Review: my posts, links and more for weeks of June 3, 2012

On the Calendar

• CU Denver Business Plan Competition
• Mountain bike ride – Castle Pines North

See my calendar for other events and places where I’ll be.  If they’re on the calendar, that’s an open invitation to join me or meet up with me. Just let me know ahead of time.

Posts

• When my health fell off a big cliff
• My experience with doctors and pharma drugs

Links

Consumer Products

• RT @haxlr8r: Hardware is the new software:wired.com/business/2012/…
• Kiosks are real bright spots in retail.: ow.ly/bqxFV
• Good stuff here about Kroger and grocery industry in general: ow.ly/bqwUI
• Starbucks Unit In Coinstar Kiosk Dealow.ly/boRyh Kiosks getting more sophisticated
• RT @CMS4CPG: Good To Know | How To Identify#Organic vs. #GMO Produce – The Key Is In The PLU Codes 15challenge.com/content/how-id…

Miscellaneous

• Even if you are not a basketball fan, this is still entertaining: ow.ly/bsj0d#UncleDrew
• Have a LinkedIn Account? Change your password. ow.ly/bqviB
• Top 7 Most Common Reactions to Your High-Fat Diet (and How to Respond): ow.ly/bp8IG

Kickstarter

Here’s some interesting consumer product companies on Kickstarter that I like:

• Coffee Cubes
• Monitoring and control devices paired with smartphones;
• Wifi-enabled monitor and control devices;
• Wifi-enabled monitor and control devices;
• Hyperlocal weather prediction on smartphones.

Quora/LinkedIn

Are club stores more difficult than supermarkets?  Question that I answered on the LinkedIn CPG Supergroup.  Many other good answers to this question as well.

Book Reviews

Platform:  Get Noticed in a Noisy World.  This is a fairly comprehensive book about how to build your personal brand online to create a platform of followers.  The first part about creating wow products/services is the best part of the book and offers some good examples.  I give it a 4 of 5 stars.

The Power of Habit.  This book brings in old and new research to describe how individuals and organizations create and sustain habits,  but also how to change habits.  Overall, I enjoyed the book.  I give it a 3.5 of 5 stars.

Odds & Ends

I was at ground zero for the worst hail storm I’ve ever encountered, with inch size hail that lasted more than an hour.  There were several inches of hail on the ground afterwards; it was like driving home in slushy snow.  Unfortunately, the building I was in, my church,  sustained some damage, in addition to cars in the parking lot. I was fortunate in only losing  a side mirror on my car.  Here’s some quick video I took of the early part of the storm.

Disclosure: I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. Some of the links in this post are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.