Bridging the Nerd Gap

Currently, Twitter makes money by shoving “Promoted Tweets” into user’s streams, ostensibly using an algorithm to segment the users into those who might be interested in a particular toot and those who might not (though, this system seems ham-fisted at best). They also have a hashtag sponsorship thingie. I’m not sure what these things cost or if Twitter is creeping toward profitability as a result, but both are a smidge annoying.

I think I have a better way: Paid Accounts.

I’m certainly not the first schmo to come up with such an idea, but see if you think this isn’t stupid.

Some tiny amount of money per month—let’s say $2—would give you the ability to do the following:

• Retweet more than twice per day.
• Mute followers, hashtags or clients for a definite or indefinite period of time (just like Tweetbot does today).
• See any user’s follower/following counts.
• View, search and export your entire tweet archive (going back to the beginning).
• Access to the API and Search-based RSS feeds.

An explanation of the thought process behind each of these:

The Retweet Thing

This feature should be used sparingly and it’s not. Some folks go buckwild crazy with this and, most of the time, it’s annoying. Everybody gets two free retweets per day, but you should have to pay more to get any more than that.

Muting

Muting users is lame because it’s effectively the same as no longer following them, but we all follow a certain number of people because if we didn’t, we’d hear about it and it would become a thing. Muting in Tweetbot gets the job done, though.

Muting annoying clients (like Tweet Old Posts and Paper.li) is one of my favorite things about Tweetbot. Ditto for hashtags. I may love you like a brother, but I’m not interested in hearing every clever quip you hear uttered at the conference you’re attending.

People would use the crap out of this if Twitter offered it. And, I think, many users would pony up a couple bucks a month such a capability.

Follower/Following Counts

These little numbers are the metrics by which users judge one another. If you have lots of followers and follow few people, you’re good at Twitter or something. There are plenty of great Twitter users who fail this test, sadly. Offering access to this information as part of a premium Twitter account would go a long way toward leveling the playing field a bit (and putting some cheddar in Twitter’s pocket).

All of the Tweets

As I type this (and as far as I know), Twitter search only goes back in time about a week or so. If you use the API, you can access the most recent 3200 tweets in your personal archive. By charging folks money, they could (I’m assuming) build out their infrastructure such that paid users could pull down a complete archive of their lunch- and poop-related updates.

API Access

You know how when you say “iPad” on Twitter, many times you’ll immediately receive a reply from somebody who wants you to click their link to maybe just maybe win a free iPad? All that stuff is done by crawling the RSS feeds for a specific search term or by using Twitter’s API. I have a feeling that if using these features cost the user something (anything, really), you’d notice a precipitous dip in the annoying spammy business.

In Conclusion

Most serious Twitter users would be happy to pay a couple of bucks a month for such features, I think. I know I would. A system like this one would give “power users” a bit more “power” and weed out some of the nefarious characters at the same time.

Do you think this is dumb? Not dumb? Use Twitter to let me know.

Launch Center Pro launched amid a good deal of buzz, I think. Lots of tech sites were talking about it shortly before its release and, as an efficiency wonk, I couldn't help but get a little excited.

I bought it the day it was released. I opened it up, played with it for awhile, got the basics down. I even moved it into the Dock area of my iPhone to help encourage adoption.

But, from that day until today, it sat there. I'd open it once in awhile, but only to ponder it and imagine what I could do with it and, more importantly, whether it would speed up the performance of common tasks on my device. Then I'd close it.

Why Launch Center Pro is Difficult to Adopt

Ignoring the dozens of apps I have installed, my daily iPhone usage is comprised mostly of a small number of things:

• Reading email
• Listening to audio (music, podcasts and audio books)
• Reading and posting to Twitter
• Adding (and occasionally checking off) tasks in OmniFocus
• Reading from and saving information to Evernote
• Text messaging and the occasional phone call
• Reading stuff using Instapaper and the Kindle app
• Checking my site stats and the day's ebook sales (Clicky is my analytics tool of choice)

Sure, there are other odds and ends, but that's at least 80% of what my iPhone does for me.

Given the regularity with which I perform these actions, it's no surprise that the specific finger movements required to do each one are burned almost indelibly in my muscle memory. In other words, if I decide to check my email, my thumb is already descending on the icon before it's fully drawn on the screen after unlocking the device. Totally not joking.

