re-chargeable battery that doesn't need a charging thingy

3D Chess - interesting !!

See more on http://www.inewidea.com/

We look at the things as we do at people.  More so now as things are becoming more alive. Till a thing is dumb (like a rock), we only looked at it from an unemotional /un-human terms. But more and more everything is becoming interactive, alive.

Which means designers should create things that look more like people.  That was my intent in creating a youtube video many years back..

The real question is how do I use this knowledge. -

1. as a hobby, reading and writing blog posts like this.

2. get trained to be hired as a user experience designer.

3. Build and own something with these principles.

I want to find opportunities of the 3rd kind. I don’t want to be an expert in this. I want to create stuff and own while learning and using these principles. My attempt to look at job search is  www.plumdots.com.

User experience includes many dimensions – Form / Behavior, Value, Emotion, Relationship etc. One can’t just ‘design’ the looks and expect the experience to be better.

Let us look at few popular examples :

Walmart  retail shop

+ve – Low cost,  Availability everything you want, 

-ve –  Quality, finding, help, ambience, returns service, 

GOOGLE search engine

+ve – find anything one wants, fast, accurate / reliable, easy to use, clean look, simple behavior

-ve – bland, doesn’t know me

Craiglist classifieds

+ve – free listing, find anything, no frills

-ve – reliability / trust, clutter, 

Blackberry Mobile phone

+ve – office email on phone, easy to type email, mobile web, speakerphone,

-ve – battery (much better now), small screen, memory space 

iPhone - smart phone

+ve – great looks, fun to use, lots of apps, music ( hard-disk)

-ve – slow to type on screen, costly, 

Nytimes – news paper

+ve – opinion (left wing – paul, dowd, brooks), clean look, great graphics, report unique things first, more than just news (but not great in sports)

-ve – bland /boring, doesn’t know me, 

How can user experience designer better these icons or help build a competitor. There are many dimensions for how one feels about these services /businesses. There are core values – like low cost walmart, fun apple, searchability of google – the reason these are unbeatable.  While they are difficult to beat however someone will come and change the game, making them less relavant.  Eventhough there are -ve aspects of user experience, these will continue to dominate. 

The question is whether better user experience can 

a) improve existing leaders profitability / revenues

b) change the game to create a new leader

One can also check if any of these used user experience as the USP / key differentiators to become the leaders.

World is changing – that I know. I can even imagine how it would change next. (Newspapers would be dead, Cable companies will go away etc).

But how do I participate in this new part of the world.

I thought :  all new stuff happens due to new ideas. So if I generate lots of ideas, I will become part of the this evolution.

But I realized that ideas are mostly fiction within my own head. They have little validity beyond my imaginations.

So I went from “ideas are king” to real projects with investment and continuous  innovation are essential part of the change. Don’t talk just do it !!

Notice how ‘life’ gets ‘new’ stuff. Mutations that happen during reproduction are the sources of change.  Similarly innovations happen in regular business (which is created to earn money not worry about innovation).  In fact innovation becomes a necessity for a profitable business.

There are two trends impacting return on investments (large scale).

1. Commoditization – increased supply with lower costs. Sharing the same pie.

2. Premium (New) – higher price due to increasing demand. Creating a new pie /extension.

Eventually every premium thing succumbs to commoditization. The idea is to ride the front end of the evolution tide.

So look for the evolution tide and get to the front part of it.  Create valid business (which makes economic sense) with high returns and innovations. Build something realistic while pushing the boundaries.

I am not talking about “green movement” kind of new. That kind require a revolution.

I am talking of smaller [ ]  “ipod”, “google search” kind of new.

I wrote in We choose through heart that emotions are very important in our decision making. Especially for the personal things.

How about living most of the day with that philosophy ?

Doing things the way ones heart desires. 

So there are two kinds of things one does - 

1. What I want to do (IM Internal motivation)

2. What I am have to do (EM External Motivation)

Living the day by heart means, IM activities are in line with my positive emotions. Don’t do for any logical reasons, do it because it feels right.

Even for EM activities, one can control “how” and “when” to suit the heart. I do things when and how I want to do.

IM activities come to you when you are excited about possibilities. You imagine a better new world.

Don’t let your logical brain screw you happiness

Don’t be driven by logic. Because it will drive you to lifeless life.  

Feel the world. Feel the excitement of new. Do it, because you feel right about it. Use logic to checkpoint as a tool – will this cost me something substantial ?

Do more if it feels good.

1. Observer current real world
2. Identify drivers of change
   • lower cost
   • better experience
   • higher value
   • less risk / higher stability
   • less complexity
   • more fun
   • faster
   • easy
3. Imagine new world
4. Note the opportunities
5. Generate ideas to achieve those opportunities
6. Then just do it
   

Opportunities are better than ideas.

Opportunities :

• are more real than ideas.
• are external while ideas are internal
• require ideas to accomplish them.
• are self fulfilling unlike ideas which most of times just give mental satisfaction

There can be many ways to achieve the opportunities.  Though many opportunities are uninspiring, it is better to pursue them than internal ideas.

So don’t start with ideas and then look for opportunities to apply them. Rather look for opportunities and achieve them whether through new ideas or copied experiences.

Opportunities could be in all aspects of life. Whatever I like to have in my life – relationships, money, fame, knowledge, experience, fun, … I need to look for opportunities to enhance them.

Don’t make TODOs of the opportunities. Get inspired and imagine through opportunities.

So the new way is :

• observe
• imagine
• look for opportunities
• brainstorm and generate ideas to accomplish those

You do things because :

1. You have been doing it or planned earlier to do it.

2. Someone tells you to do it.

3. You see opportunities in future and you decide do this for achieving that goal.

Zombies live with first 2 drivers for all their lives.

Active life needs 3rd kind of attitude.

It might not be just ‘what’ but ‘when’ as well. Purposeful life needs core activities done because one wants/plans to do. Eventhough there would be still be many things that need to be done for external / past reasons.

In those cases atleast one should have control over ‘when’ and/or ‘how’ to do, if not ‘what’.

The main point is to communicate about new thing to prospective user.

- stories are best medium of communication.
- interuption advertising is one way ( most broadly used)
- Ad-entertainment is another.

In any case a existing market is essential where prospects gather. Group permissions are easier than individual ones. For instance, I prefer an Ad on train compartment, than one in my mailbox.

So steps for marketing are :
Find markets where prospects gather/participate.
Find ways to tell your story – funny, entertaining, teaching, giving hope or thrillingly.
Create business plan – how much do you think you can earn in next 2 years.
Then figure out how much you can afford to spend on story telling.
Story should be :
Interesting / compelling
Related to the idea / product

Ideas should be written else they are forgotten
Ideas should be told as stories.
Ideas should be tried out.
Ideas should be implemented not just played with.

