The Simplicity Paradox: Simple > Complex > Simplicity “When you start looking at a problem and it seems really simple, you don’t really understand the complexity of the problem. Then you get into the problem, and you see that it’s really complicated, and you come up with all these convoluted solutions. That’s sort of the… Continue reading The Simplicity Paradox: Simple > Complex > Simplicity
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Strengths and Weaknesses are Two Sides of the Same Coin
Strengths and Weaknesses: Two Sides of the Same Coin We often think about strengths and weaknesses in a vacuum, as if they were completely unrelated to each other. We think about building up strengths and eliminating weaknesses. That’s a bit disingenuous and logically impossible because you end up stuck in the middle, with no real… Continue reading Strengths and Weaknesses are Two Sides of the Same Coin
The Secret Power of Confidence
The Secret Power of Confidence and How to Build It Confidence is one of the most important traits in life. It is imperative for everything from dating and relationships, to startups and business. Most of the conventional wisdom around confidence and self-esteem is trying to find a short cut. But the reality is that you… Continue reading The Secret Power of Confidence
Losing 20 Pounds in 3 Months
Losing 20 pounds in 3 months Towards the end of this past summer, I had gotten past my comfortable weight, as a result of a fun summer, not working out enough, and enjoying the food and beverage. I was up to 194 pounds, and though I carry it well (on my massive thighs primarily), it’s… Continue reading Losing 20 Pounds in 3 Months
Fuck Moderation: Balance through Extremes
Fuck Moderation – Balance through Extremes This was originally written as a guest post on BostInnovation. There is a general conventional wisdom that everything in moderation is good. As with a lot of conventional wisdom, that’s bullshit. Everything in moderation leads to a dull, boring, shapeless, unidentifiable mass. Moderation leads to complacency. Instead of moderation, pursue excellence. The Importance of… Continue reading Fuck Moderation: Balance through Extremes
Static and Kinetic Friction
Static Friction > Kinetic Friction I love analogies, especially analogies between life and physics. On a recent run, I was thinking about the parallel between static friction and the forces that keep us from starting things. We all remember the physics experiment from 8th grade, where we put a block of wood or plastic on… Continue reading Static and Kinetic Friction
The Lower Right Quadrant
The Lower Right Quadrant A few months ago I got together in the old YouCastr offices with a big whiteboard, a few pizzas, a few packs of beer, and some entrepreneurial product folks to chat about various concepts (or schemes) and think about web trends in general. One of the concepts that emerged, admittedly following… Continue reading The Lower Right Quadrant
The Four Internet Ages
The Four Internet Ages Now that I’m between startups, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what I want to work on next. I like thinking in frameworks, which makes it easier to evaluate new opportunities and create my own theses around where technology and business is heading. My previous analysis on the Product vs… Continue reading The Four Internet Ages
The Product vs Distribution Framework
The Product vs Distribution Framework In the startup world there is an ongoing debate about the importance of having a very solid product versus having great distribution. A few weeks ago at a dinner hosted by David Skok and Antonio Rodriguez we had a very active and interesting debate about the merits of each. Antonio… Continue reading The Product vs Distribution Framework
Untitled
Somebody Please Buy Palm (cough, cough Nokia) The Dawn of Smartphones (the iPhone) Throughout all of this smartphone revolution of the past 3 years (starting with the iPhone, as smartphone before then were just pretenders), it has been interesting to see the battleground. Once might players like Microsoft and Palm were relegated to the bench… Continue reading Untitled
Revisiting Augmented Reality – The Potential Downsides
Revisiting Augmented Reality – The Potential Downsides I recently came across an interesting post about the case against augmented reality. I couldn’t help but think about my previous post about augmented reality and post-reality. I tend to be an unabashed fan of technology and the benefits it has, which leads to occasionally overlooking some of the downsides. As for… Continue reading Revisiting Augmented Reality – The Potential Downsides
Social Media’s Holy Grail: Identity
Social Media’s Holy Grail: Identity – and why Facebook will figure it out There is a lot of discussion around the web about moving towards a more unified way to manage your online persona. Data Portability has brought a lot of attention to this space, and all of the big players are responding with their… Continue reading Social Media’s Holy Grail: Identity