Link: http://www.synapse3di.com

I have been scouring the malls and checking out the latest and greatest geeky toys for this Holiday season.  I even sat with Santa to find out what he is hearing around town on the wish lists of good boys and girls.  So why only 9? Well it just seemed that 10 was... just so ordinary.  So here's what we found:

1. My#1 gadget that I take just about everywhere-Flip Video Camera! This amazing little video camera just keeps getting cooler.  Not only have they gotten slimmer and sleeker, but now you can grab one in HD and order one with an uber cool design that you choose from their gallery or a customized design that you upload (obviously you don't have time to do this and have it for Christmas-but maybe a certificate to allow your special someone to order it online!) Prices $130-$230 

2. Digital photo frames are still a hot item. Perhaps people have finally learned how to use them combined with the fact that the prices have remained the same as last year makes them a great buy. You can pick up a small 7 inch frame with a pen holder for around $60 at Brookstone or most office supply store, or a 15 inch frame for $300 just about anywhere.

3. Apple has the new iPod Touch that seems to be one of the hottest gadgets out.  This is the size and shape of an iPhone, includes all of the fun and useful applications MINUS the phone! The catch to this nifty gadget is most of the applicaitons need wifi to operate.  If you want to access the iTunes store or use Shazam to identify a song you hear playing, you have to be somewhere you can access the internet.  It is like having a mini laptop--lots of great things you can do without internet connection, but unlike an iPhone, you can't just hop online from the park or friends house.  You simply purchase the iPod Touch for a flat fee of $230-$400 (8G, 16G or 32G) and you have no additional monthly fee like a cell phone.  So this could be a great gift for those who, like me, are locked into their T-mobile phone contract for another 28 years and yet would love to have the newest iPod.  

4. The Apple iPod Nano is another fun gift for the Holidays.  I don't know if Apple intentionally changes the shape of the nano each year but once again it has a whole new look--fun colors like purple and bright SHREK green and a coupld of cool featrures.  One that I really like is the album cover display that you can flip across the screen (like the iPhone) and while a song is playing, you can shake the nano to change the song! Why you would want to shake your ipod is beyond me, but you can. Priced around $150

5. The charging valet is a great gift for that person on your list or family that has gadgets everywhere needing to be charged at the end of the day.  If you have an iPod, cell phone, digital camera, and PDA (does anyone still use a PDA without a phone?) you need several outlets open.  The charging valet allows you to set all of your gadgets in one spot with their charging cords feeding descretely into the back where they plug into a power strip that hides inside the valet.  Comes in wood-tone or black.  Priced around $50, you can find these at Brookstone, Target, and even TJ Max.   

6. According to Santa, the hottest gift request is of course the Wii--anything Wii!  Wii Fit; Wii Mario ; Wii Baseball, golf, sports, even Wii Baby (I have no idea what this is, but they have Wii for everyone!) Games are priced fro $30-$60 and the consoles are about $250 IF YOU CAN FIND ONE SOMEWHERE!

7. For the person who is always running late and needing directions (oh maybe that's just me), I love the fact that Garmin, and many other brands, have small GPS systems for as low as $189 and small enough to throw in your purse or laptop bag when you travel. Find them at any office supply store, Best Buy, Circuit City, Target, Walmart, and probably even Safeway stores!

8. My favorite gadget keeper is a bag, by BUILT NY!  These bags are perfect for the professional speaker or techy person on the go. They have pockets for everything-presentation remotes, flash drives, Flip Video Cameras, cell phones, and more. They come in fun colors and patterns and priced around $25. 

9. And if techno-gadgets just feel too cold and impersonal, there isn't a person out there who wouldn't love a pair of footy PJs!  If your geeky loved one is like most of us tech-heads, they are up late at night sitting at the computer with freezing footsies!  These are recommended and worn by SEO expert and blogger, Denver's KNOX, along with other celebrities like Samuel L. Jackson, Taylor Swift and even Dawn Wells, of Gilligan's Island fame! 

Well there you have it--a few of my favorite (geeky) things for a very Merry Christmas!  If you want to learn something else today, check out some of the Gettin' Geeky episodes at www.GettinGeeky.com 

Link: http://www.Synapse3di.com

Do you remember when you were very young and in school? Come on, think back. Everyday we learned something new. There was so much we still didn't know. How to add double digit numbers and then how to carry over a number when adding.  How to spell tough words like "THEIR" and "BELIEVE" - well okay, I still struggle with those, but our brains were alive and taking in (and retaining) new informaiton every day.

Sure we have tons of informaiton coming our way now, and perhaps that is why we don't hang on to much of it, but each day we have to be intentional about learning something new. Will it be a new word for the day? How about how to use a feature on that cell phone you use? Learn about new technology, a new language, how to ballroom dance, anything new.  

