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Happy Easter

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Don’t worry, I’m not going all Pinterst on everyone.

Happy Easter
Posted Saturday, April 19, 2014

The cycle of shame shouldn’t stop us from being better people

Its really easy to get discouraged when reality doesn’t measure up to expectations. I set a goal to make a blogpost everyday this year. I’ve done very well but earlier this week I missed a day. Its easy to say “My goal was to do a post everyday. I missed one. I can’t reach my goal anymore. I may as well give up on it.”

Maybe the shame cycle isn’t the write phrase for it maybe its the “I’m just a … syndrome”. Like after you say something rude, excusing it by saying “I guess I’m just a jerk.” So you said something rude, don’t let it define you. If you do then every bad thing will define you. It’s settling for something less than your potential.

Perfect standards are completely out of whack with reality. We shouldn’t let high expectations keep us from healthy attitudes and self-improvement.

The cycle of shame shouldn’t stop us from being better people
Posted Thursday, April 17, 2014

The 70% Solution

When I started my career I spent hours agonizing over making something perfect. Getting that story just right. Making that ad text amazing, or revising wireframes over and over again. I didn’t want to make a mistake and I didn’t want to leave any room for complaint.

This is the most boneheaded way to work.

The 70% Solution
Posted Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Don’t mess with ze germans

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Don’t mess with ze germans
Posted Monday, April 14, 2014

Voting with money

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Here’s an idea. Why not get rid of all the pain and wasted money with elections and replace them with ballot boxes that only accept money. Want to be a Senator? Pay the most money and you can have the seat.

This is just like the system we have, except more honest

There is basically no change in the US between someone winning based on votes and someone based on money. Elections are just marketing challenges and all things being equal the candidate with the most money wins anyway. Why not skip the dog and pony show?

Voting with money
Posted Sunday, April 13, 2014

Dev incentives are screwy

The monster known as DLC

The monster known as DLC

When an app is released and people love it, they buy it and everyone is happy right? Well no, because there are bugs, and people want extra features, and the dev didn’t have a chance to build all the things they wanted. They keep working and make a new version.

Now there are a bunch of users who already paid for the app and a new version. The new version goes out, existing users get it for free and maybe the app gets a little bump in downloads from press.

From a time investment standpoint the new update probably isn’t worth it. The incentives are messed up.

Video game companies are tackling this with DLCs. But gamers feel nickel and dimed. There has to be a better way to get consumers and developers on the same page.

Dev incentives are screwy
Posted Saturday, April 12, 2014

We can tell stories however we want

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I once did a training on the mobile web and I handed out all kinds of funny shaped “scrap paper” and asked the participants to design an ad. Of course, I didn’t tell them what the real test was. I made lots of oddly shaped paper scraps because the real test was how does the shape of the paper influence the design of the product. Some people simply designed a square ad because they had always seen square ads. They weren’t influenced by the medium at all. Others followed the shape and size of their paper to design their ad to fit in.

We can tell stories however we want
Posted Friday, April 11, 2014

Talking it out

I was trying to come up with good ideas to blog about today by going through all my past unfinished drafts. Each of these drafts had one thing in common. They all started with a false premise.

Each post shows the logical following from a false premise until it comes to a paragraph where it becomes apparent the idea is rubbish and should not be fin

Talking it out
Posted Thursday, April 10, 2014

A restaurant’s bathroom will usually tell you everything you need to know

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Taken at Neighborhood in San Diego.

In case you’re wondering the words on the right say “YOU’RE BEING WATCHED”

A restaurant’s bathroom will usually tell you everything you need to know
Posted Wednesday, April 9, 2014

What does one do in a post-job economy?

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We already know (or at least posited) that one way society gets richer is by destroying jobs. But how do you distribute resources if half your employment base isn’t working?

What does one do in a post-job economy?
Posted Tuesday, April 8, 2014