I’m off to NewComm in just a few hours. It’s in Palo Alto, so if you want to hook up there or in San Francisco on Wednesday night, give me a shout.
In case anyone needs it, my cell is 506 921 0119.
Have a great week everyone 
Feb 27 2006
Where in the World is Will Pate?
I met Will on Valentine’s Day last year in a pub in Vancouver. No, neither of us are gay :-p But, he made quite an impression. Hell, I even posted about it (and I don’t post often about meeting people).
Will is a great guy. I’ve never personally worked with him, but it feels like it’s getting harder and harder to find ‘good people’ these days, so when companies find them they should hang on. Tight.
Will has been working with Raincity Studios, a kickass new design firm on the west coast, for the last year (or whatnot). He has made somewhere around half a million dollars in sales and, while he enjoys it, feels that now is the time to move on.
I’m glad for him. It’s always good to see someone who is brave enough to take the next step!
Here’s what he’s looking for:
A great job with an awesome company, filled with people who “get it”. I can do the best work for firms that provide web services or are building web application products, work with open source (Drupal is my forte) or social software of any kind. I could also do good things for companies that want to stand apart in industries that need help figuring out Web 2.0 opportunities; such as media & entertainment.
I’d like to stay in Vancouver if possible (it rocks here). Willing to relocate to the Bay Area, Seattle or Toronto; but since I’m a self taught genius type it might be a bit difficult to get a work visa in the US. If your lawyers know how to figure that part out, then game on.
Drop him an email if you’re interested in a great worker, funny guy and all around genius helping you out with ’sales, marketing or community management’!
G’luck Will!
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Feb 24 2006
What I Look for in a Conference
Mark Evans, and friends, are organizing a blogging conference in Toronto.
This is awesome. Seriously. I love it.
They’re asking for general ideas, thoughts, advice, etc. As someone who’s done about a dozen blogging conferences (all but one as a speaker), I felt it’d be good to chime in. But, really, when have I felt it wasn’t good to chime in, eh? 
Here are my initial thoughts:
1. Focus: Everyone’s mentioned this, but “web 2.0 / blogging” is just too vague. BlogOn was about high-end corporate blogging. Northern Voice was about the “blogging community”. NewComm will be about blogging as it relates to marketing, PR, etc. What will this conference be? Blogging as a business communication tool? Another NV-style conference? How to become a professional blogger? Focus is key.
2. Speakers: Get good ones. Personally I’d stay away from Scoble largely because every conference has him and there’s no differentiating factor there… But, maybe there’s a reason every conference has him too! Doc, Dave Winer, Tim Bray and Jory are all fantastic speakers in my opinion. Especially Doc and Tim (but that’s my personal preference).
3. Venue: Choose one that’s central enough to be convenient, cheap enough to work or partner with something like a University and offer free passes to 50 students or whatever in exchange for it.
4. Power and wifi: Darren mentioned this in the thread, and it’s really, really key. A conference without these is really, really bad. A blogging conference without these is insane. Power bars every 2 rows, under every seat. Wifi everywhere (and decent wifi at that, not just one netgear router).
5. Food: There needs to be decent food close by. NorthernVoice did this really well.
6. Non-conference events: Ask 3-4 people to lead some events that newbies can join in with. People who already have a social circle from other conferences will likely opt out, but those who are new to this will really, really appreciate it. Blog walks are good. Dinners are good. Trips to some local sights are good (better if you call ahead and arrange a discount).
7. Open sessions: While these can be difficult to manage, and VERY difficult to guarantee quality, having a few BoF or open discussions can really transform a conference from average to fantastic. Obviously the opposite can be true as well, so some management is best.
8. For speakers: While most small conferences can’t afford to pay speakers, make sure you set aside some money in the budget to ‘help’ speakers who may have hit a ‘famine’ spot in the typical speaker ‘feast or famine’ cycle. It happens. More often than most of us would like to admit. And having the option there allows us to decide if it’s really appropriate to go, instead of disqualifying ourselves immediately. For small conferences there is no need to cover all expenses, though the more you can the better. And any free / cheap / discounted rooms you can find, the better.
