Needless to say, the phone is state of the art. I will make comparisons to Apple and Android, but only because the phone truly warrants the comparison. Nokia and Windows have stepped up their game and are giving their competitors a run for their money with the Lumia 920.

The Smart
After being handed the phone I literally had it setup with all my social accounts and email in 5 minutes. The walk through stat up is quick and simple. The five minutes also includes the time to take a picture and tweet it! #SmarterEveryday is no joke.

Customizing the homescreen was really fast and easy. You have a choice of three sizes for all apps and some apps, like the AccuWeather.com app, had the option to set the tile as “live” giving it dynamic information on the home screen. Have the tile size options allows you to true set what apps and information you feel are the most important.

This phone is also blazing fast! And it must be to be almost constantly animated with those moving tiles on the home screen - more on that later. Switching between screens, and launching apps was very smooth. One of my favorite features was hitting back from the home screen, it brought you right back to your previously launch application, which made it easy to move between apps.

On top of it all, the battery life is amazing! I spent all of my days tweeting away, taking photos (which are great in low light by the way) and accessing email. I never ran into an issue with my battery.

The Bad
I had some periodic trouble to with getting the Wifi to connect and stay connected. Another of the #EpicNewsTeam also had an issue with the Wifi in a different location. It seemed to kick the phone off the network when the phone was locked and unlocked. I will say that my home wifi network had no issues.

My biggest issue was the lack of apps. I am an avid users of social media management apps, but developers haven’t created anything for the Window OS. Athough the phone is way beyond par on the hardware, the available software is a serious drawback. Apple jumped way ahead with a synchronous OS with tested hardware to boot and savvy developers pumping out apps. Android is cutting in and beginning to build a great synchronous OS and web experience and finally taking hold of the variety of hardware issues. The Nokia Lumia 920 is pulling up really fast. The hardware and software are a great combination, but Windows needs to make a concerted effort to get more apps.

The Ugly
The SkyDrive feature was a bit cumbersome. The aforementioned picture tweet was uploaded using Windows Skydrive, a cloud storage service. Viewing the photo from outside services via mobile was akward, especially from iPhone. There were no options to switch the photo service for twitter. On the other hand uploading images to Facebook was very easy. I can see SkyDrive being useful, especially when it comes to documents, which can also be viewed from the phone.

The next feature was difficult in the bad or the ugly. The windows tiles in constant flux was, in my personal opinion, a bit too much. It made me anxious to constantly see the phone moving, always asking for my attention. It made me want to keep the phone locked, so the screen wasn’t on, which a phone shouldn’t do.

All in all, the Nokia Lumia 920 is a great piece of technology! The hardware is very fast, the OS is very smooth and intuitive, which is a big plus from previous Windows phones. You can literally be setup with all the essentials within minutes of turning this phone on. I’m going to continue using this phone for the remainder of my trial (maybe even ask for an extension)…

To some extent they're right! A video typically goes viral because one community shares it, and it speaks to certain emotions (triggers) that cause the members of that community to share it. If the video is relatable enough to people outside that specific community it could reach even farther and cause it to "go viral."

So, what TubeRank has done is identify these "Triggers" and "Interests" as well as the additional categories of User Generated Content (UCG) and Branded Content and built a platform to find videos. With this platform you can set the intensity of three triggers, such as "LOL", "NSFW" or "EPIC", select up to 3 interests, and choose USG or branded content or both. Voila! They pumped out the top viral videos for that criteria. It's pretty neat!

Loads of "LOL" and "EPIC" with Some "Topical" with the "Pop Culture" interest gets you this:

It comes as no surprise that loads of "LOL" and "Kawaii" (aww moments), with a little "WTF" gets you this:

But there is still a BIG HOLE in the equation. TubeRank successfully identifies which community interests and what kind of triggers caused viral video to go viral, but it fails to identify how to get these communities to actually share it. The "make it and they will come" method just won't do. "Double Rainbow" sat dormant on YouTube for nearly 2 years until Jimmy Kimmel happened to tweet about it. So, the formula still is incomplete and until the vital question, "How do I get people to notice my videos?" gets answered, we'll all by grasping at clouds hoping we can make it rain.

Now I'm not a huge health nut. In fact I do my fair share of beer drinking and carb consumption. After moving to NYC I was more active due to all the walking so maintain a weight was difficult. But I believe this is most possible due to some habits I built early in life. It's not about what I should be eating - because let's face it, we always have a vice - but more about declaring what I would absolutely NOT eat or drink. So here it goes, what I do to get fit and feel epic.