Then,

Product that came out of the above should be marketed, made to reach the audience.

The ‘user’ doesn’t know that you have a gift for him. He doesn’t trust you even he comes to know.
He also is not interested in trying new stuff, nor he has time to do trials.

We perceive the world through emotions – it feels cozy, warm, dull …today etc.

We choose things that excite us emotionally – sensuous, tasty, intelligent, safe… feel. Some are basic emotions, while others are secondary – like feeling emotionally correct (as organic movement or giving gifts makes you feel).

This is very important for any creator. If others have to try / accept your creation, it needs to appeal to them viscerally. ipod cannot be sold as bigger hard disk, or smallest music player – it had to be marketed as wanted thing. Same with fashion, you don’t buy fashion stuff because of left brain.

Is it true that right brain is the master of decision making (especially to adopt new stuff) ?

Same also applies to presidential candidates, they have to win by that feeling rather than comparative points.

Is there anything that we humans choose based on left brain ? probably not. We use our analytical ability as a tool / like calculator. Real world is often so complex that it is very difficult to create a logical model that matches reality.

So we choose our food, cars, partners, business, investments, jobs,charity, luxury…even soaps, everything through our hearts. Therefore it is very important to keep this in mind as a creator.

Find a positive emotion that can be connected naturally to your creation – more specifically the core value of the creation.  Figure out what will enhance that feel. Market through that feel. (PS: all good advertisements are appealing to the heart not mind). Appealing to heart doesn’t mean just romantic, sensuous only. It means it ‘feels’ – exciting, safe, satisfying, fulfilling, happy, intelligent or anything positive. Here is list of emotions, I think that are involved in our daily decisions (taken from Wikipedia):

While they are excellent guides for complex reality. Emotions are very mis-leading as well. How we feel might not always be accurately reflecting what is the reality. That’s one of the reasons to loose money in stock market or become obese (sugar tastes desirable).

There is no tolerance for fake. If the underlying value is not in-sync with the emotion attached to it, the whole thing can turn sour (negative).

So which emotion does www.plumdots.com represent or can represent – hope, envy, inspiration, pride, curiosity… enthusiasm ? I think ‘Hope’ – hope to find a better / satisfying job. or Smart /intelligent – that I can find what others cannot.

There are things that one “Need to do”, and there are some, “Goals to achieve”.

But the “Desires to fulfill” are done first among all others.

Need to : are mostly forced from outside

Goals : are logically arrived at

Desires:  have emotional drive behind them.

How does one convert all activities in life into “desirable” ones ?

When I imagine the output and fall in love with that, I desire it.  While everything in life has little grey in it, it is the ability to see the bright spots that would generate passion.  

Take a task – cleaning the bathroom (boring!!). Look for interesting / pleasurable outcomes. Imagine and embellish the output further. “I wish we had spic and span bathroom”.

This is not easy, especially for repeat jobs (like cleaning of bathroom). But habit(which is other way to get things done) might not always help in getting things done. That’s where I need creativity to imagine a interesting outcome time and again.

Can every activity be desirable ?

I am not sure. But most of the stuff we do as habits. Like brushing teeth. There is no meaning in using desire as the driver. Though many times such things are also driven by desires (white teeth, attractive self).

Life driven by desires (to achieve something) is passionate one. Life without desires makes us machines.

Why does anyone choose to be generalist ?

Seth has a point that world only requires specialists. But then why does anyone choose to be a generalist.

My answer is :

1. Because some specialist roles die with time – what happened to master watch maker – not the luxury kind, but the town /street’s best.

2. Many times your specialization depends on what pays you at that time. Not on what is required in future and therefore you tend to generalize.

3. One cannot predict the future specialization need. 

Or simply put… because one couldn’t figure out which specialization would make money and survive in future, one choose to be a generalist.

Everyone wants a specialist, but there could be very few who can survive being one.

Every time I see someone getting more than I do, I wonder is it because that person put in more effort or took higher risks or was lucky. In mathematical terms :

Returns (Rewards) ~ fn ( effort, risk taken, luck) 

Returns are a function of efforts, level of risk taken, right timing. Missing in this equation is the effect of catalysts/dampeners such as money, relationships etc. Catalysts act like multipliers in the function. Therefore one can rewrite the above as :

Returns = fn( effort, risk, luck) * (Catalyst power / Dampener power)

If the above is true, the recipe for success is 

1. Work hard 
2. Take calculated risks
3. Hope to be lucky (or pray if you believe it helps)
4. Identify possible catalysts – ensure their presence and effect
5. Identify dampeners – ensure their absence and reduced impact

Which are the catalysts for success?

In business and career, 

• Money 
• Relationships
• Prior success
• Relative Position / Power

We all become part of groups (companies) for :

• Security - many are better than one
• Efficiency – Cheaper, cost effective to be part of a group

But inherently groups bring problems like :

• Lack of Control – some one else seems to control my destiny and impact on me.
• Increased Friction – people are the biggest friction creators (chaos generators).

In life most of us are mix of an individual and a group member. It is degree of the mix that matters.

A individualistic lifestyle requires :

• Lots of resources – if you are rich (money or talent), you can ignore groups. Because rich can buy security and be in-efficient.

Whereas group lifestyle would need :

• Lead the pack – so that you can be in control and be above the lower level frictions.

Either way, riches and ownership seems to be the only way to have better life.

I am not born with lots of resources (neither got from my parents). Therefore my goal in life should be :

1. To acquire as much resources as possible. Talent wise as well as $$ wise.
2. Become owner /leader of something. (Even if it is a small piece of a big group) As autonomous as possible.
3. Deploy the earned resources to achieve the above two.

http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/jan2008/id2008012_297369.htm

Interesting article by Bill Buxton in Businessweek.

I like the metaphor of long nose (in line with long tail). The main take aways for me :

1. If you are an inventor, you would be long dead before your invention makes money.

2. Dramatic changes in the world comes takes long time after the initial idea.

3. Ecosystem has to be ready, to create the big impact.

4. Big changes are based on many small ideas.

5. Think of it as a building. Each idea is just a small brick. Many types of materials and techniques have to evolve to create a unique building.

6. It is similar to “Life”. Life evolves through reproduction and mutations. It takes generations (ages..) to create a human from a single cell. Same thing applies to ideas. I read somewhere that darwin’s theories can be used to describe evolution of ideas / memes as well.

7. Unlike religious beliefs – god created (invented) humans and other species – Darwinism says that everything is result of evolution.  