9. Wiki: A wiki is a fantastic way to allow other events to organize, to do ride organization, hotel room sharing, etc. Use it early. Use it well. Mention it A LOT.
10. Broadcasting: Having audio of the conference be broadcast is huge. Thankfully, there are lots and lots and lots of companies in Toronto that do this quite inexpensively. Some are better than others. Happy to put you guys in touch if you need it
Also, think about sponsors and sponsorship packages early on. Lots of companies in Toronto would be into this, depending on the focus (Q9, iUpload, etc, have been known to sponsor these types of events, and the Star is always a sucker for anything that will get them in front of people). Consider doing an ‘expo’ if there are enough local companies (again, depending on focus). Either way, if this conference is going to happen in May, a lot of things need to be decided RIGHT NOW so you can lock down speakers and sponsors and venue ASAP. Once those are down, there is still a tonne of work to do organizing books, schedules, working with speakers on flights, finding partners, promoting it, finding volunteers for setup, etc.
Either way, guys, fantastic idea. I’d love to be involved any way I can, including speaking, organizing, advertising the conference (on b5’s blogs, at a huge discount), etc.
This conference really, really needs to happen. Please be aware of how much the Toronto blogging community is pumped about this. Please do us proud!
Update: For reference, here is a previous piece where I ranted about what is wrong with conferences.
Feb 22 2006
I Want to be 6 Again
I’m getting some kickback on the MySpace piece. I knew I would. It’s a big topic, and one that I’m probably not explaining properly.
So, I thought I’d share a silly joke that Shannon forwarded to me. Yes, guys, when your wife forwards you a joke you DO have to read it
A man was sitting on the edge of the bed, observing his wife turning back and forth, looking at herself in the mirror.
Since her birthday was not far off, he asked what she’d like to have for her Birthday.
I’d like to be six again, she replied, still looking in the mirror.
On the morning of her Birthday, he arose early, made her a nice big bowl of Lucky Charms, and then took her to Six Flags theme park. What a day! He put her on every ride in the park; the Death Slide, the Wall of Fear, the Screaming Monster Roller Coaster… everything there was.
Five hours later they staggered out of the theme park. Her head was reeling and her stomach felt upside downupside down.
He then took her to a McDonald’s where he ordered her a Happy Meal with extra fries and a chocolate shake.
Then it was off to a movie, popcorn, a soda pop, and her favorite candy, M&M’s. What a fabulous adventure! Finally she wobbled home with her husband and collapsed into bed exhausted.
He leaned over his wife with a big smile and lovingly asked, Well Dear, what was it like being six again ??
Her eyes slowly opened and her expression suddenly changed.
I meant my DRESS SIZE, you dumb ass!!
The moral of the story: Even when a man IS listening, he is going to get it wrong!
Feb 21 2006
MySpace is the New Blogosphere
Let me get two things out right up front, before I get entangled in them:
1. MySpace scares the hell out of me
2. I’ve spent a total of like 20 minutes on MySpace (and 15 of those was due to exploring K-Fed’s contacts, just for kicks and giggles)
That said, there has been a lot of conversation about MySpace recently – particularly among those of us who make our living in blogging. And y’know what? The more we talk about it, the more MySpace scares me. And, while I may not have as much personal experience as might seem appropriate for a post like this (see point #1), I have a lot of friends who live on MySpace, and I’ve been picking their brains for the last 3 months.
A quick rundown of the ‘facts’ (there are no MySpace tracking tools, so this is based solely on info MySpace is releasing about once every month or two):
MySpace is Bigger Than Blogging: There are more nearly as many MySpace accounts as blogs (about 30M vs about 100M. More of them are started every day than blogs (about 250,000 vs about 100,000). There are more posts per day being made on MySpace than on all blogs combined (about 1.5M vs about 1.4M).
