Although I’m big into tech I’m not really much of an early adopter. I tend towards buying 2nd- or 3rd gen products right as they’re released. My theory is that this is the sweet spot for cost/benefit. The iPad is different. After watching the introduction video (twice) I couldn’t get it out of my head. […]
January 26, 2009
Facilitating Online Identity Management
Companies should make identity management easy within their online services. Specifically, it’s becoming more and more desirable to have a “split my identity” feature. For example, I have a Twitter account. Turns out I like Twitter. (It wasn’t always the case.) Eventually I want to split my twitter stream into a personal stream and a […]
October 14, 2008
Mostly Twittering
Thoughts are shorter-form these days. Twitter is a good place to follow me. Example: New Macbook video: http://bit.ly/1xNvDH Awesome emo marketing, utter techporn, richly deserves to be parodied. So there’s that….
March 4, 2008
Adjacent Social Objects == Gonzo Marketing
Chris Locke, after co-authoring the Cluetrain Manifesto, went on to write a great book called Gonzo Marketing. Wicked unlucky for him, the book was released on October 1, 2001 – kind of a bad season for US commerce. The book gets mixed reviews – sometimes because it’s somewhat dated, but primarily for the writing style, […]
February 1, 2008
Fully Immersed in Something
For when you truly have money to burn, Ultra Geeky Home Cinemas. Instead, perhaps consider this? (All 4:21 are worth it, lyrics and images.)
November 29, 2007
Small Cars Can Be Safe
A lot of folks think big cars are safer than small cars. Ever wondered what happens when one of these tiny Smart Cars crashes into a wall at 70mph? Have a look! Summary: It’s all about the engineering, not the size.
October 30, 2007
Letter from Steve
As usual, John Siracusa wrote the definitive review of the new Mac OS (Leopard). Upon reading about the continued slide into foolishness that is today’s Finder, I sent the following email to Steve Jobs’ public email address: Hi, Please hire John Siracusa to lead the conceptual design of the next Finder revision. http://arstechnica.com/reviews/os/mac-os-x-10-5.ars/12 It’s worth […]
October 16, 2007
A Better Clock Radio
Have you noticed how bad most clock radios are? Here is a product that virtually every person in the industrialized world uses every day – twice, actually; once to set the alarm and once to wake up – and nearly everything about clock radios is horrible. Setting the alarm is nutso stoopid or hard. Some […]
October 10, 2007
Branding is Dead, part XCMXLLIV
I was thinking today that one reason branding was so important in the industrial age is that there were so many players in the chain. If you had any hope of having your “message” reach the end-user, you had to line it all up clear as a bell. And industrial organizations were so big, too. […]
September 11, 2007
Apple’s .plan
In Unix culture there is the idea of the “.plan” (dot-plan) file. It lives in the user’s home directory, and is a place to write updates about your life or work. It pre-dates blogging and Twitter by nearly a hundred years, but was typically updated much less frequently than either. The id software founder and […]
August 31, 2007
Introducing Handmeon
Okay, enough with the hints. In January I started a new company with two co-founders, and today we released the second major revision to our first product, Handmeon. To quote some draft marketing material: Handmeon turns giving into a shared creative experience. Inspired by ancient circles of exchange, Handmeon lets people create renewable resources of […]
August 8, 2007
Shipped
Our project went live an hour ago. I’ll tell you all about it in a couple of weeks, after vacations. For now, just marking the date.
July 28, 2007
FontBook
I’m trying to hold back, as a nod to the budget, but I’m not sure I’ll be able to resist much longer. (FontBook)
July 5, 2007
Toilet 2.0
If you’ve been thinking that you use too much toilet paper, the Washlet might be for you. It also claims to increase happiness. Bubblegen provides a good overview of the strategic challenge.
June 29, 2007
Fake Steve on the iPhone Launch
I’m just going to post the whole thing, to save you the effort of the click. Today we make history. Today we change the world. Today we put a dent in the universe. Today — June 29, 2007 — we release iPhone. It has taken years of work from all parts of Apple. First advertising, […]
March 6, 2007
Hot Apple News
Apple Unveils New Product-Unveiling Product The iLaunch, as the new product is called, was then raised up from below the stage, prompting the audience of technology journalists, developers, and self-professed “Apple fanatics” to burst into a five-minute standing ovation. Microsoft announced they are working on a similar competitive product.