Patrick Rhone's Blog, page 13

Announcing: This Could Help

Today I’m launching a new subscription-based newsletter called This Could Help. I really think this could help you in some way. A way that will be useful, and valuable, and meaningful. Sign up today for only $5.00 a month. If you’d like to know more, you can read a bit about it here.

For the story on how it came to be, please read on…

It started, as many things do these days, with a simple post to a social network:

You see, I used to have a subscription based newsletter called Reflections that I really enjoyed doing. It not only helped me share sneak peeks and get feedback as I was writing my book, enough, but it also was a place where I felt obligated to deliver the most value to my readers. After all, they were paying me a small monthly fee for exactly that. Whenever money changes hands, no matter the amount, the obligation becomes higher. Even to this day, I feel like I can look back on that effort and be proud of both the work I did there and feel like my patrons saw the value too. I delivered.

Then Letter.ly, the service I was using to run the business and delivery end of the newsletter, abruptly shut down with very short notice. And, while there are certainly other services out there that I could have used, none were as easy to use — for either the publisher or subscriber. And, switching to something else meant a hassle for my patrons. So, I made the decision to end the newsletter completely. Not only was this an end to a way for people who value my work to support it directly, it was an end to work that they told me really helped them. It was heart breaking but seemed best at the time.

But I never forgot.

I would, occasionally, lament its closing and the lack of appropriate service to replace it. I did this hoping that someone, somewhere, would either point me to some other service I was not yet aware of or decide to build something like it themselves.

Well, just seven days ago, my friend Andy Parkinson answered that challenge. the new service is called HappyLetter and it’s perfect (at least for me and likely for others too). It does what no other newsletter service seems to do. It allows publishers to quickly set up, price, and launch a subscription-based newsletter. It allows subscribers to sign up easily and get billed monthly for that newsletter. It makes delivering that newsletter to those subscribers as easy as sending an email. It handles the business so the publisher can focus on delivering their best work and get paid for it. And, he built it all in a week and live blogged the whole process so that others could see and learn from the work.

I helped a fair bit with feedback during the development process but to go from nothing to private beta launch in only a week is an amazing feat that deserves a look all by itself. There is a lot there to learn about the choices one must make when building any web based service. It makes one wish all developers were so transparent about their choices.

So, here the plan. My new newsletter is called This Could Help. It is where I plan to deliver my best work. You cansign up today for only $5.00 a month. I will publish as frequently as I feel it is helpful (but will aim for at least once a week). My work here and in other places will become less frequent and often be an extension or replication of the work I am first doing there. Some of the work I do there will be part of the work I’m doing for my next book. My patrons there will get early access and opportunity to participate with feedback on that book. They also will get a free eBook copy of whatever future books I release as well as other rewards I can conjure up. They also will get priority attention from me via email. After all, money is being exchanged. The stakes and obligations are thus higher.

As always, I remain very appreciative of anyone who reads any of my work, paying or not. After all, as writers we are simply happy to be read. Anything else is a tremendous bonus. Thank you so much for being here and making me happy.

Of course, if you feel my work here has helped you, yet you do not wish to subscribe to the newsletter, you can support my work by a free will contribution of any amount. It is very much appreciated.

Unplanned

We plan our days. We set alarms to wake us, then hit the snooze. We show up to the job, then punch the clock. We make lists, then cross things off. We plan the work, then work the plan. We block out times on the calendar, then make the appointments. We look at the time, then punch out at the job. We pick up the kids, then get them to practice. We make the dinner, then get to the homework. We set the alarm, then turn out the light.

Even our vacations are driven by plans and itineraries. We get to the airport at one time so we can make the plane by another. We go to the city to see the sights or visit the person or do the thing.

But are any of these things the things we remember? Are these the things that stick with us or, ultimately, have meaning?

Or, is it the surprises? Is it the things that are not a part of the plan?

The day when the alarm did not go off and you did not wake on time. Or the meeting was cancelled and you now have an unexpected hour fully in your control. The day the kid got a broken arm at practice. Or the night you stayed up way past when you should have, talking and laughing with your partner. A night so fun you forget to set your alarm…

And what stands out from that last vacation? Was it making the plane on time or the one you missed? Was it making good drive time to the destination or getting lost? Is it that visit to the monument or that dance that seemingly broke out of nowhere in the middle of the square? Or that amazing meal you had in the cafe the local told you about that is not listed in some book?

