The Log

Sebastiaan de With makes some interesting points in favor of Flash. He includes the logic that if your implementation that does not use Flash equates to poor performance, then perhaps a future without Flash does not necessarily equate with progress.

Take a look at the current Macheist page. At the time of this writing, it is using 65 to 70 percent of the processing power in my early 2008 Mac Pro, equipped with eight Xeon cores.

Sometimes it’s easy to don the standards hat and inelegantly state, “Thou shalt never use Flash.” But if Flash is a better solution than all other options, use it. The same goes for tables — there is a time and place. The Machest sites are a good example of this.

Dan Mall said it well in his latest piece on A List Apart titled Flash and Standards: The Cold War of the Web:

Create something excellent where the technology is transparent, and allow only the curious to look under the hood to actually see what’s going on. JavaScript, Flash, HTML5, tables, Shockwave, Unity—no one cares when people using it can do what they’re supposed to.

Hear, hear.

For envy.

Updated Weightshift.com:

Updated Colly.com:

This interview was originally published on an older blog of mine. I’ve been moving them over to here slowly, and this interview with Michael was before we worked together on Fusion.

One of the pleasures of this thing we call blogging is getting to know other people from all over the world and in various walks of life. One such person for me is another Mac oriented blogger by the name of Michael Mistretta. Over the past year, we’ve corresponded quite a bit, and I’ve gotten to know the guy fairly well. At the age of fifteen, he’s quite a mature young man with a lot of ideas of what to do with his life.

One thing we share in common is our belief in God, and that’s really what prompted this interview. Michael had the opportunity to do some missions work in Africa this year, and he shared some of his experiences on his personal blog. After reading his thoughts and seeing his great photos, I was curious about a few things — like how the disparity of the quality of life in different areas affects younger people here in North America today, amongst other things.

So after three months of going back and forth, here’s what Michael had to say.

The Interview

Chris: I read in another recent interview you did that this was the first year you started doing school at home. What were the reasons you decided to try correspondence over the more traditional methods of education?

Michael: The major problem with traditional schooling is the belief that everybody learns in the exact same way, and that by coming up with an effective curriculum, we can teach that en masse, and ensure that everybody learns and succeeds.

Unfortunately, it’s not that simple.

When I began high school, I found each day to be severely repetitive and limiting. School was taking up every waking moment of my life, and I despised it. Acing the tests and exams were worthless if I was miserable and felt that I wasn’t actually learning anything. Instead of being frustrated through the next three years, I decided to try an alternative — teaching myself.

A year later, I have no regrets. I couldn’t have made a better decision. I learn by teaching myself, and being able to cover the same material as a traditional school (sans the repetition) in a couple hours each day leaves room for me to pursue other things that I am passionate about — writing, photography, and design.

People often look at my pictures and ask if I’ve taken a photography class in school. They are shocked to hear that I’ve simply taught myself. Unfortunately, the society we live in subtly implies that the only way to learn something ‘correctly’ is through school. They couldn’t be more mistaken.

Chris: Interesting. It sounds like you are able to put your time to the best use.

One common criticism of home schooling or distance learning is that children need to be around other children for social development and that school gives them the best opportunity for that to happen (not an opinion shared by this interviewer). Now that criticism is mostly directed at children of a younger age, but I’m still curious about your thoughts in this regard.

You are in an a somewhat unique situation — you have a lot of interaction during your ‘school day’, but it’s digital rather than face-to-face. A person only needs to look at your Twitter update count to see that. Do you think this online activity can fill the social development needs of school aged children?

Michael: This is the number one question I get when asked about home schooling. There is no easy answer because, once again, it depends on the nature and character of the child.

In general though, I would say that the most fully developed children — in body, mind, and spirit — are the ones that interact socially both online and face-to-face. Younger children obviously need face-to-face interaction to develop communication skills as well as other characteristics that define who they are. But as a child develops, school actually limits their social development.

Restricting a child to school for their social development means that they are in the same environment, with the same people, throughout the first 18 years of their lives. They are only getting a single perspective on world issues and cultures. The school’s preach “no man is an island”, but they are the ones isolating the children from the world.

The Internet, on the other hand, opens up a child the world. No longer are you just communicating with people in your community, city, or nation. The Internet changes all that. You can chat with people on the other side of the world over Skype. You can wake up to people in the UK talking about lunch via twitter. We live on opposite ends of Canada, yet can carry on an interview over email. All of a sudden, you begin to develop a more global perspective of the world.

The Internet also opens the students up — possibly for the first time — to criticism. Traditional schooling shelters students into believing in a false reality. On the Internet, you’ll get it all — from role models to spammers to trolls — and it is up to you to filter out the good from the bad. Online interactions are a good introduction into the ‘real world’ for a lot of people. In order to ‘succeed’ on the Internet or in the real world, you need to ‘grow up’ and mature — something that shocks a lot of people when they begin Day 1 of their lives after high school.

Chris: Good points. I’d argue that kids at school get plenty of criticism from their peers, but I get your point.

Moving in a slightly different direction now, with all you have going on, I’m curious about how you ensure productivity. First, can you give me your overall view of GTD?

Michael: I’ve always blown off GTD due to the large overhead. All the GTD apps I experimented with required me to learn about contexts and projects and a bunch of stuff I didn’t care about. I just want to get something done. I don’t want to spend more time maintaining my todo list than actually getting things done from that list.

What I found over time though, is that as my tasks increased I naturally started looking for ways to simplify and become more efficient. The problem with GTD is when it gets in the way of actually getting something done. The ideal GTD system — in my mind at least — is one that allows me to quickly get down my thoughts, and syncs across all my devices. A true GTD system fades itself into the background allowing you to focus on your tasks.

Chris: Fair enough — that’s a sentiment that a lot of people express. And although your schooling from home gives you more spare time than the average 15 year old, you still get a lot done. You have your school work, your photography, maintaining a blog, producing a podcast, not mention the being active in the social aspects of the web like Twitter — you must have some sort of defined system, even if it’s inherent or subconscious.

Can you go into some detail on how you stay organized and productive?

Michael: Embarrassing enough as it is to admit it, I have no real GTD system. My tasks are scattered across multiple todo lists, and emails quickly sent to myself. There is nothing that I can show you to say “this is how I get things done”.

