“Always have your to-do list. And then execute the shit out of it.” — #BrandsConf
I’m looking forward to reading Walter Isaacson’s biography of Steve Jobs, but in the meantime I enjoyed this ReadWriteWeb post that gives a glimpse into some of the book’s key lessons.
Steve was “a magician genius:”
He was, indeed, an example of what the mathematician Mark Kac called a magician genius, someone whose insights come out of the blue and require intuition more than mere mental processing power.
He was a metamorphosing butterfly:
“That’s what I’ve always tried to do—keep moving. Otherwise, as Dylan says, if you’re not busy being born, you’re busy dying.”
And he was maniacally focused:
One of Jobs’s great strengths was knowing how to focus. “Deciding what not to do is as important as deciding what to do,” he said. “That’s true for companies, and it’s true for products.”
As RWW distills it: Intuition, Reinvention, Focus.
Steve is so iconic, and so often we talk about him in such soaring rhetoric, that it’s refreshing to hear these kind of details. We can all trust our gut, keep ourselves and our ideas fresh, and focus on what really matters. I don’t design products or run a computer company, but this—this I can do. My colleague recently changed her desktop background to an iconic photo of Steve, to remind herself constantly of all that an inspired, dedicated life can be. I might have to do the same, with those three words alongside it: Intuition, Reinvention, Focus.
This list of Twitter sins from Hubspot is great:
I’d add a couple more to the list:
I’ve heard folks on the executive level talk about trying to have an assistant run their Twitter account and tweet in their place. Online identity is about authenticity, and it’s a big mistake to misrepresent yourself on social media. There’s no substitute for your own voice, and there’s no denying the anger of people who find out they’ve been misled. Leveraging social media to build relationships takes work, but it’s worth the time.
No, I don’t mean mid-coitus. Rather, I’m talking about where you’re upset or worked up about something. Take the time to cool off and think about what you’re going to say—it’s easy to fire off an angry tweet, but no matter how quickly you delete it, some eyes will have been lain on it, and you can do a lot of damage!
What other sins would you add to the list?
“A wise CEO of a healthcare company gave me advice I’ll never forget. ‘Just start. Don’t wait for perfection. Just start and let the work teach you. No one expects you to get it right in the very beginning and you’ll learn more from your mistakes than you will from your early successes anyway. So, stop worrying so much and just look at your best bets and go.’”-Jacqueline Novogratz
(Spotted by fred-wilson and wearethedigitalkids,
(via changetheratio: via brit)
Love to see these images in ESPN’s The Body Issue celebrating all the human body is capable of. Of course, it helps that they’re incredibly sexy, too.
[video]
Epic coolness. Perfect for Friday.
Cassel.
![Brilliant.
thedailywhat:
Internet Filtration System of the Day: A modest proposal from Matthew Baldwin (AKA defective yeti): Internet Access Captchas to keep certain less-desirable types off the Information Superhighway.
Here’s what happens when you’re your grammar skills aren’t up to snuff:
Problem solved?
[thd.]](http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lpfninPyJZ1qzpwi0o1_500.jpg)
Brilliant.
Internet Filtration System of the Day: A modest proposal from Matthew Baldwin (AKA defective yeti): Internet Access Captchas to keep certain less-desirable types off the Information Superhighway.
Here’s what happens when
you’reyour grammar skills aren’t up to snuff:
Problem solved?
[thd.]
Union Square Venture’s Albert Wenger posed a fascinating question recently on his blog: “What is your favorite example of something that is already happening on the Internet today, that is a clear indication of the massive transformation to come?”
It may not be as new to us as other trends, but to my mind one of the most astonishing recent uses of the internet has been social media’s role in the Arab Spring uprisings. As many people have pointed out (or punned), the revolution may not be televised, but it will be tweeted.
I think there are two transformative trends at work here. First, it is part of a broad institutional shift: from secrecy to transparency, from suppression to freedom. We see this in marketing, as companies are forced to deal with customers, accusations, and complaints out in the open. (This post on Forbes has some great insight about what transparency means for businesses.) And it’s truly staggering to think that social media can help effect real political change, as it did in Egypt. The power of social media to give a voice to those who have had little opportunity to be heard will only grow—and continue to spread.
The second shift relates to the spread of technology to places like Africa. As internet access becomes more widely available worldwide (especially thanks to mobile), new populations are joining the online community in large numbers. This means that new internet users have access to new opportunities, and the online dialogue gets richer.. (And, of course, there are new advertising opportunities.) I think the growing online presence of populations in Africa, Asia, South America, and elsewhere amplifies the real-world shift to a more inclusive global politics—a trend perhaps best represented by President Obama. It will be fascinating—and essential—to watch.
I <3 NY
