Author Archives: marshallwilson
Prioritizing For A Less Than Ideal Economy
It would seem as though we are going through what could be a prolonged global recession. Banks collapsing, easy credit gone, rising fuel and food prices, the continually weakening dollar. None of these portend good things. If you haven’t already felt the effects of these less than ideal economic times, chances are you will in the near future. If you rely on subscriptions, sales, or advertising for your cash flow, less consumer spending means less money in your pocket. The entire American economy is something of a huge bubble right …
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Mothers and Facebook
I know a technology has reached maturity when my mom starts using it. I remember, my mother was always fairly familiar with technology. However she has always been behind the curve compared to my generation and people more familiar with technology. My parents started using e-mail in the mid 90′s. They didn’t really start taking advantage of smart phones and PDAs until 2002-2003. They’re both in their fifties now, err, I mean mom is 38. And when they do adopt new technologies, they usually end up using them fairly regularly, …
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Can free networks save the world?
We stand at a time in history unlike any other. Technological advances have made the spread of information nearly instantaneous. Pictures, words, audio and video fly around the globe on a network made of wires and radio waves. A little known Republican presidential candidate with views radically different from the established elite took up to twenty percent of primary votes in some states. He broke fundraising records and built an unparalleled grass roots network using only the internet. The ongoing war in Iraq provides another example of the ways our …
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Going the way of the buffalo, what’s the future of social news?
I’ve been thinking lately about social news sites. Sites like reddit and digg. They were interesting ideas at their inceptions, but increasingly lend themselves towards complete crap. If I see another lolcat, another duplicate article about this or that presidential candidate, or something else on global warming, I just might have to take my own life. I rarely visit these sites (that I used to spend hours on a day) anymore. I tend to let my friends filter the news for me, they seem to do a much better job …
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Has Anybody Seen My Freaking Prozac?
We are conditioned to think from an early age that the wealthiest people are the ones we ought to emulate. We’re bombarded with their actions on television and in the news. Entire magazines are dedicated to following the lives of the usually rich, and generally famous. It’s not that our parents told us money would make us happy. Most of us were told that money isn’t ‘everything’. We humans have this tendency to ignore words, then listen to actions. When dad worked through the weekend, or mom gushed over that …
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Less is more, in life as much as design.
Design gurus often talk about simplicity in design. That by using less to convey your point you actually are able to convey your message to a broader audience. That you’re able to be more relevant with less rather than more. I think this idea would be better applied in our everyday lives. In my life the most fulfilling moments, the most life altering times, have happened when I cared very little for what I possessed, or what I wanted to posses. Since George Carlin died I’ve been watching quite a …
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Don’t listen to 37signals
From ‘Getting Real‘ by 37signals; “…success isn’t the only thing you’ll find in the details. You’ll also find stagnation, disagreement, meetings, and delays. These things can kill morale and lower your chances of success.” “Forget about locked-in specs. They force you to make big, key decisions too early in the process. Bypass the spec phase and you’ll keep change cheap and stay flexible.” If you haven’t read ‘Getting Real‘ I highly recommend it. I greatly enjoy the book and appreciate much of the content, but I have to wonder if …
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