Your Yardstick

April 8, 2008

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David Pogue wrote last week about how “blogger-bashers are terrible predictors of a product’s success or failure“.

The lesson he learned?

It’s the same lesson I learned when I reviewed the Flip “camcorder” a couple weeks ago: if you change the shape and concept of something enough, it ceases to be that thing. It becomes a new thing, or a descendant of that earlier thing. But it’s no longer the original thing, and you can’t judge it on the same yardstick.

I think it’s a very good viewpoint, and I think it can be applied to people as well.

When you’re doing your own thing, you’re probably going to be shot down. You’re going to be ‘bashed’ by people who judge you by the status quo - the old standards. But you shouldn’t let it get to you. Because they could very well be wrong.

Once you’re forging your own path and trying to break the status quo, all the old, accepted standards go out the window. And only you can accurately judge whether you’re succeeding.

It’s your own journey, and the only yardstick that truly matters is your own.

By what yardstick are you judging yourself?

Photo from Charlyn W via Flickr

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Focusing Your Efforts

April 6, 2008

The New York Times recently ran an article about how will power is limited.

Psychologist Roy Baumeister and others have found that people who successfully accomplish one task requiring self-control are less persistent on a second, seemingly unrelated task.

Scientific evidence of the value of focus, perhaps?

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Pick a Number

April 5, 2008

2 15 18 9 6 4.

Pick a number.

Now, how many of you picked 18? How many picked 6?

And how many of you picked 7? Or 951? Or 3000?

Why not? I didn’t say you had to pick a number that I wrote down. Yet most people assume that.

People tend to make assumptions. More specifically, people tend to make assumptions based on what they’ve seen in the past, and what they know. A list of numbers preceded the request, so an assumption is made that you were supposed to pick a number from the list.

But sometimes, these assumptions can limit your choices. You may have more opportunities than you think you have, if you get past the initial assumption.

What assumptions do you make that limit your opportunities? And how do you get past them?

Disclosure: As much as I wish I did, I didn’t think of the “pick a number” example myself. Saw it on Numb3rs, and thought it was a great lesson, so I thought I’d share it here. And admittedly, it works better in person, and not as well on a blog post, but I hope it got the point across well enough.

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Who are you writing for?

April 4, 2008

Seth Godin recently asked that question.

Are you writing for the first time visitor? Or for the one who has been following you since the start?

I’d like to throw in a third part. Or are you writing for yourself?

That third question is the one I’m struggling with a bit lately. Where do you draw the line between being expressing your thoughts about what matters to you and writing about what people are interested in?

If you go too far to the former, you run the risk of being insignificant - speaking with nobody listening. And that’s not what I want this blog to be about. I don’t want it to be a ghost town, or just me ranting to nobody. I hope to be able to be part of a community, and make an impact on people.

But on the other hand, if I drift too far to the latter, is it compromising on authenticity and who I am?

And that’s not even going into the tone and style of writing.

Honestly, it’s something I’m still trying to figure out. It’s a tough balance, in my opinion, and I’m not sure. Any suggestions?

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Noticing the Little Things.

April 1, 2008

I’ve been in quite a good mood over the last few weeks. Since Easter, actually. It’s a long story, which I won’t go into that much - don’t want to bore you guys with my personal life.

There is something I want to point out, though. What cheered me up was when, on Easter, a friend of mine asked me if I was okay, because I didn’t look that happy the day before. And what made it even more amazing was that we had barely talked the day before. We merely passed each other and said “hi”.

But she noticed the little signs that I was down. And she cared enough to ask. That alone meant a lot to me.

I think you guys can see where I’m going with this. Noticing and caring about the little things can mean a lot. It’s the little things that are significant.

Do you notice the little things about those around you? Just by doing that, you can make a difference in someone’s life.

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‘Brain Drain’ Good for Google

March 30, 2008

Wired recently reported about the Google Brain Drain. Paul Glazowski picked up on the story, and wrote that the ‘Brain Drain’ is in fact a good thing, for the industry as well as for Google themselves.

I agree with Paul’s view on this, and I’m glad to see the article. It’s a good viewpoint.

Sometimes, having people leave can be a good change. Losing ‘resources’ (and people are resources) offers the chance for change, and can be a good thing.

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Age of Conversation

March 30, 2008

The Age of Conversation is a really unique book. It’s a book that “brings together over 100 of the world’s leading marketers, writers, thinkers and creative innovators in a ground-breaking and unusual publication.” It’s an amazing project, and it’s produced and awesome book. All the proceeds from sales and referrals are donated to Variety, the Children’s Charity.

If you haven’t bought it, you should purchase your copy here. For best impact, purchase 1 copy at a time, using that link - because proceeds from the referrals go to charity as well.

And on that note, the authors and topics for The Age of Conversation 2.0 have been announced. This year, 275 authors will be answering the question “Why don’t people get it?”. And I have the honor of being one of the authors.

