It pains me to see good companies making bad decisions, and yet it happens. All the time. In writing classes in college, my professor would say, “Kill your darlings.” This horrified me, but I paid attention and did what he said. And my writing was all the better for it. The thinking is simple enough: if you love an idea too much, you’re blind to its faults.

Perhaps you’re resistant to the idea that you should kill off your darling project. Ask yourself 4 questions (for starters) about it and see if you can justify keeping your ax clean. 3XAP8KRMD4U2

Tags: bad ideas, leadership, marketing, maze, strategy

I heard a startling statistic in a recent survey that most people aren’t against the new security check guidelines. I think that it either indicates that people don’t know what those new guidelines really entail or the survey participants simply believe that if something is how it’s done then it’s fine – that “why fight it?” mentality that is more dangerous to democracy than terrorism.

Tags: 4th amendment, security, terrorism, TSA, Won't fly

One of the things that makes Conan a success, even on a network that most people don’t even know they get, is that he gets it. By “it” I mean this place and time. Well, I know that doesn’t clarify anything, so I’ll break it down.

Tags: Conan, influencers, stunts, Twitter

I couldn’t let World Usability Day go by without making some comment about the subject. I, as a human and as a content and site creator, feel passionately about the topic. The word “usability,” though, has become a muddied buzzword that loses its meaning when tossed around so carelessly. It starts to take on that same tone as other wince-worthy words as “robust” or “scalable.”

Tags: design, technology, usability

Seibways existed before, and I intended it as a smart, witty, and seriously brilliant take on web enterprise. Thing is, it didn’t turn out to be that. Why?

* The web is my work, and I couldn’t stand to just write about that as sometimes I just get burned out on the whole thing.
* I am very good at compartmentalizing my life. I keep my work life at work. Most of the time, I don’t even make friends with the people at work because they aren’t my friends; they’re my co-workers. They can be my friends when I leave and often are. (I’ve job-hopped a lot, so there has turned out to be a significant friend-trail in the wake of my employment).

Tags: blogging, parenting, starting, web