SIGNAL VS. NOISE

Google: "Take This IPO and Shove It"

Google wants to have its cake and eat it too. Even though it's going public, the company claims it will not become a slave to earnings reports and the short-term mentality that's so prevalent on Wall Street (NY Times). Actually, in many ways Google's public offering statement is a big middle finger to the status quo of Wall Street.

According to the statement, Google will not offer quarterly earnings guidance and it expects shareholders to understand even if it makes unprofitable short-term investments.

It's showing disdain for the traditional stock offering process by circumventing the favored customers of Wall Street investment banks who usually get a sweetheart deal on IPOs.

It doesn't trust shareholders to think long term so it's implementing a dual-class voting structure where the new shares it sells to the public will have only a tenth as much voting power as the shares current investors own.

It's even telling investors who want to make a quick buck to stay away ("Short-term speculation without paying attention to price is likely to lose you money, especially with our auction structure.").

The statement also says that Google "has a responsibility to the world" and it should, gasp, have a "positive impact on the world." Crazy talk.

Even if it's BS, this talk of long-term thinking is really refreshing. It's much needed not only on Wall Street but in our quick-hit culture in general. Funny how shocking it is to hear such common sense.

But will these romantic ideals dissolve once the rubber hits the pavement? The machine is a powerful force. The idealists at Google better be prepared for a long, hard slog ahead if they're really going to buck the system.

Are "Back to Top" links useful?

This one is nearly impossible to Google. Do people actually click "Back to Top" links? Has anyone seen usability data on this, outside of FAQ situations?

Proof that coupons "work" for companies

Only 5,000,000 songs out of a possible 100,000,000 songs have been claimed so far in the iTunes/Pepsi free song giveaway. I'd be interested to see if Pepsi's sales were up over the same period. I know I bought a few Pepsis instead of Cokes because of this promo.

Seems like this could be a good case study for the effectiveness (and higher profitability) of offering coupons and rebates instead of instant discounts. Offering them gives the perception of a great deal, but the low level redemption makes good economic sense for the manufacturer. It's like having a sale without actually having one.

How often do you buy something with a rebate but forget to redeem it?

The problem with comparison shopping sites

Shopping.com (disclosure: designed by 37signals), Bizrate, Yahoo! Shopping, and CNET Reviews (among others) are all useful big-picture comparison shopping sites, but I still haven't seen a big comparison shopping site get side-by-side compare right.

For example, check out these side-by-side digital camera comparisons:

• Shopping.com: Canon PowerShot A80 vs. Canon PowerShot S410
• Yahoo! Shopping: Olympus Camedia C-750 vs. Canon PowerShot S400
• Bizrate: Canon PowerShot A80 vs. Canon PowerShot S400
• CNET Reviews: Canon PowerShot S30 vs. Canon PowerShot S230

Can anyone quickly tell me the key differences between the models? Why should I have to "read" a grid of product information and do my own comparison? Why is the majority of the page filled with indentical information about the two models when I'm really trying to distinguish the difference between them? Why can't the sites highlight the rows that are different and mark the better specs for me (or provide an option to hide rows if the data is the same for both models)? Why can't they provide a summary at the top that outlines the key differences so I don't have to scroll up and down and back again to decide which camera is better or more appropriate for me? Where's the new thinking (these default comparison grids have been the same for years)? Ya know?

Note: I'm a little busy right now, but I plan on putting up a 37better Comparison Grid page up in the next few weeks.

Gary Benchley Rules

Speaking of good writing...If you haven't been keeping up to date on the musings of Gary Benchley, self-proclaimed NYC rock star then you're really missing out. The latest installment pokes fun at bloggers, designers, and Brooklyn.

In that 20 minutes, she told me about Tom, Tom who didnt love her, Tom the well-paid asshole with the gorgeous apartment, Tom who fucked her like a beast and then went out drinking with his friends thats where he was right now while kind, warm, enthusiastic, broke-dick Gary sat holding her hand in a bar, his balls turning to dust. Gary Benchley, the true friend.

Watching her cry, I knew Benchley had hit bottom. I had reached the mythical state of total anti-rock, which I call Train, after the band. When the head of every drum is torn, and all guitars out of tune, when the microphone melts in your hand, thats Train, and I was in Train all the way up to my drops of Jupiter.

What's Next For Apple?

