Thursday, May 31, 2007
Creating 'Stoke' around your product
I had a great day today -- caught up with Joel (one of my early mentors) and had a thought-provoking few hours, as usual. He's an amazing guy -- has worked with an amazing string of computing pioneers (Visicalc, Apple, Microsoft and Amazon) which doesn't come by accident.
We talked about a wide range of topics, but one that stuck with me -- he talked about the concept of getting users to 'stoke your product' -- he compared two skiing sites Teton Gravity Research and Epic Ski. He frequents both of them, but TGR empowers users to Stoke their experiences -- it encourages photos, videos and action content, whereas Epic Ski is more tuned to technical descriptions of skis and equipment.
TGR gets to the technical as well, but they take a more circuitous route -- that is, they show you the 1,000 foot vertical the equipment carried you through alive, complete with radical photos... then they get to the mundane details about why the skis are killer. Epic focuses on the details from the get-go.
Of course, it only takes a 3-second glance at each homepage to see where their focus is -- I think I'd prefer to spend some time at TGR... how about you?
So, which one's a Mac... and which is a PC? :-)
We talked about a wide range of topics, but one that stuck with me -- he talked about the concept of getting users to 'stoke your product' -- he compared two skiing sites Teton Gravity Research and Epic Ski. He frequents both of them, but TGR empowers users to Stoke their experiences -- it encourages photos, videos and action content, whereas Epic Ski is more tuned to technical descriptions of skis and equipment.
TGR gets to the technical as well, but they take a more circuitous route -- that is, they show you the 1,000 foot vertical the equipment carried you through alive, complete with radical photos... then they get to the mundane details about why the skis are killer. Epic focuses on the details from the get-go.
Of course, it only takes a 3-second glance at each homepage to see where their focus is -- I think I'd prefer to spend some time at TGR... how about you?
So, which one's a Mac... and which is a PC? :-)
Labels: epic ski, stoke, teton gravity, visicalc
Seattle's Pike Place Market turns 100!
We've got a number of friends coming to spend some time with us this summer -- it should be a good one, with Seattle's Pike Place Market officially passing the century mark. Events are planned from June 2 through Aug 17 -- the Market is one of those tourist destinations that even locals love going to -- I miss the days when I worked a block away from the market. That afforded the opportunity to wander on days where things weren't going so well, or when you just wanted to sneak away for an eclectic little lunch. That reminds me... Matt's in the Market should be re-opened soon -- you absolutely must have a meal/experience with Matt's when you're in town... such a wonderful little spot!
Labels: ignite seattle, matt's in the market, pike place market
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Switching from Microsoft Exchange Server to Web Mail Calendar Contacts and To-Dos
Since leaving full-time employment yet again, I've made some major changes in my computing and contact managment solutions:
1) I switched from a Windows-based Sony Vaio to an Apple MacBook Pro
2) I moved from Microsoft Outlook and Exchange Server -- I first tried to antsy-pants it with Entourage (essentially Outlook for the Mac) but I grew increasingly frustrated and just made the full move to Google GMail, Google Calendar, Google Contacts and Todoist (a non-google product!)
My thoughts:
a) The Apple MacBook Pro is awesome -- however, it's not the nirvana that many make it out to be. Many of my issues are simply learning issues (keystroke differences, program differences, etc.) but some have been needless pain.
1) Specifically, people haven't made enough noise about how great Exchange Server is as a platform for mail, calendar, contacts and tasks. Personally, I think it's awesome, and for the normal user, the synchronization performance (to mobile phones, online/offline, etc.) is not being touted as loudly as it deserves). There really doesn't seem to be a Mac solution that rivals it. That said, I'm done with it (for the time being). I really grew to despise Microsoft for how hard they make it to get your data out of the Outlook/Entourage world (heck, those 2 programs don't even exchange data very well!)
2) I've also had issues getting my MacBook to print to the HP G85 printer that I have connected to my home computer (a Dell running Windows XP). Granted, the printer is 6 years old, but I have had no problems with it (kudos to HP) and it is recognized by every PC/laptop I've connected to the network without a problem -- however, the Mac can't print to it over the network. This seems to be an HP Driver Support issues, and I'll just live with it by buying a new printer. However, HP lost me as a customer due to their lack of driver support -- I just shelled out a meager $200 for a new Canon PIXMA MP530 -- will see how that works out.
