In a forgotten corner of a shelf in a seldom-used media cabinet sit two 40-year old Japanese single reflex cameras (SLRs). One is a Pentax Spotmatic that I inherited from my father, circa 1974 (ish). The other is a Nikon Nikkormat my wife inherited from her father, circa early 80s. They’re heavy as lead, built rock solid. We’ll probably never get rid of them because of the memories and images they evoke. I used mine …
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Think a small startup can’t disrupt a deep-seated, regulation-protected, mammoth industry? Think again. The New York Times recently featured a small financial startup called Simple, which bills itself as “A Worry-Free Alternative to Traditional Banking.” (I’d love to know how much they paid to secure Simple.com!) Who hasn’t cursed their bank multiple times? Who hasn’t worried over this, that, or the other penalty, fee, or ridiculous hoop your bank makes you jump through? Praise Simple …
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I love stories like this one, mostly because of my bias toward the disciplined pursuit of less as the pathway to something better. It’s the story of Brian Lam, told by David Carr, who writes the Media Equation column for the Monday Business section of the New York Times, which is where I read it. The arc of the story in a nutshell. Act I: Brian interns at Wired, becomes editor of Gizmodo, and takes the blog from 13 to …
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If you follow this blog, you’re probably aware that I’m fairly strict on my diet. I have been for a year and half, ever since I visited a nutritionist, who taught me how to change the way I eat in order to maintain a low body fat percentage and high energy level. (I wrote about it here.) It’s not that I eat very little…just the opposite, I eat about seven times a day. And if …
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Any product with a letter missing from its name is bound to catch my eye. It’s just how I’m wired. So it should come as no surprise that the new iPhone/iPad app Drwer, also billed as the simplest drawing app ever, did just that. I downloaded ($.99) both versions to my iPhone and iPad Mini. The interface couldn’t be simpler (see image): 5 functions in total, one of which (the “X”) is just to expand …
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In the era of tablet computing, one thing that might have been predictable amidst the rapid proliferation is specialization. To wit, the QOOQ tablet, pictured here, designed for a fairly narrow function: cooking. Why might you need a special tablet for your kitchen, you ask? I can think of several reasons. First, cookbooks are not user friendly. They aren’t designed for use in the kitchen, by and large. Mostly because they’re, er, large. They don’t …
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I’ve been a huge fan of Behance and its founder Scott Belsky ever since I met him and his team a few years ago in New York. It’s why I asked him to contribute to my book. Their think tank, 99U, is terrific. The 99 refers to Edison’s notion that genius is 99% perspiration. When they said they’d like a post on the interplay of simple rules, constraints, and creativity, I was more than happy to …
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Road warriors, have you tried Uber? I have, and it’s fantastic. Call me spoiled, but when I travel to speak or conduct workshops, the less stress and hassle I experience before the event, the better I perform. As a practical matter, I’d rather hire a car service than take a cab. It’s generally not much more money, and it’s more comfortable, private, relaxing and quiet. I had to pop up to Menlo Park for a …
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In my previous post, I talked about a startup, Apptopia, an online marketplace for apps. Bet they wish they’d brokered the $1 billion deal between Facebook and Instagram. I’ve written about Instagram before, essentially as an example of simplicity in design. What made Instagram interesting was how its nearly overnight success could be traced to a strategy of subtraction on the part of CEO and founder Kevin Systrom. Instagram wasn’t always Instagram. The first iteration …
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