Previously in, Chatting with The Professionals, I stated that I would setup a one on one with with Tony Hsieh and I did. He invited us to come and hang out at a Zappos function to learn about Culture.

Tony was very insightful and inspired many questions that I ended answering myself. For every question I asked, his reply was a question. I felt like I was talking to Yoda. He effectively had me answer my own questions while he was guiding me. After my lesson was done, we started talking to everybody about there position and passion. This really wasn’t hard because so many people came to us to talk with us and find out who we were. Zappos employees are definitely outgoing and fun to hang out with. We had a great night and a lot of drinks… Enjoy the video…

Once a reality I scoffed at and had not interest in, has now become an everyday reality. I had always thought, who would spend there day putting excerpts of there of there lives on a website for others to read. Then I decided to try it for myself to become more socially involved with the customers and individuals that we work with everyday. That’s when I got caught in the Twine of Twitter. Before I go one, Please tweet this blog if you feel kind. I want to add more followers. Follow me on Twitter – @BatteryMan. In turn I will follow you. Thank you!!

So does my previous statement make me a hypocrite?

It definitely sounds that way to me; however, I don’t believe that to be the case. I was misinformed on all of the benefits of using Twitter. It’s has all of the benefits of social networking without the trouble of writing long, thought consuming blogs like this one. By the time I am done it will probably have taken me at least a hour and half to write this from start to end. I type slow and change my mind to much..

What changed my mind?

I subscribed to a number of social network newsletters like SiteProNews and SEO News to help me stay update to date with the latest internet trends. Over the span of my subscriptions I have used a lot of there suggestion and one that I resisted using was Twitter to promote your business and yourself. I also subscribed to Wired magazine that always has great articles of people making significant advances in there fields. Once again, I noticed the mention of Twitter from such influential people like President Obama, Tony Hsieh from Zappos, Steve Jobs and so on. Determined now to build my Twitter community and new people, I have been reaching out with thoughts, information and personality.

Information is next to Godliness!

While the saying “He Who Has the Gold Makes the Rules” still remains true. I believe a new era is upon us and a wise man once said “If knowledge is power, then a god am I!” -The Riddler (Batman Forever). While that was pretty funny what I just said I do believe it to be true. Information of who we are, what we are and will become is the most important factor to growing as an individual and a company. That sounds a little strange so I will explain.

Simply put, if I capture the what people feel, think and want and in turn provided them with a little of that then I have succeeded as a business. Reaching out LISTENING, Responding and Reacting to individuals helps build trust between them and me. In a world of delusions it’s hard to trust people, companies or even a government. Our lives have become engulfed with new technologies but we are still slaves to our 5 senses and primal instinct that ultimately want to be satisfied. I’m not only trying to build a brand but Customer Relationships. Follow me

The Internet is a man made digital universe. It has no beginning and no end. It has proven that it is self evolving with the ability to make nothing into something and reduce the something into nothing. It has no happiness, fears, sympathy or remorse, the internet simply “Is”.

“HUH?”, you say. The internet grows and evolves faster than anything in this world today. It gets smarter, bigger and faster than we can calculate. Knowing this I must seek out the best of the best and challenge them for knowledge so that I may merely keep my head above water gasping at what little air I can. I decided that to do this I would begin to try to get a hold of anyone that has notably made a mark on the folds of history with a significant contribution, idea or theory and interview them via Live Chat, Twitter, Messenger or whatever acceptable social media they desire. I will be posting these from time to time when I am able to.

Live Chat Interview w/ Darren of Zappos.com

I wanted to talk with someone with Zappos to find out if they lived up to the hype with all the buzz about them and how some of their policies work for them. I was very pleased to find out that it was all true and learned some interesting information that will help influence BatteriesInAFlashes’ decisions in the future. Lets see how it went.
Chat posted with permission.

What I learned from Zappos

Price is not the only deciding factor in selling a product. Values set and followed help maintain customer satisfaction and loyalty. Don’t be afraid to be a little abnormal and push the envelope. So you can expect that we will be bringing you friendlier updated policies, a better website experience and fun media, blogs and more.

I still am currently seeking Tony for the one on one about what it takes to be “The Bees Knees”. So what do you say, Tony? Let’s have a sit down for lunch or a cup of coffee.

So if you don’t know it by now I am having a little boy that is due in December. My wife and I are excited and have been looking for new cameras for a new baby. Great excuse to get techie! I have had my eye on the Canon’s EOS Rebel XSi. I found it in a few stores for around $800 but online was about $699.

So why do I want the Rebel XSi? The picture quality from the 12.2 megapixel camera is beautiful. The auto light optimizing feature is an awesome help for a novice photographer like me. Theres also a 14-bit A/D Converter which helps the tone quality of the picture to give you a more life like photos. The RAW photo format is a little more than I needed but it is a cool option that I could later on take advantage of.

What Accessories will I have?

