Vivian Maier - Queen of the SELFIE????????????????????

A nanny for the rich has turned out  to be the real deal in street photography.

Vivian was a very secretive person and her life and her death was almost unnoticed if it was not for a an auction of photos.

I ask what would have someone who could shoot a ton of selfies in film back in the day. It was to record the moment that she existed in the world even if forgotten.

What is sensed is the intimacy and gaurded self of it all.

The brilliance of myself captured in a negative, a piece of film, for eternity.

Look at me as I am here for you and look to see me for what I am...a photographer!

Boost Your Sales by Telling a Compelling Story

Boost Your Sales by Telling a Compelling Story

Marketing is all about storytelling, bit many fail as they lack an emotional connection with the audience.

When making a presentation to a customer make sure you include a compelling story that may be in how your solution solves their business problems.

I like to use “A Day in the Life" stories that allows my audience to completely understand how my solution can help their employees dramatically boost their productivity.

Don't forget the last step is a call to action or asking for the next step in the sales process.

The Gold Nikon FA

The black version of the Nikon FA was my first real Nikon camera. It was a joy to behold with the pro motor drive.

Nikon FA, 1983-1989

Nikon has long been portrayed as having leadership in the professional camera market since the introduction of the Nikon F in 1959. When the Nikon FA was introduced in 1983,  it was truly a revolutionary camera. It will be most remembered for it's innovative metering system - an early testbed for the current and much copied 'Matrix Metering' system commonly found in many Nikon AF cameras. It was also the first Nikon camera body that had shutter priority and program automation exposure control.

This was in addition to the traditional favoured aperture priority AE and fully manual exposure control. Furthermore, TTL OTF flash metering enhanced the FA's flash capability and made the FA the most sophisticated multimode manual focus Nikon ever. To supplement the FA's immense capabilities, a host of other changes occured during the early part of the eighties. Firstly, a new line of Nikkor lenses called the AI-S (Automatic Indexing Shutter) and a new dedicated motor drive 
This was in addition to the traditional favoured aperture priority AE and fully manual exposure control. Furthermore, TTL OTF flash metering enhanced the FA's flash capability and made the FA the most sophisticated multimode manual focus Nikon ever. To supplement the FA's immense capabilities, a host of other changes occured during the early part of the eighties. Firstly, a new line of Nikkor lenses called the AI-S (Automatic Indexing Shutter) and a new dedicated motor drive MD-15 were introduced. Depite all these, the FA still retained its backward compatibilitiy with the huge Nikon system. The flash was the SB-16 model.
There is one on ebay for $3000 US


Note that the camera needs either two S-76 or the easier to find LR44 batteries.

Now drool on this..............

"In commemoration of winning the "Camera Grand Prix" prize, Nikon FA Gold was released in Japan (Nippon). This was based on the FA, and its silver color parts such as top and bottom covers are gold-plated and the lizard skin was used for leather cover.

It was a limited edition housed in the box of paulownia wood and priced at 500,000- Japanese Yen, even the coupling ring of the barrel of AI Nikkor 50 mmf/1.4 normal lens attached was gold-plated and Nikon logotype on its lens cap was also gold-plated ......such an elaborate work.

Nippon Kogaku had made so far gold-plated cameras in small quantity which were used for commemorative gifts to dealers, but the FA Gold was the first gold-plated model that was for sale.

Weekly Thoughts on Technology and a Better Life! #1

Random tidbits to ponder in making for a better life!


1. Smart Appliances

The Japanese are enjoying the benefits of smart appliances in the Internet of Everything world. A refrigerator that texts your dinner and sends you an inventory. A washing machine that is voice enabled or a wi-fi enabled rice cooker that pings you when its done. Do we need a app based toaster? yes we do

2. Mobilicity is Bankrupt

Enough already. Can the CRTC just let WIND or TELUS buy them so that they can continue with service to its customers and provide jobs. They have almost 200,000 customers and valuable spectrum so at this point in their business plan a buyout is needed. Ottawa should just let it happen.

3. 48 Hours in the Valley

Good luck to the lucky 17 of Canada's most promising startups looking to get VC funding. This just shows how pathetic the VC system is in Canada. I hope the next Canadian  FaceBook gets funding from the USA and makes another American rich. Having gone through this with a startup in 2003 looking for some VC it really speaks to how Canada sucks at being innovative and sparking new activities.