What's the next big move for Apple? According to Oh, Yeah, He Also Sells Computers (NY Times profile of Steve Jobs), it's probably either A) a Macintosh-style interactive television system for the living room or B) a line of digital mobile phones that would take the company into the VoIP market.

Btw: In the last three months, Apple sold 807,000 iPods, surpassing for the first time the number of Macintosh computers it sold (749,000).

XM vs Sirius satellite radio... Which one?

Another option in the new car is either XM or Sirius satellite radio. Anyone have any opinions on which one to go with? Even though Sirius is a few extra bucks a month, I'm leaning towards Sirius because they have nationwide NPR and better sports coverage, but I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts. Is Sirius going to be around in a few years? They are only hovering around 350,000 subscribers while XM is is close to 2,000,000. Thoughts? FYI, here are some other comparison reviews so far: Slashdot, Forbes, Detriot Free Press, and there's even a Satellite Radio Blog.

Is OnStar worth it to you?

So, I'm about to get a new car and OnStar is an option in one of the two cars on the lot. Has anyone here used OnStar? Does anyone rely on it for directions or personal concierge, or do you find yourself using it just on rare occasions, if ever? I can't see myself using it much, and am wondering if the extra $495 (plus $16.95/month) is worth it. Yeah, stolen vehicle tracking alone would make it worth it (and remote door unlock would be a nice too although I've never locked my keys in the car), but I'm still not sure if there's enough value otherwise to go for it. Any feedback or opinions? Thanks in advance.

Les Savy Fav's 7-year dance party

Looking for something to compliment the warm weather creeping up on Chicago, I grabbed Les Savy Fav's latest release: "Inches".

Les Savy Fav plays quirky indie anthems and arty dance-rock tunes, ranging from love songs ("For just a speck of you I'd trade the whole of me, I wish each peck from you would last eternity") to cooky tales ("Blessed be the doctor and blessed be the nurse! Blessed be the coachman who put me in the hearse!"). They're a blast.

"Inches" was conceived in 1996 before the band had released any records, and throughout their 7+ year career they've written songs and released them not on their albums but on 9 separate 7"s specifically destined for "Inches". Even the album art was designed from the beginning!

People talk about long-term projects like this all the time, but it sure is inspiring to see a handful of committed guys pull it off. Check out the Pitchfork review for more info.

Silver Stuff: Mixed-Product Reviews

Our friends at silverorange have put together silverorange stuff -- a collection of straight forward, mixed-product reviews. Unlike the big media reviewers who play with a product for a few days or weeks (who can discover all a product's quirks, frustrations, and pleasant surprises in such a short period of time?), their reviews start with "Ive owned this camera for three years..."

Current reviews include a digital camera, headphones, a bike helmet, digital music software, and even a subscription to Salon. Consider this site added to my Kinja digest.

Another hop on the Ftrain

Speaking of great writing, I revisited Paul Ford's Ftrain.com and was pleasantly surprised by the new (to me at least) layout. All the typical bloggy sidebar stuff ("External links", "Work elsewhere", "Discussed elsewhere", "In the past", etc..) is located off the screen on the right side of the page -- accessible via a horizontal scrollbar. So if you don't scroll horizontally, you see just the important content like the nav, latest entry and recent stuff, but if you scroll you can see all the extras.

I'm guessing Paul's audience is a little on the savvy side, so maybe he figured that this unconventional approach wouldn't pose too much of a problem. I dig it. I like how the page has a lot to offer this way but stays focused. What do you think?

Great Copywriting on the Web: A List

So, there are plenty of sites showcasing well-designed web sites (of course "well-designed" is subjective, but you get the point), but where's the list of well written web sites?

Copywriting is still the web's biggest weakness (more on this soon). We could all use some inspiration and examples of great corporate/marketing writing online. Who's doing a great job of explaining their product or service? Who speaks like a human and not like a computer or a marketing machine? Who gets their point across quickly, concisely, and clearly?

Let's build a list (and, if you have time, explain why you think their writing is great). After a few months we'll clean it up and post it in an easier-to-read format.

Web browser fonts, anti/aliased, readability, and attitude

Design kings Jim, Todd, Jeffrey, Gabe, and Craig discuss type/font display in web browsers and what's next.

Observation of the day

Safari's default print margins don't leave any room for a staple.

This cake is all frosting

Aaron Gustafson works a few miracles in his ALA article, Let Them Eat Cake. He really knows his stuff, and his end-product is impressive and instructive.

