Techmamas

TechMama News Tip: Google To Acquire Motorola Mobility

Breaking news this morning just popped up in my email: Google To Acquire Motorola Mobility. The Google blog posted this information in their press release:

Motorola Mobility will remain a licensee of Android and Android will remain open. Google will run Motorola Mobility as a separate business.

Larry Page, CEO of Google, said, “Motorola Mobility’s total commitment to Android has created a natural fit for our two companies. ..... I look forward to welcoming Motorolans to our family of Googlers.”

I have not been posting as much lately on my Typepad blog because I am in the middle of creating a new Wordpress blog that will be able to highlight breaking news (details coming out asap). But reading this juicy piece of techie news made it hard not to post right away... But what does this mean to consumers?

Motorola's Droid smartphone and Xoom tablet hardware lines use the Google Android operating system. Motorola is known for high quality hardware (but other manufacturers also have high quality smartphone hardware). Google makes the operating system that basically tells the smartphone hardware what to do. Google will run the unit as a separate business, but as a "Google" company will Motorola have more direct access to Android resources? The Google "Nexus" smartphone had this direct access and reviews described the phone as having the best Android experience and automatic updates. Maybe this will mean that a new line of smartphones will be released that have better Android operating system integration?

I do imagine that the other smartphone hardware companies running Android will become concerned - and hope that the Android Operating System eco-system will remain as open to all developers.

Tech4Moms commented on Twitter that it is all about the patent, and this CNET post agreed: Google just bought itself patent protection. TechMeme is abuzzin with posts about the Google aquisition of Motorola. My favorite tech blogger Eliane Fiolet from Ubergizmo posted with a great deal name: "Moogle and the Future of Mobile".

The fragmentation for Android devices make it harder for developers to code Android apps (i.e. different size handsets etc). Apple streamlined their iPhone hardware so developers have an easier time. Maybe this is a step to try to streamline the Android smartphone hardware as well?

Who knows? But I will be watching to see what new products come out of this acquisition. I wonder what my online community thinks of this news?

MOTOROLA PRESS RELEASE:

Power of The Blogosphere for Support and Peanut Butter Pie

I just returned from back to back trips to BlogHer11  in San Diego and a family East Coast beach vacation (lots of aunts, uncles, grandparents and cousins abound). Every time I go to BlogHer I am envigorated at the power of the blogging community. When I spend time with my family I am reminded of the power of family vacations to create special memories.

While we did not have Wi-Fi at our vacation house (which helped me get some needed "unplugged" time), I did check my emails when I got reception. One morning I happened to see an email that brought me to tears. A fantastic food/mom blogger that is part of our extended "blogging" community (Jennifer Perillo of In Jennie’s Kitchen) shared sad news: her husband died suddenly. When my sister in law saw me tearing up while reading my email on my phone - she asked me what happened. After I told her, I realized that there were bloggers and blog viewers across the country (maybe world) also shedding tears of saddness at the news. Many people have questioned how "real" the blogging/social media connections I have are. This is another example of how the blogging community shows their support.

On that note, to support  Jennifer Perillo and honor the memory of her husband, bloggers have been making and posting about Peanut Butter Pie. Here is the Food Network post that summarizes all the posts to date.

Because I just got back from my vacation - I missed making the Pie and taking a picture for yesterday's community event. But I want to honor Mikey by heading to the store today to get the ingredients and attempt to do something I have not done in a long time - cook a pie.

One.Org - A Movement To End Poverty, Mom to Mom

Emily McKhann, Co-Founder of The Motherhood, and some other fantastic mom bloggers shared that they were participating in a very special movement called OneMoms for One.org. With all the information shared on social media, "grassroots" cause campaigns are the most worthwhile of all. Here is information about One.org from their website:

"ONE is a grassroots advocacy and campaigning organization that fights extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa, by raising public awareness and pressuring political leaders to support smart and effective policies and programs that are saving lives, helping to put kids in school and improving futures. Cofounded by Bono and other campaigners, ONE is nonpartisan and works closely with African activists and policy makers."

