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	<title>Mind Averse</title>
	
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	<description>Hardly thinking so you don't have to.</description>
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		<title>Save time with TimeSvr virtual assistants</title>
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		<comments>http://mindaverse.com/2008/12/18/save-time-with-timesvr-virtual-assistants/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 18 Dec 2008 16:13:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Devin Reams</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Lifehack]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mindaverse.com/?p=616</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I&#8217;ve always been a big advocate of outsourcing through the use of virtual assistants. In fact, I wrote about personal assistants back in March and had started using a service called GetFriday. I had some mixed experiences (like sending a birthday greeting when it wasn&#8217;t someone&#8217;s birthday) and decided the cost was no longer justified.
TimeSvr [...]


Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://mindaverse.com/2006/12/12/save-money-in-college/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Save Money in College'>Save Money in College</a></li><li><a href='http://mindaverse.com/2006/12/13/save-money-sooner-than-later/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Save money sooner than later'>Save money sooner than later</a></li><li><a href='http://mindaverse.com/2007/01/09/save-money-at-work/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Save money at work'>Save money at work</a></li></ol>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I&#8217;ve always been a big advocate of outsourcing through the use of virtual assistants. In fact, I wrote about <a href="http://mindaverse.com/2008/03/14/do-you-need-a-personal-assistant/">personal assistants</a> back in March and had started using a service called GetFriday. I had some mixed experiences (like sending a birthday greeting when it <a href="http://mindaverse.com/2008/06/15/dreams-daily-dosage-3/">wasn&#8217;t someone&#8217;s birthday</a>) and decided the cost was no longer justified.</p>
<h2><a href="http://www.timesvr.com/?affiliate=devinreams">TimeSvr</a> exceeds my expectations</h2>
<p>Out of the blue, as I was thinking I needed to drop my assistant, I received an e-mail from the CEO of <a href="http://www.timesvr.com/?affiliate=devinreams">TimeSvr</a>. He and I exchanged e-mails a bit. Let me pause and note: I was getting e-mail responses from the CEO faster than my assistant at GetFriday. I decided I needed to give TimeSvr a test run and I&#8217;m so glad I did.</p>
<p>Now this post isn&#8217;t meant to put down any other services (including the one popularized by <a href="http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/">Tim Ferriss</a>), it&#8217;s to demonstrate how my expectations were far exceeded within my first day of use:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Web-based task tracking:</strong> with other services, you send an e-mail to your assistant and wait for a confirmation. TimeSvr provides you with a dashboard that shows all your tasks with and responses, updates, etc.</li>
<li><strong>Timeliness of responses:</strong> the service has remained small to provide for better quality. Many of the other virtual assistant services have grown far larger than they could handle. I&#8217;ve found TimeSvr will get back to me in as little as an hour as opposed to a day.</li>
<li><strong>Excellent English skills:</strong> it was very obvious to me that the assistants excel at the language. Some of my more enjoyable e-mails had been from previous assistants in broken English. I can actually talk to my assistant on the phone now, I couldn&#8217;t easily do that before.</li>
<li><strong>Effectiveness exceeds expectations:</strong> every time I get a response from an assigned task I always think &#8220;wow, s/he&#8217;s good!&#8221;. I had to find a replacement kitchen accessory: my assistant placed calls to numerous retailers to find the part, the manufacturer, provided me with the warranty details, etc. I was floored with the level of detail I was handed.</li>
</ul>
<p>I love assigning a task and getting a call back in an hour or two with my assistant and a customer service representative on the line. &#8220;Hello Devin, this is ______, I have ______ on the line with me and they&#8217;d like to confirm _________. Okay, thank you, Devin.&#8221; Wow. I didn&#8217;t even realize you could get someone on the phone from __________.</p>
<p>The best part of TimeSvr is the fact they probably don&#8217;t put themselves in the same category of services that I&#8217;ve used in the past (which were touted as the best, at the time):</p>
<blockquote><p>We really don&#8217;t compare ourselves to anyone. We just saw a market underserved and decided to fill the void.  -Zaki Mahomed, CEO</p></blockquote>
<h2>TimeSvr features</h2>
<p>This is a company that &#8220;gets it&#8221;. They understand the web worker like myself, especially. You have various mediums to submit a task, no matter where you are or what you&#8217;re doing.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/devdev/3117706069/" title="TimeSvr dashboard by devinreams, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3203/3117706069_0a6142205d.jpg" width="500" height="118" alt="TimeSvr dashboard" /></a></p>
<ul>
<li><strong>E-mail:</strong> Sending tasks to the tasks e-mail will automatically get routed and assigned immediately. You can see these tasks appear in your dashboard.</li>
<li><strong>Skype</strong>: Chat with the Skype account to submit a task. If you&#8217;re on instant messenger all day, why not?</li>
<li><strong>Phone</strong>: If you&#8217;re on the road and need to cancel an appointment just pick up the phone and let them know.</li>
</ul>
<p>And here&#8217;s one of the best features, if you&#8217;re a trusting person: complete your profile. Simply fill out your contact details, calendar credentials, authorized credit card number, shipping address, travel preferences, etc. Once you&#8217;ve provided all your details, the possibilities for easily assigning tasks open up.</p>
<p>If you don&#8217;t want to provide everything up front, then simply include it in the task. I&#8217;ve had insurance payments made, online subscriptions canceled. I even &#8220;lost&#8221; a gift certificate applied to my Amazon account. Within minutes my assistant found which item the certificate was applied to. I thought it had just expired&#8230; oops.</p>
<h2>Try it for yourself</h2>
<p>TimeSvr is far more affordable than any comparable service I&#8217;ve found out there. At $69 per month you receive unlimited basic tasks (book a flight, cancel this appointment) and up to 8 hours of extended (or complex) task time. The team is available 24/7 including holidays which exceeds most other service I&#8217;ve looked into.</p>
<p>I can&#8217;t recommend these guys enough. Go ahead and <a href="http://www.timesvr.com/?affiliate=devinreams">sign up today</a>. You can try them out for three days, free.</p>
<h2>My assistant wrote this post</h2>
<p>Just joking. But I did ask them (in the form of a task) what <em>they</em> thought were the three best things about the service. They were &#8220;saving precious time&#8221;, &#8220;really cost effective solutions&#8221;, and &#8220;privacy control&#8221; (with explanations for each). I was impressed and agree. Sorry to disappoint but I really haven&#8217;t found anything negative to say about this group.</p>


<p>Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://mindaverse.com/2006/12/12/save-money-in-college/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Save Money in College'>Save Money in College</a></li><li><a href='http://mindaverse.com/2006/12/13/save-money-sooner-than-later/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Save money sooner than later'>Save money sooner than later</a></li><li><a href='http://mindaverse.com/2007/01/09/save-money-at-work/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Save money at work'>Save money at work</a></li></ol></p><div class="feedflare">
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</div><img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/devinreams/~4/g4sK-X0FfvI" height="1" width="1"/>]]></content:encoded>
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		<item>
		<title>The government’s role in the economy</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/devinreams/~3/2aPbFCLJx38/</link>
		<comments>http://mindaverse.com/2008/11/24/the-governments-role-in-the-economy/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 24 Nov 2008 15:36:33 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Rachel</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Money]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[banks]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[economics]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[economy]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[government]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[lending]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[loans]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mindaverse.com/?p=594</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[As a follow-up to this week&#8217;s previous post about the stock market and automakers, here is Rachel with more on how the economy works.
I think one of the most common misconceptions is that the government is in charge of creating money. Yes, they produce physical cash and they attempt to manage the money supply via [...]


Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://mindaverse.com/2008/11/23/stock-market-misconceptions/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Stock market misconceptions'>Stock market misconceptions</a></li><li><a href='http://mindaverse.com/2007/04/22/credit-balance-tip/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Credit Balance Tip'>Credit Balance Tip</a></li><li><a href='http://mindaverse.com/2006/03/03/savings-accounts/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Savings Accounts'>Savings Accounts</a></li></ol>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>As a follow-up to this week&#8217;s previous post about the <a href="http://mindaverse.com/2008/11/23/stock-market-misconceptions/">stock market and automakers</a>, here is Rachel with more on how the economy works.</em></p>
<p>I think one of the most common misconceptions is that the government is in charge of creating money. Yes, they produce physical cash and they attempt to manage the money supply via interest rates, discount rates, and reserve requirements. But if you look at these ways that the Treasury and the Federal Reserve can manipulate the money supply, it&#8217;s largely through controlling the bank&#8217;s actions. And while the government usually plays a strong role in determining the amount of money in circulation, lately it&#8217;s found that it&#8217;s ability to affect change has been limited.</p>
<p>Banks utilize fractional reserve requirements to leverage the amount of money they are able to loan. Essentially a reserve ratio is a limit set by the government that ties the amount of loans made to the amount of deposits held by the bank. Conservatively, banks today have a required reserve ratio of 10% (and in some cases 3% or 0%). This means that for every $100 of legal tender that is deposited with the bank, the bank is allowed to loan out $90. Should this $90 be spent in such a way that it is eventually re-deposited with a bank, that bank is able to issue a new loan of $81 based on their fractional reserve requirements. If this process continues uninterrupted, the bank can issue up to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reserve_requirements">$1,000 in newly created fiat money</a> from that original $100 deposit. Because bank credit has been legally decreed by the government to be a medium of exchange, the banks just created $900.</p>
<p>For a bank to remain operational, reserve requirements must be met every day, meaning that a bank must have the correct ratio of deposits to outstanding loans. Previously, banks could borrow from each other if they had a shortfall of deposits or, for a small interest rate, lend any excess deposits overnight to banks in need. So what does the current landscape look like? As more and more institutions become crippled and sometimes bankrupted by their bad loans and &#8220;toxic assets&#8221;, the inter-bank lending market has seen increased stagnation. Banks are scared of <a href="http://www.thisamericanlife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?episode=365">what yet undisclosed disaster may lie in wait on each others&#8217; balance sheets</a>, and thus are unwilling to lend to any entity that they deem to be a risk in returning their capital. Banks who previously relied on the operational flexibility allowed by the market&#8217;s liquidity (read: all of the them) are now severely limiting credit issued to consumers, as the existence of their business depends on them keeping what remains of their balance sheet in check.</p>
<p>What does all that mean? No lending. And what happens when the banks refuse to lend money, not to individuals, not to corporations, not even to each other? The end result is that you have an economy used to the periodic injection of $900 waiting in fear, unable to find financing for basic individual and business needs. As the perception that the money supply has dried up continues, consumers stop spending and businesses are then hit with decreased revenue in addition to loss of credit. This has lead to business cost-cutinng efforts, including work force reduction, which in turn contributes to the growing consumer panic. Growth has slowed to the point of retraction, spending has ground to a halt, and you have a society that is firmly in the midst of both economic and financial crises.</p>
<p>Say what you will about the bailouts, but the government&#8217;s interest is intrinsically tied to the bank&#8217;s operations. The banking system&#8217;s ability and willingness to lend are going to play a large role in the economy because the whole process is a cyclical relationship. So far <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2008/11/25/news/economy/where_bailout_stands/?postversion=2008112513">we have spent $158.6 billion</a> in &#8220;recapitalizing the banks.&#8221; Though the execution of this plan has been somewhat dubious, the overall goal is to provide the banks with more money in deposits, meaning that they can now lend without fear of violating their reserve requirement. Theoretically, injecting the money into the economy through the banks should bolster their balance sheets, allow lending, increase consumer confidence, help businesses, and slow the downward spiral. Admittedly this theory depends entirely on your economic perspective and has already displayed several significant flaws.</p>
<p>The politics behind the bailouts are sticky and the plan&#8217;s effectiveness is questioned by many. However, it is useful to try to try to think through the banking system and the interwoven structure of cause and effect without the cloud of sensational news. I would love to hear your thoughts on the situation.</p>
<p>Also, those who are further interested may want to follow NPR&#8217;s <a href="http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast/podcast_detail.php?siteId=94411890">Planet Money podcast</a> for a more in-depth look at many of the underlying issues.</p>


<p>Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://mindaverse.com/2008/11/23/stock-market-misconceptions/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Stock market misconceptions'>Stock market misconceptions</a></li><li><a href='http://mindaverse.com/2007/04/22/credit-balance-tip/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Credit Balance Tip'>Credit Balance Tip</a></li><li><a href='http://mindaverse.com/2006/03/03/savings-accounts/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Savings Accounts'>Savings Accounts</a></li></ol></p><div class="feedflare">
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		<item>
		<title>Stock market misconceptions</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/devinreams/~3/FpjjP9pQJ1g/</link>
		<comments>http://mindaverse.com/2008/11/23/stock-market-misconceptions/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 23 Nov 2008 16:00:08 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Devin Reams</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Money]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[automakers]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[bailout]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[detroit]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[economics]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[economy]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Obama]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mindaverse.com/?p=597</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I&#8217;ve been thinking about the economy a lot lately, as I&#8217;m sure many of you have. It amazes me how much opinion we&#8217;re told (new sources, friends, etc.) but very little fact behind all the arm waving. This isn&#8217;t meant to be comprehensive but I want to make a few misconceptions clear:

The company doesn&#8217;t see [...]


Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://mindaverse.com/2006/02/18/market-to-college-students/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Market to College Students'>Market to College Students</a></li><li><a href='http://mindaverse.com/2006/03/29/msft-dividend-math/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: MSFT Dividend Math'>MSFT Dividend Math</a></li><li><a href='http://mindaverse.com/2008/11/24/the-governments-role-in-the-economy/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: The government&#8217;s role in the economy'>The government&#8217;s role in the economy</a></li></ol>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I&#8217;ve been thinking about the economy a lot lately, as I&#8217;m sure many of you have. It amazes me how much opinion we&#8217;re told (new sources, friends, etc.) but very little fact behind all the arm waving. This isn&#8217;t meant to be comprehensive but I want to make a few misconceptions clear:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>The company doesn&#8217;t see the proceeds from purchases of their stock in the &#8216;market&#8217;:</strong> after a company has their initial public offering (IPO) any stock that changes hands is no longer money they see. There is not an infinite number of stocks to be bought floating around out there. Secondary offerings certainly happen but they give up equity (ownership) as opposed to create debt (through loans). There are financial reasons a company would want a particular balance of debt and equity.</li>
<li><strong>Stock price is directly important to the shareholders, indirectly to the company:</strong> a company wants to maximize share prices not for their own gain, but for the gain of the shareholders. These are the people who elect the board, make purchase and decisions about what to do with income (shareholder equity). But, in many cases, management holds a huge percentage of their company&#8217;s stocks (at a good price through options and other stock benefits). This is incentive for management to build shareholder value (often their own).</li>
<li><strong>The market isn&#8217;t dropping because everyone is selling:</strong> every sell has a buy. What is dropping is the perceived value of companies. One person is willing to part with their stock for a price and someone is willing to buy it. Thus, it&#8217;s impossible for everyone to be &#8216;pulling out of the market&#8217;.</li>
</ul>
<p>Therefore, Detroit isn&#8217;t failing just because their stock is dropping: it&#8217;s because they don&#8217;t have the cash to keep business running. And since they don&#8217;t have the money they would want to go borrow some (debt). But, with their low stock price it&#8217;s obvious they are a risk (their ability to raise money is hindered) and they won&#8217;t get the money they need from the usual suspects: banks and other financial institutions.</p>
<p>So yes, our government is thinking it&#8217;ll be a good idea to go where no other lender will (the same lenders that are failing left and right). Our government thinks that giving them money to become competitive is the best course of action. In case you&#8217;ve missed it: the great and wonderful Obama is asking for &#8220;change&#8221; to come to Detroit&#8230; by <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/11/us/politics/11auto.html?_r=1&#038;partner=rss&#038;emc=rss&#038;oref=slogin">providing the automakers a handout</a>.</p>


<p>Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://mindaverse.com/2006/02/18/market-to-college-students/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Market to College Students'>Market to College Students</a></li><li><a href='http://mindaverse.com/2006/03/29/msft-dividend-math/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: MSFT Dividend Math'>MSFT Dividend Math</a></li><li><a href='http://mindaverse.com/2008/11/24/the-governments-role-in-the-economy/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: The government&#8217;s role in the economy'>The government&#8217;s role in the economy</a></li></ol></p><div class="feedflare">
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		<item>
		<title>Overlooked feature in Facebook</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/devinreams/~3/3fyY2wCo-Lc/</link>
		<comments>http://mindaverse.com/2008/11/13/overlooked-feature-in-facebook/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 14 Nov 2008 03:08:54 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Devin Reams</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Social Media]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[facebook]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[feature]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[social]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[top-friends]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mindaverse.com/?p=590</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[When the new site design launched nobody realized that Facebook added the &#8216;Top Friends&#8217; functionality:

I don&#8217;t see TechCrunch, Mashable, or anyone noticing this. But everyone was very quick to get upset when slide&#8217;s &#8216;Top Friends&#8217; app was taken down (it was a legitimate security concern).
I hate this short-term-memory-loss-lynch-mob we like to call the internet. Uproar [...]


Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://mindaverse.com/2006/09/20/facebook-friend-game/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Facebook Friend Game'>Facebook Friend Game</a></li><li><a href='http://mindaverse.com/2006/01/16/hidden-facebook-connection/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Hidden Facebook Connection'>Hidden Facebook Connection</a></li><li><a href='http://mindaverse.com/2006/02/06/facebook-valentines/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Facebook Valentines'>Facebook Valentines</a></li></ol>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>When the new site design launched nobody realized that Facebook added the &#8216;Top Friends&#8217; functionality:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/devdev/3029018760/" title="Always Show These Friends by devinreams, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3022/3029018760_ca4e13604b.jpg" width="450" height="497" alt="Always Show These Friends" /></a></p>
<p>I don&#8217;t see <a href="http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/06/26/did-facebook-shut-down-slides-top-friends-how-very-myspace-of-them/">TechCrunch</a>, <a href="http://mashable.com/2008/06/26/top-friends-disappear-facebook/">Mashable</a>, or anyone noticing this. But everyone was very quick to get upset when slide&#8217;s &#8216;Top Friends&#8217; app was taken down (it was a <a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-10784_3-9977762-7.html">legitimate security concern</a>).</p>
<p>I hate this short-term-memory-loss-lynch-mob we like to call the internet. Uproar and knee jerk reactions over perfectly understandable non-issues. But no praise for the good anyone does. It seems the consensus is: &#8220;let&#8217;s move on to something else we can get upset about&#8221;. This is why <a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2008/11/10/daily89.html">Valleywag is dead</a>. Nobody likes complainers. Do something about it. On the other hand, this is the same pandering nature that network news channels commit every day. The same ones that &#8220;we&#8221; bloggers say we&#8217;re up against.</p>
<p>Oh, and if you&#8217;re still reading and waiting for the punch-line, here you go. From the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/help.php?hq=friends">Facebook help</a> page taken today:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/devdev/3029029930/" title="Facebook Friends cannot be edited by devinreams, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3290/3029029930_3fe9c81906_o.png" width="577" height="183" alt="Facebook Friends cannot be edited" /></a></p>
<p>The internet is weird.</p>


<p>Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://mindaverse.com/2006/09/20/facebook-friend-game/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Facebook Friend Game'>Facebook Friend Game</a></li><li><a href='http://mindaverse.com/2006/01/16/hidden-facebook-connection/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Hidden Facebook Connection'>Hidden Facebook Connection</a></li><li><a href='http://mindaverse.com/2006/02/06/facebook-valentines/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Facebook Valentines'>Facebook Valentines</a></li></ol></p><div class="feedflare">
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		<item>
		<title>Guide to working paperless</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/devinreams/~3/tL61yGGFNs0/</link>
		<comments>http://mindaverse.com/2008/10/25/guide-to-working-paperless/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 25 Oct 2008 17:01:54 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Devin Reams</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Lifehack]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[business]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[environment]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[mac]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[paperless]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[tools]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[work]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mindaverse.com/?p=564</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I think my simplest self-imposed challenge was to: go entirely paperless at the office this month. It was so simple it&#8217;s almost laughable. I&#8217;m so confident that I met my own goal I&#8217;ve posted this a week before the end of the month. So how did I do it and how did it spill over [...]


Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://mindaverse.com/2006/02/22/working-from-home/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Working From Home'>Working From Home</a></li><li><a href='http://mindaverse.com/2006/01/23/pip-resolution-working-out/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: PIP Resolution: Working Out'>PIP Resolution: Working Out</a></li><li><a href='http://mindaverse.com/2007/12/22/working-with-conflicting-personalities/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Working with conflicting personalities'>Working with conflicting personalities</a></li></ol>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I think my simplest self-imposed challenge was to: go <a href="http://twitter.com/devinreams/statuses/942496075">entirely paperless at the office</a> this month. It was so simple it&#8217;s almost laughable. I&#8217;m so confident that I met my own goal I&#8217;ve posted this a week before the end of the month. So how did I do it and how did it spill over into my personal life?</p>
<h3>I got the right (portable) tools in place</h3>
<p>These days we all have laptops: they&#8217;re light, portable, and can go anywhere. I&#8217;m fortunate enough to have one for both work and play. My laptop (MacBook Air, my primary and only computer) goes with me everywhere (so all the tips will be for Mac users). </p>
<ul>
<li>Office to home office</li>
<li>Conference room to conferences</li>
<li>Couch to bed</li>
<li>Bus and train</li>
</ul>
<p>Not to mention the fact I carry a web-enabled device (iPhone) at all times (send <a href="http://crowdfavorite.com/products">tasks</a> with an e-mail dropbox). In school, we took notes on paper because: it was portable. But now, the same can be said around the office with a laptop (and in school of course). I can plop down at someone else&#8217;s desk, I can get on a call, I can go in the hall, etc. I can conduct business <em>anywhere</em>. Sure, all you need is a computer, but a &#8217;satellite&#8217; is key.</p>
<h3>The downside to technology</h3>
<p>When you interact with humans, face-to-face, laptops and phones become a barrier. Its best to take notes on paper when sitting with co-workers or clients, but certainly not necessary. Being aware of the distraction and visible wall placed between you will help you navigate this problem.</p>
<p>Luckily I deal with most people online (phone or internet) and this makes it easy for me.</p>
<h3>Technologies I work with</h3>
<p>On day one I removed all paper and writing utensils from my work area to prevent any temptation. Sure, I still have a stack of business cards on my desk but I&#8217;ll tackle that later. These are the four simple technologies I require to go completely paperless:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Plain text editor:</strong> Anything from <a href="http://macromates.com/">TextMate</a> to <a href="http://www.panic.com/coda/">Coda</a> will suffice. You simply need a tool to take notes. When you talk to someone, take notes. When you have a meeting, take notes. When you draft a proposal or write a report write everything in <a href="http://daringfireball.net/projects/markdown/">markdown</a> so you can convert it (PDF, HTML), keep track of revisions (subversion, git), and edit it with any other text editor. That&#8217;s right Microsoft Word, I&#8217;m looking at you. <strong>Bonus</strong>: a tool like <a href="http://www.codingmonkeys.de/subethaedit/"><em><span style="font-style: normal;">SubEthaEdit</span></em></a> allows collaborative editing which means you can take notes with everyone else on the call in the same room.</li>
<li><strong>Web-based calendaring:</strong> I use Google Calendar so I can access my calendar anywhere. Plus, there are tools like <a href="http://www.busymac.com/">BusySync</a> and <a href="http://spanningsync.com/">SpanningSync</a> that allow me to go from Google Calendar to iCal to iPhone and back. Adding events from my phone or computer mean one less thing I need to scribble down.</li>
<li><strong>Web-based tasks:</strong> Again, having my tasks accessible from any computer, anywhere is key. Since we <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dogfooding">eat our own dogfood</a> at <a href="http://crowdfavorite.com">Crowd Favorite</a> I use our <a href="http://crowdfavorite.com/products">tasks suite</a> for both a work and personal to-do list. E-mail dropboxes (I always have my iPhone) allow a quick thought to turn into an actionable item and I never need to jot anything down.</li>
<li><strong>Communication tools</strong>: My <a href="http://www.rescuetime.com/">RescueTime</a> dashboard says I spend nearly 70% of my time in applications and on websites I&#8217;ve tagged &#8216;communication&#8217;. It&#8217;s important to my job and so I&#8217;m glad I have reliable e-mail at <a href="http://gmail.google.com/">GMail</a>, cheap calls on <a href="http://www.skype.com">Skype</a>, instant messages with <a href="http://www.adiumx.com/">Adium</a> (Google Talk, AIM) and a phone on my desk. When&#8217;s the last time you used paper to communicate in a day-to-day setting?</li>
<li><strong>Paperless faxes</strong>: Most people have a scanner/printer (it&#8217;s hard to find the two separated these days) so they don&#8217;t need to fax anything. Just e-mail me the high-quality image. But, some things never change. Go spend the $9.99 and buy an <a href="http://www.google.com/search?rls=en-us&amp;q=e-fax&amp;ie=UTF-8&amp;oe=UTF-8">e-fax</a> number for the rest of the John McCain&#8217;s out there.</li>
<li><strong>Digital Signatures:</strong> I say nay to faxes in the first place, you don&#8217;t need them to sign a document. Adobe has come out with perfectly acceptable <a href="http://www.adobe.com/security/digsig.html">digital signature technology</a>. It&#8217;s really straight forward and allows for near-instant turn-around on contracts, NDAs, etc. Plus, hand-written signatures can be forged, right?</li>
</ul>
<p>We&#8217;re all familiar with the 80/20 concept, right? These simple technologies catch far more than the majority (probably 90%) of paper that could possibly enter my work life.</p>
<h3>But, some things cant be avoided</h3>
<p>Little things come up every day and we pay little attention to them. Business cards are handed out at dinners, conferences and other events. Going to lunch or drinks after work mean you&#8217;ll be handed a receipt. So what do you do with the unavoidable?</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Receipts:</strong> If I can see that the credit card printer has already spit out a second customer receipt I&#8217;ll be sure to ask for it. Why? So I can make sure I take it back and recycle it. Odds are when you decline it&#8217;s tossed straight into the trash.</li>
<li><strong>Business Cards:</strong> I will gladly accept a card from someone if its seems appropriate (and offer them mine). Like receipts I will always put them in my phone and recycle the card. But, if the situation is right, I will then offer them to use my <a href="http://contxts.com/">contxts</a> account (simply SMS &#8216;devin&#8217; to 50500). There are plenty of other services out there: <a href="http://www.textmarks.com/">TextMarks</a>, <a href="http://mydropcard.com/">MyDropCard</a>.</li>
<li><strong>Shipping Labels:</strong> Welp, some things can&#8217;t be avoided. I had to ship a book to a friend the other day and realized it was one of my few &#8216;non-digital&#8217; exchanges this month.</li>
<li><strong>Checks:</strong> Cash is king and if you want to do business you&#8217;ll accept checks. Online services are becoming more popular but there are things like fees involved. Free checking is far too easy right now.</li>
<li><strong>Account Statements:</strong> If you can, obviously have them sent to you online (banking, bills, etc.). I have a few accounts that still don&#8217;t offer it and that kills me. Again, I have to suck it up, shred, and recycle, that&#8217;s the best I can do.</li>
<li><strong>Periodicals:</strong> They&#8217;re mostly there, newspapers, magazines*, etc. They all syndicate online. The hardest part is when you&#8217;re faced with &#8216;offline&#8217; time. <a href="http://www.newsgator.com/Individuals/NetNewsWire/Default.aspx">NetNewsWire</a> is my app of choice but that still leaves me high and dry with partial feeds and those that don&#8217;t push to RSS.</li>
<li><strong>Books:</strong> With services like <a href="http://www.audible.com/">Audible</a> and <a href="http://store.audiotech.com/">Audio-Tech</a> business book summaries I haven&#8217;t read from a tangible book in a while. I have plenty that I will read (on planes, on the bus, etc.) because, well, they&#8217;re books. But taking steps like re-selling them on Amazon (reduce, reuse, recycle?) and subscribing to podcasts will certainly help you become paperless.</li>
</ul>
<p>As you can see, there are some things that are hard to avoid. But you&#8217;re certainly not helpless.</p>
<h3>So how did I do?</h3>
<p>I feel pretty good about my new habits and I&#8217;m sure I&#8217;m not alone in my quest to work and live paperless. Is there something I&#8217;ve missed? Or is there something you&#8217;ve found that works better? Share your thoughts in the comments.</p>
<p><em><span style="color: #000000; font-size: 10px">* I&#8217;ve collected nearly ten years of WIRED magazines and use them as a night stand. I love that magazine.</span></em></p>