But there's a problem.

Aaron starts with a nod to the latest accessibility/usability hoo-ha and states his intentions for the article:

It is my feeling that, using the DOM, we can improve the usability of a page without restricting its accessibility. Sprinkle in a little CSS and we have the recipe for a wonderful experience all around, regardless of the browser, platform or device being used.

For his example, Aaron starts with a nicely marked-up version of his article text. That's where the accessibility comes from -- good markup. Sounds good so far.

Then Aaron sets a usability goal for the page (to show that accessibility needn't restrict usability):

The article is divided into sections and, as human psychology demonstrates, information is easier to digest in chunks. One way to make a lengthy article easier to follow is to display the content section by section. This not only aids in digesting the information but reduces scrolling (which appeals to the many who remain convinced that the general population still has no clue how to scroll).

In the end, we have an attractive page that splits the article sections into separate screens (using DOM show/hide) while still keeping the print version as one page. Very cool, I have to admit.

But I'm not so sure this treatment is more usable than the plain markup version. Does a single article really need its own menu bar? Is it easier for people to understand the article in chunks, or does the lack of context make it harder to follow along? Will someone viewing a single chunk expect the whole article to print? What if they hit the print button on each screen and get five copies? These questions may be open for debate, but some of the problems with this design are clear-cut:

• The back button does not work between screens.
• People can't link to the screens directly or bookmark them (the URL doesn't change).
• There's no call to action at the end of each "chunk". (A 'Next' or 'Continue' link would give each chunk context, letting people know there's more around the corner and that the chunks belong to a sequence.)

We've all known since the great debates over Flash and frames that breaking the back button and denying deep links are not nice things to do. The print stylesheet is great, the idea is cool, but in the end the technique outshines the content (and isn't that design for design's sake?)

Good interfaces set peoples' expectations. While this page is smartly designed so that five "screen pages" print as one "print page", the reader probably expects the total opposite. The reader may also expect to be able to bookmark one of the screens with a good code snippet, but will end up bookmarking the introduction.

"Let Them Eat Cake" is a helpful and valuable lesson in clean semantic markup and CSS styling, but it's not about usability. No matter how far we can stretch our tools, it's all for nothing if they don't make things simpler and smarter.

The Kinja that wasn't

Nick was kind enough to give us permission to share one of our rejected Kinja designs with the SvN audience.

This was our favorite layout, but the question was practicality. Was a 3 column layout with the nav centered in the middle and the stories on the side effective? How would the stories flow? Was this too much of a departure from the "traditional" blog-friendly reverse chronology and top/side navigation scheme we've all come to take for granted? Does flow really matter or is "scattered" approach easier to scan? Was this too newspaper like? All these questions came up. We had answers for some and are still looking for others. In the end, it was decided the quirks of this design weren't appropriate for Kinja.

We still think it's an interesting concept and we may revisit it once again with the upcoming SvN redesign. What do you think?

Literary Idol

A little Friday fun. Ok, so they turn books into movies, but what if you could turn a book into a song? Which book would you sing?

Electronics As Luxury

A $15,650 18-carat yellow gold cell phone? Finding Glamour in the Gadget (NY Times) discusses the concept of electronics as luxury.

But what are luxury products, and why do people aspire to own them? Why does someone spend $3,000 on a watch when a $10 model will tell time accurately? Why does someone spend $50,000 on a fur or $100 on a cigar? Why is decorative jewelry almost as old as the human race?

An exercise in clarity: Web Standards

Explain why Web Standards are important to your clients (and their customers) in 10 words or less.

OS X and Windows start-up lag time

One thing that has always bothered me about desktop operating systems is the false sense of readiness they present when they start up after being rebooted. They set false expectations. They tease you ("Hey, look at me... I'm the happy desktop... Hey, don't touch! I'm not ready yet.")

I've seen countless people stumble over the basic desktop UI after a restart because even though the system appears ready (the desktop is showing, icons are showing, the mouse moves, the clock works, etc), it really isn't. It's sluggish, you can't really launch things yet, and the mouse response can be chunky and sporadic. This is the case on both Windows and OS X.

Isn't it about time that you can use the system at full strength immediately upon seeing the desktop? Why can't the OSes hold off showing you the desktop until it's completely ready to use? I realize there are third party "things" going on, but, come on, we're dealing with powerful computers here — couldn't this experience be a little better? To me this "start-up lag" seems to be the last frontier of desktop OS user experience that still hasn't been improved. In fact, it's gotten worse I think. Thoughts?

