Minicraft

See also:

• Ace of Spades
• Virtual Market
• Game Machanics

Get to user delight

[...] “Very few startups fail for lack of technology. They almost always fail for lack of customers.” (Steve Blank)

1. Anything that can be postponed should be postponed.
2. Organize on demand. Fix things once tey break.
3. Solve problems quickly. Go into details later.
4. Outsource and pay commission to save time.
5. Give up control. Focus yourself on product and customers instead.
6. Make it a hobby reading books to build great products.

See also:

• Don’t waste time by Jason
• Marketing management is now tribal leadership
• How to make your startup “ship” software that rocks customer’s lives
• Monetization
• Your client is a resource to you
• Letting go of your ego
• Customer development process by Steve
• Fail for lack of customers by Shani
• They wont come just because you built it by Francis
• Customer education problem by Michael

Pretotyping

• Pretotyping: Testing the initial appeal and actual usage of a potential new product by simulating its core experience withthe smallest possible investment of time and money

[...] Fake it before making it!

[...] When someone has an idea for a product, this idea is born in a place I like to call Thoughtland.

• innovators beat ideas
• pretotypes beat productypes
• data beats opinions
• now beats later
• doing beats talking
• simple beats complex
• commitment beats committees

See also:

• Pretotyping by Alberto
• Pretotype It 2nd Edition
• Why time flies by as you get older
• Innovation at Google by Patrick
• Make innovative ideas happen
• Ideas must be presented
• Business Intelligence
• Image EPS RTS “Thoughtland”
• Being an entrepreneur by Daniel

Guidelines for success

[...] Most people don’t do things that are difficult to do – Jason Cohen

‎[...] We have a strategic plan; it’s called doing things – Herb Kelleher

1. Creativity -  Implementation can be outsourced. Brilliant design can not.
2. Honesty – Keep your next marketing message honest
3. Test and tweak – Create and use a feedback loop to keep improving
4. Just do it – Convert book smarts to street smarts. If you have been waiting for a sign – this is it!
5. Do not sell out your dream – Never give up on your dreams. To be happy you need to invest in your own ideas!
6. Ask for sale. Listen to their needs to solve their problems.

See also:

• Rules for success
• Business of Software 2011 overview by James
• Everything is a remix
• Visioning process – What do I want to create?
• If not now, when?
• Marketing managment is now tribal leadership
• Be indispensable by building relationships and trust
• The critical role of trust in the innovation process by Jeffrey
• Continious delivery by James
• Tweetable quotes by Zuly

Good Bye, Steve

[...] You have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future…

[...] There is no reason not to follow your heart!

[...] The biggest difference between time and space is that you can’t reuse time. — Merrick Furst

See also:

• Stay hungry, stay foolish
• The End of an Era by Shaun
• Success Traits
• Why time files by as you get older
• If not now, when?
• The great presenter by Nancy
• Rhetorical Devices used by Steve by Nancy
• Public Speaking
• Move closer to the dream by Russ
• 12 Lessons learned from Steve by Guy Kawasaki
• Memorable brand story by Lisa
• Creativity is just connecting things
• Blow up your business before someone else does by Simon
• Talk by Steve Wozniak 
• Jobs the entrepeneur by Devin
• To understand is to perceive patterns by Jason

[...] unique and valuable—this is where you make margin, money, and history

Success Traits

[...] A positive mind finds a way it can be done… a negative mind looks for all the ways it can’t be done.

[...] Repeated success is about being able to take information and create, build, or apply it in new and important ways. Successful people want to learn everything about everything!

• Love what you do 

  [...] loving what you do is less about what you’re doing and more about how you look at the world.
  

• Work really hard
• Focus on one thing, not everything
• Keep pushing yourself
• Come up with good ideas
• Keep improving yourself in what you do
• Server others something of value
• Persist, because there is no over-night success

[...] Successful people create stuff!