This is why an app like Launch Center Pro is difficult to adopt. I have to fundamentally change how I use my iPhone. But, between the stories I've heard from people who are loving the app and my own desire to speed things up, I've decided to give it a solid try.

The Launch Center Pro Acid Test

What follows is, as best I can figure, the ideal way to really put Launch Center Pro front and center in the hopes of shoehorning it into my iPhone workflow. I'm not sure how this will shake out, but I think it's worth a try.

Here's my current home screen, modified to all but demand that I use Launch Center Pro (it's in the dock next to the Camera app):

 

Pretty barren.

After carefully looking at each app I use that Launch Center Pro supports (it's not all of them, if you're wondering), I took each of those apps and moved them to secondary screens. The only exception is the Calendar app, which I really only launch when an appointment alarm sounds. Everything else is an app I use somewhat regularly that Launch Center Pro doesn't currently work with. And the Camera app stays in the Dock because I don't want to go hunting for it when my kids are doing something cute or I see a three-legged coyote or whatever.

Launch Center Pro's raison d'être is quickly performing actions, not just launching apps. Some example actions would be calling or emailing a specific person, jumping to a specific part of an app, etc. My next step then was to add shortcuts for all of the now-absent home screen apps as well as any common actions. Below is the result (or, at least, the first iteration of the result).

A Tour of My Launch Center Pro Configuration

When I fire up Launch Center Pro, this is what appears:

From this screen, I can perform most of my “regular” iPhone actions. The bottom right corner is left empty (for now) because that's typically where my right thumb is hovering, so I won't have to worry about it obscuring anything (more on this in a second). Oh, and Dropbox is there because I frequently launch it to kick off the automatic photo upload thingie it does.

The bottom half of the screen contains “action groups”. If I press and hold “Audio”, for example, the screen turns to this:

I consume lots of audio on my iPhone, so having quick access to these apps is important to me.

“Communicate” reveals these choices:

I communicate with my wife electronically very regularly, so she gets her own “call” and “text” actions. Along with actions for texting a couple of other folks, the last two actions are shortcuts to the New Message view in the Messages app and a list of contacts from which I can choose somebody to call.

Now, then. “Social”:

Aside from the “New Tweet” option, which opens Tweetbot and plants me in the tweet composition view, the rest of these simply launch the apps. (And, yes, I'm now using Facebook again, but in a very specific and limited capacity).

“Reading”:

Unsurprisingly, these are the apps I use to read things. iBooks is really only there because it fit and was easy; I almost never read things in iBooks on my iPhone.

Lastly, “Capture”:

Capturing new ideas, etc. is the name of the game on this screen. OmniFocus for tasks and projects, Drafts for textual stuff (like blog post ideas or Twitter jokes that are still incubating).

Yeah, all of that is pretty straightforward. All of my regular iPhone use cases are spoken for. Now let's talk about the specific reasons why I did it this way.

Guiding Principles

The “Obscured by Thumb” Issue

As we dig into this, it's important to point out that the action groups (“Social”, etc.) defined in Launch Center Pro are only accessible if you press and hold their icons. In other words, if I want to launch Tweetbot, I need to press my thumb on “Social”, drag it onto Tweetbot and release. If I lift my thumb off of the screen while it's still on “Social”, then I'm back at the main screen.

If you look at the groups I've defined above, you'll probably notice that, when activated using my right thumb, the area that's obscured by my thumb/hand is empty. This is quite intentional. I've placed all of the actions within a group such that they'll all be visible when I'm holding down that group's icon.

The Dollop of Friction

My configuration is, albeit somewhat crudely, optimized for doing stuff instead of farting around. Managing email, adding tasks to OmniFocus, jotting something down in Drafts and opening Evernote: these are all at the top level. Twitter, Instapaper and the rest are buried because I want to be faced with the prospect of doing something and actively decide not to in favor of something else.

I'm hoping this little bit of friction will train my brain to be less lazy. I'll admit it's a theory whose effectiveness will be proven or disproven over time, but at least I started off on the right foot or something.

