Making stuff work for the masses
Whether it’s an online product, a physical product, a service, or an event — your implementation should give the viewer an epiphany of communication and understanding. When it all comes together, pretty astounding things can happen. That’s what happened for Burkey Belser, the designer of every drug information label on every bottle of pills. You’ll also see Belser’s work on the side of every food item sold in this country because Belser also designed the nutrition label. For that matter, Belser also designed the Vietnam war memorial. When I learned all of this yesterday while flipping through one of my old application interface books, I was flatly astounded. What an incredible legacy.
Ultimately, any well-designed product or experience acknowledges the user. It’s that respect for the user that makes a design great. Every now and then, a design comes along that radically changes the way we think about a particular object. Case in point: the iMac. Suddenly, a computer is no longer an anonymous box. It is a sculpture, an object of desire, something that you look at. What a great way to enter or compete in a crowded market.
Matt Hulett is incredible
I’ve known Matt Hulett over at Mpire a long time now. I was just reading one of his email updates regarding WidgetBucks. Over a billion impressions served in three months. That’s crazy. Congrats to them.
Better email? Thanks Bijan!
Bijan Marashi – founder of Xoopit – is really on the ball! He dropped me an email moments after my blog post on better email and encouraged me to try Xoopit and says many of the features I envisioned are there or on the way. Listen to what the web is saying folks! It is the biggest and best echo chamber and your ability to track relevant conversations going on out there has a direct impact on business success. Great job Bijan.
Better email. Please. Thank you.
I’m not starting a new email company (well, as of today anyway) but I have been talking with a lot of friends about the state of email. There are several companies supposedly working to make email more useful to include Fuser, Orgoo, Xobni and Xoopit . Xobni is the only company in this group working to enhance Outlook. I think there are several evolutions that email could make. Here’s the thought process I’d take if I were going to work on a new, better email company along with some features that I think would be very cool.
- Determine whether you are targeting a business user or the consumer. Features and functions could not be intelligently prioritized if you don’t have clear focus in this regard
- I’m tired of toggling between facebook and my email clients. If a contact in email is not in my networks I want to know it and I want to publish them to my networks direct from my email client.
- I would like to see prefabricated email “response widgets” in a toolbox that I can just drag and drop into my message.
- An example of an email response widget might be, “Hey you guys, I’m thinking about buying this car. What do you think of it? Then, I drag a “SCALE OF 1-10″ slider into my message. People just check what they think and hit return.
- I want messaging capability to be INTEGRATED into my browsing experience, particularly around images. For example, I’d like to right click an image on a web page and “message it” directly with a brief comment. Why do I have to cut and paste? Most emails have to do with something you are looking at online anyway.
- I want threaded messages to have more personality. For example, why is a growing email thread so boring? Attach my face/character/avatar to each part of a message/thread where my comment is. If that message was subsequently forwarded to someone else not originally part of the message, add their avatar too! And, hotlink their avatar so I can email them DIRECTLY from the thread instead of making me cut/paste their email address from the header.
- Connect to the GMAIL pop/smtp system so that all these new features could be accessed while still using your Gmail address. Gmail could be sent and received through the new system (not really sure if this is currently allowed or not).
- Add an easy way to embed media players so I can forward songs and videos VERY easily.
- Offer a robust API so developers can add new applications that can be plugged in and also removed easily – just like Firefox.
- Give me controls to adjust how messages and priorities are handled. In other words, make email less TIME BASED. You know that important message you’re reading today? You tend to forget about it weeks later because it got “pushed down the stack” as more mails came in. What you want to be able to do is say, “ok, ANY emails from my boss should ALWAYS stay at the top of the pile, in red font and font size is 22 unless I move them or delete them.
Think of email like a powerful web application. Forget what we think about how email is “supposed” to work. Just because its always been done that way doesn’t mean it always needs to be that way.
I’m sure I could easily think of many more features if I spent time on it. What can you imagine? How would you like to see email evolve? My guess is that this is still a HUGE market opportunity for somebody that executes well and offers real value. It just hasn’t been done right yet.
Remembering what’s important
There are no parallels to technology start-ups within this video but it is sure helpful to occasionally remember how lucky you are. Friends, family and health take precedent over financing events and big exits. Right?
Why you should consider HTML for presentations instead of Powerpoint
I have been grinding on a new start-up idea lately and I’ve begun to realize something about presentations. As most people know, Powerpoint has long been the preferred “new business presentation medium” for investors. But there are a lot of things wrong with Powerpoint that I think make it a less than ideal solution. For my new project, I’m using an HTML page that effectively looks like Powerpoint (e.g. big fonts, “slide” style design etc.) I edit all my pages in Dreamweaver CS3 but anyone can make a basic presentation using Notepad or something similar.
The benefits of doing it this way are as follows:
- You don’t have to email a HUGE attachment and clog peoples email boxes or ask them to download a big .zip file from a server to get the Powerpoint presentation. HTML is very light.