[...] When time is gone – it’s gone forever

See also:

• Character traits of extraordinary entrepreneurs by Melanie
• If not now, when?
• Top traits of highly successful people by Philip
• Work simply and with focus
• Be indispensable by building relationships and trust
• The products you buy by Seth
• Find what you love by Joshua
• The tetris effect by Marelisa
• Qualities of the winner by Andika
• Do hard things by Scott

[...] don’t waste time, use it!

Visioning Process – What do I want to create?

[...] Not all who wander are lost. - J. R. R. Tolkien

1. Know where you are – what makes you remarkable?’
2. Design your focused vision of your future you really want
3. Do it
4. Keep your vision alive during ongoing environmental changes - “What do I want to create?“

Keys to success:

1. Leverage your existing resources in new ways
2. Setting your intentions into motion in intangible ways
3. Your business is your clarity manifest

[...] “Some men see things as they are and say why. I dream things that never were and say why not.” – Senator Robert F. Kennedy

See also:

• Creating engagements in virtual meetings
• Ideas must be presented
• Motivation and Information gap
• Make innovative ideas happen
• Creative bursts
• The Awesome power of two words by Douglas
• Rules of success by Dragan
• Believe in yourself by Dragan
• Startup is vision by Eric
• Do you know where you are going to by Michelle

Tips For Your Next Marketing Message

1. Attract attention by being significant – dont bore them
2. Make use of emotion provoking keywords – make them feel again
3. Sustain attention by being scan-able – remember, people scan they do not read.
4. Peer reviewers may spot details you have left out your target audience needs
5. Expect rapid constructive feedback
6. Monitor competition, learn from them
7. Simplify. Attention is a precious resource.
8. Provoke. Be different.
9. Make sure your message is being opened and read by giving it a remarkable title

See also:

• Online Copywriting
• Absent mind by Art
• You just shared a link. how long will people pay attention?
• Paying attention to the attention economy by Seth
• Attention Economy
• Ideas that spread win!
• Barriers Between You and Your Market by Russ

Be Indispensable by building relationships and trust

[...] Relationships are about helping!

[...] Tell me how I can help you!

1. Attend high quality events - Be invaluable to high quality people at such events
2. Invest in a community – by investing in communities, you will get access to other players and opportunities
3. Be a resource bank - become a go-to person for just about any kind of support
4. Engage thoughtfully - engage with high quality people in a way that they will respond to.

[...] What do you like to do when you are not working?

1. Connect – Seek to understand
2. Engage – Seek to know the person
3. Elaborate – Look for ways to help

1. Stop thinking about results!
2. Always think about asking questions to the people you meet
3. Understand we all are special

Building a relationship is a process of continuous positive experiences over time:

1. Acquitance – be friendly and above all genuine; it helps if you remember some defining comment 
2. Connection - both parties realize they are no longer total strangers
3. Mutuality of Purpose - let each other know how they can help each other;  be a pleasant and polite individual
4. Relationship - Consistency is the touchstone leading people to feel comfortable around us
5. Maintenance - nurture, sustain and stay in touch

[...] Everyone makes a living by selling something - Robert Louis Stevenson

[...] What do you need help with?

See also:

• Today is the Day
• Client Vendor Relationships
• Be irresistible
• Enchantment
• Building quality long lasting relationships by Don
• Keys building quality relationships by Tony
• Open the High Payoff Relationship Flood Gates by Melanie
• Build Better Relationships with the Media by Drew
• Transactional analysis in human interactions by Qualia

Unlimited Detail

1. Fictional items designed by artists
2. Scanned Real world items

via Geeks3D and also covered by slashdot, rockpapershotgun.