Stinking Badges

This is probably my favorite benefit of all. When an app is displayed in Launch Center Pro, I'm incapable of seeing any unread badges. Normally, I'm a fan of these badges because I'm a bit of a glutton for inputs (which isn't good, frankly), but I'm hoping this new way of doing things will break me of that little fetish. Again, time will tell. But when I launch Launch Center Pro, my eyes aren't immediately drawn to a little red bubble telling me to tap there.

Parting Thoughts

If you're reading this and you're already a Launch Center Pro badass, then my setup will probably look fairly primitive. I haven't ventured into the world of custom URLs, default field values, scheduled actions or any of the other voodoo this app can do. Said badasses will probably argue that these advanced features are where Launch Center Pro really shines. Stipulated.

This is me crawling before I attempt to walk. I know me and I know that if I spend oodles of time making super specialized actions, then I'd call that fiddling. If this setup sticks and I stay with it, then we can talk about how the app can make my breakfast and such. But not before.

 

As I mentioned recently, The Personal MBA by Josh Kaufman is one of the best books I’ve read so far this year. And, as it happens, Josh was in Portland for the World Domination Summit. I met him at the opening party and he’s a hell of a cool customer.

Aside from befriending the handsome Josh, our introduction also gave me an opportunity to employ a cool trick I cribbed from Evernote CEO and fellow college dropout, Phil Libin: I asked Josh to “autograph” my electronic (Kindle) version of his book. He kindly obliged.

How the hell did I manage such magic? Glad you asked.

To perform this little trick, you’ll need:

• An iPad with the Kindle app installed (or iBooks, if that’s your huckleberry).
• The author’s book downloaded to the app.
• Skitch installed on your iPad (it’s free).
• The author to be physically present, ideally of his or her own free will.

And, the steps to complete the trick:

• Open the book in question using your preferred reading application.
• Turn back to the title page or cover image at the beginning of the book.
• Take a screen shot of your iPad screen (press the Home and Sleep/Wake buttons at the same time to do this). This image will now live in the Photos app.
• Open Skitch for iPad and load up the screenshot you just took.
• Select the Pen tool in Skitch, make sure the line size is right and the line color will contrast well with the color of the image.
• Hand your iPad to the author of the book and ask him/her to autograph the image using their finger (or a stylus, if you have one).
• Publish image to Twitter or Facebook if you want, but make sure you save it somewhere.
• Bonus Step: Save the signed image to Evernote.

The result, if you’re lucky enough to encounter Josh Kaufman and have the proper equipment, will look a great deal like this:

Or perhaps you’re lucky enough to encounter the unstoppably handsome Chris Guillebeau (author of The $100 Startup) while holding the same equipment:

Maybe not quite as cool as being able to yank a signed volume off of your spiffy bookshelf, but I’ll take it.

Why is this particularly cool? The world of writing and publishing is welcoming a whole host of people who are doing it themselves. If you spend a portion of your time interacting with like-minded folks at conferences (like WDS), it would seem you’ll have a good chance of running into authors you like (“published” or not).

And it doesn’t have to stop with books, actually. Meet a blogger who you love that hasn’t yet written a book? Repeat the above steps with a snapshot of the front page of their blog. Pretty badass, right?

Photo by Fairfax Library Foundation

For decades, oodles of people have cited a certain quip given by Master Yoda in The Empire Strikes Back, which reads:

Do or do not. There is no ‘try’.

This is an incredibly idiotic statement.

Inspirational musings like this one are what make people feel bad for failing because, if you ask Ol’ Yoda, they just didn’t decide to succeed.

The Proper Use of Inspiration

Inspiration is great. I’m a big believer in it, frankly, because I know what it is (and, more importantly, what it’s not).

I have a photo of my little boy nestled comfortably below my computer screen at my desk. While I enjoy my work most days, sometimes I need to be reminded of why I’m doing this (or, more correctly, for whom am I doing this). I look at his handsome face and I remember that, if I want to give him all the opportunity and comfort I can, I have to bust my ass to make that happen. Nothing less will do.

What I don’t do is sit at my desk and just hope real hard that my love for my family is going to somehow magically do my work for me. I have to try to produce the best work I’m capable of producing. Sometimes I get there, and sometimes I fall short.

Inspiration can get your ass back to the half-cord of pine in the backyard, but it won’t type chop the logs for you. You need something bigger; a larger goal and a sense of purpose in what you’re doing.