First Amendment Evaporation

Jeff Jarvis looked up FCC Chairman Michael Powell's 1999 speech to the Media Institute accepting their, um, Freedom of Speech Award (!?). Keep in mind that Powell is the one who, backed by the religious right, is waging a war against "indecency" on the airwaves. Here are his own words though:

...I have gained a deep and profound respect for the wisdom of having an unwavering principle that stands at the summit of the Constitution, and holds: "Government shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech."

When Government compromises this commandment, the Governor enjoys unbridled discretion to favor, and at times direct, the content of the voices we hear and the images we see. Undoubtedly, the Governor that takes such liberty with the Constitution believes he does so out of benevolence, the greater good, or the "public interest." But, this is not the covenant the people made in surrendering limited authority to the State. Benevolent or not, we did not sign away to a Philosopher-King the responsibility to determine for us, like a caring parent, what messages we should and should not hear.

Confused about the gap between his words and his actions? You can write him an email at [email protected] to get clarification (or just to share your thoughts on the current FCC actions).

Or just go ahead and sign the StopFCC.com petition. The petition is a pledge of support for "freedom of speech and expression on our airwaves, print, the Internet, broadcast, cable and satellite."

It says:

While we realize that the government has an obligation to protect our children, surely there needs to be a limit to what is regulated. Adults and parents are capable of making decisions about what to watch, read or listen to and are certainly capable of turning off or putting down anything that may offend them or their children.

And by the way, did ya hear that John Ashcroft is going after HBO? Good times.

A9: Amazon gets in the search game

Look what we have here. Amazon gets into the search game. A9 features a search history on the front page (Amazon beat one of our clients to the punch here), a side-by-side web and book search results page, direct links to Amazon's Alexa for additional site information, vertical text tabs for navigation (on the results page), and Google Adwords integration. Not convinced? Check out the 7 reasons to use A9. So, what do you think? [thanks for the heads-up, Paul]

Update: 37signals Workshops and Appearances

We'll be presenting at the following workshops and events this spring and summer:

AIGA Exhibit A: April 26, Minneapolis, MN.
Exhbit A is a case study based competition created to recognize and showcase the work of interactive practioners in Minnesota. The afternoon Forum will include presentations by the lead judges (Jason Fried & Peter Merholz) who will share insights and knowledge about their practices. More info and signup.

seriouSeries No. 3: April 29, Chicago, IL
Jim Coudal of Coudal Partners / Photoshop Tennis / Jewelboxing, Jason Fried of 37signals / Signal vs. Noise / Basecamp, Naz Hamid from Gapers Block / Absenter and Jake Nickell, Jacob DeHart and Jeffrey Kalmikoff of Skinnycorp / Threadless / Yayhooray will all reveal the secrets to their internet fame and fortune. SOLD OUT

Blogging for Business: May 21, Chicago.
Business blogs are taking off. Are you up to speed? Learn how your business can harness the power of weblogs to improve communication and efficiency at this hands-on workshop. More info and signup. Note: If you sign up for Adaptive Path's Make Your CMS Work For You workshop (on May 20 in Chicago) at the same time, you can save some serious moolah.

The "Building of Basecamp" Workshop: June 25, Chicago
Go behind the scenes and learn what it takes to launch a new web-based application — From an idea on a napkin to launch and beyond. We'll explain our process, our mistakes, our home runs, and the design, development, marketing, and support lessons we've learned. Then we'll discuss how you can transfer that knowledge to your own projects. Seats are going fast! More info and signup.

WebVisions: July 16, Portland, OR
WebVisions is a day-long conference that brings together the Web's thought leaders to explore the future of design, Web standards, usability, ROI and more. Plus, it's always an opportunity for some good, old fashioned schmoozing. Speakers include Matt Owens, Doug Bowman, Jason Fried, Armin Vit, Julie Beeler, Ani Phyo, Matt Haugey and Christina Wodtke. More info and signup.

User Experience Week 2004: August 16-19, Washington, DC
A full week of valuable training, fantastic after-hours events, real-world case studies, and great speakers including Jesse James Garrett, Jeffrey Veen, Lane Becker, Janice Fraser, Peter Merholz, Scott Hirsch, Jason Fried, Douglas Bowman, and Christina Wodtke. More info and signup.

