Fireflies are Magical
A small moment makes a vacation Last night we were on the road in Northeastern Pennsylvania and stopped for an ice cream Sundae on Sunday. It was a hot Summer evening and just about time for the sun to set.…
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Your first MVP is Wrong
This essay is written as part of the Startup Edition project – check out the other essays here. It would be awesome if your first iteration of a minimum viable product (MVP) perfectly addressed your target market segment, delivered great value…
Go ahead, build a Thingamajig.
When the folks at LittleBits asked me to test their latest kit of snap-together DIY electronics, I was really excited. As a gadget-loving person, I love the idea of creating a Rube Goldbergian perpetual motion machine. I even the idea of…
The Feedback Machine: How do you discover what people really want?
This essay is written as part of the Startup Edition project – check out the other essays here. How do you discover what people really want? People are not effective at self-reporting, or letting you know what they will…
Why Instagram Should Not Have Added Video
On the perils of changing an existing, highly engaging product. This is a response to this week’s Startup Edition question: “How do you build engaging products?” Facebook has a history of experimentation – changing things wholesale for large groups of…
Avoid These Customer Service Mistakes
Think of the last customer service fail you experienced. You might think, how did this happen? Why did the company I contacted give me an idiotic response? Why didn’t they answer my question? Or why did they (figuratively or literally)…
Don’t Miss These 5 Reasons To Use a Standing Desk
Standing up, all day? Really? What are some of the main reasons you might consider using a Standing Desk as your primary workstation? Reason #1 – Using a Standing Desk Promotes Healthy Habits Using a standing desk is a great…
Two of the Dumbest Business Mistakes I’ve Ever Made
//Read about more mistakes in the newest Startup Edition “Do not fear mistakes. There are none.” -Miles Davis. We all make mistakes. I’ve made a few mistakes in my time. I’m not talking about the garden-variety mistakes you might make…
Makers need to make in the real world.
Makers need to make in the real world Get out of the (electronic) building Last evening, as the Pacific Northwest sunshine (yes, we do have that here in the Spring and Summer and Fall) was blazing, I was weeding my…
Revisiting the API of Me
Revisiting the API of ME About 6 months ago, I wrote an article on the “API of ME“, an idea for a system of capturing, sharing, and **limiting* information by and about customers so that they could participate actively in…
