Category Archives: Money

“Tapworthy” The Evolution of Stupidly Simple Software Design

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It’s generally believed that the first known ‘PC’ on the market was called the Altair 8800–the one Bill Gates and his buddies famously giggled excitedly over, as they flew down to Albequerque, New Mexico, to get their humble software to run on the thing. The Altair was not meant for human beings to use; it was meant for computer geeks to tinker with. It did very little–okay it did nothing. Still, it was exciting enough that the company that sold the Altair, MITS, couldn’t handle all the demand. Suddenly, a metal box with a few blinking lights was selling like hotcakes.

Within two years the IBM 5100 and Apple I were released, putting MITS out to pasture. Slowly, the need for well designed software came to light. Soon, the Graphical User Interface, Keyboards and Mice, Mac, Windows, and all the rest of it. And now, we have mass-market touch-based computing–Apps. To some they are the dumbest form of technology on the planet. They’re too easy to use. They’re casual. They’re like playing with elastic bands, flicking and scratching, rubbing and pushing. It’s the complexity of full productivity software, with the usability and ‘golly gee stupid simplicity’ of toy blocks.

Why is this the evolution of great software design? Is it just because Apple came out with the first sexy gotta have it touch screen phone? Or is it the goal, the destiny, of all great technologies that,to put it bluntly, idiots can use it. Continue reading →

“Borderless Economics”: World Peace, Nirvana and other Economic Models

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Author @TheEconomist

The thing that you have to understand about Economists is that they’re generally an optimistic bunch, but they’re really annoyed by the complications of…reality. They love models: models are perfect and simple. Because they omit externalities and oddities, they work perfectly. The simplest of models involve but two variables: wine and cheese, money and time, socks and shoes, and so on. As you progress further in your studies of the dismal science, you must heartbreakingly accept that in the real world, there is almost no application for a two-variable model.

It’s heartbreaking because in the sterile simplicity of Economics, the world works perfectly. Everyone who wants a job, has one; everyone who wants to borrow money, can; if you want time off work, you just work fewer hours. In the world of Economics we are all Utility Calculators, and we’re very good at what we do. We scan the job market for opportunities, spot them, and train to be the next Michael Jordan, Bill Gates, or Homer Simpson, depending our utility/salary demands (shockingly, no one ever chooses to be homeless, or a drug addict, or unemployed in this model).

In the world of Economic models, not only do we all have jobs, but we all have jobs that we’re good at, so we make a lot of money. On top of that, we enjoy our jobs. In other words, if you simplify the model enough, you can actually create the conditions for perfect Human Capital Allocation.

My point is this: there are a few differences between the skills in this world, and where they are most needed (likewise, the low-skill human labor, and where that’s needed). It’s just of a pain in the butt that these two groups can’t find each other more easily. If they could, so theorizes Robert Guest, we could solve most if not all of the world’s problems. In a perfect Economic World, every product has the perfect price, there is no Economic profit, and everyone is maximizing their happiness. How adorable. Continue reading →

“The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding” How to build a Reputation for your Company (and yourself) with Branding

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What is a brand? Is it a name? A logo? A funky design or attitude? A brand is a symbol for an idea. More specifically, a brandname is a word that can be uttered in any country, in any ‘language’ and mean the same thing. If a company is consistent and strong in repeating the same message over and over, in time, its brandname will become synonymous with an idea. If the company keeps changing its stripes, the name never catches on, and means nothing. McDonalds is about Family Food. Subway is about Fresh. Pepsi is about Fun. If you get really good at this, as a Brand Manager, and you create a brand new product and its name can describe an entire category. A few examples of unbeatable brandnames often mistaken for actual words:Xerox.Band-Aid.RollerBlade. Even the iPod for a time was the ‘placeholder’ word that meant ‘Digital Music Player’.

Moreover, brands are not only synonymous with ideas, they’re synonymous with colors. Again, this only works if, after decades of promotion, the company has been consistent:Coca Cola is Red. IBM is Blue. John Deere is Green

The list here is short, because frankly, many companies screw this up. They pick the wrong color. They don’t pick a color. They pick two colors. Pepsi, though a very successful company, foolishly picked Red and Blue as their colors when going up against the Red of Coca Cola (the leader in the market). Obviously, they should have just gone with deep Blue. They figured it out eventually, but they’re still stuck with a blue and red logo. Oops. Continue reading →

“21tiger Days” My Story of Graduating, Surviving, and Thriving in the New China

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Author: @21tigermike

“The Expat Era is over, you know. No more hand holding.”

These were the words of my Grad School advisor. Despite her warnings, a few years later, I’m still in China. Now and then people ask me about my first year, and I still look back on that time with fondness: everything was so new, so raw, and so free. If you’re working abroad, or thinking about it in future, definitely check out my true story of getting into, and surviving, China, and all the things I had to learn to make it happen.

21tiger Days includes:

  • The real narrative story, as well the critical ‘missing chapter’ Continuum that unifies all the previous books in a whole new light, multiplying their value immensely
  • 300+ pages covering all topics in the previous 21tiger books and tons of additional material,including the essay that started it all, and the origins of 21tiger
  • Completely redesigned layout and style, perfect for reading on a Kindle or other eReader

Get this book
Download $2.99 eBook
Download Free 21tiger Days Sample
(Don’t have an eReader yet? Click Here to check them out!) Continue reading →

“Innovator’s Dilemma” The Disruptive and Counterintuitive Path of Innovation

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Author @claychristensen

For decades, the United States has been the bastion of great Capitalist Innovation. With the American system, it was thought, you had the greatest chance to take a great idea to tremendous wealth and power. What does that really mean? It means having a great education system, a great financial system, and a great patent system. When you finally take your widget to the market, your accountant might even tap you on the shoulder and ask you about taking the company public. An IPO (Initial Public Offering). Taking the company public is a great way to motivate your employees (they can be paid in stock), and allows the company to grow rapidly in value, based on public perception. A few years later you’re issuing quarterly reports and the stock price is bouncing up and down based on the contents of that report. After a few years, the company begins to stall out: your widgets are more advanced than they ever were, but you latest model hasn’t done so hot in the market. Your loyal customers are content with last year’s model, so the growth prospects are middling, and the stock starts to slide.

What the hell just happened?

The Innovator’s Dilemma reveals the true source of groundbreaking and game-changing technologies, and why the Modern Corporate System works against real innovation. If you can understand why certain companies and entrepreneurs stall out, you can understand how to avoid it. Continue reading →

“Print is Dead” How Creative Professionals will Survive the Internet Tidal Wave

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Author @thatjeffgomez
I just wanted a book about the Publishing Industry. Okay, what I really wanted was an eBook about the Publishing Industry, published in the last five years. What I found was much, much, more.

The more you try to understand what’s happening to the Publishing industry, the more you start thinking about what’s already happened to the Music and Film industry. It’s all part of the same story.

The Internet = Disintermediation. Taking out the middle man. Here we are, in 2011. Gone are Tower Records and Blockbuster Movie rentals. Many of their competitors have been sold off, and everything (legal and illegal) is going digital, and put up on the web, to be shot between our phones, tablets and connected TVs. This is the dream, right? But if it means Artists aren’t making any money (so they quit making art, and become bankers) then what’s it all for? We need to understand how creative professionals (no matter what form their creativity takes) are going to deal with the onslaught of the Internet. Continue reading →