As of October 25th, 2011 (Anyone tell me why October 25th is special? Specifically, October 25th, 1985?) shankman.com has a brand new look! Cleaner, faster, and much more relevant to what I do for a living. I’m excited about it, and I hope you are, as well! I’d like to give mega-props to Pete Czech, founder of the New Possibilities Group, for the incredible job he and his team have done on this rebuild. If you ever find yourself in need of some amazing technical work, you can’t do any better Welcome and enjoy! -Peter Shankman

This isn’t another Steve Jobs tribute post. The man was great, and the world is showing that. This is, rather, a reflection on why, in my opinion, Mac people are so rabid about their products. It’s a reason Steve Jobs knew all so well, and worked to achieve every day. It’s also a spectacular lesson for small and mld-size businesses out there, something we can all strive to achieve. Simply put, if you look at Macintosh users as customers, (which they are) then the product Apple creates is the customer service within the equation. Yes, there’s customer service at the Apple stores, or online at apple.com, but that’s (usually) a one-time thing. For the majority of us, customer service truly [...]

I woke up on a random morning last week and did what I always do – Fed the cat, made coffee, stumbled towards the shower, and eventually, sat down at my desk, and launched Chrome with the five tabs I’ve programmed to open at startup. Two of those tabs are Facebook. Facebook.com, and my (I hate this term) “like page.” I go through the people in my network, then look at any posts or comments on the “like page,” and respond accordingly. This is a daily thing. I do it every morning, whenever morning happens to fall in the part of the world I’m currently in. This morning, though, something was different. I’d been invited to try Facebook’s new “Timeline” [...]

Just opened the mail to find a package from Wicked Lasers – An S3 Krypton – called “the strongest legal laser available.” According to them, this thing can shine 85 miles into space. Yes, into space. I have no idea who I’d signal in space, but that doesn’t matter – IT CAN REACH SPACE! Of course, I know, I need to make sure there are no airplanes overhead when I do this, but ok, how cool is it to think that a light I’m shining from my apartment window can be seen outside our atmosphere? That just blows my mind to like, the 8th degree. The thing is also “strong” as hell. I could double it as a police baton, [...]

Here’s the top ten things that need to die a quick and painless death on Twitter. With your help, we can kill them. 10) Please vote for my company X every day for the next 14 days to win Y! Thanks! 9) Anything that ends with the words “Please RT!” 8) #fb. Wanna post on Facebook? Do that. This right here? This is called Twitter. Different mediums, different message. 7) Anything passive aggressive. Got something to say to someone? Man (or woman) the hell up, and just say it to them. The world doesn’t need to know about your issues. 6) Checkins on Foursquare from any place other than a place that a) has an a-list celebrity b) has you [...]