<p>Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://mindaverse.com/2006/02/22/working-from-home/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Working From Home'>Working From Home</a></li><li><a href='http://mindaverse.com/2006/01/23/pip-resolution-working-out/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: PIP Resolution: Working Out'>PIP Resolution: Working Out</a></li><li><a href='http://mindaverse.com/2007/12/22/working-with-conflicting-personalities/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Working with conflicting personalities'>Working with conflicting personalities</a></li></ol></p><div class="feedflare">
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		<item>
		<title>WordPress 2.7 will be great, get ready</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/devinreams/~3/rWTW9WfTnS8/</link>
		<comments>http://mindaverse.com/2008/10/19/wordpress-27-will-be-great-get-ready/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 20 Oct 2008 03:58:39 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Devin Reams</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[WordPress]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[automattic]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[plugins]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[review]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[ux]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[wordpress-2.7]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://mindaverse.com/?p=551</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[If you like WordPress, you will absolutely love the next version. Well&#8230; unless you liked any of the following:

Administration navigation: say goodbye to the bar across the top, everything is down the side now. Oh, and there are icons. Neat! Seriously, this in itself takes a bit to get used to. Even when I can see all options (which is [...]


Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://mindaverse.com/2007/02/17/wordpress-21-rap/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: WordPress 2.1 Rap'>WordPress 2.1 Rap</a></li><li><a href='http://mindaverse.com/2007/01/14/its-called-wordpress/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: It&#8217;s Called WordPress'>It&#8217;s Called WordPress</a></li></ol>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>If you like WordPress, you will absolutely love the next version. Well&#8230; unless you liked any of the following:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Administration navigation:</strong> say goodbye to the bar across the top, everything is down the side now. Oh, and there are icons. Neat! Seriously, this in itself takes a bit to get used to. Even when I can see all options (which is great, seeing everything is very helpful) I still get lost. I think WordPress still has a UX problem here but can&#8217;t put my finger on it.</li>
<li><strong>Top-level navigation tabs:</strong> I had a lot of plugins that would show up top next to &#8216;Write&#8217; and &#8216;Manage&#8217;. It took me two days to realize they went into the &#8216;Tools&#8217; section. TWO DAYS. Why so long, you ask? Another plugin, that didn&#8217;t use the right methodology (use the WordPress functions, don&#8217;t hack it, jerk), is still at the &#8216;top level&#8217;, with no icon, looking very randomly out of place.</li>
<li><strong>Plugins:</strong> see previous point, stuff is going to break. Especially if you&#8217;ve built something that didn&#8217;t go nicely into the &#8216;Settings&#8217; menu.</li>
<li><strong>Importing content:</strong> I&#8217;ve setup three new blogs in the last two weeks and the ability to import attachments fails. It failed on Dreamhost and Bluehost both. Not sure what fread&#8217;s problem is, but that was painful. Oh, and why doesn&#8217;t WordPress export into Y-sized chunks? If I can&#8217;t change my PHP import size then I have to manually break up my files before I import them.</li>
<li><strong>Media Library: </strong>Still sucks. Yeah you wish this was any better.</li>
<li><strong>Intense Debate:</strong> Not yet integrated. <a href="http://wpdevel.wordpress.com/2008/10/14/were-in-feature-freeze-as-of-yesterday/">Features in this release are frozen</a> so, no, it won&#8217;t make it.</li>
<li><strong>PollDaddy:</strong> Hmm, not there either. It&#8217;s obvious the focus is business first (that happens with investors) a la WordPress.com. Oh well, that&#8217;s why we have plugins!</li>
</ul>
<p>Now here&#8217;s the stuff you&#8217;re looking for. The following will really help and change the way you use WordPress:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Plugin installation:</strong> you can download and install them directly from a browser (WordPress.org) built into the dashboard. Just search, click, install, activate, done. So great. This will help people who don&#8217;t use &#8220;protection&#8221; or &#8220;common sense&#8221; when downloading plugins that can potentially damage their sites.</li>
<li><strong>Plugin uninstallation:</strong> They can uninstall themselves which is great, instead of me just de-activating and deleting the developer can have a routine that removes the data and &#8220;leftovers&#8221; that I invariably miss when playing with dozens of plugins.</li>
<li><strong>Administration navigation:</strong> This stuff is awesome, you can customize what elements are on your &#8216;Write&#8217; pages (tags should be below categories, drag and drop it). The sidebar is still a bit iffy, but things will get fixed before beta/release.</li>
<li><strong>New Akismet:</strong> lots of little updates, one being an Akismet Stats screen added to the dashboard.</li>
<li><strong>Quick Edit:</strong> This awesome feature was around up until around October 15th. With the power of AJAX you wouldn&#8217;t have to load a page to change a post/page: slug, title, category, tags, publish status, date, etc. Such a necessary feature that disappear as of this posting.</li>
<li><strong>Sticky Posts:</strong> Welp, that killed a perfectly good plugin. But seriously, this is handy.</li>
<li><strong>Comment Threading and Pagination:</strong> I haven&#8217;t played much with this but look forward to it. A quick look at the tickets suggests this has nothing to do with IntenseDebate.</li>
<li><strong>Updating Core WordPress:</strong> Finally! You can update plugins and WordPress all from the dashboard. Never again will you need to FTP (in theory) to maintain your blog.</li>
<li>Oh, and <a href="http://wordpress.org/development/2008/10/the-visual-design-of-27/">the new dashboard</a> is going to be pretty sweet.</li>
</ul>
<p>I&#8217;m still annoyed that there is no structure for how plugin settings should be arranged in the back-end administration. I have WordPress Stats options under Plugins, other plugins under Settings, other plugins under Tools. This is too confusing. What if I could pick where they go?</p>
<h3>Conclusion</h3>
<p>Visually speaking, WordPress 2.7 is a great leap forward. Just like any big revision people will have trouble and stuff will break. But, I think it&#8217;s a step in the right direction for the user interaction. There is still lots to do but I think the plugins, core WordPress updating and &#8216;movable&#8217; elements on administration pages is huge.</p>
<p>This update is definitely worth looking at now so you don&#8217;t get stuck in the headlights in November. Oh, and always remember to backup. For more information check out <a href="http://planet.wordpress.org/">Planet WordPress</a> (Automattic has become very open about their development and iteration process).</p>