Here’s the full list:

Adam Crowe, Adrian Ho, Aki Spicer, Alex Henault, Amy Jussel, Andrew Odom, Andy Nulman, Andy Sernovitz, Andy Whitlock, Angela Maiers, Ann Handley, Anna Farmery, Armando Alves, Arun Rajagopal, Asi Sharabi, Becky Carroll, Becky McCray, Bernie Scheffler, Bill Gammell, Bob Carlton, Bob LeDrew, Brad Shorr, Bradley Spitzer, Brandon Murphy, Branislav Peric, Brent Dixon, Brett Macfarlane, Brian Reich, C.C. Chapman, Cam Beck, Casper Willer, Cathleen Rittereiser, Cathryn Hrudicka, Cedric Giorgi, Charles Sipe, Chris Kieff, Chris Cree, Chris Wilson, Christina Kerley (CK), C.B. Whittemore, Clay Parker Jones, Chris Brown, Colin McKay, Connie Bensen, Connie Reece, Cord Silverstein, Corentin Monot, Craig Wilson, Daniel Honigman, Dan Goldstein, Dan Schawbel, Dana VanDen Heuvel, Dan Sitter, Daria Radota Rasmussen, Darren Herman, Darryl Patterson, Dave Davison, Dave Origano, David Armano, David Bausola, David Berkowitz, David Brazeal, David Koopmans, David Meerman Scott, David Petherick, David Reich, David Weinfeld, David Zinger, Deanna Gernert, Deborah Brown, Dennis Price, Derrick Kwa, Dino Demopoulos, Doug Haslam, Doug Meacham, Doug Mitchell, Douglas Hanna, Douglas Karr, Drew McLellan, Duane Brown, Dustin Jacobsen, Dylan Viner, Ed Brenegar, Ed Cotton, Efrain Mendicuti, Ellen Weber, Emily Reed, Eric Peterson, Eric Nehrlich, Ernie Mosteller, Faris Yakob, Fernanda Romano, Francis Anderson, G. Kofi Annan, Gareth Kay, Gary Cohen, Gaurav Mishra, Gavin Heaton, Geert Desager, George Jenkins, G.L. Hoffman, Gianandrea Facchini, Gordon Whitehead, Graham Hill, Greg Verdino, Gretel Going & Kathryn Fleming, Hillel Cooperman, Hugh Weber, J. Erik Potter, J.C. Hutchins, James Gordon-Macintosh, Jamey Shiels, Jasmin Tragas, Jason Oke, Jay Ehret, Jeanne Dininni, Jeff De Cagna, Jeff Gwynne, Jeff Noble, Jeff Wallace, Jennifer Warwick, Jenny Meade, Jeremy Fuksa, Jeremy Heilpern, Jeremy Middleton, Jeroen Verkroost, Jessica Hagy, Joanna Young, Joe Pulizzi, Joe Talbott, John Herrington, John Jantsch, John Moore, John Rosen, John Todor, Jon Burg, Jon Swanson, Jonathan Trenn, Jordan Behan, Julie Fleischer, Justin Flowers, Justin Foster, Karl Turley, Kate Trgovac, Katie Chatfield, Katie Konrath, Kenny Lauer, Keri Willenborg, Kevin Jessop, Kris Hoet, Krishna De, Kristin Gorski, Laura Fitton, Laurence Helene Borei, Lewis Green, Lois Kelly, Lori Magno, Louise Barnes-Johnston, Louise Mangan, Louise Manning, Luc Debaisieux, Marcus Brown, Mario Vellandi, Mark Blair, Mark Earls, Mark Goren, Mark Hancock, Mark Lewis, Mark McGuinness, Mark McSpadden, Matt Dickman, Matt J. McDonald, Matt Moore, Michael Hawkins, Michael Karnjanaprakorn, Michelle Lamar, Mike Arauz, Mike McAllen, Mike Sansone, Mitch Joel, Monica Wright, Nathan Gilliatt, Nathan Snell, Neil Perkin, Nettie Hartsock, Nick Rice, Oleksandr Skorokhod, Ozgur Alaz, Paul Chaney, Paul Hebert, Paul Isakson, Paul Marobella, Paul McEnany, Paul Tedesco, Paul Williams, Pet Campbell, Pete Deutschman, Peter Corbett, Phil Gerbyshak, Phil Lewis, Phil Soden, Piet Wulleman, Rachel Steiner, Sreeraj Menon, Reginald Adkins, Richard Huntington, Rishi Desai, Beeker Northam, Rob Mortimer, Robert Hruzek, Roberta Rosenberg, Robyn McMaster, Roger von Oech, Rohit Bhargava, Ron Shevlin, Ryan Barrett, Ryan Karpeles, Ryan Rasmussen, Sam Huleatt, Sandy Renshaw, Scott Goodson, Scott Monty, Scott Townsend, Scott White, Sean Howard, Sean Scott, Seni Thomas, Seth Gaffney, Shama Hyder, Sheila Scarborough, Sheryl Steadman, Simon Payn, Sonia Simone, Spike Jones, Stanley Johnson, Stephen Collins, Stephen Cribbett, Stephen Landau, Stephen Smith, Steve Bannister, Steve Hardy, Steve Portigal, Steve Roesler, Steven Verbruggen, Steve Woodruff, Sue Edworthy, Susan Bird, Susan Gunelius, Susan Heywood, Tammy Lenski, Terrell Meek, Thomas Clifford, Thomas Knoll, Tiffany Kenyon, Tim Brunelle, Tim Buesing, Tim Connor, Tim Jackson, Tim Longhurst, Tim Mannveille, Tim Tyler, Timothy Johnson, Tinu Abayomi-Paul, Toby Bloomberg, Todd Andrlik, Troy Rutter, Troy Worman, Uwe Hook, Valeria Maltoni, Vandana Ahuja, Vanessa DiMauro, Veronique Rabuteau, Wayne Buckhanan, William Azaroff, Yves Van Landeghem

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