Thanks to you, the Inaugural
Buddy Up! Invitational
was a day to remember!

By all accounts, our first year was a success. But don’t take my word for it. Check out these impressive stats:

• 6,500 yards of golf
• 110 energetic players
• 400 bottles of Tea of a Kind opened by friendly hosts (http://teaofakind.com)
• 140 burgers as served to perfection by our sponsor, Habit Burger (http://habitburger.com)
• 4 bags of marshmallows traveling a combined distance of 4.34 miles
• 361 official photos captured by our sponsor, Brand Affinity Technologies (Download your free photos here)
• 154 missed putts
• 45 mulligans purchased (see above)

And the most important number…

We raised $15,000 for The OC Campership Fund!

Watch the recap video on YouTube! 

Plans have already begun for the 2014 Buddy Up! Invitational.

Click here to reserve your spot and ensure you are notified as we get closer to the event.

Again, thank you for helping us to send some well-deserving kids to summer camp!

Pete Deutschman
CEO, The Buddy GroupDonations are tax deductible as permitted by law. Tax ID# 23-7203342

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After three days of walking, walking and, oh yeah, walking, it was time to head home. CES 2013 was over, and once again the tech conference did not disappoint.

On our way to the airport I was discussing what I had seen with some colleagues. As usual, there were a whole lot of gadgets and technologies that got us excited, but what really stuck with us were the things that the people around us got excited about. We decided that the only fair way to make a “Best of CES 2013″ list would be to mention the things that we had overheard other people talking about.

So here it is, the list of things we heard other people talking about at CES 2013.

1) “Did you see the NHK 8K TV?” “Yeah, that’s a lot of K’s!”

2) “Samsung has a 21x optical zoom camera phone! I want it!” (Okay, this one was announced earlier in the year, but it’s still super cool.)

3) “Is that a bendable TV? That’s cool!” Yes. It was a flexible OLED display from Sharp.

4) “You have to try Icepan ice cream at Harrah’s. They flash freeze it right in front of you.” “Try it? I’ve had it six times this week!” Technically this was just in Las Vegas, not at CES but yes, apparently the guy next to me had this amazing milk-and-fruit ice cream six times. I only had it three times, but that’s because I was only at CES for three days. If you can get to Harrah’s I highly recommend it.

See you at CES 2014. Until then, I’ll be dreaming of delicious, 8K, optical zooming, flexible displays. The true future of convergence.

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Voice activation. Synchronized devices. Touch interface on every screen. Internet connectivity on the go. Automated telematics. Speech to text. Text to speech. These are some of the features that come up in discussions about the future of the connected living room, but if you step outside you can already find these technologies working side-by-side in the largest mobile device you own: your car.

For all the hype about how we can connect at home, it’s easy to overlook the connectivity that already exists for cars. Systems like GM’s OnStar have been making automated emergency calls for years. These telematics systems have now evolved beyond emergency services to help automate phone calls, provide social media access and stream internet radio. Kia’s UVO with eServices is one such infotainment system that boasts the elimination of monthly fees by utilizing the driver (or passenger’s) mobile device for voice and data connectivity. The victory is in the system’s ability to integrate with devices for this purpose.

Speech-to-text is another feature of connected living rooms that has generated a lot of buzz and speculation. Ford’s Sync and similar vehicular technologies already provide all of the basic vocal automations that would be needed for a hands-free home media experience. Cars are the perfect venue to develop this technology because unlike watching Netflix at home, lives are on the line out on the road.

“We place a focus on safety first,” said Chrysler’s Scott Brown at the uConnect booth, “but that doesn’t mean that you should have to leave the connected experience behind when you leave the house.” Drivers may not be watching movies on their in-dash screens, but the car has long been the domain of audio content, and streaming music services are starting to muscle their way in to compete with radio. This year at CES, uConnect announced special mobile versions of apps for Pandora, iHeartRadio and other Internet radio services designed to “deliver the same information but modified to work safely in the car,” said Sue Frederick, also from Chrysler, “the app has to not get in the way.”

Kenwood is bringing similar offerings to the automotive aftermarket with their “Live Connected. Drive Connected.” line of products. Features include social media connectivity, speech-to-text and vehicular information feedback.

All of these technologies mean that you can finally pull out of your garage and say something like, “Open Pandora and play my Road Trip station, then take me to The Buddy Group in Irvine, CA and set me an appointment to talk about a long-term digital marketing strategy for the release of my new product. Now tweet: Can’t wait to see my Buddies. #buddyup.”

Drivers have very specific, safety-driven needs when it comes to device interactivity. Over the next few years, people who buy new and recently-used cars will be introduced to technologies that address these needs, which may help fuel desire for similar integration with home entertainment systems. Until then, you’ll just have to enjoy the future of your living room from the comfort of your car.

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Connected devices are more mobile than ever. Laptops are turning into tablets. Smart phones have become handheld Internet access points. Wireless speeds are continually improving. Improved battery technology means devices can work for longer periods of time without needing a wall tether. The pieces are all in place to achieve the fabled “connected living room”, but connecting our devices with our living rooms still isn’t a seamless experience. What’s missing? As it turns out, there are three things to accomplish before we can truly live a connected life.