3) apple doesn't make ergo keyboards and mice -- i'm stuck using crappy microsoft alternatives (and they were the best of the bunch... i looked at them all!). i can't wait to pay for a premium priced Apple Ergo keyboard and mouse... I'll happily fork it over!
b) Now, the things that I love about the MacBook Pro:
1) It turns on and off in seconds rather than minutes -- amazing!
2) It hasn't crashed yet -- really -- and this is after dealign with daily Vaio crashes for more than a year -- I am so happy to be done with that (blamed on Microsoft, not Sony... I had same performance on Gateway, Dell, IBM, etc.)
3) everything about it is elegant (keyboard, screen quality, web cam, desktop, photos, music, on and on and on)
4) How fast everything runs -- granted, i've probably installed less junk, but there aren't all of the annoying pre-installed test programs that you get with every PC-center computer -- I'll never miss those!
5) how easy all of the software is to figure out -- they keep the obvious stuff front and center, and hide the rest
6) battery life amazing
7) cheap thrill, but i love the magnetic power connector
c) Finally, this is what I've settled on for my productivity solutions:
1) eMail -- Google GMail -- so elegant, fast, and supported by LifeHacker Tips
2) Calendar - Google Calendar -- very nice and easy to use -- also, I'm running Google Apps for Domain for ooGooRoo, so as I add employees, we can easily synch calendars and contacts -- nice... also lets me import other calendars from the cloud like 'Mariners Games', etc. And, Google made it easy enough for ME to set up Apps for the Domain -- that's a trick!
3) Contacts -- i'm tentatively using Google Contacts, but I must admit that it really sucks -- I put the data into a nice CSV file (spent an hour cleaning it up) -- google promptly sucked it in and dumped everything other than Name and email into a 'Notes Field' -- thanks fellas! So, I've kept that data in Entourage temporarily, just in case I get a Blackberry and possibly use the Blackbeery for Contact mgmt
4) Task List / To-Do List -- i found this amazing little program called Todoist -- Lifehacker pointed me to this as well, and it was easy to set up, fun to learn about (a few screencasts), and integrates nicely with Gmail!
I've added a few other programs to make life a little easier, such as:
1) Clipboard management - iClip - nice little tool to enable multiple clipboards
2) Chat - iChat replaced Adium (because iChat has integrated Video Chat) -- but I have Skype and Adium on the machine as well, just in case
3) QuickSilver -- I still haven't mastered this one -- I see the reason for it -- I just need to find an expert who can give me the crash course
4) Music - Pandora's become my daily music player -- of course, I have iTunes, but Pandora keeps it fresher
5) Office Apps -- I like having Office for the Mac on my machine. But, I've also enjoyed using online office replacements Zoho (for Wiki, word processing, spreadsheets and powerpoint functioality)
That's about it -- lots of meat there -- if anyone happens on this article and has other questions about what works for a new Mac convert, just drop me a line!
Dave
1) I switched from a Windows-based Sony Vaio to an Apple MacBook Pro
2) I moved from Microsoft Outlook and Exchange Server -- I first tried to antsy-pants it with Entourage (essentially Outlook for the Mac) but I grew increasingly frustrated and just made the full move to Google GMail, Google Calendar, Google Contacts and Todoist (a non-google product!)
My thoughts:
a) The Apple MacBook Pro is awesome -- however, it's not the nirvana that many make it out to be. Many of my issues are simply learning issues (keystroke differences, program differences, etc.) but some have been needless pain.
1) Specifically, people haven't made enough noise about how great Exchange Server is as a platform for mail, calendar, contacts and tasks. Personally, I think it's awesome, and for the normal user, the synchronization performance (to mobile phones, online/offline, etc.) is not being touted as loudly as it deserves). There really doesn't seem to be a Mac solution that rivals it. That said, I'm done with it (for the time being). I really grew to despise Microsoft for how hard they make it to get your data out of the Outlook/Entourage world (heck, those 2 programs don't even exchange data very well!)
