Although in this case, it is!

Check out the coolest game from Sun identity Management.  Play “Be and Identity Hero” and rescue your enterprise from compliance burdens, clueless colleagues, nosy auditors and learn about the awesome Identity Management solutions from Sun.  You can even play against your friends!

I went in world today!  Sun held a landmark employee event in Second Life for all employees where folks could come listen to and interact with some of Sun's top executives.  We are still not really sure how I made it to the stage, but I had a blast.  The moderator was Chris Melissinos, Sun's brilliant and charismatic Chief Gaming Officer.  Check out some pics from the event. 

Chris Melissinos, Liz Matthews (me) in Sun employee townhall in Second Life

Jonathan Schwartz, Chris Melissinos, Don Grantham in Sun employee townhall in Second Life

Someone asked me the other day “who is the audience for your blog?”  I responded quickly...”Audience?  Its a blog for goodness sake. This is not a marketing campaign.”  But after my flippant response, I realized there was goodness in that question.  In fact, people want to know what you are talking about.  I claimed early on that this blog would be about software, Sun, people and fashion...not a likely combination, but one that works for me.  So my blog got an update this weekend to help give rhyme and reason to this loosely coupled gathering of thoughts.

P.S.
Thanks GC

   

Check out a great interview from Terri's blog with two of Sun's OpenSolaris rock-stars and listen to them banter about what's coming...what's hot in OpenSolaris and CommunityOne.  These guys are good!

I read a great article in the NY Times this past Sunday that inspired me...as a marketeer and a leader.  It's about James D. Farley, the former Golden Boy of Toyota Marketing who was recruited away to be the CMO of Ford.  He was responsible for the innovative Scion campaign which literally changed the way car companies market today.  He left the comforts of Toyota to pursue something greater – to help turn around Ford...and he is taking it very seriously.

For some, this article may just be about car companies and the challenges they face in the industry.  For me...this article spoke volumes about people and leadership. For one, I admire his creativity and courage – both at Toyota and Ford.  He is humble.   He is not resting on the laurels of past wins.  Just because he was successful at one place does not mean he will be successful at another – and he knows it.  He is confident, not arrogant.  He also understands that without the people around him, he will not succeed. But most importantly, he went to Ford because he believed.

In today's marketplace, it is easy to forget why we are doing what we are doing, but I have learned you can't go wrong if it is from the heart. 

Link to the Article: A Star at Toyota, A Believer at Ford 

Blog Warning: Nothing about technology or fashion today – just life

My son came to visit the other day and he brought his dog. You see, we both adopted Basenji's.  Ours was first - a 7 year old brown and white named Kelso.  And his followed – a 1 year old black and tan named Bevo (UT fans unite.)  Turned out that Basenjis are somewhat of a rare breed (we had no idea.)  They are an African hunting dog so they don't bark and are lightning fast.  They are a pack animal so when the two of them get together – they move as a team.  They also make really weird noises because they never learned to bark (Kelso especially.)  Took us a while to get used to it, but today we can read his noises like a separate language.

It was a BEAUTIFUL Sunday morning – the kind that usually only grace the coast of California.  We get about 10 of those a year in Austin (but I am not complaining.)  The dogs were hunting squirrels in the back yard.  We have two huge Oak trees and the squirrels - there were 4 of them - taunted and teased those poor dogs for hours.  The squirrels ran back and forth on the limbs of the trees – moving half way down the trunks sometimes, just to wiggle their tails.  The dogs were swift.  They ran silently and with precision after each one of those squirrels...but they never caught a one.  It actually is a beautiful sight to behold.

My husband commented...”Do you think they realize they will never catch one?”  “NAH,” I quickly answered.  Yet, they continued to run and they continued to work together with one simple goal in mind – to catch a squirrel.  I realized at that moment that Kelso and Bevo possessed a quality that is rare these days and if exists, often diminishes with age: eternal optimism.  They did not give up.  They did not let others tell them they won't catch that squirrel.  They continued to work as a team even though they my never achieve their goal.  But most of all – they had hope.  Now some of you might be saying “Come on Liz...they are dogs!  They don't know any better.”  And while that may be very true, that morning they reminded me of life.  You may never achieve what you set out to do.  That's OK.  The joy comes in the journey, the hope and the people you team with along the way.  

I hope one day Bevo and Kelso will catch those squirrels.  But then again...I am an eternal optimist :)

Electric Eric

Meet Eric Klein, VP of Java Marketing

Listen to how he is spending his days leading up to JavaOne.  His energy, passion, laugh and Java love permeates the market and organization.  Check him out during the conference...it is rumored that you may be able to find him walking the pavilion floor with a wagon-full-o-beer.

Calling All Students!
Check it out!!!!!! - If you are a student, this year you can go to CommunityOne and JavaOne for FREE!

Sun Developer Network
Also – one of the HOTTEST Parties in town is coming (tttsssssss) for our SDN Community.
Be there:  Wednesday May 7.  Come to the SDN booth in the JavaOne pavilion to join SDN and get your exclusive party invitation plus backstage access to all cool things SDN style.  Stay tuned for more details

Simply put – Paul Frank is one of my favorite designers.  Sure, you see his famous monkey Julius on the t-shirts of tweens and teens alike, so why would a XX year old marketing exec from Austin TX proudly show off her new iPhone case cover that her husband bought? (thank you honey)

Because to me...it is so much more than just a brand.  Paul Frank is creativity, innovation, art, brand and community – that has made a ton of money - all wrapped into one.  As a marketer – this is the bar.

