Author Archives: mikey

Cheer up kid, it’s almost Christmas!

It’s Christmas season and I’m so happy! This is my favorite season of all. It has been almost 6 months since I have updated this blog so I’ll go ahead and just do a quick update now. I’m still currently living and working in Chicago. I have plans to change that in the first half of next year. I’m excited for 2015 and hope to head into the new year with tons of momentum. I am actively seeking positions at start ups in the LA and SF area. Working at a start up and being a part of something I believe in and greater than myself is my dream job. I hope I can find a great company with a position that fits me. Other than that, I’m working on an exciting new project currently called Glamorous Paper. It’s going to be an online blog about social media, fashion, art, and everything pop culture! It’s starting out as a blog but I have all these crazy ideas to build it out into so much more through the year. It’s my baby and I’m excited for the endless possibilities there. We will see how things play out and how many ideas I can implement successfully. Also hope to work on a few side projects but nothing worth noting yet. Just wanted to post a short update and stay on track with my one post every six months! Ha

Posted this on the train via my WordPress app. How awesome?!

App of the Week: Yo

For the most part, the only apps I use are Messages, Mail, Tweetbot (for twitter), Pandora, and Chrome. Lately, I’ve been venturing out and decided to do another App of the Week post even though I don’t do them weekly.
As you guys know, I’m all about what’s next and being one of the early adopters. I did so with Instagram. It was my first app of the week post back when no one I knew had it yet.

Recently, I discovered this app called Yo. It does pretty much just that. You’re able to create a friends list and tap a buddy’s name to send them a Yo! They’ll get a push notification alerting them about your Yo! No other communication is available through the app. It seems pretty silly because it’s so simple and limited but I think that’s genius. It’s intriguing because depending on who it is and the context, that Yo! can mean different things.
If it’s sent in the morning, it could be a simple good morning. At noon, when you’re late to meet a buddy for lunch, that Yo! could mean “hey man, where are you?” Maybe you don’t have much to say to someone and a Yo! is much easier than sending a text. This is what makes the app exciting for me.
Yo has received over $1 million in funding and received a lot of media attention because the idea seems so silly. However, investors must’ve seen value in it. After using it for a few days, I found it intriguing myself.

It’s a cool app and who knows what the future holds for it. Head over to the App Store and download Yo and all me to your friends list. Yo me at my username mikexcore. Let me know your thoughts on the app.


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T-Mobile offers unlimited streaming to some providers

T-Mobile just announced a new initiative yesterday called Music Freedom. This program allows customers to stream a few music services, selected by T-Mobile, without it affecting customers’ monthly data allowance. These music services include Pandora, iHeartRadio, iTunes Radio, Spotify, the forthcoming Beatport, and a few others. They’ll also be taking votes on their website and twitter for other services to add to their exemption list. T-Mobile is offering this free of charge to content providers.

On paper it looks great. I use Pandora a lot and it makes me get very close to my data allowance each month so being able to stream with no worries sounds great to me! However, you have to see the bigger picture.

Why does T-Mobile gets to dictate who gets preferential treatment on their network? What about the small start ups barely trying to make a name for themselves? It would be a hard sell when customers can use free data with the larger providers. With data consumption steadily increasing, small start ups can’t compete with free.

What if this isn’t the end? What if photo services are next to get an exemption? It seems like a slippery slope and not a road I would want carriers to go down. On the surface, it looks like a huge win for customers like myself who have a problem using up a lot of data, but I would rather limit myself than have a select few content providers get preferential treatment. I don’t think anyone should be treated unfairly. What are your thoughts?