How Do You Take Your Coffee?

I applied for a writing job today and they asked for a 300 word sample. It took me more time than I'd like to admit because I've gotten into such a nice flow of writing for myself this past two weeks that I had to remember to follow the guidelines.  I think I started over completely twice. Which in retrospect isn't that bad, it's just not something I run into very often with blogging. But it was fun to feel the pressure again. There is something deep within me that changes when I have a time constraint. I could say it forces me to find the right words, but it's more of a pulling feeling. A lack of control, yet total control at the same time.

As I mentioned earlier, it doesn't always get done in one go (there's something wrong with you if you don't review your own work and tear it to shreds a few times) but when the words finally fall into place, you can feel it.

Don't get too excited, it's just 300 words on coffee :)

Here were the guidelines:

Topic: How to make your favorite coffee/tea

Audience: Someone looking for a new kind of coffee/tea

Key points to cover: What is your favorite coffee/tea, how to choose, how to make it, pros/cons of this approach. Length: 300 words.

Voice and tone guidelines:

• Honest: Sensitive but not sappy, responsive but not alarmist.
• Direct: To the point. Strive for clarity and directness by not adding complexity or unnecessary commentary (i.e. fluff).
• Confident: Professional but not formal. Never sarcastic. Speak with authority, but be open to other opinions.
• Accessible: Conversational but not intimate. Use plain language, but don’t erase technical language completely or talk down--we educate instead.

***

Sizzling hot or ice cold, it doesn’t matter what season it is, one thing remains true: Americans love coffee. According to a recent study by the National Coffee Association we drink over 382 million cups a day!

So how do you take your coffee?

Chances are you’re looking to switch things up. You’re aware of the many amazing health benefits coffee provides, but you also realize that popular drinks like the Caramel Mocha Frappuccino can contain upwards of 600 calories per serving. For those of you looking for a new way to take your coffee, I have a radical new suggestion: black.

Not only is it the simplest and quickest way to take your coffee, it’s the healthiest. A new study called the “2015 dietary guidelines” released by the FDA states that 3­-5 cups of coffee a day are okay, as long as you don’t add cream, milk, or sugar.

If you don’t like the taste of black coffee making the switch could be difficult, it’s an acquired taste. I would suggest starting off with iced coffee. Not only is it drinkable year round, you can have your barista add a half an ounce of nonfat milk and toss in a few Splenda’s for flavoring. Just be sure you don’t go overboard, the whole point is to slowly but surely ween yourself off of all the artificial sweeteners and calorie dense milk. For those of you that shudder at the thought of iced coffee, attempt to engage your sense of smell when sipping your morning Joe. Slow sips and careful appreciation for the smell of the roasted beans will make each sip go down easier as you feel the caffeine hit your system in a way that only black coffee can.

***

300 words on coffee. Delicious. 

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Google Photos Tip

After my post last night titled Google, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon I was riding a wave of energy and decided it would be a good idea to organize my Google Photos.

Yes, that was how I spent my Saturday night.

Imagine the horror on my face when I realized that all of the old blog post images I'd deleted from my personal Google photos also resulted in the removal of the photos from each of these blog posts on #Advertising | #Perspective.

So instead of spending today finishing one of the other posts I have in drafts, I wanted to pass along this tip so you can learn from my mistakes and avoid this issue for yourself in the future.

It makes sense now that I think about it. Blogger is a free blogging platform, a perk for writers who choose to use it, but a huge cost to Google when it comes to hosting all of their content. Apparently their solution was to bake photo and video content into your personal Google account, the one that you use for Gmail, YouTube, Google Drive, etc. The photos and videos are stored as part of your free 15 gigs that come standard for anyone who signs up for a Gmail account. Compare this with Apple iCloud's 5 free gig's and Microsoft's answer in the form of office.com and a universal Microsoft login that also provides 15 free gigs.

Each company has strengths and weaknesses: Apple is strong in Product Design, Google was first to have a widely adopted free file sharing system (Google Docs), and Microsoft has always been the strongest player in the enterprise software game which has allowed it to create adopt of it's product through force and routine.

I'm an Apple fan because I believe they believe in design first. I believe they do the best job of their competitors when it comes to creating elegant product and user experience design. But I really love Google docs ease of accessibility and find it pretty awesome that Microsoft has put all of it's Office products online for free (which is basically a more robust version of Google docs now that I think of it)...But everyone has Gmail email accounts...which makes it easier to share Google docs. What I would really like to see happen, is for Apple to move it's applications to the cloud and give users more than 5 gigs of free space. If they did that, I would be all in on Apple (I would require an update to all of the products as well).

Until then, I think I'll continue using Google Drive and all of it's features and Office.com for the random times I need Word (which only seems to happen these days when I'm dealing with someone who only uses Microsoft products). But as far as things go in regards to devices, I'm still open to suggestions. Currently using iphone/macbook.

So I spent a good hour or two today going back through my trash and finding the photos I deleted in order to add them back to their original posts.

Lesson learned.

Google, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon

I use Google for gmail, Google docs, Google apps for business, and most recently, Google photos (which automatically uploads any photo I take on my Apple iPhone and stores it in Google photos).

I have an Apple iPhone and Apple Macbook Pro.

