-The Mobility Arms Race will be won by the company with the best and brightest content creators. When you read about huge capital for tech startups…understand this: Capital= fund to hire the best and brightest talent.

-I expect an all out war for video calling market share over the next 2 years. Google has an incredible head start on subscriber base/reach thanks to Gmail.

-The advent of video chat/calling will drastically reduce the use of text messaging.

-You can bet a fully voice operated mobile experience is on the way. Once here, it’ll be in your car. “Lock it, Dock it, and Go…”

-Wireless companies will struggle to educate customers about data usage and speeds.

-The incoming Tablet market will change how customers view subsidized devices on contracts.

-I expect US customers will more widely accept prepaid wireless services.

-Wireless Carriers will look to capture revenue given away to “B” network buyers such as Boost Mobile, Straight Talk, etc.

-The major carriers have signed deals which allow these other providers to offer incredibly low prices.

-I expect the carriers to more aggressively price prepaid products or alter these agreements to regain this lost revenue.

Northern Tool was a client of mine at a previous job so Chuck and I connected while discussing my interactions with his coworkers. We got to talking about Northern and Chuck said some things about “the Northern customer” that really got my attention. I wanted to pass these things along as I best recall because the insights really are great!

According to Chuck, the Northern Tool customer is a man. He owns a truck. He’s a blue collar worker. His dad was likely a laborer, perhaps a farmer.

While at a focus group talking with a Northern Tool customer, Chuck asked the customer why he chose to shop at Northern Tool. The customer said, “When I tell my wife I’m going to Home Depot,” she says, “Hold on! I’ll get my coat”. “When I tell my wife I’m going to Northern”, she says “I’ll see you in a couple hours.” “Please”, the customer said to Chuck. “Don’t change a thing.”

Chuck kept it simple. Once Northern identified the customer, they looked for areas where “the guy” and lots of guys like him exist. That’s where you’ll likely find the next Northern Tool and Equipment store.

Some questions for you the reader:

Are you taking time to learn about your customer?

What do you know about them? Is your offering directed specifically to them?

Are you building a great customer attitude toward your brand?

I’d love to hear some of your thoughts regarding brand building!

I have no content planned for this. I wasn’t prepared to host my own TV show.

I was challenged to freestyle blog about Crede and Span…So after a bit of research, I’ll be back with a sure-to-be-interesting post later:)

Meta®yan

Here’s my tweet: I want to volunteer right now in or around the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. Thoughts?

And the response: dfolkens@metaryan That’s awesome- nonprofits always need help. Mine too if you’re bored:) www.mnaidswalk.org

I approached Dave about meeting for coffee to find out more about his cause and non-profits in general. He was game and we met yesterday. Great family guy taking the do-gooding route…

Turns out his cause could use your help…

Sunday May 17th is the date of the Minnesota Aids Walk. Thats this Sunday! The Minnesota AIDS Walk is an annual 10k walk around Minnehaha Park to support those affected by HIV and work to prevent it. The Minnesota AIDS Walk benefits the Minnesota AIDS Project, a nonprofit agency committed to enhancing the lives of people living with HIV, prevention education for those at risk for HIV, and advocating for the rights of all affected by HIV. 

You can check out the AIDS walk here: www.mnaidswalk.org

Meta®yan

Thanks in advance for your comments!

Meta®yan

Anyways…fast forward to today’s person of interest.

His name: Jeff Printy. Although, he does META online as Dr. Wicked. He is the creator of a simple, but effective writing tool on the internet called Write or Die. You can fine it @ http://lab.drwicked.com/writeordie.html. I met Jeff at a Starbucks where he moonlights as a Barista to support this growing enterprise. He looked me up on the social networks (Facebook/Twitter) and the conversation has continued. We’re both technology geeks with a passion for cool stuff. As we speak Jeff is working on an offline version of this program that seems completely dope. If you were to ask me privately, I’d say he’s going to be famous. If you were to ask me publicly, I’d say he’s going to be famous.

You should know I am using Dr. Wicked’s Write or Die to write this blog. I set the timer and a word count and off I go. If I stop writing for a long period of time the screen turns orange and music starts to play as a reminder that I need to keep writing. Cool eh? Not cool. I have 5 minutes left and need to keep writing. Tick Tick Tick…

One minute left and 25 words to go

Quick Thought for Today: You have a unique purpose here on this Earth. Someone out there needs to hear words that only you can deliver today. Make sure that you do. It can make all the difference in someone’s world.

I thought it was fitting to tell of this encounter in story form because I believe each person has a unique experience and story that must be told.

So, here goes:

Staring at the pastries gave me something to do while I waited for the barista to take my order. Not in the mood for a carb hangover, I continued to wait for her to notice me and offer some help. A Chai Tea latte seemed like a very good idea. When the barista finally recognized me, she jittered over to help. Fidgeting with her hands and brushing back loose hairs made space and time for her excess energy. It seemed that lack of noise and action would be the end of her.  She was there just enough to function, but not all was right. By appearances, she was 50. In reality, Barista was no more than 30 and had experienced lifetimes of hardship. I didn’t know her drug, but I knew her addict and could read the signs. Walking away with my latte, I couldn’t help but say a prayer for her. I made a promise to myself that I would not forget her.

Be human today and remember there’s more to each person’s story.

The addict that kills his or herself is dying…dying to be loved.

Meta®yan

Sometimes you just get lucky. Today, I won the lottery in the “meeting people” realm. Chuck is a former CEO or president of 5 companies (Deluxe Corporation and Lifetouch among them). Chuck is a Partner and a Prinicipal Innovator at Starizon (www.starizon.org), a consulting firm with an eye on creating the “transformed client”. Chuck is also the Co-Founder of Kids to the Rescue (www.kidstotherescue.org), a non-profit with the goal to empower children to realize their collective power and voices to help children in need.

It was a real pleasure to meet Chuck. As an aspiring entrepreneur, it is always exciting to talk with other successful entrepreneurs. He was refreshingly honest and down to earth. If you should read this Chuck, thanks again for your time and insightful words.

The Meta®yan Project is a blog created to connect people in my online and offline worlds. In fact, I chose the word Meta because I prefer to think of these worlds as integrated and not separate.

Why did you start the Meta®yan Project?

Put simply, I wanted to make a blog about the interesting people I meet on a daily basis. I have great conversations with great people, but always wonder how things turned out for them after our conversation. Plus, if they’re doing something really cool, I want the world to know about it. So, I thought that by creating a digital footprint, I could hand them a business card with the Meta®yan Project address on it and they could go read about their project and see what the world thought of it.