I’ll be in NYC this weekend (8/16 - 8/18)

I’ll be in NYC this weekend (August 16th through the 18th) to attend NYIGF for Photojojo. If you wanna meet up know of something great going on, let me know!

(And if you’re free Saturday night, stop by House 2.0 and hang out!)

Congrats to Joe and AirBed & Breakfast!

My pal Joe Gebbia’s got a really cool site called AirBed & Breakfast… it’s sort of like an up-market version of Couchsurfing. It lets users rent their apartment to people traveling to their city, and travelers get a cheaper stay than a hotel, and some local flavor.

I wrote about them back in March and am thrilled to see ‘em getting more and more attention. Just in the past few days, they got a plug in the Wall Street Journal and a post in TechCrunch!

Their marketing strategy for the site, by the way, is spot-on. Instead of trying to attack the entire world at once (and spreading themselves too thin, with cities upon cities with no listings) or concentrating on one city at a time (slow), they’re latching onto popular events and conferences.

By creating campaigns around design and political conferences and major events, they make it temporal, and relevant. In one stroke, the site is worth talking about and blogging about for anyone who’s talking or blogging about that event. Smart.

I’ll be at CHA in Chicago July 18th through the 20th

I’ll be in Chicago on 7/18 through 7/20 to attend CHA for Photojojo and to see buddies Sean Johnson (thanks for putting me up!) and Jacob DeHart.

It’s a brief trip, but if you’re in town and wanna meet up (or have suggestions for things I MUST see), let me know!

Using Twitter in India

I’d hoped sending twitter updates from India would be a snap as they’ve got their own shortcode. Not so.

No matter what I did, I couldn’t get the local shortcode to work or verify my number while using AirTel in Delhi. After a whole lot of research, I gave up for the night and twittered my frustration.

The next morning, Abhishek said it worked for him in Delhi, Puneet said the shortcode had changed to 55665, at least in Mumbai/Vodaphone, and Kathryn Yu suggested the international twitter #, +447781488126 and pointed to all the trouble folks were reporting with Twitter in India.

Digging in deeper, I found that Twitter’s shortcode in India only works on some networks, and in some areas. Pretty frustrating that this info is nowhere on Twitter’s site, especially since some of the most popular carriers aren’t covered.

What finally worked

• The international number +44 76248 01423. Apparently twitter changed it without updating their help pages. (I found out on Get Satisfaction.)

Cost

• International txts cost 5 rupees each, which is 12-13 US cents.
• Had the shortcode worked, it would have cost 3 rupees each, or 7.5 US cents
• Normal local txts cost around 1 rupee, or 2.5 cents.

Other options

• I found an Indian startup called Vakow! that’s building an SMS forwards service. They’ve got a Vakow-Twitter gateway that uses a local number to avoid shortcode and int’l fees. I might try this next.
• Chittr is/was an India-local Twitter competitor. There’s posts about it online but the site’s currently redirecting elsewhere.
• SMS GupShup is an Indian group SMS platform. The use case is similar to Twitter’s, except everyone belongs to specific groups instead of following people willy-nilly.

Notes about Apple’s Magsafe Airline Power Adapter

Recently, I did some research into Apple’s airline power adapter and their use on Continental planes for a trip to India that had me on a plane twice for 14-15 hours each time. I really wanted to be able to work during that time.

Much of what I found online was vague and inconclusive, but I decided to make some guesses and try it out anyway.

Here’s what I learned…

• EmPower outlets supply up to 75 watts of DC power. You need a custom adapter to use it with your laptop. I think there are two kinds of plugs, and this plane used the newer, smaller one.
• Here’s Seatguru’s guide to in-plane power
• EmPower powers your laptop, but does not charge it. Even on a Macbook, which draws less power than a Macbook Pro. Leaving it plugged in while the laptop was sleeping seemed to charge it VERY slowly.
• You can charge your iPhone while you’re using your computer. However, it’ll slowly tick down your battery. No big deal, as the iPhone charges pretty fast. But this basically means you’re using your laptop battery to charge your iPhone/iPod.
• I read that some laptops will refuse to work with EmPower unless you take out the battery. I didn’t experience this.
• Apple’s adapter costs $50. It’s decently well made and looks good. I’m sure it cost just a dollar or so to make, but for power for 29-30 hours of flight time, it was worth it to me.

