The Spinosa Factor

I’m not exactly how to do the Randy “Macho Man” Savage.. “OH YEAH” in text but it’s been more than a day or two on revisiting this blog. Not from my lack of unfounded opinions but more directly pointed to my time or lack thereof. Still, time needs to be made for the moving memoirs of a self proclaimed genius living in the burbs of Baltimore City (Yes, there is such a thing).

I’m not sure where to begin with where everything is going but I’ll give the full update, in the order that people care about. In my fantasy world I’d like to think business is first but I’ll save that for the second portion:

PERSONAL

1. New Hobby #1: Many of you know I’m very into aquariums and fish as a whole. I moved the mini tank that we replaced at the office back to my home. At first the wife wasn’t excited but we went out and I had her pick new fish which was “cheating” but got her on board. The tiny tank at home has 3 GloFish, 3 Tetraes, and a Chinese Algae Eater that hides in a pirate ship ALL DAY. I’ve got to pick up his home and make him panic once a week to make sure he hasn’t died and isn’t just a pile of bones.
2. New Hobby #2: I’ve started golfing and I’ve got to admit it’s a ton of fun. However, I’m not enjoying how many muscles I’ve pulled learning how to play. I’m told that I’ve got a good natural swing on the back but coming through I tighten up pulling my damn back muscles all the time. Truth be told this is good for me I need to get way more physically active than I already am.
3. Las Vegas Trip: POSTPONED. Luckily, it’s been rescheduled for early in August and I’m ready for that. It’ll probably be the last in what’s been a good run of awesome guy trips.

BUSINESS

1. Growth = Good. Our opportunities for Unleashed Technologies, LLC continues to grow as well as our newly procured work =). We’ve added some old friends and good people to our team such as Ben Thomas who’s spent many a summer with us. Glad to have him back!!
2. Still getting Stuck in getting our own work done such as the new site, and our new branding/marketing. Our clients keep us billable but I’m still convinced that for continuing growth we’ll have to accept the sacrifice of “x” hours a month to focus on internal growth.
3. Our super secret product is approaching serious stages of awesome that’s been long overdue. Totally fired up over here!

PERSONAL/BUSINESS

1. I’m VERY excited to say that my personal and professional network are really beginning to become one and the same. It’s beyond exciting for me to have a great list of friends that share the same interests and passion for life/business that I do.

Things I’m interested to get into are additional advisory boards, new technology groups, and strong referral networks built around larger business. Keep an eye out for me and let me know if you bump anything cool that I can get involved with.

Today I turned 30 years old and until very late this evening did I realize how old I’ve gotten. Many that know me are very familiar with the fact that I’m not a huge fan of my birthday. In years past it’s carried with it very bad things and I’ve got it mentally tied to some of the worst times of my life starting at the age of 23.

This year I believe will be the first year that I finally put to rest the seven year old superstition and allow myself to enjoy the (hopefully) many birthdays ahead of me. Perhaps the biggest sign that I’m getting older is my ability to quickly reflect on my experiences to make decisions far smarter than the ones hastily made in my youth. For the business side of me this is terrific and helps me grow professionally making minor mistakes that are easier to course correct but the personal side of me misses the many ABSURDLY RIDICULOUS and IMPOSSIBLE stories that have built my character over the years.

From the high speed chase in Denver, to ending up lost somewhere in Atlanta so drunk I didn’t know what planet I was on, and even just to the many crazy nights in Boston getting in trouble I couldn’t even begin to explain. Those moments and how I reacted in them helped shape the person that makes up the person I am today. I’m not one of those “the best years are behind me” kind of guys but certainly the pace of my lifestyle has changed dramatically.

Overall I can say it’s for the better and I’ve got my wife to thank for that. Without her I doubt that I would be alive to tell the tales/stories that find there way out into a crowded room as entertainment for the night. I might be getting older but I’m writing new stories now. The ones that will help honor my family and its generations for years to come.

Cheers to being 30 because 40 is the new 30, which makes me 20…. right?

I’m admittedly very disgruntled on the current actions on the behalf of our new President, Barrack Obama. As many of you know my political views fall far to the right as it pertains to certain key issues. I’m an avid supporter of Ron Paul and his views on managing this country, its free market, and the involvement of the federal government.

