Andrew Shuttleworth Web HQ

Google Latitude Location Badge

Google Latitude now lets you publish your location using a badge (aka widget). You can choose choose to show city level location (which I'm doing for now) or best location possible.

Coming Out: Who is Andrew Shuttleworth and What Does He Do?

OK. The question has been asked too many times. It's time to come out in public ... 

I know many people wonder how I do what I do and what exactly what I do for a living ... but only a few people ask. So here's the spiel.

Who is Andrew Shuttleworth?

I'm just a regular guy who decided to live a life experiment and build a career from the things I love doing. I'm passionate about helping people connect as every good connection leads to a better world.

What do you do?

3 years ago I started working independently to helping great vendors in Tokyo to find customers, and customers find great vendors - business matching. When I make a good match I get paid by the vendor. That's how I pay my bills, in addition to spot consulting projects. (Some people, have assumed I'm independently wealthy, but unfortunately that's not the case - I do work for a living).

In 2008, I followed my passion for the internet and started helping cool web startups (such as smart.fm) to connect with the community and strategic partners in Tokyo. I spent a LOT of time nurturing the Tokyo 2.0 community that I co-founded in 2007 as well as a lot of time building my personal brand and network. This year I started co-organizing CGM Night with Danny Choo which quickly became one of the top blogger/vlogger events in Japan.

I have a bazillion different side projects and people I'm helping, but it's time to focus, grow and bring all I'm doing under one umbrella.

So what now?

I'm a fanatic networker obsessed with the web and other technologies that help people communicate and connect. I also speak fluent Japanese and have 10 years business experience and a large network in Japan.

I want to work with a cool overseas web brand and help them to succeed in Japan. I'd love to work with a company like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or Google. Or with a VC company deal sourcing and supporting their existing ventures.

I'm crowdsourcing my next life move. What should I do? Who should I work for? Post your comments and suggestions here, tweet me, refer me. I'm ready and listening.

Roppongi Drink Spiking Warning from US Embassy in Tokyo

Japan is generally a very safe place, but beware if you are planning to go drinking in Roppongi. Maybe a knock-on affect from the downturn in business the bars must be facing following the exodus of expats from Tokyo as a result of the economic climate?

Quoted from a Warden's message from the US Embassy in Tokyo ...

Date: March 17, 2009

This is to inform the American community that the U.S. Embassy has recommended that the embassy community avoid frequenting Roppongi bars and clubs in Tokyo due to a significant increase in reported drink-spiking incidents.  American citizens may choose to avoid frequenting drinking establishments in this area as well.

The number of reports of U.S. citizens being drugged in bars has increased significantly in recent weeks.  Typically, the victim unknowingly drinks a beverage that has been secretly mixed with a drug that renders the victim unconscious for several hours, during which time large sums of money are charged to the victim’s credit card or the card is stolen outright.  Victims sometimes regain consciousness in the bar or club, while at other times the victim awakens on the street.

GPS Tracking as it Should Be Done with Everytrail

For years I've been dreaming a phone app that would let me easily and quickly track and publish my trips with the trail on a map with the photo's I took along the way. ('Easily and quickly' are the key words there). Finally Everytrail in combination with my iPhone lets me do that. Enjoy one of my favorite weekend walks from Yokohama Chinatown to Minato Mirai. (Click through on the title for a richer full screen view). 

Yokohama Chinatown & Minato Mirai

Widget powered by EveryTrail: GPS Geotagging

Japan Blogs

I actually originally intended to post this as a page, rather than a blog post, but now it's here I'll leave it here. It's my growing blogroll of sites I've tagged 'Japan' in Google Reader. Let me know if there's any missing.

Facebook Connect

It wasn't quite as simple as Google Connect, and I know basically zero about programming, but thanks to this nice step-by-step video I managed my first experiment with Facebook Connect. There's not much functionality to the button to the right (at my HQ if you are not reading this there), but it's a first step and I hope to work on adding more to allow a community of visitors to this site build a mini community soon. (Update: For some reason the button is not displaying in IE. Any ideas why?)

Google Connect

Finally got around to trying out Google Connect. Play away...

10 Tips for Migrating to Gmail

Gmail is a very well designed email tool, but many people find it frustrating at first. Why? I think the main problem is that most people are only using Gmail some of the time. This means that when they look at email threads, mails they have read in other applications are not collapsed and they have to scroll a long way to find the newest message. 

I experienced this and noticed the problem with a few of my friends who have not yet fully migrated. Try moving to Gmail full time and this problem will go away automatically.

Moving to Gmail has been one of the best move's I've made. Here are a few tips on how to make good use of email and how to ease the transition.

1) Search

Using the search operators like to: , from: , label: etc can really make it easy to find the email you are looking for. Use a + or - to combine or exclude. One thing I particularly like is that, for example, searching for 'John' will search the name field and email address field, so even if John has an email address like alien@planetmars.cc, or even if he has multiple email addresses. You'll still find all the email address from him as long as the address book entry is properly completed with his name, which is usually done automatically if his name is included on the emails he has sent you.