2) I've also had issues getting my MacBook to print to the HP G85 printer that I have connected to my home computer (a Dell running Windows XP). Granted, the printer is 6 years old, but I have had no problems with it (kudos to HP) and it is recognized by every PC/laptop I've connected to the network without a problem -- however, the Mac can't print to it over the network. This seems to be an HP Driver Support issues, and I'll just live with it by buying a new printer. However, HP lost me as a customer due to their lack of driver support -- I just shelled out a meager $200 for a new Canon PIXMA MP530 -- will see how that works out.
3) apple doesn't make ergo keyboards and mice -- i'm stuck using crappy microsoft alternatives (and they were the best of the bunch... i looked at them all!). i can't wait to pay for a premium priced Apple Ergo keyboard and mouse... I'll happily fork it over!
b) Now, the things that I love about the MacBook Pro:
1) It turns on and off in seconds rather than minutes -- amazing!
2) It hasn't crashed yet -- really -- and this is after dealign with daily Vaio crashes for more than a year -- I am so happy to be done with that (blamed on Microsoft, not Sony... I had same performance on Gateway, Dell, IBM, etc.)
3) everything about it is elegant (keyboard, screen quality, web cam, desktop, photos, music, on and on and on)
4) How fast everything runs -- granted, i've probably installed less junk, but there aren't all of the annoying pre-installed test programs that you get with every PC-center computer -- I'll never miss those!
5) how easy all of the software is to figure out -- they keep the obvious stuff front and center, and hide the rest
6) battery life amazing
7) cheap thrill, but i love the magnetic power connector
c) Finally, this is what I've settled on for my productivity solutions:
1) eMail -- Google GMail -- so elegant, fast, and supported by LifeHacker Tips
2) Calendar - Google Calendar -- very nice and easy to use -- also, I'm running Google Apps for Domain for ooGooRoo, so as I add employees, we can easily synch calendars and contacts -- nice... also lets me import other calendars from the cloud like 'Mariners Games', etc. And, Google made it easy enough for ME to set up Apps for the Domain -- that's a trick!
3) Contacts -- i'm tentatively using Google Contacts, but I must admit that it really sucks -- I put the data into a nice CSV file (spent an hour cleaning it up) -- google promptly sucked it in and dumped everything other than Name and email into a 'Notes Field' -- thanks fellas! So, I've kept that data in Entourage temporarily, just in case I get a Blackberry and possibly use the Blackbeery for Contact mgmt
4) Task List / To-Do List -- i found this amazing little program called Todoist -- Lifehacker pointed me to this as well, and it was easy to set up, fun to learn about (a few screencasts), and integrates nicely with Gmail!
I've added a few other programs to make life a little easier, such as:
1) Clipboard management - iClip - nice little tool to enable multiple clipboards
2) Chat - iChat replaced Adium (because iChat has integrated Video Chat) -- but I have Skype and Adium on the machine as well, just in case
3) QuickSilver -- I still haven't mastered this one -- I see the reason for it -- I just need to find an expert who can give me the crash course
4) Music - Pandora's become my daily music player -- of course, I have iTunes, but Pandora keeps it fresher
5) Office Apps -- I like having Office for the Mac on my machine. But, I've also enjoyed using online office replacements Zoho (for Wiki, word processing, spreadsheets and powerpoint functioality)
That's about it -- lots of meat there -- if anyone happens on this article and has other questions about what works for a new Mac convert, just drop me a line!
Dave
Labels: canon pixma, g85, gmail, google calendar, macbook pro, microsoft, outlook, pc, switching to mac, todoist
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Seattle Startup Open Coffee Club
Great turnout today at the Seattle Open Coffee Club for startup networking and java juice -- really enjoyed hearing about ideas being pursued. Thanks to Judy's Book CEO Andy Sack for organizing this burgeoning group -- Seattle needs more of these types of things!
For those of you who missed it, here's a quick scan of the 22 or so folks who showed up:
If you'd like to join the group, head out to Louisa's Bakery and Cafe on Eastlake -- John Cook at the Seattle PI wrote a nice piece on the Open Coffee Club.
For those of you who missed it, here's a quick scan of the 22 or so folks who showed up:
If you'd like to join the group, head out to Louisa's Bakery and Cafe on Eastlake -- John Cook at the Seattle PI wrote a nice piece on the Open Coffee Club.
