A lot of folks get excited to build an application only to become discouraged when they realize attracting users and building content is a lot of work. The point is, if you need it, there is more than enough reason to build it. Be picky when building your dream application down to the last pixel. You don’t need to be a graphic designer, but if you know a designer you like to work with, great. If not, that’s fine too. Some of the best web applications out there are minimalistic CSS-only designs. Set up a saved search on Twitter for people dissatisfied with the mainstream application in question. Reach out to these users and see what they think is missing from the current app. If you like their suggestions, build them in. If not, forget about them (for now). This is your app and you’re the perfect person to answer the question, “what does this application need?
stevegraham:
tmblg:
I’m obliged to post this at least once a year:
STEVE JOBS AT HOME IN 1982 — “This was a very typical time. I was single. All you needed was a cup of tea, a light, and your stereo, you know, and that’s what I had.” —Steve Jobs
The simple things in life…
By launching you are setting yourself up for the inevitable drop off in users, interest, and clicks happening at your site. Yes, you can have a press cycle and let folks know at the same time what you are up to, but I believe that having a fixed date can be a detractor from your core mission.
By putting things out there in current form, iterating on feedback, putting the next product out there, then iterating again – puts you in a unique position of always having people using your product.
Experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted.
Feeling sorry for yourself and your present condition, is not only a waste of energy but the worst habit you could possibly have.
Don’t tell me who I am because unless I write all my thoughts down on a piece of paper and hand it to you, you don’t even know half my life. Isn’t it weird how you never seem to focus on what you like about a person but tend to notice every flaw they have?
Knowledge of others is strength; Knowledge of self is enlightenment.
I’ve noticed that people who read a lot of blogs and a lot of books also tend to be intellectually curious, thirsty for knowledge, quicker to adopt new ideas and more likely to do important work.
I wonder which comes first, the curiosity or the success?
webkitbits:
A must see: Roll over the DVD covers on the homepage for some kick-ass WebKit CSS animations.
Look around and everything you see was once an idea,
from somebody’s thoughts who turned it to reality clear,
Look at the tallest skyscrapers, they just didn’t appear,
somebody thought it up, built it up, and put it right there
Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.
We need the rest. It’s important in ways we don’t often think about. We need to de-stress, and we need to recharge our mental batteries.
Quiet and solitude and reflection lead to greater happiness when they’re a part of our daily lives, at least in some degree. What you do during this time — read, write, run, nap, sit, watch, listen, even have a quiet conversation, play, study, build — isn’t as important as the simple fact of having that time of disconnection.
When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.
This is your life, and it’s ending one minute at a time.
