SEO for Non-Dicks.

Stop wilfully conflating optimisation with being a slimy liar. Stop being a dick on the internet. Write something interesting, and keep doing it for months and years. SEO will then follow naturally.

David Foster Wallace predicted the curation boom of the internet in 1996.

In 1996, David Foster Wallace described the Internet as a place where “there are four trillion bits coming at you, 99 percent of them are shit, and it’s too much work to do triage to decide. So it’s very clear, very soon there’s gonna be an economic niche opening up for gatekeepers. . . . Because otherwise we’re gonna spend 95 percent of our time body-surfing through shit.”

I noticed that it was easy to build something interesting by simply snapping together a few web apps and then building some light glue between them. I suspect it will be even easier to do that on mobile and the era of “meta apps” that deliver functionality across multiple apps is upon us. And I think that has the potential to create some new startup opportunities.

This is from Fred Wilson. I’ve been playing with some ideas, that I hope to share soon, involving cross-referencing different apps and APIs. If you’re a developer type and want to partner up, please reach out.

Great question to think about regarding applying social media to a business.

Are we focusing to much on helping clients build a conversation around their business rather than the business itself?

It’s important to remember that while conversation is good, building and supporting the business is the goal.

I couldn’t agree more with Youngna’s thoughts on taking some time away from (digital) things.

It’s been at times relaxing, but more so restoring, and I’ve found that creating distance from these devices and applications and distractions leads to a lot more doing and enjoying and experiencing and a lot less wanting, planning, spending, bookmarking, and feeling guilty for starting things I don’t get around to finishing. It was a good reminder that time off is just as important as time on

By leveraging many of the trends we’ve been tracking under the theme of the quantified self we see a huge opportunity in data being collected from a whole new wave of sensors such as phones, watches, shoes, video games and many that aren’t even on the market yet. (There is an) opportunity to layer social dynamics, expert advice, community and game mechanics to create value from this data and we think that’s exciting.

It’s pretty great to see the themes (social dynamics, quanitfied self, data gathering/massaging) I track discussed as business opportunities and niches to be filled.

Nick Denton gives some explanation to the jazzy new design (in beta) for his stable of sites. I, for one, think he’s right on point with the changes he’s making.

The Awl shows that much of the success found on the internet is simply to start doing what it is you want to do.

My friends keep talking to me about how they want to start a Web site, but they need to get some backing, and I look at them and ask them what they are waiting for,” Mr. Sicha said. “All it takes is some WordPress and a lot of typing. Sure, I went broke trying to start it, it trashed my life and I work all the time, but other than that, it wasn’t that hard to figure out.”

If I had my wits about me when I was younger, I would have focused my energy and education towards working in the user experience field. For me it has a great balance of creativity and need for technical skills. Charlie O’Donnell has listed out the critical functions of what a user experience team or person does:

Usability practices – Making sure the service is understandable and users can accomplish what they set out to with minimal confusion, time wasted, etc.

information architecture – Does the layout, categorizations, data input, etc correspond with the way users think about dealing with this kind of service or content?

information design – What kinds of feedback, statistics, statuses are you showing them and how are you showing it to them? 

copywriting – What does your service say?  Are instructions and descriptions clear?  To the point?

design process management – When changes are made, who keeps track of what other aspects of the site they my influence?  Who makes sure that proper versioning is maintained?

editing and curation – Making qualitative judgements about what the user should see and be able to consume

interaction design – What are the functional mechanisms by which users enter or consume information and services, the layout, etc

visual design – Colors, logos, spacing, fonts, layout

This is the mostexerent advice on blogging and social media.

Enjoy the world of blogging & social media – be honest & represent who you are, don’t be like the many bloggers that project another persona. Treat it as if it is your own diary cum scrap book.