I use Amazon Prime as my source for books and food I don't want to go to the store for...And because I have a Prime membership, I get access to Prime instant video and Amazon Prime Music.

And Microsoft, well, I grew up on a PC. Mac's in the computer lab at school, but PC's at home and in High School. The computer lab's of the late 90's were a magical place. All of those brightly colored iMac's humming in synchrony.

I believe 7th and 8th grade I was laptop-less, just like the rest of my friends. Sleep overs were spent huddled around the family desktop playing games and illegally downloading as many gigs as we could get our greedy little hands on. It wasn't until 2003 when I went to Shattuck St. Mary's that I got my own laptop. The school was a part of a computer literacy program being funded by Gateway. The computers came in white boxes with black spots, like cows. Remember that? For some reason Gateway had a thing for cows.

It was a big deal back then, to be 14 and have unlimited access to the internet. I remember emailing friends in class. The IT staff eventually figured out how to shut off AIM during the day and after lights out, but there was always one kid who could figure out how to hack in and make it work (Thanks Max). Those days spent emailing in class seem oddly familiar to what I see happening in offices now...People coming to meetings with laptops open and phones on the table. I couldn't fool my teachers back then and you definitely can't fool me now. I wish everyone (who doesn't absolutely need to have them open) would put the tech away in meetings. 

As soon as I hit college I asked for a Macbook. I guess Gateway's attempt to hook me from a young age didn't work...Mac's were just too cool. 

And I still don't know why...which brings us back to the story about Google Microsoft, Apple, and Amazon. 

My current Macbook is almost 5 years old. I'm due for a new one, but haven't had to buy one because the kind people I've worked for over the last 4 years have always been generous enough to provide me with one. 

Now I find myself in Seattle. My recent transition, which is still in progress, has put me in an interesting position to reexamine the market and my choices. Something I haven't had the opportunity to do in a long time. 

Trying to understand what I mean? Okay, well ask yourself this, 'What computer do you use at work? What operating software? What tools do you use to manage your time? Your contacts? Your music?" 

Now I'll ask you: Are they your first choice? Would you really buy a Lenovo if it was up to you? 

I didn't think so. 

All of a sudden I found myself at U-Village near the University of Washington standing in an Apple store, staring across the parking lot at a Windows store. Things look a lot differently when you're paying the full price tag yourself. So I sauntered out of the Apple store and into the Windows store. I was pretty blown away at what they had to offer for the price point. The Surface Pro 3 seems pretty legit for a toy to keep around the house if your employer is footing the bill for your work computer, but then again, maybe it's just all of those Russell Wilson commercial's speaking to me subliminally. But what was especially awesome, that I can't believe I didn't know about, is office.com. I've been using Google docs so long I didn't even know you could access Microsoft Word for free online. 

I feel like I've been woken up from a horrible nightmare where I've been making all of my purchase decisions based off of stock prices, only to realize that my nightmare is true, and even worse, I finally understand how irrational the Market really is. 

Everyone you talk to is on a different side. And everyone that works in the stores are getting paid to tell you their company and it's solutions are the best. 

I wish this was a blog post with some closure, but I'm sorry, it's not. I'm just getting started. And I feel like I'm back at the beginning. Sitting in that dim old computer lab, wondering which computer is really the best. 

Do I go full Google and get a Chromebook and Andriod phone and watch TV on Chromecast? Or the Amazon Fire Stick, a Kindle and Prime? Do I stick with Apple and continue over paying for things I don't even use? 

In a world where we're told that technology is supposed to make things easier for us, this sure is difficult. 

The difficult part is that it's all subjective. And the next time I step into an office I'm sure they'll have an operating system that they'll want me to use. I think the work place maintains a stronger hold on our technology habits than we realize, and as the lines between work and life continue to blend, completely eroding the idea of work-life balance into a singular existence, my advice to the tech companies battling for our allegiance is this: Everything is going to come down to the details and design. 

I'm extremely interested to see who will win the race to create their own entire ecosystem. 

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The Consumer Internet

If the Internet was really just the Internet, then why would Reed Hoffman, the Founder of LinkedIn, call the Internet "The Consumer Internet" in his book The Start Up of You?

(Great book btw, definitely check it out if you haven't had a chance yet).

I'll tell you why. Because anything that you read on the Internet for free...is an opinion piece. This included. I was toying with the idea of calling all free media and content propaganda, but only with the intention of inciting some type of visceral reaction from you. Regardless, I don't think propaganda is too far from the truth, but I'll stick with "opinion pieces" and give the rest of the journalists out there a break.

Unless you're willing to pay for your media consumption habits, like the Wall Street Journal, or the Harvard Business Review, you seriously need to consider taking everything with a grain of salt.

We're even beginning to openly acknowledge, in the form of a running joke it seems, that wikipedia is flawed at times. I just heard a Podcast with Tim Ferris where he and the guest chuckled at the idea of trusting their Wikipedia bios. All I'm saying is that in a world of on-demand free content we need to remember why humans created 'barriers to entry' in the first place. My comments have nothing to do with who should be allowed to consume content and everything to do with paying people for their art.

And a lot of the time, picking up a book is a lot better use of your time than opening a new tab.