MySpace is Accelerating Faster Than Blogging: Considering it is much newer than blogging, this should be obvious. While it is currently smaller than blogs, at the current rate of growth and acceleration, it will be larger than blogging by this summer. That is ALL of blogging.
MySpace’ers Network. Fast: It isn’t that unusual to find MySpace accounts with thousands of connections. While many (outside of MySpace) might think that these connections are useless, the truth is that they represent the ability for networks to form quickly, and when graphed they do show that certain people are more likely to connect nodes and groups of nodes than others.
Now, the real question is WHY does MySpace scare me. And, to me, the answer is: the same reason it should damned well scare anyone in business, technology or blogging.
So, WHY?
MySpacers connect better than bloggers, get their friends into it better than bloggers, stay in touch more than bloggers, and form true sociological pods better than bloggers. MySpace is closer to the Google Grid than Google is. MySpace is the closest humanity has ever come to a central community or a central consciousness. MySpace’ers are the largest and most distributed network of human nodes ever created and sustained for more than a few days (tests on human networks of up to 10M people have been tried, but they ultimately fall apart, often faster than they can be created).
Beyond that, there are other reasons MySpace scares the hell out of me. Here are a few questions to try and show why:
1. When we eventually have 100M people (primarily 10-25) on MySpace, how does their culture affect other ‘cultures’ outside of MySpace?
2. When there are that many people, will MySpace’ers begin being elite?
3. When will businesses begin seriously targetting MySpace (some are already)?
4. How will businesses effectively engage in conversations with Spacers when so, so, so little of MySpace is broadcast oriented, and when Spacers do so little searching for new connections?
5. What happens if MySpace goes down? At what point do services like MySpace become so a part of the overall culture (due to people having spent years on there AS WELL as because a significant portion of the culture ‘lives’ there) that MySpace becomes a reflection of culture. If that happens, do we need to backup MySpace? Similarly, should we be backing up Google, as a point in time reflection of the web?
6. When will law-makers begin legislating MySpace?
7. How would MySpace’s networks reform if MySpace went down? What would be the impact on young people who are fragile and completely alone in the world apart from MySpace?
8. What kind of ecosystem can be built around MySpace (technology wise)?
I am dead serious when I say that MySpace scares the hell out of me. It is, as we watch, making blogging obsolete. The technical elite that rule blogging now will soon be completely dwarfed by the 20 somethings as they graduate, get jobs and begin to gain influence. Blogging’s end is coming, and its name is MySpace.
Give it 18-24 months, and MySpace will be the new desire of businesses everywhere. You thought journalists had it in for bloggers for being snivvly, write-in-pajamas, teen freaks? Just wait until they get ahold of MySpace.
While the community is incredibly fragmented now, it won’t take very many attack articles from journalists before Spacers begin coalescing their networks, realizing their power and using it.
The power of a community of 100M people (and, let’s face it, blogging isn’t really that much of a community overall). The need to support that many people, as a society, when their culture starts to become incredibly distinct. The need to preserve that culture is huge. Almost as huge as the need will become by some to try and dominate the culture.
Let’s be fair. In April, MySpace will become the most trafficked site on the planet. By the end of the year, MySpace will account for roughly 10% of all web traffic and, by the end of 2006 (if growth and acceleration curves maintain), it will account for about 40% (accounting for a plateau, because realistically we can’t have more people on MySpace than are on the entire web).
MySpace, I’m sure, rocks to the people who are in it. And similar, competing, services will grow up. Maybe the ecosystem will self-select to the point of making all of my fears a moot point.
But, what if it doesn’t. What if, eventually, every person between the ages of 13-25 has a MySpace account and is at least partially active on it to some degree. What happens to society, culture and them? How will business and the culture outside be affected by that? What is the impact on humanity if MySpace becomes intrinsically tied to the identity of an entire generation?
Yeah, MySpace scares me.
Feb 20 2006
Join Me on a Cruise
I’ve mentioned this in passing before, but I’d wanted to really call it out since I got the invite. I think it’s such a great idea that I’m surprised nobody has done it before.