My point being that the things that stay with us most are the things that are not part of the plan. Therefore, perhaps, we should leave as much room as possible for surprise. Plan the work, but leave space for the unplanned.

Items of Interest #8

Lot’s of stuff on my radar screen worth sharing…

If you have not seen the video of Mike Monterio’s barnburner of a speech How Designers Destroyed the World yet, you owe it to yourself to watch it. It is, perhaps, one of the most inspiring speeches about the power of design (and all creative work, really) to fundamentally change the world — and the responsibility that comes with this fact. Seriously, stop reading this and click that link right now.

Then, watch this video of Malala Yousafzai on the Daily show, the sixteen year old who was shot in the head by the Taliban for her fight to bring education to girls in Pakistan, give one of the most compelling argument for non-violence I’ve ever heard. So beautiful and wise coming from such a young person. Had me in tears.

Now that you have the inspiration you need, put some perspective on taking action at Live Consciously. Put in your birthdate and it will tell you how many months you have left to live your dreams (as well as to 50, 55, and 60 years old). There is also an option to receive this as an email reminder you can then get delivered into your inbox monthly. Life ends. Don’t wait to begin it.

I’ve really been enjoying reading with my little girl lately. The school she attends has a high focus on reading and, even in kindergarden, reading a book from the school library each night is part of her homework. Last night, we started reading Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman and Skottie Young. She enjoyed it so much she requested reading more of it this morning before heading off into her day. I’m enjoying it so much I gladly obliged. Smart, funny, and heartfelt. A fine addition to Neil’s growing canon.

I get lots of pitches in my inbox that are nice but, for one reason or another, don’t quite fit anywhere. Like…

These nice looking Leather Crochet Touchscreen Gloves by Mujjo.

… and Musio, a nice looking minimalist music player for iPhone.

That’s all for now. To the cloud!

The Middle Path

I gave a brief review of Path when it first arrived on the scene back in 2010. At the time I just started to use it and was pleasantly surprised by it’s approach. They not only seemed generally interested in a well designed social experience but also a well restricted one. They positioned themselves around the idea that this was a digital journal of sorts that was shared with only your closest family and friends. And, to further reinforce this idea, they actually limited the number of people one could count as a “friend” on the network to 150. This number was not arbitrarily made up. It was based on Dunbar’s Number, the suggested cognitive limit to the number of people with whom one can maintain stable social relationships proposed by British anthropologist Robin Dunbar.

Now, Path has had it’s growing pains. They made a stupid choice at one point to access and upload people’s contacts to their service. Unfortunately, this caused many users to write them off completely (and even for Apple to make some changes to an apps ability to do such a thing in the first place). The CEO apologized for it but for some it was either not enough or came off to them as not sincere. But, as one who stuck with the service, I really believe they have been actively working to change this perception. The iPhone and iPad apps (the only way to use the service, mind you) are some of the most beautifully designed and thought through ones I use. The company puts it’s values and story front and center on it’s website. In short, they have worked very hard to win back and deserve the trust of those that use it.

I still use Path pretty actively. I post something there at least once a day. Given it’s purpose and what I use it for, I’m pretty picky about who I connect with there. I really have to consider you a friend or someone I’m at least comfortable sharing more personal details with than I would otherwise share on the more open social networks. I share plenty of pics of my little girl, my day-to-day activities, my runs (it connects with Nike+), my current location, and the occasional selfie. It is the primary way I interact with some other social networks including Foursquare.

Here is how Path fits in for me. I keep the stuff I just want for my eyes only in Day One, the stuff I wish to share with a wide and indiscriminate audience I do on App.net or Twitter. Path sits in the middle of this sharing graph. It is for the stuff I wish to share but only with a selected few. I like to think of it as the “friendship” chair of Thoreau’s home.

The thing is though that I fear for Path’s health and future. Today, they had to lay off 20% of the staff. And though they recently rolled out a premium subscription model, I still am not sure if there are enough people using it and willing to pay for that to sustain them. I hope it sticks around.

But, most importantly, I would like to see and interact more of my friends there. I like it and I think most of them will too. So, if you are so inclined, I think you should give it a shot. And, feel free to look me up and reach out to me if you do.

You’ve got this…

This day, this hour, this minute, this moment. This is what you’ve got.