Specific to my flight…

• Continental flight 82 (CO82) does have power outlets on their planes in coach, but only in rows 16-23. Supposedly they fly a newer version of the 777-200 on this flight that has power in all rows, but customer service didn’t know anything about it.
• The 777-200 Continental flies on this route has EmPower outlets (the newer version of the plane is supposed to have AC outlets, but again, I didn’t experience it.)

Some quick notes from Delhi

I’m in India for a couple weeks and I just starting my second day in Delhi. Here are a few initial observations:

• The malls have arrived. It was clear it was coming last time I was in India two years ago, but now it’s ingrained in the way of life in Delhi (and I assume, most Indian cities.) The chaotic, sprawling, lively markets always defined my experience of India. They’re still around, and for the moment I think they’ll coexist with their more modern counterparts.
• There are new cars everywhere. And air conditioners, and snazzy Reebok shoes. It’s been years since India opened up its trade policies so something other than the Fiat and Ambassador could claim the streets, but it’s still a shock that you can go a whole day without seeing a single one, when they used to be *all* you could see.
• Corollary to the above: people used to *really* customize their cars with all sorts of add-ons, stickers, colors and stuff. Probably because all you could get was a Fiat or an Ambassador, in a few select colors. The customization trend appears to have died now that more brands are available.
• Delhi still sees daily brownouts. Usually at night, but sometimes in the morning. People have large tanks of water on the roofs of their homes and generators or backup battery power and inverter systems to supply water, and power lights and ceiling fans during outages.
• Wi-fi is not omnipresent. It’s odd to open up my laptop and not see a single hotspot when in a pretty densely-packed residential neighborhood in a major city. Very different from the U.S., where the list shows a dozen pretty much anywhere in New York or SF, and at least a handful in even rural areas in CT. Bandwidth is also slow.
• My iPhone isn’t hooked up yet. Everyone here has a cell phone. (We passed not one, not two, but four cell kiosks on our way out of the airport after getting our luggage.) But there’s still confusion around data and how to get GPRS/Edge activated. Hope to have it figured out today.

I’m flying to India today!!

I’m flying with my dad to Delhi, India tonight. It’s a 14 hour flight, and I’ll be back April 29th.

We’ll be joining my mom who made the trip a week ago, and I’ll be attending my cousin’s wedding, and generally trying to soak in India while working.

I’m curious to see how difficult it’ll be working from the other side of the world, and to see how much the country’s changed since I was there two years ago.

In preparation for my trip, I’ve…

• Arranged to have Cable and DSL internet where I’ll be staying with my uncle in Noida. (Bringing my Airport Express to make it wireless)
• Unlocked my iPhone (Thanks Eric!) and done some research into local SIM cards for voice + data (Thanks Abhishek!)
• Bought Eating India, a food-focused travelogue I’m eager to dig into on the flight. (Recommended from past trips: The Age of Kali and City of Djinns: A Year in Delhi, both by William Dalrymple, both excellent.)
• Packed a video camera, a point and shoot, and my Nikon D70.
• Emailed a couple friends I made online meeting up while in Delhi. (If you’re in Delhi, I’d love to meet you! Email me.)

I’m ill-prepared for the 100 degree days I’ll see in the next couple weeks, but indescribably excited!!! India is a whole different world.

See you soon!

p.s. I hope to twitter while I’m there. If you’re curious to see what I’m up to, I’m superamit on twitter. Feel free to @superamit if you have questions or advice or anything.

I’ll be in San Francisco Oct 4 — Oct 10

I’ll be in San Francisco and the valley tomorrow through Wednesday. Going to Noah’s Community Next Platform conference on Facebook Friday and Saturday, moving some stuff to my apartment, and meeting folks (including Kevin Smokler of BookTour about a San Francisco Jelly).

Wanna meet up? Email me