The Eighth Annual Strategic Public Relations Conference: October 7, Chicago
Join the industry's leading experts for the PR's most anticipated event of the year. Keynote speaker: Robert Novak, co-host, CNN's "Crossfire" and columnist, Chicago Sun-Times. (I'll be speaking on the 7th at 10:30 AM on business blogs). More info and signup.

Phone Transcript: Car Dealer

Me: Hi, I'm looking to speak with Art Rodriguez in sales about a new car.
Them: Sure, one moment please.
2 minutes go by...
Them: Hi sir, who are you holding for?
Me: Art
Them: One moment.
1 minute goes by...
Them: Hi, this is John in service, can I help you?
Me: I'm looking for Art in new car sales.
Them: Oh, hold a minute.
2 minutes go by...
Them: Hi Ma'am, who are you holding for?
Me: CLICK.

We Can Seat You Now

There's a classic scene in Curb Your Enthusiasm where Larry tries to bribe a Maitre 'd for a table but accidently hands over his wife's prescription instead of the $20 bill he intended to give. If you're looking to do a smoother job then check out this Gourmet magazine article where Bruce Feiler finds out if it's possible to walk in and get a table at top NYC restaurants with a green handshake. [via Kottke]

Two minutes pass two minutes! and the woman approaches. "We can seat you now," she says, and leads us to a corner booth. "This is one of our best tables," she adds. Suddenly I'm Frank Sinatra. I'm King of the Strip. I exude aftershave and savoir faire. Call it the fedora effect. My girlfriend looks at me in a way she hasn't since I surprised her by uncharacteristically demolishing a friend on the tennis court...

...Increasingly, I was struck by how much impact the experience was having on me. Surmounting this challenge night after night was actually giving me a certain self-assurance, a feeling of having grown up. Some might find this disillusioning: "You mean life is not first-come, first-served?" I found I had a different reaction: "You mean all it takes to crack one of New York's most daunting thresholds is fifty bucks?" Even if I chose not to do it on a regular basis, just knowing how doable it is brought the whole puffery of New York restaurants into perspective. Bribing, it turns out, has as much effect on the briber as it does on the bribee...

...This was a new benchmark: I had bluffed my way in. Just by being prepared to bribe, I had achieved my goal. Was there some change in my appearance? Was I swaggering a bit or walking a little taller? Perhaps. A couple of days later, I bluffed my way into Aureole...

...And I had done it by following a set of rules so old-fashioned that my grandmother could have written them: Dress properly, act dignified, be polite, smile. And spend a little extra for good service it will pay you back in droves.

Modern Inspiration

Get your creative juices flowing with these cool items from MoCoLoco, my favorite blog (or is it a website) of the moment:

• Why do all smoke alarms have to look alike? (and you gotta love the "reduce sensitivity for 10 minutes" option — smart)
• A desk with a unique angle
• Rosendahl's perfect clock (update: Can be purchased for US delivery from the designstore)
• Frame your still life (creative idea)
• Finally, an attractive coat rack without a stand
• MeBox is an old favorite
• Betty Blue: A sink without a sink (love this)

What's "Accessible" Accessibility?

Tantek Çelik finds some time to take some shots at me based on some of the things I said in my web design going in the wrong direction post and my SxSW 2004 presentation.

I'll respond to the points in his post in a bit, but first I'd like to address one issue which I think really needs some attention: How should we define "Accessibility"?

Tantek seems to think that all that matters in making a presentation accessible is to make sure it's in CSS+XHTML. But I say accessible to who and when? What if I want to print it out? Have you ever tried to print out an entire site or a 50-page HTML-based presentation? You have to print it out page by page, screen by screen. Talk about a frustrating and time consuming experience. In this context, distributing a presentation as a PDF is surely a better format than HTML.

Or, what if I want to view the presentation offline? Say on a plane? Viewing an HTML-based presentation offline can be a real hassle (most people have no idea how to "get" a multi-paged HTML-based presentation off the web and view it locally). In this context, distributing a presentation as a PDF is surely a better format than HTML.