A blogging cruise.
Here’s the deal. Typical big blog conference fee: 1500$. Typical cruise fee: 1500$. For 1500$, you can get both at Blogonomics. And, what other conference will you get your wife to not only agree to, but get excited about?
The great thing is that the conference is while the ship is travelling from Florida to Mexico and back (ie: the “boring” time when all you can do is explore the ship). Great time for the wife to tan, shop, see a movie, get a massage, etc. And when you’re at the destination, you’re free to have a 1-2 day vacation with your wife!
Being honest, that’s what excited me about this. I’d be on this whether I was speaking or not. And, the great thing is that you only need to pay the deposit up front (one of the reasons I’m writing this now is that the price of the cruise goes up if you don’t secure your spot by March 15).
Anyways, you could just come for the cruise as well and just schmooze with everyone and get to know folk. There should be a tonne of conference related activities though, activities it’d suck to miss.
Anyways, here’s the website. I’m happy to answer any questions I can.
Seriously, if you’re thinking about going, put down the deposit. You can always give it to someone else later if you decide not to go.
Feb 20 2006
Jason Fried Interview
This is the other interview I did for my recent article for InformIT. Here is the first one, with Isaac Garcia of Central Desktop.
As with the previous interview, these are just my notes. Any errors in sentence structure, any weird sentences, any incomplete thoughts, anytime the interviewee doesn’t seem to be answering my question… Really, any issues, chalk them up to me taking notes while doing the interview. They aren’t perfect, but hopefully some folk’ll gain some insight into how 37signals thinks (ie: in a truly fascinating way).
What is 37signals?
We build web-based applications. It is generally targeted at small businesses and small teams (10-11 people). We build really simple products. Our baseline reason for existing is to build simple products. We just do a few things really well, and let you do what you need to do instead of worrying about software.
Our philosophy is “less software”. Our products do less than the rest. We think that all most people really need is less.
What people really need is “just enough”. And “just enough” is a lot less than most other companies are promising.
What sets you apart?
We are giving people what they need, and nothing more. It’s nice and simple.
We’re a small company. There is only 7 of us at 37 signals. We build the products for ourselves first. Then we realize that if we need this stuff, other people do too. We are our own target market. This is probably different than most companies, in that they build a product because they feel there is profit there. We take a much different approach.
How do you feel “teams” have changed over the last 5-10 years?
It definitely seems like distributed teams are much more common today than they were 5 years ago.
Our team was based in Chicago, Utah and Denmark, so we’ve been all over the place as well. Also, I should mention, that a lot of the people at 37signals work at home and come into the office only when we need to. We find that being away from one another lets us work more effectively as a team.
We’re big into distributed workforces. We think that there’s a lot of strengths and advantages to those.
How do your applications help / approach the new style of teams that is emerging?
Communication
Projects don’t fail because there aren’t enough charts and graphs, stats, spreadsheets. They fail because people don’t’ communicate clearly. Our tools are all about allowing people to chat or communicate online – to gather around a central location to communicate.What are your top 5 favorite “new team” applications?
1. Email
2. IM
3. CampaignMonitor: email distribution list that we use internally, and also that we use for our mailing list
4. Wikis: We use them occasionally, but Backpack takes over for that most of the time.Look to what you already have. You’d be surprised what you can solve with the tools at your disposal. It isn’t always about finding new tools to solve your problems. You can use what you have already and finding new and creative ways to use it.
Where do you feel this industry (ie: collaborative team software) is heading?
You are going to see more and more distributed teams. I think that simple communication tools are the way to handle them. Whenever we hire somebody, we don’t’ care where people live. I think you’re going to see more and more people embracing that. GO to where the talent is, don’t worry about the practicalities. Figure out the best way to communicate and go from there. You are going to see a lot more companies taking risks and hiring people outside of their immediate area. I think too many companies limit themselves to their geographic talent pool – limiting yourself in ways you don’t have to.
