So here’s the list of who & what I’m thankful for:

• My boys: Parker, Nash, and Ian
• My mother for helping me keep it together and always being there
• Beth and MB for allowing me to be a part of their lives (and their family is great)
• My neighbors, Martina, Jon, and Adrian
• My doc who suggested starting krav maga
• My friends — I hope other people have friends like I do — Jeff, Steve R, David P, Jason, Phil, David H, Steve A, Ed & Brandy, John W, Debbie G, Matt
• Traditional Bank – Sarah and Buddy
• Vistage: Lou and the speakers
• WebMedley
  • The team is better than ever
  • Our clients who help us progress and allow us the opportunity to help their companies grow
  • The lesson that great work needs little said about it
  • All the referrals from our clients and fans of the company
  • The lesson that all change requires friction and energy
  • Clients and co-workers who are also friends
• Things I am thankful for
  • Pandora
  • Evernote – as I’ve aged like a fine wine, my memory needs help and this service does it for me
  • My phone
  • Kindle
  • Dropbox
  • My fräulein (pic is large!)
• Other
  • Take advantage of time — we don’t get any of it back
  • All the genuine smiles I’ve seen on people this year
  • Getting in shape — tougher now, but worth it
  • Surrounding myself with happy, open-minded people

I look forward to 2012 and writing this again next year!

(Via A VC.)

I love it.

Wiz Khalifa’s song is too catchy. My 2 year old, Parker, loves this song. Then Lil Wayne did a quick freestyle which is great, too.

Funny thing is: these songs will get more play than any commercial!

The Packers version: Black and Yellow (opens in YouTube)

and the original Steelers version

(when you watch this one, imagine if I had a hit like this. I just don’t think my neighbors in Andover would come out to support me like Khalifa’s do)

Green and Yellow (opens in YouTube)

Go Steelers!

Google’s Android (mobile phone software) will get a lot of hype and developers will flock to it – generating true competition for Apple and the iPhone.

Apple gets a lot of flack because of the stringent rules and illogical way apps get approved. It’s set up that way so Apple can ensure a good experience for iPhone (and Touch) users. The only problem: Apple’s staff is drowning in the flood of new app requests and updates from developers. There are over 100,000 apps in the App Store.

Google correctly recognizes the future of the Net is a mobile one. They built Android and are now going to sell their own mobile phone. Instead of an approval process for the apps, people can build and issue their own apps – even outside the official Android marketplace.

Freeing up the market and development process will create hundreds of thousands of apps – and like many in the iTunes App Store they will be terrible. But many will not be terrible. They are freeing the market and great apps will be developed. The phrase, “There’s an app for that” will apply to phones outside the iPhone. 2010 will be the rise of Android.

Social Media integration will become a part of all application development.

We’ve witnessed the rise of social media with an incredible amount of media coverage. You may not have noticed it, but all kinds of web sites now use Facebook or Twitter logins to allow people to share their experiences of the site.

Social Media software plug-ins exist for many common programs: Outlook and web browsers being chief amongst them. You can see this in the excellent plug-in from Xobni – which allows you to see someone’s LinkedIn or Facebook profile when you click on an e-mail from him/her. This trend will continue and the original software manufacturers, like Microsoft, will begin including them in their development process.

Facebook’s Ad Management System Improves

OK – not much of a prediction here – Facebook does a good job, but it could be a lot better!

They should offer shared access to ads, better reporting from the demo and profile data, and alerts if an ad stops running.

Wireless Data Devices Prep for Gigabit Speeds

Without being too techy, the 802.11n standard for wireless was ratified recently. This means that device manufacturers will roll out more devices on this standard and begin to work towards improving the speed.

Gigabit speeds are next. Apple and other computer makers are putting gigabit network “cards” in their computers already. We would really benefit from wireless devices on gigabit speeds.

The benefits to us?

• Streaming HD movies from any location in the house (or across the Net if your home/office bandwidth is that high!). 
• Video conferencing from the home – in resolutions that are great.
• Better online gaming
• Sharing files across a network requires much less time

Turn by Turn Navigation on Mobile Phones Renders GPS Companies Like Garmin and Tom Tom into Software Companies or Bankrupt

When Google released turn by turn directions on their Android phone, the GPS device makers must have cringed. In a year, there will be no reason to buy a dedicated GPS device.

The GPS device makers have caught on. As of today, January 2, 2010, Tom Tom has the 11th highest grossing (earning) app in the iTunes App Store. Expect more of this in the future or for them to yield to Google Maps…

Web Sites and Site Management Benefit from HTML 5

HTML enters its fifth generation and allows us to begin managing media better, enables offline storage, and continues blurring the line between desktop software and web sites.

Firefox and Chrome already support it. As developers build more features in HTML 5, sites will become easier to manage and use. One of the features I’m looking forward to the most: drag and drop.

Case law will be created from lawsuits related to social media

I’m no attorney, but I do try to stay breast of the law surrounding the business I’m in. When we start working with a client, we’re inevitably asked about refining the organization’s computer and internet usage policy to address social media.

There’s a problem with social media, the law, and human nature. Sites like Facebook allow one to publish very personal information and have it connected to the organization employing the person. When John Doe goes out and drinks too many beers, takes pictures, and then posts them online he links that behavior to his employer. How far can the employer take the mandate to “represent the company properly at all times”? 2010 will be the year we find out.

Three little boys in my house turn one year older

Yes, this is guaranteed to happen….

Event details and registration are at http://www.lexingtonadclub.com/, but here’s the basics:

It’s at the Hyatt downtown starting at 11:30. Members (pre-paid) are $20 and non-members are $35 (which is a deal considering you’ll get a “How To” for mobile campaigns).

