Jason's Notes About Stuff

A million dollars isn't cool , but do you know what would be cool? If you could target posts to your friends the same way you with Facebook ads. When you " boost your post " from a Facebook Page, you can target your audience by Location, Age, Gender, and Interests. The interface looks like this: I think it would be really interesting if you do something similar when you created a personal post.

Thought of the day: Graphical information takes much longer to produce than text, but is interpreted faster and more accurately.

Last January, I bought a Panasonic Lumix camera when living in New Zealand. I was wary of buying something expensive overseas, but was assured that it came with a 1-year "worldwide" warranty . When the camera went dead in Thailand, I phoned the Panasonic support numbers in New Zealand and Canada (which of course both routed to India). They asked where I lived, and told me I should deliver it to a Panasonic authorized repair center in Canada . Very inconvenient , but I that's what I did once I returned. However, after I sent it to the repair center, Panasonic decided they wouldn't pay for anything unless I could send them a copy of the warranty card that came in the box. So now I have to pay for the repair estimate (they determined it was unrepairable) and shipping both ways. I have the original receipt , the manual, and all accessories. The warranty is still valid through next month. Why should a photocopied piece of paper make any difference? Oh right...

It may sound strange, but whenever I receive a business lead from my website, one of the first "qualifiers" I look at is the email address . Over 7 years and hundreds of leads (most of them useless), I've discovered that an email address can say a lot about someone. Even before reading the project description or budget , I look very carefully at the email address.  From there, my qualifying process is a bit like this: 1. Is it a company address or free email service? If it is a company address , that's positive.  I use the domain name to go to their website and try to determine: a) How long they've been in business b) Their relative size c) Any affiliations with larger companies/organizations 2. If it is a free email address , it is usually one of the following: Great: Gmail: This is what most technical people use, and it is by far the best. Ok: Yahoo Mail: This was a great service back in the 90s, but has since declined.  This might indica...

I recently watched an enlightening documentary called " We Live In Public ". It made me completely rethink   my previous notions about online privacy . I'd like to believe that we can all be adults about things, and accept people's differences, but I could be wrong. The  1999 "Quiet" experiment documented in this movie almost seems like a visionary warning to "future us", a decade later. Although some may think that people can live together in truth and harmony , it didn't seem to work in this particular setting. How does this relate to the online world? Well, for one, having your opinions and interests public certainly makes you think a bit more about what you post. For example, I "like" the television show Weeds  on my Facebook profile.  Does that mean I support the legalization of marijuana, or simply that I enjoy the show? (It's a hilarious dramedy , by they way -- highly recommended) Different people could...

Lots of milestones lately. Almost missed this one! It's been about a year since I unveiled my georeferenced online classified site, BuyMyStuff.com . It's funny. The first thing people always say to me when I explain the site is, "Looks nice, but doesn't Craigslist already own that space?" Despite what some may think, I did perform a bit of research on my competition prior to launch -- although not a whole lot :) What I found was actually quite interesting. Although Craigslist dominates online classifieds in the United States, a site called Kijiji has most of the Canadian market. Since then, I've learned that the international classifieds site market is extremely fragmented . It's difficult to get exact numbers, but using Google and Compete, you can get a rough idea of market leaders. For example, here's the top classifieds sites in Australia:  http://siteanalytics.compete.com/tradingpost.com.au+gumtree.com.au+ozfreeonline.com/ After lo...

There's a very common misconception that great ideas have great value . This simply isn't true. An idea with no action or implementation is worth exactly zero dollars and zero cents . I have ideas all the time. Most are complete crap. Some are decent. But none of them have any value at all until I actually do something about them. Some will argue, "but if I have a great idea and patent it, I can sell that patent to a big company for millions !"  That's fine. Patents  have value. The ideas behind them are still worthless on their own. Derek Sivers explained this quite nicely back in 2005: It’s so funny when I hear people being so protective of ideas. (People who want me to sign an NDA to tell me the simplest idea.) To me, ideas are worth nothing unless executed. They are just a multiplier. Execution is worth millions. An idea is certainly a  prerequisite  for a valuable endeavor, but until you add the  action  and  implementation ...