1. NEVER drink soda
I haven't drank soda for over 5 years (*with one exception). You boil down soda and all you have is a sticky, overly sweet mess of sugar. Considering your body absorbs water quickly (like boiling water out of a soda) and you're left with the same sticky mess floating around in your body. It tends to stick to all the parts you don't want getting larger. I found that my true attraction to soda was the bubbles. So I drink soda water to get the fix. *The exception: I have been known to have a rum and coke every now and then. The only time I drink soda is in small quantities with alcohol.

2. NEVER eat fast food.
I haven't eaten food from McDonald's in over 8 years. I've limited myself to one trip to Arby's a year, which I actually haven't done since I moved to NYC, and it was only for a roast beef sandwich. Jack In The Box hasn't seen my face in a long time and Taco Bell gives me loose bowels just thinking about it. Quite honestly, after every trip to the Box I've felt awful afterwards. Literally sick. All the aforementioned food, and anything like it, is awful, and after so many years of not eating it, I don't desire it and it actually makes me ill if I eat it. This habit has stemmed to avoiding processed and low quality foods in general, including chocolate syrups, especially processed cheeses and white breads.

3. Stay Active
This goes without saying. Diet & Exercise, Diet & Exercise, Diet & Exercise. Diet being "what you eat (or don't eat) on a regular basis" not "eat healthy for a short while". Exercise being any form of activity! I walk a lot living in a big city. I also stretch at home and make a valiant effort to do 80 - 100 pushups a day. Sometime fast to get the heart rate up, sometimes slow to feel the burn. This of course is only to maintain a weight, not necessarily lose extra pounds!

There you have it. 3 simple steps to Get Fit and Feel Epic!

Would you pay a million dollars for a million shares of your Facebook posts?

In his post he wrote "Looks like I won't be going to work EVER!!!! Share this photo and I will give a random person 1 million dollars!". The post has since "gone viral" and has over 1.6 million shares. Many of the shares with descriptions stating it can't hurt, even if it is a hoax, because the chances of winning are better than the lottery. The "share to win" is a lame marketing tactic used by immature brands, but at least they have a reason for doing it. What I can't figure out is what Daniels' motivation is for giving away a million dollars of his winnings.

It's not charitable, it's relatively a lot of money for the winner - perhaps no longer to Daniels - and all for a bunch of Facebook shares? Truth or Fake, one thing we do know for certain is that Nolan Daniels has an insatiable ego.

The Best Quotables:

"Cheesy Drizzle"
"Da Big Sauce Boss"
"Setting off smoke alarms"
"Pocket Like It's Hot"
"Heat it up, to eat it up"
"Hungry kids in the hood"
"When your munchies get an attitude"
"Chomping hot pockets is how you get ahizzay"

Full Lyrics:
Hungry kids in the crib ma
Pocket like it's hot
Pocket like it's hot
Pocket like it's hot
When the craving's got a hold of you
Pocket like it's hot
Pocket like it's hot
Pocket like it's hot
And yo munchies get a attitude
Pocket like it's hot
Pocket like it's hot
Pocket like it's hot
I've got the pockets in my arms
Settin' off smoke alarms
And I eat 'em smokin hot
'Cause I got it going on
-
I'm a hot dude, with some hot dreams
Getting fired up, letting off steam
Everybody showing love -- Herbie's in da tub
Checkin' applications for the Hot Pockets fan club
Pepperoni pizza, much better than some fish eggs
The interior too hot let it cool off for a few secs
I'm running for the taste, that can be my phys ed
Chompin Hot Pockets, that's how you get ahizzead
Winners get the meaty meats,
Winners get da cheesy eats
The tag-team meal that's too hot for TV
Get off my pockets, you gotta backup
Yup that's whatssup, now sign the prenups
Me and Hot Pockets never gonna splitup
You should think about it.....take a second.
-
I bring the heat, but y'all knew that
Da Big Sauce Boss, yeah, I had to do that
I keep it fired up, even when I'm inside
You take what's mine, then ya gonna have to run 'n hide
He light 'em up so much that everybody talks
They all wanna turn in his Hot Pockets Box
Two, one, yep, three these Pockets are H O double T
Smokey temps hitting that three thirty three
If you can't stand it this hot
Then you can't chill with me
So bring your friends, we going on a wild ride
Herb Sauce tender meats heat yo insides
So don't change the dizzle, turn it up a lizzle
Got some cheesy drizzle dripping on my shizzle
Waiting on the brizzle's, the pizzle, the dizzle Gs, when da cheese hits your tongue it'll scream "Fo Sizzle"
-
Hungry kids in the crib ma
Pocket like it's hot
Pocket like it's hot
Pocket like it's hot
When the craving's got a hold of you
Pocket like it's hot
Pocket like it's hot
Pocket like it's hot
And yo munchies get a attitude
Pocket like it's hot
Pocket like it's hot
Pocket like it's hot
I've got the pockets in my arms
Settin' off smoke alarms
And I eat 'em smokin hot
'Cause I got it going on

