Goin' Home Again

When I Grow-up...

I just read a really nice post on Fuel Your Creativity about social networks by Andy Jacobson where he described the positive impact his online social life has on his design work and how it related to his "Home Town". Good stuff. I really like the metaphor. The somewhat short and simple post and some of the comments left by folks got me thinkin' about the topic, and I thought I'd tap-down some of my own thoughts on the subject.

For me, while growing-up the world got bigger as I did, and then I reached a tipping point -- and as I moved around a bunch it began to get smaller. I realized that there are many more things we all have in common than there are differences. Sometimes it's tough to remember this during the day-to-day hustle-bustle though.

I think everybody can appreciate it when folks put the "real" them out there... it's honest and heartfelt, you know? It's like a well-written short story. It's like a timeless photo. It's the stuff that gets into your core right down to the human element.

I've always felt we all unknowingly weave our brief and seemingly random, thread-like lives into a "Human fabric." It's old and worn, and it gets ripped and tattered but it won't ever tear apart. It's the metaphor I've always visualized to describe the Human condition.


Them Miles I've Traveled

I've been surfing the web since the early Nineties... Waaay back when there was only one browser: Mosaic, and a 300 baud modem was fast. I started trying to build web 'pages' around that time too. Heck, I had a Zenith 286 laptop with 1 Megabyte of RAM and I was doing "page layout" and brochure pages as a freelancer so it kinda made sense. Really basic stuff. Besides, I thought it just might be "the next big thing!" In retrospect, I've cobbled together a decent career over the years and rubbed elbows with some really fantastic people, built some great relationships and friendships because of computers, the web -- and now with Social Media.

I grew up in a small (one square mile) town just outside NYC. It had a town center, and everyone pretty much knew everyone else and it really had a sense of community. I have a busy offline "real" life and I'm slowly building a really nice, enjoyable and complimentary online virtual life as well. I now live in New England very close to Needham where Andy grew up. Small world.

Like Andy -- and probably a lot of other folks -- I love the cool factor that all the Web 2.0 technology presented. I always felt that the "you have to eat your own dog food" analogy made a lot of sense. You really have to use it to be able to design it well, right? I've been signing up for just about every service I run across to see what it does, and how it does it, and to soak-in that "virtual goodness" -- that cool factor that makes even the toughest geeks get all warm and fuzzy on the inside.


It's Good To Be Home

Maybe it's the time of year. Thanksgiving and some quality time spent with the family? Maybe it's my recent trip back home for a High School Reunion. It's nice to be a thread in the fabric, however torn and tattered it may be.

For me, it's nice to be a part of something bigger than the everyday stuff. The rough and tumble, "I just gotta get through this week" stressful kinda stuff. The virtual world doesn't seem to have the same challenges, nagging issues or problems that can build-up and stick-around in my "real" life. I like the energy and enthusiasm of the design community, and it's nice to be able to tap into a flow of consistent creative inspiration. I'm always inspired to try and continue to learn, challenge myself and try to hone my skills... feeling like I'm a prt of something bigger helps me to try to always keep an optimistic outlook on things, and "keep on keeping on" when things get tough.

I like the "connectedness" of my virtual social life, and I like the fact that it's always there, active and churning, rumbling with life. An endless virtual stream of something new and exciting just around the corner.

Posted via web from ptamaro's posterous

Simplicity, complexity, John Maeda & design.

Take a look and listen to this TED Talk by John Maeda. In it, he discusses daily life, technology, and design -- all mixed together with topical points of complexity and simplicity from the perspective of design and how it relates to daily life. His talk is engaging, and the examples are funny and well-worth the watch.

His new book Laws of Simplicity presents ten rules and three keys to working and living simply -- in the talk he brings it down to just one simple way to be...

Elegant Simplicity.




> Watch this talk on ted.com

Efficiency in Everything.

Since extra time is so hard to find these days, I've been thinnking that I need to address everything I do from a slightly different angle to get more done faster, and maybe enjoy it more while getting it all done -- all in the hope to have just a bit more extra time to do the things I want to do.

These days, I think things like projects through as thoroughly as I can while doing daily tasks and chores, figure out the most efficient way to get stuff done and then when I get to the project, I just execute the plan. Sounds kinda simple and obvious and even seems stupid, but I think it's working.

It's kinda like catchin' a wave, riding it up and onto the crest for a little bit and then cutting back down into it to ride it out. Nature is efficient in everything because that produces the best results, and more opportunities for success -- survival + efficiency creates accomplishment.

There's another set of waves coming right at me and I'm gonna catch one of them... gotta go!

Back on the bus -- lots going on, and a bunch of crunch...

You can't build a house with a rubber hammer.
Okay, I got a new job and love it. Back to the creamy-centered core with the old crew. The project is coming along nicely, but we're flying under the radar so I can't discuss it. We've got engaged customers, and a system to build from the roots-up -- but not a whole lot of time to build it. This is agile development from the trenches. Basically, we brainstorm often and communicate a lot. We figure out what we need to do in manageable chunks, divy-up tasks and get right to it. We don't do a great deal of documentation just yet either.

I'm staring at one of the new Dell 24" panels, with a Dell820 (Dual chips, 2Gb RAM, and all the fixin's) under the hood. Still stuck on WindowsXP, but that's okay for now.

Riding on the right bus...
You know things are going well for a company when employees are happy, collaborative, and courteous to each other, and the kitchen is stocked better than your favorite grocery store. It's really nice to have a window seat because it provides opportunity for perspective.

A good working environment, good communication, the right tools. These are some of the things that make great companies great. Great companies make great products. These are basic but critical factors that tend to lead to success.

You can build things with a good hammer. Just about everyone likes a good bus ride. Everyone likes success.