I was a bit annoyed today reading through a few of the comments on this article in the Globe and Mail today. Every time there is a debate about copyright law , there are always a slew of comments like the following: "I walk into HMV and try and pocket a CD, DVD or game chances are I will be arrested and charged. Tell me how is it any different than doing the EXACT same thing while sitting at home in front of my computer."  Ok. I'm going to tell you exactly how it is different . This is such a moronic argument, and it's just not amusing anymore, because people are starting to believe it. So here it is quite simply. If you steal something, in the physical world, the original owner suffers a true and physical loss .  They no longer have the thing you took. On the other hand, if you make a copy of something, in the digital world, nothing is lost.  In fact, there has been a net gain ! In the digital world, you can literally create something of value (co...

Ahh, the fresh smell of spring.  Time to get rid of the old and bring in the new. Inevitably when you start spring cleaning , you end up with a bunch of things you've acquired over the years that you don't really need anymore. When I found myself with a large number of things to sell last year, I did my best advertising everything on Kijiji . I sold most things in the end, but it was a real pain updating and managing the individual ads, marking things off after they were sold. It was also a bit annoying that the site was plastered in multiple flashing banner ads and sponsored links trickily designed to look like regular listings. So I did what any self-respecting computer geek would do, and built my own solution to the problem -- BuyMyStuff.com . To be clear, it is not the best place to sell a car.  It is also not the place to look for a home or apartment.  Don't go there expecting to find personal ads or job listings, either. It is not at all ...

I return most  business phone calls (and all personal ones).  However -- There is a type of messages that I don't reply to anymore.  It goes something like this: "Hi, this is John Doe from Acme Corp. I've tried calling you several times but was unable to reach you. Could you please give me a call at 123-4567 x890.  That's John Doe at  1 2 3 - 4 5 6 7  x 8 9 0 . Look forward to speaking with you then.  Thanks! " This seems to be a standard template for a sales "cold call."   It's made to sound like it might be a potential client or other important call, but over the years, I've learned that most worthwhile messages include the reason for the call. When I return messages like the above, it is always some random provider trying to sell me something. What I don't understand is why they don't mention the product or service they're trying to sell in the message. Do they think they're being sneaky ?  Do they think they...

Now, I know I'm going to get some hate mail for this one, because I've had many a heated argument about it with friends before. Plus, I'm not actually a parent myself, so clearly I might "just not understand." But I'm going to try anyway. So what's the deal with parents lying to their kids about Santa Claus? I mean seriously, children are supposed to trust their parents. The world might be harsh and mean, but at least Mommy and Daddy are there to protect and nourish them, right? As a parent, you tell your children to look both ways before crossing the street. And you expect your children to believe you. You tell them not to take candy from strangers. You teach them right from wrong . And then you tell them that a fat jolly man in a red suit breaks into your house at night every year and leaves behind toys and candy. And they believe you. Why? Because they're your children and they trust you . Then, a few years down the line, they find out (usual...

As a small business owner, I have no dental or extended health coverage. So a while ago, I decided to sign up for a Manulife CoverMe policy. Their policies appear to be priced well. The website is nicely done, and the sign up process is entirely online. It gives you the feeling that they really have their stuff together. The problem is that as soon as they get your money, the experience goes sharply downhill. It looks like they invest all of their funds and effort into marketing and getting people to sign up, but as soon as you need service, you're SOL. Their claims process is straight out of the 1980's, requiring you to snail mail or fax a sheet you need to fill out by hand.  You would think they could have managed some sort of electronic method. I was able to easily set up automatic payments from my credit card online, but when I needed to cancel these payments, I had to phone twice, send two different faxes, and they still deducted two extra payments after canc...

I’ve recently gone from a 5-year period without any cable television to a condo that has a tv in every room. When I’m eating, I’ll often turn it on for a half hour or so, possibly getting sucked in for an hour show.  I usually watch TBS, Discovery, Comedy Central, or Sci-Fi. I had forgotten what constant bombardment from commercials feels like.  The television is relentlessly telling me: Eat more cheap, yummy fast food!  $1 for burgers! $2.99 for a full, greasy meal complete with a 1 gallon soda! But you’re fat, so take diet pills, and join Weight Watchers or Jenny Craig to buy “magical” food that will effortlessly make you lose weight. You have to buy an American car or truck to make jobs and support the economy! 3 different companies have the absolute lowest car insurance rates.  And people saved an average of $400 by switching from any of them to another. Did you not pay your taxes?  Were you deemed ineligible for government benefits?  That’s not your fault!  Sue them! Y...