Inspiration is the match stick, not the firewood.

Tweet this

How To Be Inspired (Then, Get Back to Work)

People who buy my thing on how to use Evernote will sometimes send me nice emails about how much they liked it, etc. Those messages are really great and I try to save them (in Evernote, naturally) when they arrive. Occasionally, I’ll peek at them when I’m feeling like a blithering idiot who couldn’t write his way out of a wet paper sack. And it does help.

The trick is harnessing that tiny little burst of joy into actually making something; trying to build my little business into something that will accomplish what I want it to: give my family security and comfort and be an example of what hard work can produce.

Now, it’s Your Turn

Don’t rely on inspiration for anything other than inspiring you to do. Make it the match that starts the fire and know that it will burn out quickly.

The cliché of the Motivational Poster featuring a rowing team or an astronaut is all fine and good if you notice it as you walk back to your desk to make something awesome. Let’s all do that.

And forget that bullcrap Master Yoda is pouring because it’s poison.

Photo by Rhubarble

It’s been a few weeks since I decided to wholly abandon reading RSS feeds and focus more heavily on books and hand-picked articles to read.

In short, it’s going phenomenally well. But that’s a story for another blog post.

Today, I want to share a bit about what I’ve been reading recently, using both my Kindle and the Audible app on my iPhone.

It’s been such a pleasure, you guys. Nothing against blog posts or whatever, but coming from somebody who has written something that at least approximates a real book, I can (to some extent) empathize with the authors of these works. Taking a big idea and turning it into a big, complete collection of thoughts and words and ideas is a massive undertaking. I think this appreciation makes consuming these books all the more enjoyable. If you ask me, anybody who can go through the toil of actually producing a book deserves some measure of respect.

Anyway, enough gushing.

From the list of books I’ve read so far this year, I’ve compiled for you a summer reading list containing some of my favorites. I can’t confidently say you’ll appreciate all of them as much as I have, but if any of them interest you, I’d highly recommend giving them a try.

And now, in no particular order…

(Oh, and I should point out that I listened to a few of these as audio books, but I’m still going to use words like “read” below because, frankly, I like annoying the pedants.)

