Open Source Blogging

Editor’s note: This is a guest post by Eugene Yiga of Varsity Blah.

Mind, body, heart, and soul: These four elements make us who we are. In order to fully explore our potential we need to constantly nurture all aspects of our lives. It’s not just about being “well-rounded” or balanced; it’s about being anchored in what really matters. And with another year already upon us, now seems as good a time as any to start making some serious change.

The Mind

Everything begins in the mind. Every skyscraper, every painting, and every custom-made Italian suit were once ideas in someone’s … Continue Reading

I care about news. It’s why I love talking with Gabe Rivera, the guy who makes TechMeme and a bunch of similar sites, like I did in Paris France at the recent LeWeb Conference.

I told him that TechMeme has grown cold for me, which is why I wanted a new system — one where humans bring me the news instead of algorithms.

Rivera countered that he wanted a page that — no matter when you looked at it — would be filled with news from the most credible and authoritative sources from around the world.

And that nailed why it’s cold … Continue Reading

Oh, Tumblr’s lead developer, Marco Arment, said yesterday on his Tumblelog that he doesn’t listen to me because he doesn’t think I know what I’m talking about. Oh, that’s a bummer, cause I was just about to tell the world a few things:

1. That Tumblr is doing the most innovative stuff out there in the world of blogging.
2. That I expect that in 2009 Tumblr will come out on top of the growth curve for services like Twitter, FriendFeed, etc.
3. That Marco is brilliant.
4. That Tumblr is well positioned to make a ton of money … Continue Reading

Dave Ingram, CEO of Brownbook.net, had a business problem: how can he build a world-wide business directory, but one with much more up to date info than any database that exists so far?

Well, he’s paying people who add data. He and co-founder Marc Lyne explains how it works in this video.

Already they are seeing 40% growth per month and tons of new businesses added all over the world. Can’t argue with that. I’ll be putting in my favorite Half Moon Bay businesses into Brownbook.net.

       … Continue Reading

There’s a lot of buzz right now about the new TV show from Timothy Ferriss (of The 4-Hour Workweek fame) called “Trial By Fire” … where Tim takes his famous extreme lifehacking and simplifying to the television screen.

I had a chance to talk with Tim Ferriss about the show recently, and it sounds pretty exciting. He takes topics — this first show is about how he learned horseback archery in Japan — that usually take years to learn, and tries to learn them in a short amount of time.

Tim has proven adept at this type of learning already … Continue Reading

One of the best VCs in the world is Gary Rieschel. He started Softbank and now is EMD at Qiming Venture Partners. When I visited him in China, he took me into a taxi where he showed me one of the businesses he was investing in. Cool conversation about China enterpreneurship too.

As to China, I’m still processing our trip. It was mind bending. Lots of photos are up on my Flickr feed. But what would you like to know that I learned there?

       … Continue Reading

“Raise your hopeful voice; you have a choice” - Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, in the song Falling Slowly

While it is easy to criticize wrongdoings in other countries — dictatorships, cruelty, corruption, torture, oppression of women, genocide — it is more difficult, and yet so much more important, to start with the wrongdoings in your own country.

It is rarely ever said that we, the United States and other industrialized nations of the world, are responsible for the deaths of millions of poor, of children, of oppressed, in the Third World nations of the world. And yet, we are, in a … Continue Reading

For years, books and articles and blogs on productivity have been showing us how to be more productive: crank out the tasks, multi-task, work faster, be organized.

In short, they’ve taught us to be a good part of a corporation that wants more out of us. But that’s old-school productivity, or Productivity 1.0.

Today let’s take a look at Productivity 2.0: a new set of rules have changed everything for the workers of the world. Don’t crank out tasks — learn to work with a deeper focus. Don’t plan and hold meetings and form committees — just launch the software or product … Continue Reading

Today Seesmic laid off seven staff members, after laying off three other members a couple of weeks ago.

They have millions of dollars in the bank and are well funded. Why would they do that?

Well, I went over and hung out with the remaining staff and CEO Loic Le Meur this afternoon to learn more and to try to discern the advice that Le Meur got and how many other startups are about to do the same thing. Here’s what I learned.

First, Le Meur has a really deep set of advisors. People like Pierre Omidyar , the founder of eBay … Continue Reading

Editor’s note: This is a guest post by Chris Guillebeau of The Art of Nonconformity, the author of the Unconventional Guide to Discount Airfare.

I’m writing from my hotel balcony in Giza City, Egypt – just outside Cairo, and the site of the historic Pyramids. The sun is coming up right now, and the view is great. There’s only one problem:

A lot of other visitors here are unhappy.

They’re on vacation, far away from home, but they’re not enjoying themselves. Between the heat and the hassles, something has gone wrong… and unfortunately, the problem is not unique to … Continue Reading