<p>Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://mindaverse.com/2007/02/17/wordpress-21-rap/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: WordPress 2.1 Rap'>WordPress 2.1 Rap</a></li><li><a href='http://mindaverse.com/2007/01/14/its-called-wordpress/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: It&#8217;s Called WordPress'>It&#8217;s Called WordPress</a></li></ol></p><div class="feedflare">
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		<title>I love birthdays…</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/devinreams/~3/lHc1D3ufC4w/</link>
		<comments>http://mindaverse.com/2008/09/24/i-love-birthdays/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 24 Sep 2008 21:29:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Devin Reams</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Old Posts]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[birthday]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[devinreams]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Personal]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://devinreams.com/?p=539</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8230; I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by. It seems like it was just a year ago I was celebrating the big 2-1. All four parties were great that year.

 
But seriously, time flies when you&#8217;re having fun and I&#8217;ve hardly had time to reflect (let alone notice) my day of birth [...]


Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://mindaverse.com/2007/02/08/what-does-love-really-mean/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: What does love really mean?'>What does love really mean?</a></li><li><a href='http://mindaverse.com/2007/07/19/i-love-brevity/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: I love brevity'>I love brevity</a></li><li><a href='http://mindaverse.com/2006/07/19/top-5-social-media-tools/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Top 5 Social Media Tools'>Top 5 Social Media Tools</a></li></ol>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>&#8230; I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by. It seems like it was just a year ago I was celebrating the big 2-1. All four parties were great that year.</p>
<p><a title="veritum dies aperit" href="http://flickr.com/photos/73584213@N00/322654818"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/132/322654818_bee37f5b1e.jpg" alt="" /></a></p>
<p> </p>
<p>But seriously, time flies when you&#8217;re having fun and I&#8217;ve hardly had time to reflect (let alone notice) my day of birth this year. So, like any self-respecting individual I decided to spend a minute and blog about it. I asked everyone on <a href="http://www.new.facebook.com/profile.php?id=10200068&amp;ref=name">Facebook</a> to let me know their biggest accomplishment this year and figured I should do the same:</p>
<h2>I left my &#8220;day job&#8221; at a big accounting firm to do what I really like: work with cool people and help build cool things.</h2>
<p>Enough said. Let me know what you&#8217;ve done and then read about my learning experience here: <a href="http://devinreams.com/2008/08/03/the-one-about-the-new-job/">The One About The New Job</a>.</p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.nationalpunctuationday.com/">Happy National Punctuation Day!</a></strong></p>


<p>Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://mindaverse.com/2007/02/08/what-does-love-really-mean/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: What does love really mean?'>What does love really mean?</a></li><li><a href='http://mindaverse.com/2007/07/19/i-love-brevity/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: I love brevity'>I love brevity</a></li><li><a href='http://mindaverse.com/2006/07/19/top-5-social-media-tools/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Top 5 Social Media Tools'>Top 5 Social Media Tools</a></li></ol></p><div class="feedflare">
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		<item>
		<title>Social media best practice: be authentic</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/devinreams/~3/RzMmR64OKD0/</link>
		<comments>http://mindaverse.com/2008/09/04/social-media-best-practice-be-authentic/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 05 Sep 2008 03:13:38 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Devin Reams</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Old Posts]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Social Media]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[People]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[social media marketing best practices project]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Wisdom]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.devinreams.com/?p=533</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Jeremy Tanner tagged me: I need to chime in and tell the world, in all my infinite wisdom, what a &#8220;social media&#8221; best practice is.
Interestingly enough my knee jerk reaction was to say either:

if you call it social media you&#8217;re doing it wrong, or
just stop trying, FFS.

At least, that&#8217;s the way I&#8217;ve felt in the [...]


Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://mindaverse.com/2006/07/19/top-5-social-media-tools/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Top 5 Social Media Tools'>Top 5 Social Media Tools</a></li><li><a href='http://mindaverse.com/2007/08/09/on-being-social/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: On Being Social'>On Being Social</a></li><li><a href='http://mindaverse.com/2006/03/09/media-center-edition/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Media Center Edition'>Media Center Edition</a></li></ol>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em><a href="http://jeremytanner.com/2008/08/be-different/">Jeremy Tanner tagged me</a>: I need to chime in and tell the world, in all my infinite wisdom, what a &#8220;social media&#8221; best practice is.</em></p>
<p>Interestingly enough my knee jerk reaction was to say either:</p>
<ol>
<li>if you call it social media you&#8217;re doing it wrong, or</li>
<li>just stop trying, FFS.</li>
</ol>
<p>At least, that&#8217;s the way I&#8217;ve felt in the recent months. In fact, it&#8217;s a new rule for me on <a href="http://twitter.com/devinreams">twitter</a>. If you&#8217;re a self-proclaimed &#8220;social media&#8221; guru, then you&#8217;re not.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a title="conversations_silhouettes_id228513_size450" href="http://flickr.com/photos/50698336@N00/1411905457"><img class="aligncenter" src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1427/1411905457_9136c7cc0a.jpg" alt="" width="450" height="348" /></a></p>
<p>That leads me to my point: to be successful in social media (or any media, I believe) you need to <strong>be authentic</strong>. It goes back to one of my personal favorite posts: <a href="http://www.devinreams.com/2007/11/26/my-thoughts-on-transparency-honesty/">my thoughts on transparency and honesty.</a> If someone is extremely active across a variety of services and trying to connect with so many people (Linkedin, twitter, pownce, etc.) it sends the message that you&#8217;re convincing me I need to listen to you. It&#8217;s like trying to advertise your product after building it and calling that &#8220;marketing.&#8221; The biggest way to fail is to reach out to as many people as possible just to broadcast to your followship.</p>
<p>Instead, be an authentic person. Just be you and the right people will find you. For instance:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/"><strong>Penelope Trunk</strong></a>, although a writer (its her day job to make uninteresting things interesting), is a geniune lady who will bare all and do her best to connect. I consider her the Britney Spears of the internet sometimes but she&#8217;s authentic and, thanks in part to that, has a tremendous followship; in both size and passion.</li>
<li><a href="http://garyvaynerchuk.com"><strong>Gary</strong><strong> Vaynerchuk</strong></a>, although a marketer (its his day job to get the message out to everyone), is a geniune guy who will talk to anyone and go out of his way to make them feel important. He&#8217;s a busy guy but spends most of his day just talking to people via e-mail, twitter, facebook, and so on. In turn, he&#8217;s built up one of the most popular video podcasts about a product that no-one had ever thought to look for online: wine.</li>
</ul>
<p>There&#8217;s my thoughts on how to do social media the right way. Agree / disagree?</p>
<p><em>Tag, you&#8217;re it: <a href="http://okdork.com/">noah kagan</a>, <a href="http://andrewchen.typepad.com/">Andrew Chen</a>, <a href="http://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com">Ramit Sethi</a>. (<a href="http://www.twistimage.com/blog/">original link</a>)<br />
</em></p>


