If you would like more information about how Tuesday can help make your site and promotions more social media ready, please contact Diana Scott (diana.scott@tuesday.com) 818-755-2241. Whether it is boosting your share features, creating games for people to play and share or integrating user generated content from your fan pages back to your site, we can help you.

This month we sat down with an “Integrator Extraordinaire!” Brittany Ludwig.  See what we learned about her!

1. Nickname (if you have one you want to share…)? Britt, Kizzy, Scoobs, and a few that probably shouldn’t be mentioned.
2. What is your most treasured possession? My bed.
3. What is your most special talent? I have the ability to sleep pretty much anywhere
4. What is something people would be surprised to know about you? I’m an awesome vegan baker.
5. What is your favorite candy? Sour Patch Kids!
6. What’s your favorite most embarrassing CD/Album? I don’t have the whole album, but I love the song “I’ll Be Your Shelter” by Taylor Dayne.
7. Who would win in a fight a Taco, a Burrito or a Hot Dog? Why? The hot dog. He’s fed up with being called a weiner & has something to prove.
8. What is your favorite invention? Kitchen-Aid stand mixer
9. What is the best advice you have ever received? “To be aware of a single shortcoming within oneself is more useful than to be aware of a thousand in someone else.” – the Dalai Lama
10. What technology most changed your life? AOL in 1995. That’s when I officially became a nerd.

The iPhone 4. Does it even need an introduction? Probably not. If you didn’t know it was out or even know what it is, then you are living under a rock and I can’t help you. Humorously, some people had no idea why I, and hundreds others, were standing in line at the Grove on June 24th for over three hours to get the phone. Some guessed the new “Twilight” movie. Um, as if. (Quick, what movie is that from?)

Within the first three days of hitting the market, the new iPhone 4 sold more than 1.7 million units according to Apple’s press release. By now I’m sure it’s well over 2 million. That is “the most successful product launch in Apple’s history,” according to Apple CEO, Steve Jobs. And we’re talking about a phone that you can’t even make calls with your bare hands, apparently.

So what’s all the hype about? Is it worth it? Should you run, not walk, to your nearest Apple store? What follows is my humble opinion of the new iPhone 4. There won’t be a lot of tech talk or statements backed with copious amounts of testing. Just an honest opinion with commonplace observations.

When the original iPhone was released some three years ago, I admittedly wasn’t an early adopter. I thought it looked really awesome and seemed to have a lot of great functions, but I didn’t feel like I needed to have all that connectivity just one tap away. I skipped out on the first gen iPhone and even when the second version came out, the 3G, I waited a couple months before buying one. But once I had it in my possession, it was like my whole mobile world had turned itself upside down. So much so that a few months before the announcement of the new iPhone 4, I said to a coworker, “I’m such an Apple fan and I love my iPhone so much, I can’t conceive of a day when I won’t own an iPhone. And if and when that day comes, what kind of phone will I own?” I know, a bit scary huh? Apple has me wrapped around it’s little finger. And you know what, I ain’t lettin’ go! At least not any time soon.

The iPhone 4 is a definite upgrade from my old 3G. I can’t speak to those who have 3GSs, but the speed difference alone between my old model and this one is enough for me to want to upgrade. I used to have a lot of lag with certain larger apps and now everything opens really fast and responds quickly. The folders are also a Godsend if I ever saw one. No more clutter! Perfect for an OCD person like myself. And given that the 3G doesn’t support new iOS4 very well (ie. it lags a bunch), if you want that function you basically have to upgrade. Also the multi-tasking is great. Lots of apps still need to be optimized to support that still but keep checking your updates often as I’m sure many apps are going through the approval process as we speak. And one tip for ya. If you are like me and hate reading instructions, you might wonder why your phone’s battery dies out really fast without even doing much. That’s because when you open an app, it never “closes” since it gets sent down to the multi-task bar. It then runs in the background. For some apps that’s not a big power drain but for others it can be. So make sure to close out your unnecessary apps down in the multi-task bar. That’ll help a lot!

The new retina display with double the resolution as the old phone is also really sharp. I compared the two and the difference is quite noticeable. It really plays off the beauty of the entire phone. It pains me to think I will be covering up such a gorgeous design with a case. But it must be done. And not because of the antenna issue. Though that is apparent in most, if not all, phones its seems. I have honestly not been able to replicate the problem with regular use. I did once hold the phone awkwardly for a solid minute or two to test that out and watched the reception go down to zero. But while making calls and sending emails, texts and such, I haven’t had a problem yet. Maybe I hold my phone the “correct” way according to Apple. Who knows?

I also haven’t used the Facetime feature on the phone because the idea of people looking at me while I’m on the phone kind of creeps me out. But I will try and use it when I’m out and about, making a call and wanting to show someone what I see since you are able to flip to the lens on the other side of the camera. Which brings me to the other feature I like about this new phone — the camera. It now comes with a lens on both sides for being able to take pictures of yourself as well as those around you. I just downloaded a new photo booth app from the makers of the awesome Hipstamatic and Swankolab apps. (If you don’t have those, make sure to get them as well!) It’s called IncrediBooth and it makes use of the front facing camera. It’s like a photo booth in your pocket and it’s probably my favorite app out there. The camera also has a built in flash which works quite well for low light situations. You can even use the flash when filming video. That’s pretty awesome. It does kind of have that “Blair Witch” tunnel night vision kind of feel to it I think (minus the green coloring), but in a pinch at a bar or other dark location, it will do.

So am I happy with my new iPhone 4? Emphatically, yes. It is totally over hyped? Absolutely. But Would I recommend people to get the phone? You betcha!

