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some godo reads in here.

"We mistake dumb luck for a machine that produces success. We rely on induction when we should rely on deduction, and then, having realized our mistake, we lean on “data-driven decisions” in lieu of common sense. We chase patterns that aren’t there and miss eager markets right in front of us. All this while projecting the confidence, real or manufactured, that’s necessary to play the game."

Via Morgan

"Usage is like oxygen for ideas. You can never fully anticipate how an audience is going to react to something you‘ve created until it’s out there. That means every moment you’re working on something without it being in the public it‘s actually dying, deprived of the oxygen of the real world. It’s even worse because development doesn’t happen in a vacuum — if you have a halfway decent idea, you can be sure that there are two or three teams somewhere in the world that independently came up with it and are working on the same thing, or something you haven‘t even imagined that disrupts the market you’re working in. (Think of all the podcasting companies — including Ev Williams’ Odeo — before iTunes built podcasting functionality in.)"

"Creation is entirely dependent on ownership. Ownership not as a percentage of equity, but as a measure of your ability to change things for the better. To build and grow and fail and learn. This is no small thing. Creativity is the manifestation of lateral thinking, and without tangible results, it becomes stunted. We have to see the fruits of our labors, good or bad, or there’s no motivation to proceed, nothing to learn from to inform the next decision. States of approval and decisions-by-committee and constant compromises are third-party interruptions of an internal dialog that needs to come to its own conclusions. Your muse can only be treated as the secretary of a subcommittee for so long before she decides to pack up and look for employment elsewhere. If you aren’t able to own the product and be creative, then you aren’t able to do your work, and if you’re not doing your work then you’re negating a very real part of your personality, which is no good for anyone."

"The Facebook team is 15 product designers, 10 UI engineers, 5 user researchers, 4 communication designers, and one content strategists. How does a team of 35 design for 400 million users? Dive right in and try a lot of things."

Nice analysis of OK Cupid data on trends in photography equip, technique, and attractiveness. Also an example of a social bar that pops up at the bottom of the post.

RT @mrjWells 18 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I Was 18 @marcandangel

"Maybe you were just wrong about what an intuitive user workflow would be. Then you say, “I agree, it is confusing.  Can you walk me through how you use it, so that I can better understand how we might make it better?” When you start feeling defensive, it’s usually for a reason – you know something isn’t really quite right.  Use that feeling to learn something useful."

need to read the comments!

A guideline for post-mortem communication Prerequisites Admit failure - Hiding downtime is no longer an option (thanks to Twitter) Sound like a human - Do not use a standard template, do not apologize for "inconveniencing" us. Have a communication channel - Ideally you've set up a process to handle incidents before the event, and communicated publicly during the event. Customers will need to know where to find your updates. Above all else, be authentic

part II

"Sean Ellis recently sat down with us and explained how to bring products to market. You should listen to this interview for ideas on how to get to product/market fit, how to measure fit, and how to survey your users so you can improve fit."

"Sullivan's new book, Stop Getting Ripped Off: Why Consumers Get Screwed And How You Can Always Get A Fair Deal, is a guide to informed consumption. He joins Terry Gross to talk about the traps consumers fall into when dealing with credit card and cell phone companies, banks, and an old favorite: car salesmen."

How to fly: #humor #advice

" the questions VCs asked Redfin that changed how we think about our business."

Collection of blog advice. Most of this is well known, but this collects a lot into one place.

Excellent advice on securing a WP installation. via @bokardo

"Let the information be free. Here, word for word, is the information I include in every proposal I write"

"Search Engine Optimization is not a legitimate form of marketing. It should not be undertaken by people with brains or souls. If someone charges you for SEO, you have been conned."

"The epiphany I want to talk about is this: What are you waiting for? Seriously. I know you’ve got a mortgage and 1.5 kids, but during your sacred time when you discover that bright idea and subsequently discover that no established competitor exists… why aren’t you making the leap? I know what you’re waiting for. See, you’ve been doing the same comfortable thing I’ve been doing for twenty years. You’re obeying the structure of the organization where there are charts that describe who owns what and who owns who. I am intimately familiar with the mindset that reads: “We will complete our work by following the rules of mediocrity” Do just enough. Don’t rock the boat. Make yourself indispensable without being noticeable. And it works. There is absolutely no way to argue that following the rules doesn’t result in a comfortable life, but…"

good overview of the process of choosing a CMS, plus mini-reviews of your options.