Those mom bloggers (#OneMoms)  are in Kenya this week to meet with local moms to see what their lives are like in a developing world. Follow their amazing trip this week by reading their blog posts http://one.org/blog/category/mothers-day-2011/  and join the movement by signing up at http://one.org/us/actnow/moms/.

I did!

Here are links to some posts from the other mom bloggers on the trip:

Jyl Johnson Pattee - MomItForward, Jennifer James of the Mom Bloggers Club, Karen Walrond of Chookooloonks  and Emily McKhann's fellow Co-Founder at the TheMotherHood - Cooper Monroe.  

2011 ForbesWoman Top 100 Websites For Women

I am not only fascinated by Forbes lists but I enjoy reading the Forbes website. Last year it was a wonderful surprise to be on the 2010 Top 100 Websites for Women. Today I got another thrilling surprise - TechMamas.com is included in the Forbes Woman 2011 Top 100 Websites for Women.

To be on any Forbes list is an honor, but the Top 100 Websites for Women showcases the sites that have compelling content with a female focus. Way back in 2005 I decided to make an online presence discussing technology not only as someone with a tech background but also proudly as a mother and a woman. It seems (hem hem) that when it comes to spending decisions, women are in control.

The other list that someday I hope to be on is the Worlds Biggest Givers List. Aw heck, I am just happy to think of any list other then my food shopping list. With three growing boys that clean out whatever food I seem to bring in the house, I am food shopping quite often these days. Luckily my tween is a techie like his mama, so we enjoy spending time at tech stores as well (no list needed).

Share Your Healthy Habits And Help The Children's Health Fund

See bottom of this post for disclosure (*paid campaign*).

As a working mom with three young sons, keeping the house clean is a big challenge. It sounds so "1950's mom in an apron" to say that -  but seriously I have THREE ACTIVE BOYS (12 year old tween and twin 8 year olds). Even though we clean the house thoroughly every week, one hour later our  bedrooms and bathrooms do are back to their “wind storm passed through here” look. When asked, my boys will help neaten their room, clear their plates from the table and pick up their school and sports junk from the front door– but  I need to remind them. And remind them. And remind them.

If I don’t remind them,  I am stepping over nerf guns, lego pieces, trails of clothing and food wrappers that never made it to the garbage can. This is quite a change from my pre-kid years as a Senior Manager at a top tier consulting firm where my project teams worked together like a well-oiled machine, and never left half-eaten cheese sticks melting on the TV.  I can't seem to get that same pace going at my own home.

When I was contacted to participate in a program that the Children's Health Fund and Clorox partnered with called "Check-in for Checkups" by sharing a healthy habit, I saw a great opportunity to  engage my sons in cleaning chores. Why not encourage this behavior during the summer, while school is out and their schedule is more relaxed, with the goal of continuing these chores when school starts up again this fall? 

The end goal is for my boys to be able to manage cleaning their own dorm room or apartment when they are out on their own.

Just thinking back to what some of the boy's dorm rooms and apartments looked like when I was in college, I began fantasizing that my kids would avoid this rat-trap, health hazard phase of early adulthood. I imagined telling my three boys that women like a man who knows how to clean up after himself. Yes, the rewards for clean habits start young and continue as you get older. I’ll tell you all about their progress in the next blog post.

The Check-ins For Checkups Program

My role in this effort is to check-in with my healthy habit (engaging my three boys with cleaning) and to share information about the Check-in for Checkups program with my communities. Clorox and CHF are working to encourage healthy habits and help provide health care to disadvantaged children. This is the second year CHF and Clorox are partnering and this year’s program is called Check-in for Checkups.  For each check-in, Clorox will donate 10 cents, up to $100,000, to CHF to help support their goal of providing half a million health care visits to children in need across the country.

When you check-in your healthy habit, you are not only helping yourself, but also the lives of others. The more you check-in, the more you give back to disadvantaged children across the country. This issue is of the utmost importance since one in five children in the U.S. live in poverty and millions of children don't have access to regular check-ups and timely health care visits when sick.

