We’ve mentioned previously on our blog that we’re headed to the track again for the 24 Hours of Lemons and we’ve challenged you to a race. Will we see you there?

Last year PEER 1 participated in the 24 Hours of Lemons event that took place in

PEER 1 at 24 Hours of Lemons - Kershaw, South Carolina 2008

Kershaw, South Carolina. We posted pictures and a video interview with Jay Lamm, “The Chief Perpetrator”of the event and we’ll be at it again this year at the “Laissez Les Crapheaps Roulez New Orleans” on June 6-7, 2009.

We’ll have employees from two of our office locations participating – PEER 1 Atlanta and ServerBeach San Antonio. PEER 1’s system administrator Kevin Lee will be leading the team again this year. Last year, we quoted him saying, “I spent so much time at junkyards, I never want to see another one again”. Well, this year he was back at it hitting the junkyards getting the PEER 1 1981 Turbo Diesel Mercedes ready for this years race.

To remind everyone what the 24 Hour of Lemons is all about:

Nasty. Brutish. Not Short Enough.

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The crowd. The spectacle. The pall of blue smoke and roasted clutch discs. In all motorsport, no event captures the universal human need to whale on old crapcans and hoover down greasy barbecue like the 24 Hours of LeMons.

Each LeMons race is for cars purchased, fixed up, and track-prepped for a total of 500 dollars or less. But before reaching the grid, you’ll have to survive trials like the Personal-Injury-Lawyer Anti-Slalom, the Marxist-Valet Parking Challenge, and the Wide Open Throttle Rodthrowapalooza. Twelve hours into the race, the car voted People’s Choice is called in and awarded a cash prize; simultaneously, the car voted People’s Curse is called in and summarily destroyed. At the end of 24 hours, a gala awards ceremony plies the survivors with trophies, plaques, and four-figure purses in canvas bags full of nickels. What’s not to like? — 24 Hours of Lemons Website

For requirements, rules, and fees, visit http://www.24hoursoflemons.com. For track information and location, please visit http://www.24hoursoflemons.com/events/noproblem09/

For more information on the PEER 1 race challenge, or if you’re in the neighborhood and would like to say hello, please contact:

Charnell Pugsley
PEER 1 Community Evangelist
cpugsley@peer1.com
210-798-4413

We’ve partnered with Lisa Sabin-Wilson, celebrity blogger and author of “WordPress for Dummies”, to offer free premium blog templates, valued at $1,200 each, designed exclusively for PEER 1 and ServerBeach.

With an estimated 133 million blogs worldwide and growing, social networking and blogging has become the fourth most popular activity on the Internet, surpassing even e-mail.* For those looking to join the fast-growing blogging community, or just wanting to spice up current blogs, PEER 1 is offering five free custom-designed WordPress themes as a download to anyone who visits the PEER 1 or ServerBeach Web site.

The templates won’t be around for long, available for download only until June 30. To view the different designs and download a favorite, visit the PEER 1 Web site http://www.peer1.com/resources/wordpress_themes.php or the ServerBeach Web site http://www.serverbeach.com/resources/wordpress_themes.php.

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To view the full press release, please visit http://www.peer1.com/aboutus/news.php?id=118

A few months back I began a fun little project – exposing our customers and posted about it on our ServerBeach Blog. The goal of this project is to give your business some added exposure. It’s called “You’re on My Shirt”.

Every week I will post a picture of me wearing a client’s branded T-shirt along with a description of your business and a friendly link to your site or blog.

So what’s the catch, you ask? Nothing really. To be featured, all you have to do is be a current PEER 1 client and mail or courier me a T-shirt with your company name on the front and/or back… and that’s it! BTW, size MEDIUM please.

The PEER 1 Blog has a loyal following and is viewed daily by many online users. This new feature is a way for us to extend some love to our clients and get you some more free exposure.

You can view some of the ServerBeach “You’re On My Shirt” pictures and blog posts here: http://serverbeach.wordpress.com/?s=you%27re+on+my+shirt.

To get on my shirt, fire off an e-mail to me and I’ll reply back right away with some details and questions about your business, as well as an address to send me your T-shirt.

Be the first one to get featured!

Charnell Pugsley
Community Evangelist
cpugsley@peer1.com

Rajan Sodhi, VP Marketing for PEER 1 and ServerBeach

The title says it all. Rajan Sodhi, VP of Marketing and Communications for PEER 1 and ServerBeach was recently recognized for “Thinking Outside the Box“. Rajan has been called an “Everyday Customer Champion“. He spends so much time doing what he does best – being creative … and it works. Much of the creativity is humorous as you can see from the videos that he’s directed – for example “Growing Pains“. But even while it was humorous, it really hit home with many of our customers and the general public which says that he clearly understands the growing pains that many people face in business. You can find Rajan making his way in the social media scene, listening, communicating, and connecting onthe following:

Twitter – @rsodhi
LinkedIn – rajansodhi
Ning -http://peerone.ning.com/

FaceBook, and several other places around the Internet. So if you haven’t already, be sure to follow him on Twitter and while you’re at it check out his blog too “BIG Marketing for Small Business”.