<p>Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://mindaverse.com/2006/07/19/top-5-social-media-tools/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Top 5 Social Media Tools'>Top 5 Social Media Tools</a></li><li><a href='http://mindaverse.com/2007/08/09/on-being-social/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: On Being Social'>On Being Social</a></li><li><a href='http://mindaverse.com/2006/03/09/media-center-edition/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Media Center Edition'>Media Center Edition</a></li></ol></p><div class="feedflare">
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		<item>
		<title>Top Websites That Aren’t (Yet) Mainstream</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/devinreams/~3/1WqFGBdvnQk/</link>
		<comments>http://mindaverse.com/2008/08/25/top-websites-that-arent-yet-mainstream/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 26 Aug 2008 03:19:45 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Devin Reams</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Old Posts]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[gmail]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[hulu]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Internet]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[internet fads]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[media]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[newsvine]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[People]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Reviews]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[twitter]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[web2.0]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Websites]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.devinreams.com/?p=518</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Lets dive right into them, shall we? I present to you, the websites that aren&#8217;t quite mainstream &#8230; yet.
1. GMail


Who: Google
What: Free e-mail with lots of space, IMAP, mobile accessibility, powered by ads
Why it&#8217;s cool: GMail was on the cutting edge of webmail with a huge giveaway of space and a smart interface coupled with [...]


Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://mindaverse.com/2006/01/14/quickly-open-websites/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Quickly Open Websites'>Quickly Open Websites</a></li><li><a href='http://mindaverse.com/2006/03/23/gmail-for-domains-review/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Gmail for Domains Review'>Gmail for Domains Review</a></li><li><a href='http://mindaverse.com/2006/09/11/internet-realism/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Internet Realism'>Internet Realism</a></li></ol>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Lets dive right into them, shall we? I present to you, the websites that aren&#8217;t quite mainstream &#8230; yet.</p>
<h2>1. <a href="http://gmail.google.com/">GMail</a></h2>
<p><a href="http://gmail.google.com/"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-526" title="gmail" src="http://www.devinreams.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/gmail.png" alt="" width="500" height="100" /></a></p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Who:</strong> Google</li>
<li><strong>What:</strong> Free e-mail with lots of space, IMAP, mobile accessibility, powered by ads</li>
<li><strong>Why it&#8217;s cool:</strong> GMail was on the cutting edge of webmail with a huge giveaway of space and a smart interface coupled with the awesome power of Google search.</li>
<li><strong>Why it&#8217;s not mainstream:</strong> People are afraid of Google still. They see the ads and think that your information is no longer private nor secure and that your precious e-mail and information will be sold to spammers and advertisers. Ironically enough, Google is one of the best at combating spam.</li>
<li><a href="mailto:devinreams@gmail.com">Send me an e-mail</a></li>
</ul>
<h2>2. <a href="http://www.hulu.com/">Hulu</a></h2>
<h2><a href="http://www.hulu.com"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-525" title="hulu" src="http://www.devinreams.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/hulu2.png" alt="" width="450" height="90" /></a></h2>
<ul>
<li><strong>Who:</strong> NBC, News Corp (and now the content of dozens of others)</li>
<li><strong>What:</strong> Free access to legitimate television shows and movies in high quality, powered by ads</li>
<li>Why it&#8217;s cool: I can watch Comedy Central shows, Food Network, Fox, etc. in high definition with less advertising and all for free. I can even subscribe to the show and get alerts when a new episode is up.</li>
<li><strong>Why it&#8217;s not mainstream:</strong> Nobody has heard of it. And NBC continues to botch up their video content by releasing stuff like NBCOlympics.com. So, we all assume media companies don&#8217;t get &#8220;real&#8221; video yet and wander over to YouTube.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.hulu.com/profiles/devinreams/pqb1u5h">View my public profile on Hulu</a></li>
</ul>
<h2>3. <a href="http://www.newsvine.com/">Newsvine</a></h2>
<p><a href="http://newsvine.com/"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-527" title="Newsvine" src="http://www.devinreams.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/newsvine.png" alt="" width="500" height="100" /></a></p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Who:</strong> Veterans of Disney, ESPN, and other media organizations; MSNBC</li>
<li><strong>What:</strong> News from multiple sources PLUS the ability for anyone to write, &#8220;seed&#8221; (post an existing) or comment on an article.</li>
<li><strong>Why it&#8217;s cool:</strong> We can contribute the news and read about whats important to us. Plus we can engage with others and talk about stories, debate points, create long lasting friendships, call someone a retard, the list goes on&#8230;</li>
<li><strong>Why it&#8217;s not mainstream:</strong> I think it&#8217;s too much work for someone to &#8217;seed&#8217; the news and it gives little value for me to share it with someone else. To many, there is not enough incentive to write articles either. The only saving grace is the fun in arguing and being social on the internet. More people are interested in participating but I don&#8217;t think they know about their options.</li>
<li><a href="http://devinreams.newsvine.com">Add me as a friend on Newsvine</a></li>
</ul>
<h2>4. <a href="http://www.twitter.com">Twitter</a></h2>
<p><a href="http://www.twitter.com/"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-524" title="twitter" src="http://www.devinreams.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/twitter.png" alt="" width="500" height="100" /></a></p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Who:</strong> Obvious (Ev Williams)</li>
<li><strong>What:</strong> 140 character message broadcast to anyone who wants to &#8220;follow&#8221; you (and you get to follow people back)</li>
<li><strong>Why it&#8217;s cool:</strong> It&#8217;s like chatting with only the people you want to listen to via SMS, the web, and many other applications</li>
<li><strong>Why it&#8217;s not mainstream:</strong> People still don&#8217;t &#8220;get&#8221; it because nobody has explained it the right way to people. You can&#8217;t just say &#8220;you have to do it&#8221; because everyone can see through internet fads. Not everyone is into making random connections with strangers on the internet. Plus, the site really isn&#8217;t what I&#8217;d call user friendly.</li>
<li><a href="http://twitter.com/devinreams">Follow me on Twitter</a></li>
</ul>
<p>I thought about adding a &#8220;how to fix it&#8221; to each of these but nothing about them is broken. They&#8217;re just different, unknown, and misunderstood websites that may just always maintain that &#8220;web2.0&#8243; charm.</p>
<p>But then again, only the &#8220;early adopters&#8221; were using these sites:</p>
<ul>
<li>Facebook - why do you need a profile online? I have <em>real</em> friends.</li>
<li>Google - what else is there to search for? I found the porn.</li>
<li>Craigslist - we already have classifieds, they&#8217;re called the classifieds.</li>
<li>eBay - I can buy cheap things at Wal-Mart.</li>
<li>Amazon - books belong in stores (so that I can read them for free!).</li>
</ul>


