Good news for everyone who is still playing catch up on the social networking scene.  There’s something new.  Wait, before you throw your hands up in defeat, let me tell you that it is not a new network, well not really, but it is useful and extremely easy to use.  It’s called Poken.

Developed in Switzerland, Poken is a USB drive shaped like a little person (three-eyed alien, panda bear, a firey skeleton, or a bee are available) with a silver hand attached to its side.  When you hold the hand against another person’s Poken, giving them a high four, your device glows green telling you that you have successfully exchanged virtual business cards between the two devices.

Your Poken can store up to 64 contacts at any one time, and it will glow red if a connection was not made, in which case you just try again.
At home, your Poken’s hand detaches from the body and plugs into your computer’s USB drive.  Through encrypted coding it transfers all of your new friend’s social network information into your Poken account where you can manage all of your contacts and your own information.

***In case you’ve only read this far and had to stop to immediately purchase a Poken for you and all of your friends or coworkers (hint, hint, Joel, you can buy them in twelve packs…) then I have good news: You don’t need to start an online account before using your Poken.  Of course you can set it up while you wait for your device to arrive in the mail, which you should have plenty of time to do because Pokens aren’t sold in the US yet.

Getting an account is painless and it takes about four minutes to complete the form.  But don’t drag your feet.  Be aware that you need to activate your account before your friends can add you to their network otherwise an “unregistered” message is displayed on their profile when they plug you into their computers and they’ll probably delete you.

When you create your “business card,” add information for up to 25 social networks from Badoo or Bahu to more stream-lined networks like Facebook, Twitter, and Orkut.  Upload a single picture, add as much contact information as you want friends to see like phone number, address, email, blogs, organizations, or birthday, and you’re on your way.

You can also set up different identities for yourself where you can group your new Poken friends as you add them giving contacts only the information that you want to see.

“Business card?  What is this, 2008?”

Poken means no more typing names and numbers in your cell phone or scribbling on cocktail napkins at parties.

Let me give you an example:

You’re at a party and you start talking to Tim Wilson whom you find out shares your love for collecting laserdiscs.

Before Poken:

Tim gives you his business card and tells you that he has a great Facebook laserdisc discussion group where rare discs are bartered for regularly.  You go home and search for “Tim Wilson” on Facebook ready to start trading movies with other cinephiles, but you find over 500 search results for his name.  Now you’re stuck sifting through every Tim Wilson on the planet.  Once you find him, you have to send him a friend request and cross your fingers that he checks his Facebook regularly before you can join his world-class laserdisc fan club.  No fun.

Since Poken:

You meet Tim Wilson at a party and talk about collecting laserdiscs.  You both have a Poken, you connect them, and when you get home all of his social networks are at your disposal.  Before you know it, you’re finally able to watch Jenny Lewis and Fred Savage in The Wizard on laserdisc thanks to your new friend Tim Wilson and his awesome Facebook group.

The Ups and Downs of Poken Strangers

Of course, like any piece of technology, there’s a downside.  If you are on Facebook and you Poken someone who is only on Orkut and Hyves then one of you needs to join one of the others’ networks.  On the upside, you might discover a new social network that you love in the process.

Another strike against the Poken is that it runs on battery power.  According to the official site www.doyoupoken.com, your Poken battery will last approximately six (6) months.  The more you use it though, the shorter your battery will last.  When inserted in your computer, your Poken will blink telling you that it’s hungry for more batteries.  Never fear, the battery is a Lithium CR1632, which I found for as cheap as $1.66 on Amazon.com.  You can remove your old battery and install the new one with a flathead screwdriver in a matter of seconds.

Security is not an issue.  When you set up your account, you enter your username and password for each social network that you use.  The information is only entered once used only to authenticate each account for your Poken.

If you ever lose your Poken, mark it “Lost” on your online account.  You can even send a message to the person who finds your Poken to display if they plug it into their computer.  By default, each time you plug the device into your USB port, you are prompted to enter your password anyway, ensuring security.  No one else ever has access to your information.  Plus, you don’t store personal information on your Poken.  It’s all stored on the website where you interact with new friends.