Last month the 2010 Cable Show took center stage at the LA Convention Center giving top executives from cable operators, content producers, distribution networks and technology companies a chance to get together and explore the continually evolving industry. Of course a bevy of cable celebrities were also there to provide entertainment including The Kardashian’s, Omorosa, Hulk Hogan and many more. You should have seen the lines for pictures!

Scott Seward, our President, and I attended to support our partners and keep tabs on the latest developments in the cable industry. One particularly hot topic this year was EBIF, the industry supported Enhanced Binary Interchange Format being integrated into Comcast’s Xfinity Remote and other devices.  There was also a lively general session that brought together CEOs of from top cable, tech and entertainment companies for a discussion on evolving business models.  The panel emphasized the importance of ensuring that technology not be a barrier to content creators.   If you missed the show, don’t fret:  many of the individual sessions are recapped on the Cable Show Blog.

NBC Universal Studio Operations has a fantastic, content rich website that describes and promotes their studio facilities.  To further improve their site, NBCU wanted to streamline it for location scouts, producers and directors touring the backlot.  This was accomplished by auditing the primary website for the most relevant content and redesigning it for mobile displays.  The site puts all the most important information at the finger tips of filmmakers while keeping their other hand free to steer the golf cart.  Fire up your BlackBerry or iPhone browser today and have a look!

One of the highlights of these sessions is getting to hear about all new technologies that have been released and seeing a road map for the future.  For example, TeamSite SitePublisher pages have been enhanced with the “Next Generation surf and edit” capabilities.  This allows the content author to edit in a wiki-like inline editing mode.  Users will be able to make changes and preview to a web site from within the same window.  This feature will help provide a richer in-context experience and also allow for improved multivariate testing of content.  Another new feature is Nested Fixed Area Layouts which allows SitePublisher to utilize newer web page designs with fewer compromises in design implementation.  In all, it was a jam packed week.  Now that we’re back from San Jose, we are psyched to start putting all these features into action!

To help NBCU Digital Distribution deliver marketing information and resources to their partners and affiliates, we created a powerful B2B extranet for them.  To expand on their growing needs and business goals, we just released a significant upgrade to the extranet mobile offering.  The mobile home page was redesigned to feature four types of promotions: Merchandise, Mobile Web, SMS Campaigns and Mobile Apps; and from the home page, users can now quickly access a detail page with info and assets for each promotion.  We also upgraded the content management system to allow their team to enter marketing information and upload assets specific to each promotion, ensuring that the site is always in line with their expanding mobile marketing initiatives.

Harris Interactive has recently unveiled a revolutionary technology that provides companies with astounding customer research.  This technology, called Research Lifestreaming, connects with customer’s social networks (of course, they give permission for the access) and offers companies insight into their social habits.  To help its successful launch, we created a stylish animated overview and microsite that gives Harris Interactive clients a great first impression and informative introduction to Research Lifestreaming.   Check it out right here and contact us or use the website if you are interested in learning more how Research Lifestreaming can help your business grow.

iPad or iPhad? You Decide.

So it’s been a few weeks since I started my iPad experiment. Being a gadget guy, I knew I would have to have one, I just didn’t know where or how it would actually fit into my business and personal life. While it’s still too early to say any habits have formed, I have made the following observations…

APPS

On the first day I started using my iPad, I downloaded a half dozen apps that I thought might be interesting to try out. My initial favorite, SketchBook Pro, allowed me to do napkin quality sketches and quickly make edits. I’m not an illustrator by any means, but I do like to express ideas visually when I can and I thought this would be a great tool. Over time, I find myself using this app less and less mostly because I have to draw with my finger – it’s hard to shake the habit of not using a pencil, pen or stylus. I may go back to it in time.

READING

The next thing I tried was reading a book entirely on the iPad. This turned out to be a great and perhaps habit-changing experience. I really enjoyed being able to change font size and screen brightness depending on how tired my eyes were. Also, this is a great alternative for reading in bed since I can do so without having the light on and disturbing my wife.

BUSINESS TRAVEL

I also took the iPad on a short business trip and it was a great companion on the airplane. This was when I discovered how good the battery life was. On a four hour flight to Chicago, I watched a movie and read for a total of three hours. Battery life was only down 20%. Now I can stop the creative battery savings strategies while on trips!

EMAIL

Next on the list was email. Quickly responding to emails works great, but overall email management is not there yet. I like to spend time on long flights organizing my email and there is no real offline provision for this that I could find. Writing short documents is fairly nice and I got used to the keyboard pretty quickly (Caveat, I am not a touch typist, so my two-finger methodology adapts pretty well.)

HOME

Once home, I exposed the rest of my family to the new device. Pretty instantly my boys (3 and 6 years old) stopped asking to borrow our iPhones and wanted to exclusively use “the big iPhone”. Being experienced iPhone users, they figured out the interface instantly and were soon playing games and watching movies. Biggest downfall to this is a kid-sticky iPad.

I will keep you update you in the next Tuesletter and share how things evolve. In the meantime, I would like to hear your thoughts.

This month we had a chat with one of our very talented Producers Isabell Terry to find out a few fun facts about her.

1. Who is your favorite fictional hero? Power Puff Girls
2. What is your most special talent? Being Santa Clause and the Tooth Fairy
3. What is your favorite candy? Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
4. What is your favorite TV show of all time? Lost
5. Who would win in a fight a Taco, a Burrito or a Hot Dog? Why? Taco. Why Not?
6. Where and when would you travel to in a Time Machine? Hawaii. Right Now.
7. Who is your favorite artist? Madonna
8. What is your favorite invention? A car
9. What is the best advice you have ever received? If you don’t have anything nice to say don’t say anything at all
10. What technology most changed your life? phone