Important this post was written in and an on a for 1999 .... now the post is here - it is probably irrelevant.

Making some notes to myself about 1999 experiences.

CSS

I am slowly restyling the site - but stuck on why I can't seem to alter the size of the body copy on a story page like this - without also affecting the size of the body copy on the river. In other words - I am happy with the size of the text on the river - but want to take down the size of the copy on the story page. How do I do that?

And CRACKED ... One down - a few more to go

Archives

You can find my Archives, but - what I am stuck on is why only the last two months are showing up.

Writing this in October and I can see October - BUT anything prior to September or even August is not showing up. Yet.

And now I am in November - that month is working September and before is failing. And now I know why. Known issue - so at least I can put it to bed and know that it is not me!

Of course if I knew how to make this work - I could fix it !

Home Page

Really want to add some welcome text and a Google search ... thinking.

Text Alignment

I have been spending an inordinate amount of time on alignment. 

The river on the home page works just fine, fine size as I want it - centered, balanced, aligned - EXCEPT where is that grey line coming from?  I want to remove it - tried every possible variation that I can find ... donuts.

Fixed - good friend Tony and all round whizz took about a nano second to tell me that ...

The offending css class is: .divBlogPostList (line 162 of ‘styles.css’ ) and the offending css rule attached to the class is: s is border: 1px solid gainsboro;
Simply remove the offending rule or change it to: border: 0 solid gainsboro;

Only thing left is when you click through to a story - why is there a large gap on the right hand side - why is the post not balanced like on the main river?

Managed to move it over  - now there is a gutter on the left. Not right - but it looks better.

I don't get it - I sent in my $39 - and I still can't speak German. The iMore headline specifically reads :   

Digital Offers: Learn a new language for just $39!       

Turns out that the devil is in the detail. I also have to spend time!

We all live in the attention economy. And part of that is that as the price of 'stuff' continues to tumble, mainly because the supply/demand curves continue to give us more and more for less and less, it turns out that the time we have to devote to stuff is just the same.

Consider that the average life span of a US resident in 2012 was slightly under 79 years. That is roughly 690 thousand hours. Total. Tops. You get to choose how you spend that time.

Some of it will be spent doing work, then you have eating, sleeping, working out, socializing ... stands to reason that your 'disposable time' is something a lot less.

Now, how do you value your time? Starbucks values their Barista's at $11 an hour.

There are lawyers who charge their clients thousands an hour. 

We also know that to learn Spanish has a minimum commitment of 134 hours (since that is the number of hours of lesson time this fine product comes with.) Of course - it could be more. But let's go with 134.

So, for a lawyer to learn Spanish there is a minimum lost opportunity cost of $147,400 - but as a Barista it's only $1474. 

I think there is a big opportunity for Barista's to learn a foreign language. It's a low base price and the lost opportunity cost of time commitment is negligible - and with the language learnt, more horizon's open. A lawyer ? Not so much. They will probably take a 'language as a service' approach - something that we used to call a Translator. 

I wonder how many ex Starbuck's baristas are now translators?

Excellent read if you at all care about the F**D up world of Marketing....

Gartner’s recent Hype Cycle for Digital Marketing and Advertising (2016) saw attribution sliding down the Peak of Inflated Expectations deeper into the Trough of Disillusionment. According to Gartner, reasons for the descent range from unrealistic expectations to vendor hype. In contrast, old-fashioned, aggregate data-based marketing mix modeling was considered to remain in the Plateau of Productivity.

Read All About It and get a better look at the cartoon that explains why this failed thinking continues despite all logic.

Apple didn’t launch a crappy product, they launched devices which still are the best option on the market. Which still have top notch industrial design. Which still have the best operating system. Which still have the best third party apps on any desktop platform. Which are still the best option for most people in the world. And frankly, if you can’t see that, then you need to go buy a non-Mac laptop and see for yourself how bad it truly is.

Ben Brooks. Drops Mic. Walks Off.

Ian Duncam Smith's  single point - The British Government needs to level the playing field when it comes to Uber and The Black Cabs.

In my view about this is that it is an unfair market. I've talked to a lot of black cab drivers. They are under huge restrictions, they have to have as special kind of car, they have to have a special space, they have to have disability ramps, they have to be above board, they have to pay all their tax.

I think for the most part they are pretty brilliant. The reality is that it is not a fair market , because the Uber lot don't do any of that.

Said it before - and I will say it again .... solving first world problems in San Francisco does not a Global business make.

Click through to watch the video.

Great Article From Brian Solis.

Turns out that the problem companies have with 'Customer Experience' is silos ... again !