bookmarking this, as it would make a good graphic in a presentation

Bravo!

guidelines for staying in control of your time

tips on optimizing GAE

"The really important kind of freedom involves attention and awareness and discipline, and being able truly to care about other people and to sacrifice for them over and over in myriad petty, unsexy ways every day. That is real freedom. That is being educated, and understanding how to think. The alternative is unconsciousness, the default setting, the rat race, the constant gnawing sense of having had, and lost, some infinite thing."

advice on what it takes to work on a contract basis

collection of comments offering advice to 15 year old selves (I added some haiku, 'cause isn't advice better in verse?)

good list

tips on creating a better press release

good tips for better mashups. #1 has excellent audio advice.

fight it

"Heather Champ speaking about community management at An Event Apart San Francisco." It’s really important to be open and transparent. When things to go wrong, own it. Admit it. Don’t try to whitewash it. Also, if you need to make a change to how people experience your community, don’t wait. Flickr waited eighteen months to finally do the Flickr/Yahoo merge and they really regret it." "When the universe gives you lemons, make lemonade. When there was unannounced downtime on Flickr, they turned it into a colouring contest: print out these circles, colour them in and the winner will get a prize. Over 2000 submissions were uploaded. The level of creativity was startling. Every one participated ended up getting an extra three months on their account."

1. Put the needs of the community first. 2. Community is mostly not a technology problem. 3. Active community management is essential. 4. Measuring success with community requires new yardsticks. 5. Consumer social networks, grassroots customer communitie

everyone should remember Buchheit's Law: "Advice = Limited Life Experience + Overgeneralization".

pithy (but mostly true) rules of thumb for consulting

Two of the practical takeaways from the book are a) if only for selfish reasons, do not eat most Asian-farmed shrimp, and b) eat more sardines.

survival tips in case I am unexpectedly transported to a random location in Europe in the year 1000 AD (+/-200)... such transportation would leave me with what I am wearing, what I know, and nothing else.

Maine gov site on creating more sustainable lawns

info on creating a better, more sustainable lawn

Good introductory information on traveling abroad as an American student. Or use the Flash version: http://studentsabroad.state.gov

"I’ve come to believe urgency is poisonous. Urgency may get things done a few days sooner, but what does it cost in morale? Few things burn morale like urgency. Urgency is acidic." JF

a list of aphorisms with photos

Just in time as Sullivan turns 3 soon... Fun post (thanks gnat). Who would have thought Raul would be as equally good a writer as photographer?

The guy quoted in the Coding Horror battery article

summary: not all chargers are equal, and batteries do not discharge at the same rate. look for hybrid or pre-charged (eneloop are good) even if they are lower mAh

excellent quotes from Einstein

Gems such as, "Coin laundry machines must run nine times a day to be profitable in Tokyo. In rural Japan, five or six times a day will do."

Good tips on getting into dSLR territory

There are many ways to use photography at a magazine. The worst is to use photos as decoration or as a literal translation of the story into pictures.

With the advent of online sellers, it’s now possible to get a decent set of specs for anywhere between $20-$100. The online selection is phenomenal as well.

Primer on handling html forms with PHP

Option 1: Learn not to care about your data. Don't save any old email, use a film camera, and only listen to physical CDs and not MP3s.

depth-of-field zone behind a point is about twice as deep as the depth-of-field zone in front of it.

Good list of CSS, JS, and general webdev resources

For common problems use Opensource For rare problems use Buy For unique problems use Build And in all cases make sure you maximise reuse

Good, basic tips on shooting events

7. Think before you press the publish button. Remember that this is a public forum, and your words will be archived on this site and available for anyone to find for a long time - the web has a very long memory.

a few things that triggered major Aha! moments (LISP)

55 essential articles I’ve come across that have positively influenced my blog decision-making and will undoubtedly help you too.

simple and clear.

Keep it simple: present text in a way that is easy to scan on the Web create a simple navigational structure replace useless graphics with useful ones or with white space

Blog with decent photography tips

y priced ultra-wide prime (non-zoom) lenses. There isn't a very large market for a 14/2.8 lens and therefore they are built almost by hand. It therefore makes sense to buy a wide-angle zoom lens. A good place to start experimenting in the Canon small-sens

By going after someone for stealing your content, you are protecting the millions of others who let it slide.