We love our readers!  Let me say that again, we LOVE our readers.  A faithful Techlife reader just sent me this custom viral video which certainly got my attention and had me watch it.  Techlife is covering this technology, more than posting election coverage as this technology will be seen more and more.  This viral tool has been used more than 9.7 million times for this site alone according to the New York Times.  It is a very interesting move to get American’s out to vote.

You will notice if you watch carefully, this video has my name, Dave Kaufman, sprinkled throughout in various places.   It came with an email, targeting me by name as well.  I have to say it was very well done and got us thinking about the ways people and companies will be soon making more and more personal approaches to everything we do.  It is certainly a form of Digital Ethnography.

I appreciated the humorous nature of this video and website effort, but I wonder how much I will like it when it tells a young child to do something and uses their name.  Another scary use of this technology is more advanced phishing or social hacking scams.

Guy Kawaski appreciates the humor and suggest’s a good use for his own company and as a marketing tactic.  A site called New York Politics Room 8 talks a bit about the study showing personalization in election marketing helps get voters to turn out.

For today enjoy it and if you want to send one to a friend click here, but let us know what you think and always keep the great emails coming in.

Shopping online is fast and easy?  Are you collecting payments from your customers this way?  Want to start? We can help your company or organization today so why wait? Hit me via email at: techlife [ at ] dkworldwide [dot] com. Do you subscribe to the RSS feed for Techlife? Visit the TechLife weblog where all you need to do is point and click.

(part of the syndicated print column’s writing process exposed to online readers)

Wishlists are great for business too. New look? New ideas? New plan? Need help? Ask an expert. I dream up solutions for companies. Let me help you. As a marketing and technology proven venture strategist I want to meet businesses and organizations that are looking for a way to break out, all it takes is an invitation. Contact me, it’s easy: techlife [at] dkworldwide [dot] com.

(part of the syndicated print column’s writing process exposed to online readers)

The Metrokane.  Techlife may only spring for the cheap stuff but it still comes with a cork, or whatever that new age cork material is these days.  Screw tops are so European.  When we saw the Metrokane Houdini in Blue it was clearly a gadget must-have.  So which reader will do us the pleasure of sending this gift our way?  Don’t be shy, we’ll even share a bottle of wine with you.

Ok, we want you to get something nice for you. Splurge! Necessity! It may look odd, but the Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Desktop 7000, which is their way of saying funky keyboard with even funkier mouse, is something Techlife is already using.  The split keyboard with a unique angle and the baseball mouse begin to feel better and better.  Your body will thank you.

At the Techlife offices we crave unique and ingenious the Kamp Rite Tent Cot is part Tent, part Cot, and all good.  It combines a tent and cot to keep you sleeping off the ground. Easy to setup and take down this something we are drooling over.  Be sure to check out the Double Cot model too.

Dead trees? Check. No beeps? Check. Analog page technology? Check.

We still enjoy reading, on dare we say it, on paper. There we said it. I mean sure our syndicated column, Techlife is printed so maybe that’s our love for going old school with Wired Magazine. Wired’s writers are some of the best in the business and technology world. Sure you can read them online, but live the oxymoron with us. Get us a subscription.

Strike fear into the heart of your opponent as you mess with their heads.  When you pull out this skull bowling ball, you tell all comers no one is spared with your take no prisoners bowling style.  Oh yes, tonight my friends, heads will roll!

As seen in Mystery Men and most certainly not seen in Kingpin or The Big Lebowski.  We thank you in advance for this gift.

Dear Techlife,

As a long time reader, I noticed all of a sudden a big change.  You have all these Amazon links.  I like Amazon as much as the next person but do you really think we need to have you throw it in our face like that?

Annoyed

Dear Annoyed…

Our print editor for the syndicated column asked us to write a Gift Guide for the upcoming column, so we started with the easiest solution that everyone seems to trust.  Amazon.com has been around for a while and provides a great shopping experience with reviews and photos and videos.  We wrote about them back in 2005 for “Shopping 101” and rarely do we highlight them.

The gift guide series will be over soon.  “Should we not expect a present from you this year?”  We love all the feedback from our readers.  Keep it coming.

Techlife

The Nintendo Wii is a big hit in our offices.  It works for the video game fan and the casual fan to sit down together and enjoy playing.  The most popular game in our office is the Lego Star Wars series.  Which means the Lego Batman series would certainly go over well.  Another option is always the man in the Fedora with Lego Indiana Jones.  If the person you are buying for has a Playstation or Xbox these great games are available for all systems.  BAM! POW! KER-SPLAT!

Look out Airwolf and Howlin’ Mad Murdoch its time to ditch the simulator. These remote control micro helicopter’s were our fun gift in 2008 to everyone. Of course we picked up one for Techlife but a few more wouldn’t hurt to have around for friends and clients.  Simple to understand but challenging to fly, RC Helicopters are certainly fun toys.

We’ll start off with a nice budget buy of $15.  One of the best movies of the summer was released on DVD and owning this movie to watch Robert Downey Jr, deliver his Stark-isms again and again is certainly something to cherish.  Iron Man and Stark’s performance are clearly something that we can watch until the sequel.

As you read this your holiday shopping list just increased by 1, me!  This holiday season don’t forget your favorite Techlife author who is always appreciative of a trinket or toy.  But just in case you are not sure what tickles the fancy, we have a few suggestions.

Because we love our readers we want to make your shopping as easy as possible, aren’t we thoughtful. (It’s the thought that counts right?)  We are going to sprinkle our wishlist with things that others might want too.  After all in the spirit of giving, this makes giving with others easier.

So fire up your browser and look for our gift guide articles.

Virtual G1: Take it for a Test Drive

How can I possibly buy a phone I have never seen? This is the number one question people ask when talking about the Android G1 or Google Phone with me.  The G1 folks have addressed this with Virtual G1. The virtual 360 degree G1 that rotates and opens to show off the full keyboard.  A guide view showing you where the battery and SIM card will go.  Best of all, an emulator view built in Flash to let you examine the software and hardware of the G1 in action.

The emulator is limited in many areas of function and there is no sound for any action.  It gives a good feel for what the device will do, at least to hold people over until the Tmobile release on October 22nd.

Thanks to Gizmodo and Engdaget for the fun tool.