Return on Intention

Tmobile is the proud new papa of the G1, the first Android based phone for sale on a major network in America. Android is the linux-based open source platform created by Google for cell phones. So now Apple and Google both have a product in the market… so who’s is better?

Well, for style and cool factor of the user interface, the iPhone wins hands down. The G1 is an ugly phone, but hey, its only the first Android based phone, so give it some time. Both the iPhone and the G1 are both 3G phones, both have the real web through their webkit (safari) based browsers, both have push email (gmail only for the G1) and both have a chat style texting client. So far, there is no way to link the G1 to a computer, no list style voice mail, no GPS or cool two finger screen manipulation on the G1. Of course the G1 does have one thing the iPhone doesn’t, a full physical querty keyboard. 

Of course, at this point we are overlooking the most important part of both the iPhone and the G1 ( or more specifically Android), they are both open to developers. Android is a fully open project, but both Android and the iPhone have accessible SDKs. Any developer on the planet can now make an application for either or both systems, an application that no one else thought of. The cell phone is becoming democratized. With mobile adoption rates soaring and mobile connectivity becoming ubiquitous, the cell phone is becoming a true digital lifestyle assistant, and now it can be programmed for every lifestyle. 

Whether you are an iPhone lover of a Android zealot, remember that the best is yet to come.

When it comes to writing headlines, take your time and do it right. The headline is one of the most important parts of your blog posting because thats what people most often see in a search result to decide whether to click through and read your post or skip it and go on to a different one. 

I have been reminded of this fact again recently when I was checking the analytics on this blog to see what people are reading. My second most read post is this one - Would you sell your subscribers email address?

This post is not reaching the right people, as the number way people are finding it are by searching for “How to sell email addresses.” This group is obviously not the group that I’m trying to reach with this post, and this post is probably not what this group is looking for. The bounce rate for this post is in the high 80% range. Perhaps I should have titled it “How to piss off your customers”, or “The fastest way to lose your customers trust”… but alas, there it is. Think about your headlines and make sure they are sending the message you want your audience to receive. 

To make good on the promise on this headline, go check out this post from CopyBlogger entitled 10 sure-fire headline formulas that work- they got it right on.

Its amazing to me that I have been in New Mexico for over 5 years and it was only recently that I found that there is intelligent life in the web community. Today was the first ABQ web geeks meetup that I attended, and after this last weekends barcamp, I am happy to report that there is a good, smart web community in New Mexico. 

I was astounded that around 40 people showed up to O’Neils Pub on Central Ave tonight from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. There they were, real web folks. Some were shop owners, some were with start-ups, some were employees, but all were on top of their game. There wasn’t a table based layout in sight. I even heard that a large NM ad agency is working studiously to get their design department up to speed on the web. That may not sound huge, but for NM its a good step in the right direction.

Maybe its just me, still high from the excitement of a thriving community, but I think its time for another sprint. A big one. Keep your eyes peeled at the ABQ web geeks community at Duke City Fix, the Refresh Albuquerque Google group and this blog for more information. 

I would love to see this sprint take on not one, but two or three non-profit websites in a weekend. Get ready…. This is going to be good.

This isn’t my official post BarCamp post, but it will have to do for now. My router was in use throughout barcamp, so when I got home at night I had no internets. I haven’t really had a chance to blog about barcamp, post flickr photos or anything else and now that the event is over, I’m sick. I guess I should be thankful that I got through at least half of BarCamp before getting sick, but it now leaves me feeling completely drained and fuzzy headed. So, I will have to write a meaningful post later, but in short, BarCamp Albuquerque Rocked. I am super happy with how it all turned out. I have hours of audio to go through, and I will publish what came through as I get them done. I have a lot of crazy deadlines right now, so please be patient, but until I return, watch this… again (this isn’t new, but still great).

Apple released the new itunes this week, and the key feature to watch is “genius”. In the new itunes, select a track and press the genius button (the little atom icon) and you will get a playlist from your music collection that go great with the track you picked. When you have a music library as a large as my business partner Daniel Lyons does, this feature works out really well. Of course, there is another side to the story that is good for people looking for new music, and for Apple.

