The Secret to Staying on Top
Secretly, we all want to be on top. Luckily, there’s a secret to staying on top that works every time.
We’re Not All Ready To Be Media Outlets, But So What?
We’re all media outlets. We’re all media channels.
That’s the siren call of many in the blogosphere; the people focused on democratizing media, taking down walled gardens, and building community.
But Mat Balez is sounding alarm bells over the idea that each of us can be media:
I know, on the surface, bringing the freedom and power of the press to every voice imaginable seems very democratic, empowering and ideal. But we cannot simply champion the ushering in of this new media landscape without pause and consideration of what it means more broadly for our culture, the future of journalism and, to cast the net as wide as possible, our ability to make sense of the world around us.
People are thinking about how the new media landscape affects everything around us. There’s plenty of interesting discussion and debate over citizen journalism and sites like NowPublic and NewAssignment. We’re not diving into the new media landscape completely blind.
But it’s all such a mess!
The 4 Immutable Laws of Giving Great Proposals
I’ve never met a Request For Proposal I liked. They’re typically poorly designed, laden with pointless questions and ripe with ridiculous demands. Truth is: RFPs aren’t even meant to find the best vendor. They were invented by process-loving bureaucrats, whose sole mission in life is to procrastinate, justify their jobs and cover their asses.
RFPs suck. I make it a point never to fill them out. Not anymore.
But when a client does ask a reasonable question, for the love of padding your bank account, answer them.
Here are 4 laws of giving great proposals & project quotes that you should never break:
Moving to San Francisco
The weather is beautiful
The people there complain about the fog, but that’s just silliness. Come visit Montreal in February. Then talk to me about fog.
The city is nice
They’ve got the ocean, mountains and a vibrant city. The earthquake thing isn’t great, but get a sturdy a desk to hide under and you should be fine, right?
The startup community is unbeatable
I love the YCombinator system and got a chance to learn a lot about how it all works while I was there. Of course there are a ton of non-YCombinator startups doing incredible work as well…
So are you really moving to the Valley?
Beat Writer’s Block By Reading and Commenting More
Writer’s block is horrible. You might feel like your brain is caught in a choking smog, or surrounded by an impenetrable, concrete wall.
When struck with writer’s block I feel like I’m simultaneously trudging through quicksand and being punched in the face. Nasty, nasty stuff.
Writer’s block seems to hit most acutely when I’m overwhelmed and over tired; not a great combination.
Dawud Miracle reprints an article by Daphne Gray-Grant titled: 20 Surefire Ways to Beat Writer’s Block.
Aside from the fact that Dawud’s written a killer blog post headline, the tips are extremely useful.
I want to add one more tip.