Read more

Picture this: The year is 2005. It’s the The Massive Technology Show being held in Vancouver at Science World. Peer 1 staffers in the back room kitchen feverishly mixing the signature “Peertini.” They’re using extra large garbage cans as mixing vats. (New, clean plastic garbage cans, of course.) Between 4:30pm and 8pm the Peer 1 “bartenders” cranked out almost EIGHT HUNDRED Peertinis (served in special Peer 1-branded glasses) to some very thirsty show attendees. A sea of green drinks filled the Science center.

Happiness abounded and the Peertini legend was born.

THE PEERTINI

1½ ounce Vodka
1½ ounce White Grape Juice
½ ounce Sour Apple Pucker Schnapps
½ ounce Triple Sec
½ ounce Lemon Juice

DIRECTIONS

Shake with ice
Strain into a chilled glass
Garnish with Granny Smith Apple

Smile.

We are honored to be listed on The 5 Best Vancouver Business Blogs . PEER 1 has been mentioned as having the ability to come off as personal on our blog, focusing on community-sided topics and contests as well as keeping the balance right between company announcements and posts that are just for fun.

At PEER 1 we’re always striving to continue this balance. It’s very important to us to maintain not only a professional atmosphere to show people how PEER 1 is the smart choice for business solutions, but to also include a personal presence and allow everyone to see that we are real people too.

This past weekend ServerBeach – our dedicated division, exhibited at the Interactive Festival at South by SouthWest in Austin, Texas and were listed as one of the Top 10 Companies Most Discussed on Twitter. Be sure to take a look at the pictures on Flickr that were taken at this event and follow us on Twitter for news and upcoming contests:

PEER 1 on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/peer1

PEER 1 on Twitter: @PEER1

Recently we announced the PEER 1 Quick Hits Twitter contest and have been having a lot of fun with it. Today is day three of our contest and we’re happy to announce the winners to date:

Twitter Trivia Day One: PEER 1 Million Hits Video – “Slacker“

Flip Video Winner: @geekgiant

PEER 1 Sumo Wrestler T-Shirt: @sapphirelaninja

Twitter Trivia Day Two: PEER 1 Million Hits Video – “Washroom“

Flip Video Winner: @garannm

PEER 1 Sumo Wrestler T-Shirt: @donred

Twitter Trivia Day Three: PEER 1 Million Hits Video – “Meeting“

Flip Video Winner: @KelByrd

PEER 1 Sumo Wrestler T-Shirt: @the_real_mkb

Congratulations to all of our winners to-date! We will be having two more contests at 12:30pm CST (10:30PST/1:30EST) March 2nd and March 3rd. Follow me (@charnellpugsley) on Twitter for your chance to win!

We’re getting such a great response to our Million Hits campaign that we’ve decided to take it a step further with a Twitter contest.

Over the next few days, I’ll be posting “Quick Hits” trivia contests on my Twitter account at http://twitter.com/charnellpugsley. For each contest, the winning trivia factoid will be embedded in one of our YouTube videos.

FIRST PRIZE: A Flip Video Mino
SECOND PRIZE: A “Million Hits” sumo wrestler t-shirt.

So please follow me on Twitter, keep an eye on my Tweets, and maybe you’ll win a prize! And don’t forget to visit http://www.peer1.com/millionhits/ and learn how PEER 1 can help get your business ready for a million hits.

As many of you know, PEER 1 participated in the 24 Hours of Lemons endurance race in Kershaw, South Carolina last year. We will be participating in this event again this year at the No Problem Raceway in Belle Rose Louisiana, June 6 to 7. This year, PEER 1 is planning something a little different. This year, we are challenging all hosting providers in the state of Texas. Yes, you read correctly: WE WANT YOU! Are you up to the challenge? Do you have what it takes to participate against PEER 1 in the 24 Hours of Lemons race?

Join us June 5th and 6th at the No Problem Raceway in Belle Rose, Louisiana and let’s find out! So what is 24 Hours of Lemons?

Nasty. Brutish. Not Short Enough.

The crowd. The spectacle. The pall of blue smoke and roasted clutch discs. In all motorsport, no event captures the universal human need to whale on old crapcans and hoover down greasy barbecue like the 24 Hours of LeMons.

Each LeMons race is for cars purchased, fixed up, and track-prepped for a total of 500 dollars or less. But before reaching the grid, you’ll have to survive trials like the Personal-Injury-Lawyer Anti-Slalom, the Marxist-Valet Parking Challenge, and the Wide Open Throttle Rodthrowapalooza. Twelve hours into the race, the car voted People’s Choice is called in and awarded a cash prize; simultaneously, the car voted People’s Curse is called in and summarily destroyed. At the end of 24 hours, a gala awards ceremony plies the survivors with trophies, plaques, and four-figure purses in canvas bags full of nickels. What’s not to like? — 24 Hours of Lemons Website

For requirements, rules, and fees, visit http://www.24hoursoflemons.com. For track information and location, please visit http://www.noproblemraceway.com

For more information on the PEER 1 race challenge, please contact:

Charnell Pugsley
PEER 1 Community Evangelist
cpugsley@peer1.com
210-798-4413

On behalf of PEER 1 and ServerBeach, we’d like to remind you to be good throughout the year or else…

(A big thanks to Travis, one of our developers for PEER1 and owner/operator of Dark Design Pictures. !)