I could go on and on with other examples, and I'm sure Tantek could hit back with his own, but my point is this: Accessibility should be more than a blind devotion to building for disabilities and screenreaders and validation engines and repurposing on handheld screens — It should also include thinking about how the majority of people might want to interact, share, view, or transport information at different times and under different circumstances. Does a format that makes it challenging to actually print information on paper really make this information more accessible? Is information truly "accessible" if it's presented in a format that makes it difficult to access it without a live web connection (sure, you can view HTML locally, but only after you've downloaded all the individual pages and images from the web)? That seems like an overly narrow-minded, technology-driven view of accessibility to me.

I agree with this definition of accessibility that says, "Accessible Web pages insure that information reaches the broadest audience, enabling the accommodation of not only physical limitations, but also language, age, technological and other factors that effect access to the Web." Next, replace "Web" with "content" (since the web is just one of many ways of experiencing content). We need to think about the best way to truly make content accessible to the most people. Now, I'm not saying that PDF is the best format. In fact, unlike Tantek, I'm not really advocating a specific format. I just feel that Tantek's narrow view misses this point about true accessibility.

As for Tantek's attacks on me and my presentation, I'll try to avoid the bitter tone he used and stick to the facts:

1. My presentation was just that, a presentation. It was meant to be experienced in person. I only posted the PDF as a supplemental option for people who were there (or just curious). It was not intended to be read like a bulletpointed book or to be completely comprehensible without the context of my verbal presentation.

2. Why didn't I present it in XHTML? Because I used Keynote which allowed me to use subtle transitions and visual effects that aren't available in a standard web-browser. When I present, I use a small remote to move between slides. This allows me to remain standing, move around, point things out, and engage the audience from anywhere. HTML-based presentations often make you a slave to your chair and mouse and computer.

3. Why did I post it as a PDF? This format was selected for Its ease of distribution, not for its native presentation qualities (which I think are quite poor, in fact). And, I assure you that using Keynote to present (instead of CSS+XHTML) helped get certain points across far more effectively for the primary intended audience -- those who were in the audience for my presentation (which Tantek wasn't).

4. Am I always against presenting in HTML? Not at all (see this Blogging for Business presentation I gave in 2003). What I am against is ignoring context. The Blogging for Business presention required web-access and linked out to a variety of live sites, so HTML made sense for that one. The SxSW presentation I gave had no web links or web-dependencies so HTML was not appropriate in that context.

5. Why did I promote our book when Tantek claims I was specifically told not to do so? Well, here he's just plain old wrong. Actually, I was expressly asked to promote our book by the conference coordinators because there was a book signing directly after my presentation.

So, now that that's out of the way, what do you think about "accessibility?"

DozenHoles: I bet you'll find this handy

How many times have you bet your friends and then someone doesn't live up to their end because they either 1. claimed they never bet in the first place, or 2. forgot what the bet was, etc? Well, now you can use DozenHoles (from the makers of Babble) to "keep track of all the bets you make with friends, so you'll never have to remember why Johnny owes you a dozen donuts or why you owe Jimmy a box of tangerines."

Commenting is back

Ok, we're up with a brand new dedicated server and commenting is back on all entries besides this one. Thanks for putting up with the downtime! Start arguing already!

Special thanks to Jay Allen for helping out with MT-Blacklist.

Fake Reality

Apparently reality TV is not actually completely real. Shocking, I know. Keith Hollihan reports that Donald Trumps The Apprentice faked the renovate and rent an apartment episode (the apartment was above his place).

We talked about her experience on the show. It turned out that she had actually rented the apartment before it was renovated. She had looked at a few places in the neighborhood, picked the apartment upstairs from us, and made arrangements to move in before learning that it had been pulled off the market for the show. She went ballistic. The landlord told her not to worry, she could still have the apartment at the agreed-upon rent but would have to participate in the episode in order to get it. During the filming, she went through the motions and rented the apartment at a price higher than the one she would actually be paying. The negotiation was a sham.

