that data on multiple machines. Sure, I can fire up the iPhone and see it there, but it's more convenient to have it on my other PC's, as well. I experimented with they remote syncing options, but they all required a password to be sent in the clear, something that is a definite no-no. Then I read on their blog that they are releasing a Windows Phone 7 version, and they pointed out tha...

As part of America's tradition of New Year's resolutions, I joined thousands of Americans in trying to drop a few pounds this year. In addition to the 70+ miles on the bike on my commute each week, I am trying to eat a little better. One place a coworker, Alison , turned me on to was Mixt Greens , a salad place extraordinaire. I enjoyed a heck of a repast, and after, I wondered just how nutritious my meal was, so, just on a whim, I headed over to their site. Buried under a small tab marked Nutrition Info, I saw this amazing calculator , allowing me to see the exact details of what I just consumed. Not just the prepacked pieces; the very meal I had custom made for me. It's powered by a company called FoodCALC , and they have partnered with several restaurant chains to do this. Why I think it's brilliant is that Casual Dining places usually struggle for a good reason to drive people online, or vice-versa. The occasional loyalty card does it, as do coupons, but this g...

As Bill Maher likes to call Fantasy Football, I finished 2nd this year, my best finish since 2007. This year, I started with the stalwart Tony Romo and Chris Johnson, and ended up relying on Josh Freeman and DeSean Jackson to upset the #'s 4 and 1 seeds to the eventual 11 point defeat in the Championship. Luckily, since there was some $ on the line, it might help to cover the side bet of lunch and a bottle of wine I will be paying out to the perennial champion, Steve. Congrats to Dread, but remember: it's not just revenge I'll be after; it's a reckoning.

I was a little surprised today when I went on to Netflix to send a recommendation on a movie with a friend. My instinct was to simply pull up the page for the movie and click on the ubiquitous "Share" button that is on every news story, e-commerce page, and yes, even this blog. Surprisingly, it wasn't even there. In poking around the site, I found the message you see here: Netflix has actually pulled their social efforts. Now, it ain't all as insane as it sounds. For instance, Netflix has connected with Facebook, allowing yoru Facebook feed to be spammed with all of your movie ratings. But here's what surprises me: Netflix recently reported that they now streaming first, DVD delivery second . 60% of their subscribers stream content now, including my mother! Now, imagine I could simply identify them as friends, have them allow it (as they did previously with the social experience), and I could actually add the movie to their streaming queue. Perhaps it could sho...

Wow. Been a while! Guess that's what happens when you join one of the fastest growing companies in the hottest spaces. :-) Ok, time for a few updates and minor rants: The company I started with two great folks, Loyalty Lab, has been acquired by Tibco . I'm delighted for them, as it's a great partnership to ensure the ongoing growth of Retail CRM. It was seven years of long hard work, but I could not be more pleased for everyone there. Well done, guys! My company, TownHog , has taken off. We are now reaching 6 million people daily , and are at just under 50 people, while being present in about 20 cities. It's been an absolute rocket ride, and it keeps going up. So much fun, and two new partner launches upcoming! My travels have slowed down a bit, but I expect to be back in NYC quite often now, with so many partners there. United continues to lavish affection on me... I've learned the incredible value of StreamTransport , some software that allows you to pull dow...