[...] more correctly, get excited about voxels – Notch

See also:

• Detail
• Ace of Spades
• LG Optimus 3D
• HTC Evo 3D
• GTA – Google Street View
• Face input
• Awesomium
• Chat in 3D
• 3DTin
• Probabilistic Feature-based On-line Rapid Model Acquisition
• Create Your Own Puzzle At Mightier
• 3D site links
• 3D optical illusion alphabet by Jill and Marc
• Voxels, sparse octrees, virtualization by Anteru
• GPU Gems – Volume rendering techniques
• Animated SVOs by Dennis
• Voxels by Mr. Doob
• Practical parallel and concurrency programming by Thomas
• 3D pixel voxel by Tobias
• Doom Voxel Project
• Voxel terrain by Marcel
• Q-Block

Hard to copy, easy to pay

• Hard to copy
• Authenticity
• Findability
• Embodiment
• Interpretation
• Attention
• Easy to pay
• Immediacy
• Personalization
• Understanding how it works

[...] It’s fun to do impossible projects because then you don’t have to worry about what happens if you succeed – Seth

[...] “To get something you never had, you have to do something you’ve never done.”

[...] Things are only impossible until they’re not.

See also:

• Motivation is important
• Core – what really makes us different
• Identifying Pleasurability
• Generatives by Kevin
• Face Input
• Design cannot be open sourced
• Rules for success
• HTML5 Implications for Content Protection by Roger
• Easy vs do-able vs impossible by Seth
• Freemium
• Core – What really makes us different
• New ways to make money equals new stuff to design
• Virtual Market
• Game Mechanics
• The CEO should be the chief experience officer by Mark

Shining

[...] Some places are like people: some shine and some don’t. – Dick

Some references from a book SHINE I read recently:‎

1. Hard work can sabotage success by leading you to try to overpower a problem rather than figure it out.
2. You get better at what you practice, but you get worse at what you neglect.
3. The only thing that really matters in life are your relationships with other people.
4. Play: Interact with the issue and learn from your own mistakes

See also:

• Spatial realization of the Escher ‘s impossible world by Kokichi
• Ideas are bulletproof
• Collative Learning – The Shining by Rob
• The making of Shining

Business model brain food

[...] We need to use tools that help us generate different alternatives and only then we should go for to the right solution. – Alex

See also: Business of Software Blog

Public Speaking

[...] The audience is sitting there because they want to learn, get inspired or be entertained. – Scott

[...] Its passion that people come to hear. - Doug

[...] What are we each doing in our presentations that is unique, interesting, funny or worthy of going viral? Take risks when you present, and your audience will be more entertained, pay better attention, and you may actually enjoy it! – Robert

1. Prepare your speech
2. Show your passion
3. Tell stories
4. Get their attention
5. Start a speech by a powerful statement
6. Have an enemy  to visualize ‘the problem’ you’re solving.
   
7. Finish by highlighting your points and make a call to action
8. Be distinct and understandable
9. Put your contact info up twice: at the beginning and at the end.

1. Use images to clarify ideas
2. Interact with images to create engagement
3. Augment memory with persistent & evolving views

Passion – Even if no one else in the world wanted it, would you keep at it, just for yourself. – Beau adkins

See also:

• The presentation secrets of Steve Jobs
• How to influence people by public speaking by Dale
• An open letter to speakers by Scott
• 10 Tips for public speaking
• Public speaking guidelines illustration
• Presentation tips for public speaking
• Be irresistable
• Ideas must be presented
• Tell me and I’ll forget, but show me and I’ll remember
• Lessons from Pecha Kucha
• Dealing with public speaking nerves by Garr
• Video QAs by Garr
• Tips for dealing with the media by David
• Whats more important to you than money by Shaun
• Storytelling by Martha
• Data visualization of Francois
• Strategies for video storytelling by Dusti
• Why startups require passion by Beau
• Confession of a public speaker by Trent

Beaware of your internet bubble

[...] There is an epic battle between our future aspirational selves and our more impulsive present selves.

[...] A slip reveals a hidden want, wish, or thought.

[...] The conscious mind is the active thinking part of the mind. The part that has decided to read this article and the part of the mind that is thinking about it.

[...] If you can hold a goal in your mind firmly for days and keep a positive attitude when thinking about it, slowly the thought will take root in the subconscious.

A while ago I mentioned the Biker Mice From Mars which also explores in episode “So Life Like” the evil version of the themselves (aka Evil Twin).

