Sometimes I’m surprised by the “form factor” of digital media. For example, I rarely bother with podcasts that are under 30 minutes long, because I listen to them in the car.  Here’s how I consume digital media:

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When I decided to become a videographer, I had 1 passionate fan

Just watched Derek Sivers’ great video on leadership. It reminded me of when I decided to start a wedding video company.

I was young, 18 years old, and in my first year of college. Continue Reading →

Outdoor skating rink for every neighborhood

Note: this is an update on a blog post I originally wrote on Strongmaker.

Overall, the new neighbourhoods being built in Canada are poorly designed.  There are two factors at play:

1. We have lots of land, and so space is often abused
2. Most of our urban design comes from warmer climates

Here are ways to build a better Canadian neighbourhood: Continue Reading →

Louis CK sucks at social media

I just bought Louis CK’s new comedy special, Live at the Beacon Theater, online. I went to Louisck.com, slammed $5 PayPal dollars down on the counter, and I downloaded the 1.2GB of video from his site. Judging from the response on Twitter, thousands of other people have as well. Even the kids at Reddit are buying this thing. Continue Reading →

Most of us have, at some point, been in love with the idea of running a business.  For me, it was in college and wanting to run snowboard shop.  For others, it might be running their own coffee shop. We daydream about glass display cases, shiny fixtures, and fancy dishes. We can’t wait to “be our own boss” or “run our own thing.” But if that’s your focus, you shouldn’t go into business.

To run a business, you need to focus on your customers. Solving their problems, fulfilling their dreams.

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It all reminds me of the software business. The industry is obsessed with touting features while the public is obsessed an entirely different set of criteria: Does it solve my basic problems and is it easy to use? Does it make sense? Do I understand it?

The real lesson for me is this: People want the basics done well. Does it look good, does it feel good, is it comfortable, is it clear, is it easy? No matter what you’re selling, those seem to be the things that really matter. Get those right and you’ve got a great shot at building a successful product and business.
- Jason Fried

Meshwest in Edmonton

Yesterday I attended the Meshwest conference in Edmonton. Meshwest is a uniquely Canadian tech conference, birthed out of the Mesh conference in Toronto.

I think it’s a great conference, with a great concept. It’s biggest challenge is that most folks in Edmonton didn’t know about it, or understand what it was about, or who it was for.

What the hell is Mesh?

Mike McDerment, one of the organizers, compared Mesh to the TED talks: find the most interesting Canadians involved in technology and put them on stage. However, instead of delivering a keynote speech, the speakers are made accessible to the audience, who can start asking questions almost immediately. A moderator kicks things off with interview questions, but the best “Mesh moments” occur when the audience interacts with the speaker directly (or asks questions via Twitter). While a panel isn’t as dramatic as a keynote talk, the interaction between the host, the speaker and the audience is much more valuable.

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Design your support system

When you build a website or app, you design it.  This means making sketches and getting feedback, building mockups and having debates on what will be really important to the customer.

You have a great product; you’ve thought through, designed and tested every feature.  But when it comes to customer support, did you take the same amount of time and attention? Or did you just slap in a contact form?

A great customer experience = great product + great support

That’s the equation that works. Great product, but poor support? Your customers will love you until they reach out for help (at which point they will become bitter and resentful). Even worse: a bad experience will have the customer questioning why they pay you money.

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Latte from Credo in Edmonton

For me, productivity isn’t so much an even line as it is a series of peaks and valleys. Some days I’m on fire, and some days I don’t feel so hot. However, I am continually discovering habits and tools that make me more productive, and help to even out the ups and downs. Some of these might help you as well:

My 8 tips

1. Start work at 7am: Getting to the office at 7am gives me 1-2 hours of quiet, uninterrupted time before anyone else gets here.
2. Exercise at noon: Knowledge workers work all day, inside, at a desk. Getting out in the middle of day, moving my body, and sweating is the perfect remedy for our sedentary work habits.
3. Pack a lunch: I’ve found when I go out for lunch, I just feel gross: I eat too much, spend more time sitting, and skip the gym. When I pack a lunch, I try to throw in lots of veggies and fruits. At home, I wouldn’t be able to force myself to eat that much “healthy” food, but at work, it’s all I have to eat, so I munch away on carrots and apples all day.
4. Leave work around 3pm: I have my lowest energy levels from 3pm to 5pm. By configuring my workday this way, I’m able to give my “high energy” hours to focus on work.
5. Use a standing desk: I’ve been using this desk since February, and I’m never going back. I can choose a variety of positions: standing, leaning, sitting, standing with one foot up, etc… Plus, if I feel “stuck” on a problem, I just walk away. Not being confined to a desk is very freeing.
6. Use RescueTime: this app tracks how I spend my time while I’m at my computer (what apps I use, how much time I spend on Twitter) but also how much time I spend away from my computer (in meetings for instance). The stats don’t lie: having an accurate picture of how I spend my time is helping me make better decisions.
7. Use Basecamp: if I’m feeling stressed out about work, I usually procrastinate. Often, the reason I’m stressed out is that everything is undefined: what needs to be done? When is it due? Where are the assets for the project? Where are my notes? Basecamp helps me organize all of this: for each project I put in a start date, an end date, my notes, a todo list and any related files. Once my projects are in Basecamp, I can tackle each one, step by step.
8. I drink coffee: Seriously. Americano at 7am, coffee at 9:30am, and espresso or Americano at 3pm.

This is me with customer support rage

Update: I’ve created a follow-up to this post here.

I am employed by a software company.  Offering great customer support is baked into our culture. So when I go out and purchase other software services, I (foolishly) expect to receive the same level of service that we offer our customers.  And then reality slaps me in the face. This is the story of  my yesterday.

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