Jamblin’ From the Road

As I am writing this, I am sitting on the dock of a luxurious lake house in Salem, NH. For the last few days, I have been jetskiing, hiking mountains and indulging in delicious foods and beverages. Most would call this sequence of events a vacation, but I just call it a change in scenery.

Everyday, I have been setting aside the time to complete everything on my to-do list. While I do try to enjoy my time out of the office, it is still important for me to understand that I have a business to run. It would be a disaster to completely forget about everything for two weeks. Can you imagine the amount of work I would have to return to?

I thought a lot about the dynamics of running a business from location. The process is a lot like jamblin’. I still have to maintain communication with the jamblr team to ensure continued momentum. Essentially, we are collaborating over the Internet to reach a desired goal.

If only I had the jamblr website and a “running a business” thread already…

Just give it some time.

- Logan Lenz

Co-Founder and CEO

Being an Amoeba

Have a corporate event to attend? Recruiting laid back college students? All business situations are different, and as CEO of Jamblr, I have come to realize the importance of wearing many different hats.

Last week, I had a meeting with an esteemed CEO to discuss the path to success and what it takes to finish on top. Although there is no such company dress code policy for the Jamblr offices, it was evident that I couldn’t wear a t-shirt and jeans in this entrepreneur’s presence. How do you think that would make the company look?

While I transform in and out of different ensembles everyday, I always try to remain myself; constantly aware of my surroundings. If I am conducting research from a myriad of students, you better believe I will try my best to make them feel comfortable by becoming one of them. Sometimes it pays off to know when to have fun with it.

Every morning when I wake up, the first thing I do is look at my schedule for the day. Just a Jamblr team meeting? T-shirts and jeans are acceptable. This allows me to be what I need to be most productive throughout the day. And we all know that comfort plays a pivotal role in efficiency.

Right now, for example, I am wearing shorts. Of course this is because I am traveling all day, but I made the decision of what kind of person I wanted to be when I woke up this morning. I may not let apparel define who I am as a person, but I justify my clothes by my future actions.

Figure out what success means to you and then dress for it. Advancement comes from adaptation and resiliency, not entirely how you look. There are going to be plenty of exceptions to this rule (sorry, sir), as expected. But being able to have a beer in a pair of jeans with your staff after a corporate meeting is what makes being an entrepreneur so exciting.

-Logan Lenz
Co-founder and CEO

Best Ways To Build Community

Slapping something up and hoping people will stop by is something of the movies, well one movie to be exact, ‘Field Of Dreams.’ In today’s overcrowded everything, everyone wants to start a community or be a part of a community.

In fact, right now I am helping to build a local community of Interactive Marketers, Techs, PR professionals, designers and other creatives in Central Florida. Last night we had a focus group to see if what we were up to was something that we could build a community upon. I won’t deliver the details, but I will say that Doterati is in the right direction. With that said here are some thoughts on community:

1. The best way to build a community is to invite someone new in and let them touch, feel and interact with the regulars.
2. Do not exclude anyone.
3. Students are just are prone to great ideas as the CEO or the janitor or the intern or the powerful consultant. This holds especially true in the online world.
4. Beginners are tomorrow’s leaders. Treat them as such.
5. An old and established dog can still learn new tricks. Reaching them is another story.
6. Don’t be afraid of the big guys. Go after individuals from the big guys and you will start to see the human side of corporations.
7. Sitting in a room and discussing brings out the best (and worst) in people. It also makes things happen.

I think point number 1 is the ultimate act of building a strong community. You can never have enough members and the next person you reach out to can be the difference maker in your community’s future.

Till next time, I hope you sign-up to be a part of this jamblr thing and movement over at jamblr.com. Please answer our market research question in defining your “it.” That would be swell.

-Greg Rollett

Follow me on Twitter!

Giving Back Through the Internet

After a quick Google search for “charity networks,” I am left with more than thirty tabs in my delicate Flock browser right now. Quite frankly, I was astonished to see how benevolent the internet has become over the years. From Goodsearch.com, a search engine that donates pennies to the charity of your choice every time you scour the web, to Network for Good, a social hub that has recently teamed up with Yahoo to create a generous campaign that donates to users’ favorite organizations.