Business has three stakeholders :

1. Shareholder – who provided money

2. Employee / resources – who convert money into something

3. Customer – who converts that somethinginto money, which is distributed to first two.

Most businesses are driven to maximize benefits for shareholders.

• Take care of employee, so that he/she can generate more $$ for the shareholder
• Make customer happy, if he pays higher $$ which goes to shareholders.

All three players are inter-related. You cannot isolate any one. In general terms, it is better to have all three happy. But then that is just a optimum solution.

All businesses are driven to maximize shareholder value. This comes from capitalist thinking,

• people are freely available, money(capital) is scarce
• bigger is better for efficiencies (factories, mass products, walmart…)
• Money is the best catalyst

Other 2 models

Artists Solo business person can have a different model. They can maximize for the resource – themselves – and money be a secondary goal.

Social service have the third model. They maximize for the customer.

If you are working for an organization(job), your objective is to maximize for your boss (not just your immediate boss, but all the bosses till the shareholder).

What if there are no bosses – employees own the company equally, employee and shareholders are same. One such model only exists in cottage industry, say a tailor, a barber – one person or few people business. Western world got prosperity by moving into factory model, which killed one person businesses.

I thought :My job provides current $$, while I need to find other areas for my ideas to flurish.If I can experiment in my spare time, I can hit a jackpot idea !! If I can experiment in my spare time, I can find a passion and one day I will have my masterpiece.But what I learned is that realistic ideas need to be generated closer to the reality. Find people, not imaginary users and their needs.Secondly, ideas don’t come in vacuum. They are like mutations rather than dreams. Great art evolves while artist is creating rather than big bangs into life.Feel it – Feel the reality, add imagination/ dream /envision how the reality could be. Try and test those extensions of reality. Let them naturally grow and evolve. Some will mature to big things.So the new thinking is :1. feel the reality2. Allow to see beyond – dream3. Some things will grow4. Move out of your wayBut what if I don’t get inspired and am condemn to live a boring life ?That means you need to train on the step 2 – dream ahead.Dreams generate hope. Hope is very important positive force of life.While I was looking for good ideas to prototype, now I am looking for good domains to mutate /innovate.Instead of ephemeral hobbies, I need fun projects with a end point. Don’t worry if you don’t achieve much, but look for opportunities to improvise and evolve.Instead of ideas – prototyping – realizing , reality – envision – evolve. One of the ways to do that is to recreate existing – find opportunities to improvise / innovate. 

Sources of hope

1. Spiritual : based on faith. Better not analyze or know the truth.

2. Past stories : I have been through such times and got out. Even though it takes time, ultimately success finds me.

3. Future stories : create fictional stories of future.
4. Momentum : extrapolate few good things happening now.

5. Others’ stories: When I see someone becoming successful, it creates hope that same could happen to me.

Logic based v/s feel based

While busines, software etc are also mediums of creation and ideas, they are logic based rather than feel based.

Logic based – deduce what is correct / optimum thing to do.

Feel based – If it feels good to you, it must be appealing to others.

Painting, Music etc are feel based mediums.

Important to note that, while logic leads to universally agreed truth, feel is more personal and might not be same for others. But at the same time, feel connects deeper human levels than logic. Therefor emphasis in logic based mediums is on truth and wider acceptability, whereas feel based depends on emotional depth to individual.

Leaders are feel based, while managers are logic based.

I am not saying that one is better than the other, but recognizing that feel based creative mediums are different. I have ability for both type (so I think), and therefor I should choose to have both kinds of mediums.

Design is in many ways a feel medium.

what is your medium of ideas ?

Cartoonists use their cartoons to convey their ideas. So Cartoons are their medium – everyone knows that right ??

Similarly,

entrepreneur’s medium is business

Web designer’s medium is web sites

Software maker / widget maker’s medium is the widget or software

One need to be clear, whether it is the cartoons / software or business. You can’t be perfecting cartoons and hope that you have a great business.

That doesn’ t mean that each one of us can use only one medium. It means that being clear what all mediums is one creating in. Maybe a cartoonist is very creative in cartoons but not so creative in the business of cartoons. Then there are Edisons of the world who apparently are experts in many mediums at the same time.

Success in real world often requires creative thinking in all mediums of the  product. Atleast till one can establish a successful brand, after that there will be many more who will push the product further.

Richardson Drops Out of Democratic Race – New York Times

Selecting someone for a office / job, can be done based on :

1. Experience and knowledge

2. Attitude and intelligence

It is often said ( in selection process)

“hire for the attitude and train for the skill”

Because while both are essential – especially for such big posts as president of USA, experience / knowledge can come from people around, but attitude and intelligence are not easy to be induced.

But then attitude and intelligence are much more fuzzier than experience and knowledge.

Resumes are formats for experience and knowledge, while interviews are tests of attitude and intelligence.

You can guess who I would support !!

Business is about profiting from scarcity.

• Demand – Supply =  Scarcity
• Price – Cost = profit

Evolution in business :

1. Pick current Scarcity (and which has price $$) fill it with abundant supply
2. Which creates / props-up new scarcity.
3. Become leader in servicing the new scarcity.
4. And the next generation will strive to make the new scarcity abundant and repeat the cycle.

Mass production

Reduce common costs thus increasing profits

Luxury business

High price for extreme unessential (for living) scarcity.

Broadcast model

Zero price subsidized with Ads revenue on a high volume

Google search

Zero price, low cost subsidized with Ads on very high volume

Amazon

Minimum inventory costs for large volume resulting in discount price

Music business

Zero price for music, high price for related experience

I am – my stories.

My stories – place me in the world.

Stories need drama.

‘No story’ is still a story – a boring / sad one.

Being aware of stories developing everyday, is living consciously.

Ask ‘How would I remember this moment as ?’ in other words ‘How I want to remember this moment as ?’

It is not to change the moment, just to connect it to other moments and create a story.

Larger the story (you are involved in) more satisfied it feels.

My stories are told – mostly to myself.

Without stories, I am like a rock or a tree – ‘inanimate’ or just a ‘living thing’

Best user experience design is one that generates big exciting internal stories. 

An expensive watch is a fashion item. Unlike early days, it is not worn for its function, but to express a style statement. It works more of defining who I am rather than as a tool for myself. Watch is a social object !! so is a car, a suit, a bag – all fashion.

iPod is successful for many reasons, but one of the main one being its social visibility. What if it was a tool used inside ones privacy – say a bathroom ? Would it command such premium $$ ?

