Today was a special day because I got to watch my girls perform what they learned at ballet camp all week. The little ballet school was overrun with proud parents and grandparents so parking was a bit tight. A lot of us ended up parking at the credit union next door. Of course there is a sign in that parking… Read more →
The 59 Sound
It seems like I can’t get enough of The Gaslight Anthem since a friend recommended their album "The ’59 Sound." I love listening to the title track, though once you absorb the lyrics it starts to tug on the ol’ heartstrings. There’s a clue to the meaning of the phrase "59 sound" at 3:07 in the video, though it’s not… Read more →
Have You Saved a Cat?
Your brand (whether personal, professional, product, or corporate) embodies a story. A good story sells. A great brand story helps people connect with a brand. I recently finished reading "Save the Cat" by Blake Snyder. The book is for screenwriters. Let’s clear up one quick point: I do not aspire to screenwriting. The book was recommended by Kathy Sierra at… Read more →
Will Internet Fad-to-Fade Hype Cycles Implode?
Following the vein of some of my other #junechallenge posts, I’m doing some thinking about Internet hype cycles and the impact of Internet on culture. As a prelude to that, listen to Nora Young’s interview with Bill Wasik on Viral Culture. One thing that piqued my interest was a comment about spending time working on things that don’t have to… Read more →
Post-it Stop Motion Awesomeness
Here is a fantastic piece of video art using Post-it notes to do pixel-style stop motion. Brilliant work. Great job, Bang-yao Liu (Savannah College of Art and Design). And lest you think this is just some bored kid wasting time, watch the "Making of" video to see just how involved it was: Read more →
It is OK to Hate Your Customers
Obviously it is OK to hate your customers because so many companies clearly do, and they do so actively. Want proof? Test the limits of their "friendly customer service." Be a little bit annoying or high maintenance or disagreeable. You might want to be cautious and experiment with a company that sells a product or service you can live without. … Read more →
Pay Attention: The World is Changing
A digital native is a person for whom digital technologies already existed when they were born, and hence has grown up with digital technology such as computers, the Internet, mobile phones and MP3s. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_native The world is changing and you need to pay attention to an important trend: digital natives are not very good at paying attention. Neither are those… Read more →
Writing for the Internet Generation
You won’t read most of what I write in this post. You will most likely skim it and at best read half of the content (on average). In May 2008, usability guru Jakob Nielson published his analysis of web usage data borrowed from a research study. I recommend you read it after this article. Here’s the big stunning quote: Obviously,… Read more →
When Does Quality Matter?
"A job worth doing is worth doing well" This past week I received a book of coupons in the mail from local businesses. I believe in supporting local business, especially locally owned and owner-operated businesses, so I flipped through it. One coupon caught my eye. It was for a business I had not heard of before and it looked like… Read more →
New Developer Comic – Enjoy
Here’s the first in the series of comics about developers coming from Microsoft: Read more →