- With an HTML slideshow sitting on a server, you can do minor updates as you think of them without having to email blast everyone with new versions or ask them to “re-download” a big zip file. They return to your site – the updates are just there.
- You can embed graphics without them getting distorted as Powerpoint does to ALL graphics. This is a KEY point.
- Powerpoint slides don’t scroll. That forces you to break single concepts across more than one slide (with really small font) instead of keeping one key message on a single scrolling page.
- Using HTML let’s have you a very granular “code level” view of your presentation to include fonts, spacing etc. Powerpoint gets fussy when you try to figure out why it is formatting things certain ways.
- You can do “global updates” across your entire presentation easier in HTML. For example, suppose you want to add a “Click Here to Print” button at the bottom right of each slide. It’s easy in HTML but with Powerpoint you would probably have to add that to the footer to do it and that may not be what you want.
- You can control distribution of the presentation easier.
- You can add LARGE graphics to a page without it getting “smashed”. If your presentation benefits from screen shots of an application idea this is absolutely necessary.
- You can control the layout of the whole experience. For example, do you want it to be in a fixed width container? A fluid container? To the right of the screen? Left of the screen?
10) It is easier to add a menu system for navigation to jump from slide to slide
Everybody’s Free by Baz Lurhman
Have you heard this song? No matter. The lyrics are far more important:
Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of ‘97… wear sunscreen.
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be IT.
The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience.
I will dispense this advice now.
Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded. But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked.
You are NOT as fat as you imagine.
Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.
Do one thing every day that scares you.
Sing.
Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts, don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours.
Floss.
Don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind. The race is long, and in the end, it’s only with yourself.
Remember compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you succeed in doing this, tell me how.
Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements.
Stretch.
Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don’t.
Get plenty of calcium.
Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone.
Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll have children, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary. Whatever you do, don’t congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself, either. Your choices are half chance, so are everybody else’s. Enjoy your body, use it every way you can. Don’t be afraid of it, or what other people think of it, it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own.
Dance. Even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.
Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them.
Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.
Get to know your parents, you never know when they’ll be gone for good.
Be nice to your siblings; they are your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.
Understand that friends come and go, but for the precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography in lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young.
Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.
Travel.
Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old, and when you do you’ll fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.
Respect your elders.
Don’t expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you’ll have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one might run out.
Don’t mess too much with your hair, or by the time you’re 40, it will look 85.
Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it’s worth.
But trust me on the sunscreen.
Supporting technology companies in Washinton State
I had two interesting meetings today. One was with Ken Myer, President and CEO of the Washington’s Technology Association and the other was Nathan Kaiser over at nPost. Both Ken and Nathan are working hard to bring value, services and camaraderie to information workers across the state. Nathan’s organization is a grass roots effort that has grown steadily over the last few years. His events draw hundreds of up and coming entrepreneurs and diligent techies who share beer, business cards and stories in a typically casual environment. Silicon Valley has dozens of these kinds of events each month but in Seattle there just aren’t enough of them. I’m glad guys like Nathan give their own time to do this as a very appreciated side project.
Earlier this month I was a panelist at the WSA 2008 Predictions Dinner – my first WSA event in years. Frankly, I seem to recall years ago that the whole WSA thing seemed a bit staid for my tastes but Ken is an energetic and ambitious guy who has great plans for the non-profit. He started as CEO about a year ago and he’s constantly trying to add new value for members, bring on new board members who provide fresh perspective and grow the base such that everyone benefits. He pointed out that there are more than 1,000 member companies representing more than 80,000 technology sector employees. Of those companies, 75% are less than 100 employees. No wonder that offerings such as Group Purchasing Cooperative – where members can purchase essential products & services such as health insurance, telecommunications, payroll services and more are so popular! But Ken’s working really hard to continue adding more value that appeals to an even broader base of technology constituents in Washington State. I’m excited to watch the WSA roll out new programs and network more closely with technology entrepreneurs here. If done right, the WSA offerings could one day be a start-up staple for just about anyone looking to cut costs and gain access to a wealth of other benefits. Better still, we’ll see offerings that appeal to even more of the LARGER companies who would bring additional perspective to the membership base. This is a healthy effort for Washington and I’m glad that Ken is driving.
The Facebook Marketing Bible: 24 Ways to Market Your Brand, Company, Product, or Service Inside Facebook
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Facebook is the other Internet. There isn’t a web investor out there that isn’t thinking about how Facebook will play into any new consumer start-up’s marketing plan. Seriously. But, what exactly is an entrepreneur supposed to do with it? Get guerrilla! Get viral! Learn the platform. Prioritize and consider your product integration. For the aggressive guerrilla marketer, Facebook offers a bevy of viral channels to get the word out to your friends and creatively reach your target audience.
The Facebook Marketing Bible is the best quick study I’ve yet seen on this topic. Oh, and speaking of viral! This little guide was started by Justin Smith of Facebook application developer Watercooler and he should get kudos for thinking of this in the first place! This is brilliant online marketing for his own company and it illustrates that the best online viral marketing campaigns provide something of value to users. Pretty simple philosophy isn’t it! No gimmicks!