Monday, May 28, 2007
New company name is ooGooRoo
Photo Credit - Scott Erickson
Without sharing many details, I wanted to let folks know that the placeholder name for my new startup company is ooGooRoo. Yes, I know that just rolls off the tongue, doesn't it?
Our mantra will be -- "Connecting Inquiry With Enlightenment". So, with all that background information, if you have any improved naming ideas, please send them my way to trashcan@nosnivelling.com -- thanks.
Of course, the real reason I'm making this post is to get some links pointing to that site to get the Google Juice going -- I mean, a link from No Snivelling is apt to send so much traffic there that I'm already increasing my net wealth exponentially -- you have to love this Web 2.0 world!
--
Observation of the Day - I have an all new appreciation for the value of time and the importance of setting goals and deadlines - now that my own project gets delayed every time I do something that isn't helping me achieve my goals, I have no one to blame but myself (and my poor choice of activity prioritization). So, this week, I'm really going to get v1 of my Business Plan done -- in fact, I'm going to get that version done tonight and out to my Product Marketing GooRoo (yes, employee #2 at ooGooRoo is officially on the payroll in less than two weeks!) and my prospective Technical GooRoo (employee #3 is in the wings!).
So, back to the salt mines...
Labels: goal setting, ooGooRoo, value of time
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Andy Sack - hero or madman?
I've been in a bit of a blogging funk -- my reason is a good one. I'm going on public record that I'm starting a company. There. I said it!
As part of that process, I got sidetracked reading local Seattle entrepreneur Andy Sack's blog -- he's the driving force behind community review site turned local deal and coupon site Judy's Book.
What I found so compelling is that he opened up and shared the good and the bad from the Judy's Book trials and tribulations. Along the way they found some things going well (and vice versa) and they decided to change course -- it makes for incredibly interesting reading.
To save you some time, here are my favorite posts from August 2006 thru May 2007:
* If you're considering a User Generated Content (UGC) site, set rules for contributing editors up front -- tell them what you want / give guidelines/ideas
http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif
* Give users control -- be open to different uses you didn't anticipate
* Talk to Customers!!! What do they want/value most? How to deliver (beyond just reviews)?
Focus on 'only local' wasn't working -- product had created too many empty local silos
* life for local UGC sites is hard - achieving critical mass in local is hard / attracting+keeping consumers is hard (difficult to convert & then convert to loyal) / SEO is hard
* Life for local UGC sites can be easy - Easier Stuff (PR/Story, Offers&Discounts, Q&A&Community, Status&Validation)
* Leadership is about many things — Simplicity is a big one
* Focus on small before trying to conquer the world - create the ‘best foo’ for a niche / neighborhood / topic, before working to scale (or, a city...)
* Guy Kawasaki lessons... Make meaning/mantra, jump to next/10x curve, don’t worry/be crappy, let a hundred flowers blossom, churn baby churn, chine thyself, 10/20/30 rule, don’t let bozos grind you down
* Speed matters... Easy navigation matters... Use underlined links
* keep organization size to less than 20... Less than 10 ideally... Eliminate need for extra mgmt level
* Good Keyword analysis tools for SEO
* don’t game the system... But DO educate the system... Teach your users how to leverage best practices
* Tips for UGC site (for Keith at peerwisdom.com) -- focus/focus/focus, address daily needs, address needs that solve passionate problems
* think deeply about the business process for content generation — how to ensure Quality content?
* before talking to the media, get ahold of your metaphor
* focusing on younger demographic... More prone to write reviews... make your customers feel loved
* link to Dick Costolo’s post about fear of failure vs. confidence in ideas... Entrepreneurs are all scared about whether the idea will work... Just find a market oppty that seems like it will need to be addressed and for which we feel we have an angle... Then pull out shovels and start digging... Figure out the rest as you go!
http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif
* Low Risk hiring... They come from referrals! Great resumes and interviews don’t make great hires
* Time is the Enemy... part 2...
* Pick your partners carefully — you’ll learn their true natures when the chips are down
entrepreneurial perseverance counts for a lot!
As part of that process, I got sidetracked reading local Seattle entrepreneur Andy Sack's blog -- he's the driving force behind community review site turned local deal and coupon site Judy's Book.