A lot of that has to do with my personality. I’d much rather sit down and brainstorm ideas in my head, then write them down. I’m sure that subconsciously I am constructing todo lists and plans for tomorrow in my mind, but you will find no evidence of that on my Mac or iPhone.

One system that I do use on a daily basis is my Inbox. I still remember less than a year ago, I simply left all my emails in my Inbox. There was a time when my Inbox was 2000 messages deep. Finally, I saw the light, and adapted Merlin Mann’s “Inbox Zero” strategy to my inbox. When an email comes in, it is automatically filtered through a group of rules in Mail.app, that aim to detect the importance of that email to my workflow.

Social network notifications, automatically-generated messages, and newsletters all go to my “Bacn” folder. The idea behind Bacn is that it’s not Spam — it’s mail you want, just not right now. This helps keep all those frivolous Facebook and Twitter notifications out of my inbox so I can continue to focus on whatever I’m working on. There is even a nifty Mail plugin that will make all Bacn messages appear as a different colour on the Mail.app Dock icon.

Email that comes into the Inbox is either replied to immediately, deleted, sent to the Archive, or filtered into one of my task mailboxes. @Action contains all emails that require me to preform some sort of task (I’ve also been using this as a makeshift todo list as of late). @Hold is for all the emails that require some sort of information that I need to use in upcoming projects, blog posts, etc. And @Reply contains all the emails that I want to put-off replying too.

When I empty the Inbox, along with all the filter folders, I declare Inbox Zero — one of the greatest feelings ever. You’ll also notice that I have some other folders for projects that I am working on. This allows me to setup Rules that will automatically send messages directly to that mailbox. Finally, I keep a Receipts folder around to manage all of the purchases and transactions that take place online. This makes it easy for me to then organize the transactions into a money-management app.

While I love using my single inbox to manage all my tasks, as it syncs perfectly with MobileMe across all my devices, I’ve reached the point where email doesn’t cut it. I need some other organization system in my life — or so I’m told by a little site known as The Weekly Review.

After much consideration, I think I will be going the route of OmniFocus. I love the ability to quickly input features, as well as the ability to organize actions into projects, and getting those projects done through the use of contexts. Having both Mac and iPhone applications, and allowing them to sync over MobileMe, OmniFocus seems like the best way to get into the whole GTD world. Only barrier to entry is the price — $100 for both apps. Quite steep. Of course, I’ll give Things from Cultured Code a fair chance before making a decision, as I’ve heard you recommend it many times.

Chris: Ha — well, that was a long explanation for someone who doesn’t have a ‘system’. Well said though.

If you are making a move to another tool, whether OmniFocus, Things or some other app, the key is to find one that fits you and your habits. And it sounds like you have a decent understanding of you work.

Let’s change the focus a little now. In January this year, you published a post titled Some Changes. In it, you explain your desire to write with quality as the end goal, rather than quantity and traffic being your prime motivations. Later in February, you detailed these thoughts further in your “Open Letter to the Blogosphere.” Here’s a paragraph that I feel sums up the post:

Today, blogs are a dime a dozen. There are blogs about anything and everything. However, only few blogs really stand out. A few really rise above the rest. The authors are passionate about their blogs, and it shows in their writing. They make their writing a living expression of who they are. When I read these blogs, I am not reading just empty words. I am reading into who they are.

Five months later, so you still feel the same way?

Michael: Absolutely. Something that you wrote recently, put into words much of what I’ve been feeling about blogs and RSS subscriptions: “If I suddenly had to trim my news reader down to 10 or 20 feeds, the how-to stuff and news sites would go. I’d only have personal blogs left.”

I would probably do the same thing. Whenever I write, I keep this quote from Gruber in mind:

I wanted to write a site for someone it’s meant for. That reader I write for is a second version of me. I’m writing for him. He’s interested in the exact same things I’m interested in; he reads the exact same websites I read. I want him to like this website so much that he reads it from the top to the bottom, and he reads everything. Every single word. The copyright statement, what software I use, he’s read it all.

When I look at the big blogs in the tech-world (TechCrunch, Engadget, Gizmodo, etc), I don’t know anyone that reads them word-for-word, top to bottom. Sure some may read the headlines, and others may skim the subtitles, but does anyone actually get excited when they see a new Engadget post, and drop everything they’re doing until they’ve read every word in their post? No.

That’s who I write for. I write for that one reader whose face lights up when they see a new post on MichaelMistretta.com, and puts everything aside to read that post. And they won’t stop until they’ve read every word.

Back in February, the news sites were the only kind of blogs I read. And it showed in my writing. I began to make up killer headlines for my posts, and write them with easily skim-able headings. I’d make list posts, and try to get them to the top of Digg. And as you would imagine, the quality of my posts took a turn for the worse.

Then I discovered “personal blogs”. Not the ones writing about their dogs peeing on the carpet, or how horrible of a day they had. Blogs like yours and Shawn Blanc’s that give opinions and advice with a personal touch and personal experiences. I look forward to a nice, long blog post from one of my favourite blogs more than I would a TV show or video game launch. There’s something fascinating about getting someone else’s take on things — especially when it’s something they’re passionate about.

The most successful blog writing content like this that I can think of is Daring Fireball with millions of pageviews a month. And the philosophy of writing quality content with a personal touch has paid off — and has become the means on which he makes a living. While he may not have as much traffic or subscribers as a mega-blog like TechCrunch, there is no doubt that he has as much, if not more influence on the technology sector.

Chris: All right. I was going to ask you what your goals are as a writer, but I think you’ve answered that question. And it’s so true — this is all about establishing a connection with your reader so he/she keeps coming back for more.

And speaking of the higher traffic news sites, you’ve had some posts hit sites like StumbleUpon and generate a lot of traffic. I’ve kind of kept track of subscribers for both our sites and noticed that even though I’ve had less traffic, our subscription numbers have been about the same. It makes me wonder a little about traffic — it seems perhaps there is a difference of quality over quantity. How do you feel about the traffic you’ve received from a site like StumbleUpon or Reddit? Do you feel that these readers stick around?