Brett’s Summer Reading List for You Make Happy Brain

• Platform by Michael Hyatt — For those of us who have some weird thing inside us that we really feel like the world—or, at least, certain parts of it—would do well to hear, this is a step-wise guide to building the platform from which you’ll deliver your message. It’s a nice mixture of tactics and attitudes from a guy who has the status and the credentials to speak intelligently on the topic. And it’s a hell of a good read.
• Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson (audio) — Given the decidedly mixed reaction to this book from the tech community, I was hesitant to give it the 20-some-odd hours it would take to complete. I’m glad I did. This book will not only give you a pretty thorough tour of the history of Apple, NeXT and Pixar, but also an intimate glimpse into what Steve Jobs was like as a person and how his commitment to great art manifested itself as a combination of earth-rattling innovation and absolutely despicable treatment of others. I don’t necessarily believe that the former absolves him of the latter, but I do feel like I understand the guy a good bit more than I did.
• My Life in Advertising by Claude Hopkins — As somebody who has a little Internet business, I’ve been trying to learn a bit more about the fundamentals of business, advertising, marketing and sales (sorry if that makes you nauseous or whatever). This book is the “professional autobiography” of a guy who, near as I can tell, took the Western understanding of advertising and freaking reinvented it. Lots of marketing people I know cite this author (and this work, in particular) as required reading for anybody who cares to learn about the topic. It was fascinating and will certainly be one I’ll reread at least once.
• What it is Like to Go to War by Karl Marlantes (audio) — I’ll admit it here: I find a great deal of allure and mystery in stories of war, the military, etc. Whatever, it’s a thing I do. I’ve read a couple other memoirs this year by military guys who simply recounted their experiences in training, combat and life before and after. This book, in rather stark contrast, explores the emotional aspects of what it’s like to actually be a combatant who kills others in battle and watches his friends die there. You’ll probably feel a bit drained after reading it, but it made for a hell of an interesting read.
• Turning Pro by Steven Pressfield — Let me begin by saying that I would drink this author’s bathwater if I could. I’ve read several of books, including the seminal The War of Art (if you haven’t read it, there are few books that I’d recommend more highly). Turning Pro is, in essence, the practical application of the concepts described in The War of Art. The “professional” approach to work, creativity and one’s craft is, I think, a pretty revolutionary idea in an age where “passion” (forgive me) and the like are worshipped as the only pure motivation for doing great things. I tore through this book while on vacation recently and it absolutely delivered. For a guy who feels there might just be a bit too much inspiration floating around these days, this is one of those books that had me clamoring to take my shit to the next level. If I had to pick a favorite book in this list, this would be it.
• The $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau — Written by my good friend, this is the instruction manual for folks looking to make a real run at starting their own business. Combining oodles of anecdotes of people who have turned lemons into lemonade and fleeting moments of inspiration into full-time careers, this is a must-read for anybody who thinks starting something on their own is too hard or simply out of reach. A great read that will make you realize that, just maybe, you can actually do something awesome for far less money than you think. The trade-off, of course, is that it takes work. (Full disclosure: I’m profiled in this book. You should still read it, though, as I can guarantee that you won’t see any pictures of my scary, unshaven countenance. I wasn’t compensated for my participation other than receiving a few courtesy copies of the hardcover. And I paid for the Kindle version.)
• The Personal MBA by Josh Kaufman — I didn’t finish college. In fact, you could make a compelling argument that I didn’t really begin, either. I’m not particularly interested in spending a frickton of time and money earning a graduate degree from a business school, but I’m interested in learning about business and related topics. This book is touted by many, including the author, as a good drop-in replacement for such an expensive educational pursuit. In a nut, it breaks down dozens and dozens of business concepts into manageable, concise overviews that build on one another. Topics like finance, marketing and systemization of business processes are clearly explained enough that even a big dumb animal like myself can understand. If you’re interested in understanding business, this one is worth your time and cheddar.
• The Education of Millionaires by Michael Ellsberg (audio) — For my generation, attending college after High School was, and still is, the default route for most kids. Historically, it was held that going to college will help ensure that you get a good job and make enough money to have a boat or something. This book takes a balanced look at the value of education as it relates to “success” in life. While it doesn’t absolutely vilify higher education, it does prompt the reader to weigh the cost and benefit of such an education. I’m a big fan of this approach. As I said, I didn’t go to college and don’t really intend on ever earning a degree because I’ve managed to build a life for my family and I that doesn’t require it. I think that many people could also find this to be true if they consider what they want their life to look like instead of simply accepting conventional wisdom. (Side note: if possible, skip the audio version of this book and read it instead; the narration of the text in Audible’s version is pretty awful)

Anyway, I hope you’ll check out some of these. They’re all quite good.

I’d love to hear about a book you’ve recently loved. Ping me on Twitter and let me know, won’t you?

(Yet Another Italicized Note Thing: The book links above are affiliate links. If that makes your tummy hurt, just Google for the titles and use those links when buying.)

Image credit: druclimb

A little over a week ago, I decided to unload a bunch of dusty books from my office bookshelf and sell them on eBay. I hadn’t picked them up in years (other than when I moved them from our previous home) and I was hoping to put together some additional funds for future technology purchases.

Long story short, I lost my freaking shirt on these sales because I was careless and I feel like a damn fool.

N.B., let me make it clear that I’m nowhere close to an experienced seller on eBay. I sold a few dozen 7" records about a million years ago and I’ve done my share of buying on the site, but that’s really it. I was, and remain, a big dumbass when it comes to eBay.

The Overarching Theme

In retrospect, I actually have a pretty good idea why things panned out the way they did.

Before listing my wares, I did some spot-checking to see what some of the items generally went for. A few were going for $20 or $30, others as high as $50! After learning this, I (incorrectly) assumed the following:

As long as the product is in good or great shape, the market for the product will be enough to drive a fair price. Most of my stuff was in very salable condition, so the sheer fact that somebody was selling it would be enough to bring the scavengers out of the virtual woodwork. Now, PAY ME!

Probably one of the dumbest things I’ve ever thought. And I’ve thought some dumb shit in my life, folks.

Anatomy of a Mistake

When I started, I hauled all 30-something books on to my back patio and grabbed my iPad. Turns out, the eBay app for iPad will scan the barcode of a book and pre-populate almost all of the details: title, cover image, author and other publication information. From there, I would need to add a description, fill in the categories for the item and set a starting price.

