Anyone who knows me will tell you how important I think education is, not necessarily in the form of a diploma, although that is helpful for the majority of us, but more so just to be able to hold an intelligent conversation... that, I believe, can get you further than a piece of paper with a seal on it. Let's not forget that some of the biggest names in various fields including video and internet are college drop-outs... if they even made it that far. 

So what's the point?

The point is, there is this awesome website, AcademicEarth.org, which aggregates lectures from some of the most highly respected universities including Yale, Harvard, MIT, Oxford, and many more.  It's really cool too because you can register an account for free, "favorite" lectures, make notes, and just keep an archive of things that interested you.

Well, today AcademicEarth.org announced on their website (with the letter below) that they have been acquired by Ampush Media. Ampush Media has worked as a partner to AcademicEarth for about a year.  You can read the whole thing for yourself:

Congratulations AcademicEarth.org!

So far this month, www.YourMediaReporter.com has hits from a couple interesting places including Latvia, Russia, and South Africa!  Way to keep it interesting and I'm so proud to say we're global!!!!  

It would be awesome if everyone would leave a comment saying where they are at the time when they view this post!!! 

Comment away.... 

Google officially launched Google Wallet yesterday.  At this time, only Sprint Nexus S users have access to Wallet.  This will come as an automatic update (no apps to download)  and those who use it before the end of the year will earn a $10 credit.  This limited availability is a good place to start as often with new technology, there are many bugs to work out, businesses to collaborate with, and loose ends to tie up.  Right now, only MasterCard and google pre-paid cards are working with Wallet, but in time this list should broaden. 

Has anyone used it yet?

I have started a new website, www.WhenThatHappened.com .  It's a really great space where visitors can come and share their experiences with major events that have take place.  These include personal experiences such as a 1st kiss to a wedding and major world events and important people like 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, President Obama, and Michael Jackson

So I came across this amazing, inspirational, blog post today and thought I'd share it with you, because everyone needs a little bit of awesomeness: 

There was a time when you were five years old,and you woke up full of awesome. 

You knew you were awesome. 

You loved yourself. 

You thought you were beautiful,even with missing teeth and messy hair and mismatched socks inside your grubby sneakers. 

You loved your body, and the things it could do. 

You thought you were strong. 

You knew you were smart. 

Do you still have it?
The awesome.


View the whole post by clicking here

There is this little device called Square, this tiny little device is scaring the big bad banking industry according to a recent article on TechCrunch.  Square is a payment processing hardware device that connects into a jack on your smartphone or tablet device that allows customers to pay you for whatever it is you do.  Basically, banks are losing about $600.00 a year per Square user. According to the same TechCrunch article, Square is doing significant business, but not significant enough for a bank to worry, yet...  What happens in the article is all of these big banks were sending people to a cupcake bakery in Ohio to convince her, even pay her, to 

This is where the TechCrunch article ends and this is where I'm going to pick it up.  The first time I heard about Square was only about 2 months ago from a colleague of mine while working on a project for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway at the Center for Information and Communications, Ball State University.  We were working as e-commerce advisors to the IMS. We decided and presented as a cost-saving and income producing that the IMS use Square for bleacher concessions. Some other really cool services Square provides is it emails receipts with product descriptions (if you choose), allows you to download payments into whatever accounting software you use, and track purchases. 

The first time I heard of Square, I saw the value and after looking into it a bit, suggested it as a potential business model for an established organization that holds the Indy 500. Since then, I've looked into starting my own business.  I bet you can guess which payment processing system I decided to use.  That's right, Square.  I even signed up for one.  I ended up putting my business idea on the back burner.... however, the point of this story is that Square is an amazing user-friendly device, that allows your business to be both stationary AND mobile! It is great for any business that provides a service from a bakery, to a motor speedway, to a taco truck or your landscaper and everything in between.

While Square may not currently be doing enough business to make a dent in the banking industry, myself and the banking industry, sees where this is going and it's going to be big. 

The banks are not worried about the $600 per user they are currently missing out on. They are worried about the $600 per user they are going to be missing in two years, but the number of Square users, I predict, is going to grow substantially and it's going to happen fast. 

A new editing community has emerged... and it's free... and it's fast. Kibin allows users to submit pieces of work to be edited by others in the community. This works on a point system.  If you edit work done by other people, you gain points.  These points can then be used to have your work edited.  If you can't wait, you can pay a small fee based on word count and turn around time. 

This is really cool.  
copyright © 2011 Adrienne McEwan

Codecademy, a brand new startup that went live yesterday, has turned programming into a game.  Yes, programming has always been a game, but just like everything else, it's only been fun for the people who are good at it.  Now, that's all changed.  Codecademy has turned it into a FUN game.  It even lets you rack up trophies and badges.  

It's super easy to use and it's free to sign up.  Check it out. 


Codecademy is still in the early stages but it's clear to see that this app will be going places.  
copyright © 2011 Adrienne McEwan

Several people are coming together tonight to donate to the victims of stage collapse right before Sugarland performed at the Indiana State Fair.  It said that there were 60 mph winds that knocked down the stage and killed 5 people and injured more than 40 others in the audience.  

All of the proceeds from tonight's Train and Maroon 5 concert will go to the victims.  The concert is being relocated to the Conseco Field House at 7 PM (instead of 7:30 PM).  If you already purchased tickets to the concert they will be accepted, just take note in the location and time change. 

To help: 
text FAIR to 27722 to make a $10 donation a confirmation will be sent back to your phone where you should reply with "Yes" 
This can be done 3 times per phone equalling $30 in donations.  
copyright © 2011 Adrienne McEwan

Leonardo DiCaprio has been one the forefront of the green movement.  He takes commercial flights instead of private jets, has solar panels on his house, and even bought an island in Belize where he plans to open an environmentally friendly resort. He is one of the first people I remember to have an eco-friendly car.  

Well, all of that has paid off with a pretty sweet hybrid ride pictured below:

The 2012 Fisker Karma is said to start at around $100kcopyright © 2011 Adrienne McEwan