Michael: It’s probably one of my biggest struggles as a writer. Naturally, we all want as many people to read our articles as possible, and it’s easy become obsessive over our stats and the number of comments. There is a certain pleasure though, to simply hitting the Publish button in MarsEdit and feeling a sense of completion. Not judging a post by the number of comments or hits it receives, or by the number of blogs that link back to it. Whether one or one million people read the post, it does not affect your satisfaction with what you’ve written.

That, in my mind, is the sign of a confident writer, and I aspire to reach that level of confidence where numbers simply don’t matter.

That said, I generally pride myself in subscribers much more than traffic. Anyone that writes a list post with an attractive title can get to the front page of Digg, and get tens of thousands of hits sent to their site. But it takes a passionate, consistent, and committed blogger to build up subscribers.

Back in March, one of my posts got popular on Reddit, and in return, StumbleUpon. That month, I received 125,000 unique visitors for that post. I’d say that about 10 people stuck around as subscribers. And that was when I learned one of my biggest lessons as a blogger — aimless traffic is pointless. That’s right, pointless. All it does is crash your server, skew your stats for months to come, and leave you feeling disappointed and inadequate.

One of the things I’ve noticed about the traffic from StumbleUpon, is that it’s mostly been Windows users — who likely wouldn’t be interested in a blog writing about Apple products among other things. Traffic is pointless unless it’s focused. Focused traffic comes from other sites writing about a similar niche. This adds meaning to your traffic, as you know that each hit is from someone who is in your blog’s target audience.

If your blog is truly writing good-quality content, focused traffic will lead to a much higher subscriber conversion rate, and is the reason it’s crucial to build relationships with other bloggers with similar interests.

Chris: Interesting that you mention relationships. Is this a positive aspect about blogging for you? Do you tend to naturally initiate interaction with other bloggers, or is it something that is hard for you?

Michael: Talking and interacting with other bloggers is one of the highlights of my blogging experience. I am a very reserved person, and find it awkward to communicate with bloggers on a more personal level such as email. Part of that is because I’d rather speak in front of a room of 10,000 people than talk to someone one-on-one.

Twitter has helped dramatically in that respect. Following bloggers writing for a similar niche will change the way you write, as you learn, interact, and redefine your writing in order to find your voice. What it comes down to though, is realizing that any blogger is just a normal human — and while it may be tempting to treat them like a superstar, being transparent and being yourself is always the best way to go. It hasn’t failed me yet.

Chris: Agreed. Most of the people in this industry seem mostly humble when you get the opportunity to interact with them.

Let’s switch topics a bit now. You often talk about photography. What made you get started on this hobby and why did you choose to learn on your own?

Michael: If you’d asked me this a couple months ago, I would have said that I started photography back in December 2007 when I bought my first DSLR. In hindsight though, I’ve always had a fascination with cameras. While a lot of it comes naturally, part of it was because my dad, who has been into video for the past decade. He’d always let me goof around with the camera from a very young age (after our HTML 4.0 lessons, of course).

At family reunions and weddings, I was always appointed as the unofficial “camera man” — even though I knew relatively little about camera settings at the time. After being inspired by Glenn Wolsey and Jordan Chark’s Flickr photos, I found myself longing for a new camera (I was shooting on a 5-year old, first-gen, point and shoot digital camera at the time). So I bought myself a Nikon D40x, read the manual, and started shooting.

My biggest pet peeve is how most people are taken aback when they hear that I didn’t take a photography course in school. They cannot comprehend how I learnt photography by simply looking at photos online, and going out and shooting. But at the same time, that’s how I learned to blog — by reading and writing, and writing some more.

Flickr is the number one resource I’d recommend to any aspiring photographer. Meet photographers from all over the world, get inspiration from their photographs, and learn how they conquered certain challenges in their shots. Like most things, blogging included, you can learn all the specifics, but it takes time and consistent practice to become a pro.

I sure that photography and writing will be part of my career in some way (photojournalism maybe?), and the fact that I’m passionate about both excites me all the more. Of course, like designers, photographers are often given little consideration, and are asked for the impossible last minute. For example: “Hey Michael, I know it’s almost midnight, but can you make a super-quick slideshow of all the photos from the last 6 months for tomorrow morning. Thanks.”

Chris: I think photography is like a lot of hobbies/interests/professions — you can teach yourself what you need to do without formal education. The Internet is becoming the classroom and there are no shortage of experts sharing their knowledge with others.

And speaking of knowledge, when it comes to photography and cameras, I have very little. So for myself and others like me, tell me something — does a digital SLR make that much of a difference compared to your run-of-the-mill point and click? I have an older Canon Powershot A75 and find that it takes low quality pictures.

For someone like me, who has limited time to learn more about taking good photos, will a DSLR help me take better pictures without a big time investment?

Michael: If you are debating between a Point-and-Shoot or a low-end DSLR and have a decent budget, a Nikon D40 is the way to go. It’s the cheapest and smallest DSLR, and can now be found on Amazon for less than $500. That’s a steal considering my first digital camera (non-DSLR) cost $500 only a couple years ago. It’s now sitting in the closet doing what it does best — collecting dust.

Best of all, the D40 takes fantastic pictures right out of the box. Turn it on, set it to Auto mode, and fire away. No customizing needed.

A general rule of thumb in photography is the larger the sensor (the part of the camera that captures the image), the better the image will look. That’s why Digital SLRs typically take better pictures than traditional digital cameras. Add this with the fact that the D40 takes two and a half pictures per second with no delays, and you’ll be sure never to miss a moment again.

And while auto mode works fantastically, there is also a huge opportunity for growth. Over time, you will naturally start looking for ways to expand your photography, and the D40 has a huge amount of advanced features that you can learn at your own pace. If you are looking to understand a little more about how your camera works, take 20 minutes and read through this introduction to photography written by yours truly.

If you’re looking for a camera that will snap pictures of the kids at a moments notice, the D40 is the camera for you. Just remember: photography isn’t magic. Light your subjects well, keep your backgrounds clean and clutter-free, and shoot like crazy. Digital storage is so cheap nowadays, that it’s absurd not to have every moment of your life documented.

Up until today, I’ve shot exclusively with a D40x (exact same camera as the D40 with larger image sizes). Take a look at my Flickr stream to see just some of the things you can do with a DSLR and a creative imagination.

