Disqus - Friends of AndyBeard

Re: Uncategorized – the post unleashed

MarkDykeman — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:47:10 -0000

Twitter is very good at doing a simple thing; Facebook is more like a portal to other things.

Re: Uncategorized – the post unleashed

MarkDykeman — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:17:18 -0000

In any event, you're welcome! ;-)

Re: Uncategorized – the post unleashed

MarkDykeman — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:11:59 -0000

In either case, you're welcome.

Re: Your Competition Doesn’t Exist

sbspalding — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:58:12 -0000

I think everything boils down to expectation management and you're right, the first expectation that needs to be managed is your own.

Lucid point as always Justin, thank you.

Re: Observations on social media and political issues

MarkDykeman — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 07:06:34 -0000

Undoubtedly taxpayers will wind up footing the bill somehow...

Re: Observations on social media and political issues

MarkDykeman — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 07:03:14 -0000

edwardsmith_fred: Please see my Nov. 3 update in the blog post above: Premier Graham now says that there's a potential large bill coming due for Mactaquac over the next ten years.

Re: 3 Out Of Every 4 Businesses Die Of Neglect

sbspalding — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:44:39 -0000

Ha! Indeed. ;)

Re: 3 Out Of Every 4 Businesses Die Of Neglect

sbspalding — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:44:08 -0000

Thank you for reading, I really appreciate it. :)

Re: You’re Just Like Everyone Else

sbspalding — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:40:59 -0000

Thank you! As for your question, the pictures always come from the good people at Flickr through http://search.creativecommons.org/

Re: Observations on social media and political issues

MarkDykeman — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 10:16:43 -0000

edwardsmith_fred:

To your point, the price tag to fix or do something with Mactaquac is unknown, so I wasn't accurate there, although I was trying to go from memory. However, as ClaudeB points out below, the dam does have problems.

As far as NB Power's debt goes, they may have paid down $1.0 billion, but they've taken on additional debt because if you check their annual reports for the past five years (which I did), the net debt is increasing, not decreasing, if you add up the figures available through 2007-2008 - I couldn't find 2008-2009's financial results.

Re: The power of social media to prevent change

MarkDykeman — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 11:01:59 -0000

That's a good perspective, Bill. Afterall, megaphones and microphones don't actually do anything other than transmit sound, right?

Re: The power of social media to prevent change

MarkDykeman — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 05:38:59 -0000

Thanks Pamela. I think I'm going to create a new blog for this topic. And tax hikes, although I can understand why they're necessary in some cases, are no fun.

Re: The blogosphere is as real as the public in public opinon

MarkDykeman — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 16:22:45 -0000

I see what you're saying now. I see your point but I can understand some frustration over the "wishy washy" statement as well.

Re: The blogosphere is as real as the public in public opinon

MarkDykeman — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 07:16:45 -0000

Perhaps there's a lot of drama there, but I think he had a valid point about the Blogging With Integrity badges and reaction of the other bloggers. It doesn't mean that the female blogger in question would need to be ostracized by her peers or community, but silence would seem to indicate a lack of will to live by the standards implied in the underlying code of conduct.

Re: 3 Out Of Every 4 Businesses Die Of Neglect

sbspalding — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 19:02:48 -0000

It's incredibly easy to get caught up in your own little bubble, especially when you spend as much time blowing it as entrepreneurs do. Getting some outside advice is almost ways what ends up making the difference.

Re: 3 Out Of Every 4 Businesses Die Of Neglect

sbspalding — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 19:01:23 -0000

There are more people than even I'd like to admit who open businesses (especially online businesses with small startup costs) without any real consideration of what they're in for.

They are passionate but they are passionately heading in completely incorrect directions. I mostly agree with you though, passion is critical but if your ship is pointed towards the rocks, it doesn't really matter how quickly you row.

That being said, I've seen passionate people do some amazing things so my heart is definitely with you on that one.

Re: 3 Out Of Every 4 Businesses Die Of Neglect

sbspalding — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 12:50:57 -0000

I definitely agree. Trying to "go it alone" is a quick way to go completely crazy. You need someone (preferably outside of your crazy bubble) to keep you on track and give you perspective. Great point per usual Robert.

Re: Newspapers, serendipity, and the time to browse

MarkDykeman — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 12:00:58 -0000

Hah, things they never told you before you became a parent, huh?

Re: Newspapers, serendipity, and the time to browse

MarkDykeman — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 07:00:45 -0000

Great post, Chris. I commented on your blog as well. Thanks!

Re: Newspapers, serendipity, and the time to browse

MarkDykeman — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 09:11:24 -0000

Hi Glen, there does seem to be a difference between how generations get their news. My parents are avid newspaper readers as well, but they've only gotten high speed Internet access during the past couple of years, which makes a difference.

Another thing to consider is that in many cases we're still reading content generated by news organizations, just via electronic media. However, if we slice and dice what we choose to read, we may lose some of the serendipity effect that Mathew wrote about.

Re: You’re Just Like Everyone Else

sbspalding — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:10:04 -0000

In many ways I see this as optimistic, though I completely understand where you are coming from here.

My point was that while everything is intrinsically different and while differences drive success, we shouldn't forget that a big part of the reason that things work is because they are "sufficiently similar."

If you take it to the extreme, consider "experimental filmmaking." For every Blair Witch project (which succeeded because it was slightly off-key with what was out there at the time) there are dozens and dozens of movies that fail utterly because you simply cannot relate to them. They are so out there that they really speak to no one. I would argue that Blair Witch succeeded because it relied heavily on classic horror tropes but twisted them just enough to make something meaningful.

Your employee idea is spot on but I would argue that "culture fit" is critically important as well. If someone is an incredible visionary but doesn't fit into the culture (can't relate to others or see things from a wider perspective) the relationship will not work. More basically, the two biggest aspects of leadership are vision (a function of being unique) and team building (a function of appreciating similarities).

I think this post was my response to this belief that it's only differences that are meaningful. I've written before on the subject and I believe you have to have something unique to bring to your project or it's not worth doing, at the same time though I think it's a mistake to forget that despite our differences a lot of what makes things work is the understanding and appreciating of our similarities.

Thank you for the comment!

Re: Five crucial tips for bloggers to profit from forums

MarkDykeman — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 22:01:00 -0000

Good luck! I'm not very strong on the monetization side, but I'm sure that there are plenty of people there who are.

Re: Five crucial tips for bloggers to profit from forums

MarkDykeman — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 18:45:13 -0000

Hi Christopher, I recognize you from the forum. See you there!

Re: Five crucial tips for bloggers to profit from forums

MarkDykeman — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 18:44:34 -0000

Thanks Christopher, good luck!

Re: The story behind #100tofollow

MarkDykeman — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 07:32:24 -0000

Thanks... I didn't realize that what was in the picture... I was just focused on the number 100... :)