1) A True Universal Standard

The biggest roadblock to the connected living room is the ability to have any two devices communicate with each other with a minimum of human intervention. The connected home won’t be a “must have” until a person can walk into a friend’s house and share a video on the living room TV or play music through the house sound system without needing a special set of instructions.

Belkin showed off an extensive array of connected-home technologies. Andrew Hoang, Product Marketing Manager for Belkin said that their solution for streaming media from devices to Smart TVs is based on DLNA standards, which is important for “doing what I want, where I want, when I want,” and went on to point out that they’ve taken strides to “make complicated processes easy by using html5,” for their router setup pages so that they display effectively on any device, not just PCs. This is a step in the right direction.

2) A Reason to Change

If there isn’t inherent value to the consumer they will be reluctant to adopt a new technology. You and I may already have a fully connected living room, but what about all of our non-tech friends and relatives? Do they really need a Smart TV and the ability to interact with content? Maybe not. Qualcomm is taking steps to change this attitude by exploring new applications of connected technology.

In collaboration with Sesame Workshop, Qualcomm presented “Abby’s Fairy Rock”, a proof-of-concept demo that enables true interaction between tablets and Smart TVs. In order to get this technology to work, “You need powerful processors that enable the technology, and you also need to design content that works between connected devices,” said Brian Vogelsang, Director, Product Management Snapdragon Ecosystem for Qualcomm. If “Abby’s Fairy Rock” is any indication of what’s coming then consumers might soon be presented with a much stronger reason to want to connect all their devices.

Possibly the most important element still missing from the connected ecosystem is

3) A Call to Arms

This is the intangible “cool factor” that always precedes any major technology shift. Napster made it easy and attractive for consumers to share music online, which helped create the online music culture. Apple’s iPod and iPhone were the much-hyped mp3 players that many people who had previously ignored digital music players just suddenly “had to have,” and led the shift to widespread digital music consumption. In order to get our non-tech friends to embrace the connected living room, there needs to be a mass-market “cool” product that wins them over.

In Smart TV, Sony is offering TV SideView as a system that “lets you control BRAVIA from your VAIO”. Newer services like this will both compete and interact with veteran offerings from Apple, Google and WD, all of which are popular devices, but none of which have hit any kind of critical mass just yet.

One last thought. Belkin built a five-room layout at CES to display their WeMo technology as the core system of a connected household. With WeMo, an assortment of wall plug adapters enable remote access to almost any appliance for remote operation, on/off control and even video monitoring. For me, the system evokes memories of the computer setup in Electric Dreams, the 1984 rom-com about a digital-age love triangle between a girl, a boy and his computer. Anyone else remember that one? Just me?

What do you think? Are we finally ready for connected living? Leave a comment and let us know what missing links you think I might have missed.

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As we approach the end of 2012 and prepare to enter the teen years of the 21^st century there’s a little milestone worth noting – YouTube’s first billion-view video.

Psy’s Gangnam Style, which was tied with Call Me Maybe for the I-just-can’t-get-it-out-of-my-head award of 2012, crossed the billion-view mark earlier today. Certainly, the total number of views a video gets isn’t the only (or even the most important) metric used to determine the success of a video, but in a (pop)culture that places a large emphasis on famous firsts, this is a major milestone.

Not so long ago, there was a bit of a battle between Evolution of Dance and Girlfriend to be the first video to reach the 100-million mark. If I’m not mistaken, Girlfriend hit the mark first, but Evolution of Dance has regained the lead since then, and both videos now sit around 200 million views. That we’ve jumped from 100-million view videos to a billion-view video in just a couple of years confirms the obvious – web video viewership continues to grow at an extremely rapid (if not exponential) pace.

Our own Bryan Boettger wrote an article earlier this year about why million-view videos aren’t necessarily a must-have for every brand. His salient point was that under the right circumstances, a video with a low view count that achieves a specific informational goal for a small set of customers might be even more successful for a brand than a hugely viral video. To that point, Gangnam Style’s billion views has probably sold a ton of digital downloads, and whoever owns that song will be counting their money well into 2013, but that same number of views could actually be disastrous for a small mom-and-pop business.

Dandelion Chocolate, a San Francisco-based chocolate factory, produces a wonderful handmade product, but struggles just to fill the orders that already pour in on a regular basis. If they had a promotional video that went viral, the ensuing traffic could cripple their website and phone lines. A good problem to have, maybe, but a challenging problem for a small business to say the least.

When planning a social or video campaign, it’s just as important to consider the size of your existing audience as the size of the audience you’re thinking about trying to connect with. Sometimes bigger isn’t better. Although it is fun to watch the milestones go by.

Happy Holidays, Happy New Year, and watch out, Videos of 2013 – we’re ready to share you!