Some great business tips from Rumsfeld's Rules

Rummy says:

• Don't automatically fill vacant jobs. Leave some positions unfilled for six to eight months to see what happens. You will find you won't need to fill some of them.
• When you initiate new activities, find things you are currently doing that you can discontinue -- whether reports, activities, etc. It works, but you must force yourself to do it.
• That which you require be reported on to you will improve, if you are selective. How you fashion your reporting system announces your priorities and sets the institution's priorities.
• Prune — prune businesses, products, activities, people. Do it annually.
• No plan survives contact with the enemy. -- Old military axiom

Karen Armstrong on Religion

Karen Armstrong, author and self-described failed nun, answers questions on religion in the NY Times. Some excerpts:

It depends on what you mean by God. I believe in holiness and sacredness in other people. It doesn't mean that the clouds part and I see God. That's a juvenile way of thinking about it...I am not interested in the afterlife. Religion is supposed to be about losing your ego, not preserving it eternally in optimum conditions...A lot of people see God as a sacred seal of approval on some of their worst fantasies about other people...We live in a culture where we think we shouldn't be depressed and we demand things, including good moods. But you should be depressed if, say, your child dies. It's a shame to miss it by blocking yourself off...(suffering) can help us to appreciate the suffering of other people...Jung once said that a great deal of religion shields us from religious experience.

On a related note, The Altered Human Is Already Here argues that our pill popping culture has created "a social change on the same order as the advent of computers, but one that is taking place inside the human body."

April 7

Ravi Shankar, Billie Holiday, Jack Black, Francis Ford Coppola, John Oates, Bill Kreutzmann, Jackie Chan, Posh Spice, Bill Bellamy, 37signals' Jason Fried & Ryan Singer (yes, we both have the same b-day), and others. And, as for deaths on April 7, we have Kurt Cobain and Jesus (crucified by Roman troops in Jerusalem, scholars' estimate, according to astronomer Schaefer).

The Meanings of Kanji Tattoos

Kanji character tattoos may be all the rage but they often don't mean what their wearers think they mean. With the assistance of a researcher at the Consulate General of Japan in Chicago, the Chicago Tribune examined the tattoos of five Chicagoans.

What he thinks his tattoo says: his first name [Timothy], translated into Japanese.

What it really means: The three symbols together would be pronounced "tak-ee-may," so it doesn't correspond precisely to Timothy. What the symbols mean in Japanese is sort of a mishmash, something along the lines of "unreliable delivery service" or "lost moving delivery."

Whoops.

Tax Tips for Designers

Speaking of Speak Up, the blog has a timely thread on "Tax Tips, Tricks & Techniques" for designers.

As a designer, whether owner of a small firm, solo or freelancer, how do you handle your taxes? What tips would you like to pass on to fellow designers who are just starting a freelance career, their own one-person business or are opening a firm with 3, 4-5 employees?

seriouSeries No. 3

If you're in Chicago on April 29, you should attend seriouSeries No. 3. It's free!

Jim Coudal of Coudal Partners / Photoshop Tennis / Jewelboxing, Jason Fried of 37signals / Signal vs. Noise / Basecamp, Naz Hamid from Gapers Block / Absenter and Jake Nickell, Jacob DeHart and Jeffrey Kalmikoff of Skinnycorp / Threadless / Yayhooray will all reveal the secrets to their internet fame and fortune. If they dont, I do plan to make them fess up in an unapologetical questioning session following their own presentations.

Attendees will have a chance to win a Jewelboxing system and a hand-screened Field-Tested books poster, a one-year Basic subscription to Basecamp, poster, pins and other ephemera from Gapers Block and a $50.00 certificate for threadless.com. Find out more and we hope to see you on April 29. Update: All the seats are filled!

Commenting temporarily off

SixApart better solve this MT spam issue soon (yes, we've tried MT-Blacklist but that didn't work for us). We've been slammed with comment spam over the past week and have had to turn commenting off until further notice (if you try to post a comment now you'll get a page not found error). We hope to have it back on late next week when we move 37signals and SvN to its own dedicated server. We just can't risk server downtime on our other projects because comment spam is sucking all the server resources.

Basecamp: File Uploading is Live

Basecamp's #1 requested feature is no longer a requested feature — it's live. You can now upload files to your own FTP server through Basecamp (and Basecamp will auto-link them so you and your clients can download them). You can either upload files on their own (via the new "Files" tab inside each project) or attach a file (or files) to a message (via the new "Attach/upload file" tab on the new message page). File uploading is only available on pay accounts (Basic, Plus, and Premium — not the free account). Take a tour of the feature and see how it works.

Kinja is Live

Kinja, a blog about blogs, is live. 37signals helped create the design as part of a 37express project. For more on the back story, check out this explanation of the logic of Kinja from founder Nick Denton ("An RSS reader for people who don't know what RSS is," he says) and this article about the launch from the NY Times. Kinja's still in beta stage (some tweaks to be made) but it's nice to see it live after a long incubation period. What d'ya think?