Google Plus Nuances

‘ve been using Google Plus for a few days. It’s very much like Facebook but with some subtle improvements. For one thing it will hyperlink URLs even if they don’t begin with http or www. That’s a small difference but is quite helpful. If you are the kind of person that care about this sort of thing there are no ads on g+.

Google has been for a while now using your social graph to influence the search results you see. Using g+ Google will have a lot more data to use to filter your results making them more relevant to you. This is the real reason Google got in the social game. They want the data. As they do now Google will contintue to crowdsource the user base as a filter for what is relevant. When my Geocaching circle interacts with some content I shared with them that content will get a geocaching signal added.

We live in interesting times.

Just Another Robbification

On my way back from a bike ride this morning I stopped by my buddy’s place to show him my latest modification.  He immediately dubbed it another Robbification.  He’s seen me build or modify a few things over the years.    Those that have known me since I was a kid know that I don’t mind tinkering with something to make it work better for me.  This tinkering has sometimes led to destruction and other times lead to helpful enhancements.

My latest Robbification is the creation of a clip for  my GPSr.  Turns out the manufacturer decided to change their mounting technology when they brought out a new line of GPS receivers.  The cynic in me says they did that to force upgrades.  I don’t know if that’s the case or not but the end result is the same.

The clip worked fine on my 10km test ride.  There didn’t appear to be any signs of weakness.  This isn’t the first modification I’ve made for my GPSr.  I also added a pull tab to the power cable.  That change was a bit late for my Garmin 60 series as I’d already broke the strain relief.  I added the pull tab to avoid future problems.  When I upgraded to a Garmin Colorado I made a similar modification to that cable in hopes of avoiding future problems.

A few weeks ago a friend invited me to learn more about the “makers community“.  I didn’t know what that was.  Turns out those of us that like to tinker have a new moniker – makers.  When I didn’t know what it meant I wasn’t sure I was one.  With this last Robbifcation I’m pretty sure I fall into the category of maker.

Walk a Mile in My Wife’s Shoes

I’m sure you have heard the expression that goes something like:

You don’t really know what it’s like for the other person until you’ve walked a mile in his shoes.

Well yesterday I didn’t have to walk a mile, in fact I just stayed home, but I did gain new insight into what it is like to be my wife or more accurately my children’s mother.

I was on dad duty.  How hard can that be?  It’s not so much that it’s hard but it certainly is limiting.  Between taking kids here and there, making meals, playing games, teaching cycling skills and otherwise being available, when do you get your own time?  I don’t know how my wife does it.

So Tracey, thanks for all the time and effort you put in to raising our kids.  It would be hard doing it on my own, thank you for sharing the load.

Are you the Elephant or the Rider?

According to Chip and Dan Heath you are both.  The authors of Made To Stick have written a new book called Switch.  I received an advance copy of the book by offering a couple of website configuration tips via email.

Switch, How to Change Things When Change is Hard.I read Made To Stick and found the book to be very helpful.  I have tried to incorporate the simple “success” process advocated by that book into my presentations where possible.  I liked the book so much I’ve been following the authors via their blog.  I recently noticed that they moved to a new website address with a new blog.  In my day job I as a search optimization consultant I help companies make their websites stickier.    In looking at the new website I noticed a couple of really simple changes the authors could implement that would make their site stickier.

I sent an email to Dan Heath mentioning the two configuration changes he could make that would make his blog better.  A couple of emails later and brothersheath.com had more readable URLs and a way to organize content around their SUCCCES(s) model.  I normally get paid for this kind of work but in this case I thought I’d implement a bit of advice found in Six Pixels of Separation and provided the assistance for free.  As a thank you Dan sent me the advance copy of Switch.

So far I have only read the first chapter and I have not been disappointed.  Once again the authors have written a book that presents ideas in a straightforward easy to digest manner.  I had a little trouble putting the book down so that I could write this post.  I’m guessing I’ll be finished it by this time next week.

One page for marriage, 10 pages for divorce.

What a day I’m having.  I received a call this morning from someone that is disputing a contract I signed four years ago.  They aren’t so much disputing that contract with me but with someone he did business with a few years before that.  Basically it’s a messy contract dispute.  Today is day one of the dispute.  I’ll have to see how it plays out.  I think the only reason I’m involved is that this person wants to go after the deep pockets of a company I did a deal with.

My friend Gerry has told me more than once when it comes to contracts:  ”one page for marriage, 10 pages for divorce”.   That is my advice to you!  Contracts aren’t about protecting the upside, they are about limiting the downside.