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By Mike Kirsch, Director of Video Production

“A good story and the quality of the content is what drives engagement. No matter how big the producer or provider behind the content, if the story does not connect… it is hard to break through to a larger audience.” – Jeremiah McMillan, “Building a Story That Translates Across Platforms”

You might remember an article I wrote a while back about the importance of story over video length. I’ve always been a huge proponent of telling a good story rather than building a weak story around a seemingly cool idea. Just because you have access to a house with a pool, for instance, doesn’t mean you should make a video that takes place poolside. Figure out your main message and then develop the creative that fits it. If the logistics of planning your shoot outpace the available budget, then it’s time to rethink your creative. But this is always a better approach than trying to shoehorn a concept into a video just because “it seems cool”. (more…)

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by Pete Deutschman, Chief Buddy

Last week I had the privilege to partake in the unique and nearly religious experience that is Augusta National’s Masters Tournament, as a lucky attendee for one of golf’s finest moments. For this self-admitted “golfaholic”, walking through the club’s gates in Augusta meant one less item on my bucket list. Little did I know that both my perspective on the sport I love so much would forever be changed, along with my digital perspective.

Walking down the first fairway, I heard my first roar of the gallery indicating an epic putt. Chills ran up my spine and my adrenaline began to flow. I had watched this event on TV growing up and more intently in years past, but nothing could compare to the beauty that I was witnessing first hand at each turn of the course. With so many digitally connected, golfaholic friends across the country, a few profound tweets and several boastful check-ins at the acclaimed Amen Corner would normally be apropos for moments such as this. But, as rule one on the Prohibited Items board states, no “cell phones, beepers, electronic devices” are allowed inside the gates.

This was like the equivalent of being told to go without water. I’m CEO of a digital engagement agency. No electronic devices?

As someone who is never more than three feet from an Internet connected device, the separation proved to be as eye opening as the tournament itself. Besides not being able to mindlessly see others’ Facebook statuses or news feeds, I wasn’t able to check my work email — allowing for a completely analog day. (No talk of how big Pinterest has grown was quite refreshing I must admit.)

It forced me to appreciate my surroundings and talk to other golfaholics participating in the Georgia pilgrimage who, like me, were fighting off the shakes of living a day without being connected.

Analog vs. Digital
Ironic as it is, the Masters.com website and associated mobile applications are the most impressive sporting engagement initiatives I have seen: boasting five live streams, swappable picture-in-picture and an interactive leaderboard so slick it makes me wonder what we did without it. The Masters fully embraced analog inside their hallowed arena, and fully embraced digital outside.

Evolution Is A Fragile Word When Discussing Tradition
If you follow the history of the Masters, you know it is a tournament of heritage, history and prestige. Despite being overshadowed by the operational decision to not accept women members (IBM’s CEO is rightfully taking a stand and I most definitely support her), I take my hat off to the Members of Augusta responsible for the week of the event itself and for protecting the brand and golf history with precision and majestic artistry. From the iconic yellow logo to the Master’s green Jacket and every meticulous fairway in between, this event is proof that tradition doesn’t have to mean stale. Some have said that being at The Masters is like going back in time. In addition to not having a cell phone, The Masters encouraged the use of cash by offering 1970s prices on food and beverages with $1.50 sandwiches and $1.50 drinks. You won’t find Coke or Coors for sale, rather Masters has adopted its own brand of chips, beer and soda. The entrepreneur in me appreciates this and the temptation that must be presented on an annual basis to accept sponsorship and ad revenue in exchange for carrying the product. Their stance reinforces the prestige of the event by simply saying this event is a staple in sports not a commercial sell-out.

Risk vs. Reward
Despite the introduction of high-definition broadcasts and 3-D cameras, nothing, and I mean nothing, can replace seeing the course in person. One’s perspective on the holes and appreciation for the difficulty of each and every fairway, green and bunker is amplified once you finally walk the course. Like running a business, the most careful planning can’t account for the errant shot or poor decision. After seeing amateur Cantlay (UCLA Sophomore) practice on the back 9 it dawned on me that like business, golf is about risk vs. reward. The golfer has to make real time decisions based on the cards that are dealt and weigh, also in real time, risk vs. reward. Is it better to try and hit the shot that is 1 in 100 for a chance to tie the match or stick with a conservative shot that keeps me in the match but one can hit with my eyes closed. As entrepreneurs thrive on these risks and know that the decisions are what makes heroes heroes and everyone else…players.

Emotion Plays A Part
Ever hear the phrase “There is no room for emotion in business”? I have always thought that was ridiculous. Emotion drives business. Emotion is what fuels passion and the desire to succeed. Making emotional decisions may result in clouded choices so successful entrepreneurs (like golfers) need to learn to keep the emotion in-check. This year’s Masters winner Bubba Watson has gained notoriety for his recent efforts toward emotion management. His hard work paid off as this year’s final hole came to a successful finish. In his own words he “visualized the shot” and had the confidence to save a failed first shot with a brilliant hook out of the woods. You hear that fellow entrepreneurs? Have the confidence. Listen to your gut and visualize success. Then, when you execute, let your emotions show!

As the annual event comes to a close and the Green Jacket is placed on yet another champion, this entrepreneur is forever changed by the analog experience that is The Masters. And, I’m prepared to let my emotions show. Right, Bubba?

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