Spaces on the Wall

I want substance

I think too many people subscribe to the belief that that the web has to operate at a 60 mph pace. Maybe so when we're in hunting mode, but happens when we've locked in a scent? Too many times, there's not not enough to "eat".

To dumb everything down to simple parts as a standard best practice is just lazy. The design community is embracing simplicity to an extreme.

Case in point - I invest in with a brokerage firm for my retirement accounts. I'm looking for real meat as to the risks, fees, investment strategies, etc. Instead, I get a bunch of hypothetical charts and dumbed down data that is totally meaningless. I want substance, not a sales pitch. I want to read some heavy hitting shit. At least I can find an FAQ's section.. but how much real detail can one gain from that?

If you think your users are all stupid, what kind of message are you sending to them in the first place?

Being A Great Storyteller

Seriousness of Play

Scrapping For Numbers

Ben and Jackie make a good point here. Not to be consumed with the sheer number of X. SEO's know how to rig the game and so do Twitter / Facebook / LinkedIn whores. What? I'm not bitter. Just consider the source, connect with people you like and respect, and not for the sheer numbers. That's not a connection, it's a trophy. It's like being in high school sometimes, only as professionals - we should know better.

P.S. The bit about Jason Calacanis is pretty damn funny.

Boxee: The Ultimate Apple TV Hack

It's easy to ditch cable. Really easy if you use Boxee. I've been living with Apple Tv for nearly a year now, and sick of watching the same content over and over again.

The guys at GDGT Weekly mentioned Boxee a couple of podcasts ago, so I decided to give it a whirl. They said it was by far the easiest way to free yourself from apple tv's restrictive confines.

Boxee just came out of alpha testing and opened up it's doors the public (for the most part). I had a few hours to kill on Saturday, so here's the rundown...

1. Install is difficult since you have to prepare a file that boots from a thumbdrive. The developers have prepared an application to help create this, but it's not entirely clear since it's a step you have to find on a 3rd party website and they keep reffering to the blasted thing as a "patchstick" WTF is that?. Once you get through the install (which Wired has a step by step wiki on how to prepare on your Apple TV device), you have to immedatly update XMBC software, then restart the device, then update the Boxee software, then restart the Apple TV yet again! Finally, you have to disable the Apple TV screensaver device so it won't interfere with the Boxee viewing pleasure.
2. The Boxee software is partioned from the Apple TV experience which is a big drain. It's a bit clunky, but offers a whole new world of on-demand viewing possibilities. It's taken the best Internet content providers: (BBC, Joost, Hulu, CNN, Comedy Central, MTV and Video Podcasts ) and combined into one master control center. The content is vast, instant and of fairly good video quality. Boxee does have sharing capabilities, which i still need to explore.
3. The interface and execution still needs work, but I'm sure it will get better during the alpha. The one real bummer is the lack of Netflix Instant Viewing capabilities. They know it's a big feature that all users are clamoring for, but according to the development team, the Apple TV processor is just not strong enough for Netflix's streaming demands.

If that's not enough - Apple will eventually require an upgrade that will wipe away all the hard work I just did. Not to worry since Boxee has that on their radar, and will provide patches accordingly.

Ditch Your Cable, AppleTV Works Better

Removing Essentials is a Killer

Dear Andrew Magnuson

Dear Andrew Magnuson,

So what the hell happened? I was shocked to find out that you were no longer with the company. It really bummed us out since you were our only real champion over there. I figured a bomb must have dropped, and your departure was totally unavoidable.

We were so close to closing, but it's ok, something tells me that it wasn't going to happen anyways.

I want to know how you're doing. Just look me up on LinkedIn or contact me when you get this message.

Talk soon Andrew Magnuson.

Dear Sondra Wellmerling

Dear Sondra Wellmerling,

I didn't have your contact information after you left the company, so I thought I'd put my SEO skills to work and have you, Sondra Wellmerling find me.

So let me tell you... You left so abruptly, and I didn't get a chance to tell you how much I respected you and your management style. I know you stood up for us and I really enjoyed working with you, Sondra Wellmerling. I hope you're doing well.

I also wanted to tell you that I regularly get the latest open C-Level and VP-level marketing positions on a regular basis from a head-hunter friend of mine. I'd like to pass that along to you, since I know you'd be perfect for many of those open positions. Plus, it would be nice to catch up and find out what really happened.

I hope this message finds you well, Sondra Wellmerling, If you're interested, Here's the best way to contact me.

p.s. You should really update your LinkedIn account ;-) Talk soon...

Open Letter To The Hinsdale Public Library

Dear Hinsdale Public Library Committee Members,

I just the heard the bad news. I understand that the Hinsdale public library committee has selected another website vendor that will do your website redesign project at a much cheaper price. That's ok. 

It's my fault that I didn't demonstrate our total value (outside of just price) to you.

But I hope you know that a project like this would require at least 3 professionals - Plus to conduct user surveys and interview patrons properly would take at least a solid 3 days of probing. Bottom line, I hope you get a good product out of these people, but doing the math, it's questionable how they are going to deliver everything you want for $5K. Seriously.

I know this is how it goes, but I felt that we developed a great rapport and could see us working together long term. If things do not work out with the your chosen vendor, I hope that you'll consider my team for future web projects. 

Best of luck! (sniff)