See also:

• The structural model of personality by Kendra
• Unconscious mind needs time to build new connections.
• Identifying pleasurability
• Fun and faith
• What makes games fun?
• True inspiration is impossible to fake.
• Conscious subconsciousness by Steven
• What is the Conscious Mind by Daniel
• What is the Subconscious Mind by Daniel
• the real villain is within ourselves
• If not now, when?
• Stop procrasting by Marelisa
• Real Mind Power Secrets by Daniel
• Consciousness: Explored and Exlained by Charlie

Write a proposal – What’s your sales message?

cohesive: strong, unyielding

New business will be won only to the extent that the client believes that
the professional is interested, cares, and is trying to help.
—DAVID H. MAISTER1

So you have received a request for proposal? Do you know how to write a proposal? Do you know how to present your sales message?

The project proposal is a tool — not a goal. It should be followed as closely as possible, and deviations should occur only when necessary.

A Request for Proposal (RFP) is a formal statement of requirements and technical specifications that constitute a company’s needs for the evaluation, recommendation and bid proposal of systems, services or products from vendors.

[...] If you have the tools you still need wood to build anything.

‎[...] A hammer does not build a house for a carpenter.

In order to ask for comments provide a section by section overview to indicate where you are most uncertain.

• The proposal as a cohesive document
• The proposal as a persuasive document

[...] Persuasion – A successful intentional effort at influencing another’s mental state through communication in a circumstance in which the reader has some measure of freedom. – Daniel J. Okeefe

Why would we persuade?

• To narrate
• To inform
• To convince
• To explore
• To make decisions
• To define
• To establish credibility

All proposals share in common the following basic parts:

1. The metaphor of a body
2. The idea of narration
3. The idea of persuasion, we really are arguing for our idea
4. The idea of audience

The checklist for effective persuasion:

• Have the aims of persuasion been identified and addressed?
• Is the central persuasive statement controlled?
• Have logical fallacies been avoided?
• Have the audience’s knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes been considered?
• Has a formal persuasive system been followed?

[...] Anything only has a value depending on what we compare it to – Rory Sutherland

[...] The first rule of Persuasion Design is that every design is persuasive in some ways. There is no neutral way of designing something. – Arjan Haring 2010

Trick:

• In your sales video, talk about the value you will be providing
• Send customers to buy
• Invite them –  “See you on the other side”

See also:

• What is an RFP? by Paul
• Writing winning bids by Neil
• Write compelling responses by Ivan
• How to Develop and Manage RFPs for ICT
• Ideas must be presented
• Make innovative ideas happen
• Persuasion  tactics 101 by Henk
• The psychology of persuasion by Adam
• The Six Principles of Persuasion by Bridget
• Project Proposal Writing PDF
• Project Proposal Example
• How to influence human behaviour by James
• Marketing by Raph
• How to leverage the 5 stages of Customer buying cycle?
• Make the sale without telling the tale by Marni
• How to sell while serving by Mike
• Ecommerce Marketing Applications of Humor by Sam
• 100 Marketing Ideas by Dragan
• Intellectual property is dying by Lincoln
• Get what you want by Geoff

Everything is a remix

Today I found a nice series on creativity – Everything Is A Remix - via Scott.

Creativity requires influence

Ideas are made of other ideas

Multiple discovery. Copying is creativity. Ideas are combined

See also:

• Plot Device by Red Giant
• Make Innovation Ideas Happen
• Creative bursts
• We do not know where we get our ideas from!
• The simple halfstep principle for innovation by Jorge
• Paradoxes of Creativity by Roger
• 29 ways to stay creative by Moleskine
• Movie Poster Cliches by Christophe
• The Mojito Method by Jurgen
• Creativity and game design “Whip Speech” from 1988 by Jay
• Be more creative by stealing and recombining ideas that already exist by Marelisa
• Networked knowledge and combinatorial creativity by Maria

World’s Biggest PAC-MAN

Only a few years ago I had this idea to have a JSC branded PAC MAN multiplayer game.