Just because something CAN take up your attention, doesn't mean that it should. Remember to ask yourself how things make you feel. "Was this worth my time?" But even more importantly "When I put down that book, or when I close that tab, do I feel inspired?"

There are so many things that inspire me on a daily basis...but the internet...doesn't seem to be one of them. Then again, I guess I don't really read on the internet. It all just seems to fly by, like the boy in the image at the top of the post. Clicking from one page to the next as though there is something I need to get to faster, quicker....when I really need to be slowing down. Thinking things through. Asking myself the tough introspective questions I posed above...

There is a consumer internet. And a creator internet. Which one do you want to be a part of? 

When Will Marketers Talk About Attention, Not Impressions?

I came across a blog post from Gary Vaynerchuk this week that I've been waiting to share with you. His blog post covers a topic that he actually discusses quite frequently, the idea of attention rather than impressions.

The advertising/marketing community, or anyone that really knows what they're doing, for example a small business owner who manages their own PPC ads, knows that the system is flawed. They know that 10%, 20%, even up to 50% of their digital marketing budget is going to circle the toilet bowl; wasted due to improper reporting, fraud, and a variety of other flaws in the marketing/advertising ecosystem that we're too quick to sweep under the rug. Or as Gary says:

"The entire marketing world is obsessed with impressions. You might hear someone say "40,000 people saw this video." But the truth is, they didn't. They didn't because as soon as the ad came up in video form, they clicked away to a new tab to look at something they actually wanted to see. But they count as an impression. They count as "seeing it."

And he's right.

We're too quick to accept impressions as a industry wide metric because it allows us to keep reporting these massive numbers to our clients who in turn continue to pay us.

But we should be smarter than that. And people like Gary are smarter than that.

If you're video got viewed 1 million times, but no one watched more than 10% of it, you probably missed the mark with the creative.

We need to measure attention because the simple fact is attention (read as: time focused) has become our most precious commodity.

1) The way we spend our time 2) Who we spend it with...those are the two most important things that will determine the outcome of our lives.

And it's not like it's rocket science to get the attention data, it's sitting there for you in google your Google Analytics.

But before we get any deeper, the purpose of this particular post is to share Gary's article with you as well as my response, a comment on his site that I've taken a screen shot of and shared below.

Read: When Will Marketers Talk About Attention, Not Impressions?

My comment:

The reality is: The reason YouTube is such a success is because the content lives and dies by the sword of attention. People either watch your videos or they don't. If advertisers and marketers would approach their creative with the same intensity (mindset), they'd be more apt to produce higher quality work. Ultimately saving clients money in the long run while building a stronger brand (advertisements....shouldn't look like ads anymore). We see this happening already on the creative side with brands like Red Bull that just seem to get it. I mean, come on, they literally just show us dope clips from extreme sports athletes to sell us an energy drink that even THEY admit tastes horrible unless chilled to the perfect temperature. And we also see brands like Taco Bell extorting every last oz out of social media attention hotspots to further their cause. Taco Bell is disgusting. But I still like/respect the brand. I have no idea why. A little reminder that we don't think rationally 100% of the time. And that the correct use of media truly can sway the public.

Finally, if you're an entrepreneur or aspiring entrepreneur and you haven't seen this video....thank me later. Stop what you're doing or set aside 45 minutes this weekend for a life changing (SUPER REAL) one-way conversation with Gary Vaynerchuk.

Gary Vaynerchuk | USC Entrepreneur Talk | 2015

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How do you measure the success of your work as a Digital PR?

Someone asked me this questions the other day and here was my response.

This is in regards to digital, but some of it applies to tradition as well:

The KPI's will always guide the work, so it depends on the project and what the sales/account management teams have worked out with the client, but some things that I hold in high regard are: 

-How many placements? (how many published articles)

-How many links (only count if they are "followed") 

-Did the placement of content result in a positive brand mention?

-Has my work strengthened our clients confidence in our companies ability to complete the outlined campaign? Difficult and time sensitive projects?  

-How much added value did we provide on top of the requirements for the completion of the campaign? 

It's not much, but it doesn't have to be complicated. In fact, it shouldn't be. Need some icing on the cake? Dig into your Google analytics and find a way to use the growth you've achieved to paint a beautiful picture for you client. Perception is just as important as reality. Especially doing digital PR. 

If you wanted to get more detailed, you could even look at the acquisition cost of a new users and pitch the client on the overall value you've provided. 

The hard work and hustle that you put into building relationships with publishers will only pay off if your able to effectively communicate (to your clients) the value that you've provided. 

Why you must start today

If you do not start today, you can always start tomorrow.

But if you start tomorrow, what's stopping your from starting the day after? And the day after that?

You've heard this before. I won't waste your time with an honest plea. Or tell you that you should live in fear of getting left in the dust.

But what if I told you, that if you do not start tomorrow, you might not have the same perspective five years down the road?

And what if I told you, that your complete lack of experience, the one thing holding you back, is the best thing you have going for you?

If you don't start today, the struggles you're facing will go unresolved not only for you, but for the millions of people who are undoubtedly facing the same struggles, now and in the future.

There's a reason going back and reading the pages of your old diary evoke so much emotion. You aren't just reading the pages, you're reliving them. You're reliving the emotions and feelings that you had the day the words poured out of your soul and onto the paper. Tear drops and all. That level of authenticity is irreplaceable, you can't mimic it or make it up.

