The Archives: Inspiration
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January 23rd, 2013
The Value Diagram
Next time you have more good ideas than time or budget, try this exercise in plotting value to help determine your launch feature set.
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September 7th, 2012
Failure Guides Evolution
“It is failure that guides evolution; perfection provides no incentive for improvement, and nothing is perfect. Nothing we create works the way it should.”
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August 20th, 2012
There is no word for “art.”
Just because something is beautiful doesn’t make it art. And just because something is functional doesn’t mean it can’t be beautiful.
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August 6th, 2012
In Defense of Cheating
Last week I had the honor to attend the 140edu Conference in Manhattan. It was inspiring to be surrounded by so many smart people who are as passionate about education as they are about technology. As an employer, it was especially interesting to participate in discussions around what skills are most relevant for the future and how (or more accurately,…
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July 17th, 2012
Quilting and Coding
How is quiltmaking and website coding the same? It’s all about idea + skill = function and beauty.
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January 26th, 2012
“We Are the Builders”
A bit about inspiration and Wilson Miner’s presentation at the Build Conference.
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January 5th, 2012
Interaction Is Brand
Interaction with brands is full of expectation, reciprocation, desire and fulfillment.
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August 15th, 2011
Substance on the SXSW PanelPicker
Okay folks, here’s a question for you: would you like to see Substance at South by Southwest (SXSW)? Before you shout out “of course,” or mutter “no way,” there’s a better way for you to voice your opinion: the SXSW PanelPicker. Substance has two panels to vote for and we’d surely appreciate your support.
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August 9th, 2011
Doing Well by Doing Good – in memory of Ray Anderson
I didn’t know who Ray Anderson was until I saw him speak at the Forward07 conference here in Portland. Ray captivated the audience with his story, and responded to every question with a thoughtful, insightful answer. I was awed by his ability to draw us in with only his words and his personality (no PowerPoint, no slides, only the man…
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March 9th, 2011
Doubts
Our doubts are traitors, / And make us lose the good we oft might win / By fearing to attempt.
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September 13th, 2010
Reaching Beta: Learning from Game Testing
Five things from the Halo Reach beta that interactive designers/developers can learn from game designers and developers.
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March 31st, 2010
Why do you friend, fan/like, follow and subscribe?
So I have a question for all of you. Everyone (and by everyone, I mean social media gurus/experts/mavens) has been saying that companies and brands need to be involved in social media. And there are plenty of examples of brands on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc., that have plenty of friends, fans (soon to be changed to “like,” so “likers”?), and…
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March 30th, 2010
My Belated SXSW 2010 Recap
If you have anything to do with online, interactive or digital, or you’ve even heard of the internet, you probably know that SXSW Interactive was going on from March 12th – 16th. Erin and I had the opportunity to return to Austin this year to experience it again, and to be completely honest, it started a bit rough for me.…
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March 2nd, 2010
What If and Why Not: the University of Oregon Presentation
About a month ago I received an invitation from my friend Peter Yesawich, Jr. to talk to the University of Oregon’s School of Journalism. We put together a conversation about where digital/interactive is heading, the semantics behind digital and interactive, and approaching what we do by first asking ”What If and Why Not?” At the end of the day, the students broke…
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February 4th, 2010
What will you be in 2010?
If you believe Peter Drucker’s quote, “The best way to predict the future is to create it,” you’re halfway to the future already (you figure out where that is in the time-space continuum). But to get the rest of the way to the future, you’re going to have to decide who you want to be in 2010. It appeared to me…
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December 11th, 2009
The Leaders Will Lead
Maybe it’s an “end of the year” thing. Maybe it’s because many in the marketing, advertising and interactive industries had challenging years from a business standpoint. Or maybe pontification always happens when the future is uncertain. At any rate, I’ve been seeing article after article on, “Who will Lead: Traditional Agencies or Digital Agencies,” like this one from AdWeek called…
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December 7th, 2009
Thoughts from the New Communicators
A little more than a month ago, Substance made a choice to take part in the New Communicators series of events. Truth be told, we did a bit more than take part… we kind of encouraged the idea, promoted it, and organized the Show & Tell event and the Love of Cycling event during the New Communicators series. I missed the…
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November 30th, 2009
Passion+Trust: Three Years Later
I’m writing this while returning from a family vacation, my wife and daughters asleep as we cross the country through the nighttime sky, returning home. Three years ago I was in the same situation, yet very different. I had just left my previous job and was unemployed with no definite plans, no job opportunities, and no income. Over the course of…
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November 5th, 2009
Show and Tell: the New Communicators edition recap
“Great ideas are useless if they’re not shared.” – David Lowe-Rogstad, paraphrasing Chad Rea from ecopop Last Wednesday kicked off the New Communicators series of events, and as part of the festivities we held our third Show & Tell. With the theme of “what are you doing to change the world,” a variety of people and organizations came and shared their…
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July 28th, 2009
Taking matters into our own hands.
The most interesting subject discussed at Coffee with Likemind a couple weeks ago wasn’t the Noseys. It wasn’t the Roseys. The most interesting – and important – conversation was about responsibility and empowerment. It was about creating our own future. It wasn’t about what we’re saying, but what we can, should and must do. From the conversation came an amazing idea:…
This was going around the office yesterday... KPCB Internet Trends 2013 - http://t.co/Y1LsvDzwuk
2 weeks, 4 days ago / twitter.com/substance