Feb18
The Newness
Yup. I’ve gone and done it again. The site is redesigned – only this time it’s not just a redesign, I’ve combined my blog with my photography site (formerly http://jgardnerphoto.com). Why, you ask? A good question. (more…)
Archive for the ‘Business’ Category
Jul14
Another one for the Smashing crowd!
Another article of mine was just published on Smashing Magazine! As always, I’m having a great time replying to comments and emails about the article. Please keep them coming!
Jun12
Fanfarlo and the $1 album
Fanfarlo might be my new favorite band. Occupying a space somewhere between The National and Beirut, the music is just plain pleasant to listen to. Plus, their lead singer, Simon Balthazar, looks very similar to Ira Glass, how could they possibly fail?!
Oh, and did I mention that their debut album, Reservoir, is only $1? Yup. Marketing genius. You can buy their album through July 4th on their website for just one dollar.
This is the power of the internet. A relatively unknown band can release an album and then offer at as a loss leader for a limited time to build a base and get some buzz. I mean, I’m taking the time to write about it, aren’t I? How many others are doing the same? A quick Google search shows 1,670 hits for “Fanfarlo Reservoir $1″. On the first three pages, every entry is a blog post. I think their tactic is working.
Though, as my wife pointed out, it’s a foregone conclusion that the band can’t suck. This is true, but not as true as you would think. Because, niche as it may be, there is a market for sucky music. Remember, all it takes is 1000 true fans.
Though, these guys definitely don’t suck. So I think they’ll have no problem coming up with 1000. In fact, I think they’ll collect quite a few more than just 1000. I believe we’ll be hearing quite a bit more from Fanfarlo in the future.
Apr22
Good Night, and Good Luck
Recently I was reading about people who were winning during this “global economic crisis” and I came across the name Andrew Lahde.
Andrew used to run a hedge fund, which makes you instantly wonder how he has made it onto this winners list. But not all hedge funds are taking hits during this downturn. Andrew’s background was real estate, and based on his understanding of how shaky the underlying assets of credit default swaps and other mortgage backed securities were he structured his entire fund around betting against that market. In 2008 alone his fund was up over 1000%. That means that if you had invested $100 with him at the beginning of 2008 you’re money would be worth $1100 on New Years Eve. Not too shabby.
But the best part, by far, is the fact that Andrew logged this phenomenal return and then just closed his shop down. He, in a very organized and orderly fashion, had all the investments (plus the massive returns) given back to his investors and then he just took his cut and left, leaving just a single, short letter as explanation of his exit.
This letter is a gem. But my favorite part, sandwiched between railing on the American aristocracy and calling for legalization of hemp is,
So this is it. With all due respect, I am dropping out. Please do not expect any type of reply to emails or voicemails within normal time frames or at all.
From fund manager working 90 hours a week to completely disappeared sipping margaritas on a beach in 3 seconds flat. There is something very very appealing about that.
Apr2
This is why I love the Internet
Every now and then something happens that reminds me why I love the Internet so much, and why I love working in the web industry. Yeah, it’s a little geeky but it’s also full of real people doing real things and having real conversations — which sometimes get quite heated.
Point in case: Jason Fried from 37signals posted this blasting of Get Satisfaction on Signal vs. Noise, 37signal’s massive soap box company blog. The comments on the post quickly ran into the hundreds with people on both sides of the issue, though comments siding with Jason clearly outnumbered those sticking up for Get Satisfaction.
But the amazing part comes next. The guys and gals over at Get Satisfaction first responded in the comments,
Gosh, we messed up on the wording of that badge and are changing it pronto. The wording on that badge was actually intended to explicitly state that the space was NOT OFFICIALLY SANCTIONED by the company, but that doesn’t come off at all. The idea is to encourage openness, and provide a badge for companies that want to be associated with it. This was just unfortunate phrasing (one small part of an ongoing redesign effort), and doesn’t reflect our values, as I think many, many people and companies who’ve used our service can attest.