It doesn’t hurt that I own a battery store either so I will be well stocked on batteries and chargers. I will probably have 2 DLCE5 and one rapid travel charger. This will keep me running where ever I’m at. The RTC charger can be powered in a 12V DC port and charges most batteries up 90 minutes or less.

I cant wait until I can start shooting pictures of my newest member of my family. That will bring us up to 2 beautiful kids, a baby boy and an 8yr old daughter. We already have a lot of great pictures and now we are going to have a lot more. Look forward to seeing pictures of newest members photos coming in the future.

SimpleRSS - Free
This is a free app that will pull one feed of your choice at a time. This is a handy worry free app that does not have any bells or whistles, hence Simple RSS. The app, unlike the others I will mention; does not have any bugs but lacks functionality that you may be acustomed to.
Download SimpleRSS now from iTunes Store

Feeds- $0.99
Only $0.99, a bargain for sure; but is it even worth the dollar? In early versions there were a few flaws but there have been recent improvements. Customers reviews are mostly positive and has a 3.5 star ranking. Your able to add your own feeds and in future releases will be able to read them offline.
Download Feeds now from iTunes Store

Byline - $9.99
This is hardly a free app but it does offer some features that the others dont. You can specify your own feeds as well as read them offline. Customer reviews are decent and it is rated with 3 stars
Download Byline now from iTunes Store

Use your phone to its fullest capabilities, increase you productivity and cut the wires

On Sunday The ASD/AMD General Merchandise Trade Show was welcomed to fabulous Las Vegas with open arms. This is a show where BIAF can find great merchandise to compliment our battery lines and accessories. While it may not be our main show of interest, it certainly isn’t our least important show. Let me walk through our day.

The Sands Expo Center

The entire BIAF Team met at The Grand Lux Cafe inside the Venetian for a morning breakfast that would keep us going all day. Following our meal, our day began perusing the Sands Convention Center isles in search of our new products. The floor layout was massive and vendors and distributors were as far as the eye could see or at least to the buildings surrounding walls. After walk much of the floor and not finding much in our field we decided to move on to the other convention floors.

The Las Vegas Convention Center

Following an invigorating shuttle bus ride, we soon found ourselves immersed in exactly what we were looking for in a more manageable layout. We were able to pinpoint 2 direct manufactures of our new customer appreciation gift items, sourced out of China directly. We also were able to source a line of iPhone, iTouch and iPod accessories called iLuv. We will be adding to our array of products; skins, pouches, covers and adapters. Sony rechargeable has a very strong possibility of finding its way to our site as well. In conclusion, we walked a very large show for 7 hours to find new manufactures to bring new exciting products at great prices for all of our customers.

Interestingly enough people work at jobs and work places without ever being recognized or even giving a second thought after the initial hiring. Hardly making employment enjoyable and definitely not allowing one to have self worth about there role with the company. This is not the case at BatteriesInAFlash.

Happy Birthday Valerie

On Friday we celebrated Valeries Birthday, a valued team member. Serenading her with the traditional birthday trite, she blew out her candles and made her wish. She received a beautiful cake and had lunch with everyone present to help her celebrate becoming 29 years young, lol women!

It’s your Birthday

Afterwards she was giving gifts and everyones best wishes. Thank you Valerie for being a part of our team. Note: Although it is Valerie’s birthday she asked to be left out of the pictures purposefully. We respected her wishes this time because its her B-Day, but beware next time Valerie!!!

There is a large misconception of what happens once something is placed in the
trash. Most people think that you are able to put anything that you want into the
trash can and never think about it again. The truth is that almost anything you
can put into the trash can can be recycled, including batteries.

Fortunately a movement has began and public awareness is increasingly growing.
Recycling centers are being built and drop off centers are becoming more popular.

Is My Battery Recyclable?

All chemicals are not created equal. The 3 major pollutants are mercury, cadmium and lead. When these types of batteries are introduced into the landfills they now able to be release into our air, water and soil causing serious health problems for humans as well as harming the earth. Mercury is especially dangerous when introduced to bacteria common to landfills. The mercury and bacteria mix causing a gas called methyl mercury. Although laws have been passed stopping the production of batteries containing mercury, that still does not fix the problem, it only slows it down.

If you see any of the logos below on your battery, feel confident that your battery
is recyclable. The truth is that while Americans only account for 5% of the world
population, we account for 30% of the worlds garbage. That is accountability in
a large way.

Where's my Recycling Center

Interestingly enough, you can drop of batteries almost anywhere that sells a
form of batteries. To name a few: Radio Shack, Office Depot,
Circuit City, Lowe's, Home Depot and so on… BatteriesInAFlash.com is now proud to announce that we have joined the ranks and are able to help you recycle your rechargeable batteries. If you are not located in Las Vegas, you can find you local recycling center by using the website Call2Recycle

For other interesting facts visit Bring Recycling.