Vote for My SXSW Panel… All the cool kids are doing it!
Leave a CommentI submitted a panel for consideration to SXSW. It’s titled “How Social Networks Are Killing the Revolution.” Click here to go straight to my awesome panel and vote for it. I also recommend that you visit the panel picker and vote for all the cool ones.
UPDATE: Some cool panels you should look at.
- Andrew Hyde: Happiness (or Not) In Startups
- Andrew Hyde: You and Your LOLcat’s Mom Sucks
- Sally Strebel: 5 Common Misperceptions of Technological Creativity
- Josh Strebel: FAIL As If Your Life Depends On It
- Derek Neighbors: Collaborative Development Environments
- James Archer: Brand Tribes: The Art of Creating a Community
SimpleSeating: Back Online!
Leave a CommentThe new server is online. All services are functioning and you may notice a couple of new features. After some additional testing I’ll get into those.
SimpleSeating Maintenance Tonight
Leave a CommentSorry for the late notice, but SimpleSeating will be down for some time this evening as we will be performing some maintenance on our servers and deploying a few new features.
We are preparing an exciting new version release in the coming weeks, and these upgrades will allow our servers to handle the increase in traffic and usage that will result from the new features.
If you can not access SimpleSeating by tomorrow morning, email us at answers@simpleseating.com.
I’ll be speaking at Ignite Phoenix, don’t miss it
I’ve been selected to speak at Ignite Phoenix on August 12th (2008). Be there or be … un-ignited.
A good time may be had by all, but definitely by some. Register here. Check out the line-up of speakers here.
That is all. 
A stroll down memory lane
My first blog UnhappyEmployee.com started out as a project to try to show people how to overcome the roadblocks to personal achievment in business, but has digressed a bit into a personal blog. While I am contemplating the future of that site, I found a few nuggets that I thought would be applicable to this readership. So instead of reposting them here, I submit my greatest hits list if you will. I hope you enjoy.
10 things I’ve learned NOT to do when developing Web apps
I’ve been involved in the concept, design, and development of five substantial Web applications in the past 5 years (and countless small apps). Three of the five are public-use, 1 is a major internal publishing/syndication backbone, while the other is, let’s say … in a holding pattern.
To be sure, 5 major apps in 5 years is a LOT of work. And while I would love to be able to take full credit for them, I have to thank all of the wonderful developers and designers that bore the brunt of the labor. But being responsible for product development on each has provided me with some great insight into what makes one product more successful than another, and exactly how difficult it is to get an app from idea to version 1. Let alone version 1.x, 2 or (God forbid) 3.
In my product development strategy, I took a lot of inspiration from Paul Graham, 37 signals, and Guy Kawasaki to name a few. Mainly, that you should get your idea, develop it, and get it into the hands of your customers as fast as possible. Oh yeah and feedback, feedback, feedback!
I could go into a list of the things you need to know to be successful, but most of these things can be found all over the web (this one is my favorite), but frankly if it were that easy then everyone would have a twitter or facebook app.
No, I’m just going to tell you 10 things I’ve learned not to do.
- Don’t try to be all things to all people. Pick a target and meet their needs. You can expand later, but be the best you can be at what you *can* be the best at now.
- Don’t use the term “Web 2.0″ about your app. Focus on providing value, not meeting some undefined expectation of presentation. Think clean and useful.
- Don’t expect ad revenue to pay the bills or Google to buy you out. Neither is very likely.
- Don’t try to force yourself to build something you are not passionate about. Building an app is tough stuff even when you are passionate about it. If you aren’t, the last 10%-20% will stop you cold. (If you even get that far.)
- Don’t ignore your users problems. Be transparent and open. People have come to expect web apps to have small teams behind them in the early going. Be honest with them and they will be understanding.
- Don’t get discouraged by competition. No matter how good your idea is, someone else has probably thought of it. But that’s a good thing. Competition will make your app better.
- Don’t try to save the users from themselves. Good product design is your best defense, but don’t try to solve problems that your users may not run into. Give them a little credit.