Even with my political views and alignment I’d be lying if I didn’t get caught up in the excitement of Barrack Obama becoming the next President of our great nation. While fearing the expanding role of our federal government into our daily lives I was suprisingly open and to see the possibilities in change that Barrack Obama could bring about taking a total different approach than other candidates. Through out the election my largest complaint was the overwhelming ambiquity that surrounded his campaign and his unwillingness to specify any level of detail whatsoever in how he would move forward in accomplishing his goals over the course of his first 4 year term.

I remember watching the debates and the final two before the election still ring clear in my ears. “A vote for John McCain is a vote for 4 more years of the same”. An implication that not only would a vote for Senator John McCain would be a step in continuing the current economic downslide and more poor decisions based on our involvement in Iraq but also that Barrack had a radical plan that was dynamic in getting American back on track…

So with less than two months under his belt what has Barrack Obama done as President? He’s done more of the same continuing the tactics of George Bush and then addressing the nation (Address To Congress) with awe inspiring speeches on how everything is going to be different in terms of education, healthcare, the war, and financial stability.

I still remain impressed with Barrack Obama’s ability to captivate an audience but approving a bailout larger than George Bush’s, 787 Billion to be exact and then informing Congress we’d be proposing a budget for the years to come even larger than what we’ve got now is ludicrous. I don’t care how many times Nancy stands up to make sure every sentence he says is a slam dunk the numbers aren’t adding up and it’s not looking good.

I found this online resouce that you may find interesting, it details the path of federal spending to combat the recession: http://www.cbsnews.com/elements/2008/11/24/business/timeline4630811.shtml

I was excited to hear about reform programs (especially healthcare) that have committees planned to meet but these initiatives are all to familiar. The best item I’ve seen from the nation’s initial recovery plan is http://www.recovery.gov a website that shows transparency in how our money is being allocated to different federal intiatives and programs. This is fantastic and I thank the administration for it.

To be honest I’m very much on the fence as it pertains to what’s happening in our nations government and I’m hoping that reform doesn’t come at the expense of our liberty or a lifetime of debt that eleven generations of my family will be paying for…. that’s not a plan.

As of late I’ve been doing a fair amount of traveling meeting with future and current clients about a medley of exciting web based projects. My company is very focused on conversion results, successful media deployments, custom functionality, and basically what happens when someone gets to the site. Typically we partner with internet marketing/marketing firms should a client of ours be looking for proactive outreach campaigns outside of the now standard email strategies. It allows us to focus on our strengths and creates a stronger relationship with our clients.

However this hasn’t stopped me recently from becoming very interested in the analytics or information of the internet which led me to the book I’m currently reading called “Click” by Bill Tancer the authority and top reasearch guy at the company Hitwise that focuses on enterprise trending for traffic on the internet.

Click by Bill Tancer

Truthfully I’m only about half way through this book but it’s insight in to America’s underbelly is very interesting, so much so that I could not wait until I finished the book to make a blog post. It discusses in depth how the changes in our lives or what we say don’t always coordinate as people would think to actions on the web. My favorite example would be that of Ron Paul a republican candidate that ran in the 2008 election. Ron Paul commanded the internet as a front runner receiving more traffic than any other candidate many times over. His radical and refreshing views made him a much sought after and researched candidate on the internet but he received very low traction in the actual primaries causing him to drop out.

However what this truly highlighted was the power that the internet can have over the arena of politics and as people become more resistant to traditional methods of information collection they’ll need to leverage online resources to find, mine, and plant information effectively.

Bill Tancer is also not afraid to talk about the difficult be hard truths about the internet such as pornography, pills and casinos.  I found this refreshing as when I’m reading I realize that no details are being spared on showing the social trends of our society.

Seriously thought what this boils down to is the unbelievable amount of raw information that’s available to businesses across the nation. I’m wondering how far we truly are out if not from being predictive or proactive but being able to react in a matter of days, hours or minutes to a strange or unexplained spike in key term or sought out information. The next generation of tools we’re building need to utilize these amazing capabilities beyond checking hits, page view, unique visits, and funnel goals. The next phase is integrating these incredible sets of total internet data into web deployments that could perhaps change content based on what the internet is reporting as important terminology or common used search items. While this basic concept has several hiccups including the morphing of data and how quick those changes will be received by a Google or equivalent search engine what we can realize is that it’s certainly only going to get faster not slower.

Fast reacting, low management, interactive websites? Hmmm sounds interesting and while many claim these capabilities none are automated to the level I’m thinking about. It will be exciting to see where this goes or where Unleashed Technologies takes it!