What @comfortablysmug didn’t count on, apparently, was losing that anonymity. Based on photos he censored and posted to the account but I found unedited elsewhere, @comfortablysmug is Shashank Tripathi, a hedge fund analyst and the campaign manager of Christopher R. Wight, this year’s Republican candidate for the U.S. House from New York’s 12th Congressional District... He's listed here by a local Republican group coordinating volunteers for a Romney phone bank. He's 29 years old.

At 7:24 PM on October 30th, he sent out an official apology. He has also resigned from the congressional campaign of Christopher Wright.

I wish to offer the people of New York a sincere, humble and unconditional apology. twitter.com/ComfortablySmu…

— ComfortablySmug (@ComfortablySmug) October 31, 2012

I stood and I watched as dozens of people came up the stairs to wait for trains and exited trains to go down the stairway and she continue to repeat the message to everyone. She didn't seem to be connecting with anyone. So how could she have done it better?

Here are three ways:

1. Start with a Conversation
The end goal of her mission is to get people to believe her message, but she skips over all the reasoning. Brands spend a lot of time crafting the perfect message to push into the marketplace, but it is often not received. Today's technology can leverage your message to start a conversation, which can be continue somewhere else with the people who want to talk with you. This gives you the opportunity to discuss your reasoning, values, goals and garner buy-in from your audience. With social media, even if you only convert a few people, with this method you will have people who have converted because they believe in your message. These people are more also likely to share it and, over time, this will build.

2. Know your Audience
Make sure you are starting a conversation with the right people. Pushing your message on people who are to devoted something else, only positions you for a debate. Converting people who have already bought into your competitors is the most difficult path. It is much easier to converse with people on the fence, answer their questions and help them make a decision. Almost every social media platform can assist with this task.

3. Know your Environment
This woman stood at a bottle neck of the subway traffic during high density travel times. Much like brand XYZ jumping on a social platform and expecting everyone to listen to what it says. It is disruptive, but irrelevant to the audience. Your message must be delivered in a place where people are willing to listen or prepared to listen. Just because you've identified a place with high traffic, doesn't mean that it is the right place for your message. A better qualifier for the placement of your message should be reception, not traffic.

Of course, these rules only apple when you know your values, have goals, and are ready to converse with your audience. Gone are the days of pushing your message on to people. Your marketing is now a conversation, with informed people looking for more answers.

How many social media consultants have you wanted to do that to?

.@applebees we ordered your signature dish & the bees got angry & flew out of the apple & killed my beloved wife

— rob delaney (@robdelaney) October 26, 2012

@robdelaney Rob, so sorry that had to happen.Gift card? ~ARB

— Applebee's (@Applebees) October 26, 2012

The tweet stirred up a flurry of feedback, everything from praise to jealousy. Studies show that the top two reasons user follow a brand online is for either coupons/giveaways and exclusive content. However, this customer service offer was just a joke. Applebee's successfully used sarcasm on the internet and only upset a few people.

.@applebees @robdelaney YOU JUST REPLIED TO HIM CUZ HES A CELEB I TWEETED YOU ASSHOLES ALSO THX NOT

— NebulaGnome™ (@nebulaGnome) October 26, 2012

@ladybluebird7 There's actually no bees.Rob was joking - we had a good laugh about it.~ARB

— Applebee's (@Applebees) October 26, 2012

Recently Microsoft launched their "Bing it On" challenge, which does a blind comparison of search results from Bing and Google to prove that you do in fact like Bing! It a very clever campaign - even I came up with a 10% favorable slant to Bing (albeit 3 of my answers were ties).

Now, Google throws a return jab. Just hours after the Windows 8 launch with the Surface tablet, Google releases a video on how to install Google Search and Chrome on your new Windows 8 device.