The people that are facing the same struggles you faced all those years ago will recognize your pain (or pleasure) and connect with your genuine authenticity instantaneously. Not to sound corny, but you could save a life. Forget the intended consequences. You can't set out to save a life with a blog post or a drawing or a screen play, you have to do it for yourself. But that doesn't mean that something you create today won't connect with a kid half way around the world in 10 years. Yes, I'm talking about time travel folks. Doesn't that get you excited?

The perspective you have today is powerful. It is also fleeting. You'll never have it again. You will learn new lessons and as you experience life your perspective will continue to grow and change each day. So if you do not start today, how will you remember who were yesterday? How far you've come. And who you want to become tomorrow?

Is you life a powerful narrative? One you're in control of? Or a blank slate, like waking up from a blackout. Unsure of what's happened or what today holds, bending to the will of chance and circumstance. Wasting your time by partaking in whatever comes your way.

Our lives are very short when we compare them to the scale of the Cosmos. Even if you wrote one blog post a day for 100 years, or painted one picture a day for 100 years, you'd end up with less than 40,000 pieces of work. 36,524.2 to be exact.

(I googled "how many days in 100 years?" The answer: 36,524.2)

That makes me extremely uncomfortable. Because it's not nearly enough.

The level of success that you reach in any discipline correlates directly with the amount of time you invest in your endeavor and if you only have 40,000 more chances (give or take a few), you better get started.

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If only we could travel at the speed of light

It's pretty unbelievable, how good we've got it. Anywhere in the world, anytime, you or I can pick up the mobile device of our choice and stream this life changing performance from Neil deGrasse Tyson.

It should be required reading (watching) in the classroom. A swift and distinct separation of Church and State.

I wish this was around when I was a kid, I might have turned out to be an astrophysicist.

Watch the rest of the Cosmos Series free on Youtube here

I'm re-watching the series for the 2nd time. Please stop everything you are doing immediately and watch this series. Don't have time? Make the time. It's worth it. 

Talk about something that will give you a sense of gratitude for each day that stretches out before you...How about the infinite reaches of the unobservable universe? In a place so vast and seeming lacking of purpose, we have no other option than to create. 

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Who does #2 work for?!

We are builders. Writers. Philosophers. Engineers. Lovers. Fighters. And everything in between.

Regardless of what you do, the most important thing is that you are passionate about something. One thing. Anything.

Once you have found that passion, there is a next step. Do your work. Continue to do it everyday. Even on bad days. Especially bad days.

It's almost comical how difficult it is for us to take action. As though forward progress is only measured in glitter and gold.

I'll admit the idea of sticking to daily blog was once something that set my stomach in knots. It wasn't until I'd spent some time out in the world and time away from the keyboard (writing for others instead of myself) that I realized how important the daily process is for my well-being. How much strength that I contrive from it.

I've been back in Seattle now for 2 weeks and I've crammed as many lunches and dinners with old friends into my calendar as possible. It's been nostalgic, cathartic, therapeutic, and down right hilarious. I never realized how strong of a support system I had. I'll never let that happen again.

Each relationship I re-energize provides inspiration for my writing. Not only the topics and subjects of the words that I choose to lay out before you, but for the process itself.

It's so inspiring to see people stepping into the world as strong individuals, brazen in their desires and filled with hope; acknowledging and, maybe for the first time, well aware that the path to their definition of success will only be attained through hard work and relentless dedication. Failure and repetition.

A constant theme emerging: the battle rages on inside all of us, but we must move forward.

The message today is still: Do you work.

But find solace in the notion that each bump and bruise along the way still counts as forward progress. You can only compare yourself with who you were yesterday. Not some idea of who you wish to be tomorrow. The timeline stretches out in front of all of us, different paths leading to same the place. Your journey is going to be arduous, but you can't let it frighten you.

Who does #2 work for? He works for you.

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Twitter, Isis, and the unintended consequences of changing the world

What do you do when the most important work you've ever done is hijacked from you and used for evil?

Imagine toiling for years, Chinese food, dim lights, late nights, and painstaking decisions about whether or not to pivot. Imagine pouring everything you have into a project that you fundamentally believe is going to change the world, only to have its ethos ripped away and twisted by the users into a dark and powerful tool of hate.

An article from the associated press ran in today's Seattle Times detailing the destruction of ancient history in Syria by the Islamic state. They're saying it's the "most brutal, systematic destruction of ancient sites since World War II." Not only are they destroying some of the world's oldest and most historic mosques, churches, and archaeological sites, the Islamic military state is beheading people who dedicated their lives to preserving our shared history. Isis is a hot button topic. I don't think I need to go any further into detail to get your blood boiling. It bothers me deeply that human are stilling killing one another over religious differences, and I have no idea how this is going to play out on a global scale.

Now imagine that you are one of the founders of Twitter. You've created a product that I love. A product that I use daily. A product that's been used to overthrow governments, lead revolutions, and champion justice. You've also created a product that terrorists use to post pictures of Nutella chocolate in attempt to recruit new members. Apparently having a fondness for Nutella is an axiom of humanity, we simply cannot refuse the delicious combination of hazelnuts and chocolate.