The tools, the ability, the skill, the time, the opportunity. Everything you face right now, this moment, you face with these. You may take away from this place more than you came with, but what you brought to it is all you have.

There is nothing you can do to change this fact. Everything that can be done right here, right now, can only be done right here, right now. You might be able to do more later and there are things you might have been able to do before. But neither of these desires matter now, in this moment, and only keep one from facing the truth.

So, here it is. The time is now. Give it your all.

You’ve got this.

Items Of Interest #7

More meanderings and things ventured from the last several days….

I really appreciated waking up this morning to Randy Murray’s wonderful take on the higher calling of art. It helped speak directly to something I’ve been trying to put some though into lately. I especially liked this:

Earning a living is a necessity for most of us, but only that, a necessity. Art is not a promise of fame or fortune. Art is a way to express oneself.

Or, as I like to put it: Surviving can keep you from living.

Tikker is a decidedly new take on a watch. Not only does it tell you the time but it also counts down the life you have left, from years to seconds, and helps keep you aware of making each moment count. The product page was a bit unclear as to how it figures out how much time we have left (and, obviously, it can’t know for sure). So, I did some digging and here is what I found:

The wearer simply fills out a questionnaire, deducts his/her current age from the results, and TIKKER is ready to start the countdown.

My guess it is some calculation of age, weight, diet, vices, etc. It is an interesting idea for sure.

Lots of really great stuff coming out of the recent XOXO Fest a few weeks back. I’m really kicking myself for not making the effort to go and plan to rectify that next year. My only consolation is some of the great thoughts, ideas, and takeaways people are sharing that did attend. Glenn Fleishman’s take, In a Time of Hugs and Kisses, was a nicely compelling and informative spin on what it was like to attend. Pinboard.in founder Maciej Ceglowski posted the notes and slides of his talk, Thoreau 2.0. Which as a huge Thoreau fan both exposed some of the seeming contradictions between the author’s views and his lifestyle and how the way he actually lived might be better for us. And Frank Chimero’s The Inferno Of Independence just may be the best piece on the state of the internet today that I have read all year.

Lots of my friends are updating a releasing lots of cool stuff lately. My friend Brett Kelly recently released the latest version of his excellent Evernote Essentials which is currently half price but wont be for much longer. My friend Brad Dowdy and his partner have officially launched the Kickstarter for their new pen/pencil/notebook case venture, Nock Co.. My friend Nick Wynja recently released his Pinboard based Read-It-Later service, Paperback… It’s nice to be in such creative company.

Of course, I released the audiobook version of my Apple Consulting Guide and launched The Unrecorded Podcast last week so I have been busy trying to keep up in the shipping department too.

That covers it for now. Have a great week.

The Unrecorded Podcast

Today I launched a new project with some friends — The Unrecorded Podcast. This is the story of what it is and how it came to be.

The first most recent time CJ Chilvers, Dave Caolo, and myself got together for a late night chat, it was not recorded. These chats we had done before as an ad hoc support group. Fellow writers of like mind bouncing crazy ideas and half-cooked schemes off each other in the hopes they might turn into something (or, at the very least, ensure an audience of two to watch the failure).

Toward the end of the call, I half-joked that we should have recorded the conversation. We three get along quite well and are of similar stripes and interests. I had often thought about doing a podcast with these gentlemen. Then again, it was sort of nice to simply be able to talk freely among friends without anyone else listening in. Not everything has to be shared. So, the idea to record it was scrapped.

In a follow up email, CJ had titled our talk The Unrecorded Podcast. This, of course, set my mind to spinning. I wondered how far one might take such an idea. Would such a thing be a live show? Would it actually be recorded and simply have an ironic name? I wasn’t sure. But, I was sure it was an idea that would not leave me alone until we figured it out.

So, for our next conversation we decided to try recording it. Just to see what happened. To see if there was a “there” there. Turned out there was. Too much so in fact. Dave, CJ, and I could chat for hours (and often do) across a variety of topics (and deep knowledge of a LOT of 1980s hairbands). To say we digress into ratholes far and deep is an understatement. And. to limit that would take away the very reason we enjoyed it. To release it as a podcast would mean audio files that measured in gigabytes and an unreasonable assumption of people’s available time.