Chris: I definitely like the idea that technology can help me take better pictures without me having to educate myself — lazy man photography! Thanks for answering that question.

Now I’d like to talk about the subject that prompted me to initiate this interview — your trip to Africa. How did this come about and how did you get involved?

Michael: It started four years ago with a simple youth event. They talked about missions and going into the world to touch people’s lives. I was 11 at the time, and probably didn’t understand most of what they were saying. But it struck me hard. And I wanted in.

My mother wasn’t too keen on the sending-your-eleven-year-old-son-to-the-other-end-of-the-world thing, but when I hit thirteen, I was able to raise the money and go to South Africa for two weeks. I was young, it was a short trip, but I saw things there that very few people see in a lifetime. Two million people living in pieces of cardboard and tin within a couple mile radius. Being able to go and see poverty first hand is lifechanging. It’s much different than seeing it on a TV screen. Those two weeks changed my life.

So I’ve made it into a habit. Giving a month or so each summer to go and help those in need. People who have been abused. Orphans that have never felt what it’s like to be loved. And worst — heart-broken, hopeless people, that walk the streets believing in their hearts that they are living for nothing.

In 2007, I went to the remote jungles and islands of Panama, and this year, I went to Zambia. The purpose of our trips often change depending on our location. Sometimes, it’s building houses. Sometimes, it’s bringing food and water and school supplies. But that’s not why I go.

I’ve been criticized by some: “Why spend money going to Africa, when you can simply send the money and help people’s practical needs?” Obviously, a comment like this comes from people who’ve never been to Africa. Money is important, yes, but without people, it’s possible to reach the impoverished. You’d be amazed how willing most are to give money, but how few actually go.

No amount of money will solve the AIDS problem. I’ve seen firsthand, orphans that would give away everything they have (which isn’t much) to spend a day with us. These are children that have been forced to work in mines and drop out of school to support their brothers and sisters. They’ve never felt fun. Never felt love. Never thought that anybody in the world cares about them. Some who’ve been abused by uncles and distant relatives. They feel dirty. They feel hopeless.

And then in come white teenagers from “America”. The only time they’ve ever seen white people are on TV — as celebrities. In their minds, white skin equals celebrity status. Then these white “celebrities” come and pick them up, take them in, feed them, give them a place to sleep, love them, and give them hope. Money is not the answer for these kids. Hope is. Hope that they don’t have to live their lives in a mine. That they can be anything they want to be. That they can do anything they want. It’s a total revolution in their lives.

And I guess that’s why I do it. It’s been such a change in my life as well, that I feel it’s simply part of something I do. It’s part of who I am. My love for photography just escalates my need to travel the world, and capture the sights I see, and emotions I experience. And it’s something that will always have a place in my heart.

Chris: I think I get what you’re saying, but want to clarify:

I’ve been criticized by some: “Why spend money going to Africa, when you can simply send the money and help people’s practical needs?” Obviously, a comment like this comes from people who’ve never been to Africa. Money is important, yes, but without people, it’s impossible to reach the impoverished. You’d be amazed how willing most are to give money, but how few actually go.

You’re saying that even if everyone gave money to causes such as this, there still has to be people available to serve to actually put that money to use?

Michael: Yes, exactly. I had the chance to sit next to a professional malaria expert (i.e. mosquito chaser) on the plane home from Africa, and he brought me up to speed on how much of a killer malaria is. To give you a quick comparison, malaria on average, kills more Africans a year than HIV/AIDS.

Organizations and funds have the money and the technology needed to go on a massive anti-malaria campaign, and wipe out malaria from Africa (similar to what they did in the US and Canada in the 20th century). The problem is that Africa is so vast and disperse, that if would take a group of millions of people to distribute the vaccines, and control the mosquito level.

Money is an issue, yes, but organizations are lacking human resources much more.

Chris: Hmm, more people should know about that. It makes sense of course, but I’ve never thought it all the way through before. Thanks for clarifying.

One other item you mentioned intrigues me. You said that they children there see western people as celebrities — how does that make you feel? And how do you think our lifestyle over here in North America affects the people you ministered to?

Michael: In their minds, “white people” equal Americans, and Americans equal people of authority. When they see “Americans” that have come all the way to Africa to serve them and love them, they are blown away. They value that more than anything else. It’s more than a verbal autograph — it’s us showing them that we love and care about them enough to come half-way across the world to reach them.

As for our lifestyle here, yes, it’s selfish. It’s definitely a humbling experience to go away for a month. Coming back can leave you subject to culture shock, in more ways than one. But that doesn’t stop me from buying cameras or lenses or other material “things”. Having the things is not the fatal flaw — being consistently self-centred is. Remember you’re blessed, invest in the tools, and create something wonderful.

No selfishness in that.

Chris: Hmm, interesting thoughts. I’ve heard that from a lot of missionaries — coming home is always a culture shock. It goes hand in hand with another sentiment those returning consistently express — out on the mission field, there is an obvious distinction between good and evil, right and wrong. When returning to North America, suddenly there is a cloud of ambiguity and areas of grey (as opposed to black and whites). Sin is not so obvious … it’s harder to identify.

I guess that is where I was going with the last part of that last question. “And how do you think our lifestyle over here in North America affects the people you ministered to?” I was asking this from the point of view that everything we eat, use, play with … what we consume comes with a cost. Until we in industrialized countries come to embrace the concept that every purchasing decision we make affects people in other parts of the world, I think it will be hard to resolve some of the issues our world faces.

And you were right in your last response — self centeredness is the issue here. In North America, the constant pursuit of our own pleasure is the trap we all face. As a young person with so much of your life ahead of you, how do you feel about this?

Michael: Our society, frankly, is based on people striving to succeed whatever the cost. There are so many people screaming from all different directions their measure of success. Look around at all the “Get rich in 60 days” books being sold. More than ever, we want to do something that will be noticed. I know, because I’ve tried. And I’ve seen other people live their lives miserable in the name of success, and I’ve vowed never to stoop to that level.

I guess one could say that most teens my age don’t get the chance to experience different cultures and travel to the ends of the world. Most adults for that matter, don’t realize that the world is more than the USA. Or Canada. Or their neighbourhood.