What I found so compelling is that he opened up and shared the good and the bad from the Judy's Book trials and tribulations. Along the way they found some things going well (and vice versa) and they decided to change course -- it makes for incredibly interesting reading.
To save you some time, here are my favorite posts from August 2006 thru May 2007:
* If you're considering a User Generated Content (UGC) site, set rules for contributing editors up front -- tell them what you want / give guidelines/ideas
http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif
* Give users control -- be open to different uses you didn't anticipate
* Talk to Customers!!! What do they want/value most? How to deliver (beyond just reviews)?
Focus on 'only local' wasn't working -- product had created too many empty local silos
* life for local UGC sites is hard - achieving critical mass in local is hard / attracting+keeping consumers is hard (difficult to convert & then convert to loyal) / SEO is hard
* Life for local UGC sites can be easy - Easier Stuff (PR/Story, Offers&Discounts, Q&A&Community, Status&Validation)
* Leadership is about many things — Simplicity is a big one
* Focus on small before trying to conquer the world - create the ‘best foo’ for a niche / neighborhood / topic, before working to scale (or, a city...)
* Guy Kawasaki lessons... Make meaning/mantra, jump to next/10x curve, don’t worry/be crappy, let a hundred flowers blossom, churn baby churn, chine thyself, 10/20/30 rule, don’t let bozos grind you down
* Speed matters... Easy navigation matters... Use underlined links
* keep organization size to less than 20... Less than 10 ideally... Eliminate need for extra mgmt level
* Good Keyword analysis tools for SEO
* don’t game the system... But DO educate the system... Teach your users how to leverage best practices
* Tips for UGC site (for Keith at peerwisdom.com) -- focus/focus/focus, address daily needs, address needs that solve passionate problems
* think deeply about the business process for content generation — how to ensure Quality content?
* before talking to the media, get ahold of your metaphor
* focusing on younger demographic... More prone to write reviews... make your customers feel loved
* link to Dick Costolo’s post about fear of failure vs. confidence in ideas... Entrepreneurs are all scared about whether the idea will work... Just find a market oppty that seems like it will need to be addressed and for which we feel we have an angle... Then pull out shovels and start digging... Figure out the rest as you go!
http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif
* Low Risk hiring... They come from referrals! Great resumes and interviews don’t make great hires
* Time is the Enemy... part 2...
* Pick your partners carefully — you’ll learn their true natures when the chips are down
entrepreneurial perseverance counts for a lot!
Labels: andy sack, judys book, seattle, startup, ugc, user generated content
Saturday, May 12, 2007
I wish our driveway looked like this
Maybe my lovely wife can make that happen -- the driveway is a source of neighborhood embarrassment and ridicule...
Sunday, May 06, 2007
Testing the new JibJab Blog Posting Tool
Saturday, May 05, 2007
Zoho to Blogger
Blogging from Zoho
Consider this a test, but something that I've meant to try for some time. Zoho provides a suite of online Office Apps (Word, Spreadsheet, Presentation, Wiki, etc.) that competes with Google and others, and they seem to be snowball rolling downhill (that is, they're picking up fans and positive PR faster than I can tell folks about it!). I'm a fan of the concept, but have not been convinced that this can overcome the Office juggernaut. So far (20 seconds in), this is much more impressive than Google's Docs and Spreadsheets. Styling has been a breeze, and this 'post to Blogger' invitation is what really got me going :-)
If you like this idea, you should also check out Thinkfree -- I heard a lot about them at Web 2.0 Expo, but haven't given them a testdrive yet... will post when I do.
Consider this a test, but something that I've meant to try for some time. Zoho provides a suite of online Office Apps (Word, Spreadsheet, Presentation, Wiki, etc.) that competes with Google and others, and they seem to be snowball rolling downhill (that is, they're picking up fans and positive PR faster than I can tell folks about it!). I'm a fan of the concept, but have not been convinced that this can overcome the Office juggernaut. So far (20 seconds in), this is much more impressive than Google's Docs and Spreadsheets. Styling has been a breeze, and this 'post to Blogger' invitation is what really got me going :-)
If you like this idea, you should also check out Thinkfree -- I heard a lot about them at Web 2.0 Expo, but haven't given them a testdrive yet... will post when I do.