I’m sold on the idea, but do I really need another device to carry around with me?

By now you have enough grocery store key fobs and iPods and cell phones to carry around.  Why do you need another thing to lug around?  Pokens come with a clip that you can hook onto your keys, briefcase, backpack or belt loop.  It’s much faster than digging a business card out of your crusty wallet and your online identity is more comprehensive than a piece of cardboard with your name and phone number on it.

Poken hasn’t exactly caught on in the United States yet though NPR reported that Pokens were present at this year’s South by Southwest Festival (SXSW).  Until everyone is carrying these around, Poken friends will be scarce but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t get one.  The technology will probably move to cell phones very soon, but that will require everyone to buy a brand new $200 phone to use it.  Why not spend $16 for a Poken and start socializing now?

Drink the Kool Aid.  Get a Poken and you’ll be throwing more high fives (well, fours) than David Puddy.

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If you are fortunate enough to have a website designed and/or hosted by 360 Professional Services Group then coffee is fueling your internet.  More precisely, Folgers Classic Roast (now with 35 more cups.)

A fresh pot of coffee can be just as important to a busy office as a speedy internet connection; after all, coffee is the lifeblood of most workforces, certainly ours.  Whether we like to admit it or not, caffeine keeps us going.  We all fuel up before we leave for work or stop to get a cup on the way to work, and a cup once we get to work, and then maybe one more cup in the afternoon.  Okay, let’s face it.  We’re coffee fiends.

The internet never sleeps so for the 12 hours or so a day that we’re awake and producing quality websites, we need to be as alert as possible.

Take away our coffee pot and you’re probably going to see a significant decrease in productivity.  Like the undead in a Zombie apocalypse our workers turn cranky and unpredictable.  They start moaning from caffeine deprivation, stumbling around the office aimlessly biting coworkers.  It isn’t pretty.

For me there’s nothing better than being met at the front door by the sweet smell of a fresh pot of coffee brewing.  Unfortunately though, most days I’m the coffee man, which means there is no bitter aroma wafting down the hallway to greet me as I enter our office building.  If I want it, I have to make it.  Luckily, I have a little experience.

After college, I moved to Hollywood for three years.  All those tales you’ve heard about hapless production assistants who are forced to fetch their bosses coffee are true.  For the first 10 months that I lived and worked there, I was the coffee retriever for a production office.

Starbucks, Coffee Bean, Dunkin’ Donuts, double caramel macchiato, Venti vanilla latte no foam, small black two creams half a packet of Splenda, double-double three ice cubes and make sure the woman who sells it to you has green eyes and her name has to be Claire; you name it, I’ve ordered it, balanced it on the front seat of my car doing 50 through the morning traffic on Santa Monica Blvd., and delivered it while it was still hot enough to burn the pants off a McDonalds drive-thru patron.

So no, I don’t mind being the coffee guy.  But that doesn’t mean that the pressure is off.

Being responsible for providing the office java is nerve wracking.  The shear aroma from a bad brew can stink up the office for hours.  Do you make it the way that you like it?  The way the boss likes it?  Some like it strong, some like it mild.  Do you take a poll and go with the majority?

So what’s the secret to finding that perfect grounds-to-water ratio?

I’ll be honest.  Until only a few years ago, I had no coffee knowledge.  I didn’t consume coffee in college.  The only time I had ever been to a Starbucks until I moved to California and joined the workforce was to ask for directions or use the restroom.

What’s percolating in your office?

Just before Christmas, 360 PSG got a new coffee pot and a bean grinder.  It has been nothing short of awesome.  There’s even a “Flavor Plus” button.  (Though, whenever we brew straight Folgers, I’m not sure any actual flavor is enhanced, it just takes twice as long to brew).  Best of all though, productivity has gone through the roof.

Raise your hand if you can make a pot of coffee right now.

I did a survey to see how many people in the 360 PSG office drink coffee or if they prefer a caffeinated alternative, and if they’re able to make a pot of coffee.