The list is endless. Brightlight.com connects donors to charities in a more advantageous form of fundraising for everyone. Nabuur.com allows you to help someone in your community from your computer. Just learn about them and what they need and simply provide it for them. The internet makes it that simple.

Some other noteworthy charity sites are:

Freerice.com - A vocabulary game that donates 20 grains of rice to the UN for every correct answer.

Sixdegrees.org - Connects everyone (Kevin Bacon style) in order to accomplish something good.

VolunteerMatch.org - Having trouble finding volunteers to assist in your charity? Volunteer Match makes it easier to find those caring people that want to help in your organization’s respective field.

Pledgies.com - Helps to raise money for charities that you care about.

What’s next for the generous side of the web? …….Project collaborations to change the world, perhaps? At jamblr, we won’t settle for less. If users are collaborating to make the next hit song or video, we can only hope there will be jamblrs simultaneously making the world a better place through our site.

Right now at jamblr, our team is heavily involved with the growing organization Rock for Hunger; a not-for-profit that provides weekly feedings, job trainings, and tutoring to the homeless and the poverty stricken, including children.

Giving back certainly gives the term “social collaboration” a whole new meaning.

- Logan Lenz

Co-Founder and CEO

Utilizing Internal Creativity

The last few days in the jamblr household have been stressful. We have all placed important roles on each other and strict deadlines are approaching quickly. Being in a start-up with low, to no, funding usually means that their are outside distractions, whether it be work, school, other projects, what have you.

The great thing about creating a site like this, is that is gives us the chance to grow as individuals. It also gives us an opportunity to use our creativity to make a creative product. The openness and newness of jamblr is something that everyone involved has had to deal with on their own. Some parties are new to internet technologies. Others are learning the business side on the fly. Funding is a different story all together.

As each day ends working on this monster, I think I continue to learn, not only about the site’s structure and capabilities, but about the people involved with the site. That is what drives me to be vocal at all the meetings, what keeps me passing out flyers, working on focus groups and gaging interests. It is also what keeps creative minds working. If I was the only one talking, I can never learn. But when my idea turns the ants in Justin or Logan’s head, then my idea evolves and the site gets better, the business plan gets sharper, the technology gets faster.

This type of creative collaboration is why I jambl. It is also why I hope you find the site to be interesting in the event that you are still alive when it goes live (that was a joke kids). Here’s to jambling, the new thinking of creative minds!

-Greg Rollett

WWDC 2008

As I am writing this, I am sitting at my desk, receiving a feed from Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco. Only 30 minutes into it and there has already been tons of exciting information on the “iPhone 2.0.” Aside from that breaking news, which is causing quite a stir in the tech world, the rumor mill is stating that there will be brand new info on the new .Mac software.

What does Apple’s advancing technologies mean to start-ups like jamblr?…. It means everything. Apple has created one of the coolest and sleekest cultures in the corporate world, and their impression on mankind has been improving every year. Not only is their progression a major inspiration to smaller companies like us, but their professionalism and creativity are attributes that every company strives for.

There is no question that Steve Jobs is an utter genius, but at what point will society begin to question his humanity. It’s almost as if he is “the perfect CEO” that was developed by Apple’s top-notch developers. After all, doesn’t Apple have the technologies to execute something like that?

After all of this hype clears, the result will be brand new Apple products that Apple followers will convince themselves to buy, no matter the utility, no matter the price. Knowing this, expect jamblr to capitalize on Apple’s product popularity by developing an application for the iPhone and integration with other Apple technologies in the near future.

The best has yet to come….

-Logan Lenz

Co Founder and CEO

Obama is my homeboy…

I have to admit, I’m feeling pretty giddy this week. As much as I don’t want this blog to turn into a political forum, (for that turn to Daily Kos) I have no choice but to express my unbelievable sense of optimism at the news that Barack Obama will be the Democratic nominee for President.