The Open Web Awards
Much thanks to Erin Hakansson over at Condenet for the invite and free tickets to the Mashable Open Web Awards in San Francisco on January 10. Most people are familiar with Condé Nast right? CondéNet is the unit that manages the online properties such as STYLE.COM, Epicurious.com, Concierge.com, Reddit etc. The Open Web Awards, hosted by Mashable.com, are the first ever online, open collaboration awards event, to recognize the best online communities representing web 2.0. Should be interesting. Thanks Erin!
Seth Godin on bad powerpoint
Couldn’t agree more. Well, maybe his rule about no more than 6 words on a single slide is a little too hardcore but I get the point.
More on “the bubble”
A friend was talking to me on email today about the ongoing discussion about the tech bubble. He asked me what I thought about it and whether or not I agree we’re in the middle of a big, bad one. I figured I’d just share my email response here for the heck of it.
It pays to be paranoid about this stuff.
You make better business decisions even if it is true or not.
But, sure I could be convinced things are pretty frothy right now.In reality though, so much of this is a case-by-case situation.
If your business plan DEPENDS on market momentum then I’d say that’s a case that is one I wouldn’t want to be a part of.
On the other hand, if you have a good business, a good team, a good product offering and a practical spend plan then you are primarily only going to be effected by the macro conditions that are impacted during bubbles. Specifically, the ease with which you can raise financing. But, I don’t control that stuff so I don’t worry about it much.In this regard I probably would spend the most amount of time thinking about whether or not my business is a unique offering given all the other stuff in the market now (that wasn’t there 4 years ago). It makes me think harder about a business plan. But, I certainly wouldn’t say I’m afraid by any of this stuff. Just try not to do anything stupid – that’s my philosophy.
Imagekind and my small world
Since starting Imagekind in July 2006 I’m often amazed, surprised, humbled and flattered how many people I’ve met who have heard about the service, sold something or purchased something there. A few weeks ago I met an artist at a Dandy Warhols concert who was telling me that she was intending to start selling on Imagekind once she got all of her art digitized. Today, I was on the site just to check in on things and I noticed Barb Trentalange was being showcased on the front page. I realized that I never had a lengthy discussion with Barb about Imagekind and I certainly didn’t arrange for her to be on the front page. Somebody else on the staff apparently did that and with good reason – Barb’s a fantastic local Seattle musician and artist. But Barb was also our designer at RocketVox going back to 2001. That company is long since gone, having been merged into thePlatform. But clearly Barb is still doing great artwork and I’m so happy to see her on Imagekind. Sometimes the great pleasure and value you get from these projects is when other people participate and find value for themselves.
Bubble?
I don’t know how to rate the tech bubble but this is funny…
Jerry Hanauer
I am sorry to report that Jerry Hanauer, father of longtime friend Adrian Hanauer and brother Nick has passed last Sunday December 2, 2007. Over the 13 years I’ve known Adrian, I came to appreciate Jerry as a creative and eclectic businessman who had an incredible infatuation with history, arts and the culture of Western civilization. It is no secret that over the years, Jerry and the whole Hanauer family became immensely successful. But Jerry was known by me as something of a bohemian – he who lives an unconventional artistic life, where the art of self-expression is of the highest value (acting, poetry, writing, singing, dancing, painting, etc.) and is in fact central to the meaning of life itself. He was a man who really did live life on his own terms and he’ll be missed by thousands.
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Curious Office Companies
Inkd
Inkd is our latest internally developed concept. We raised our $1.7 million seed round on September 22 and are backed by Second Avenue Partners and a variety of tremendous angel investors. We are developing the World's First Market for Original Print Design.
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CafePress
Cafepress acquired Imagekind in July 2008. CafePress.com is an online marketplace that offers sellers complete e-commerce services to independently create and sell a wide variety of products, and offers buyers unique merchandise across virtually every topic. -
Imagekind
Curious Office started Imagekind in 2006 and it is the world's fastest-growing art site offering over 750,000 high-quality fine art images for sale. Imagekind gives consumers limitless options to purchase museum-quality framed and poster art from over 50,000 domestic and international emerging and established artists. -
SEOmoz.org
Curious Office invested in SEOmoz along with Ignition Partners in 2007. SEOmoz serves as one of the largest online hubs for search marketers worldwide by providing education, tools, resources and paid services to help make every SEO the best they can be. -
Shelfari
Amazon.com acquired Shelfari in September 2008. Based in Seattle, Shelfari introduces readers to our global community of book lovers and encourages them to share their literary inclinations and passions with peers, friends, and total strangers -
Fanzter
Fanzter is headquartered in Collinsville, Connecticut and are the creators of the wildly popular celebrity style and entertainment platform Coolspotters.com, which launched in May 2008. Fanzter secured $2 Million In Series B Funding Led By Steamboat Ventures in March 2009. -
Wishpot
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netConcepts
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Rouxbe
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RocketVox
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FeedDigest
