One thing that I love about the New York Tech Community is everyone is so willing to offer help. Its almost as if “let me know if I can help you out” is a standardized signature on emails. The problem with this is few people ever follow through unless there is an explicit ask. This is why people that take the initiative to follow through by really providing help standout.
For starters, if you have any type of relationship with someone or understanding of their situation, you can typically make an intelligent guess how you can help them out. If they’re building a product, actually use it and provide candid feedback. If they’re fundraising, introduce them to investors who …
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I’ve recently gone back on the moleskine diet.
For the past couple of weeks I’ve been carrying a moleskine journal in my pocket wherever I go. Throughout my day I record ideas, things I want to remember, and many more random thoughts/observations in here. I’ve also limited obsessively looking at my phone while I’m in transit. Email and twitter have been relegated to when I’m squarely seated in front of my computer. To my surprise, this combination has resulted in more creativity, productivity, and overall happiness.
I’ve come to realize that cell phones can be a mental black hole. When I dive into my email, twitter, or favorite app, I get the immediate gratification that comes with digital …
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Here’s a link to my recent post on Venturebent where I expose some ancillary tools for the 10 steps to making change easier mentioned in this awesome video.
This post originally appeared on VentureBent
A friend of mine recently invited me to join a google group called Really Think. Not only have I found it to be incredibly valuable, but it has got me thinking a lot about how certain applications provoke actions online that might have otherwise not occurred.
On the first of every month, members of the Really Think group send out questions/topics/issues to think about. The questions can be about anything you find thought-provoking. They’re often non-tech related which honestly amidst a sea of push notifications can be very refreshing. Examples of questions I’ve come across since joining the group are:
What is the best way to tackle the obesity epidemic in the United States?
Who is Your Idol?
After the …
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This post originally appeared on Venturebent
Twitter has had a native URL shortener for some time, but it wasn’t until recently that they have begun automatically shortening URLs and link-wrapping those over 20 characters with a t.co URL. Alot of people are excited about these changes, including brands and media due to the condensed traffic source via the t.co link-wrapping. One service that has to be less thrilled about these changes is Bitly.
Bitly has been the dominate force amongst URL shorteners which has afforded them access to the real-time data kingdom. Sitting at the helm of real-time information sharing enables Bitly to derive incredible insights at both an aggregate and individual level. The applications to leveraging all the real-time data sharing …
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There is never enough time to do all the things that need to get done in a startup. Hence , we continuously look for ways to be more productive. I recently read an interesting natural study about inefficiency in the public sector and it got me thinking about transparency and its effects on output.
The case examined multiple public agencies performing identical tasks at different sites. Originally there was no transparency amongst the agencies about comparative performance and despite the fact that they were performing the exact same tasks, there were gaps in the levels of output. Tired of the disparity, an executive decision was made to make the output information available across agencies. Shortly after, the lagging agencies improved their performance …
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I’m extremely fascinated by the opportunity to leverage data to find implicit signals. If you’re unfamiliar with the term implicit signals, I’m referencing instances when user actions/data imply meaning, yet don’t state it outright. Fred Wilson provides some additional quality content on the implicit web here. An example of an implicit signal can be if I check into the same coffee shop on foursquare every morning. By doing this I’m implicitly recommending their coffee. I don’t state it outright, but the act of me broadcasting my location when I purchase it every morning implies that I like their coffee.
API’s have driven a lot of the innovation around this concept because they enable the sharing of data. Still, I believe we …
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This post originally appeared on VentureBent.
I heard an amazing story at my Church weekend. I drew many parallels from it to my own life including some of the things I’ve learned in my journey as an entrepreneur. The story goes like this:
Alexander the Great’s powerful army spent years overwhelming opposing armies in their conquests. His men were fierce and swelled with the confidence that comes with consistent victory. Yet when Alexander and his men arrived on the shores of Persia they were visibly outnumbered. Clearly outmanned, his men pleaded that it would be wise to go back and get more men. Alexander responded by ordering the men to burn their boats. As their only means of retreat went …
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