Meet Julius.  The most recognizable, simple monkey face to date.  Julius comes with a set of friends.  They are close and go through many adventures together.  The characters are simple in design, but striking in their execution and lovable by nature.

Paul Frank never set out to be a fashion designer.  He started as an artist and musician in Southern California.  His designs took off in the late 90s and grew from the ground up.  Viral and hot, this brand became of of the most coveted to score.  I think you can say he was before his time.  He recognized the importance of community and human interaction.  He put little money into traditional marketing, but funded the most immersive, communal web experience out there.  He took his show on the road and toured the country in an RV – bringing Paul Frank to the people.  (I still remember the day I chased his bus down Congress Ave.) And he distributed through particular chains and boutiques that made it special for the consumer.  He was ahead of his time and many of the ideas used today he was using years ago.

So what is my take away besides the cute monkey?  Design what you know and love – start from a combination of heart and head.  Deliver a good, appealing product: simple can always be better. Create a place where others can share, experience and learn.  Don't set out to change the world with an overblown marketing campaign and force messages of greatness -let it grow from the ground up.  And most importantly – be patient.  Success will come.

This last year brought us an explosion of amazing watches which continued to move them from the time piece category to an out-and-out fashion statement.  Faces got bigger, straps got colorful, some styles got clunkier and many sported bling.  Models donned watches as is they were David Yurman bangles and wearing a triathlon watch with a suit became as acceptable as wearing a black t-shirt for a keynote address.

This year brings even more art, design and creativity to the watch fashion world.  Check out some of these fashion finders and enjoy!

      For the Square in your family

For the Modern risk-taker

   For the Fashionable athlete

        For the True athlete
 

           For the Rich and Famous

WARNING: If you are like me...who wears their watch face on the inside of their wrist...stick to affordable

Sometimes not saying anything at all says the most



I am still learning :)

While many started working on this year's JavaOne last year, this is when we all kick it into high-gear!  So how better to celebrate the upcoming event (May 6-9) than by highlighting some of the amazing people who have spent and will spend tireless hours making this the best ever...just for YOU. 

Java Jeet

Brilliant, funny and that quiet but deadly charm that fills a room, Jeet owns and drives the entire Java business as THE engineering guy.  Paired with one of our newest and most outrageous and exciting marketing VPs, Eric Klein, Jeet has taken over the reigns to deliver on the next generation of Java.  Be sure to check out his mobility keynote on the first day and I am told you may be able to find him throughout the week playing RockStar on a PS3.  You can't miss him – he will be the one with the biggest smile.

P.S.  There will be more to come 

As I blogged about before – my life has a little Friday Night Lights in it.  From the sidelines of Texas football (BTW...my son's high school ended up winning the division 4A state championship last year) to one of my favorite TV shows, I gave up the California lifestyle to be  apart of Austin.  

Well, I am very excited to say that it looks like one of my favorite TV shows will be coming back for a third season. No only do I love the show for its production value, multi-camera angles and highly-embellished human story lines, the show is shot entirely in Austin!  It brings us jobs, actors and a little bit of Hollywood to our every day lives.  I love seeing the local haunts and people in the shows.  And if you are really lucky, you may even get a small part like my husband did before the strike (Check out the recruiter from Georgia)

So while I will look forward to another great season of Riggins and Panther football, I know it will only pale in comparison to my real-life adventures on the football fields of Texas.

Stay tuned....

I know we all have those days (I may have had a few lately.)  Now there is a lovable character with a backstory all his own.  While he is not new to many - he is my new favorite guy (even though he seems to be missing some pants.)  Enjoy!

For the iPhone wallpaper lovers

Happy Friday...Oh and for those who celebrate it...Happy Easter

      

I had a few of my team members in Austin last week during SXSW (have I said lately how much I LOVE my team!  I have the best team in the world...but I digress.)  

The topic came up about blogging.  And naturally I was asked...”Why don't you blog more Liz?  Do you think it has to be perfect?  I mean...you just need to put something out there. ” 

“Well”, I responded, “I like to be inspired about my blog topics” 

It really is kinda true.  I am usually in the shower or doing dishes or even in a meeting when a topic will jump in my head and I run to the nearest computer to jot down notes.  This has posed a problem when being in the shower.  But seriously, my response was calculated spin on the fact that Yes, in fact, I like my blogs to be perfect...and when I say perfect...I mean perfect to me.  I always like to have a graphic and I like the graphics to be the same size.  I always post them in buckets of 3s because somewhere in my life I learned that 3 was a good design technique and I always check the preview at least 20 times before I click “post”.  

This morning I read an article in the NYTimes (not trying to show off...I usually read InStyle or Vogue but my husband gets the paper) about becoming a blogging superstar and while I have no intention of doing that (I use my blog as creative relief) I was reminded to write about what you love, write often and don't worry - blogs are a work-in-progress (just like people.)

So even after writing this down, I realized that maybe I am spending too much time trying to be perfect.  From writing blogs to making dinner to leading a team to changing the way software is seen in this world - at the end of the day, we are all just human and every one of us has a few typos.

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