I need a particular kind of music when I’m in serious work/study mode. Here’s some of my favs: read more →
2010
“Before you sweat the logistics of focus: first, care. Care intensely.”
Headlines are important, maybe the most important… for SEO, but mostly for whether or not a person reads your content, clicks on your tweet link, etc.
There’s so much shit out there about writing headlines. Some of it’s good. Some of it’s just pumped full of hot air.
But here’s one tips that will always get you read: write about something interesting.
I saw a headline that was so good I was basically compelled to read it. It read: How To Feel Great Every Time You Get Dressed (link).
Don’t judge me. I think about the clothes i’m wearing often. I want to look good. This article is interesting. I click. I read.
There are some construction elements to this headline – e.g., using “how to” which makes me feel like i’ll get a tip/trick out of the post – but the real trick to this headline is that it’s about something I want the answer to.
You can’t polish a turd, people. Write better stuff, get better activity on the site.
p.s. I’m not downplaying the role of the headline here. The headline is important, always has been, always will be. Just don’t worry about the construction of the headline so much as you do about whether or not your article merits some eyeballs.
The quality of your audience matters more than the quantity. I keep needing to be reminded of this in my online ventures.
The number of visitors to your site doesn’t matter as much as who those visitors are.
The number of tweets you send out doesn’t matter. read more →
Start each day by playing this song while you look in the mirror at yourself… nodding slowly.
I stumbled across a fascinating article at Malcolm Gladwell’s blog called The Sure Thing in which Gladwell parses a few successful entrepreneurs looking for the pattern. Here’s a few passages.
You might end up with something hilarious like the above pic, which is a note that my friend Andy was taking while we were having a conversation. Srsly? Yes. (bigger image)
My Favorite Parts: read more →
I have a friend called Don who wrote a book called Blue Like Jazz. The book was a very important one for a disillusioned subculture, and subsequently had eruptive success – spanning the globe and ending up on the New York Times Bestseller list for, like, a hundred years.
Well, this guy, Don, and some friends have been trying to make a movie out of the book for, like, an hundred years – they pushed, and built, and wrote, and called, and dug deep to put all the material and funding together. And they did it! read more →
I’m kind of a particular guy when it comes to what I listen to when I’m working. Sometimes it’s the party time music, other times it’s something heavy and sludgey like Isis’ new album, but most often it’s something I can lose myself in… an atmospheric and mellow kind of thing. read more →
Today my wife and I have been married for exactly 5 years. We’ve both changed a lot over that time. From 23 year old idealists to exhausted and hopeful parents of a baby human called Aiden… which was the result of me totally getting it on with Mellisa (BOOM! Score!).
Our marriage has survived these changes and we – seemingly barely, seemingly gloriously, like a 3 legged show pony – live to tell the tales, both good and bad.
I wanted to commemorate this occasion with a short list of tips for marriage, one for each year we’ve survived. This list isn’t going to change your life overnight, but if you follow through these just may save your marriage over the long-haul. So, let’s get started being awesome at marriage: read more →