1.    Do you drink coffee at work?  (Yes or No)
Ben: Not Often
Joel, Jill, Jason, Matt Wh., Tanya, and Matt Wetter: YES
Ian: Sometimes
Eric: Normally, unless I have Red Bull.

2.     If so, how many cups per day?
Ben: 1 per month
Joel: One Tim Horton’s extra large or about 4 Styrofoam cups of office brew
Jill, Matt Wh.: 1 – 2
Jason: More than I can count, and more than any normal person should drink in any given time period.
Ian: 0-2
Tanya: 4-5
Matt Wetter: I don’t drink it often, but when I do it’s usually 2-3 cups
Eric: I consume around a pot a coffee a day (including home) when I actually drink coffee

3.     Why do you drink it?
Ben: To satisfy a craving
Joel: Taste, plus keeps the edgy pep.
Jill: I liked the taste, but it’s almost just a habit
Jason: Stimulates my mind and body.  Also, because that’s what the cool workers do.
Matt Wh.: Taste, Caffeine, Hot Beverage
Tanya: Addiction
Matt Wetter: Usually to wake up
Eric: To make my brain function
Ian: Energy

4.    If you do not, do you drink tea, Red Bull, anything w/ caffeine?
Ben: Tea
Jason: I also drink tea on occasion for the antioxidant benefits.
Matt Wh.: Lots of Cherry Coke.
Matt Wetter: I drink tea a bit more often than coffee
Ian: If not coffee, I drink tea or Red Bull.

5.    What is your favorite kind of coffee or caffeine drink (Starbucks, Red Bull, Dunkin’, Tim Ho’s etc.)
Ben: Tim Ho’s, then Dunkin, then Red Bull, then the water in my sink after it fails to drain, then Starbucks*
Joel: Tim Horton’s
Jill: Tim Horton’s, though Starbucks can be a nice treat (it’s just way too pricey)
Jason: Tim Horton’s, everything else is for kids.
Matt Wh.: Tim Horton’s
Matt Wetter: Cafe Mocha
Eric: Starbucks or Red Bull
Ian: Red Bull

6.    If someone asked you to make a pot of coffee, right now, could you do it?  If not, why?
Ben: No, don’t know the proportions of grounds to water.
Joel: Yes, if I can find where all the stuff is stashed.
Jill: I could… but do you really want me to? I mean all sorts of fun hazardous materials make their way into that pot of coffee… just sayin.
Jason: I could, but that would involve me doing actual work.  Also, if coffee had a face I would punch it in it … because that’s what I do.  Oh wait wrong survey.
Matt Wh.: No, too busy! If I did, it wouldn’t be that good anyways.
Tanya: Sure if I’m not too busy @ work
Matt Wetter: Probably not, lol.  I’m not really a coffee drinker.  I usually will choose something over coffee.
Eric: Sure can.
Ian: Yes.

Tim Horton’s, here we come!

We love Tim Horton’s.  In fact, it’s usually the Canadian coffee guru’s brew that fuels our search engine optimizers, graphic designers and programmers.

There’s a Tim Horton’s on the corner of Ridge Lea and Niagara Falls Boulevard where all the web experts from 360 PSG turn on their way into work each morning.  It’s little more than a stone’s throw away from our headquarters so there is usually a daily “Tim Horton’s run.”
Our office trash cans are normally filled with Tim Horton’s cups.

And when it’s time for the “Roll Up the Rim to Win” contest, forget about it.  We win free donuts and large coffees like Jason Ortiz spins dollars on the Price is Right wheel.**

If nothing else, coffee might give you that afternoon jolt that inspires a blog for your website or the energy to finish the workday strong.

Drink coffee, drink it often, and be productive.

*What’s up with Ben’s disdain for Starbucks?

**On May 12, 2008, our director of programming services Jason Ortiz traveled to Los Angeles and attended a taping of the Price is Right.  He was called on stage, won a wine rack, spun $1 on the prize wheel resulting in a $1000 bonus and a trip to the showcase showdown, where, unfortunately, he overbid on the car package.

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