<p>Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://mindaverse.com/2006/01/14/quickly-open-websites/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Quickly Open Websites'>Quickly Open Websites</a></li><li><a href='http://mindaverse.com/2006/03/23/gmail-for-domains-review/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Gmail for Domains Review'>Gmail for Domains Review</a></li><li><a href='http://mindaverse.com/2006/09/11/internet-realism/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Internet Realism'>Internet Realism</a></li></ol></p><div class="feedflare">
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		<item>
		<title>The One About The New Job</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/devinreams/~3/sTg5XpOUHAY/</link>
		<comments>http://mindaverse.com/2008/08/03/the-one-about-the-new-job/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 03 Aug 2008 16:30:32 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Devin Reams</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Old Posts]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[career]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Crowd Favorite]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[job]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[People]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[web development]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[web products]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.devinreams.com/?p=508</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Now that I have a few spare minutes to collect my thoughts I figured I&#8217;d share a little about my professional life as of late:
The Previous Employer
If you&#8217;re not aware, I left my job of 11 months and 3 weeks (just barely a year) this past July 18th. I had been working at Ernst &#38; [...]


Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://mindaverse.com/2007/12/18/everyone-is-a-consultant/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Everyone is a consultant'>Everyone is a consultant</a></li><li><a href='http://mindaverse.com/2006/06/16/quick-updates/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Quick Updates'>Quick Updates</a></li><li><a href='http://mindaverse.com/2006/05/05/hde-series-steve-pavlina/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: HDE Series: Steve Pavlina'>HDE Series: Steve Pavlina</a></li></ol>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Now that I have a few spare minutes to collect my thoughts I figured I&#8217;d share a little about my professional life as of late:</p>
<h2>The Previous Employer</h2>
<p>If you&#8217;re not aware, I left my job of 11 months and 3 weeks (just barely a year) this past July 18th. I had been working at <a href="http://www.ey.com">Ernst &amp; Young</a>* and made a quick decision to move on to my passion: the internet. The firm itself is awesome; they&#8217;ve definitely earned the many awards and recognitions (a top 25 employer for a decade according to <a href="http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/bestcompanies/2008/">Fortune</a>). I learned a lot, worked with great people and clients, and I don&#8217;t really regret anything about my time spent at E&amp;Y.</p>
<h3>Lessons learned from my first full-time job out of college:</h3>
<p><a title="handshake I" href="http://flickr.com/photos/24436943@N00/1350774613"><img style="float:left; padding-right: 5px" src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1288/1350774613_09ec0c2d32_m.jpg" alt="" width="160" height="240" /></a>I&#8217;ve learned plenty from my other experiences and jobs but this one is a bit different. It was my first full-time job out of college (not an internship, not a part-time job); one where I had bosses, business cards, a phone number, responsibilities, performance reviews, etc. Some things may be obvious or things you&#8217;ve read about before&#8211;but this is the kind of stuff I finally learned from experience.</p>
<ul>
<li>You&#8217;ll never love everything about any job. But it&#8217;s definitely possible to dislike most of it.</li>
<li>The people you work with are extremely important (50 hours is different than a few times a week).</li>
<li>Hopefully you like those people if you don&#8217;t like the work, or else things get frustrating.</li>
<li>Despite management&#8217;s best attempts, I&#8217;m still convinced I can work an entry-level corporate job from home.</li>
<li>And I could probably do a typical entry-level corporate job in 20 hours a week.</li>
<li>Many people still see the &#8216;ladder&#8217; and the need to &#8216;pay dues&#8217;, they&#8217;re the rule, not the exception</li>
<li>Some people are very good at getting work done, but that doesn&#8217;t mean they can manage / lead</li>
<li>Big companies are great because there are processes and structure that help support you</li>
<li>The wealth of knowledge is &#8220;out there&#8221; but so damned hard to collect and organize</li>
<li>Traveling can be fun no matter where you go (anywhere from Lexington to Atlanta)</li>
</ul>
<p>&#8230;and I could go on and on.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">
<h2>The Current Employer</h2>
<p>I&#8217;m now working for <a href="http://www.crowdfavorite.com/">Crowd Favorite</a> which is an internet company specializing in Wordpress (the software that powers this website), custom web development and design, consulting, and builds some web products. Surprise surprise, I&#8217;m working on the web!</p>
<p>I suppose this isn&#8217;t new: I&#8217;ve moved around a lot and some people might look at that as being scattered or unfocused. But, guess what: all that moving around and dabbling paid off! I found something I really enjoy (and I think I&#8217;m good at it, too). How do I know? For starters, I&#8217;ve been excited to go to work all 10 days these last two weeks (and enjoy checking / responding to business e-mails during some of my spare time)!</p>
<p>My job is a mixture of things but I think we could describe it as a mix of the following:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Account management:</strong> working closely with customers to help address things including future development needs</li>
<li><strong>Business development:</strong> following up with individuals that are looking to use our services, deciding what we can do to help and make sure they&#8217;ve fully explored their projects</li>
<li><strong>Project management:</strong> managing project goals and tasks, scheduling them internally, managing budgets, updates to clients, etc.</li>
<li><strong>Internal projects:</strong> there are some things we&#8217;d like to do internally and I&#8217;ll be managing those, too</li>
</ul>
<p>So, that sums up what I&#8217;ve been doing and what I&#8217;ll be working on. Everyone I work with is great, I&#8217;m happy, excited and learning plenty each and every day.</p>
<p>&#8212;</p>
<p><span style="font-size: 0.8em; color: #999999;"><em>* Note: this is the first and only time the firm name was used on my site (for employment / search engine / opinion purposes). They were aware of devinreams.com and I was aware of their awareness.</em></span></p>


<p>Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://mindaverse.com/2007/12/18/everyone-is-a-consultant/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Everyone is a consultant'>Everyone is a consultant</a></li><li><a href='http://mindaverse.com/2006/06/16/quick-updates/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Quick Updates'>Quick Updates</a></li><li><a href='http://mindaverse.com/2006/05/05/hde-series-steve-pavlina/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: HDE Series: Steve Pavlina'>HDE Series: Steve Pavlina</a></li></ol></p><div class="feedflare">
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