I think you’ll see a lot more distributed teams in the same city. We are all in the same city, but we aren’t typically in the office together. Distributed teams don’t’ need to be across long distances, they can be in close proximity. There is a lot of productivity to be had “nearby”, and getting together when you have to. I think the biggest reason is that the distraction level at the office is huge. You can waste hours just talking to people and responding to meeting requests, etc. Being able to work on your own is a much better way of working.
Closing Thoughts
Don’t complicate things. I think people inject way too much complexity into their daily working environment. I think people hurt themselves far more than other people hurt them. Especially when it comes to using software, don’t’ look at features. Look at benefits for you. Figure out what works for you. It doesn’t matter if a product has 300 features, but only 10 work for you, maybe you need something else. Don’t get carried away. Get excited about what works for us, and something that is simpler. People will use the new software. It’s really about what are people going to use. It isn’t about feature lists. Start simple. Don’t assume that you need all this stuff that you don’t actually need.
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Feb 17 2006
Solving the Riddle
On Valentine’s Day I posted a riddle. Nobody’s quite solved it yet (though quite a few were pretty close), so I figured I’d outline the steps here:
1. “smitten” was the key, in more ways than one
2. searching for “smitten” on ensight brought you to this post. Which had a pretty useless riddle:
Smitten Teeneth was not as he whipped fiv’ pure, fray-filled vassals a equine love
In her tears n’er were too well. I do not know how he will taste this. Death is a sorrow.
You cannot find an eager beaver, alas my own new life did die. I am as forlorn as always.In my dark hair find your red yash, all overly quiet you reel as I find she answers it.
You lit my last heart as incense now we’re under. He sits as ones without life.
True laffs there are not like my fall.Three fat men I once did retch on, inside a night of truths that won’t evict us.
Did you laugh as I retch? In knowing our last fate did find us?
Lush am I at nights quiet doorstop. I, we, launch sixteen huffs of awe.
Mine last fall.Beverly was her overly nurished madam, I quiet hisssed!
Wetting her appetit two did I turned a ever a tossed sultan up.
In two. In a four. In falling us over a luv seat we each die.
So later Tim does reveal a otter. I’d never!
He got it at her draw, and waiting I die last.
To find the underlying poem (which was crap, btw), you’d start at “smitten” and then pull out every 7th letter (because smitten was the ‘key’).
Which should reveal a wee little poem.
Did it work? Was there not enough info? What does everyone think of doing these types of silly things every once in a while?
Feb 16 2006
Stupid Google SSL Certificates
Now that IE7 is finally tightening down security, it’s becoming readily apparent which companies have been overly lazy with their SSL Certificates.
Google, for example, has only bought 1 SSL certificate. Just for www.google.com. So, when you go to any secure site that isn’t www.google.com, you get certificate errors. In IE7, this isn’t just some little popup, it actually stops the entire page from loading.
This is good.
What’s bad is that Google hasn’t fixed this problem in over 2 years. More browsers should be blocking misconfigured SSL certs. Maybe then Google would fix it.
The irony, of course, is that the day after IE7 went into beta 2, Google fixed their homepage so you could add Google as the default engine to IE7. But, 2 weeks later, they still haven’t fixed their certificate issue. And y’know what? I’m using Google services less as a result.
Feb 16 2006
Oh The Irony
My post on how not to become an A Lister is being picked up by … You guessed it, the A Listers.
Yes, it’s meant to be funny. Yes, it’s entirely ironic (since I did nearly all 10 of the things on the list in one post). Yes, at the same time, it is all true.
I’ve stopped fighting the battle. This is now my personal blog. Yes I’ll occasionally post stuff that is vaguely relevant to the world. But, honestly, I try not to. I’m glad everyone’s come here scouring my archives for similar strokes of comedic and social genius. Sorry to disappoint
I have a few more posts stored up from my trip still to unleash, but after that expect it to be at least 2-3 weeks of nothing useful. Just me, my life, my thoughts. Sorry to disappoint
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