Social objects are marketing tools. This is best way to decrease marketing costs and enhance message effectiveness. But at the same time, social object help humans project a larger (or better) than life image of oneself. So individuals participate in socializing any object for his /her own selfish interest to ’show off’ – in good way. While producer / business gets to expand their marketing message through free viral distribution.

Social objects command premium pricing – non-social objects become commodities

What makes any object socially visible ?

1. when it is used / consumed in public – not private.
2. Share usage preference /pattern in public.
3. when expertise or knowledge about it is shared
4. when it is consumed collectively in a group

Tags: socialobjects

Explore model

interaction design

presentation layer

    lots of samples… but not complex / confused
    fast refresh of new set
    trail – fast in and out
    remember path taken – progressively know more prefernces
   
time from Intent – let me find something interesting – to usage should be minimal

logic

    dynamic grouping
    intuitive grouping
    multiple membership

data structure

    Tag based ?
    richer as it app ages

Maps are good explore model – especially with Gmaps like

Horses don’t get anything out of a race, but they need to work very hard to win every time it goes on the racetrack.

There are few ways to get a horse to run :

1. Stick - push or hit it, use ‘pain’ as the key driver
2. Habit - make a machine of the horse, use ‘inertia’ as the driver
3. Carrot - Motivate , pull, use ‘pleasure’ as the key driver

While all three produce results in short term, in long run stick is inhuman and habit is insensitive ways. You are also a horse in someone else’s race.

Carrot is the most desire-able way. But ‘Carrot way’ works on the following principle:

1. Horse is hungry
2. Horse likes carrots when it is hungry
3. Horse hunger is not one time thing (if not perennial)
4. Carrot is reachable after doing effort (no use if the carrot is on another mountain)

While 1 and 3 in above list can be achieved by training and selection ( select for attitude), finding which kind of carrot will motivate and how it should be presented are important challenges of leadership (and life as well)

Tags: motivation

The Keys to Happiness, and Why We Dont Use Them | LiveScience
“If you are looking for something to complain about , you are absolutely certain to find it,” Easterbrook told LiveScience. “It requires some effort to achieve a happy outlook on life, and most people dont make it. Most people take the path of least resistance. Far too many people today dont make the steps to make their life more fulfilling one.”

Very interesting ! I face the same thing. I know it takes effort to make a happy point of view of the world, and making effort seems to a bad / sad thing.

Visuals in story telling

I mean static pictures, either drawn or photos. The amount visuals used changes the language of story telling.

A Painting – Visual Story without words

A Graphic novel – Pictures and dialogs (text)

or Visually augmented (like this post) – Regular text stories with few images to augment the storyline.

Just text – all the images are in imagination

Each one of these have different languages and effect. A picture is equivalent to 1000 words, however a well written story can generate much better imagination than a visual.

Instead of ‘need’ to do NTD, I like to have Liketo do (LTD) process.

NTD  – Goal : efficiency

LTD – Goal : Enjoyable life experience

Develop top 5 LTD lists. A blog post of top 5 LTD things everyday. which is later updated on the status of the same.

How to build a TV guide for million channels ?  (triggered by article by Seth Godin)

Solution : Automation / script  or community guide.

My experience is that  search technology (including Google) is reaching its  utility in ever changing / expanding content domain. Search provides global top 10 list, which is becoming increasingly useless. Consider the following questions :

1. Which is the best car for me ? or TV or house …?

2.  Who can guide me best … ?

3.  Best entertainment content … to spend my evening today?

Google or any other search fail miserably in answering such real life questions. Not because Search robot is not smart, but because these questions cannot be answered without knowing me and my life preferences / status. Google doesn’t know who I am.  That’s why the next battle of web is personalization.

On the other hand, Communities can act like human agents helping in answering such questions. Not generic MySpace community, but  a community of people like me. In fact many communities with people with similar interests as mine.

Maybe Google should start to know my communities (online and offline) and build me guides based on opinion of those communities. Maybe someone is already working on this in their garage / bedroom right this moment (I wonder why not me …!!).

WordPress Widget:

Check the above…if you are a netvibes user and use wordpress blog. I have created a widget for viewing statistics and posting blog posts.

Hope you like it !

States of Mind

• Harmonious
• Bored
• Confused

Aim is to maximize the Harmonious state and minimize Confused and Bored states.

The Battle Between Usability and User-Experience – Baekdal.com* Usable happiness: is a product that is simple to use, and makes you smile every time you use it.
Focus on making it easy to be happy, and usability, user-experience and greatness will come all by itself.

Lost Garden: Building fun into your software designs
# Stage 1 – Functional Software: How do we make something?
# Stage 2 – Utilitarian Software: ‘How do we make something useful and easy to use?
# Stage 3 – Pleasurable Software: ‘How do we make enjoyable to learn and powerful for experts?’

All Stage 1 and 2 software are commodities. Apple is knows and builds Stage 3 apps.  When will financial and other serious businesses start moving into Stage 3 apps for their users ?

Lost Garden: Software Developments Evolution towards Product Design

Fantastic article

Software development in general has lot to learn from Game design /development methods.

Most of the software – for banks, companies etc – are very bland /dry. They are designed for a machine like user, rather than a human user. Emotional appeal is least aspect considered in software development.

This Is Your Life and How You Tell It – New York TimesInterest topic, but boring article.

I am the story in my head – about myself.

The story evolves throughout my life, based on the life events that touch me emotionally.

Listen to other’s stories, you will know who they are.

If you want to connect with others, tell your stories and listen to theirs.

Functioning Form – WebVisions 2007: Inventrepreneurship

“If I have a thousand ideas and only one turns out to be good I am satisfied.” =Alfred Nobel

Thanks Luke.

Slides from Paul’s presentation  View Paul’s Slides

I agree completely. See my post Ideas life cycle

If you have ideas..

• Write them down… else they will vanish
• Prototype them… else they will remain just dreams
• Productionize them … else they will remain just a hobby
• Spread the story around them… or else ideas will remain unrealized

Stories are the best way of communication. Stories give wings to ideas. They allow pollination to newer fields.

Not just stories told by the ideator, stories told by the users.

Interesting !!!

The Long Tail of Consumer Demand

Src: Keith Hopper

Since Henry ford invented economy of scale (mass production), business is designed to address common minimum requirements. Any additional requirement is seen as premium variation to the mass produced commodity.

Internet is promising to unleash large niche players. Unlike earlier times, boutique need not be a cottage/small business.

I like the trend towards big players being more of aggregators / integrators (like eBay and Amazon) rather than monolithic producers like oil and steel companies. This will increase “atomization” of business with profitable economic models.

If boutique can get volume, we will see reduction of big business power (I hope). And increase in power of the community (In the way nature has designed ‘life’).

