Great quote from Jeff Bezos on the connection between great products and meaning: I strongly believe that missionaries make better products. They care more. For a missionary, it’s not just about the business. There has to be a business, and the business has to make sense, but that’s not why you do it. You…
The philosophy of the purge
Leaving the startup gives me a little time to get to a couple projects that have been nagging at my mind. One of them is a purge of unnecessary “stuff” around the house. One of my favorite blogs puts it very nicely… How to Simplify When You Love Your Stuff | zen habits: Apply mindful…
Enthusiasm – the real “Focus”
MG Siegler at TechCrunch wrote a great piece a couple days ago on the role of enthusiasm. I think he’s dead-on, but I’ll add my little bit of advice: Make sure your Enthusiasm is the right kind. The Enthusiasm you need is really a deep love for what you’re doing. This is the kind of…
Bringing you the news
Importance of “filters” has been over-stated. As my friend John Pederson puts it: Managing your own filter is critical. The other kind of filter that lets things in vs. preventing things from coming in. [From Dean Shareski on attention.] A filter is a screen that keeps things out. My information problem isn’t solved by keeping…
Jobs calls for organ donors…
The Wall Street Journal has video of Steve Jobs’ opening remarks at the Apple event last week. It was his first official public appearance since going on medical leave several months ago, during which he had a liver transplant. It’s good to see such an open and human appeal from a prominent figure. I applaud…
Favorite Podcasts: This Week in Startups (TWiSt)
My friends all know that I enjoy good PodCasts. My daily commute only is about 8 steps from my bed… maybe a bit more if I detour to the stove to start the tea kettle before starting work. But when I’m visiting clients and or attending events I’m usually going at least 40 minutes (Palo…
The Public Flow
These conversations happen in the pub, in the bleachers of our kids soccer games, and just about everwhere. We’re all having public conversations all the time, where the only privacy is that of proximity – you really don’t know who that is sitting at the next table, and usually you really don’t care. Now many of those conversations have moved to Twitter, or Facebook, or your blog. Some of those are open conversations that are easily found, searched, and aggregated and some aren’t.
Worried about the cost of Support? Focus on making it Effective!
You want the virtuous cycle, or the vicious one?
The key is to create a virtuous cycle of great support, product improvement, and customer loyalty & recommendations. It’s a virtuous cycle of good will. Here are the steps:
Follow, Un-follow, and “What’s Twitter for, anyway?”
Yesterday I did an @-reply to Robert Scoble (@Scobleizer): @Scobleizer, for me twitter is for getting interesting insights and ideas. I’m sure not going to get them from those who follow me! (ducks) Robert had tweeted his blog post on a change of follow habits, You are SO unfollowed! in which he said: On Monday…
Fabulous Auction to Benefit Square Peg Foundation
Our fabulous volunteers put together this amazing auction to benefit Square Peg Foundation. They’ve done a amazing job and we’ve received great support from the community. Here’s are just a few of my favorite items: 2000 Chateau Pichon Longueville Comtesse De Lande – Grand Cru Classe Pauillac (Bordeaux) wine (Double Magnum 3L) Masterminds of Programming…
