Spoken

It Pays To Advertise: Joe Cheng: Configuring an AtomPub blog needs to be equally easy. For some reason, people in the AtomPub community don’t seem to like RSD (only Six Apart puts Atom endpoints in RSD). We need another autodiscovery mechanism.

Hmmm.  When I looked at RSD nearly five years ago, it didn’t seem so bad.  In any case, here’s a ticket and a patch to get WordPress to support autodiscovery of AtomPub endpoints.

[Here, here! And the peasants rejoiced! And the reason one (influential) person in the Atom community didn't like RSD wasn't for technical reasons, but because Dave Winer is an acquaintance, and an early supporter of RSD... and he was reviled by some members of that community. Anyway, all these years later, RSD is quietly doing its job, and should be employed for this purpose. That was kinda the point, with no preference for one API over another. Thanks Sam!]
Source: Sam Ruby

This changes everything:

Never mind the buy 1 give 1 (a great idea). Don't wait until November when you can directly buy laptops for kids right here: One Laptop Per Child -- XO Giving. I just bought five. (Hit the Donate button).

This is a story about tools and bravery and marketing.

The bravery: When Nicholas Negroponte and his team started this project, they had nothing but obstacles. The status quo of software and hardware and skeptics stood firmly in his way. And he took a lot of grief for the effort. Even when you're doing nothing but good, fear of change is going to cause a lot of people to object.

The marketing: Everything, even laptops for kids, works its way through the innovation diffusion curve. That means that most countries, most organizations and most communities aren't going to adopt this tool for a few years. It doesn't matter if it's perfect... these things take time. Smart marketing embraces the curve and doesn't insist that it must change for this project, right now.

One kid (or five kids) at a time. It's enough. It'll happen.

[I had the same reaction, although I lack the resources to buy so many. I'll do what I can. Maybe I can get the folks at work to buy some and give them away.]
Source: Seth's Blog

Are you kidding me, Saturn?: Somewhere at Saturn, someone had the idea of producing the least possible environmentally friendly “welcome” package and delivering it to their environmentally conscious customers in the least environmentally friendly delivery system imaginable. And someone else approved it, signed off on the budget and had a lot of people oversee it. Awesome. [Nice one. What a mess.]
Source: Attention Deficit David

Marketing time: A contractor that prides himself on finishing every single job on the day it’s due, regardless of what it takes, is telling a powerful story, doing marketing that’s actually cheaper and more effective than advertising ever could be. [So true! Further, it ensures that you do not accept projects that you won’t care enough about to ensure that they are complete on time. There will always be issues around resources, scoping, less than clearly defined goals etc. So if you wish to live by this story, you have to be prepared to dig deep on each project. It is the sort of constraint that increases joy.]
Source: Seth’s Blog

File Under: No Wonder New York City is Falling Behind London: Note to Mayor Bloomberg and Senator Schumer: The Sarbanes-Oxley Act isn’t the only reason why London is overtaking New York City. Note to the 34th Street Partnership and the Times Square Alliance: Hello?! What are you guys waiting for? You don’t have to look far for help. Note to Gwynneth Paltrow: I’m sad to say it but New York City’s leadership appears to be proving you right. [I understand that something perceived as a commuter tax will not fly in Albany, but it’s exactly that sort of thinking that got us where we are today. I have a fairly broad view of traffic and congestion as I use trains, walk, bike, and use a car in my commute in both NYC and the surrounding area. I can assure you that keeping cars out of the city is a good thing in almost every case.]
Source: StreetsBlog

Ride a Bike & Get the World’s Best Cookie Half-Price: While we’re seeking great streets, we’ve found an exemplary store in Manhattan’s Build a Green Bakery. This tiny East Village shop sells organic pastries, coffee and tea in an all-sustainable setting. The owner, City Bakery’s Maury Rubin, made the space an environmentalists’ showroom. He chose walls of wheat and sunflower husks and colored them with a milk-based paint. His floor is cork and his tabletop is responsibly-harvested bamboo, with recycled denim under the display counter. And get this: If you transport yourself to the store by bicycle, you get a 50% discount.

Discounts based on mode of transportation: Adorable quirk or serious public policy model? 

Bottom line: There is no better chocolate chip cookie in Manhattan and you’ll need the bicycle to burn off the calories. Build a Green Bakery, 223 First Avenue, Manhattan, (no phone), birdbath@thecitybakery.com.