However the exponential increase of options (variety) is becoming counter productive to the users. It would be interesting to see, who comes out with a magic solution to make it easier to choose for the users.

• Does theory matter ?
• Can soldiers pause to strategize?
• Aren’t most business theories like fashion / fad ?
• Isn’t book business more about selling paper /package rather than ideas ?

Note: Most business books cost $20 with more than 200 pages. 150 or more pages in these books contain repeat of the same idea.

• All Business books give historical examples to support “the theory”. None recommend of who (specific company) can do what to use this theory. or… maybe books are marketing tools for high cost consulting.

Seth – a prolific business writer – raises a question:

Do business books work?

Every year, more than a thousand new ‘business’ books get published in the US. Not textbooks or manuals, but general interest books about how to do business better.

Some sell a few hundred copies. Some sell a few hundred thousand. One or two might sell a million. Out of a potential audience of 30 or 40 million white collar workers in the US.

Do they work or are they an utter waste of time?

Rich become more rich….

 Popular become more popular..

Individual opinions are mostly boring, unless it is from an expert.General opinion often is about collective opinions. If many have similar opinion (popular), then that starts mattering.

Collective opinion is often read like polls – very quantitative. Like this nytimes article -
Is Justin Timberlake a Product of Cumulative Advantage?- suggests, others’ opinion guide ones own (popularity).

Reputation ( popularity) is the key that seperates an expert from ‘janatha’ (general public). So if you want to be heard, build a good reputation.

Social networks are the buzz of this year. So naturally I am attracted to the phenomenon. Not so much as a user but as a business.

Social networks are not new. We like many other life forms love to be social. Social groups extend our identity beyond oneself into a larger entity.

Groups form around a common theme or love, which has an emotional connection with the individuals.

Toastmasters, lionsclub, fan club are all social groups formed around a common theme in rel world. So social groups are nothing new. Just that technology is enabling to build faster, larger and more infectious communities.

Myspace – young
Flickr – photography
Digg – tech news
Wiki – general knowledge

Most of the current social networks are closed systems. You get to interact with who have similarly joined the same network. One cannot participate without being a permanant ( sort of) member of the network.

Size of the group, emotional connectedness, dynamic/ aliveness are few intersting parameters for measuring these groups. Advertisers for instance would love larger, emotionally deeper, dynamic groups.

Broader the common theme, lesser is the emotional connectedness. Narrower the theme, however, smaller the size of group. Each group might gravitate towards its optimum size, connectedness and dynamism.

If product manfucturers or service providers identify one such common theme for their target market, they could reap huge benefits by building a community around that theme. CAUTION:this like a the goose which lays golden eggs. Don’t kill the goose by selling your stuff, as if it is another channel.

Is there an opportunity in developing technology tools to enable this. Can a tool – like ning – help business make more money, deeper impact?

I am sure non-profits already know this trick. Question is whether this is a feasible thing for commercial orgs. Or this will go the CRM way. And mainly is this a fad or real thing evolving.

concept is good. But it is not enough.

My circle should include ‘open world friends’ not just those friends who joined this service. For instance, people whose blogs I subscribe are also important. Even if they don’t join this particular service.

In whospoke.com I want to do the same on open scale. Something that will plug into address book 2.0 kind of service. Watch this space on my execution of this idea.

What happens when a singular talent like Joshua Bell plays Chaconne on his $3.5 million Stradivarius for rush-hour commuters in Washington D.C.?

Interesting take by Metacool on the result of a experiment of a famous musician playing in a rush hour in a commuter train station. I heard about this experiment on NPR radio yesterday. Joshua was speaking about this experience.

I have different point of view :

• Context / environment plays a key part in how we react /interact. I would think that this experiment should have been tried in a relaxed place (a small town … during evening) in a remote village in Africa or Asia. That would be an interesting experiment to measure universality of musical taste.
• One needs to training /tuning to appreciate finer arts. It is obvious that Picasso would be really appreciated by (artistically) trained mind more than an untrained one. Note how some songs /tunes take some time to grow on.

Though a good designer needs to always keep his /her ears open, this excersize might not be effective in measuring sensitivity of general public to fine art music.

Opinions are outcome of personal processing of world’s information, which guide decisions and actions.

• Other’s opinions are value-able when one doesn’t have enough information to process and form an opinion, and yet one needs to decide or act.
• And when collective opinion is required or is better than opinion based on self experiences.

There are

a) experts’ opinion – which are value-able because of special skill and knowledge of the expert.

b) public opinion – Value-able as collective wisdom.

There are many ways to get opinions :

1) Polling – basic tool of democracy. Ask specific yes or no multiple choice questions. Then perform quantitative analysis to know the opinion of majority.

2) In-direct observations – crowd in a restaurant suggests its popularity.

3) Stories – They are the best communication modes and inform the teller’s opinions / thoughts.

People express their opinions through blogs. That was my primary thought behind setting this service called – : public opinion from their blogs.

However unlike polls, people don’t write quantitative opinions and therefore very little analysis can be done to them. One metric that Whospoke.com uses is the number of people writing about the topic, as an indication of the popularity. Mostly it is qualitative opinion. On the other hand, polls can become biased based on questions, the choices and the analysis done.

There are many challenges in the implementation :

a) providing a summary of the opinions (whospoke provides a word cloud of the opinions). While one can go and read the detail behind, it is important to give gist of the opinions.

b) noise filtering – many people seem to hmm and huhh.. instead of stating their opinions. (Whospoke prioritizes the opinions based on the reputation of the opinionator – assumption being that if someone is popular, he must be genuinely stating his opinion)

c) contextual – unasked opinions are useless. How to provide opinions when needed – at the time of buying, deciding…

d) trusted sources – We value opinions from our friends and family more than strangers. How to filter/prioritize based on list of friends (dynamically identified, based on those I comment about, those that I read often, those that I refer to).

If one could overcome these challenges, there are many uses of this:

1) User opinions are very value-able for any organization / company.

2) Governance of countries and such … require technology transformation of public opinion capture and analysis.

3) At personal level, we all crave to know what others think. That is key reason for fashion and such things.

4) This helps in evolution of things- bad products get thrown out and good ones grow.

5) Marketing becomes less relevant. Good products would be talked about and bought.

If you find this interesting, check out whospoke.com and use this button on your web page /blog.

If  you have ideas..

• Write them down… else they will vanish
• Prototype them…  else they  will remain just dreams
• Productionize them … else they will remain just a hobby
• Spread the story around them… or else ideas will remain unrealized

Stories  are the  best  way of communication. Stories give wings to  ideas.  They allow pollination to newer fields.

