15 Jun 2008, Posted by Matthew Reinbold in UT, 1 Comments

Wasatch Thought Watch: Week of 2008-06-09

The Wasatch Mountain range, for those not familiar with the region, runs down the northern middle of the state like a backbone. Its against this geographic wonder that a majority of Utah’s population resides. Any given week there are a number of profound, insightful, and/or compelling thoughts posted by exceptional people living in the region. Here are some of the best entries that bridge disciplines and offer intellectual value the week of June 9th:

* Steve Osborne, Speedwriting for the Rest of Us. There are still some tasks for which the tactile feedback of scribbles on a page remain superior to their digital equivalent. Steve shows how to shortcut some of the tedium while still conveying important meaning:

There is something wonderfully human and restoring – even healing – about the simple act of picking up a nice pen, opening a notebook and taking the time to draw letters that form words on a piece of paper. For many of us, it is a sensual experience.

Having said that, it can’t be denied that even those who love to write by hand sometimes wish they could transfer their words from their minds to the paper a bit faster. While the slower speed of handwriting is one of the reasons it is so attractive to those who are tired of life’s frantic pace, it would be nice to be able to speed it up just a little.

* Jordan Kasteler, The Unwritten Laws of Social Media. While its written as a brief overview for marketers it instead hints at properties of human behavior that transcend technology or platform.

With social media it is imperative to be very meticulous about how you tread and interact in social communities. There are unwritten laws of the land in terms of participation, voting, noise, comments, shouting, sharing, and more. I want to talk about a few of the fundamental unwritten laws to educate any Internet marketers out there who are unfamiliar with social media but have a curious interest. If not cautious, you can really shoot yourself in the foot from the beginning of your social endeavors.

* Pete Abilla, We Remember Experiences, Not Features. I found this piece incredibly compelling given my questioning of Mac users over the new iPhone. The new 3G network is a great feature. But other phones have just as fast Internet browsing. It is the experience of using content over a 3G network on an iPhone that is driving user excitement.

I love companies and products that are disruptive, simple, and yet elegantly meets an unarticulated but dire customer need.

Today, we are speaking with Gauri Nanda, the inventor of Clocky and founder of nandahome.com.

* David Politis, Tech Startup CEO PR Questions Answered. It has been interesting watching Dave, a newspaper column veteran, discover and refine his ‘blogger voice’. Some insightful answers to pr related issues:

this morning I got a set of insightful questions about PR from the CEO of a Utah-based Web-based tech company.

Given that The Betty Factor is focused on all issues marketing related, I figured why not share some of those questions and my answers here?

* Ken Knapton, Reflections. Ken posts on the one year anniversary of his cancer diagnosis. It is an extremely personal post from a veteran of Utah’s software industry and points to how these Utah valleys will never quite be like the Silicon Valley:

Maybe I am just getting older, but my perspective has changed significantly this year. While my work is very satisfying, it no longer defines me – I am not as concerned about what I do, what title I have, how quickly I can climb the job ladder, etc.