These are some of the best ways I have found to stay active, therefore happier and more comfortable at work:

Straighten up
I’ll admit it, right now I am slouching in my chair. Not good. And we have some nice chairs that actually help force you to sit up straight. This is obviously still a very hard habit to get used to. Better posture leads to better breathing, which leads to stress relief and relaxes the mind and body. And by the end of this topic, I already have better posture, sitting upright in my chair. Baby steps as they say.

Stretch. Stretch. Stretch.
Stand up for a quick second, reach toward the sky and take a deep breath. This is a less than 1-minute alternative to stiffness that will keep you limber throughout the day. It also forces you to take your eyes off the monitor.

Go outside at least once a day
The sunlight makes you feel better, improves your mood and gives you some extra focus before heading back to office. Got Vitamin D?

Don’t get too hungry
Take it from the pros. It’s twice as hard to work when your stomach is growling and you’re only thinkin’ Arbys. You just cannot concentrate, so go indulge!

Keep your desk pleasant
Surround yourself with inspiration or that killer lampshade you finally bought from IKEA. Personally, organization makes me more productive. Everything on my desk is always in its right place, like the Radiohead song! A clean workspace helps keep my mind focused on the task at hand. The less distraction the better!

Stay hydrated
Remember how your body is almost made up of 2/3 water? It’s easy to forget, but more important than we ever care to think. 8 cups a day keeps the dehydration away! Also, the more water you drink, the more likely you will be to get out of your computer chair to use the bathroom.

Are there other ways you stay active on the job? Leave a comment if you care to share your secrets!

If you are on Facebook, there is a very good chance that you are one of the many who have their data collected and stored in this downloadable file. How does that make you feel? Betrayed? Exposed? To be honest, it doesn’t bother me. Here’s why.

Over the years, we have all seen how risky it can be to post our personal details on the Internet. We’ve learned far too many details about celebrities on Twitter (like John Mayer’s love life and Lindsay Lohan’s family drama) and heard the horror stories of folks who have put their Facebook status as “On Vacation” only to come home to find all of their possessions were stolen. And let’s not forget all those high school kids who have posted their fights on YouTube and were “shocked” when they got expelled from school.

It’s become pretty obvious to me that it isn’t wise to post any personal or vital information that I don’t want others to know. It really is pretty simple. Personally, I’m fine with the information I have shared online. Sure there’s a lot of detail about what I like and whatnot, but I certainly haven’t shared anything that could put me in danger or jeopardize my future. Sure you can probably learn that I live and work in the Indianapolis area and that I’m allergic to my favorite food (shellfish), but you won’t find any scandalous photos from my last vacation or a list of my credit card numbers!

I have seen way too many people post things that just shouldn’t be said on Facebook (or Twitter). You also have to keep in mind that employers spend a large portion of time looking through potential hire’s social accounts. From pictures, to status updates, notes and even events, you must be careful! Social services are hosted on the internet and even though there are “privacy settings,” people think that there is no consequence to posting something a little more than personal. That’s their call really. It may also be their loss.

It is your choice and your responsibility to decide what information you want to share with the world. I don’t believe Facebook users have any right to be upset with Ron Bowes for simply gathering all of the information that people have knowingly posted online into one downloadable file. If you don’t want people to know it, don’t post it online.

I guess my goal for writing this was not to excuse Bowe’s decision to post that file, but rather to shed light on the big picture of your online social life. It should be no surprise that the information you release publicly is [and has been] compiling for years in places like the Library of Congress and other massive data banks. A quote from an article on CNN regarding tweets being stored in the library of congress says “And I think folks understand that whatever they post on Twitter is meant to be searchable. So I don’t see the big issue here. The open exchange of information can have a positive global impact. This is something we firmly believe and it has driven many of our decisions regarding openness.”

There you have it! Used the right way, Facebook and Twitter can be amazing tools, but remember that once you post it—you can’t take it back. Proceed with caution, social butterflies!

Tech geeks billed Lala as a music rental service, where you could “buy” music for online-only play for 10 cents per song. However, I’ll admit that I only use Lala to access my personal music collection and check out new music – I never made a purchase or rental through Lala.

I am sure there are other services like Lala out there–I do love Pandora for its streaming music, but I’m going to miss having my own music at my finger tips. Guess it is time I resurrect my iPod from its role as an exercise assistance device.

This isn’t the first time Israel has given Apple the cold shoulder–Apple’s iPhone was not allowed in the country until December of last year over similar concerns.

So far 10 iPads have been confiscated and the owners have been given the choice of paying a storage fee until they leave the country or shipping the iPad home on their own dime.