4. Google Corporate Cloud

Google Compute Engine  continues to compete against Amazon's AWS as they compete against Microsoft Azure. This whole cloud thing is getting interesting again. Stay Tuned

5. Music Motivates Shoppers

Reitman's stock is getting creamed and their Smart Set store is resorting to having music playlists create a better in store mood for shoppers to spend money. This never really hit me in the head until I was in several LOFT stores in New York. They had a really structured approach to their background music. It worked as my wife spent money. Now that they are at Yorkdale the mystery isn't that important anymore. Look at Target? who shops there?

6. BlackBerry BES is actually a Great Corporate Tool

I am not surprised that the BES 10 has gained 25% in market share for a software package that allows the corporate IT Manager to manage Blackberry, iOS and Android devices. IT needs to securely manage these smartphones and RIM has the right solution. Does this mean BB should focus on services more than devices? maybe but the BB is still the smartphone of choice in the African market so there is a market segment there worth selling into.

7. Canadian Black Friday or Cyber Monday

The dates meant nothing as there were deals before Friday and after Monday. This is just a big marketing game. I polled many of my friends and the response was the same " I have no interest in losing a finger in the riots to get a 99 cent 32GB USB stick that I really do not need" however  I will risk my life to obtain 99 cent lobster tails, 99 cent a  pound Angus steaks, 29 cents bags of milk, and a nickel for a dozen free range chicken eggs. Feeding my family has become of importance instead of fueling the electronics or disposable fashion industry. What I have noticed is a trend to purchasing local items, of high quality, with a long life cycle that are discounted but not to the 90% off level. You can get these deals on boxing day. North Face had a 70% sale and during the crazy sale week the deals were 50% for the same item. Who wins? not the consumer.

The scary thing is whatever stupid electronic gadget you buy will be discontinued soon anyways. The must have Jambox at $200 has better competition at the $29 level today so why lose a finger over a bluetooth speaker which is now a stocking stuffer and not a must have. Save gas, be green and buy your 72" LCD TV online. If you buy a Kobo remember the case costs more than the device.

Holy Crap Johnny Style

Holy Crap is an innovative Canadian health product that is a breakfast item. I decided one day that I would attempt to create my own version of this product to feed my voracious family that was featured on Dragons Den. This product is a great success story for the show and shows how television can increase brand recognition and sales. They also make a Skinny B version as well.

The base ingredients  of the cereal is pretty straight forward Both cereals contain the same mix of seeds; the organic superfood chia, organic fruit seed buckwheat and organic hulled hemp hearts.

Add organic cranberries, organic raisins, organic apple bits and organic cinnamon and the crap is ready to go.

Skinny B contains 50% more chia seeds in the seed blend than Holy Crap cereal.

My version is just as tasty but is a different blend of their ingredients to suit my tastes but whenever I travel the first stop in any town is to pick up a pack of Holy Crap or Skinny B to give satisfy my breakfast cravings. The CBS or TSA does not take lightly to this crap in your carry on bag.

The Johnny Crap version is as follows:

- 1.5 cup chia seeds

- 1.5 cup buckwheat- 1.5 cup hemp hearts

I blend these into a masonary jar and refrigerate.

then I add depending on the mood I am in and continue to fill the masonary jar with any of the following items:

- 1/3 cup dried cranberries 

- 1/3 cup Goji Berries

- 1/3 cup dried blueberries

- 1/4 cup raisins 

- 1/4 cup dried apples 

- 1 tsp cinnamon 

- 1/2 cup coconut flakes

- 1/3 cup banana chips or powder

 - 1/4 cup dehydrated pineapples

add some soy or almond or coconut milk and ENJOY!

A Hand's-On approach to R&D Innovations is a Great Strategy

Successful growth organizations are those that are constantly generating new innovations. Involving all staff to participate involves a structure approach, continuous encouragement from the leadership team, and rewarding employees who develop novel business solutions. Many of these innovations can be incremental and some can encompass new lines of business.

It is important that the C-Suite create a culture where staff are free to express their ideas either in ideas for driving new business or in solving customer problems. This culture is what brings increased revenue to the bottom line and improved customer satisfaction scores.

NEW ideas can be encouraged in 3 ways:

1. An annual New Ideas conference or workshop
2. A monthly New Ideas session specific to existing product and services
3. A New Ideas suggestion box right to the Innovations Officer

The key to innovation is to have a process of constantly generating new ideas and a follow up process back to the idea generator. In this way the dialogue remains open and consistent in a healthy manner.

Is Smartphone the King?