So, for just about every item I listed, I added:

• Almost nothing for the description; if there was any damage or wear, I indicated as much. That’s it.
• A starting price of $0.99.
• An auction period of seven days (across the board).
• No reserve price.

(I can already hear all of you experienced eBay people crinkling your faces. Trust me, I’ve learned my lesson.)

Lessons and Caveats

A non-moron would have done a bit more to “pitch” each product in the description. He also may have set a higher starting price. Then he probably would have gone back to college and learned how to not be such a frickin’ dunce.

I don’t think it I’m entirely to blame for this, though.

Possible mitigating factors include:

• My low seller rating. I don’t have any negative feedback or whatever, but I haven’t sold hardly anything, so that may have roused suspicion on the part of the buyers.
• The market for the product may have drastically changed in the week since Mr. $50 listed his product and I listed mine.

Ok, fine, that last one is stupid. Stipulated.

The Big Takeaway

I’m hardly in a position to give advice (other than to stay in school), but here’s how I’m going meekly approach my next foray into moving unwanted crap on eBay:

First, look around at what others are doing when selling similar products. If they pay the extra couple of bucks for the bold headline or something, I’ll consider it. In other words, try to learn from people who know what the hell they’re doing.

Second, I’ll probably Google for somebody who is really good at selling things on eBay and follow their advice. Hell, even if they’re full of crap they’d have to be astonishingly full of crap to not outperform my dumb ass.

These auctions should have collectively netted me at least $300, according to my estimates based on existing auctions. As it stands right now, I’m barely going to make enough to cover the shipping.

So, maybe try not to crap all over your eBay auctions as badly as I did.

Aloha (again) from Kailua-Kona (on “The Big Island” of Hawaii, a designation which reeks of improper planning, if you ask me).

My family and I have been away from home for well over a week now and, like any white knob stinking up a tropical paradise, I’ve been more than a little preoccupied with taking photos and otherwise capturing the magic and whatnot of our little adventure. Ultimately, this stuff will be shared both with the members of our travel party and with friends and family back in the Lower 48.

And, as you may have guessed, I’m using Evernote to store all of it. The workflow isn’t any more cumbersome and it adds a metric buttload of value. Here’s how to do it in a convenient list of easy-to-digest steps. Blogging!

1. Create a new Evernote notebook for your trip. If you’re as big an Evernote wonk as I am, you probably already have one that contains your itinerary, travel information and other such details.
2. Whenever you go someplace notable—restaurant, tourist attraction, etc.—create a new note in Evernote on your smart phone while you’re there. This will capture the GPS coordinates of the location as well as the date and time of your visit and embed this information in the Evernote note.
3. Take a frickin’ ton of photos. This sorta goes without saying since that’s what we humans usually do. I personally avoid taking them from within the Evernote app because, when using the Camera app on my iPhone, I can snap many photos in rapid succession and sift through them later. Try to capture the overall mood of your crew, but don’t hesitate to highlight your loved ones’ personal quirks or unsightly tan lines.
4. When you get back to wherever you’re temporarily calling home, open the note (or notes, if you created more than one during a given period) and add the best photos from that particular outing. Since Evernote lets you add text between images in the mobile note editor, I like to add a sentence or two of commentary between photos (if necessary). Remember that a single note can only be so big and that full-size smartphone photos aren’t small in terms of file size, so don’t go all hog wild with the adding of the photos, Jimmy.
5. Tag each Evernote note with whatever short bits of descriptive text best fit the note contents (“sushi”, “volcano”, “parking lot” or what-have-you). Make sure the note is added to the notebook described in step 1.

Bonus Pro Tip: If you’re traveling with other attractive, forward-thinking Evernote users, share your vacation notebook with them (and give them the ability to modify the notebook) so they can add their own sandwich pictures or volcano thoughts. Then, at the end, you’ll have a huge collection of vacation memories authored by multiple vacationers! Indistinguishable from magic!

After your galavanting has concluded, it’s time to impose your memories on your friends and family. Even though these fine people would rather jam a sharpened screwdriver into their kneecaps, that doesn’t mean that we can’t make great use of cool tech while torturing them.