And it bothers me. It really bothers me that I'm using the same app as a terrorist. I know that's irrational. I use the app for news while they use it to spread hate...but it still bothers me. I also want to acknowledge It's unfair of me to pick on Twitter, almost any social networking app can and is (most likely) being used by 'terrorists.'

Where do we draw the line when it comes to free speech on the internet? Especially when the 1st Amendment sets the precedent for protecting the rights of the people who created the company and product but not those who are using the product to galvanize a segment of the global population that is willing to kill themselves to see our Constitution burned and our Country in ruins? Dramatic, I know. Our laws of the land aren't simple, and they're even harder to enforce on the internet. For an internal example all we have to do is take a glance at Reddit and ask ourselves: "How much hate are we going to allow ourselves to perpetuate when when know it's having a detrimental effect on our society?" This leads into a much longer conversation about who gets to make that call, why they get to, and how it will be done. And it's conversation I'm confident will continue to play out as long as humans and the internet co-exist.

Twitter has done an amazing job responding to this situation. Cracking down on accounts associated with Isis and continuing to cull thousands more. But the facts stand that The Islamic State "has been astonishingly successful at spreading its message using 21st-century social media," moving to new social platforms like Diaspora according to ROYT.org.

Terrorism is an extreme case. And I'll admit that I've used it to grab your attention.

Getting back to business 

Being able to foresee unintended consequences is one of the big differences between bourgeoning and veteran entrepreneurs. Luckily it is a process that can be learned through meticulous practice and repetition. Your brain is a muscle and one that needs to be flexed. Especially in the arena of business.

Forcing yourself to sit down and think about the potential unintended consequences of your product will help you discover holes in your business plan as well as ideas for product improvement and new streams of revenue. The challenging part is that we live in a global economy, but we don't always feel the forces of the global economy until it's too late and disaster has already struck. Entrepreneurs will need to become increasingly educated, up-to-date, and empathetic in order to use their imagination to fill in the gaps about any potential repercussions of their business decisions. And keeping your finger on the pulse of the world, that's really hard. Capitalism doesn't care about empathy, but todays consumers do. And we're seeing it reflected in the market all the time. Consumers are voting with their dollars, choosing to support brands that support their employees, healthy lifestyles, and different humanitarian causes around the world. For the first time in a long time, it feels like empathy has become a part of the equation again. This makes it even more important to operate your business with integrity and stick to your values. Every decision you make will be scrutinized, and remember, it's always the interim.

I'm the first one to admit that keeping up with the world's business can be overwhelming. I feel like I have so much to learn and I wish I learned it all yesterday. Unfortunately that's just not possible, and accepting that reality has brought me peace of mind.

We have to have focus in life in order to be successful. Or as John Lee Dumas of Entrepreneur on fire says, "F.O.C.U.S: Follow one course until success." You shouldn't spend two hours a day reading about the fish markets in Japan if you aren't in the fish business. But you can choose to set aside 10 minutes each day to study something new and give it 100% of your focus. One thing at a time, one day at a time.

Magical things will start to happen for you when you start approaching your life with this mindset: "Have I given the task at hand 100% of my focus? And if I have, has it moved me one step closer to accomplishing my goal?" Even if you only spend 10 minutes a day on a task, it's an extremely empowering feeling to be able to answer "Yes" to both of those questions.

We're always trying to bite off more than we can chew. We live in a society that condones instant gratification and we forget that so many of our most revolutionary discoveries came from painstakingly boring, routine tasks that took deadly intense focus (for example, Pickering’s Harem, a group of women who worked at the Harvard Observatory combing through hundreds of thousands of photos of stars in order to produce data that lead to the empirical foundation of astronomical theory). The good news? None of us are tasked with solving the mysteries of the universe (I just like to think about them in my free time).

My advice for entrepreneurs is to adopt the compound effect. Do little things each day that add up over time to give you a slight advantage. Do 100 pushups a day. Set aside 5 minutes to mediate. And in regards to keeping your find on the pulse of the global economy? Listen to APM's Marketplace podcast everyday. It's a small, easy win that will have a huge impact on the way you think about business and the global economy. Not to mention, it will make you a more interesting person.

I really want to stress that I'm not saying entrepreneurs should spend an in-proportionate amount of time thinking about unintended consequences of every business decision they make. It would be preposterous to suggest that you spend your days fretting over the ways that your product could be used for evil. But taking some calculated time at the beginning of a new project to suss out the potential pitfalls and unintended consequences of a new venture? Now that sounds like a seasoned professional to me.

So how can you learn to foresee the unintended consequences of your product or business decisions? Well, If you want to create a new product or service that disrupts the market, you're going to need to be able to think like a hacker. Here are some questions you might want to consider:

• Who did I build this product for and why? 
• Who else will see value in what I've created?
• Does this product help people see the commonalities in one another? Or the differences?  
• Who will spot an opportunity for manipulation? And if I do see an opportunity: How can I block it? Can I add a feature that will enhance security? Can I get people to pay for this added feature? 
• How can my product can be manipulated? 
• Am I accounting for advances in technology? 
• Is my security as good as it needs to be? 
• Is identity verification going to be central to the success of the product? 
• Does my business model depend on the success and/or failure of other businesses? And if so, who and what does their business model depend on. 
• What kind of influence could climate change have on my business? War? 
• Am I building this product for one specific group of people? Or a global community?
• What are my values, and where will I draw the line with censorship? 
• Do I have the time and money necessary to fight back against the inevitable misuse of my product? 