Each group inadvertently contributes to a disconnected approach to CX because they’re attempting to solve one part of the customer’s journey and experience from their silo. Yet, customers don’t see departments, they see one brand.

and guess what ... it is

the customer who owns the customer experience.

and on this ...

There’s an Uber of everything on the horizon of every business and digital transformation is the best defense and offense to compete in a digital economy.

... I totally agree. That's why I bang on about platforms all the time.

BTW - this article also resonated, because of the similarities to the question of who owns Customer Data? Answer ... the same person who owns the Customer Experience. Why? Because I Am My Own System Of Record.

If the soundtrack is not Tangerine Dream - whoever it was must have been inspired by them.

via Kottke

I've commented on Mr. Scoble before. And I am going to do it again. This just in.

In it Robert talks about 'Mixed Reality'. Say what?

Ok - I am guilty of trying to mess around with the terms we use ... like here for example. BUT ... it was a suggestion.

Mixed realty is a thing, the question is whether the 'person in the street' is going to get it? I am not so sure.

Can you explain the difference? OK - now read the article. Can you now? 

I think the differentiation is subtle. Not only that, but the cynic in me says that we will start using 'mixed' because nobody understands the word 'augmented'.

I also happen to think that Augmented Reality will have a much wider use and acceptance than Virtual or Mixed Reality, both initially - and for some time to come.

You might not know this ... but

The islands of Hawaii are the world’s epicenter for GMO testing. According to the Center for Food Safety, “In 2014 alone, 178 different GE field tests were conducted on over 1,381 sites in Hawai’i (vs. only 175 sites in California). Herbicide-resistance was the most frequently tested trait in GE crop field tests.” This means that this ancient farmland is regularly sprayed by massive quantities of dozens of types of pesticides (sometimes in combinations never before tried) on experimental GMO seeds to see what survive

With the closing of the Maui sugar mill this year, I am personally worried about now that new found land is going to be utilized. Particularly knowing this ....

In 2014, the Maui County government refused to implement a new law—the GMO Moratorium ballot initiative—passed to regulate GMO and pesticide test farms in Maui. Instead, the Maui County attorney working alongside agrochemical industry lawyers, was authorized to strike a deal that invalidated the public health-focused GMO Moratorium. A deal that then was converted into a “order” from a Federal Judge - giving everyone involved politically the desired result, as well as needed political cover.

Thankfully we have people like Alika Atay ...

Candidates like Alika Atay, the barrel chested, thunderous-voiced leader of Hawaii’s emerging Aina Protectors United movement, an organic farmer and an outspoken Native Hawaiian, are fighting back.

Read All About It.

... and even more here.

Building on the happiness monk - watch the video here, 

I just discovered this link ...

Happiness is when your life fulfills your needs

Lovely analogy 

I like to think of each of us like one of those big recording studio mixer boards, the ones with all the sliding controls and knobs, some of which interact with each other, some working separately, all working together to produce the final product. We’re like that. Each knob and slide may be set a particular way, the way that produces the person we are. Each of us is like the same model of mixer board, let’s call it Homo Sapiens 1. We each have the same knobs and sliders but we each have them set a bit differently.

If you know me, you know I ramble on about Platforms. They are very specific things. I love the writing and work of Sangeet Paul Choudary.

He Highlights ..

1. scalable gatekeeping
2. spare capacity
3. aggregating highly fragmented markets
4. transparency to help buyers and sellers understand each other better
5. creating intelligence for increased efficiency

... as the 5 key aspects that are unique to platforms - and IMHO - why they will win.

Read All About It.

I attended VRM day yesterday down at The Computer History Museum. More of that to come. But one of my new friends mentioned an ‘alternative’ guide to Silicon Valley.

It really is rather good and I particularly liked the line;

Silicon Valley is more of a state of mind than a physical location.

Of course, I knew of Mr. Blank - and so, spent a little time wandering around his site and re-discovered;

The Customer Development Manifesto

• There Are No Facts Inside Your Building, So Get Outside
• Pair Customer Development with Agile Development
• Failure is an Integral Part of the Search for the Business Model
• If You’re Afraid to Fail, Your’e Destined to Do So
• Iterations and Pivots are Driven by Insight
• Validate Your Hypotheses with Experiments
• Success Begins with Buy-In from Investors and Co-Founders
• No Business Plan Survives First Contact with Customers
• Not All Startups Are Alike
• Startup Metrics are Different from Existing Companies
• Agree on Market Type. It Changes Everything
• Fast, Fearless Decision-Making, Cycle Time, Speed and Tempo
• If it’s not About Passion, You’re Dead the Day You Opened your Doors
• Startup Titles and Functions Are Very Different from a Company’s
• Preserve Cash While Searching. After It’s Found, Spend
• Communicate and Share Learning Startups Demand Comfort with Chaos and Uncertainty

Who am I to find fault with the summary. Why would I ? So, capturing for posterity.

