http://wadearmstrong.com/ Born in Baltimore. Grew up in the big city. Came out West to college at Pomona. Web since 1995; writer since even earlier. Strategic communications consultant, dot-com software project manager, entrepreneur and Web designer. Getting my MBA. Love cooking, photography, organization, the Web. Overall sunny outlook, matching sunny location in Los Angeles. Writing about technology, about business, about entrepreneurship, about individual productivity, and occasional other interesting things. en Copyright 2008 Thu, 12 Jun 2008 17:19:01 -0800 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss I've been gone for a while; mostly it was too much work, launching a whole marketing campaign. But some of it was fun -- I went to the Hawaiian island of Kauai on a good week's vacation, paid for substantially by attending a timeshare presentation. Now that was an education on sales. http://wadearmstrong.com/archives/business/what_i_learned_about_sales_from_a_timeshare.php http://wadearmstrong.com/archives/business/what_i_learned_about_sales_from_a_timeshare.php Business Thu, 12 Jun 2008 17:19:01 -0800 Bloggers like "Marc Andreessen":http://blog.pmarca.com/2008/02/abc-thinks-your.html, "John Gruber":http://daringfireball.net/linked/2008/february#mon-25-tivo, and "TechDirt":http://techdirt.com/articles/20080224/231143340.shtml have heaped scorn upon "ABC's decidedly feature-retro on-demand service":http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/25/business/media/25abc.html?_r=1&ex=1361682000&en=23079907c62f6977&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&oref=slogin. With ads you can't skip, ABC's offering gets rid of what everybody seems to agree is the most wonderful feature of the DVR. Is ABC stupid or brilliant? I'm almost tempted to argue the former -- this could be a clever business move. http://wadearmstrong.com/archives/business/can_abc_compete_with_tivo_by_making_a_worse_product.php http://wadearmstrong.com/archives/business/can_abc_compete_with_tivo_by_making_a_worse_product.php Business Wed, 27 Feb 2008 21:35:25 -0800 Microsoft's proposal to acquire Yahoo for $45 billion is both unexpected and widely-foreseen. Pundits have, for some time now, "suggested that might be a reasonable course of action":http://watchmojo.com/web/blog/index.php/2007/04/18/yhoo-let-one-rip-and-everyone-in-the-room-heard-it/. But the purchase price is clearly aggressive, at $31/share for a stock that had closed at under $19 the day before. In fact, as "Jupiter's Michael Gartenberg puts it":http://weblogs.jupiterresearch.com/analysts/gartenberg/archives/2008/02/dear_yahoo_shar.html, this proposal looks more like Microsoft is saying "Dear Yahoo Shareholder: How would you like to get Yahoo's share price from six months ago back, tomorrow?" Where's the logic behind this price? http://wadearmstrong.com/archives/business/yahoosoft_where_does_that_45b_number_come_from.php http://wadearmstrong.com/archives/business/yahoosoft_where_does_that_45b_number_come_from.php Business Sat, 02 Feb 2008 11:05:40 -0800 Almost no matter what you want to do with it, it's tough to bend Outlook to your whims. This goes double if you follow the precepts of "Getting Things Done":http://amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0142000280/ref=nosim/wadearmstrong-20. There's the high-powered but somewhat obtuse "GTD Outlook Add-in":http://gtdsupport.netcentrics.com/buy/indexd.php of course, but that loses a lot of fidelity once you go to the ubiquitous smartphone. Because I can't be separated from my Treo, I set up my system to be low-fi, while still providing a reliable inbox and review set-up. http://wadearmstrong.com/archives/productivity/easy_gtd_with_outlook_and_the_palm_treo.php http://wadearmstrong.com/archives/productivity/easy_gtd_with_outlook_and_the_palm_treo.php Productivity Fri, 25 Jan 2008 15:17:11 -0800 There's nothing like a Steve Jobs keynote address for a Mac fan like me. For a lot of years in the '90s, the Macworld keynote was just a list of products; but, since Apple's turn-of-the-century rebirth, it's been a window on the company's emerging strategy. In Macworld after Macworld, Apple has revealed products that represented long bets -- the iPod, the iTunes Music Store, Apple TV, iWork -- and, if you look at Macworld with the same strategic eye as Jobs, there's indications of the future there. http://wadearmstrong.com/archives/business/macworld_2008_and_apples_strategy.php http://wadearmstrong.com/archives/business/macworld_2008_and_apples_strategy.php Business Thu, 17 Jan 2008 23:20:58 -0800 At my company, we send out a moderate amount of mail. There's the bills, of course, and also reply envelopes to help get feedback from customers. Obviously, keeping mailing costs down is key, but so is having convenient access to postage and minimizing the amount of work I have to do (after all, there's only one of me, and I have a lot more than just sending mail on my plate). After trying out some options, I decided to stick with plain old-fashioned stamps, bought at the USPS Web site. http://wadearmstrong.com/archives/startup_lessons/startup_postage_endicia_vs_stamps_vs_business_reply.php http://wadearmstrong.com/archives/startup_lessons/startup_postage_endicia_vs_stamps_vs_business_reply.php Startup Lessons Thu, 10 Jan 2008 00:02:01 -0800 Nothing ever goes right for my neighbor. His tires are flat, someone broke his cabinet (the one that he left in the driveway), and his car accidentally got impounded. The things he hopes for never pan out. For Steve Jobs, "it's the opposite story":http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2007/10/22results.htm - Apple sold a boatload of Macs last quarter, more