Today at work I had one of those lengthy, impassioned discussions with the senior leadership of my company – the sort of discussion that makes […] Read More
Category: business
I received a rejection email the other day from a man who had interviewed me for a job. I haven’t been rejected many times in […] Read More
Spotify has arrived in the US! Twitter was all abuzz when the announcement came, and lots of my friends jumped on board as soon as […] Read More
There have been a couple of interesting developments in news media in recent weeks. The first development is the mostly symbolic vote by the House […] Read More
James Dyson was not happy with his vacuum cleaner. It wasn’t powerful enough, and he determined that the problem was the bag. The bag’s purpose […] Read More
As promised. The second article I alluded to in my last post is really a series of articles ars technica ran last month. It’s an […] Read More
This is intended to be the first of seven (possibly more) posts on game-changing business ideas. It’s often difficult to recognize when something changes the […] Read More
In my last post I attempted to list the things I found especially resonant last year in media, entertainment, art and journalism. I say “attempted” […] Read More
The ongoing BP / Deepwater Horizon oil disaster is a sickening object lesson in the evils of oil. Of course it’s just the latest in […] Read More
The House recently passed a major financial reform bill, and the Senate will vote on it as soon as there’s enough Republican support to push […] Read More
Meetings without a specific agenda are evil. A vague agenda isn’t good enough. It’s a waste of everyone’s time. Know exactly what you want to […] Read More
A while back I wrote a post called my favorite web services, and I thought I would revisit it in the spirit of end-of-the-year (or […] Read More
One of the things that stood out for me amongst all the hype around the Motorola Droid before the device hit the market was the […] Read More
I updated one of my two Macbook Pros to Snow Leopard yesterday, and although the official price tag for the new OS is only $29, […] Read More
What if the company that made your computer forced you to use only their web browser and email application? (Remember, Microsoft was prosecuted for less […] Read More
It’s been a while since I posted here, and I’m introducing a new category: Elimination Dance. Instructions: An elimination dance begins with a crowded dance […] Read More
I’ve spent much of my career working at well-regarded agencies – large and small, and I’ve worked with my share of brilliant people at each […] Read More
I have a somewhat irrational affection for Costco. The selection is good, the prices are low. They have a generous return policy (my friend just […] Read More
The economy is in rough shape these days. Nobody’s job seems secure, and no industry is safe, but the Web is an especially hard place […] Read More
I received my weekly BayCHI job bank email today, which has always contained at least twenty or thirty postings. Today, however, it was so thin […] Read More
I’ve been doing battle with the CSS on this blog recently, and I’d gotten it to an acceptable (if not optimal) place in Safari and […] Read More
The Business Technology blog over at WSJ reports on a recent study of more than 100 corporate social networks. Ed Moran, a Deloitte consultant, found […] Read More
I’ve been stretched too thinly across a few big projects and trying for nearly three months to find a couple of qualified people to help […] Read More
I was doing a little housekeeping the other day, and I found a packet of cream-colored, cotton fiber resume paper that I must have bought […] Read More
…and not just because my recent investment in oil futures depends on the price continuing to rise. The sudden upsurge in the price of gas […] Read More
Back in my agency life, clients were always asking us to create “viral” campaigns that would get the attention of the digital youth. Our inside […] Read More
Have you ever noticed the way American beer commercials emphasize packaging gimmicks? The wide-mouth can. The label that turns blue when it’s cold. The easy-pour […] Read More
I was reminiscing with my colleagues yesterday about the dawn of the ATM machine. We were remembering how, when banks first started to install them, […] Read More
I can barely remember now, but before the age of MapQuest (and, subsequently, Google Maps), if I needed to go somewhere I’d never been to […] Read More
In this week’s installment of his ‘Circuits’ column, David Pogue asks, “Are you taking advantage of Web 2.0?” By ‘you’ he means your company, and […] Read More
‘h’ is for hypocrisy. If the premier selling point of a hybrid vehicle is fuel economy, then you have to wonder why Lexus won’t reveal […] Read More
A couple of times in my career as a User Experience professional, I’ve worked for bosses whom I considered to be ridiculously (some even dangerously) […] Read More
The guys at 37 Signals have a list of what they call “red flag” words that often come up in business communications and can get […] Read More
In my post yesterday, I questioned the value of “process” in web and software development and discussed my successes and failures both with and without […] Read More
UPDATE: There’s a Part 2 now. When I started in the web development business about a decade ago, I worked at a small agency with […] Read More
Starbucks To Begin Sinister ‘Phase Two’ Of Operation read the headline from The Onion. That was 2001, and Starbucks was heading for world domination. Seven […] Read More
I read a lot of blogs, which I organize into a number of categories. One of those categories is marketing, which is a fruitful domain […] Read More
Today I ordered a book called Information Dashboard Design from Amazon.com – my latest in a series of work-related purchases. Of course, whenever you buy […] Read More
The fantasy known as Dubai, home of the world’s only 7-star hotel, is planning to burn another billion or so on what will be the […] Read More
The February issue of FastCompany magazine includes an article provocatively-titled, Is the Tipping Point Toast? about the work Duncan Watts has done researching influence. The […] Read More
From the image above, you know I’m not talking about the notorious former football great. In case you’re counting, yes, that’s twelve varieties of Tropicana […] Read More
President Bush is touring the Middle East right now, and he has made sure to bluster about Iran’s fictional nuclear ambitions at every stop, but […] Read More
Some kind of silly excuse for a Golden Globe Awards ceremony took place last night, with no speeches, performances or jokes – just winners announced […] Read More
Is it really too much trouble to add flavor to your water after you pour it? I was busy washing dishes while my girlfriend was […] Read More
Am I the only one who wants to punch my TV whenever I see Chad on those Alltel commercials? He reminds me of the pretty […] Read More
I recently got Google Analytics wired up on this blog, and it’s a pretty nifty application. It’s perfect for a small-fry like me, but as […] Read More
Yesterday’s word of the day, apparently, was “influence.” At least that’s what was on the mind of a few big bloggers. Steve Rubel started the […] Read More
The notion that consumer-generated content lacks authority is not a new one of course. Wikipedia has been in the middle of this storm for a […] Read More
Well, it’s not the Jetta. It’s two women in a Passat blindsided by an SUV as they discuss Volkswagen’s controversial Jetta commercials that depict… well… […] Read More
YouTube got a lot of flack for making a recent deal with NBC, so perhaps it was not NBC’s prerogative to lampoon it. Still, you […] Read More
You know you’ve created something good when your fans create a crop circle to honor your product. Yesterday, I read a nice piece from Business […] Read More
I had brunch at The Ramp this morning with my friend Bee. The Ramp has been my default Sunday post-laundromat stop for the past couple […] Read More
Driving into the city on I-80 today, I saw a billboard for BAJobs.com touting the website’s “better interface”. I think it’s the first time I’ve […] Read More
I haven’t watched a lot of tv in Singapore, but the other night I saw the end of an episode of Singapore Idol, and it […] Read More