One thing that surprised me while in Africa is how much of an influence the US is on their society. We bumped into two men one night, that were as well-versed as any American about McCain and Obama and American politics. I expressed my amazement, and they said, “People don’t realize, but the world is watching America. Whatever happens to America affects the rest of us.”

That said, I don’t think that we should feel guilty living in a first-world country. We’re blessed. And with that blessing comes a responsibility.

These trips have changed my life (and the direction of my life, at that). It’s taught me to value people a lot more than things. I love gadgets and gizmos and new tech as much as the next guy, but there’s a problem when that becomes everything you’re living for. It’s a major problem in the online community especially — young teens enthusiastic about technology and revolving their lives around it. In all honesty, I’ve tried that, and it just leaves you high and dry. There’s something more; something deeper that people are missing out on.

The thing is: I don’t want success like the world wants it. I’ve constructed my own definition for success: connecting with the God I love, spending time with the people I love, and doing things that I love that will leave an everlasting impact on other people’s lives.

When we shift our focus from “things” to “relationships”, life has a bigger, better purpose. Being able to create something is fine and dandy, but being able to change a life — well, that’s true success.

Chris: What are some things you do to make sure that you are focused on the “relationships” rather than the “things” then? How do you through each day, resisting some of these temptations and keeping focused on the things that are more important?

Michael: Prioritize. You have to take five minutes, sit down, and think about what you value in your life. That won’t always give you the right answer, but it allows you to take a step back and look at your life. Knowing what you value, and seeing if you value it with your time.

Balance isn’t exactly my forte. I like to envelop myself in a single project and work till I drop — forgetting everything else until the job is complete or I collapse from exhaustion. I constantly have to retrain myself and force balance into my life.

With school during the day, and my evenings filled with online projects, photo editing, and blogging, there’s little time left in the day for spending time with my family or relaxing to a good book. And while I love doing all these projects, and chatting with friends, there are only 24 hours in a day. And I can’t blame anyone for using up those hours but me.

So there are two things I (try to) do to create balance in my life — simplification and focus.

Starting a project is easy, it’s living up to the time commitment that’s the challenge. My goal is to do everything I do with excellence. If an additional “thing” gets in the way of that excellence, I’d rather cut it out than have it degrade the rest of my work. It’s better to be known for doing one thing exceptionally, than doing everything haphazardly. I try to keep the number of projects I’m working on simultaneously under three. I also try to limit the number of social networks I sign up for. There’s nothing worse than spending more time twittering about what you do, than actually doing it.

Your mileage may vary on how many projects you can have on the run or the amount of time you can spend communicating. But never let communication get in the way of you doing what you love. Because, when it’s all said and done, twitter isn’t very high up on my priority list.

Second, is focus. Focus is underrated in our society — especially by the tinkering, geeky, I-wonder-how-this-works crowd. Today it’s all about multi-tasking and being able to do as many things at once as possible. Merlin Mann. on 43Folders, has the best 2-minute talk on multi-tasking and why it’s a myth. We really can’t do more than one thing at a time, and if we try to, we are simply splitting our attention in multiple directions, and spending time switching between tasks.

There is value — a real value — in focusing on one task. One thing at a time: what a revolutionary concept! We waste way to much time during the day glancing over at Twitterrific or responding to a quick email. If we simply dedicate all our creative juices to one task at a time, we can get more done and free up more time to be with the people we love.

Chris: And that’s what is really important. Being productive is really just ensuring we can support ourselves and have the ability to focus on the ‘who’ in our lives, not the ‘what’.

Okay, last question. As a young Christian nearing the end of high school and looking towards some of the most exciting times in your life, what are some things you can do to ensure you are doing God’s will for your life?

Michael: I’m not gonna lie, it’s something I struggle with every day.

The independent, rambunctious, zealous side of me wants to do things my own way. Especially for someone who has already discovered what they are passionate and excited about, it’s easy to leave God out of the process. To think that you know best and can do it all on your own.

And then, well then I have these humbling periods. Times where I realize I can’t do it all by myself.

But I struggle with it every day — discerning between what’s my will, and what’s His. Learning from my mistakes is one thing, but learning from mistakes that I made while knowing better is tough.

I have strong convictions. I am thoughtful. I am observant. I know what I’ve seen and I hate with all my heart and vow to never become. I know who I admire. And I know there’s a fine line between copying those I admire, and being inspired by them.

That said, I cannot see more than a few years ahead of me. Sure I have goals and aspirations, but I can’t see five or ten years into the future. And sometimes, that’s best. Cause it leaves me realizing that I’m dependent on Someone greater that doesn’t care how many times I try to do it on my own and fail.

I think some lyrics from the song Twenty-Six Summers by Vicky Beeching are appropriate:

“I don’t know what the future holds
or what lies beyond my horizon
the years ahead are just out of sight
well, I think sometimes that You hide them
so that I’ll walk by faith not sight
so I’ll take Your hand, holding tight.”

High school is coming to a close and I have to make some pretty “different” decisions to make in the coming months. To be honest, I’m glad I can depend on an all-knowing God instead of leaving it up to a young, know-it-all teenager.

Chris: Amen.

As always, conducting this interview was fun. Thanks for taking the time Michael.

A couple of months back, I was giving Dan Benjamin a hard time on Twitter, claiming that someone replaced his avatar with a caricature of Cabel Sasser (of Panic fame). Dan replied, with a link to the source his avatar, which was supplied by the gang responsible for Happy Webbies.

Although I was merely giving Dan a hard time — you have to admit that his happy webby looks a lot like Cabel’s Twitter avatar — this made me stop and think for a second. “Dan Benjamin has a happy webby!?” Seeing as I follow Dan on Twitter, I have obviously heard of him before. But I realized I did not hold him in the same regard as other notables in the web design world, such as Jason Santa Maria, Veerle Pieters or Jon Hicks. Why?

Here is a guy who built the content management systems for A List Apart and Cork’d. He’s the CTO of Rails Machine and respected enough in the Rails community that he’s speaking at RailsConf for the second year in a row.

After reviewing all I know of Dan, I realized this simple fact – Dan’s work is mostly unseen, living in the back-end of any website he works on. All those other folks are unbelievably good at making pretty things that the user can see. Dan’s work might also be pretty, but in a different way. This realization got me to wondering if there are others like me — casual web design fans for whom this is mostly a hobby — who unconsciously place more importance on the visual over the structure of this ‘web’ we love so much.