than anyone expected. It seems like, after years of hoping, Steve finally got some iPod users to make the big switch to the Mac. http://wadearmstrong.com/archives/luck_favors_the_prepared.php http://wadearmstrong.com/archives/luck_favors_the_prepared.php Business Entrepreneurship Thu, 25 Oct 2007 09:13:49 -0800 In a former life, I designed Web sites for a living -- I still do a bit of consulting here and there. For someone starting a new business, having a great Web site can make a big difference. But it's not always clear how to make a site that really sells online. Here are some common mistakes that companies of all sizes make on their Web sites, as well as some tips and tools you can use to make sure these mistakes don't appear on your site. http://wadearmstrong.com/archives/entrepreneurship/top_6_small_business_web_site_mistakes.php http://wadearmstrong.com/archives/entrepreneurship/top_6_small_business_web_site_mistakes.php Entrepreneurship Fri, 05 Oct 2007 09:05:31 -0800 Starting a company is a messy business. Things go wrong. Worse, things that you never thought could go wrong go wrong. You have to create everything afresh, and that always takes longer than expected. It's a mess, and it'll get you down. But you just have to believe. You can be the princess. You can go home again. It's like a Disney movie -- you just have to believe. http://wadearmstrong.com/archives/entrepreneurship/just_like_being_in_a_disney_movie.php http://wadearmstrong.com/archives/entrepreneurship/just_like_being_in_a_disney_movie.php Entrepreneurship Thu, 27 Sep 2007 18:31:09 -0800 On top of their mostly-symbolic cut to the discount rate a month ago, "the Fed has now cut the Federal Funds rate":http://money.cnn.com/2007/09/18/news/economy/fed_rates/index.htm?cnn=yes, hopefully lowering lenders' interest rates and saving the economy from a Real Estate bubble-fueled recession. This is a dangerous game: the added credit availability may not trickle down to homeowners or other consumers, and the new liquidity may simply allow predatory and irresponsible lenders to cover their own losses while not learning a thing. This cut is a gift to the lenders -- and shows that what we need is a policy solution to this housing crisis. http://wadearmstrong.com/archives/business/bernankes_gift_to_the_banks.php http://wadearmstrong.com/archives/business/bernankes_gift_to_the_banks.php Business Wed, 19 Sep 2007 11:21:39 -0800 I'm not much of an economist, but it's starting to seem like I can predict recessions. Specifically, I start companies right before the economy goes in the toilet. I don't know what I'm on to, but this is two times around the track now that this has happened. It's a bit funny, but, if I'm clever, maybe I can figure out how to make money off of it. http://wadearmstrong.com/archives/business/negative_economic_predictor.php http://wadearmstrong.com/archives/business/negative_economic_predictor.php Business Thu, 13 Sep 2007 23:26:14 -0800 A few weeks ago, I switched my company over to "Intuit's Quickboks Payroll":http://payroll.intuit.com/payroll_services/index.jhtml, replacing ADP as our processors. Only two payrolls later, I'm already in a groove with the quick and easy system. Why, if it didn't involve large amounts of money moving out of my account, running payroll would be a joy! http://wadearmstrong.com/archives/entrepreneurship/quickbooks_best_payroll_processing_for_small_businesses.php http://wadearmstrong.com/archives/entrepreneurship/quickbooks_best_payroll_processing_for_small_businesses.php Entrepreneurship Thu, 06 Sep 2007 21:12:24 -0800 Giving good customer service is tough. It's easy to get 90% of it right and still leave the customer with a bad taste in their mouth -- an unpleasant truth when your business model depends on delighting the customer, as does mine. I was reminded of the delicacy of customer service last weekend, when a major airline lost my bags. http://wadearmstrong.com/archives/business/customer_service_is_scary.php http://wadearmstrong.com/archives/business/customer_service_is_scary.php Business Fri, 31 Aug 2007 23:27:53 -0800 Everyone expects free shipping, thanks to Amazon. Including "my company":http://dineandsimplify.com's customers. I can't blame them; heck, I expect free shipping myself. But it's tough when you're sending 30lb boxes of perishable goods around the country. Shipping costs can be equal to product costs for some East Coast destinations -- and this cuts down on my sales. It's tough, but there is a silver lining. Once again, simply having a business plan has saved me. Well, that and making some phone calls. http://wadearmstrong.com/archives/entrepreneurship/amazon_got_me_trouble_but_my_business_plan_saved_me.php http://wadearmstrong.com/archives/entrepreneurship/amazon_got_me_trouble_but_my_business_plan_saved_me.php Entrepreneurship Wed, 15 Aug 2007 15:49:43 -0800 I always fall down on my planned approaches to productivity when, at that moment, it's not productive to be productive. I'm sure you know those times -- I should do something, it's actually kind of important, but it's either inconvenient or impossible and so I don't do it right then. And then the moment passes and the thought is lost or the task becomes even harder to do. For a while, recording my mileage, keeping up on my credit card purchases, and even capturing ideas on-the-go were all in this category. But, lately, I've been doing a lot better -- because I made the effort to set myself up to be productive in a moment, any moment. http://wadearmstrong.com/archives/productivity/productivity_in_a_moment.php http://wadearmstrong.com/archives/productivity/productivity_in_a_moment.php Productivity Wed, 08 Aug 2007 07:39:46 -0800