Getting better at seeing [marketing / presentations]

Seth Godin – A giant pitfall in the way small companies and individuals market themselves, particularly online or in presentations, is that they’re often cheesy, ugly or unreadable.

I don’t think people deliberately set out to be ugly, but they end up that way. And a quick look at your own buying behavior should tell you that you don’t often buy from the sketchy-looking sites, ads and media that are often pitched at you.

No, I think the problem is that people don’t realize that their work is ugly. They don’t see it. Just like the close-talker down the hall from your cube doesn’t realize that he’s a close-talker. I’m not talking about skill or talent or even guts. I’m talking about learning to see what others see.

John McWade taught me how to see. I’m not great at it, I’m certainly guilty of designing my own not-so-ideal materials. But the gap between the one-eyed man and the blind is pretty big.

It might take a few weeks of hard work to start to notice what looks right in the world (and why). I think it’s worth it.

Recommended – resonate: Present Visual Stories that Transform Audiences & Presentation Zen Design: Simple Design Principles and Techniques to Enhance Your Presentations

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3 Penguins Design

On Poland (Mostly Wrocław)

An incredible change of pace from my normal articles, but since I’m leaving in 48 hours, and since this is the place of my birth, I thought it would be fitting to write a little about Poland. Specifically Wrocław, which is the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship (think Province). Wrocław is in the south west of the country, close to both Czech Republic and Germany.

Some preliminary details: I was born in Wrocław, Poland, but my family moved to the US 4 days shy of my first birthday. Prior to this current trip I visited Poland twice. Once in 1992 for 1 month and again in 2005 for 2 weeks.

All told, that wasn’t very much exposure to the culture. I’ve now been here since 10 May, over 4 months. Although it would be delusional to consider myself anything other than a tourist in my own country, I do feel I’ve experienced a closer connection to the place and its people. [read]

Assign Email a 15-Minute Minimum to Avoid Unnecessary Checking

Your brain isn’t wired for quick-switching tasks, but it’s what you want to do to avoid work you don’t love. A multi-task researcher suggests assigning 15-minute minimums to your frequent click-overs, like email, to force yourself into making real decisions about work. [read]

Netflix. Meet Hulu. Now, How About Merging Together?

Netflix and Hulu should join forces. I propose a merger, or, more precisely, that Netflix should acquire Hulu. Their more powerful rivals — the nation’s cable, satellite, and phone companies, not to mention Amazon, Apple, and soon Google TV — are rushing to provide Internet-enabled on-demand TV and movie services, something the two pioneers have done successfully for a few years now. The combined company could offer an irresistibly cheap alternative that’s sure to attract those of us who are sick of forking over a fortune to the cable guy every month. In other words, everyone.

This is the perfect time for HuFlix, before competitors get their act together and before Hulu and Netflix damage each other with the direct collision course they’re on. Hulu spent the summer slowly previewing its Plus subscription offering, which, for $9.99 a month, will let people watch full seasons of their favorite shows on the iPad, iPhone, and such devices as Sony and Vizio TVs and Blu-ray players. [read]

A simplified morning routine

These days, I wake as the sun begins to softly express itself on the day, and enjoy the early light and the quiet thrum of the world.

Then I do three things: Sit. Read. Write.

It’s my new simplified morning routine.

If you’ve read the old Zen Habits posts, you might have read about my old morning routine — still one of the more popular posts on this patinated site (I actually like the patina here).

Like almost anything else I’ve written about, however, this has changed in my life over the last few years. At one point I abandoned routine altogether, and since have revisited the idea a few times.

Recently, I’ve simplified my routine to those three things. And those three things have been wonderful. Because of this routine, I now start my days slowly, in peace, doing the things I love, mindfully.

It’s hard to start a day better than that. [read]

Todd Squared – Two Fearless Pastors

This past Sunday I have the privilege of watching something pretty rare in the Christian church. A year ago Todd Proctor, Senior Pastor @ Rock Harbor, and Todd Hunter, Senior Pastor (Bishop/Vicar/?) @ Holy Trinity Church, entered into an amazing symbiotic relationship of sort.

