toddtalks

now you can love your iphone even more

September 15, 2008 – 2:28 pm
That's what my wife said to me this weekend on the drive back home as I was explaining to her the improvements from the 2.1 software for the iPhone. Improved Baterry Life In the past, I only used the 3G capability in emergency situations when I need to access data faster because of the huge drain on the battery. Now I can keep it in 3G mode (and wi-fi) and the battery actually lasts longer than before the software upgrade (with 3G turned off). Faster Syncing My iPhone syncs much faster now - taking less than 5 minutes to sync with the new 2.1 software installed. Previously it would take in excess of 15 minutes (I didn't have the patience to time it). Better 3G signal strength display Previously, when using 3G, the signal strength meter read about 1.25 bars and always looked wrong. Now, there is a new 3G icon and the ...

Posted in blogging |

geeks talk

September 12, 2008 – 1:31 pm
Sam Harrelson and I started a new podcast on the topic of gadgets, and tech stuff we like. This week was our first podcast - we haven't found a home for our podcasts yet but as soon as we have a URL, I'll post it here. The idea for doing this podcast was the two-man format, that seems, at least to me, to be easier to listen to and become connected to the "characters". This week we talked about the new iPhone software version 2.1, iPhone Apps, DropBox (my new favorite thing since recording the podcast), Yammer, identi.ca, chi.mp, and much, much more. Please take a listen and provide us feedback. MP3 File

Posted in blogging, podcasts |

an interview with todd crawford

August 19, 2008 – 2:22 pm
I ran into Matthew Wood of affiliates4u/a4uexpo fame at Affiliate Summit East in Boston last week. He interviewed me about the conference and the industry. I never realized how great my new hairdo looks until I saw myself on the video. Below is the video for your viewing pleasure. Affiliates4u.tv at ASE Boston, Todd Crawford from Peter on Vimeo.

Posted in blogging, online marketing |

featured watch 3 - oris carlo coste chronograph

August 6, 2008 – 11:27 am
Oris Limited Edition Carlo Coste Chronograph (only 2000 available worldwide). This is the most recent addition to my watch collection. It is a huge watch but thankfully it is made out of titanium so it can be worn for days at a time without feeling like a boat anchor. I really like that the controls (pushers and crown) are on the left side of the watch. The knob on the right is a helium escape valve. I also like the orange accents on the hands and indices. Carlo Coste is a world record holder for free diving. The watch can go down to 1000 meters.

Posted in blogging, featured watch |

iphone app reviews

August 6, 2008 – 10:56 am
I recently reviewed my new iPhone 3g. One of the coolest things available to iPhone owners is the app store. I have been trying out many of the available applications and below are the ones I have tried so far (my rating on a scale of 1-10). Light (free): makes the screen all white so you can see in the dark (3) Currency (free): converts a currency into multiple currencies (6) Check Please (free): helpful for splitting restaurant bills and calculating tips (6) Pandora (free): Access Pandora and listen to music (7) MotionX Poker ($4.99): My favorite app so far - great graphics - poker dice game - uses the accelerometer to roll the dice (9) Labryinth (free): old school steel ball through wooden maze - uses the accelerometer to move to ball (7) Tap Tap Revenge: similar to guitar hero (6) Texas Hold'em ($4.99): great video style poker game (8) Twittelator (free): twitter app (6) Twitterific (free): twitter app ...

Posted in blogging, reviews |

featured t-shirt 7 - iggy and the stooges

August 1, 2008 – 10:19 am
Iggy Pop and the Stooges - Raw Power This is one of my all time favorite bands. Raw Power was released in 1973.

Posted in blogging, featured t-shirt |

iphone 3g review

August 1, 2008 – 10:09 am
I got the new iPhone 3G two weeks ago and am loving it. I switched from using a Blackberry Curve and have zero regrets. Check out my short (and first) video review.

Posted in blogging, reviews |

worst e-commerce experience ever!

July 24, 2008 – 3:31 pm
Ahh, where do I start? First, a little background. I have been buying online for 10 years and have probably spent well over one million dollars online between personal and business purchases in that time. I have also worked for two large Internet companies that provide e-commerce (Digital River) and marketing services (ValueClick) and have worked with literally thousands of e-tailers including MacMall/PCMall (I actually sold them on CJ for their affiliate program) as well as companies like Ebay, Yahoo!, Buy.com, Best Buy and Symantec. So I feel qualified to critique online shopping experiences from both the customer's perspective as well as the retailer's perspective. Now on to my worst e-commerce experience ever! I needed to buy ten 2GB PC2 5300 677MHz RAM modules. I did a search on The Google and saw that MacMall had a very good price for what I needed. I added the items to my cart ...

Posted in blogging, online marketing, rants |

vacation calls

June 25, 2008 – 8:45 am
Cyberland, I will be offline for the most part over the next two weeks attending a friend's wedding in Austria (that's the country without kangaroos). I will not be posting anything here until I get back. I will also not be on email, twitter, IM, facebook, etc...well maybe a little update here and there and a peek or two at some emails. Miss me! XOXO Todd

Posted in blogging |

death of a platform

June 20, 2008 – 1:32 pm
This month the affiliate marketing industry had a death in the family. On June 15, 2008 the beFree platform known as BFAST was permanently turned off. Officially, the platform ceased tracking on May 15th but you could still log in and access reporting through June 15th. beFree was, along with LinkShare, one of the two leading affiliate technology providers in the late 1990's. By the time Commission Junction launched in November 1998, both beFree and LinkShare had relationships with all of the top e-retailers and were well on their way to success. Started in 1996 in Waltham, MA by the Gerace brothers Tom and Sam, beFree's strategy was to provide advertisers with the technology to create their own branded "in-house" type affiliate programs similar to what Amazon has today (and back then). Their first customer was Barnes and Noble. At the height of their success, they had some of the biggest online ...