So I decided to rectify this unbalance by learning more about Dan Benjamin and his work. And where better to go than straight to the source? Here’s what I found.

The Interview

Let’s start with your own blog, Hivelogic. You have mentioned in your 2007 redesign that it runs on your own Rails app – impressive back-end work. How much of the front end work was completed by yourself?

Dan: Save for a few brief experiments, Hivelogic has always been published with software I’ve written. Writing your own software is a great way to learn new frameworks and languages. It also teaches you the importance of a good user interface and workflow, and it helps you predict what clients might want out of a system they’ll be using every single day.

As for the front-end design, traditionally, and at present, I’ve done the designs myself. There have been three exceptions to this, where designer friends of mine created a design for me. They were Jason Santa Maria, Dan Cederholm, and Meagan Fisher. And as much as I realize that these designers did amazing work for me, far superior to anything I can conjure up, the Hivelogic aesthetic just never feels “right” to me unless it’s running on a design I’ve done myself, despite my preference for simplicity, and content-focused starkness.

You can see a retrospective of past and present Hivelogic designs in a Flickr set dedicated to the subject.

Cool. I think that people who follow the world of web design, but are not necessarily employed in that field, are very familiar with designers who take the popular CMS’s available and create a beautiful design of their own making. That you’ve done the opposite and built your own CMS is pretty impressive.

And you list some pretty impressive names who’ve done a design for you. This is part of why I was interested in interviewing you. I wanted to hear your thoughts on this particular topic – designers vs. coders. It seems like the designers always get the majority of the attention. In a recent article titled “Findability, Orphan of the Web Design Industry” on A List Apart, Aarron Walter illustrated the differences between designers and coders(Development) in his analogy of the web design family:

Although Development was a little nerdy and shy, everyone admired his brilliance—from which he created an artificially intelligent search algorithm in just two lines of code. Super-hip Design was the cutest of them all. He seemed to win top accolades all by himself whether his siblings joined him on a project or not.

Is this illustration frustrating at all for someone like yourself? And would you agree with the underlying sentiment?

Dan: I think that accurately represents the general point of view, even if it’s false. And it’s one of the things I’ll be addressing in some upcoming posts, as well as my talk at Railsconf - how can Developers stand out, even if it’s among their own kind in their own world.

So much of what developers do is behind the scenes and invisible. And worse, it’s expected that what they do will “just work.” Good design is held in high regard by users, and great design is usually rewarded. But good code, efficient, thoughtful, effective code just flies under the radar. Things like github can help bring attention to developers and their work, which is just one small part part of the site’s usefulness, but it’s harder for great developers to reach beyond their own community.

Good usability, though, that’s something else entirely, and that’s why I love thinking about and working on usability. Usability is the crossroads where design and development meet, and even today, with people preaching about usability everywhere you go, it’s too often overlooked and undervalued. Believe me, people notice when the usability is wrong. Sites can totally fail because of bad usability.

Good point. And I definitely agree. Usability should be the main, underlying goal of any website. And even further, developers of applications of any type, web or desktop, or even operating systems, need to keep that goal always in focus.

But when it comes to the web, most people seem to choose one side or the other, development or design. I’ve seen several people state that there are very few in the industry who would be considered great at both. Shaun Inman is a name that seems to get that label. Where would you consider yourself in that scale?

Dan: I’m one of the people who have said that there are few if any people who are great at both design and code. I think it comes down not to skill or ability, but rather to expertise. It’s possible to deeply understand code, databases, Photoshop, CSS, and even be able to write very well, but it’s the skill you practice on a daily basis, what you spend the bulk of your time doing, that you build up expertise in.

So while there might be people who have the potential to be good (or even great) at both design and development, it’s rare that you find somebody who has enough time to be simultaneously great at both in parallel. I’ve seen people shift specialities, getting great at something additional as they focus on it more, building or refreshing their expertise in the area, but generally, my experience has taught me that the people who are greatest at something tend to specialize in it. Again, that doesn’t mean they might not also be great at something else, but people who specialize are often the ones at the top of their field.

I certainly wouldn’t mind if, say, the neurosurgeon operating on my brain also enjoyed practicing law, but I’d want him to have been focusing on the neurosurgery thing more recently, if you follow me there. Maybe that’s not a fair comparison, but you get my meaning.

So, where am I on that scale? I think I have a good eye for design, and good design sensibilities. But I don’t live in the world of design. I know what I like, and what works, and I can implement some of that, but I’m not on the same level of people like Jeffrey Zeldman, Dan Cederholm, Shaun Inman, or the less famous but highly talented designers out there, doing design work every single day.

You tend to be the best at what you do every day.

Fair enough, and a humble response. And I think most people would say that you are probably one of the best at what you do. This makes a good segue to the next question.

With the increased popularity of the internet over the last 10–15 years, as it has become another facet of mainstream media, there is now a new channel for people to achieve fame (intentionally or unintentionally). Let’s call them ‘Web Superstars’ just for fun. Looking at the web design industry, you can see this playing out — there are those who are at the top — some of the names you’ve listed above. And there are others who look up to those people and who essentially look at them as role models.

Dan: Without a doubt, especially in the design community. I’ve worked with many incredibly talented yet relatively unknown designers who are quite literally star-struck by the more famous designers, and I can understand that. Those “famous” designers have put in a lot of blood, sweat, and tears to get where there are, and I think hard work like that deserves respect. Putting the time in and persevering.

Have you ever thought of yourself in this light? Are you a Web Superstar?

Dan: Am I a Web Superstar? I’ve been blogging since late 1999 and I’ve worked with some incredibly talented people on some great projects, so I can understand how people might confuse me with a superstar, but I would only call myself very lucky.

Going back to your work now. Your About page on Hivelogic lists some of the work you’ve done - publishing tools for Cork’d, A List Apart and others. And, as mentioned at the beginning, you’ve built your own CMS for Hivelogic itself.

For people looking in from the outside, the work involved might seem to be very similar. How much difference is there between the work you do for different clients? Do you basically have a foundational framework that simply gets tweaked for each one or do you start from the ground up each time?