I have been a huge supporter of his for some time now (yes I even rock the bumpersticker on the back of my Civic), and not simply because he is a Democrat, or because he doesn’t take lobbyist money unlike every other politician, or even that he still plays basketball, but because for the first time in my life there is a politician out there who gets ME.

He has done such an astounding job of reaching out to the young voters of this country, something that hasn’t been accomplished since Bobby Kennedy did it in 1968. He also has a vast understanding of how important social media and social networking have become. His campaign even created their own social networking site, MyBarackObama.com

. It is for his supporters to create their own profiles, connect with other users to organize and attend events, raise money, blog, and just make their voices heard. It is this sort of forward thinking grassroots effort that has propelled him to this unexpected and unparalleled position. If social media can help potentially put someone in the White House, imagine what else it can do.

We are at a crossroads in this country and on this planet. The problems facing humanity are the most daunting our civilization has ever known, and the only way we can find solutions to them and move in a direction of solving them is by coming together and being “united in our common interests” (to steal a line from Bill Pulman in Independence Day). Obama is a uniter that understands how this world is changing and how important it is that we all work and collaborate with one another to grow and move forward in this new and exciting 21st century.

Barack Obama has got my vote, and I certainly hope he’ll get yours.

Justin Wagner

Co-Founder & CPO

My Web Tool Kit

I am online 80% of the time I am awake. If you add the fact that I have AIM on my cell phone that runs on auto-pilot, I guess in some form I never leave the online world. To manuever through all the posts, feeds, emails, social networks and everything else, there are some things that get me through my days, keep everything organized and help me make sure I am not overbooked, which I still usually am.

So, without too much more mushy background, here at the web apps that make my life easier/more cluttered/more efficient:

Flock - The Mozilla based browser keeps my surfing and Social Networking in supreme visibility. With the addition of Pownce and Digg in the latest update I am now streaming and keeping up with Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, Photobucket, YouTube, Pownce and Digg. I can honestly say that I don’t take full advantage of their platform, but enough to choose it over Firefox all day, everyday.

Twhirl - Even with Flock, I needed a more powerful Twitter app. With Twhirl I can easily follow conversations and perform easy actions such as @, favorite, direct message and re-tweet, plus have all my replies and DM’s in a nice little app that runs on Adobe Air.

The Google Suite - GMail, GCal, Gtalk and Google Reader. No explanation needed.

Remember the Milk - The best tasking site I have ever used. I was using BackpackIt, but the limitations suck. Plus RTM plugs right into my Google Calendar.

Blip TV - Not my favorite Video Service, but the most that is the most functional. I love Viddler, but with Blip I can get my Music Videos cross posted and aggregated within Twitter, Myspace bulletins and Blog posts and on Facebook. Plus the player can be resized to fit any sidebar, a super effective feature that has really won me over.

That rounds up my Web Apps. What are you using that might be better than the tools up on my list? FriendFeed? Thunderbird? I’d love to know why I should switch!

-Greg Rollett

Jamblr at Warped Tour 2008

It’s no secret that the jamblr crew adores music. No matter the genre, no matter the era, our team’s preferences cover a wide spectrum of the entire musical database. Because of this, jamblr is constantly attempting to make a presence at local concerts, festivals, and other musical events around Florida.

Outside of potentially sponsoring events, jamblr’s objective is to increase awareness and partner with as many musicians and entertainment corporations as possible. The hope is to be able to reach all of our potential users in its related field by doing whatever it takes.

From July 9th to July 13th, the jamblr crew will be able to be found at the summer musical extravaganza known as the Vans Warped Tour. jamblr will be making a presence in Atlanta, GA, Orlando, FL, St. Petersburg, FL, Miami, FL, and Elkton, FL.

Kids beware, because jamblr will be taking over your favorite summer tour. Expect to read some blog posts about the shows, and to see a few pictures of jamblr hanging out with the likes of Against Me!, Cobra Starship, Gym Class Heroes, Jack’s Mannequin, and many many more.

We hope to see you all out there this summer!

- Logan Lenz

Co-Founder and CEO