Innovation/Strategy/Tired

Tired words: Apple

Posted on by charlie

This is one more word I struggle with at work. Read why.

Apple – I love Apple dearly and have been a loyalist since the 80s. But, what gets me is that they are constantly used as a benchmark for design and creativity. Fair enough, they arguably lead the pack. But, my concern is that if that’s our bench mark, then we will never do better, only emulate. I don’t want to emulate them, I want them to come to me and say, ‘Hey, Charlie, I so dig what you do. We use your stuff as a benchmark.’ Yeah, dream on, but that’s what my target needs to be – to learn from them and do better.

You can review all my previous ‘Tired Words’ here on this page.

Uncategorized

Football dome

Posted on by charlie


Football dome
Originally uploaded by schickr.

It’s huge. The first time I saw this, I was in a plane and didn’t know what it was. The second time I saw this I was shocked and went through a red light. Ha! It’s actually pretty nice inside. And there are some good stories about it already.

The Narrative

Re-Believe!

Posted on by charlie

At a recent meeting, we were discussing Internet services, past and present. I then made the comment that many of the ideas we are coming up with now were already trying to sell back in 2000, that we shouldn’t be jaded and knock down ideas, just because they didn’t work then.

I don’t know where he got it from, but one of the guys put up a slide from 1995. It was a good laugh, if scary. Except for the krappy artwork, obsolete gadgets, and Nokia’s ancient logo, the concept could have been worked up yesterday.

Then I said that back then, we really believed in what we thought the future would be like. Now, we need to ‘re-believe’ all those old ideas.

Heh heh.

The Narrative

WINKsite Manifesto?

Posted on by charlie

David is back and revamping his baby, WINKsite.

This post here (link below) is really good at providing the background and motivation behind WINKsite, and I can surely say it delivers on this promise. Indeed, this post looks like the WINKsite Manifesto.

Read it and learn and sign up.

Link: David Harper’s Different Things – One World. No Borders. 2.5 Billion Connected Citizens..

More mobile phones than PCs are connected to the Internet, but the connections are needlessly complex. Each mobile carrier, each brand of phone, and sometimes each model, place a heavy technical burden on mobile publishers. What if Yahoo had to re-do its web site for Dell, HP, Apple, and others — with modifications based on whether Internet connection is Comcast cable, AT&T DSL, or T-Mobile Wi-Fi? That’s exactly what Yahoo endures on the mobile Internet for Nokia, Motorola, Cingular, and Verizon Wireless.

Announcements/The Narrative

WINKsite is going through a major facelift

Posted on by charlie

Wow. Dave told me it was coming and I’ve been waiting and waiting.

WINKsite’s Web site is going through a major overhaul and, while the old is still a bit mixed with the new, I’ve seen enough of the new to be excited.

I am still interested to see how the channels will be overhauled. I think over the past few years, they’ve been able to determine which are the most important to provide. I think the original had too many channels.

But, if the things are made easier, then it might not matter how many types of channels they offer.

One cool thing, already, is that, when you are viewing a site in the desktop browser, you can easily bet the code to embed, do QR Code, send link to phone, and so on. Really great.

Go check it out.

Oh, and my WINKsite info is in my right side bar (moved temporarily to make place for the Le Web 3 banner).

Link: David Harper’s Different Things � Blog Archive � Pssst. Winksite Changes Under Way..

Well, now it’s time to respond. We’ll be building upon what we have learned and go deep for a while. Expect regular, iterative releases over the next 90 days. I’ll post our thoughts throughout and be interested in hearing yours.

So, if you are inclined head over to Winksite to see what’s brewing. Some of what we are up to will be immediately clear, while other aspects will be apparent over time.