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Oh, You Wanted the Douchy Web?September 11

The KGB is running Russia.  Las Manitas is shut down.  And Yammer is the best thing at Techcrunch 50.

If your nips perk up when hearing about an app that mimeographed every feature (official and unofficial) and UI pattern of another stupidly well-known app, then tacked on some gating and integration mechanisms, have at it.

Meanwhile, I’ll be in the lab with my pals working on a Web that is handmade and big-hearted.

5 Ways to Swap Your Pride for Some Page ViewsAugust 22

1.  ‘Write’ (and we use the term loosely) posts that are nothing but lists.  As a wise man said:  writing by people who don’t write for people who don’t read.

2.  Gratuitous shout outs and meaningless links any monkey could make.

3.  Overstatement.  On a grand scale.  Like you’re still in grad school and it’s 3 in the morning.

4.  Troll Techmeme and add your +1.  (I recommend this knowing just how boring it is now.  But you’re a page view ho, so nothing should get in your way.)

5.  Show up at every nerd event, say nothing original, recap what every other person said (and says at every other event that feels exactly the same).  Pretend they are both sexy and charming.  Take their pictures.  Tag liberally.

Repeat often & you’ll get some leg tonight for sure.

In love with your anvil?August 5

You ever get in trouble with friends and family because you have that far away look, dreaming about something you’re working on?  Sketch uncontrollably?  Write lists and ideas in the margins of a book you’re supposed to be reading?  Find it easy to be fan of great work?

Huzzah, there’s hope.

You already know that it doesn’t matter:

*  what software platform you choose

*  what launch strategy you herniate on

*  what parties you are seen at

*  who blogs about you

*  which startup conf. you first demo at

*  what the logo looks like

*  where your space is

Right, I overstate the case to make a point.  They matter in a minor way.  But startups, like the rest of life, are a test of constant failures.  What is the thing that refreshes and renews you and gets you back to the textmate file?  Fame, greed, insecurity, opportunism.  They go only so far.  The greatest of these is love.

I Thought You Should KnowAugust 1

If ever you tire of rendonkulous webcockery, keep in mind that there are some really groovy people in love with their digital anvils. And these folks will keep trying to make neat things whatever the funding/exit/hype atmosphere is like. So pay attention to them, champion them, learn from them.

A sampling:

The Start Conference: my heroes are gathering in San Francisco next week for what looks to be a delightful day of real discussion about how you make things and start new companies. Put on by Misters Veen & Mason and featuring all sorts of people who know their stuff. Love that they are bringing in George Oates as an audience stand in. I urge you to go if you can. Also, if you’d like to earn your way in for free, they need some volunteers. Email them at info [at] thestartconference [dot] com.

WordCamp: Also in SF the following week, and also something I’m afraid I’ll have to miss due to travel. I had a *great* time last year. Not just for WordPress types. The talks last year included UX, design issues, social stuff. Really nice. I also tend to like smaller gatherings like this which let you really hang out with everyone without feeling overwhelmed & rushed.

Work at

A Little Less ConversationJuly 9

All the handwaving is even getting to me, and I’m a professional daydreamer. Perhaps you’re also bored. I’ve decided it may have something to do with a fetish-like attachment to conversations. You may recall these things as rich, nurturing interactions you had with people you would run into. Then they became a site of marketing. A temple. Your once innocent interaction became transactional. Instrumental.

It’s not Cluetrain’s fault. Misbegotten & generally borked offspring of Cluetrain, I’m looking at you.

And it’s not merely semantics. Yes, I’d love to do word games with you all during a long summer’s sundown, but this actually plays out in what we spend time & money on what we call marketing, how we measure progress, what sorts of tools we should build, and so on. I’m arguing that it actually matters. That conversational marketing is a red herring. I say this fully realizing I’ve been guilty of talking such a game.

But as I think on it, sometimes not having to talk to a company is exactly what I want. I’ll call you when I need you, and I when I need you, you should be there. Ready to receive the signal. Mostly I want as little friction between me & my goals as possible. Increased dicking around with a company might not help that. Maybe I already find the relationships I have a challenge; maybe I just want coffee. Or a new vacuum. Or to see if the Cubs are o