Is Smartphone the King?

The smartphone has been a technology disruptor and a company killer. It is the app frenzy but the browser with internet connectivity that became the big enabler of adoption for this technology. Think back 5 years ago and imagine your life then when the smartphone was a BlackBerry, and flip phones ruled the world with 10 key text input.

Nokia and BlackBerry are companies getting killed and Treo was actually killed. Not sure where Googorola fits in yet. Meanwhile Samsung took over the world one free android OS at a time.

Amazon and Facebook are trying to get into the game as well. Why? The smartphone is becoming the King and the preferred method of communications. For Amazon it’s all about the input device into their shopping networks and for Facebook it’s all about grabbing mobile advertising revenue.  Again it is the app driving the consumer.

Maybe BlackBerry should release a Twitter branded version of the Q10, a Kardashian branded version, The Pope version and even the Green bay Packers could do similar. These branded versions could have exclusive design and content features not available anywhere. Sprint did this with their Nascar branded Motorola i736 flip phone.

But John, you are off on a tangent , focus on disruptation. Ok folks here goes:

Kodak and Polaroid got killed by the smartphone. Really?  Sure they did and they did fall asleep at the wheel as the world switched to digital film. Back in the day, everyone had a film camera and the 110 format allowed a small, pocketable camera that could be taken anywhere. With the new Nokia Lumia 102 with its 41MP camera, Apple’s improved camera on the iPhone 5 means photography is now so much better. Why lug a heavy SLR around your neck? Just snap away and let Snapchat and Instagram do its work for you. Use the various apps to edit the photos in device before uploading to Flickr and Facebook. Hmmm the $3000 Nikon D800 cannot do that. Most consumers just need a convenient way of taking photos to print into 4x6 or file away in their hard drive. It is no wonder that point and shoot camera sales are down year over year and DSLR is being affected as well. The smartphone being an internet device can have its software upgraded and the photo app software upgrade very easily. Adding new features or simplifying storage is very difficult on a traditional digital camera. The most important innovations in photography have actually happened on smartphones.

Nintendo, Xbox, PlayStation are also getting slowly killed. Consumers have shifted their appetite for free and disposable games from their local app store. No need to have a purpose built portable game console anymore when the smartphone screen size and processing power exceeds the Nintendo DS and Game Boy. Though, like many other nerds really prefer playing Tetris on a GameBoy because that is just the way it is meant to be played, not in colour on a swipe screen device. Take your iPhone and Airplay it to your big screen TV and your PlayStation 2 just got donated to the Salvation Army.  However, the gamers will always run high end Desktops or the new game consoles to play Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto because you can now have wrinkles on the clothes, and other super fine detail. The new consoles are really now unified multimedia machines with Netflix, Blu-ray DVD, chat and VOIP apps embedded. Actually the PC is going to be killed by the new game consoles. Throw Microsoft Office onto the new Xbox and who needs a Desktop PC anymore especially when you have a Surface tablet.

Traditional Wallets are getting killed. The smartphone is becoming the payment device and you can store all your receipts online. Who needs a wallet? Who even wants a wallet for Christmas?  No one

Laptops are getting killed by the smartphone. You can actually do a lot of stuff with a Samsung Note 3 without the need for a laptop. Laptop users that need processing power and lots of memory will always be a market but if Google releases a Motorola Note G with a 6” screen and its cloud apps then road warriors will rejoice.  Please bundle in a HDMI cable and extended battery sleeve with a nice Blue Tooth headset into the Road Warrior Edition. Actually do up a 7” version and a smart watch to the mix.  You now don’t need a mini Tablet anymore.

The smartphone is a mean animal that has devoured the camera industry, the portable game console industry, nibbling away at the Laptop industry, the wallet industry is making more money selling smartphone cases,  and it’s on the lookout for the its next lunch.

My smartphone is my camera, game console, TV, music player, e-book reader, alarm clock, notepad, wallet, flashlight, portable office, tamagotchi, boarding pass and recipe box. I look forward to what the next 18 months brings to the market, who knows it may be able to cook a meal, or replace the home alarm system and my keychain as well.

Yeah the smartphone is the King and with a bejewel case can be the Queen as well. Actually the smartphone has no gender.

The smartphone may also be chewing away on productivity, the sales flyer, newspaper, Sunday mass, and donuts. I do know one thing and that one day the smartphone will protect us from zombies, robots and vampires and there is a teenager in a garage somewhere working on that right now.