The good news? This will become easier over time as you continue to repeat the process and ask yourself the hard questions. It is the process of asking those hard questions that will open your mind to new ways of thinking, new information, and ultimately, make you a better entrepreneur.

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A personal message from a CEO to his team

I've always wished that I had a crystal ball that would allow me to see into the minds of other CEO's. How do they make decisions? How do they approach and communicate with their teams? I've always found that one of the most difficult decisions one makes as a manager is "how much do I tell my team?" How do all of the people I look up to make decisions about who in their companies are on a "need to know" basis? And what level of clearance do they have? Is there a secret tipping point at which you realize as a member of upper management that someone knows "too much," or "just enough," that it's time to clue them in on the companies grander plans? 

This has happened to me in startup situations and in mid-sized digital agency settings. Do you tell everyone on the team about a potential deal that might go through? Or do you keep it close to your chest, in fear that a botched deal could lead to a downturn in morale?

Steli Efti, who I will be writing about later this weekend, has a great quote: "Startups run on morale." And I believe his statement to be true. I believe that positive morale is a bi-product of strong leadership, based in action and adherence to values. The questions I've posed above are not easy to answer because like so many frustrating things in life, the answers are always going to be situational. The relationship you have with your employees or your manager is just that....a real relationship. One of the best managers I've ever had (and one of the most amazing people I've ever met) beat this lesson into me. She knew that if I didn't have a sense of what the companies overarching strategy was I would easily become distracted and disengaged so she would go the extra mile and set time aside for us to talk about the abstract. I wanted to know what the CEO's were doing, and why. I feel like asking "why?" is a very fair thing of employees to ask their employers. Especially because I don't want to follow someone who hasn't asked that question of themselves first.

Most of my management experience has come in the form of trial and error. Learning to manage and communicate with people in businesses that I've started on my own without much direction. And boy, have I learned A LOT. There's nothing quite like feeling the rush of adrenaline you get when you know you've screwed something up with your own business. Said the wrong thing. Lost a deal because of your own hubris. It has a way of teaching you tough lessons in a very short amount of time (shame is one of the most powerful human emotions). I encourage anyone who's never owned their own business to go out and start one. I'm looking forward to putting together a post about some of the biggest business lessons I've learned from my own entrepreneurial ventures. I'm positive that at the very least you'll get a kick of my failures, because they haven't been pretty.

I sent out a message today on Slack to the entire OTB team about future direction of Only The Beat. It's extremely personal, but I'm hoping that giving you a window into my world can provide you with some new perspective about how you approach your business relationships in the future. I want you to see what this type of communication looks like. I want you to see how much I care about each and every one of the passionate people who've chosen to become a part of my world, our world. I want to hold myself accountable by putting this into the world where others have the opportunity to tear me apart and question my ability to follow through. I want you to provide me with feedback about my style and methods of communication with my team. I want to get better. I want us all to get better. And I'm hoping that the message blow is helpful for you in any way that you need it to be:

@channel: Hi Team, I couple announcements to make. I wanted to let everyone know that John Jensen, co-founder and CTO of OTB has stepped away from the business to pursue his own ventures with a new company here in Seattle. For any of you who are into vaping, check out his new line of e-vapor liquids at artisanclouds.com. I wanted to thank him for all of blood, sweat, and tears he's put into this blog over the last three years, and believe me, there have been all three. It's been a pleasure getting to watch him grow personally and professional and I'm confident that he will accomplish great things in both business and in life. I would encourage each of your to reach out to him and build your own relationship with him as he's an extremely valuable guy to know. I learn something new from him every time we talk, and that type of knowledge is something I truly value and look for in a friend. Feel free to hit me up via personal message to get his personal email (or add him as a friend on Facebook). 

This being said, I now retain full ownership of the business, but that might not be for long, I know that I can't get OTB to that NEXT level with out the help and support of others, you included. I've gone ahead and taken the steps necessary to move OTB in a new positive direction that I believe is in line with the demands of the EDM market, so I'm asking you to be open to change while we enter a period of transition over the next 2 months. 

The first step was finding someone new to help me on the technology side, I've done that with @imjustinbraun. Beginning Monday, Justin will begin leading a team of freelance developers that we've hired to build out a new platform for OTB.  This is something that I've been wanting to do for the last 8 months, and I just wanted to give you my sincerest apology for not making better decisions that could have allowed this to move forward more quickly. But as you know, life is all about timing. In the last 8 months I started a new job, left that job, went through a break up, and moved home to Seattle after 4 years in Arizona to be closer to my 3-year-old son. I'm not bringing any of this up to make you feel sorry for me. I'm telling you because I'm embarrassed and ashamed that I let my personal life get in the way of the company's success. I'm also telling you because all of the things that have happened, all of the choices and decisions I've had to make, have reminded me about what's most important to me. What I need to focus on and how I need to get it done. It's given me new perspective and a new found sense of hope for Only The Beat. A sense of hope that I want to pass on to you. I want you to know that I'm more dedicated than ever to helping you accomplish your personal goals and the goals you have within the company. 