Footnote:

(My friends business)

I clicked on that link on 25th October, 2018 …and sadly, gone, as of October 7th 2018. Time to investigate.

I have never understood why Apple hasn't really used the RoI story to sell its Macs. I have long held that although the initial Apple purchase is high - when you examine what comes with it - and how little support you need - and if it does - Apple will just help you .... it is an absolute no brainer.  

IBM found that not only do PCs drive twice the amount of support calls, they’re also three times more expensive. 

Read All About It.

Me - apparently I bought my first Mac 15 years ago. I know that because that was when Apple launched the iPod - which only worked with the Mac. I am such a music nut - I wanted the iPod - and bought the Mac to make it work. Within two years I had left Windows completely behind at a personal level. One year after that, my business side also moved on. 

In the corporate environment, if they insist I use a PC - I don’t work for them. It isn't just pendanticism (is that a real word), it is because that attitude reflects a deeper problem in the culture of the company.

I wrote about it here ... although I don't call out the Mac / PC issue specifically.

If you track my stuff you will know that there are a couple of consistent threads that run through my writing.

1] VRM - an initiative that emerged throughs the work of Doc Searls. VRM is an acronym for 'Vendor Relationship Management' - basically the flip side of CRM. It wonders how do 'we the people' manage our relationships with vendors? It all ties into my own thoughts of being 'My own System of Record' - that you might have heard me expound on.

2] The Impact of Technology on Publishing - that I wrote about here, amongst many other places.

Dave Wrote This Today.

Doc Wrote This Today ( in a discussion group that I belong to )

Dave just posted this. Interesting angle. Or angles. For those who don’t know, Dave is the father or co-father of outlining, presentation software, blogging, RSS, podcasting and much more. BTW, my original blog was on Dave’s first blogging platform. And my latest blog is on his newest one.

The world is highly connected.

Tomorrow (Monday) - I get to hang with The Doc and 100 of his 'closest friends' at The Computer History Museum - a twice yearly 'VRM Day' - that he hosts in preparation of IIW.

30 Days. 30 Songs.

“A playlist of songs that Donald Trump will hate.”

'The Washington Post'

This one is number 13 - it is called 'little failure' - which is interesting - because 'Trumpette' probably would see that as a bigger insult than 'big failure'.

One per day coming out up until the election. If you like Moby, REM, Aimee Mann, Death Cab for Cutie - I think you might enjoy.

I mean - really enjoy!!

Music to blow your mind too. 

One guy. One guitar and a little bit of looping.

I often find myself reading that Apple has lost its ability to innovate. Most recently demonstrated by the fact that because the iPhone 7 looks like the iPhone 6 and 6S - then no innovation has occurred under the hood. This I lay firmly at the feet of analysts, writers and pundits who clearly have little understanding of what

• innovation
• technology or
• design

actually is.

John Gruber has long commented on Porsche’s 70 year old iconic design as basically the same as it always has been, yet nobody would ever accuse Porsche of lacking innovation. This post just last month being a clear indication of his thinking.

Delighted therefor to see Om Malik weighing in today in The New Yorker.

“If you’re a fan of reading the Apple tea leaves to see what it’s going to do next, and in turn how it will influence the industry, then the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are the most interesting iPhones ever.” Apple’s iPhone 7 devices are truly computing monsters—the iPhone 7 is said to outpace some Macs, not to mention other phones. Its core processor is forty per cent faster than its predecessor and a hundred and twenty times faster than the original iPhone. The iPhone 7 internals are able to do complex and intensive computing tasks right on the device, instead of trying to send them to the cloud for heavy lifting."

Read all about it.

Oh - and while I am about it - Brian Solis on Iteration versus Innovation. Nice.

.. the original post was called 6 Steps to Marketing Automation Success. 

Further to this post, while my mind is in that frame I came across a post from the inimitable Nathan Yau - over at Flowing Data. He does great work. 

Beyond the point I made in the prior post, there is something else. Data - despite what you might think when you look at the paucity of data that is getting shared in the current US Presidential race. Data is everywhere. It just needs to be freed,

Data mind you. Data ... not Opinion.

Nathan takes data a step further and often provides a way that emotionally connects with the view - essentially allowing those two half brains of ours to connect. Take this one ......to share data - you can use a line chart - like the one at the top of the post ...

... or you can engage, embrace, bond with and tap into the viewer directly with a video.

The shockingness of 2008 to 2010 is palpable.

Read All About It.