Being around professional speakers and trainers all the time and attending so many wonderful educational events, I find it easy to learn lots every day.  Being in the technology and education arena has me trying to learn too much every day.  Whether it is in Virtual World technology and how it is being used effectively in business and educaiton, or how to add new featrues and applicaitons on my Facebook or LinkedIn profiles.  There is lots to learn.

Each day on Twitter I encourage people to learn something new and share  WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED TODAY? (#WHYLT before the post codes the remarks so you can see what others have learned too.)

Now of course it's not only what you learn, but what learning you apply! So please share what you are learning and how you have used it.  Let's learn together!

Remember, if you check out our Media Library on Synapse you will find lots to learn every day, and I would love to connect on Twitter. 

Link: http://www.Synapse3di.com

Want to check out a great site for educators in Second Life? Take another look at Second Life with "Guest Host" of Gettin Geeky, Jianna Zerbino.

Be sure to watch other episodes of Gettin Geeky in our Media Library! 

Link: http://www.synapse3di.com

With the pace that today's technolgy is changing and pulling at us to "UPDATE, CREATE, TWITTER, BLOG-ABOUT, and LEARN" many people feel overwhelmed or worse, left behind!  Here is the tip I give anyone feeling outdated or overwhelmed: Find a mentor under the age of 25, meet with them once a month and just sit and talk nerdy with each other!

When I am at a restaurant, store or anywhere a young person is helping me (wow, even saying that makes me sound like a little old lady needing help crossing the street! YIKES) or serving me (there-that sounds better!) I ask them quesitons like, "What is the social networking site you spend the most time on?"  "What do you like most about that site?"  "What is your favorite tech gadget and why?" 

Sure they might find it weird, but I always learn something, if nothing else, I learn some new lingo that makes me sound like a really hip and tech-savvy old lady when asking for help crossing the street!

Don't forge, if you want some tech tips in short sound bytes-watch the Gettin' Geeky episodes posted in the Synapse Media Library!  Come on- What Have You Learned Today?

Link: http://www.Synapse3di.com

Recently we went downtown to deliver hats, gloves and warm coats to a homeless shelter in Denver, and as I watched hundreds of turkeys being unloaded for the annual Holiday feast I thought of all the hungry people out there.  Not those hungry for food, but those who are starving for attention.  As I spoke with the people on the street, I saw the same hunger in their eyes that I see everywhere these days.  They craved someone to just listen to their stories. 

We have moved from the information age to the “Attention Age.”  People don’t crave information any more.  Not in most countries, anyway.  Information is more than abundant, it is rampant.  It’s overflowing from our inboxes,  our physical mailboxes, our news programs and we have access to it anytime we want it-24/7.  We just Google, we CHA CHA, Ask Jeeves, Yahoo and anyone else we wish to ask.  We don’t have to trudge down to the library and comb through encyclopedias or reference books that are outdated.  Information is everywhere and it's at our fingertips.  People are now craving someone to listen.  Someone to pay attention.   Everyone is talking, but no one is listening. 

As marketers, we have always wanted to grab the attention of the world.  As educators, we want to have the attention of the class or audience.  As employers, we want our teams to pay attention to their work.  Perhaps it’s time we start by paying more attention in order to get more of it ourselves. 

Are you still pushing information out to others more than you are listening and gathering the feedback from those same people?  Organizations do surveys to show they are listening. The problem is, if they never get back to the individuals who did the survey sharing the findings and possible solutions, individuals will quit taking the surveys.  Speakers and trainers have audiences fill out evaluations, again without a way to engage in conversation, the feedback is usually useless.  How many companies have “opinion cards” or email addresses set up to take comments or complaints?  What happens when someone takes the time to send something in?  I know I have written to a company or to an executive more than once about an incident that needed their attention, but got no reply—no one was paying attention!

Today, consumers and individuals want to engage. They want to do business with organizations who are listening.  Twitter is a communication tool (a misunderstood and misused tool most of the time) that some marketers and organizations are putting to good use.  Zappos (on-line shoe company) engages people in conversation, listening to ideas and fixing problems, using Twitter.  Comcast has gotten onboard with several of their higher level management members addressing problems, sharing ideas and listening to customers on Twitter.  I have been at conferences where the audience members are using Twitter during the conference to give feedback and send questions up to the speaker, WHILE THEY ARE SPEAKING!  Why wait until the meeting is over to get the questions and feedback, make the adjustments and provide the answers on the spot!  I love it. 

Blogs provide that same opportunity-as long as they allow comments.  I have seen a few people who take the time to write blog posts but do not allow comments.  What’s the point?  Just send an article to an online article warehouse.   Get your customers, employees and audience members talking to you.  Pay attention to them.  Respond, write back, agree or disagree with them, but pay attention!