The Green Party seems to be using media and technology well so far in this campaign. I was surprised to see how quickly and effectively they were able to mobilize Canadians to help them secure a spot in the public debates. Far from scientific, I've taken a quick "poll" of the official party pages on Facebook, a few days into the campaign. Currently they look like: Green: 2,417 fans, 142 wall posts, 24 discussion topics Liberal: 969 fans, 83 wall posts, 3 discussion topics Conservative: 654 fans, 75 wall posts, 5 discussion topics NDP: 437 fans, 19 wall posts, 2 discussion topics I wonder if these numbers actually reflect the voting preferences of the "Facebook demographic". Someone should do a more scientific study. Any volunteers?

Today I experienced something I learned about in a Services Marketing course while doing my MBA at Laurier. It’s what’s called “Service Failure.” I’m sure you’ve all experienced it one time or another. This is when a service business promises you a certain experience, then fails to deliver. In this case, it was a not-to-be named local haircutting salon I’ve been going to for a year or so. I always make an appointment, arrive on time, and typically wait 10-15 minutes before being started on. Anyone who knows me is aware of my strict adherence to deadlines and schedules and my general annoyance at people who don’t. To me, making an appointment with someone is a promise that they will be available at the specified time, barring an unforeseen calamity. Nonetheless, I put up with the 10-15 minute wait because most places aren’t much better. Well, today I came in on time, as usual, and was told, “Just finishing up here. Have a seat and I’ll be with you shortly.” I sat down, texted a bit...

It's getting more and more difficult to differentiate between the different types of spam. Just glancing at the last part of subject line, it looked like porn spam. Subject: Linux bash/perl programmer..........HOT HOT HOT and URGENT Turns out it was actually recruiter spam. Body: This is *** from ***.. Please let me know your comfortability ASAP.... I need a guy he must have at least 2 years of experience that his primary job is to write bash or perl script on linux machine.

After several months of development, I’m proud to announce that the Syllogistic Software team has completed its latest product – the Learn PHP Tutorial Video, found at http://www.LearnPHPTutorial.com/ “That’s great,” you say, “but what is PHP?” Glad you asked! PHP is a web programming language. In fact, it’s a web programming language I’ve been using since version 3 was released in 1998. Hard to believe it’s been around for 10 years now. Since we use PHP on a daily basis to create dynamic web applications for clients, it was only natural for us to produce a training video to help others do the same. So have a look at the two free sample chapters we’ve posted, and don’t hesitate to pass our link on to anyone you think might find it useful. If you have any comments, suggestions or questions about the videos, try out the Support feature on the website. Look forward to hearing what you think!

It's been my experience that, most of the time, delayed responses are bad. If I ask a question, and don't hear back from someone soon, it usually means the answer is negative. In various psychology classes, I remember learning that people tend to give positive answers quickly, but are reluctant to say "no". This was noted as especially true in Asian and Indian cultures. That said, there are a few exceptions: People going on vacation, not getting the message, emergencies coming up, etc. In general, if I send a request and don't hear back within 1-2 business days, I assume about a 90% chance of some sort of negative response. Does anyone know of any empirical research on this subject? If so, please post it as a comment.

Syllogistic Software has a new office! That's right, we're moving up in the world -- in terms of elevation :) We're now located on the 12th floor of the Marsland Centre in Uptown Waterloo. There's a picture of the building on our website. We're still getting settled, but things should be semi-normal by next week. Give me a shout and drop by if you're in the area.

I just read an article that summed up some common mistakes when starting a business that rung true to me. They mentioned the following (which I've put in the order I think is most important): Not focusing on the user Not having enough infrastructure (money + time) Forgetting about branding, marketing and sales Trying to do everything (similar to #2) Staying in "Stealth Mode" too long Have a look at the original article here: http://startupspark.com/the-5-most-common-mistakes-made-by-startups/