You should probably just get Punchd. Punchd is a smartphone app that acts as a digital loyalty card. The more you purchase at your favorite business the more you get. (Typically 10 purchases gets you 1 free one, but it all depends on the business.) Punchd is being rolled out on a city by city basis so unfortunately it may not be available for use with the businesses near you, but not to worry IT IS COMING! (Google is pushing it so you can bet it will be available to everyone very soon.) You can download the app if you would like to get a feel for how it functions, but do not be turned off if you do not see businesses populate in the "Find More Deals!" area. You are probably wondering how Punchd got started and why I am giving it space on my blog. Maybe. Don't worry I will give you a quick summary since you may or may not have visited the Punchd site from that link I provided. TechCrunch has also written a bit about Punchd if you would like to get more information from them. In summary Punchd was created by a handful of Cal Poly grads and acquired by Google. Google not only gave them money for the app but hired the CP grads as employees to continue work on the project. It is hugely exciting to see not only Cal Poly grads but someone you used to work with (one of the CP grads being Xander Pollock) create something innovative that has lead them to, and will continue to lead them to further, success in this industry. Oh yeah and both my friend Nuge and I are in one of their promo videos. Check it out below, and keep an eye out for Punchd at local businesses near you!

It's not truly April Fools Day until you have been rickrolled... or have tactfully rickroll someone else. (I am sure you are aware of the many other offline, more traditional AFD pranks if you were previously unaware of rickrolling's existence.) Even more entertaining than the pranks that may occur within your office are the pranks online companies play on their users. Among the most notorious AFD company pranksters is Google who happens to have a whole wikipedia entry dedicated to their witty practical jokes. So what online happened this year? Here is a small sampling of some of the creative pranks our online friends played on us in 2011. Google: Posts job for "Autocompleter", intros “Comic Sans for Everyone” extension Gmail: Introduces "Gmail Motion" - control Gmail using only your body LinkedIn: Updates “People You May Know” contact recommendation engine to list some interesting suggestions... including Albert Einstein Flickr: Claims they just discovered the typo in their name and are switching to "Flicker" Hootsuite: Launches "Happy Owls" game - a fun spin on Angry Birds YouTube: Sends its site back to 1911, displaying films including Top 5 Viral Pictures of 1911 Hulu: Sends its homepage back to 1996, displaying TV hits including The X-Files, Murder One Yelp: States they are going national with Yelp Deals - first deal = puppy rentals Groupon: Announces their patent application for AFD Starbucks: Introduces "Mobile Pour" in which your mobile orders are brought to you via scooter Kodak: Introduces "Photo Tatoos" on their homepage IKEA: Introduces their dog high chair (dog not included) Sources: TechCrunch, TWN, PCMag, Huffington Post, Search Engine Land

Andy the Android and Natalie Kuhn. Image created with droid application Androidify. So I finally got an Android phone. I will add to this post when I have more to say about the situation. Really I just wanted to post the image above. Talk to you soon.