I was hanging out with my friend Frederick Johnson last week and he was telling me about a really neat photography drill he had to do when training with the military to be a combat photojournalist (you’ll have to wait for the Photojojo Book to hear that one.)
Anyway, we were talking about the exercise, and Frederick challenged me to take portraits of five complete strangers in 10 minutes, right then and there. I’m happy to say I made the challenge in under 10, and got a baby and a dog to boot. :) And had a ton of fun!
Many of you have already heard this, but I helped organize a Jelly in Manhattan on my way home from Delhi to San Francisco, and Alex Goldmark covered it for Marketplace on NPR. (This is our second time on NPR. The first was September of last year)
Here’s the audio segment:
And here’s some video they shot, featuring a whole bunch of friends and Jelly regulars!
I have a post up on Rohit Bhargava’s site, The Personality Project, about how we messed up last Mother’s Day. I’ve gotten good feedback on it, but reading it still gives me the chills.
I’ve been blogging less over the past few months, but I’ve found myself gravitating to Twitter and Tumblr for quicker, more informal updates and finds.
This blog’s in need of an update, and it looks like I may eventually move it over to Tumblr entirely.
For the moment, though, I’ll keep up with all three. If you’re interested in what I’m up to, I hope you’ll follow me on Twitter and Tumblr!
Green Desk looks like an amazing new shared office/coworking space in Brooklyn. (DUMBO)
In addition to being carbon-neutral (solar panels, carbon credits, renewable energy), they’ve got some really unique features: fitness center with shower, shared bicycles, rooftop access and views of Manhattan, shared MP3 archive, etc.
Best of all, it’s an awesome location (just one stop into Brooklyn on the A/C and F) and prices start at only $300/month!
Thanks for the support and the blog post. We’re actually opening our first floor in the building on June 1 and we’re getting close to being sold out pre-opening. The response has been really amazing.
Just a quick note: I’m back from India and I’ll be at Jelly tomorrow in midtown Manhattan. I hope to see many of my NYC friends there as well as some new faces.
A couple weeks ago, I tried finding out more about all the folks that were following me on twitter by asking them to introduce themselves. (Credit to Charlie for the idea.) It was awesome.
Stuck on a tarmac ahead of a 14 hour non-stop last week with nothing to do but wait, I wondered whether my twitter friends could come to my rescue with a joke or two to help me pass the time. Holy crap, did you ever!
I picked the number 5 randomly, so the fifth twitter wins: hilary. Let me know what you’d like and I’ll do my best to get it! :)
No matter what I did, I couldn’t get the local shortcode to work or verify my number while using AirTel in Delhi. After a whole lot of research, I gave up for the night and twittered my frustration.
Digging in deeper, I found that Twitter’s shortcode in India only works on some networks, and in some areas. Pretty frustrating that this info is nowhere on Twitter’s site, especially since some of the most popular carriers aren’t covered.
What finally worked
The international number +44 76248 01423. Apparently twitter changed it without updating their help pages. (I found out on Get Satisfaction.)
Cost
International txts cost 5 rupees each, which is 12-13 US cents.
Had the shortcode worked, it would have cost 3 rupees each, or 7.5 US cents
Normal local txts cost around 1 rupee, or 2.5 cents.
Other options
I found an Indian startup called Vakow! that’s building an SMS forwards service. They’ve got a Vakow-Twitter gateway that uses a local number to avoid shortcode and int’l fees. I might try this next.
Chittr is/was an India-local Twitter competitor. There’s posts about it online but the site’s currently redirecting elsewhere.
SMS GupShup is an Indian group SMS platform. The use case is similar to Twitter’s, except everyone belongs to specific groups instead of following people willy-nilly.
Recently, I did some research into Apple’s airline power adapter and their use on Continental planes for a trip to India that had me on a plane twice for 14-15 hours each time. I really wanted to be able to work during that time.
Much of what I found online was vague and inconclusive, but I decided to make some guesses and try it out anyway.
Here’s what I learned…
EmPower outlets supply up to 75 watts of DC power. You need a custom adapter to use it with your laptop. I think there are two kinds of plugs, and this plane used the newer, smaller one.
EmPower powers your laptop, but does not charge it. Even on a Macbook, which draws less power than a Macbook Pro. Leaving it plugged in while the laptop was sleeping seemed to charge it VERY slowly.
You can charge your iPhone while you’re using your computer. However, it’ll slowly tick down your battery. No big deal, as the iPhone charges pretty fast. But this basically means you’re using your laptop battery to charge your iPhone/iPod.
I read that some laptops will refuse to work with EmPower unless you take out the battery. I didn’t experience this.