Of course, I’m talking about sharing your notebook. You can either share it with the whole world if you’d like or just with a few individual people. If nudist colonies are your thing, maybe consider the latter option. If you share with the world, go ahead and shove the URL onto Twitter or Facebook or Pinterest or whatever other social network is currently tickling your fancy. If you share only with certain folks, they’ll get an email with a link to the notebook.

Additional Evernoting Vacationer Thoughts and Ideas — Free!

Before you travel, consider adding notes to your notebook containing the following:

• Packing list (this way you won’t forget your iPad charger or that coconut suntan lotion you like so much)
• Name, address and phone number of the place you’re staying (so Grandma can call you if your house burns down or something)
• Travel itinerary and details: arrival/departure times, confirmation numbers, reservation crap, receipts for prepayment, etc.)
• Places or attractions you’d like to encounter while you’re doing your encountering.
• You get the idea…

Anyway, that’s the long and the short of it. Evernote makes it a breeze to capture, store and share all sorts of stuff: including a painfully detailed account of your trip to the slaughterhouse!

Special Bonus Below!

As a special bonus just for you, here’s a note from our current trip that properly illustrates just the kind of random event you might be interested in capturing and remembering forever because, really, it’s the little things that matter. Don’t you agree?

Want to know more about how to use Evernote?

Aloha from our family vacation in beautiful Hololulu. Hope this finds you and yours well and happy and fitting nicely into those jeans you like so much. Having partially traversed an ocean, I feel like frickin’ Guillebeau over here.

Anyway, I wanted to share a cool little hack I came up with last night.

There are seven people total in our vacation crew and we’re spread across two hotel rooms: my wife, our kids and I in one room and the other folks in the second (non-adjoining) room.

Last night, we planned to put the kids to bed and do grown-up beverage consumption and deep, intellectual conversation in the second hotel room. Trouble is, the idea of leaving my two kids alone and asleep in our room didn’t sit well with me. So, like a freaking adult, I thought about how I could solve the problem so that a) my kids were correctly monitored and b) we could all have our cocktails and whatnot two rooms away.

“Ah, HA!” I said quietly, as I grabbed my wife’s iPhone 4 out of her pocket. Her phone and mine would become an ad-hoc video baby monitor (that worked like the dickens, I might say).

Here’s what I did, tutorial-style (in case you find this and want instructions to follow). To do this, you’ll need two iPhones (4 or newer) and an available, reliable WiFi network.

1. Connect both iPhones to the WiFi network.
2. Put one of the iPhones in the room where the slumbering is happening (hereafter, “the kid phone”). Keep the other with you (hereafter, “the adult phone”).
3. Initiate a FaceTime call from one phone to the other (doesn’t matter which one initiates the call). Answer the call from the second phone.
4. Prop up the kid phone such that your kids are visible on the screen of the adult phone (you may have to switch between the front and rear cameras to do this).
5. Tap the Mute button on the adult phone so you can hear noises from the kid phone, but none of your adult crap will be audible on the kid phone.
6. Position the adult phone on the table next to your frosty adult beverage and occasionally glance at it to make sure your kids have not, in fact, gotten up and decided to head to the hotel bar for a warm milk.

Now, a few caveats.

1. If you initiate the FaceTime call between two iPhones that are within a few inches of each other, it will produce a lot of audio feedback that will almost certainly rouse the sleeping kid(s). Make sure they’re a good distance apart first.
2. Plug in both iPhones, if possible. Even with full batteries, a constant FaceTime call uses a lot of juice — you’ll be lucky to get a couple of hours out of it.
3. Hotel WiFi is usually pretty awful, so your call may be dropped a few times over the course of the evening. Be ready for this.
4. Hotel WiFi is also metered, in many cases, and FaceTime is a pretty bandwidth-intensive endeavor (particularly if it’s on for 4–5 hours straight). Make sure [your snazzy hotel] isn’t going to take you to the cleaners because you grossly exceeded some dumb bandwidth allotment that you didn’t know about.
5. This whole deal is meant to provide a means to watch your kids at very little distance. I don’t condone leaving a running iPhone in their room while you head to the Piggly Wiggly ten miles up the road.

And, as with any super spiffy tricks like this, your mileage may vary.

As I’m sure you know by now, I’m a big proponent of using technology to make life better, faster and easier.

