Andrew J Cronk

"David Ogilvy, internal memo: “How to Write,” 1982: The better you write, the higher you go in Ogilvy..."

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 16:15:00 -0600

“David Ogilvy, internal memo: “How to Write,” 1982:
The better you write, the higher you go in Ogilvy & Mather. People who think well, write well. Woolly minded people write woolly memos, woolly letters and woolly speeches. Good writing is not a natural gift. You have to learn to write well. Here are 10 hints:
1. Read the Roman-Raphaelson book on writing. Read it three times.
2. Write the way you talk. Naturally.
3. Use short words, short sentences and short paragraphs.
4. Never use jargon words like reconceptualize, demassification, attitudinally, judgmentally. They are hallmarks of a pretentious ass.
5. Never write more than two pages on any subject.
6. Check your quotations.
7. Never send a letter or a memo on the day you write it. Read it aloud the next morning – and then edit it.
8. If it is something important, get a colleague to improve it.
9. Before you send your letter or your memo, make sure it is crystal clear what you want the recipient to do.
10. If you want ACTION, don’t write. Go and tell the guy what you want.”

- David Ogilvy, internal memo: “How to Write,” 1982 (via trevorloy)

brycedotvc: I’ve had a post rattling around in my head for a...

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 23:26:38 -0600

brycedotvc:

I’ve had a post rattling around in my head for a while with the working title of “Beauty is More Than Skin Deep”. The general sentiment being that I’m a bit turned off by the current state of the design discussion I see going on in startupland.

We oogle over design tricks and call them beautiful, until their novelty wears off. We obsess over optimizing design and user engagement through algorithmic A/B testing pivoting from this interface to that one in order to optimize for the click. We celebrate services as “addictive” and aspire to become, ourselves, digital drug dealers.

But I’ve never written that post. And I’ve never really thought I could capture or articulate all of the nuances that go into being a digital designer. There are just so many competing agendas, so many yardsticks for measuring success that I don’t fully appreciate working outside of the field.

But I know how I feel about design. And I know how I want design to feel to me. But feelings are funny things. Tough to gather and even tougher to articulate. I find, when trying to describe a service that moves me or that I connect with, words fall short. It’s rarely about the fonts used, the color palette, the number of clicks or the page layout. Each of those likely play a role but there’s something more to “it”.

This talk, from Wilson Miner, comes about as close as I’ve found to describing “it”.

So, rather than write the post I’ve wanted to write or rehash my takeways from Wilson’s talk, I’d encourage you to watch for yourselves and see what parts of it connect with you.

The role that digital tools play in our lives is changing. And changing at such a rate that we can often take our role in shaping those tools for granted. Yet, the courses we choose to chart and the values we choose to embrace now will largely dictate the relationships we have with each other and emergent technologies in our and our children’s lifetimes.

Wilson’s talk captures the nuances of the role design plays in this transformation beautifully which is why it’s required weekend viewing on BRYCE DOT VC.

Loved the idea of repercussions of our design ideas. Ex. cars begat a grid based environment that dominates our landscape. What will world look like if your idea is wildly successful?

nevver: Tea House Goals.

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 21:27:47 -0600

nevver:

Tea House

Goals.

nevver: Jaco Haasbroek

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 22:39:35 -0600

nevver:

Jaco Haasbroek

Photo

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 12:59:09 -0600

drawnblog: Function World by Grant Snider (via INCIDENTAL...

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 22:03:07 -0600

drawnblog:

Function World by Grant Snider (via INCIDENTAL COMICS)

nevver: Nice tie

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 14:38:45 -0600

nevver:

Nice tie

freshphotons: “Is that light curling around that cylinder? Yes....

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 10:18:45 -0600

freshphotons:

“Is that light curling around that cylinder? Yes. Imagine this: A light ray enters the edge of the plastic. It travels through the plastic until it comes to the junction between the air and cylinder. Because of the small angle the light makes with the cup, instead of going through the junction and refracting, it reflects back in to the plastic. After reflecting, the ray hits another junction and reflects again. This process contains the light within the plastic as it continues on its initial downward direction, creating the helix you see. This is the same principle that fiber optics use to transmit light through non-linear paths.”

nevver: Occupy Everything

Sun, 20 Nov 2011 19:29:29 -0600

nevver:

Occupy Everything

Photo

Tue, 08 Nov 2011 20:49:39 -0600

"The portrait of identity online is often painted in black and white. Who you are online is who you..."

Mon, 31 Oct 2011 15:14:52 -0500

“The portrait of identity online is often painted in black and white. Who you are online is who you are offline. That rosy view of identity is complemented with a similarly oversimplified view of anonymity. People think of anonymity as dark and chaotic. But human identity doesn’t work like that online or offline. We present ourselves differently in different contexts, and that’s key to our creativity and self-expression. It’s not who you share with, it’s who you share as. Identity is prismatic.”

- Chris Poole (via zachklein)

lonelysandwich: Sesame Street “What is a computer?”...

Fri, 21 Oct 2011 10:53:23 -0500

lonelysandwich:

Sesame Street “What is a computer?” (1984)

They get it. The ending proves it beyond a doubt.

gregmelander: SEE WHAT YOU PRINT Artefact has done it again! An...

Sat, 01 Oct 2011 13:09:58 -0500

gregmelander:

SEE WHAT YOU PRINT

Artefact has done it again! An amazing concept to bring the printer to the 21st century, by stripping down its cumbersomeness. I love this beautiful design and believe it is a compelling look at the near future.

Summer is over. Rage no more. Mellowstep. (seriously though,...

Tue, 27 Sep 2011 15:39:00 -0500

Summer is over. Rage no more. Mellowstep.

(seriously though, this cover is amazing)

Bear Cavalry - Scary Monsters And Nice Sprites - Acoustic Guitar Cover

freshphotons: Coin Toss, Harold E. Edgerton.

Sun, 21 Aug 2011 09:21:51 -0500

freshphotons:

Coin Toss, Harold E. Edgerton.

"Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole..."

Sat, 13 Aug 2011 14:21:48 -0500

“Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”

- Albert Einstein

"I’ve found that luck is quite predictable. If you want more luck, take more chances. Be more active...."

Thu, 16 Jun 2011 09:07:52 -0500

“I’ve found that luck is quite predictable. If you want more luck, take more chances. Be more active. Show up more often.”

- Brian Tracy

gary: My latest thoughts on Stars investing and the shift of...

Thu, 09 Jun 2011 18:14:27 -0500

gary:

My latest thoughts on Stars investing and the shift of what the new DM is

"Startup fundraising isn’t about convincing skeptics but rather finding true believers"

Sat, 28 May 2011 21:40:47 -0500

“Startup fundraising isn’t about convincing skeptics but rather finding true believers”

- @leehower on linkedin series A financing, http://t.co/14jFUJU (via @Jess)

"My dad is 81 years old. I’m teaching him how to use the internet. I told him twitter was how to..."

Tue, 17 May 2011 17:28:04 -0500

“My dad is 81 years old. I’m teaching him how to use the internet. I told him twitter was how to search things on Google. These tweets are what he’s searching.”

- Norman N. (oldmansearch) on Twitter