The Philadelphia Examiner has a story about yours truly regarding my participation in the upcoming NASA Tweetup. Check it out!
Philadelphia Local to Tweet at Shuttle Launch (written by Stephen Thompson)
Over 4,100 Twitter users entered NASA’s Tweetup for a chance to tweet at the last launch of the Space Shuttle Endeavour, scheduled for April 29, 2011. One of the 150 selected was Shareef Jackson (@shareefjackson). Here is what he has to say about his experience so far.
I've recently had the pleasure of losing my office and being placed in a cube as part of an "open office" initiative. Surprisingly, I love my new area. I'm near a window with plenty of natural light, and I've already met more people from just walking around since I don't have the option to squirrel away in an office. Still, I've had to adapt my technology to fit this new open environment. A few examples are below:
1) Headset:
I take a large amount of conference calls, and nothing is worse than twisting your neck and tiring out your arm by holding up a phone for several hours. In my office, I used speakerphone often. I accomplish the same with a headset - I can go handsfree during a call and easily drive a presentation or look up any key info during a call. Of course, I look like an absolute dork with a headset on - but it's better than leaving work with a stiff neck!
2) Privacy Screen:
Even though I sit in a corner near a window, people still walk past. Usually they are trying to find someone's office and get lost, or they're just stopping by to comment on how stupid I look with my headset on. Either way, I need to hide my screen from others, especially when I'm working on something confidential. I didn't have to worry about this with an office at all, although I do have a separate privacy screen for traveling, I'm sure you've noticed some businessperson working on sides in an airplane, for all to see.
3) Earbuds:
There's nothing during a hard day like closing your office door and throwing some music on. Now that I'm a cube dweller, earbuds are a must to regain my sanity. The key is to have one bud in the ear that's farthest from the cube opening that people walk by. I also keep the volume very low so that colleagues don't have to "Anyone? Bueller?" me to get my attention.
I'm sure there are more tech adaptations that I'll have to make as time goes on, I'm still new to this world!
I hate the fact that I have to subscribe to cable. I'm on the lowest possible plan, and even with that I only watch a few channels. Between iTunes, Netflix, and Hulu, most of my shows are covered. There are only a few reasons that I stuck with cable - live news and live sports.
ESPN took a big step to solving the latter issue by releasing a streaming app. I can stream live ESPN to my iPad, which augments the NBA league pass subscription that I can also watch on my iPad. Oh wait, the ESPN app only works with certain cable providers, and Comcast is not included.
Damn these companies! Why don't they want my money? I'd gladly pay extra to be able to stream the channels I want to my tablet and phone. I'm pretty sure companies like ESPN are all for this, if it wasn't for the contracts that have them tied up with the cable providers. I'd love to see one of the agreements in plain English. I'm sure it boils down to: "We own you. Don't try anything funny".
Within 5 years, they kind of a la carte streaming will be available. The question is, who will win the race? The old media cable providers with their resistance to change? Or will a new player swoop in and deliver what the people want? Time will tell, but I bet the only way that old media will be swayed is if they are brought into this new world kicking and screaming. Kind of like the music industry, who argued for years against online music and mp3s in particular.
They'll learn sooner or later.
The news stories are starting to roll in regarding my participation in the NASA Tweetup for the Shuttle Endeavour - the links are below. Share the love!
Local Philly Guy to Live Tweet NASA Shuttle Launch | PhillyNow by Matthew Petrillo (Philly Weekly)
West Philadelphia resident will live-tweet the Endeavor launch by Shannon McDonald (WHYY)
So, it's been a little over a week since I found out that NASA selected me and 149 other NASA Twitter followers to live tweet the shuttle Endeavour launch on April 19th. Aside from the sheer awesomeness of witnessing history, one of the best parts is interacting with the other winners via twitter. You can check out details on this fantastic group of people at this website, or join in on the real madness and follow this list on Twitter.
I'd lke to chronicle a bit of the journey in a new series of posts. Here are some of the fellow tweeps:
Good stuff so far - interacting with great people is definitely helping to bide the time before the launch!