Not just stories  told by the ideator, stories told by the users.

I have updated the quickview extension.

But Damn ! mozilla site doesn’t allow me to upload my latest file. It comes back with ‘ Please upload a file’ – stupid !!   

I resolved the problem. I had to first delete earlier version only then it allowed me to add latest version of code – Here is the link to latest version on Mozilla

anyways… here is the link to updated quickview.

This version contains WhoSpoke – opinions instead of other blog search options.

Check this

trial

Blogs are chronological, like news. That is not the best format for showcasing my thoughts. I feel blogs need other navigation models … such as a book …

Here is a sample “Livebook” for “we are seen creative” blog .

Watch this space for more.

This is a test of fonts

Steps to new product success
1. Envision /Imagine –> Story

2. Story + Skills –> Prototype

3. Prototype + Manufacturing –> Product

4. Product + Marketing –> Success

All the steps are required to bring value-able things to life. One can specialize on few of those steps. However that would mean dependence on others for completion. There is not much value unless the process is taken to its conclusion.

Every preceding step need to have x10 volume.

There is no value in generating lots of ideas, unless they are implemented, either by self or by others.

Beyond this process, there are Critic and User roles that one can take.

Should business (shareholders) care about this "experience" fad ?

They should if it provides growth (in revenues and profitability). It is important that experience stuff is understood by people beyond the marketing department. CEO should know it for sure.

Why care for user experience beyond the sales booth :

• a. Users as Marketeers – viral marketing !! A happy user will tell good stories about (or around) your product to his friends / family.
• b. Loyal Customer – Everyone who cares for loyality (because new customer acquisition is costly), should worry about user experience beyond the sales booth.
• c. Cross sell – a happy customer will try more products from you.
• d. Avoid activitists – ensure that customers don't become activists against your company.
• e. Market research – involved user would tell you about market need. What people want. The chepeast and most effective market research / feedback.

Can one influence the experience without control over the context ?

General concept in experience economy is that a well defined /designed context can provide a greater experience. But there are many more levers in the hands of a designer/CEO/ marketing/ Engineering to influence the user experience.

Product as commandos :Think of your products as commandos who infilterate user environment. Commodos should survive and accomplish mission(spread the goodword) independantly in uncontrollable territory.

One can segment products /services as :

• 1. Happily ever after – sell once, and buyer never comes back to you. (not to confuse with only-once-in-a-lifetime product).
• 2. See you soon – comeback because of wear and tear or boredom or new improved version.
• 3. Refill – comeback for refill
• 4. @ your service – continuous contact, else no service.

Is there an experience if you are not in contact with customer. Yes, because your product (even in 1 category) is interacting with him/ her beyond your shop.

Usually type 4 (@ your service) kind of businesses use the experience stuff (Disney park, Starbucks …). But even category 1,2 businesses such as Harley Davidson, Apple.. are influencing user experience much beyond the sales desk. If context is the main lever, it is important that businesses create more interaction points / contexts for influencing user experience. Don't just have support department, everyone in the business has an interest in post sales interactions. itunes is a great place to interact with the users.

So how to reinvent products /services to use this theory ?

Think of relationships. Friends, family, spouse etc. That is understand the orbits of user experience.

What would you do to become a relation (friend or …or spouse) – Use same principles in product /service design. Check this for parameters for reaching deeper levels of human experience orbits.

i_like

Trial posting from bb

Our world inside our heads is collection of stories centered around ourselves.

Our confidence, worries, happiness .. all are based on the  stories we build – conciously or otherwise

While creative (right side?) of our brain can comeup with any story… but without the moderation of the logical (left side) these stories could turn delusional.

On the other hand too much of logical thinking or no creative activity could turn one into a inhuman vegetable / machine.

Change / influence the internal stories, and the life changes.

Not imaginary situations, stories around the real situations. Like a photographer would look at an angle that would make the scene beautiful. Be a positive story teller of the real world to yourself.

Only 10% of real world fears or hopes come true. So inflating the hopes and suppressing the fears is the way to create better stories.

What ever stories you are telling yourself, it is important know them consciously.

trial

The best way of ensuring positive life, is to convert everyday activities as great experiences.

What Starbucks did to drinking coffee, Apple did to listening music, … one can do for daily activities.

Converting into experiences doesn’t mean accessorizing, but really changing the flow to impact more positively.

trying to post this from sidebar

TRying our writetomyblog site

Leave me a voicemessage at  917-472-1227 (US) for any comment on this blog.
I will try to post your comments here as mp3 links.

The world is much more complex and dynamic than one imagined.

I cannot predict or control all the events that would have impact on me.

Human brain is very powerful. But the real world is much.. much more complex to be modelled completely. Should I start that business … yes, try and see if you can. There is no theoritical correct answer. Life is about trying things out, and adapting (being flexible) to the changing world-view.

One doesn’t plan the entire/detailed road trip in the head. We don’t say – “we might be hit by someone, so it is better not to drive”. We just sit in the car and drive. Maneuvering as we drive on. Obviously, this doesn’t mean that I would drive over the “niagra falls” or “Grand Canyon”, I know it is impossible.

Which also means, I don’t know my future. I can never know. Then why bother about what will happen tomorrow ? Why waste time on mere possibilities and probabilities? NO, it doesn’t mean, one should destroy possibilities of tomorrow. It just means, one need not give too much importance to what is not real yet.

There would never be a time, when everything is in control. Be ready to expect the unexpected – the positive as well as the negative kind. Don’t spoil most of life’s time in worrying about few possibilities. Especially the negative kind. Don’t waste your creativity in building stories of doom.

Sequel to my earlier post What can ‘Crowd’ – (web2.0) do for me? « Simile

Currently people love these ‘crowd’ apps. The problem with them is that there are all kinds of people in the crowd. Most often what is popular in larger sense doesn’t mean anything to me. For a normal  (non-geek) most of the popular stuff on the web doesn’t relate to their world-view.

I would be more interested in knowing what ‘my kind of crowd’ – like-minded, are buzzing about. Not just young, technology freaks…

I mean a open, dynamically changing group. Not the kind of google-groups or message-board.

“What car did my kind of people..  choose. Most of whom might be unknown to me. The ‘crowd’ app would dynamically match us based on our individual interests and history.”

Add Gadget to Your Webpage

This is very interesting news. Another way for individuals to create interesting contents for the web mashups.

Google widgets can now be placed on any webpage, not just google home page !!

This year’s “buzzest” word has been Social or Web2.0.

This is not about a company making software for a person or an organization. This is about everyone – from a student to a mega-company – making software for the ‘crowd’.