Again, I'm asking you to bear with me during this time of transition. Continue writing with confidence and fostering important relationships. Don't forget that YOU are the reason people keep coming back to the site everyday.  I'm extremely grateful for everyone's loyalty and dedication. I'll be the first to admit that it's been hard to be proud of the site lately. We haven't given users the experience they deserve. This note to you, and the work that will start Monday morning, is the first step of many in a new direction. I'm so thankful to have you along for the ride. Let's have some fun and share the music we love with the world. 

Sincerely, 

Daniel Taibleson 

I hope you found this post enlightening. Maybe you even like the way I do business. If that's true, then make sure you connect with me on Linkedin. I'm always looking for passionate people to share intellectually stimulating conversation with. Now go out there and leave the world a better place than you found it.

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Ashley Madison, Venmo, and the Reality of Encryption

Of course your information is safe...

I can't help but get frustrated with friends and acquaintances who refuse to download the mobile payment app Venmo. It's been out for a few years now, it's owned by PayPal (a trusted online payment Source) and it makes transferring money between friends unbelievably easy. One could say I'm a bit of a Venmo evangelist, rolling my eyes at people who don't have it yet and grabbing their phones out of their hands so I can log on to the App Store and install it on their phone. I've even gone as far as to accuse people of being sketchy for not wanting to download and use the app. I know that sounds horrible, but I used to jump to conclusions:

"Is there something I don't know about this person? Why wouldn't they want to make their life easier? They really don't want to attach a bank account? Is that because they only deal in cash? And if they do, are they involved in something illegal? Everything is done online, why don't you trust this massive payment conglomerate? Sign away you life!!!"

Apparently I'm obsessed with technology (and willing to put my bank account in harms way). I spend a lot of my free time browsing Product Hunt for the latest and greatest products, that 99% of the time, have been enhanced with software (or they're pure SaaS, web apps etc). I plan on spending many early morning and late evenings writing about the companies I discover on Product Hunt. I think it's one of the best websites in the world and everyone should take some time to download the Panda 4 Chrome extension so they can be tapped into Product Hunt every time they open a new tab (and the many other sources that Panda 4 makes available).

So why won't my friends use Venmo? 

The lasted privacy breach that's effected Ashley Madison and its users reminds us that none of us are safe. Even when the entire business model of a company we are entrusting is based on privacy and secrecy.

The Ashley Madison hack was actually pretty small http://t.co/Yty7zT9PSm pic.twitter.com/zhh4VuOoY2

— BI Tech (@SAI) August 20, 2015

This seems to happen every few months now. And even though the tweet from Business Insider Tech above callously reminds us that this breach is one of the smaller ones, the graph lacks context. The context is: How many people in America are even married anymore? The world? And of those, some ~30 million are cheating?! I digress, this is an entirely other conversation all in of itself, so let's move on (stop cheating, just break up).

I was still curious about how a business that sells anonymity could let such a horrible thing happen to it's customers. And could something like this happen to me? Could my Venmo account be just as easily hacked? This lead me to ask the smartest computer programmer I know about privacy, security, and encryption.

What he had to say might surprise you. Maybe not.

Ashley Madison Logo

Everything is hackable. Encryption is essential an extremely complex mathematical equation that can be cracked over time. The idea is that the equations are so complex and advanced, that they would take other computers more than a human lifetime to break. But of course, this does not account for Moore's Law. The layers of security that a system has will determine how well something is protected, but he told me that ultimately the final layers are really just warning systems that notify the business someone is hacking in and it's time to pull the plug. 

"It's safe to assume that anything connected to a network can be exploited."

Interesting side note: He told me how terrorist would use email accounts as digital drop boxes, logging in and writing emails but never sending them, saving them as drafts instead and passing along the login info so others could sign in from different locations and read the messages. Apparently this worked for a while...and when you think about it, might be a better way to cheat on your significant other than using Ashley Madison.

So, maybe, the reality is just that Ashley Madison was never protected enough in the first place. A reminder to those considering entering the tech space that security is only becoming more important. Make sure you hire a good security dev. And for those that are looking for new ventures, cyber security is HOT right now. Government contracts, big seed rounds, if you can develop a user friendly way to distribute online identity verification in a new and relevant way you might be able to make a LOT of money. I know from experience during my time at Scottsmarketplace.com, an online marketplace connecting shoppers with local business owners, identity verification was always something we struggled with. People will go to insane lengths to try and "hack" the system.

But I'm not a cheater...

I'm not worried about getting caught on Ashley Madison, I'm not even married. But my bank account? That's an entirely different situation all together. 

I did some research and went over to Venmo's website to check out what they had to say about their security. To be honest, it was the same type of verbage I seem to see everywhere: 

"Venmo uses bank grade security systems and data encryption to protect you and guard against any unauthorized transactions and access to your personal or financial information. If you suspect that there has been any unauthorized activity on your account, please contact us immediately at support@venmo.com—we’re here to help."

Okay, so #1, what are "bank grade security systems" and why are they so much better than whatever Ashley Madison had? #2, notice that last part of the statement? "If you suspect that there has been any unauthorized activity on your account..." So you're telling me Venmo could get hacked?