Dan: Most publishing systems tend to have a lot of things in common, such as the management of date-based content like articles and posts vs. assets, static pages, images, and the like. You’ll usually want user accounts, role-based permissions, WYSIWYG editors, archive pages, comment systems with anti-spam features, etc. So in that way — basic feature sets a user would just expect to find in a system worth its salt — there are many things in common.

The difference is in the way that those things come together regarding how people visiting the site will interact with it, as well as the workflow and administrative dashboard that staff members will use to manage content. The way a university staff or engineering firm manages content and how their site actually works for visitors is significantly different than the way a site like Hivelogic works, and that’s different still from something like A List Apart. Sure, each one needs to manage and display some content, but how people want to use those systems is incredibly different. I tend to spend a lot of time focusing on usability, and while there might be shared components in the systems I’ve built, everything is being geared toward specific audience or client needs, so in that sense, it’s not uncommon to build a big piece from the ground-up.

I think good developers are always challenging themselves to find better ways to do things. I feel like I’d be missing a chance to engage more fully in that exercise if I wasn’t always trying to think of new or better ways of building software. And at the same time, Ruby on Rails, my development platform of choice, is evolving as well. New plugins come out every day. So it’s always interesting to see how you can see what’s new and leverage that to make products that are even more direct, more simple, and more elegant.

Interesting. It seem obvious that you play much more than just the developer role in your work. I would assume that a lot of what you do for a client would involve ‘information architect’ duties, as well as a few others.

Speaking of Ruby on Rails, I’m interested to hear your thoughts on some of the criticism that the framework has received. For people not involved in this aspect of web development, it seems like RoR has a lot of detractors, especially with issues like what Twitter has seen recently. Not that they have had serious reliability issues, but I think your average Twitter user would describe the application as flaky at times.

Let’s say you were sitting on the bus and overheard two young computer science students debating the merits of RoR vs some other framework - how would you respond?

Dan: I probably wouldn’t get involved. These days, I don’t believe there’s a right or wrong answer when it comes to selecting the framework to use to build an application. No one framework is better than another across the board, and I don’t think an application is destined to succeed or fail based the framework you’re using. They all have advantages and disadvantages. My preference is Rails because I like the elegant simplicity of Ruby and the way that David and the Core Team have leveraged it for the Rails framework. But I know people who prefer PHP, and others who like Python, and they like the frameworks based on that language.

It’s more a matter of personal preference. Find something you like and run with it.

Let’s move on to a really important topic now - beverages. I’ve got a few questions about Cork’d.

The ‘About Cork’d’ page lists you and Dan Cederholm listed as the founders. How involved are you both still involved with the day to day operations of this site?

Dan: Neither of us are involved with Cork’d anymore. We helped transition the site when it was acquired, and Dan C. did some initial design work, but that was it. We’re as hopeful and exited as everybody else to see what Gary has up his sleeve for the website.

I read this following quote from Dan C. in an interview on ThinkVitamin in August of 2006:

Because it’s so targeted I think that’s why it’s attractive to all these wine people, so there’s that, we could create a ‘Cork’d Deluxe’, where signing up, having a fee that offers extra features beyond what the free Cork’d does, that’s a possibility. Secretly, or not so secretly I guess, we’ve been thinking about other sites, I won’t go into detail right now, but there are other beverages beside wine, so we’ll see what happens.

Perhaps I’ve missed some news since then, but I think there are similar markets that could use this type of community. I’m sure ale/mead/beer fans would flock to a service like this. And I would think the entire nerd/geek community would do the same with a site centring around coffee.

Are there any plans for something new in this regard?

Dan: Building Cork’d with Dan C. was a great experience, and I’m looking forward to working on something else with him one day, but right now, both of us are too busy to take on anything new right now. But the space is wide open, for sure.

That reminds me of something I noticed on the Cork’d About page. In the section where you both are mentioned, there is this reference to Tundro:

Cork’d is a product of Tundro, a development agency building web applications for people like you.

But the link to Tundro.com does not work. Is this simply a project that never came to fruition? Or is there more to the story?

Dan: Tundro was the company we formed to build Cork’d. At the time we imagined we might one day create more applications. This is what the site used to look like:

The Tundro company, name, logo, and website weren’t part of the Cork’d deal, and I’ve retained ownership of them for possible use down the road.

Dan Cederholm used the awesome beer icon he’d developed for a potential new site for one of his projects, Foamee.

Thanks for clearing that up. As for foamee.com, that sort of what I was hinting at a couple of questions back. I would love to see Dan’s ioubeer and ioucoffee idea turn into something like Cork’d. He’s already got a great start with Twitter. And the logo’s are sweet. Seems like his always are – I loved his hivelogic icon.

Dan: He’s got a crazy talent for coming up with amazing logos and icons. It’s kind of wild to watch him work.

Now we can’t have a geek interview without asking this – do you drink coffee? If yes, how do you take it?

Dan: I do enjoy a cup of coffee from time to time, but I’m not a habitual coffee drinker. Caffeine tends to make me more jumpy than alert, so I watch the intake. I drink far more green tea (loose leaf, water at 180°, etc.) than coffee. My favorite cup of coffee comes from Stumptown in Portland, Oregon.

Let’s talk about another big project of yours - The Talk Show. So you get to work with John Gruber. You’ve made a few comments on the show about his ‘quirks’. And some tweets as well. If you had to sum it up, how would you describe working with John?

Dan: John is a great writer, and has a great eye for detail. He’s also very devoted to his work and his family. And he is very, very smart. And as is often the case with bright people, he’s somewhat eccentric. These eccentricities often come out in the form idiosyncrasies, like his obsessive attention to detail, his fixation on fonts and anti-aliasing, the hostility and rage against humanity, that kind of thing. It’s impossible to schedule anything, such as the recording of a Talk Show episode with him, while he’s focusing on writing, which is pretty much all of the time. Personally, I think the coffee just makes it worse.

So what ever prompted you both to work together and come up with the Talk Show?

Dan: We had so much fun when John was a guest on the Hivelogic podcast, and the response was so overwhelming, that we decided to make a regular thing out of it.

You definitely seem knowledgeable about podcasting. Your post on podcasting equipment was especially helpful for people starting out in this arena.