Flickr, YouTube, Del.icio.us … and such.. all make a buzzing community. The idea is that God (google) with the help of devils (Advt. men) would help you monetize this buzzing.

But really, What can I get from a ‘crowd’ ?

1. News alerts – ‘crowd’ becomes my editors. I only read something that ‘crowd’ buzzes about.
2. Knowledge – ‘crowd’ guides me towards great teachers (A-bloggers), who know everything about the world.
3. Culture – ‘crowd’ is fastest way to learn about culture. If you participate in all the conversations around, you would surely know what human nature is.

In other words, we get to know,

• What is hot now (GW Bush is always a hot topic)
• Who is popular (the A-bloggers)
• What topics are most interesting (more the debate /conversation … the better it is)

While this is fantastic (generating Billions of $$), what can ‘crowd’ do for me, when I need them. For instance,

1. I want to know if a particular movie is watchable
2. What is the best car for my budget and needs
3. Can ‘crowd’ help me find a job ? Business ?
4. Should I learn ‘design’ or is it too late in my life.

Can I ask the ‘crowd’ for wisdom. or is it simply one way process.

Thank you !! for visiting QuickView extension page

What is Quickview

Web pages contain embedded “gateways” – links to other sources of info.

But how often did you want to peek into those gates (links) without actually going there ? Quickview is the solution for that.

Quickview is a FF extension to preview any link.Once installed, simply ctrl+click any link , presto your gate opens for a peek.

You can even select any text on the page, and click a virtual button on the bottom right part (or just press ‘f9′) to view what world is saying about the selected text.

You can also view

- Conversations @ : Contextually, just-in time, find out what others are saying about the information you are watching

- Blog search : What are blogs saying about this.

- Web search : contextually search the link text on the web. Maybe someone has better information source.

(more on this coming soon.. my extension is awaiting approval on mozilla site)

Has the world moved from ‘need’ based products,

                                                                                    to ‘desire’ based artifacts,

                                                                                                         to greater ‘experience’ based solutions.

en:conference:speakers:peter_merholz [SHiFT - Social and Human Ideas for Technology]

As the internet and digital networks in general become more ubiquitous, more distributed, and more integrated in our lives, we’re finding that it’s hard to find a “product” that is not also, or even mostly, a service.

ipod is a perfect example for so many business theories (did steve jobs think of all these angles!!). This one states that stand alone products are being overtaken by “solutions”.

def. Product – an independant package of output

Even a old product such as a car, needs other things – gas stations, service stations, roads … to be useful. Therefore the point is not if in this new “design” world product era is ending, rather it is that, for further differentiation / premium pricing, product companies have to own bigger chunk of the new ecosystems.

That is a way to improve the total experience to the end user. Which is  becoming key driver  of  growth.

I was watching a TED talks video on Happiness. That’s when I remembered my old drawing above.

When what I want to be is more than what I think I am, there is anxiety and sadness.

On the other hand, when I imagine myself to be more than what I want to be… there is happiness. Limiting want is sure way of increasing happiness.

But is this good ? do we grow by focusing on lesser want ?

Another interesting TED talk was about how choice makes one more unhappy. It makes one want more and fill less fullfilled.

QuickView (see ’swipe’ in above pic) is a simple extension to preview any link,that I have created using greasemonkey script. If you have a gm extension loaded on you firefox, then check this out.

I am also in process to make it into a firefox extension (without the need for Greasemonkey).

Excellent article:

Article: Why Do People Say “Yes?” The “6 Weapons of Influence”

1.uninvited ‘first favors’: even if the gifts are small or insignificant, if you give first wihtout expecting – saying “specially for you”
2. get them committed verbally, people will hesitate to go back on their words
3. “others like you said ‘yes’” – if they like, you should like (or agree)
4. meet often, for short period – you will be liked & agreed
5. Show a badge of authority
6. this is last piece – if you don’t want the guy wants to take it. scarcity motivates better than any other sales tricks.

powered by performancing firefox

Drivers and Putters map nicely to the Strategic & Product Design roles I described a while back.“

[Strategic Designers] are tremendously adept at visualizing a complete product experience and how it maps to business and user goals. These designers are invaluable during the early stages of product ideation. They help focus product strategy and give teams a vision to drive toward.

[Product] designers excel in the ability to get recurring product updates (that drive toward a long-term goal) out the door quickly and efficiently. They have a passion for a particular product and quickly become domain experts in that product area.”

Source: http://www.lukew.com/ff/

I want to be a Driver … let the putting be done by mortals ….

BUT what if no one picks up my efforts to putt to deliver the last “10 feet” ?

amazing-space

to-night sky and stars that you can locate. Beautiful explanatory video. This should be one of the best astronomical site !!

powered by performancing firefox

Imagine what will happen if paper based display’s take place of LCD displays. WOW !!!

WORLD’S FIRST ELECTRONIC PAPER WATCH DEMONSTRATED

powered by performancing firefox

40 Things You’d Like to Say Out Loud at Work

40 Things You’d Like to Say Out Loud at Work
I liked most of these, especially,

• This isn’t an office. It’s Hell with fluorescent lighting.
• I thought I wanted a career. Turns out I just wanted a salary.

powered by performancing firefox

The Cache: Tracy Duckart’s Website

“If you cannot write well, you cannot think well, and if you cannot think well, others will do your thinking for you.”

George Orwell

powered by performancing firefox

ENDERLE: I’m not a big fan of layoffs and large layoffs tend to have a lagging impact of making the company increasingly less competitive as the organization tries to recover from the lost resources of the people that have left. Enderle thinks it would be better for Intel to focus on their lack of competitiveness against rival Advanced Micro Devices.

Marketplace: Intel layoffs

Whenever I see a news about big company laying off (it is always 10% or such of resources), I am reminded that at the end the investor is the king.It is obvious that companies announce such things, for the benefit of investors. Who else would care / like this news. They could have as well done that without shouting out loud.

BUT … Should the investors be happy. Especially for companies like Intel.

Intel made their bucks because they were the leaders in chip making. It is not a good sign, when a leader informs that he didn’t notice when he became lazy (more baggage).To me, it actually means…

Company saying – WE DON”T HAVE ANY NEW/GOOD IDEAS TO BE THE MARKET LEADER .

like a King saying – I am going to kill 10% of my soldiers, because I cannot win anymore.

Source:photos.windley.com

Should investors be happy with that ?

technorati tags:Layoff, Intel

Once upon a time, we used to buy monolithic products.

You bought a machine(one TV box). But now you buy software.

You had software pre-installed (Microsoft veriety). Now we discover new applications (productlets) everyday.