Apple has delayed the international launch of the iPad by one month due to overwhelming demand here in the U.S.  Apple says the international version of the iPad will comply with the lower Wi-Fi standards and are hopeful the iPad will soon proliferate across Israel.

My guess is you’re probably asking “What the heck is SIGGRAPH?” Fair enough. You have to be on a whole new level of nerd/hardcore computer graphics fanaticism to recognize it. I won’t lie, I am! Just check out the picture below of my conference badge and how much stuff is on that thing.

SIGGRAPH is the largest international professional organization “to promote the generation and dissemination of information on computer graphics and interactive techniques.” In other words, it hosts a conference every year in North America (usually in a major city) where thousands and thousands of students, educators, researchers and  professionals get together for a computer animation festival, huge exhibition, art gallery, emerging technologies, classes, behind the scenes amazingness and so much more. Let’s not forget about the parties. Oh, you heard right. Nerds can throw down!

Anywho, they just recently started hosting a conference in Asia halfway through each year, starting in December of 2008 (the original conferences are held in early August). It was a huge transition and a big step forward for the field of computer graphics and Asia, but also came with a lot of struggles such as language barriers. To our surprise, it wasn’t bad at all! There were great reviews and as a student volunteer, I was able to help most  every case that came across my path. I’m not saying it wasn’t hard though. Either way, the blending of cultures into one huge mesh of the most talented artists in the world is one of the most fulfilling experiences I’ve ever had. You literally pass people who helped create the films you watch everyday, the technology you use, the games you play and the amazing visuals that accompany every single aspect of our lives.

That’s most undoubtedly a true statement. In Japan, I was able to talk to owners of animations studios, producers and artists from Pixar, big guns at Lucas Film Animation and even the winner of best in show in the computer animation festival. That alone is worth the trip! Since I could practically write a book on my experiences at SIGGRAPH, I’ll leave you with some pictures of my trip. Some are from the conference and others are around the town of Yokohama. Enjoy!

xiik signed a deal with Scott Abbott – writer and inspirational speaker – to help him promote his book. Pocket PorchLights, a winner of the iParenting Media Award was written to “Help young adults succeed in business and life,” quoting the main cover and the book’s Author.

xiik has worked with Scott for three months now, assisting with maintenance to his website, electronic announcements and updates, video production and contacting local organizations and schools interested in buying his book or having him speak to their members or students.

The most recent package included a video that our team helped him produce during his speech to the 2010 class of MBA students at the Indiana University Kelley School of Business this spring. xiik’s marketing team and copy writers followed this video up with an email announcement to over 500 interested contacts, to highlight the new video and mission of the site. Weeks later, xiik developed an interactive Flash photo gallery that will allow Scott to continue to update images as he continues his speeches.

xiik really highlighted its ability to harness several different layers of marketing to provide a solution that really drove home a message. Since then, Scott has sold over 300 copies of his book and spoken to large groups across the state.

Unfortunately, most of these programs read like a prenuptial agreement.  Not only does your distance of flight and duration of stay affect the total rewards you earn, but once you get the points, you’re subject to upgrade limits, blackout dates and capacity constraints for members.  Hmm…It’s almost as if they don’t want you to use your hard-earned rewards in the first place.

We say take a page out of Southwest Airlines’ book, guys.  Points are in the single digits, not the 1000′s.  Regardless of whether you’re flying from LA to Vegas or to NYC, you get a point.  When you fly home, you get another point.  If you stop somewhere inbetween (intentionally…not a layover), you get ANOTHER point.  Once you’ve got 16 points, you get a free flight, anywhere.  The end.  

At first glance, it looks like you could pretty easily scam this system by flying between two close cities repeatedly and then flying to the other end of the country on your free flight.  Yep.  You scammed them out of the $200 difference between the two flights.  I’d bet after eight round-trips and not having to build a system to assign point values to flights and costs to redemptions, they saved far more than that.  Plus, now you’re probably pretty loyal to them.

Simplicity helps people see the reality in what you’re offering.  The more chances for confusion, the less people will care to participate.

We’re a interactive marketing firm.  It seems like what some of the other companies in our field forget is that while we’re great at delivering our clients’ messages, we should also remember to have a message of our own.  In fact, xiik has a lot of messages; we have a lot of points that, well, we believe other people (like you) deserve to know about.  That’s why we have this blog.

And we’re excited about it.  Not necessarily excited about typing random thoughts into a website each week.  More excited that even if only a few people check out our blog, those few people may benefit and be more informed by doing so.

We’re just getting started, so things may be a little less sequitor at first – we’ve got a very diverse group of folks working at xiik, across the country.  But, over time, it’ll all come together and hopefully you’ll leave a better person and, maybe, even a little entertained.  Stay tuned and watch us use this convenient forum to do what we do best – inform and educate.  It just makes sense.