Do you think that this is an area that can now be considered an essential part of a business, especially people involved in web-centric fields? Or is it more of a fad that will never be looked at seriously, by media or big businesses?

Dan: I think that just as blogs are now a requirement for most businesses with a public face, podcasts and video blogs will one day be just as important. It might take a few years, but it’ll get there.

Well just take a look at What Gary Vaynerchuk of Wine Library TV has done with his family business using his video blog and social networking.

We’re also starting to see more and more companies becoming aware of the importance of social networking. Southwest Airlines, for example, is on Twitter. So are a handful of other companies. And they respond to you!

All those mediums appear to be initiating change in the way people think and interact with those offering more traditional services. It will be interesting to see how corporate America continues to react to these changes.

One last question about the Talk Show. Dan Benjamin and John Gruber. Which one of you is the sidekick?

Dan: John Gruber is my nemesis, so I’ve never really thought of us in terms of sidekick and superhero.

Nice. Maybe superhero and villain. We can call you Profanity-Filter Man, saving young Talk Show listeners from the fiery f-bombs of Gruber. Well … never mind.

I’ve got to give you both some thanks here though. On behalf of myself, and others like me, fans of Lost who would rather wait to watch each season in it’s entirety on DVD – thank you for the great job you guys did with giving away zero spoilers. I really enjoyed your discussion about the show in episode 16. But I was cringing through all 68 minutes thinking I was going to hear something about season 4 that would give a really important plot line away. Nice work keeping us in the dark while still have an engaging conversation.

Now that we’ve covered a lot of your professional doings, I’d like to ask you about your spirituality. You mention on the Hivelogic About page that you are a practicing buddhist. How did you come to embrace this particular religion?

Dan: I’ve been practicing a style of Buddhist meditation, called Vipassana or Mindfulness meditation, for a number of years. This style is practiced by Theravada Buddhists as well as many non-Buddhists, and is often used outside of Buddhist circles for things like stress reduction, relaxation, and even in hospitals and therapy centres to help people with chronic pain.

I had studied Buddhism before, and it seemed like a cool philosophy, but before the integration of a regular meditation practice, I hadn’t really delved too deeply into it. But after several years of daily meditation practice, I learned more and more about Buddhism, and it really made sense to me. The philosophies that it’s based on, the idea that we’re responsible for our own actions, that there’s an opportunity for a deep peace in daily life, that one’s life and activities can be understood when looked at with a very scientific eye, and that these things are all part of a bigger path was very intriguing to me.

I eventually reached a point where I was living my life as a Buddhist — not as a monastic, obviously — but it had become something that had become deeply integrated into my life, and that I found brought me, and subsequently people around me, a lot of joy. I was a much happier, much more calm, much more centered person.

Here are a few links:

• Mindfulness in Plain English
• Guided
• bfaq

Does this aspect of your life ever cause you to reflect negatively on your profession? What I mean is, does the part of Dan Benjamin that seeks spiritual nourishment conflict with what you do or the amount of time you may spend in front of a computer?

Dan: I think it’s my practice that allows me to spend the bulk of the day in front of a computer.

Ha. Fair enough.

Dan: I’m being serious - the practice of mindfulness and concentration is tremendously valuable in dealing with stress, and very helpful in establishing focus. I work faster and more effectively now than I ever have.

Wouldn’t that allow you to spend less time on the computer?

This is more what I’m getting at — as a Christian, I feel that relationships should be the primary focus in my life. My relationship with God, with my wife, my children and lastly neighbours, friends and family. Sometimes I feel that the time I spend on the computer distracts me from more important things.

The question — although poorly articulated — was intended to reflect that sort of idea and inquire if you ever have the same struggle.

Dan: Vipassana meditation is a kind of training for the mind. The same way athletes train and practice so they will excel on the field of play, meditation is practice for the real world, for real life. On the meditation cushion, we practice mindfulness of the present moment. I try and take that concept with me into my work day as well, trying to keep an awareness of the present moment. So in that way, although it isn’t easy, it’s possible to bring a clarity and focus into your workday.

In one of my favorite books on Meditation, Mindfulness in Plain English, the author (Bhante G) explains how you can take even the regular aspects of work and daily life and integrate your practice into them. It’s a challenge, but engaging this way can really change how you feel about your work and how you connect with it.

As far as how I feel about spending a big chunk of my day in front of a computer screen, I am OK with it. I work from home where it’s easier to get into the Creativity Zone. I get to see my wife and baby boy throughout the day, and although I do work a lot and have a number of projects ongoing, I get to structure my day in a relatively flexible way.

Thinking back, I’ve spent quite a bit of time in pretty difficult jobs, behind the stinking broiler at Burger King, pushing carts in the heat of the Florida summer and stocking shelves in a grocery store, working in a tiny, frenzied kitchen in an Italian restaurant, cleaning bathrooms in movie theaters, and working in plenty of mundane, unrewarding, punishing and abusive corporate jobs. By comparison, I’m pretty lucky.

So you appear to have a lot going on in your life. Listener’s of the Talk Show know that you have a very young son. You have your own business and site to maintain with Hivelogic and you are the CTO of Rails Machine. Throw in some podcasting and a healthy dose of Twitter and it would seem you are a very busy guy.

Dan: Well I have a clear separation of work and non-work. Keeping those two things separate are key. And I value my family above all else. This value makes really helps me decide what to do and when.

One last question. What does an average day in the life of Dan Benjamin look like?

Dan: It’s a bit different these days now that we have a baby, and as his schedule changes, so does mine. But generally speaking, it looks something like this:

I should note that I find most days incredibly rewarding.

* Work includes checking email, responding to work issues, readers, initial catchup with news in the morning, etc. I don’t allot specific time for those things, they just happen naturally as part of the schedule. I also take some breaks throughout the day, and because I work from home, I get to see my wife and the baby.

During the course of two months, Dan graciously answered all my questions in an articulate, professional fashion. I’m grateful for his time in providing this insight into his work and life, and I have a better appreciation for those who work in the web industry more behind the scenes.

As a user, it’s important to remember that there is a lot that goes on with an application that you never see. The web is no different. People like Dan are focused on making the web a great experience. We should all appreciate that.

Here’s to a happy webby that’s well deserved!