The proliferation of best of breed productlets, drives the innovations to new heights. College teens and new class of “developers” are becoming innovators.

However these ’small things’ are creating a clutter at home and on computer. There is no theme. No standards to help keep the the things organized.

Definition : Productlets - Small incremental products or components which are built and distributed by small group of amatuers.

Some design principles for such productlets, that I believe will make them sustainable.
1. Use and forget - I cannot keep 1000s of productlets on my counter / desktop. They need to disappear when not in use.

2. No Install or ownership - Can I just use (pay for it), instead of owning and storing it.

3. Remembers me – While I want to use when needed, it should remember what I did last time (Google doesn’t do this).

4. Adapts to my home environment - A beautiful productlet is not good enough, it should be able to intergrate within my home environment ( with all other productlets).

5. Easy to learn – Does Google need to publish a manual to use their search ? yes for advanced users, there are options, but for average user – just type and enter.

6. Grows smoothly - As one uses it, the productlet interface should mature – no one needs to remember CNTRL-C for copy, it is automatic. So I can use menu for more advanced stuff as I use it more.

Productlets should be more like Car rental service – use it, pay it and forget about it.

– I should have realized this earlier.

img src:www.lesein.es

We forget that big businesses buy, based on what few people think – their CEO, CFO, Managers etc. So there is nothing like Business to Business sales.

It is always people to people. In fact in case of large business sales, one needs much more understanding of an individual, than in a consumer sales.

Supermarkets package their cheapest products to look more like famine relief than something you’d want to pay for.It’s not because they can’t afford sexy packaging even for their cheapest foods – it’s because they want to persuade richer customers to buy something more expensive instead.

BBC NEWS | Business | ‘Product sabotage’ helps consumers

Lexus versus Toyota Camry

Economical models are visually designed not to look better than or at par, Luxury models of the same company.

Probably cost of ….visual design elements such as headlights, front grills etc …..
doesn’t vary much between a Lexus and a Camry.

But then Toyota will never give the same chic look to Camry – because then Lexus will loose its Luxuriness (visually) and thus might not fetch so much money.

Blogged with Flock

My slides for WebVisions: Designing for Social Sharing

    Very interesting slide deck regarding new ’social’ world.

This is surely this years buzz word. Web2.0, Socialweb, Opensource, Viral… some of the words driving innovative boundaries in the world today.

technorati tags:World2.0

Blogged with Flock

Smart ———————————-Knowledgeable

Contextual —————————-Abstract

Model based ————————-Memory driven

Action———————————— Truth /knowledge

Only cares for relevant————–Wants to know all

Mind + Body —————————Mind only

Wants output ($$) ——————–Wants respect

Few in the world ———————–Dime a dozen – with computers in their hand

But all the schools in the world prepare us to be knowledgeable, not smart.

Are there any training classes to be smart ? Learn by doing, rather than through facts.

Advertising is everywhere we look.

AIGA – The Bubble Project

Ads are stories that companies tell to interest prospective users. But there is no easy way to filter out existing users (who don’t need same story) or non-users.

The best marketing filter is to segment people in groups and look for maximum exposure.

The main side effect is that the system dumbfully bombards so many stories that no one really attracts my attention.

People also tell stories – of their experiences. Often these experiences are from products /services of companies. When companies become part of people stories, they get free marketing, with no side effects.

What are the ways to influence end users stories ? Props, anecdotes….

Can user conversations replace defunct ad system ?

What kind of person is better for the world ? Smart or knowledgeable ?

Starbucks blames setback on frappuccino queues

Guardian Unlimited Business | | Starbucks blames setback on frappuccino queues

sells Experience.

If they forget that while bringing new products …. they would be another coffee shop.

Blogged with Flock

How Much Time Do Employees Waste? According to a recent survey by Salary.com and AOL, the average U.S. employee wastes about 1.86 hours each eight-hour workday–and that doesn’t include lunch and breaks.

Entrepreneur’s Small Business Blog

Boooooo !!

What do you think we are……machines ??

These kind of people (reporter) would surely one day be replaced by automatons…

Blogged with Flock

When Choices Increase >>Aggregators become important

• Aggregator likes popular.
  

• But to be pupular, you need aggregators.
  

• Very popular doesn’t need aggregators.

Is Google a great aggregator ? or Walmart ? or eBay ?

How good are they at aggregating supply – not just established ones, even fresh ones.

What kind of expereince provide for the demand to browse ?

Blogged with Flock

Today I watched a interesting video by Guy Kawasaki – Art of startup, that he gave to group of enterpreuners (I assume).

Great insight , clear thoughts, very enjoyable. However what made me thinking is “Is this effective way of educating (influencing) his audience “

My problem with lists as a way of influence/communication is that no one remembers them. Only thing that one remembers /effected by are stories. Bulleted short sentences look sexy, but needs funny stories to convey any message to the audience.

If one wants to influence, a simple story or couple of stories (with pictures) can really do the job. Especially stories that audience can use in their conversations.

Doesn’t “Jonathan Livingston…” – Richard bach – style work better in such places ?

The bulleted list should be invisible as speaker notes. Humor though is great connector (I don’t have much of it, as you can see here).

1. Both are collection of nodes.
2. Where Interesting memes gets links from other nodes.
3. More the links, deeper the impact on the whole.

Knowing that, what can an average blogger do ?

Become part of the bigger movement (collective wisdom), add to it & gain from it.

Blogged with Flock

GLOOOGLOOO (the working name) is a prototype of globe-shaped world browser and communicator. This device giving the view of current state of the planet, weather conditions, customized news headlines and online contacts. The design also includes the use of a Laser Keyboard to communicate with other people around the globe.

Source: GLOOO

Source : Core77 blog

Squidsoap [via Strange New Products] is a pump that puts black ink on your hands when you pump out the soap; your hands are clean when they are free of ink (and happily, also free from invisible germs and gunk).

video page

Keynote Address

——————————————————

How many other CEO’s can dream of such a anticipation, expectation, demand for their sales pitch.

It is not – how great apple products are – they are.

It is how Steve jobs knows how to ride the wave of that popularity (and take others for the ride).

—————————————————

But then, so was Bill gates (remember his book – i forgot its name!). Crowd is like ocean, it moves in waves. and then it moves on …. would this continue for ever.

Who will take the next mantel ?

Blogged with Flock

the cool hunter – PAPA JOHN’S PIZZA GETS IT RIGHT

src: http://www.goodfore.com/english/lappack.html
I speacially liked the backpack straps. Look for the colored ones… not sure if any sells this.

Blogged with Flock