Now I realize I'm playing devil's advocate, I trust Venmo and our bank grade security systems enough to use them. But these 'alleged' hacks from China who have apparently stolen government information coupled with the string of breaches to private companies are making me rethink my laissez-faire attitude when it comes to the storage of my digital coin.

I'm going to do more research and dig into some videos that I'll share with you later, but in the meantime, I'll just go ahead and leave this here:

Laws of Physics Say Quantum Cryptography Is Unhackable. It’s Not

What are your thoughts/feelings about using services like Venmo? Do you feel like your information is safe? Or have you just given up and given in? Assuming that eventually all of your information will be public anyways...

Interested to hear others thoughts :)

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Missed a Beat

Sometimes we miss a beat. It might be dancing, stepping on a partners toes, or it might be something more serious like a project deadline.

Or of course, it might come in the form of a blog post. Forgetting to hit publish, or even worse, forgetting to hit save. There's nothing worse than losing the work that you toiled over, oozed your creative energy into, but at the end of the day, you really only have two choices:

Give up, or keep pushing forward.

I started writing this blog post almost 2 years ago. Literally. It was the end of 2013 and I'd just started working at iAcquire as a entry-level outreach employee (now called Influencer Relations, the role consists of cold emailing to generate relationships with powerful publishers in order to convince them to publish favorable content about the companies clients etc).

I can't quite remember the feeling, but I think it was something along the lines of, "I'm way too busy with my new job and OnlyTheBeat.com to continue writing my own personal Advertising, Social Media, Entrepreneurship content on DanielTaibleson.com."

And I was right...But I was also really, really wrong.

Heart-to-Heart 

If you're a good friend of mine and we've had a heart-to-heart in the last few weeks then you've probably already heard me say this, but I noticed a reoccurring theme in my past: I've always been so willing to give something up, in order to get ahead. Now, while I attribute this to bind passion and a testimony to my dedication when it comes to achieving my goals, it was also the same type of short-sided thinking that so many of us fall victim to in our (dare I say, capitalist) society. There are winners in loser in capitalism, and I feel like it does encourage us (with grand tales of both success and failure) to do whatever it takes to win.

I was inspired by Seth Godin today, as I so frequently am, and was 3 years ago when I started this blog in the first place. The quote that I shared with my friends and colleagues on Linkedin reads:

"Life is what happens while we're busy making plans. The interim is forever, so perhaps it makes sense to make act in the interim as we expect to act in the long haul."

I guess one could boil his post down into the old adage "The road to hell is paved with gold." We all want to create the next completely sustainable, best-place to work in the world startup. We all want to have a job that values us not only for the work we do but the people we are (am I starting to sound like a millennial? I am).  But work, life, the same things still ring true, they are relationships that we have, relationships with other people, companies, brands, clients, ourselves. And we all know that you shouldn't enter a relationship if you haven't taken care of yourself first.

My lack of blogging on this platform is appalling. Writing and blogging has always been a safe place for me to explore ideas and connect dots. And I feel that I've done the world, and most importantly, myself, a huge disservice by not taking the time to explore the deepest corners of my mind in a public setting. That might sound really odd to you, to say I want to explore my mind in a public setting, but I'd have to ask you a question in response: what else are we doing here?

I want to live and read and write and connect with other like minded individuals that are just as passionate about discovering the unknown as I am; the unknown of the universe, the unknown skills we need in a professional setting, the unknown of ourselves.

And although it was a great decision to bear down and give my new job (back in 2012) 100% of my full attention (it worked out, I got promoted after 6 months of cold emailing), I forgot the most important part of Godin's message:

This interim strategy, the notion that ideals and principles are for later, but right now, all the focus and resources have to be put into the emergency of getting successful—it doesn't work.
It doesn't work because it's always the interim. 

It's always the interim. I know who I am now, and there are things that I am not willing to part with because they make me Daniel Taibleson. Seattle Sports, Hockey, Trance Music, Snowboarding, and an unrelenting quest for knowledge fueled by a sense of curiosity that could kill 100 cats.

Don't forget who you are while you're busy working for someone else, it's hard, but it's why they hired you.

Moving Forward

I resigned from my position at Scottsmarketplace.com at the end of the July and hit the road. The decision happened in the span of about two weeks and I drove up the coast, making new friends and reconnecting with some of my dearest old ones. I'm so grateful to everyone that took time to connect with me during my 4 years in Arizona. Even more importantly, I want them to know that for the first time in my life, I don't feel like the exit was final. I'm not closing doors so that others can open, I'm just the kind of guy that believes it's possible to have as many doors open as you want, because I won't shut the door on people I care about.

I'm ready to give my full attention to the things that truly matter most and make me who I am. If you're interested in coming along for the ride, please, connect with me here: bit.ly/DanielTaibleson

I'm going to continue writing, hopefully everyday, even if it's just a little something. If I can't find inspiration in the world around me each day, then I know I'm not living my life correctly. 

"I go home to the coast 

It starts to rain I paddle out on the water 

Alone 

Taste the salt and taste the pain 

I'm not thinking of you again 

Summer dies and swells rise 

The sun goes down in my eyes 

See this rolling wave 

Darkly coming to take me 

Home 

And I've never been so alone 

And I've never been so alive"

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