How to particpate in Check-in for Checkups:

Join me as I regularly share my healthy habit updates at the website Check-in for Checkups and check-in your healthy habit. I will also be spreading the word on Facebook and on Twitter using the #Checkinforcheckups hashtag.

Here is some information I recieved about Children's Health Fund from their website:

Test Drive: Using VoIP for My Home Business Solution

Many work at home moms use their home or cell phones for their business calls. I just recently had the chance to review another alternative for work at home communications (or for any businesses): VoIP. VoIP is not a word many recognize, but it simply means a communications protocol over the Internet. So when using VoIP, instead of make calls using a cell services, an internet connection is used.

Alteva is a cloud (or internet) based communications solution. The phone I am testing is a wireless business phone that will be using the Alteva solution. I am excited to try it for a couple of reasons.

Secrets to My success: Guy Kawasaki's Social Media and Business Tips (with info on current deal!)

When I first starting blogging in 2006 one of the first people I followed on Twitter was Guy Kawasaki.  He already had a successful business career and was one of the early ones to fully realize the potential of social media. I also read Guy Kawasaki's books. His tips are explained in a authentic way that helped me understand the intricacies of business and social media, and he reinforces these key messages by reaching out to his community with presentations and social media events. One of my favorite social media events was the USS Nimitz Blogger Embark, which Guy, I and a team of bloggers went on together. 

Last week I interviewed Guy Kawasaki about his book Enchantment for a REP Interactive video (more details to come on my video). Using his hints and tips were invaluable to me; I now have my own online brand, TechMama, so I can say his tips worked! I looked forward to reading Enchantment to learn more.

 Guy Kawasaki and Beth Blecherman talking about Guy's book "Enchantment" during a REP Interactive video. More details about the video to come...

Deal alert, read on to find out details..

Memorial Day Thoughts: USS Nimitz Blogger Embark 09, Trip Of A Lifetime

Today is memorial day and over email the social media team that covered the USS Nimitz Blogger Embark 2009 have been reminiscing on what was a trip of a lifetime:  the honor of meeting the crew of the USS Nimitz and have the chance to tell their story.

Big thanks to Guy Kawaski and Dennis Hall who were part of the team organizing this amazing event. Biggest thanks to the crew of the USS Nimitz and all US Military we are honoring today who bravely serve our country.

And they get to wear cool flight suits ... Just saying...

Here are the pictures of the USS Nimitz Blogger Embark 09 and here is a link to the post I wrote about the USS Nimitz Embark (the other bloggers from the Embark listed on my post also had amazing coverage so check their posts out as well).

 

www.flickr.com Beth Blecherman's USS Nimitz Blogger Embark 09 photoset

 

Top Questions To Ask Mom Before Buying Tech

Mother's Day is just around the corner and tech is top of mind for many moms. In the past I spent countless hours putting together  gift guides. But this year I decided to keep the momentum going with my well known use of Twitter microblogging at @TechMama. Starting today and this weekend I will be tweeting out articles about Mothers Day tech. So please follow me @TechMama to find out what gadgets are being recommended for moms. One of my favorite sites for this type of "cool tech for moms" is CoolMomTech.  Of course, I could not post without giving my own tips - but they may just be different then most. In fact, my tips will be the top questions to ask mom before buying her tech.

Anyone buying tech for their moms has to step back and think about what tech "infrastructure and requirements" their mom (or wife) has. How does that special mom use technology in her life? Just because an iPad2 is the hottest gadget being discussed for mother's day - does not mean that it is the right gift for mom.

WHAT? Did I actually just say that the iPad2 may not be the right gift for mom? YES... I did...

Beauty of the Talking Twins

I am the proud mother of three boys, two of which are twins. All siblings have a special connection (and sometimes special brawls), but twins have an extra connection that is hard to describe. When I think back to the days my twins were babies, there were many special moments that they communicated to each other in their own secret language. I could even call it babble with meaning.

The other day a friend, who knows I have twins, sent me a link to the new viral sensation: Talking Twins taken by Twinmamarama (hat tip to SFGate for helping me figure out who the brillant mama who took the video is).