The Ad Club needs RSVPs by Jan 16th.

Full details:

The Who, What, When, Where, and Why
of Effective Mobile Marketing

Please join us for our January Networking and Program Luncheon on Wednesday, January 21, 2009. We’ll welcome Chris Ramsdale from Air2Web, a privately held Atlanta based Mobile Marketing company. The topic will revolve around ways brands and marketers can incorporate mobile media into their existing advertising campaigns. Throughout the presentation, Chris will be discussing the technology, execution, ROI and trends within the mobile space.

Chris is an accomplished leader and engineer with 10 years experience developing mobile solutions. He currently oversees Product Management for Air2Web and his current focus is on turning Mobile Marketing into a legitimate strategy for various brands and marketers, as well as utilizing mobile to improve the customer’s bottom line in a sluggish economy.

Click here to register.

Date: Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Location: Hyatt Regency Downtown
Networking & Program Luncheon: 11:30am – 12:45pm
Validated Parking Passes Will Be Available for Hyatt Parking
Active Members (prepaid lunch): $0
Active Members and Students: $20
Potential Members: $35

Please RSVP by close of business – Friday, January 16th.

Sponsorships are still available for this event. Please email us or visit our Sponsor Page for more information.

There were new discoveries and lots of ideas. A great year in all.

The Dotson family had a few changes and great times.

Nash is following in my footsteps with his rice at a Japanese restaurant

and golf.

My brother and I went to a great concert.

The Pool at Andover was fun.

My family welcomed a new addition, Parker, in July. And, since his b-day is July 1, I know I can remember it easily!

We added another one in August – different kind of baby though.

(Of course there are lots of other pics – we’re considering buying stock in Seagate – but I’ll leave those for another time.)

Thanks to my wonderful wife, Jen, for making our house a home and being a great mom to the boys. She’s the queen of holiday fun – as you can see by our Halloween face painting:

Thanks to everyone who helped me in 2008:

John and Bill – the credit card wizards

Russ and everyone at HEA

Julie and everyone at Ventas

John Lee, Perry Hoffman, and Tucker Oldham

Chris and the Pattco team

Nick Huhn, Scott Clark, Jason Falls

David Caldwell and Brittney Edwards of the Lexington Ad Club

Jim Host (great advice)

Scott Williams at Morgan Stanley

Nick Rice – the marketing expert, John Meyers – a great small biz attorney and consultant, Kent Howell – the sales consultant, and Chris Powell – who knows how to treat your employees (and needs to get his web site up!)

Brian and the guys at Sfenity/Apax

The WebMedley Team and all our clients across the US

Vladimir and friends at IUCN

Kirk at Cardinal Office Products

Lou Allegra and the Vistage Lexington members

Tom Nickell and the former staff at Lightworks

Sean Massey

Joanna Betlej at eAnkaDesign

Grant Friedman at ColorBurned

Bev Hagan and the Fifth-Third Hamburg team

What’s in Store for 2009?

Hard work, lots of fun, and more pictures: a christening, Seabrook, the Dominican Republic or Jamaica, the Derby Ball, a few birthdays (we’re up to 5 in the family now), golf lessons, growing our web hosting business, and remembering to enjoy life as we live it.

I get a lot of “how do I” and “What do you think of” questions from business and organizational leaders. This panel will help address many of these topics.

A few months ago, the Ad Club had another session on search engine marketing, online ads, and social media tips. Everyone thought is was great, but some people asked for a more basic explanation of all this new media.

David Caldwell, President of the Ad Club and VP Creative Services at Preston-Osborne, described the need for a series of techy events for his members.

We put together a program that hits all of the common Net topics and is designed for people who need to know what to do for their organization.

• What is Web 2.0 and how does it apply to my business?
• Search engine strategies: why they matter and how the engines can bring you new clients
• Online advertising: getting started
• Do I need a blog?
• Can I easily learn more about my clients, my company, and my competitors using these tools?
• How do I manage all this?

Scott Clark, Nick Huhn, and Jason Falls comprise our expert panel.

Take a look at the Digital Dialogue Invitation for the event (its a PDF). Bring a friend and bring questions! It’s open to everyone and will be a very relaxed environment.

http://lexingtonadclub.com/ — look for the Digital Dialogue session

The concert was great because there were no opening acts, Trent started at 8, and played 2 hours of music from all of his albums. Oh, and there was this display stuff they did…that was OK.

Heck, that was awesome. The person or group programming the screens and matching them to the music should win an award. NIN may have had an LED light screen blended into a see-through mesh curtain. There were at least two of them and maybe three. If you like digital art matched to music, see this concert. There will probably be a DVD after the tour, but it cannot convey the three dimensional effect.

Rupp had about 6100 people (per http://www.kentucky.com/696/story/509424.html).

My NIN concert photos are on Flickr and the band’s official photos for all the venues at there, too.

At 43, Trent Reznor and the band rocked.

New ”.me” domains are available today. For example, you could register yourbrand.me just like yourbrand.com. The fee is about $20/yr.

You may never use it, but it will prevent others from doing so.

I use GoDaddy to register my domains. GoDaddy is one of the few “.me” official registrars. If you decide to use them, please use this link since they pay a referral fee and I would appreciate it – the $0.50 goes into a pot for pizza parties!

And there are some good domains available for all you speculators out there.

If you have any other questions about protecting your brand online, social media marketing, search engines, etc, let me know. My team of consultants rocks!

You can subscribe to my site via e-mail for more news like this: http://billdotson.com/subscribe/

The reason I care: he is from Lexington KY and went to my high school.

So, here’s one for a KY boy doing well.

http://www.tysongay.net/bio.php

http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/trackandfield/news/story?id=3466423