But then, we started to brainstorm the idea even further. What if we really didn’t record it but treated it like a podcast in every other way? What if it had a schedule, and guests, and show notes? And, what if people got these show notes as a newsletter — a brief description and list of links that, without context, seemed random and mysterious yet strangely interesting? And what if, like any other podcast we had guests on occasionally to add to the conversation? And, what if we picked one the the subscribers to the email list at random to come join us from time to time? Would people get the beauty and the irony or would it break their brains?

The fact is that some of the world’s most famous art is art because of such mysteries: Why is Mona smiling? What happened to Venus’ arm? Why is that tower leaning? What the heck was Dali smoking? In the same way, this would be a podcast that is really a newsletter. A performance that nobody sees performed. A dispatch born of things unknown. We give the answers, you guess the questions. The best art, it seems, is inherently brain-breaking and is worth doing for no better reason than that.

So, this is how The Unrecorded Podcast came to be. You can sign up to enjoy the show notes in your email inbox as new episodes are not recorded. We already are lining up some great guests to come on and chat with us. We’re sure you’ll be happy to not hear them, yet still get lots of important things to take away from what they have to say. Things that could help.

Become an unlistener today. You won’t regret it.

We don’t buy things…

We buy into things. What things? All things. Even the things we don’t buy but get for free.

For instance, let’s say you buy a shirt. How many times will you wash that shirt in the time you own it? How much water and soap and electricity will that cost? How much added labor will you expend to fold it and put it away?

Furthermore, we buy into the idea of that shirt. That that shirt will serve us. That it will keep us warm. That it will serve the need that we have. That without that particular shirt that need will be unfulfilled.

And, when it no longer served you, did you give it away? Did you take it out of the drawer? Did you drive it to a thrift store? Did you hand it to a friend? Tear it up into rags? How much time did that take?

Perhaps you put it in the garbage. Do you hire a garbage company or does the city handle that through your taxes?

The moment that shirt entered your life you bought into that shirt. You paid for it in a myriad of ways far beyond it’s actual value.

Ownership of anything is a commitment to that thing and it has a cost — a direct personal cost — beyond the cost of the thing.

The harder question to answer is this: Was it worth it?

Question Your Certainties…

Reflect on your deepest held beliefs and convictions .

Anything that you know for sure, deep down inside, should be able to withstand such questioning.

Challenge them. Open them up to debate. Invite their contention.

Because, it is the only way to maintain your continued certainty.

Because, such reflection will allow further introspection on the values you hold dear.

Because , these are the things we should meditating and dwelling on.

Because, it is the only way to make sure they are not wrong.

Because, it is the only way to discover if they are.

Because, it may be the only opportunity you have to change them if the above is so.

But, should they survive the melee — if they are, in fact, certainties worth your conviction…

Just as steel is hardened by tension and force, so too are the values and ideas we believe most true.

The Truth Of A Place

Why I’m A Sucker For A Good Travel Blog

Travel blogs are a not oft mentioned, yet not entirely secret, pleasure of mine. I love travel writing in general. But a good travel blog, especially of someone actually living in a new place long term, is really my thing. Not only do they feed my desires and intentions for my own future journey, they provide brief and unique perspectives from someone who is both within and outside. A person that may be inside of a place but is now and likely will forever remain slightly outside a culture.

The things that make a “good” travel blog are, of course, subjective. To me they are this:

Good Photos.
Great storytelling.
Deep insight into the truth of a place.

In other words, I would like to be transported. I want, for just a few moments, to be where the writer is and see with their eyes and experience through these words and understand a place as they do.

Recently, I have been enjoying a few of these that I will mention here:

Spartan Wanderer — This is the blog of Seth who is spending a year in Daqing, China teaching English. It fits all of the criteria mentioned above. Compelling observations about life in China .

David Byrne’s Journal — As multimedia artist David Byrne has been on tour with St. Vincent in support of their collaboration, he has been writing wonderful insights on all of the cities they play. Everything from a visit to a creationist museum to the circuses of Ancient Rome.

Idle Words — Maciej Cegłowski, developer of Pinboard has a blog where he writes about travel and food and it is really good. I had no idea until Chris Gonzales alerted me to that fact today. Since, I have devoured several posts in what little free time I’ve had.

There are more but that should give you some idea of why I love this particular genre of writing. And, if you know of any you’d recommend please feel free to send them my way. I’m always open to sugestions in this area.