Rock Harbor opened up their church facility to HTC as a temporary location for their church plant. So what makes this so special? Well, how many times have you seen a church give of it’s recourses and location to help another, potentially competing church get on its feet?

You may think, Rock Harbor is huge and healthy, what sort of threat could this Anglican Church plant be to Rock Harbor. Well, if you’ve ever heard Todd Hunter preach and spent any time with the wonderful people that attend HTC, you would know the answer to that question.

The bigger, better and more accurate answer is – there is NO threat. Todd and Todd (“Todd Squared”) didn’t see any threats, they only saw opportunities. Why wouldn’t we want another ‘healthy’ church, in the same neck of the woods?

I applaud these two men, their love, their fearlessness, and their selflessness. Continued blessings to both of them, their families and their ministries.

Five rules for your About page

When someone comes to your site for the first time, they’re likely to hit ‘about’ or ‘bio’. Why? Because they want a human, a story and reassurance.

Here are some helpful guidelines (okay, they’re actually imperatives):

1. Don’t use meaningless jargon:

… is a recognized provider of result-based online and mobile advertising solutions. Dedicated to complete value chain optimization and maximization of ROI for its clients, … is committed to the ongoing mastery of the latest online platforms – and to providing continuously enhanced aggregation and optimization options.

2. Don’t use a stock photo of someone who isn’t you (if there is a stock photo of you, congratulations). The more photos of you and your team, the better.

3. Make it easy to contact you. Don’t give a contact address or number that doesn’t work.

4. Be human. Write like you talk and put your name on it. Tell a story, a true one, one that resonates.

5. Use third party comments and testimonials to establish credibility. Use a lot of them. Make sure they’re both interesting and true.

Source: Seth Godin

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3 Penguins Design

Create Beautiful Indoor Portraits Without Flash [photography]

Ed Verosky is a professional photographer and author based in New York. In this article, Verosky explains how to create portraits using natural and ambient light only. To learn more about achieving great lighting in any situation, check out Verosky’s popular eBook, “100% Reliable Flash Photography.“

For me, using flash can be the most efficient way to create a high-quality portrait. There’s nothing like it for an editorial shoot when you need that combination of full lighting control, minimal shooting time, and predictable results. Sure, you have to know what you’re doing to make it come together like that. But that ability comes with knowledge and experience. Mastering flash, means mastering your light in any situation. Sometimes, however, there is beautiful light to be found, just waiting there for you to use it. Natural and constant ambient light can be your best friends if you have a little time and flexibility with the environment and your subject. [read]

Baghdad in D Minor [photography]

As eight musicians perform works by Bach on Wednesday at John Jay College, there will be a ninth man in the shadows, tapping away at a keyboard, keeping time. That man will be the photographer Chris Hondros, who will be accompanying the musicians on his computer, projecting 900 of his images of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

For some in the audience of “Sound + Vision: At War,” the music would be the only impetus to sit through 900 images. For others, the photographs would be the only reason they would choose to listen to Bach performed live.

“The music amplifies the pictures, and the pictures amplify and clarify the music,” said Mr. Hondros, who is a Getty Images photographer. “It’s a way to get a really large amount of information in pictures and music to people in a way that is very intuitive and easy to absorb.” [view video]

Hacking Work: The Social Network Hack

Hard Hacks are what people most often think of when they hear the word “hacking.” These are workarounds in technology, tools, processes and structures. But what many don’t realize is that there are lots of benevolent hacks ― hacking doesn’t have to be malicious. It can be taking a system apart and reassembling it in a new, more beneficial way.

A good example is when Josh was working at a large company and tasked with motivating a team that was under the supervision of another director. Because he had no direct authority over them, he was constantly struggling to get the attention and engagement of this very busy staff. There had to be a better way than doing this through the normal, officially-sanctioned, approaches. [read]

Purchase from AMAZON Hacking Work: Breaking Stupid Rules for Smart Results