— Gus* Thor Muller, Get Satisfaction
Then, within just a few hours they had arranged a live video cast, with the sole purpose of answering questions from the public. Anyone could sign in and ask a question and get live, on-screen answers. After that, they penned two thoughtful responses to the situation and posted them on their blog, an Open Letter to Jason Fried and a post to their blog, talk plainly about the whole affair and what they planning to do to address the problems that Jason pointed out.
Name me one other industry and prides itself on transparency so much that the founders of a company would come out and say, multiple times, in no uncertain terms, that they were wrong. Not misunderstood, just flat out wrong. It actually seemed, as Garrett Dimon pointed out, that the Get Satisfaction employees were fighting amongst themselves to take the blame on this one. What?! Fighting to take blame? What the hell are these guys smoking?
Finally, today, Jason Fried posted again on Signal vs. Noise, noting that Get Satisfaction had begun addressing some of his concerns and giving, what I would characterize as, an explanation of why he was so annoyed with Get Satisfaction in the first place. Customer Experience. Two companies, both with very large online audiences, having a very heated and very public discussion because they are both doing their best to stick up for the customer (albeit in slightly different ways).
So, yeah — the internet might be a little geeky and I’ll be the first to admit that I spend way too much time in front of the screen, but every now and then stuff like this reminds me that it’s not a faceless, empty void that I’m sinking hundreds and hundreds of hours into; it’s a vibrant, opinionated and very real forum full of real people. And I like that.
* Oops, I wonder who Gus Muller is and why his name was in my head. Thanks for the comment Thor and the correction, sorry about that.
Jan12
Article Published
Just a quick note. I started a new job in December with Entermotion as a front-end web developer. It’s been really great and one of the perks of the job is getting to work on the web-apps that we build under the moniker Paste Interactive. My first contribution to the Paste blog has just gone up over the weekend, it’s an article about Content Wireframing. Check it out, and while you’re at it, check out our web apps, Jumpchart and Staction. Jumpchart is all about collaborative wireframing and Staction is a people management application.
Oct20
Alpinist is gone.
Alpinist, the best climbing magazine ever produced, has gone under. A brief statement on the website points to the current economic crisis as a factor. I’ve read elsewhere that the relcutance to publish shit is what really drove them down. Let’s be honest, Rock and Ice and Climbing are still in business because they publish the same reports of some 14 year old flashing some choss pile somewhere that no one cares about. Ok, I’ll give, that may be a bit harsh, someone, somewhere, must like that crap.
Unfortunately, the main problem for Alpinist is that the advertisers that pay the bills at magazines love pointless reports and big-breasted girls climbing in jeans, sports bras and beanies. And who has ever seen someone climbing a legitimate route in the mountains wearing a sports bra and nothing else, that’s right, you haven’t. This was the real death sentence for Alpinist, no advertisers = no money.
What about subscribers you say? Let’s take a look at the explosion of climbing in recent years. Sport, Bouldering, and to a increasing degree trad. How many people jump right into suffering in the mountains. Not many. Not too many “climbers” these days would willingly go and subject themselves to the freezing temperatures, rockfall, avalanches or having your buddy spooning you on a ledge that is smaller than the back seat of my volvo. “Why in God’s name would I go do all of those at once?”, most would ask. No, there never really was a large base to pull subscribers from for Alpinist. Especially at $12 an issue.
As a subscriber of four years, I bid you farewell Alpinist. All of us subscribers and readers will miss you dearly.
Oct16
Too busy?
There is a point at which one becomes too busy to get everything done that one wants to. I am there right now. Maybe it’s just the weather that has cuased this predicament. It has been gorgeous for a few solid weeks now – with maybe one or two days of rain. One or two days of rain is just not enough to allow me time to do all the inside stuff that I need to do. I go to work, I come home, and I have another full-time job worth of stuff at home that is waiting for my attention. But when the weather is nice, I just get on my bike and go outside. Sometimes I find myself praying for rain or freezing temperatures so that I can have an excuse to stay in and work on the towering pile that is patiently awaiting me. Is that wrong?
What do you do when it just gets to be too much? Pull an all nighter? Throw a big bunch of it away and pretend it didn’t exist? Let me know in the comments …
Oct10
My words?! On Smashing Magazine?!
The cat, I mean, the article is out of the bag. Check it out over at Smashing Magazine and leave me a comment or four.