This is especially true when buying, say, a massive chest freezer to hold the 350+ pounds of beef that will be showing up at our door any day. No joke. I digress.

When my buddy and I returned from the Big Box Appliance Retailer yesterday after buying the freezer, I found myself with a small stack of stuff: the manual, warranty information, purchase receipt, extra parts, etc.

I hate stuff like this lying around and I’m always looking for nerdy ways to reduce the amount of crap floating around my life. Here’s what I did with this particular pile:

1. Googled for the make and model of freezer, plus the word “manual”. Found a PDF of the manual for my new freezer, saved it to Evernote and enthusiastically threw away the paper copy.
2. Scanned the receipt into Evernote (after tearing off the 14 inches of it pitching me to take a survey or whatever). Made sure the receipt was uploaded successfully, then enthusiastically threw away the paper copy.
3. Scanned the warranty information into Evernote. Enthusiastically threw away the paper copy.
4. Collected all of the spare parts I didn’t immediately need, and put them in a plastic bag. Labeled plastic bag with a permanent marker, took a snapshot of it. Put the plastic bag into a box of miscellaneous junk I keep in my office, then created a new Evernote note with a) the photo of the plastic bag and b) the words “this bag is in the crap box in the bookshelf and it looks like this”.
5. When I talked to the distracted kid who sold me the freezer, he said the extra warranty I was buying came with a free annual inspection of my appliance. He also said that most people do these six months after their purchase date and continue every year on/around that date. Added a task in OmniFocus to schedule my inspection starting 6 months from now and repeat every year for three years.

Oh, and all of the Evernote stuff was tagged with “Garage Freezer” and the OmniFocus task contained a link to Evernote note containing all of the information on who I need to call when I’m ready to move that forward.

So there you go. Gone are the days of keeping track of big stacks of old manuals, paperwork and other such malarky. Between Evernote and OmniFocus, I’m sitting frickin’ paperless and pretty over here.

(Also, if you’re looking to get more into the Paperless lifestyle, my good buddy David wrote an ebook that you should definitely check out.)

I’ll level with you.

I’ve had a great deal of success with Evernote Essentials (which many of you have purchased — I’m very grateful for that) and, truthfully, it’s always felt a little strange.

Not a week goes by when I’m not asked by a friend or acquaintaince how my little side business is going. “Just fine,” I’ll usually answer.

The truth is, I’m constantly surprised at the response my little product has received. People have found it extremely helpful (based on the emails I routinely get from satisfied customers) and that makes me deliriously happy.

The part that really flummoxes me is how I’ve been able to make something that so many people liked and that has turned into a legitimate business. Yes, I totally get how coy and stupid that sounds. But, truth be told, I still feel like a blind squirrel who happened accidentally upon a big nut. I started out knowing almost nothing about business or marketing or any of the things that normally accompany success.

Having learned a thing or two in the couple years since I’ve had my little business, I can look back and see what I did right and—most importantly—how having some very smart people in my corner helped make it happen.

Of the small group of confidantes and friends that were instrumental in my success, I’d have to say that my friend Chris Guillebeau was one of the tiny handful of people that were the most crucial — my mentors, if you will. He generously offered me advice and guidance on several occasions, both by email and phone. He’s a hell of a guy and I’m eternally in his debt (despite his humble, bull-headed insistence that his help wasn’t as important as I make it out to be).

Chris just launched his second book called The $100 Startup. Comprised of both inspiring stories of unconventional businesses and actionable, time-tested steps that the reader can take to begin his/her own entrepreneurial journey, this book is a must-read for anybody looking to start living on their own terms and earning a living their own way. I’m humbled to be included among the success stories described in the book.

I don’t believe that everybody is suited to this kind of life or pursuit, but for those who are, I can’t recommend The $100 Startup highly enough. You’ll walk away with a clearer picture of how to get from where you sit to a real business. The doubt and uncertainty that surrounds such a pursuit will be accounted for and you’ll just need to act.

I’m proud to count Chris among my friends because the guy is the real freaking deal. He’s helped me and many others get where we are and, if you’re looking for something different or to move your dreams from abstract ideas to real, achievable goals — this is your horse.

Check it out. You won’t be disappointed.

(This post doesn’t contain any affiliate links, for what it’s worth)