- Don’t develop features unless your users tell you they want it. And only when enough of them say it that you can’t ignore it any longer. You can easily waste your time on things nobody will ever use.
- Don’t think getting funded is going to be easy. Getting funded is painful and difficult. No matter how much “money” is “floating around.”
- Don’t try to launch 5 apps in 5 years. This should be obvious but clearly I didn’t get that memo.
OK. I hope that was at least moderately helpful to someone. If you have anything you’d like to add to this list, drop it in the comments. I may rethink this post later and update it or make a new one about the success factors, but I think to presume that I have the answer is even beyond my ego.
Good luck with your apps!
Viral Loops and Whuffie
Two concepts that I’ve known abstractly for some time have been clarified in my mind as they relate to my specialty: Web application development.
What makes one Website launch to instant success while others struggle to get just a few users and then disappear? To be fair, I’m sure there are a million reasons, but I’m going to focus on two that are particularly applicable to the new social economy of the web.
The first is a Viral Loop or “viral expansion loop“. A viral loop is basically a scenario where in order for one to get value from a product or service, they have to get others to use that product or service. Twitter is a perfect example. Sign up for a twitter account, but don’t tell anybody that you are on Twitter. This means no contact at all, including following people you know. Now, how’s that working out for you?
It doesn’t work. Twitter has no value unless others know you are on it, so the first thing you do when you sign up is find people you know and follow them. Now they know you are on it, and then you tell all your friends that aren’t on it to join. This makes Twitter valuable. And viral.
The other is called social capital. Tara Hunt has a new book coming out called The Whuffie Factor in which she explains the value of social capital (and why she calls it Whuffie).
In an interview with Tara on Mixergy.com, she gives a great preview of the concepts. I recommend you listen to the interview. It’s a great insight into how to build up social capital, bank it, and use that capital to “buy” attention when you have something to launch.
There is a catch of course. Increasing your Social capital happens organically, so you have to be willing to give … to get. Building captial happens when you participate in community and give freely for the benefit of the community. You can’t force it. You can’t game it. Be genuine and you will build the network and relationships that will pay dividends in the end.
Updated (thanks to @sunaz): In the interview Tara uses Zappos.com as an example or how whuffie can propel success. From their customer service policies to their CEO’s participation on twitter, their openness, transparency and commitment to their customers creates loyalty and success.
DIY Moo.com Minicard holder in less than 10 minutes, Just in time for SXSW
Even though I’m not going I can’t go to SXSW, I thought I might contribute a very little something. Moo.com makes some cool minicards that are very popular (have been for some time now). And if you are a collector or just a distributor of your own I’ve made a simple minicard holder and I’m posting the instructions here for you. You can find the template I used here (MiniCard holder small) or a slightly bigger one here (MiniCard holder large).
Here is what it will look like when it’s done:
Ok let’s get to it.
What you will need:
Glue, something to cut with (you can use scissors if you have a steady hand), and the template. A straight edge will help but it’s not really necessary.
Step 1: Cut it out.
Cut around the outside of the template. Keep your cuts straight.
Step 2: Fold it
Fold crisply along the interior lines.
Step 3: Glue it
Smooth the glue out and use just enough to hold, but not so much that it oozes out all over the place.
Click on any of the images to see the flickr version with additional notes. You can make these out of just about any material that is sturdy. If you can’t print on it, use the template to transfer the pattern to your material.
If you make one, post it to my flickr group or to the comments here. I’d love to see what others can do with it.
Technical Difficulties
When we first thought of the idea for Foolish Software and ThinkFoolish.com, we had no idea what we were going to do with it, so we threw a Website up on a friend’s server and started working on SimpleSeating.
Along the way we upgraded it and made changes, but we never moved it. We got a big-boy host for SimpleSeating.com, but we neglected ThinkFoolish.com like the cobbler’s shoes.
Well, we have been forced to move ThinkFoolish finally. But not before the server it was on disappeared into some long-neglected back room somewhere.
So all of the previous posts and our main site are gone. We’re getting set up again, but it’ll take some time. Bear with us…