The genius feature can also give you a list of the songs that will go great with your selection that you don’t own yet, but with an apple id, you can buy them in one click. From what we tested today, there are a lot of songs that Dan needs . . . and each one is only 99 cents away. I think I hear a “cha-ching” off in the distance… to the west… from southern california… 

There is a concept in software development (at least web development) called agile that seems to be part of a larger trend. First lets talk about agile, then the trend.

In traditional web development, you sit down with a client and try and plan out a huge project. This can take months, going back and forth over what it really needs to do, how it needs to do it and so on. What you end up with a giant planning document and estimate that spells out what is going to happen. Many clients like it because it gives them a solid number they can attach to the project and budget for. It is all very rigid and if something changes a barrage of paperwork follows to ensure that the original document and budget is adjusted to reflect the changes. This is all about control and a clear map. Then there is agile.

Agile works like this, you set up a really rough plan of what you want, then the developers go and start building. Then you get back together and decide what is good or bad and go back to work. Rinse and repeat. The theory is that you can get a project developed faster because your not trying to guess how everything will work and plan it all out. You’re making it up as you go (at least the developmental details). Essentially you take all the planning time and exchange for actual development and testing of concepts. This is all about flexibility. All in all this seems to work, and get projects done in about the same budget range but usually faster, or better.

This seems to be part of a larger common theme. We used to all have to go to an office and punch a clock, but now there are a lot of telecommuters and “I don’t care when you work, just so long as it gets done on time”. A closer example for me is this years BarCamp Albuquerque. BarCamp is a volunteer run conference driven by and for a specific community. Traditional conferences are set up in advance and planned to death. They have to be. You have to get a venue, speakers, food and on and on. When the date for the conference is set the year prior, thats it. If you have something else going on, the conference is not going to change dates to accommodate you. BarCamp did.

BarCamp’s date was set two months prior to the event. It was also set on a holiday weekend. (That was my fault. I didn’t notice). After the conference was “full” in a few weeks, the “registered” attendees started to unregister in waves. Apparently they noticed it was a holiday weekend and had other plans. BarCamp moved back two weekends to accommodate, and the attendees came back. A traditional conference would not and could not do that.

It seems that being flexible is the way in which we all want to work now. We are all busy and have to juggle many different things. I hear work life balance is one of them, but I wouldn’t know about that, owning a small business :). Take a minute to consider the ways you do business. Are there steps in your process that are inflexible? What would happen if you changed it? How much planning do you do? How often does it go according to plan?

I’m not suggesting that you drop everything your doing and fly by the seat of your pants. I am suggesting you take a good look at how you operate and ask a few tough questions. Like in web development, most often big up front design specifications are only done to create an airtight contract. What good is an airtight contract? It allows you to nail someone who screws you over. Think about that…. is that the right way to engage in business? Yes we need to reduce risk, and yes we need contracts, but at what level and cost? Perhaps the right approach is one based more on collaboration. A process that is based more on getting things right and taking a few risks, not trying to guess how everything will go to the letter and have enough ass-coverage to go to court. No plan ever survives contact with real people, so why do we try so hard?

So what?

I can’t tell you how to live your life or run your business, but consider:

What (illusions of) control can you give up to make your life / business better or faster?

When hiring a web developer (or other profession) have you done enough research / due diligence to make a decision based on them and their capabilities? (rephrase) - Are you hiring them for what could be (making real value for the organization and market) , or what shouldn’t be (with a plan for when they screw up)?

Just some thoughts - there is a comment section, What’s your take?

Google launched "Chrome" - their new web browser today. This is pretty exciting for web developers, as the speed of chrome is way faster than any other browser. Here is the speed report according to cnet.

There is a really cool story behind chrome that google has here . Its in comic book form which I think is great because they break down some of the technology into graphics that are easier for non-web junckies to understand. Its even better that the whole initiative is open source. Any other browser can use some of the real innovations that google has come up with. Why? As google put it, "We live on the internet". Their economic engine is tied to people using the web. The better their web experience the more they will use the web. Better browsers = better internet.  It makes great sense for them, more than trying to create another source of revenue from yet another web browser.

There isn’t a mac version yet, so I had to borrow my sons Vista laptop to see it in action. (I know, I can’t beleive he bought a windows machine either.) So far, its really awsome. If you run Vista, go download it here .