Apple’s adapter costs $50. It’s decently well made and looks good. I’m sure it cost just a dollar or so to make, but for power for 29-30 hours of flight time, it was worth it to me.
Specific to my flight…
Continental flight 82 (CO82) does have power outlets on their planes in coach, but only in rows 16-23. Supposedly they fly a newer version of the 777-200 on this flight that has power in all rows, but customer service didn’t know anything about it.
The 777-200 Continental flies on this route has EmPower outlets (the newer version of the plane is supposed to have AC outlets, but again, I didn’t experience it.)
I’m in India for a couple weeks and I just starting my second day in Delhi. Here are a few initial observations:
The malls have arrived. It was clear it was coming last time I was in India two years ago, but now it’s ingrained in the way of life in Delhi (and I assume, most Indian cities.) The chaotic, sprawling, lively markets always defined my experience of India. They’re still around, and for the moment I think they’ll coexist with their more modern counterparts.
There are new cars everywhere. And air conditioners, and snazzy Reebok shoes. It’s been years since India opened up its trade policies so something other than the Fiat and Ambassador could claim the streets, but it’s still a shock that you can go a whole day without seeing a single one, when they used to be *all* you could see.
Corollary to the above: people used to *really* customize their cars with all sorts of add-ons, stickers, colors and stuff. Probably because all you could get was a Fiat or an Ambassador, in a few select colors. The customization trend appears to have died now that more brands are available.
Delhi still sees daily brownouts. Usually at night, but sometimes in the morning. People have large tanks of water on the roofs of their homes and generators or backup battery power and inverter systems to supply water, and power lights and ceiling fans during outages.
Wi-fi is not omnipresent. It’s odd to open up my laptop and not see a single hotspot when in a pretty densely-packed residential neighborhood in a major city. Very different from the U.S., where the list shows a dozen pretty much anywhere in New York or SF, and at least a handful in even rural areas in CT. Bandwidth is also slow.
My iPhone isn’t hooked up yet. Everyone here has a cell phone. (We passed not one, not two, but four cell kiosks on our way out of the airport after getting our luggage.) But there’s still confusion around data and how to get GPRS/Edge activated. Hope to have it figured out today.
Photojojo’s teamed up with our friends at Instructables to bring you Photojojo Photo Month this month. Enter your photo project or tutorial to win over $100,000* in prizes!
We’re looking to do more of these kinds of cross promotions and deals at Photojojo, so if you’ve got ideas for things we should do with you or your company, let us know.
That’s what I asked Friday morning, and below is what I got back. All these wonderful strangers from all over the world (and a few familiar faces) writing in about their passions.
Something about twitter is exciting in the same way email was exciting 10 years back. It really does feel like the world just shrunk.
I don’t know whether twitter is supposed to be about connecting you with your friends, or with the world, but there’s a really exciting sense of energy here that’s inescapable.
stuboo @superamit - what a great idea. I’m Ryan Stewart (search your gmail). Changing careers now. Going to medical school this fall. Age = 3101:44 PM April 11, 2008from web
I’m flying with my dad to Delhi, India tonight. It’s a 14 hour flight, and I’ll be back April 29th.
We’ll be joining my mom who made the trip a week ago, and I’ll be attending my cousin’s wedding, and generally trying to soak in India while working.
I’m curious to see how difficult it’ll be working from the other side of the world, and to see how much the country’s changed since I was there two years ago.
In preparation for my trip, I’ve…
Arranged to have Cable and DSL internet where I’ll be staying with my uncle in Noida. (Bringing my Airport Express to make it wireless)
Unlocked my iPhone (Thanks Eric!) and done some research into local SIM cards for voice + data (Thanks Abhishek!)
Packed a video camera, a point and shoot, and my Nikon D70.
Emailed a couple friends I made online meeting up while in Delhi. (If you’re in Delhi, I’d love to meet you! Email me.)
I’m ill-prepared for the 100 degree days I’ll see in the next couple weeks, but indescribably excited!!! India is a whole different world.
See you soon!
p.s. I hope to twitter while I’m there. If you’re curious to see what I’m up to, I’m superamit on twitter. Feel free to @superamit if you have questions or advice or anything.
His latest project is Photojojo. If you like photography, you will like Photojojo.
Before Photojojo, he was a founder of The Daily Jolt, an online community on 100 college campuses, helped create a non-profit called ChangeThis with Seth Godin, and brought the technology un-conference BarCamp to NYC. He also started a weekly casual coworking session called Jelly.
And he's consulted for companies such as Pearson, Apple, and Creative Good and co-authored The Big Moo, a WSJ best-seller, with Seth Godin, Malcolm Gladwell, Guy Kawasaki, Tom Peters, and others.
Many of you have already heard this, but I helped organize a 
Quick note: I’ll be at 