[Nice. Let’s start a trend!]
Source: StreetsBlog

It’s difficult to “hard work” your way to success: * The Financial Times, 7/11/97: “Apple no longer plays a leading role in the $200 billion personal computer industry. ‘The idea that they’re going to go back to the past to hit a big home run…is delusional,’ says Dave Winer, a software developer.” [Ouch. Ah well, we’re all only human.]
Source: Seth’s Blog

[I hope Hugh doesn’t mind… I took some license with his art because, well, there’s a meeting of some bike folks and I thought maybe I could turn some of them onto Hugh’s work, and if there’s an east coast distributor of Stormhoek… well, I could make that happen as well. As for me, I may not be 34 anymore, and I can’t hate what I don’t have, but somehow it worked for me. Can’t tell you why.]
Source: gapingvoid

As for the rest of it: cool! It sort of sounds like Daniel is involved with the RBC directly, as he said, ”*we* match bikes and helmets…” That’s even cooler. [Yeah, I joined up and I’m trying to get some stuff going with the other members. Thanks for reposting!]
Source: Truer Words

So I thought I’d point out that although I don’t get paid for wearing them, I do get my jerseys for free from Mystic Cycle for being their largest “rolling billboard.” :-) [Now hold on there my long distance oversized cycling buddy, you’re discussing how much you got payed, not whether one should be… I never said I wouldn’t pimp for cheap, I occasionally flog people’s stuff just because it’s good stuff. I just don’t like the lack of choice on my part and the large disconnect between folks wearing “team kit” and knowing nothing about the companies involved, possibly only the current athletes. Club jersey’s are OK (assuming you’re a member), Store jerseys are OK (I couldn’t get myself to buy one, but I’d wear it if they gave me one I guess), Event jerseys strike me as bragging most of the time (you always see the “incredibly painful uphill only 1000 miler” jersey, not the “I rode with my kid around the playground 500 times” jersey).]

(Oh, Daniel, one other thing. Corinne watched the last couple stages with me. Having attended the same high school as Floyd may have had something to do with it.) [Now I’m going to expect an invitation to the next reunion ;~). I firmly believe there’s room in the world for the existence of more than one magnificent wife, even if *mine* watched every stage except one (heh) and that was because on this past Friday evening (it’s the Sabbath for us) she had no time to catch earlier coverage of that stage. (That was the stage that she complained about in my previous post.) She’s the best! And I’m sure Corinne is as well. I’d like to point out as a final note, that my chest, back, helmet, shorts, arms etc. as well as prime places on my bike are all for sale. Please get in touch if you’re interested in purchasing… Services can include not only wearing appropriately designed gear, applying decals in vibrant colors, etc. but also me putting all this stuff on and riding to places where foot traffic is at an all time high. Let me know.]
Source: Truer Words

The Customer is Always Right:

The answer might surprise you. It’s the unwritten rule 3 on Stew Leonard’s famous granite rock:

If the customer is wrong, they’re not your customer any more.

In other words, if it’s not worth making the customer right, fire her.

Successful organizations (and I include churches and political parties on the list) fire the 1% of their constituents that cause 95% of the pain.

[This is a very hard thing to do, but when I’ve accomplished it… it’s been worth it.]
Source: Seth’s Blog

My passion is awesome, your passion is lame: Bottom line: if we want to help our users explain their passion to others, we need to help give them the tools to do so. It may often be unsuccessful–some people will always have a closed mind around things they can’t see or feel for themselves–but it’s way better than nothing. Not that I should have to justify my passions, of course, because–DUH–the justification is self-evident to anyone who “gets it.” ; ) [ The suggestion is OK, but the idea is right on… it’s very hard to understand other people’s passions. How many times have people shaken their heads at me in wonder about what I was doing? Too many to count, and yet there is always something that they’re just as passionate about! I don’t know that you can help someone understand your passion, but you can take the time to explain to them (or to your customers) how it goes, and why it works for you.]
Source: Creating Passionate Users

Why are you afraid of process? What happens when a star salesperson starts tracking her calls, her time spent, her rolodex and her results? Her day isn’t intuitive any longer… just the act of selling is. The result: dramatic improvements. If process makes you nervous, it’s probably because it threatens your reliance on intuition. Get over it. The best processes leverage your intuition and give it room to thrive. [Testing, testing, testing.]
Source: Seth’s Blog

Steve’s stories…: To create a passionate user, create a passionate community as well.  When you present to that user or that community, be passionate yourself–not by overacting, but by telling a story that is spare, but compelling.  Don’t be distracted by all the other stuff you want to tell.  Focus on the experience that will get users the experience they want.  [It’s all magic]
Source: Creating Passionate Users