Starting this week, my site will be included on The Syndicate, otherwise known as The Web’s Most Influential Blog Sponsorship Network. This network has some of my favourite tech, design, and business writers including Shawn Blanc, Marco Arment, and David Sparks (just to name three — they’re all good). It’s an honour to have my name alongside these talented folks.
In regards to enabling writers to earn an income for their efforts, I really like RSS Sponsorships. They’re more personal. And with The Syndicate, it’s clear that the reader’s interests are given the same kind of consideration we did when launching Fusion Ads. The ads — and the products and services they point to — are relevant and of quality.
If you’re interested in promoting your product, service or company, visit The Syndicate.
Episode 26 of Creatiplicity ⇾
I had the opportunity to talk with Shawn Blanc yesterday and discuss what 2012 has in store for him. No matter the topic, it’s always a pleasure to talk with Shawn. I doubt this will be the last time I ask him to be a guest on the show.
A Chat with Frank Chimero ⇾
The latest episode of Creatiplicity is available.
Keeping It Straight ⇾
My friend Patrick Rhone has launched a book.
Wisdom from Shawn Blanc ⇾
Shawn has a great thought while writing on what makes a great tech writer.
Beginning ⇾
Shawn Blanc is taking the next step. He’s quit his job and as of April 1st, will be writing for his site full time. All he needs is a little help from his readers.
I’m so glad that the web has been discussing the situation of Apple and Readability. Whether you think Readability’s model is a good one or not, it has shown that there is a strong interest from people to support the writers they enjoy. That fact alone is joyful and we simply need a good method of giving our favorite writers support.
I’ve had the privilege of getting to know Shawn fairly well over the past three years. And there is no one I would recommend more or that I would want to support more. When he let me in on what he was doing, I signed up as a member immediately. Even without perks, Shawn’s writing is reward enough.
If you enjoy his writing, do the right thing and become a member as well.
The following was resurrected from my old blog (The Weekly Review). It was the first post I ever wrote and published for the internet. All in all, it wasn’t so bad of a start.
As a frequent user of two of the major computing platforms of the current day - Microsoft’s Windows XP and Apple’s OS X (10.5) - I feel I can speak with some authority on the differences between the two. Unlike some on either side of the fence who throw out their strong opinions without any actual experience using one of these operating systems, I can say I spend a good deal of my time on both.
And although I have a preference for one of these platforms over the other, I’ll do my best to be impartial here. Rather, I will rely on experience and the amount of pleasure I derive from using each.
It’s the People
For me, the biggest difference between the two is the community. It could be said that since Windows is the dominant platform in the industry, there is no community. Or rather, the community is so large and diversified that it is actually comprised of smaller, specialized communities. And perhaps I have not stumbled upon the good ones that are out there.
However, the Mac community flourishes. Especially in this decade as Apple has methodically returned to prominence. Apple has always had a passionate, dedicated core of users, but that core seems to being growing in recent times.
This community consists of different professional groups - bloggers, designers, educators and most importantly to me, software developers. This last group is where I personally see the big difference between the two platforms.
Indie Software
The enjoyment I get from when my Mac is in part due to the operating system - the ease of use, the intuitiveness and the look of OS X all add to the experience. But my enjoyment is enhanced greatly by the third party software that I use every day. At any time, one look at my dock shows that applications created by Apple are always outnumbered by those I have purchased from the Mac developer community. Applications such as NetNewsWire, Coda, Yojimbo and Things make the hours fly by.
Shawn Blanc recently expressed this enjoyment in one of his lengthy Mac software reviews:
“Furthermore, if an application can not only solve a problem, but help the user enjoy the process, it succeeds even more.”
I think Shawn nails it here - OS X can be described in this way, and the majority of the Mac developer community strives to ensure their applications extend that experience.
And there is an abundance of this type of software for OS X. This list I gave above is only a small representation of what is available to the end user.
My Problem
I work in IT in the healthcare industry and our organization is currently Windows only. If it were my preference, I would use OS X all day. But that choice is not yet mine and I must make the best of the situation.
So I use Windows and most days I can perform my job functions somewhat painlessly. But you know what - the pleasure, the enjoyment - it’s just not there. I don’t look forward to using my computer like I do at home.
And I know part of the problem is the lack of the ‘little applications’. All the one-purpose, $30 apps that I have on my Mac - I have not been able to find the equivalents for Windows. Monolithic, brooding, all-in-one applications? Yep, they’re here and they’re entrenched in corporate America (and they’ll take your lunch money too). But the fun applications are not to be found.
My problem started with GTD. I have spent the past year tweaking my system implementing GTD at work and at home. After trying out multiple setups for both, I can say I am very happy with my system at home. At work, not so much. I just cannot find a GTD based application for Windows that can match the ease-of-use and elegance of the options available for OS X.
Where art thou, Things for Windows? Omnifocus? Maybe I’m just not looking in the right places. Maybe Google is hiding things from me. If there is someone out there who can point me in the right direction, please drop me a line.
But I can say this - the Mac indie software community is alive and growing. From what I have seen, not so for Windows.
Read & Trust ⇾
Aaron Mahnke launched a great new idea and site yesterday, titled Read & Trust. It’s essentially a curated list of writers:
Read & Trust is committed to gathering together the best independent writers available—the ones recommended by the writers you read and trust.
I’m honored to be listed with these fine folks. Thanks Aaron!
The iPad: The Best Thing to Happen to Meetings Since the 1960s ⇾
I’m all for giving proper attention in a meeting. But at least one person has to document the meeting — otherwise it never happened. Ben gives a good argument that the iPad is an ideal device for this task.
I agree.
Liz Danzico is one of my favorite writers, but picking just one post for a #pastblast is a bit futile. Instead, here are a collection of my favorites. Liz speaks eloquently on many topics, including:
Making real commitments in A Canceling Culture:
Rescheduling appointments has suddenly become acceptable. Whether it’s because our calendars are digital or our schedules are triangulated moments at a time, juggling has become a cultural habit. And it’s uncomfortable, not to mention inconvenient.
Stewardship in Tag Off:
The physical item decision, then, is almost inconsequential. Tags need to be taken off with abandon. But our ability, our generosity — with people, with ideas, — isn’t to be stored and saved for some future unidentified date. It should be used and shared until it’s threadbare, and then some. Take the tags off.
Asking for what we want in Sweet Simplicity:
By introducing a greeting this way, you’ve assumed a context that may or may not be true. When we request value from another, we often make assumptions that impose another story on the individual. You know your own context, your own taste. Nothing more. Instead, be simple in your request. Just ask without assumptions.
Trees, weeds, roots and urban sprawl in The Taxonomy of the Invisible:
Perhaps it’s the way we’ve been taught. I thought back to “weeding,” a good-hearted but somewhat totalitarian weekend activity in my parents’ garden, one I frequently attempted to escape. On Saturday mornings, my parents would announce “weeding orders” for the four children, and we were to set out, in the hot sun, the driving rain, the falling leaves of autumn, and attack. They saw no boundaries.
On happiness in More Focus:
I’m not certain how long happy is, and, now that I think about it, I’m happy not to know. That’s part of the joy, in fact. The not knowing. It’s a common question, “How long will this happiness last?” we wonder, then forget when it just keeps going.
Load up that Instapaper queue folks.
