February, 2009 Archives

At the Twiistup5 event on Feb 12, 2009, the Sun Startup Essentials team videotaped 15 start ups giving their best ‘elevator pitch’. The contest works like this:

• View the videos above
• Pick your favorite. (Pick us!)
• Vote by texting the word ‘startup’ plus the name of the company in your favorite video to 41411.
• The start up with the most votes as of March 13, 2009 wins a Flip Ultra camcorder and some serious bragging rights. I’d like to give the camcorder to one of you, so consider it a vote for you.

Ok, it’s crunch time! There’s one day left to vote for tech support site FixYa at Santa Monica’s TwiistUp event. I just got the media list and if FixYa won TwiistUp, we’d be in Forbes, LA Weekly and LA Times to name a few. Show us the love, tell your friends and make us a media darling.

VOTE FOR FIXYA HERE: http://tu5.twiistup.com/entries#1165

Every veteran Expert on FixYa is familiar with the frustration of not getting feedback on their solutions. Users are sometimes so absorbed by whatever issue they are having with their products that they neglect to express their appreciation to the Experts who help them. But every so often, a user makes a point of conveying their gratitude for the assistance and information that they received, and the result is heartwarming. Motor1258 has been around FixYa since August 2008. He’s contributed 1185 solutions, but the one that sticks with him is this interaction with a man who inherited a car from his grandmother. The car had a gas leak and over several days of back-and-forth, motor1258 diagnosed the problem and gave great advice that helped the user repair his vehicle. The user was thrilled with the (free!) assistance he received, saying “This is unbelievable. I don’t know who you are but I am so thankful for your help here… What a blessing.”

While users aren’t always so effusive, you can bet that the 115 people who voted motor1258’s solutions a perfect “FixYa!” were similarly happy to receive such amazing support. It’s all part of what motor1258 does. He’s been involved with cars and mechanics since he was 13 and has worked as a mechanic, a parts manager, service manager, and purchasing agent, among other things. He’s also been self-employed with a service station and mechanic shop. Motor1258 currently works in the RV industry as a subcontractor. He would love to pursue this focus on FixYa, and would like to see some RV questions on the site in the future.

You already know you’re awesome. It’s obvious in the way you solve thousands of product problems every month. The confidence! The eloquence! You sir/madam are dazzling!

But remember to celebrate your own flare for repair. We’re finalists in Santa Monica’s TwiistUp event next week.

Don’t forget to vote for team FixYa HERE.

Note that this is a different contest than the Mashable contest we posted a few weeks ago. If you’re proud of what we’re building here (like I am), you should vote in both of these polls. Thanks and may the best community win. Duh, obviously that’s us.