Update: I forgot one very important thing in my original post. When you click on the threads in the search results, only the mails that match your search query will be expanded. All the others will be collapsed. This is a very useful and well designed feature, but I guess that many users don't know that this is a feature and wonder why many of the messages are collapsed.

2) Viewing past emails from one person

Most people are used to seeing a chronological list of emails on a given topic or from a certain person. This can be useful. For example, if you have an approximate idea when the email was received but can't remember the thread it was in or think of any appropriate search terms to help narrow down the results. Google's threaded view does not enable to viewing mails purely chronologically.  

3) Viewing Unread Mails in Inbox

A simple demand, but something not part of the GMail feature set. There's a solution here.

4) Folders vs. Labels

I think this is a relative easy habit to break. Many people are used to filing mails in folders. This is a result of the historic lack of good search tools in other email applications. In reality, filing mails in folders is an unproductive waste of time. Once you get used to search you'll find it easy to find the mails you want and will be able to eliminate email filing and spend more time on productive things.

5) Shortcuts

GMail has a bunch of shortcuts listed here. By far my favorite short cut is [ . This moves the mail you are reading into the archives an displays the next email.

6) No deleting

With GMail's huge storage allowance and more available for purchase at super low prices you simply don't need to delete. Just archive and know that the email is only a search away. If anything, you can import all you past email archives into GMail so you have everything in one place. 

7) Mobile and Offline Access

Google has good support for mobile access. You can get your email on almost any device in a format designed for the small screen. The iPhone interface is nice too, although having the search only at the bottom of the Inbox screen is annoying. If you ever do want to get your Gmail offline you can use IMAP to synchronize email with your normal email software. This is a good backup when you first move to Gmail, just in case you can't cope with a sudden switch. 

8) Good Help system

It always surprises me that people fail to make good use of the Help files. The answer to the problem that's been niggling you is most probably just a quick click and search away. I haven't linked to many of the pages that provide more info on the features mentioned above, but you can be sure to find more good step-by-step info in the Help files.

9) Hardware Independent

If you are already using another webmail system this is not important, but if you are using desktop software you'll find this a huge benefit. No more worrying about PC failures, migrating mail to another machine, backing up huge archives. I've known people who've lost weeks of productivity because their one of only machine was out of action. (You know who you are :-) For Outlook users - as much as I liked the tool, it's slow and a memory hog, even on powerful machines. The power features and options are difficult to find and use. Moving into the streamlined email in a browser will be a revelation!

10) I'm not sure this justifies an extra point, but note that if you don't like the News section that appears above your email, it just takes seconds to turn this off in the settings. Would be nice if Google provided a one click option to minimize or remove this.

GMail is not perfect, but I think it's close. There are tons of other useful features you'll find if you take a little time to explore. If you turn on the Labs feature you'll get notified of any new experimental features. Since migrating full time to Gmail my email life has been far more productive and I can live with or find workarounds for the downsides. I encourage you to to make the jump. 

Nose Laser Treatment for Hayfever

- Yesterday morning I had nose laser treatment.
- They burn some parts of the inside of your nose with a laser.
- It's supposed to prevent the effects of hayfever.
- I started to have quite severe hayfever 3-4 years ago
- Medicine and protective masks help but it's not fun every spring
- One third of people in Japan have hayfever - it's a big industry!
- There are big forests of pine trees which were planted for timber but never used as imports were cheaper and these are left to grow and spew out huge amounts of pollen into the atmosphere every spring an also lesser so in autumn
- Hayfever is also caused by other plants so you may need to do a test to find out which types you are effected by
- I heard hayfever can be compared to a cup. Once the cup is full you've reached your intake limit and will be effected going forward
- I had to do the laser treatment now for it to be effective next spring.
- Does anyone know any references about this treatment in English?
- I thought it would hurt but the painkiller which made even the gum above my front teeth numb was effective.
- The smell of the burning was pretty nasty.
- Got 3 types of medicine to take and have to go back in a week for a check
- Will report back next spring whether it has been effective.

Footnote: This blog is written in bullet blog style. See previous post for info and let me know your thoughts.

A New Style of Blogging? - Bullet Blogging

- Today I going to test out a new style of blogging I'm calling bullet blogging
- Each bullet focuses on one key point
- Inspired by the five.sentenc.es approach to email
- Makes it easier and faster to blog and content is easier to digest for readers
- Fills the gap between tweeting and a full blog post
- I feel it will work well when posting by email especially from a phone
- Will miss pictures and links but maybe these can be added later, in comments or just omitted
- Some creative developers could probably come up with crafty ways to add-to and edit posts iteratively, in a similar way as Utterli lets you add to posts.
- Do you know anyone else who has tried this style of blogging?