Apr 212011
 
Putting Brabo to the Taste Test

Last weekend Gabriele took me to Brabo’s Tasting Room in Old Town to celebrate my birthday. The Brabo restaurant next door didn’t have any tables available, and my friend and fellow wine lover Anglea told me she had a good time at the Tasting room. The room had a great vibe when we walked in […]

Apr 192011
 
How to Address Government Data Security

Late last week I attended a federal data security event sponsored by Neustar. What impressed me about this event was the frank admission that sensitive data will be lost – the only issue is how to minimize the vulnerabilities and mitigate the inevitable losses. It was an intimate event with just two speakers. William Crowell […]

Apr 142011
 

Here are links for the three wines I talk about below: Napa Wine Co. 2007 Zinfandel Anciano Gran Reserva 2000 Tempranillo 2008 Wallace by Ben Glaetzer If you try any of these out, please drop a comment with your take.

Apr 122011
 
Chris Buys a M5

Last week I bought an amazing car, a 2002 BMW M5. I had been thinking about picking one up for about six months, and keeping my eye on the used M5 market. But I was in no hurry — it had to be the right one and until I found it, my 2001 530 was […]

Apr 082011
 
Facebook for News, and SEO's Blackeye

Happy Friday all. In the past I used to occasionally write a Tech Roundup post on Fridays. I’m resurrecting the same concept today, but rather than straight technology I’ll try to share “news you can use” with a focus on social media best practices. The first thing that got my attention was Facebook’s launch of […]

Apr 042011
 

Last week I attended a useful discussion on the latest trends in Content Management Systems (CMS). It was organized by Hank Dearden’s Capital Cabal group, which is one of the better technology networking groups in the Washington, DC business community. Hank pulled together a good panel for this morning event at the City Club of […]

Mar 302011
 

Too many times when I talk social media with clients, they want to start with tactics not strategy. Facebook! Twitter! Q&A sites! The questions you should start with are — Why are you looking at social media, and what do you have to say? This is why a post early this month by Om Malik […]

Mar 252011
 
A Conversation with Ali Farshchian, Founder of CircleID

If you are serious about issues involving Internet infrastructure, then you’re probably a member of CircleID. It’s the online community where the “big brains” of the Internet go to debate Internet technology and policy. I’d never claim to be one of those big brains, but I’ve been a member since 2005. And during that time […]

Mar 222011
 

My post last Friday questioning whether there is a future for BMW enthusiasts struck a nerve. To date the article has been viewed over 500 times, and there have been numerous comments made in online forums. Here’s a sampling of what I’m hearing from fellow enthusiasts. Many agreed with me, but some thought I was […]

Mar 182011
 
Bad Times Ahead for BMW Enthusiasts

I’ve been a subscriber to Bimmer Magazine for a long time. I really like their coverage of all things BMW. In the most recent issue I read an article that in my opinion spelled out bad times coming for BMW enthusiasts in the U.S. First I should define what I mean by enthusiast. It doesn’t […]

Mar 152011
 

Gabriele and I headed west on the Little River Turnpike Saturday night and ate at the Foxfire Grill. Some restaurants make you feel as if they will do anything to make their customers happy. We definitely got that vibe from Foxfire, and had a very nice experience. It’s located in a shopping center just before […]

Mar 112011
 

B2B publisher Penton announced today it purchased DC based online marketing firm EyeTraffic.  Due to the seismic changes that have buffeted b2b publishing in the past few years, this acquisition made a lot of sense to me. Trade magazines have been decimated by the rise of the Internet. As eyeballs moved online, the b2b publishing […]