Three things to remember today:
- Nobody ever laid on their death bed and said they wish they would have worked harder.
- We’re halfway through August, 2014.
- It’s Friday.
You’re welcome.
Monthly Archives: August 2014
Pro tip
Pro tip: Don’t use the phrase “Pro tip.”
You may, in fact, be a pro at whatever you’re recommending.
But it also makes you a pro at sounding like a giant douche who puts him or herself above others without any real desire to help.
Something to consider.
Following Uncle Jake
There’s a legendary story about my late Uncle Jake.
He was clumsy, clueless and confidently matter-of-fact.
Plus he was legally blind.
His glasses only made him slightly less blind.
Yes, he was a character.
But here’s the story:
Uncle Jake went to a funeral service. Afterwards, Uncle Jake got in his car and joined the the funeral procession to the gravesite. He and his car were near the front of the procession.
Sometime along the way, Uncle Jake started following the wrong car.
Classic Uncle Jake.
But the cars behind continued to follow Uncle Jake.
All. Over. Town.
Moral of the story:
Just because everyone is going a certain direction or using a certain method or saying a certain thing, it’s not necessarily the right direction or method or message.
It might be Uncle Jake leading the procession.
Figuring it out
So you’re good at figuring stuff out.
That doesn’t mean your co-worker or student or spouse isn’t.
Of course, you’ll never know unless you let him or her try.
And chances are, they want to.
Difference between Facebook and Google
Two tech giants are in the news lately for making big changes to their products.
- Facebook. They’re FORCING users to download their messaging app. It’s now the only way to send messages across their network. Facebook says it’s to improve the user experience. Many, however, are finding it tough to see the benefit for anybody other than Facebook and its shareholders. Privacy and unwanted, direct solicitations are a main concern.
- Google. They’re RECOMMENDING websites switch to SSL encrypted URLs (green verified https) to get preferential treatment on organic page rank. Google says it’s to improve user experience. They’re citing more secure, identity-verified sites makes a better internet. It also means fewer spammy sites (unwilling to pay for SSL encryption) and better privacy for your (now encrypted) information.
Users are strongly against the former and are racing to adopt the latter.
I know my site will have SSL encryption (https) in the next couple weeks.
So many lessons here…
But the bottom line?
Which tech company will your business be like?
Ice Bucket Challenge: A new type of chain letter
Chain letters for a cause were common back in the day.
“Pass this to ten friends or else kids in Africa will be eaten alive by mosquitos.”
We all participated in the first one we received, right?
Here’s a new type of chain letter that’s going viral.
And it’s for a real cause: ALS.
For those of you who aren’t familiar, ALS is also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. It’s one of the most fucked up bad beats you can get. And the prognosis hasn’t changed in nearly 100 years. Five years and you’re done.
It won’t be long before 100’s of copy-cats doing similar chain letter challenges for their cause.
Glad it was THIS cause, first. Because chances are, I ignore similar challenges like I ignored 99% of chain letters.
Alas, here’s my acceptance of the Ice Bucket Challenge.
Thank you for challenging me, Rachel and Elliott Califf.
I now challenge, Nick Fisher, Brad Rozran, Chris Tonkin, Mark Adams, James Bradley, Shalva Geffen, Mike Neiman, Danny Abrams, Leigh Waterman. You have 24 hours to accept or donate $100 to ALS research.
Human humans
Perfection, resilience, and underdoggedness runs its course.
After a certain point, perception of such successes turns.
So it’s okay to tell the world you made a come back. Or that you sell awesome apparel. Or that you have some good really good advice.
But once in a while, people love to see you be vulnerable, look ugly or fail again.
Humans like human humans (and businesses).
An investment idea
Investments usually cost money.
Stocks. Bonds. Mutual funds.
The return isn’t guaranteed, but it’s expected.
So could there be an investment that, instead, saves you money and has a guaranteed return?
Yup!
Fire your cable company.
You’ll get an extra $100 per month and yield incredible returns.
Time of your life
Waiting in line is a fact of life.
- Traffic.
- Airports.
- Everywhere in Las Vegas!
And according to astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, if you spend one hour per day waiting in line, that equates to five year of your waking life.
No, it doesn’t take an astrophysicist to do that math.
But it might take a guy like me to remind you that five years is enough time to get a masters education.
A masters!
So, be kind, have fun and better yourself while you’re waiting in line.
Because college is supposed to be the time of your life.
So tronley
They may catch you off guard. Or confuse you. Or shock you with their bravado.
But anyone who wants to pick a fight with you or your business in the public arena of cyberspace (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) is just a troll.
So remember this:
In real public arenas, trolls don’t sound so tough. And in reality, they aren’t actually that mad at you, if at all.
It’s just that misery loves company.
So either join the misery by fighting or happily let them be lonely by not.