Mesh Conference
April 15th, 2006While I can’t stand bumper sticker marketing terms like web 2.0, I am still planning to attend the Mesh Conference in Toronto.
'General' Archive
Free Music
April 3rd, 2006I’ve added a new page to store links to free music I need often. Feel free to help yourself if you’re interested, I’ll keep adding to it over time.
Not in Love?
March 7th, 2006Apparently not everyone’s in love with LogoWorks. I’ve created logo’s in the past for companies I’ve started or been involved with. Not being a designer in the least means I spent a lot of time looking at other people’s logos for inspiration. I suppose I’m okay with some overlap but I draw the line if someone is truly outright plagiarizing another logo.
I’m very curious to see what logos come back tomorrow.
I Fell in Love with a Logo Design Company
March 3rd, 2006I decided to give LogoWorks a shot at designing a logo for BlueTurbine today. We’re exploring a rename of ClearSpace and BlueTurbine is the most likely candidate. For the price, as low as $299, we figured it was worth seeing what they could come up with for a logo. Maybe it’d seal the deal in terms of us falling in love with BlueTurbine as a name.
LogoWorks blew my freaking crocs off. I was three pages into their four page ‘start a logo’ process when a few questions came up. I started flopping around their site looking for faq’s or a contact number. While doing that my phone rang. I answered to find a guy from LogoWorks on the other end calling to see if he could help me out at all. He proceeded to ask me some questions, we looked at some logos together, he took notes and before I knew it he said they had more than enough info to get started.
I suppose I’m used to most companies these days who drop the ball completely on customer service and just don’t get it. You want to talk to your customers. You should do everything you can to have meaningful conversations with them. Most companies instead do everything they can NOT to talk to customers as a cost-cutting tool. The extreme is my bank where they have the arrogance to charge me to talk to a human.
LogoWorks went the other way and made this process work by having me talk to a human for 10 minutes. Without those 10 minutes, they would have had poor information and most likely have come back with inferior designs leading them to believe their offering isn’t working or leaving me with a bad taste for their designers. Simple but brilliant.
Non MBA
March 3rd, 2006I don’t have an MBA, don’t plan on getting one, and view that as a positive not a negative. I personally agree with Seth’s assessment of financial and social pressure although his comments apply to post-secondary school in general not just an MBA. Having said that, we can’t ignore what an MBA is intended to teach. On that note:
- Josh Kaufman wrote a ChangeThis manifesto titled The Personal MBA: Mastering Business Without Spending a Fortune. “If you care more about increasing your effectiveness at work than a diploma and a few lines on your resume, the “Personal MBA” is for you.“
- Rajesh Setty wrote an Ebook titled When You Can’t Earn An MBA: Thoughts on getting ahead without an MBA.
Guy Kawasaki on Ice?
February 3rd, 2006Ok I get why I’m obsessed with playing ice hockey. I grew up in small town Canada with a father who dabbled in the game himself. How do you explain Guy Kawasaki‘s passion for our game, a Hawaiian living in California?
I love the way he describes his new religion:
I started hockey three years ago to play in a kids versus parents game. At the time, I was 48 years old, and I had never skated in my life. The first time I went on the ice, it was a religious experience–similar to when I met my wife, saw a Macintosh for the first time, and became a Christian.Since then, I’ve been obsessed with becoming the best hockey player a fifty-something year old Hawaiian can be.I love hockey for four reasons: first, it is extremely cerebral: you have to keep track of four teammates, five opponents, two goalies, the puck, your stick, and the various lines plus the fact that the puck seldom goes out of bounds so there’s a lot of math/physics going on, too.
Second, the way we play in California anyway, it’s a lot less destructive to your body. I used to play basketball, and I was always getting a sore back, aching knees, gouged eyes, dislocated fingers, you name it. Hockey is a much safer sport.
Third, it’s great for parents. You don’t have to worry about the weather. Games start and end on time. At my rink, we can sit upstairs and drink beer and watch our kids play. And, because all the parents are behind the glass, they can’t scream at the players, coaches, and refs.
Fourth, here in Silicon Valley anyway, it’s very egalitarian. With a sport like golf, you’re hanging around with billionaires because it’s a ritzy country club. Where I play, people don’t know who I am, and they would care less if they did. I’m not playing with some famous venture capitalist-I’m playing with an electrician, dump truck operator, or college student. No one’s asking me for venture capital or to look at their deal.