Clock of Business Doom

As of late time management has been an utter nightmare for me in terms of being able to address current and future client needs while still plotting a course for the future of Unleashed Technologies, LLC (UT). Recently I spent time engaged with a good friend of mine in relation to my time management issue. Now my friend is an executive solely focused on sales and it was a breath of fresh air to hear how he managed his schedule because it was always full. He discussed where he’d made cuts in his schedule and how he’d structured his daytime hours to maximize efficiency, response time, and help focus on client needs.

Then I realized… that’s one of the four primary roles I support on a daily basis. The luxury of splitting staff into focused roles is something that has to happen for my sanity and the forward progress of UT but expansion is a little less than popular right now even though we grow every month by a fair percentage. My four separate roles that have me serving as a COO, CEO, Sales Executive, and Project Manager.

Luckily since we have been growing additions to the team have certainly taken a fair amount of work of my plate in terms of project management but that does not mean I’m not still busier than a one legged man in an ass kicking contest. I’ve actually found a way to effectively manage these items and it starts with pre-planning my day the night before and utilizing the very early morning hours to finish internal work for the company. No matter how you slice it as a public representative your going to spend most of the day answering emails, talking with clients, and getting stuck in meetings. By waking up two hours earlier I’m hoping with a plan put in place the night before I’m learning that all items can be completed in a single day..

I mean I’m making a blog post for the first time in how long?

Rarely do I post about business frustration but this particular issue has got me a little cranky. I’m beginning to become rapidly associated with some great organizations and I’m at the pinnacle of making some very interesting decisions. I’ve currently been working with and/or reviewing the GBTC, ACG, SmartCEO, and the Maryland Chamber of Commerce.

My first endeavor to the Greater Baltimore Tech Council was initially to meet with business executives and connect with businesses that we share our experiences with to help avoid pitfalls as a young organization. The core motivation of most individuals/organizations when joining these groups is to create an extensive network (which is very important don’t get me wrong) and generate new business opportunities as opposed to seeking a group of people that help guide each other through these turbulent times.

Perhaps foolishly I was under the impression that buiding a network of strong professional and personal relationships was a bi-product of being surrounded by like minded CEO’s and professionals dedicated to the advancement of the technology industry. Well, since I’ve joined I’ve been unable to join a single Technet or round table group based on the fact that my business is conflicting with others that are already within those groups. Hopefully by moving to a products based environment and maintaining a true Application Service Provider (ASP) model I’ll be able to reverse that and I’ll see the benefits of being able to connect with the terrific friends and professionals I’ve met through the organization soon.

Consider this a preliminary rant and I love working with and helping grow the GBTC any way that we can over here at Unleashed Technologies, LLC. It’s just a little frustrating when your goals and objectives are pushed back considerably for reasons outside of your control. Here’s to the future!!

Another amazing revolutionary break through from Apple as it pertains to intuitive interface. The new macbook wheel is the next step in creating technology products based around low productivity and big time cool points! But don’t take my word for it… check this highly credible news source and its extensive in depth look into the mind and innovation of Apple.

Apple Introduces Revolutionary New Laptop With No Keyboard

If you know me well you know that I’m not much of a holidays kind of guy minus the halloween and new years eve. I’ve even debated with a good friend that the company should honor Christmas as the organizational holiday but throw an annual party for solstice in the winter time.

Really technically it doesn’t make alot of sense since it’s best defined as two distinct days in a single calendar year but it doesn’t have to. It’s awesome and we’re probably going to do it.

Clearly I’ve lost my way in finishing what I set out to do. Happy Holidays from the Mike Spinosa to my ENORMOUS loyal reader base. I’m talking literally DOZENS of views a day… just huge traffic!

This is the first holiday season we’ve ever seen an increase in work over at Unleashed Technologies, LLC. Let me be clear about this, when I say increase I mean a 75% plus increase in work which is usually something more associated with the month just before (that being November for all you genuises) or after the 5th of January.

I’m excited to see this growth and that people while in troubled economic times are still keeping the American spirit alive by investing in their businesses web presence. We continue to work hard on a new CMS system that will provide a critical piece to a larger puzzle that will set Unleashed Technologies, LLC apart from other web design/development firms.

In this process I can’t tell you the amount of maturity our organization has gained in really planning for difficult development phases, managing workload, and addressing feature upgrade requests. The end of this year has marked a huge milestone for Unleashed Technologies and its growth. Bringing in the New Year I want to especially thank the partners and friends we’ve made along such as Evolution, GoBeyondIT, and many more.