Today, I found this via RLammle:

For my amusement I found it rather remarkable to be able to log in with facebook connect and use my tablet to ink a new maze for others to play later.

It would be awesome if a future version of JSC would include a C# project template to create something like this.

What if it would be applied to other simple games? What if actual applications could be extended by crowd sourcing?

Above video by Pavel was found thanks to geeksaresexy.com

 

 

Marketing management is now tribal leadership

[...] Software that’s boring will never turn into a movement

• Who can I reach?

• Will they talk about it with their peers?

• Can I earn and maintain permission to continue the conversation

[...] Grinding out code is not on top of the  hierarchy of value. Creating and inventing interesting solutions is on the top of the hierarchy of value.

• Once they learn about the utility offered will they pay for it

[..] Free is the most powerful marketing tool ever. If it is free then trial is more likely. If tiral leads to someone  becoming connected to a group  they do not want to become disconnected from they will start paying because that value has been proven.

[...] Implementation can be outsourced. Brilliant design can not.

[...] Be the change you wish to see in the world. – Gandhi

• Be relational!
• Be a storyteller!
• Be a little bit crazy!

See also:

• Marrying Sales and Internet Marketing by Danika
• Business of Software 2010. Patrick McKenzie, ‘Hello Ladies’ via Mark
• Sales Team Motivation by Bridget
• You should be making an MMO by Dave
• Crowd sourcing idea
• Creative bursts
• Ideas that spread, Win!
• What are you selling to your customers
• Conversations to collaborations by Steve
• Tips to Managing Both your content and community by Marlene

Milk, Milk, Milk – Not Milk! Ideas that spread, Win!

remarkable: extraordinary, unusual

Cows are invisible. Nobody sees them.

If the cow was purple, you would notice it for a while.

Core rules – Figure out what people want and give it to them!

• Design is free if you get to scale
• The riskiest thing to do now is to be safe
• Figure out who does care

Is your product remarkable?

See also:

• What gets shared?
• Ideas must be presented!
• Rules for success
• Identifying pleasureability
• Core – what really makes us different
• Motivation is important
• Video: Are you afraid to truly make an impact? by Seth Godin
• Create remarkable content with marketing personas by Kirsten
• Where did the community go? by Camen
• How to get your ideas heard by Jorge

Enchantment

enchantment: attraction, fascination, happiness

It is the dim haze of mystery that adds enchantment to pursuit. - Antoine Rivarol

Thanks to Angela I learned today about the book “Enchantment ”  which explains when and why enchantment is necessary.

[...] Always return every electronic communication…the same day you receive it

1. Always be likable
2. Always be trustworthy
3. Be Deep, Intelligent, Complete, Empowering and Elegant
4. Always be answering
5. Always be linking
6. Always be monitoring
7. Always be photographing
8. Always be commeting
9. Always be thanking
10. Always be disclosing
11. Always be repeating
12. Always be restraining
13. Always have consistent fresh content
14. Always be charming and irresistible

See also:

• Path to online success by Charu and by Sirona

GTA – Google Street View

Wow. GTA as google street view. I think it’s awesome. Next step would be to use GPS and accelerometer to see the game feed in realtime. By walking on the road one could just look into the game world. It could serve as a portal from the real world to the virtual. Oh, and one more thing. Forget about your android phone. Let’s just use those new 3D glasses

See also:

• GTA Meets Google Maps
• Augmented Reality Gaming
• ASCIIpOrtal
• Google Street View Easter Eggs
• VGMaps.com: The Video Game Atlas
• GTA 1 ported to 3D via web archive
• Handdrawn maps from videogames by Josh

Leadership lessons

[...] “He says the secret is that you should look at abstract patterns like clouds in the sky or smoke emitted from fire,” Gelb said. “Let your mind go free and you will see in these an infinity of things — divine landscapes that you may then reduce to their complete and proper forms. He’s saying generate first, use the right hemisphere, get way out of the box, then step back and think about how it fits together and how it really applies to your practical situation.” by Michael

Hurry up and wait

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” – Steve Jobs

Have you ever dropped someone off just to wait them to return?
… did you atleast have something to read?

