Elliott's Posterous
Hyperlinkminded.
Hyperlinkminded.
Scott Berkun says:
Einstein, Ford, Picasso and Edison rarely said the word innovation and neither should you.
Ask people who say innovation what they mean. If ever anyone says the word in a meeting, ask "Can you give an example of what you mean by innovative?" If they can't, you've just saved everyone in the room hours of time. Using the i-word is often a cop-out for clear thinking. They are trying to signify creativity, without actually being creative.
Use better words instead. Often people mean one or more of a) we want new ideas b) we want better ideas c) we want faster or bigger changes d) we need to take more risks e) we just want to be perceived as being innovative. Any of these short phrases are fine as they are clear and actionable in ways the word innovation alone never is. Ask everyone around you to use them instead, and keep tabs on yourself too.
When I write I make a conscious effort to generate a sense of enjoyment–to convey to my readers that I found the events I’m describing more than ordinarily interesting, or unusual, or amusing, or emotional, or bizarre. Otherwise why bother to describe them? I also try to convey the idea that I was feeling great when I did my writing–which I almost never was; writing well is hard work. But readers have a right to believe that you were having a good time taking them on your chosen voyage.
The Internet is an interruption system. It seizes our attention only to scramble it.The Net’s ability to monitor events and send out messages and notifications automatically is, of course, one of its great strengths as a communication technology. We rely on that capability to personalize the workings of the system, to program the vast database to respond to our particular needs, interests, and desires. We want to be interrupted, because each interruption—email, tweet, instant message, RSS headline—brings us a valuable piece of information. To turn off these alerts is to risk feeling out of touch or even socially isolated. The stream of new information also plays to our natural tendency to overemphasize the immediate. We crave the new even when we know it’s trivial.
This changing of the guard caps one of the most stunning turnarounds in business history, as Apple had been given up for dead only a decade earlier. But the rapidly rising value attached to Apple by investors also heralds a cultural shift: Consumer tastes have overtaken the needs of business as the leading force shaping technology.
It's amazing what happens when a company focuses on creating exceptional user experiences.
Great Buddha quote from last night's Social Media Club - Seattle event:
Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.