Have you ever launched a long running task on your computer?
… did you atleast made yourself a sandwich?

Such are the times you know when it’s time to start looking at other tasks during the wait.

Sometimes you have to wait. It’s how you spend that time that makes the difference.

Craig has put together extensive list of things to work on while waiting.

1. Plan for the Wait
2. Always have materials on hand
3. Tasks suited to the Wait
4. Review your calendar and Todo list
5. The power of 10 minutes not watching TV
6. Return calls
7. Your computer in your pocket
8. Reading
9. Rest – let your mind relax

See also:

• Slower is faster
• Why time files by as you get older
• Rethinking the role of a manager by Mitch
• Living longer by stretching psychological time by Scott
• Money is time by Sam
• Taking time by Angie
• Creating time to innovate by David
• The secret of a 29 hour day by Karol

be irresistible

irresistable: charming, enchanting, fascinating, invincible, lovable, overwhelming, powerful, seductive, stunning, tempting, unavoidable.

Don’t give up on a single one of your dreams or goals, if they are true dreams and true goals.

Christopher has prepared a list of how to be irresistable:

1. Learn from nature – patience, trees
2. Be still – “not doing” can actually increase our creativity
3. Be persistent - unconquerable spirit never grows old
4. Value little moments as much as big ones - celebrate the joy and spontaneity of life
5. Love balance -  only the strong can be gentle
6. Be interested in other people - If you can find out what makes someone excited or happy – their eyes will glow and friendship will flow.
7. Be kind 

“It is absurd to divide people into good and bad. People are either charming or tedious.” – Oscar Wilde

Wikihow knows how to be charming:

1. Improve your posture
2. Smile with your eyes - if you look at someone and then smile, it instantly charms them.
3. Remember people’s names -  The more you say a person’s name, the more that person will feel that you like them and the greater the chance they’ll warm up to you.
4. Be genuinely interested in people
5. Take into account topics that interest those around you
6. Praise others - mention something you like about that person
7. Issue compliments to raise others self esteem - find a creative way to say it and say it immediately
8. Accept compliments -  enjoin this with “I’m glad you like it” or “It is so kind of you to have noticed.”
9. Control your tone and voice
10. Listen
11. Assume rapport
12. Use kindness with respect
13. When you greet someone, make them feel like they are the most important person to you.
    

[...] Being a leader gives you the charisma - Seth

See also:

• Leadership quotes thanks to Val
• Reality distortion field
• Ways to overcome skeptical eyebrows by Russ

Building Aggressively Compatible Android Games

1. Check your assumptions!
2. Follow the rules!
3. Manage your spec!

See also: Game Mechanics

See also: Android development lecture

See also: Interview with Terry

Man Tetris

[...] It’s going to be a great expierience to be in a room of full of people who are great in this game! via Eric

See also: WebGL Tetris by Philliph

You do have a backup, right?

Note to self: Have external drives sync up on each other bi-weekly.

Today I found out that my 1TB external hard drive has stopped working. Only the bright white LED was still shining. The operating system itself was unable to detect the drive via the USB connection.

You do have a backup, right?

Well, no. It was the backup. I had a collection of documents I wanted to read later. Most of them were related to my Ph.D studies and downloaded from the internet. The source code on the disk was either disposable or synced to a repository like svn or git. And then there was media like movies and images.

Should an external hard drive be considered as a temporary means to transport data?

Shoot the evil chickens

See also: Doom: Fall of mars

Team Coordination Game

Ace Of Spades

Will this be as cool as Minecraft?

See also: Ken Silverman’s Voxlap engine!

Seems like April is the month for Voxels

As I have a spare 1 TB of storage space on my external HDD it seems I should write a bot to back up stuff I link in this blog as they seem to become unavailable only within a few years.

Also do check out XB PointStream Demo by Andor Salga:

See also: Hexplore