DESIGN DOING

The following painting recreation by Petros Vrellis is an...

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 00:38:13 -0500

The following painting recreation by Petros Vrellis is an interactive animation of Vincent Van Gogh’s The Starry Night. It is absolutely mesmerizing.

The artist states: “A try to visualize the flow of the famous painting “Starry Night” of Vincent Van Gogh. The user can interact with the animation. Also, the sound responds to the flow. Made with openframeworks.”

Zuckerberg's 5 core "Hacker Way" values

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:38:00 -0500

Focus on impact: “If we want to have the biggest impact, the best way to do this is to make sure we always focus on solving the most important problems. It sounds simple, but we think most companies do this poorly and waste a lot of time. We expect everyone at Facebook to be good at finding the biggest problems to work on.”

Move fast: ”Moving fast enables us to build more things and learn faster. However, as most companies grow, they slow down too much because they’re more afraid of making mistakes than they are of losing opportunities by moving too slowly. We have a saying: ‘Move fast and break things.’ The idea is that if you never break anything, you’re probably not moving fast enough.

Be bold: ”Building great things means taking risks. This can be scary and prevents most companies from doing the bold things they should. However, in a world that’s changing so quickly, you’re guaranteed to fail if you don’t take any risks. We have another saying: ‘The riskiest thing is to take no risks.’ We encourage everyone to make bold decisions, even if that means being wrong some of the time.”

Be open: ”We believe that a more open world is a better world because people with more information can make better decisions and have a greater impact. That goes for running our company as well. We work hard to make sure everyone at Facebook has access to as much information as possible about every part of the company so they can make the best decisions and have the greatest impact.”

Build social value: ”Once again, Facebook exists to make the world more open and connected, and not just to build a company. We expect everyone at Facebook to focus every day on how to build real value for the world in everything they do.”

via SFGate

Brian Witlin’s ShopWell Demo at Health 2.0 in San Diego.

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 18:51:24 -0500

Brian Witlin’s ShopWell Demo at Health 2.0 in San Diego.

Dinner at Bistro - Oil On Canvas - 2011, by Brian Witlin

Sun, 27 Nov 2011 23:39:40 -0500

Dinner at Bistro - Oil On Canvas - 2011, by Brian Witlin

"Don’t mistake a clear view for a short distance"

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 18:23:34 -0400

““Don’t mistake a clear view for a short distance””

- Kevin Kelley, Blogger

emergentfutures: Using Twitter Improves Students’ Grades, And...

Fri, 19 Aug 2011 20:45:45 -0400

emergentfutures:

Using Twitter Improves Students’ Grades, And Other Surprising Tech Usage Facts

OnlineEducation.net made an infographic based on results from a student/technology study.

Full Story: Business Insider

Obsessed with Lytro

Sun, 14 Aug 2011 12:01:28 -0400

I love disruptive innovation. I also love when Stanford Grads come up with something that truly changes how we think about things. Google took the leap to effectively crawl the internet to create the best search engine out there. The Lytro folks have re-thought the idea of a camera.

Many people, including myself, take great pride in our pictures. I continue to enjoy shots with my digital SLR, pulling them into photoshop, doing edits, capturing moments and creating artwork. Lytro has taken the camera to the next level for pros, enthusiasts, and novices alike. The camera they are developing captures the whole light field using software built into the camera instead of focusing. What does this mean? You can actually focus your shot AFTER you take the photo.

You are probably asking, “Is this some tilt shift trick that someone is using in instagram?”. The answer is no. Check out the examples below. You can simply click on an area to focus. I can’t wait to get my hands on one of these cameras when they come out. They will truly revolutionize the way we look at photography. I can’t wait for the results!

Dear Photograph, which has gone viral since it sprung up less...

Sun, 14 Aug 2011 11:59:43 -0400

Dear Photograph, which has gone viral since it sprung up less than two months ago, collects past-meets-present photos from readers. There are pages and pages of really cool pictures of pictures merging the past with the present.

"Never, never, never, never give up."

Sat, 13 Aug 2011 12:07:58 -0400

“Never, never, never, never give up.”

- Winston Churchill

Interview With Craig Diamond, Founder of Diamond MMA

Sat, 13 Aug 2011 03:48:00 -0400

AS mentioned in my previous posts, I enjoy building entrepreneurs as much as I enjoy building startups. Below is a great interview with Craig Diamond of Diamond MMA. I have been working with him for the last two years getting his business off the ground.

Craig talks about his company and being featured during UFC 133 when Joe Rogan mentioned his company during multiple time-outs.

Listen to internet radio with MMA Gospel Radio on Blog Talk Radio

shivvermetimbers: If Social Media Was Around For The World...

Sat, 13 Aug 2011 03:39:40 -0400

shivvermetimbers:

If Social Media Was Around For The World Wars

Here is a painting I have been putting the final touches on: A...

Sat, 13 Aug 2011 02:42:26 -0400

Here is a painting I have been putting the final touches on: A portrait of my sister Lauren.

My @shopwell pitch @500startups in two minutes! Fun to attend...

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 01:07:41 -0400

My @shopwell pitch @500startups in two minutes! Fun to attend the Investing In Food Startups Event.

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are."

Wed, 03 Aug 2011 21:10:23 -0400

“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”

- Theadore Roosevelt, 26th president of US (1858 - 1919)

"Some people like building startups. I think that is fun too. I also enjoy building entrepreneurs..."

Wed, 13 Jul 2011 02:55:50 -0400

“Some people like building startups. I think that is fun too. I also enjoy building entrepreneurs like @diamondmma and the awesome folks @500startups.”

New Fine Art Experimentation

Wed, 06 Jul 2011 05:04:00 -0400

I have been playing around with some new techniques to improve my painting/design skills. In the three images, note the use of lower intensity colors. I still love achieving a mood while limiting the necessary detail. These are all still works in progress. I will post updates as I finalize the designs.

"Optimists make lemonade out of lemons. Entrepreneurs make lemonade out of lemon seeds."

Sat, 02 Jul 2011 20:05:54 -0400

“Optimists make lemonade out of lemons. Entrepreneurs make lemonade out of lemon seeds.”

This video illustrates two start-up guys throwing around random...

Fri, 10 Jun 2011 03:25:16 -0400

This video illustrates two start-up guys throwing around random web marketing buzz words. Super hilarious…but makes me feel a little bad for the guys who have to listen to pitches like this all day long.

Will Price: Learning How to Sell - Premature Pitchalation and Other Sins

Tue, 07 Jun 2011 14:40:57 -0400

Will Price: Learning How to Sell - Premature Pitchalation and Other Sins:

Some great excerpts from Will Price on selling from a startup perspective from Sandler’s Rules: 49 Timeless Selling Principles and How to Apply Them:

Rule 2: Don’t Spill Your Candy in the Lobby

This rule is classic - “have you ever shared too much information, too soon?” In my rush to prove my credibility and the value of my product, I often jump right into an overview of what we do, why, how, who we do it for…all before we have even made it to the conference room. Another term: premature pitchalation - the prospect has no time to lay out their needs and asks and is bombarded by information overload independent of context. Needless to say, I am working hard to slow down and to let the prospect talk in order to allow for better fact-finding and qualification. Spilling your candy threatens to see you blabber on about features, functions, and issues of potentially no interest to the prospect.

Rule 14: A Prospect Who is Listening Is No Prospect At All

This one mirrors rule 2 , as Sandler asks, “are you selling or are you telling?” I pride myself on being articulate and able to explain a value statement well. To often, I believe that if I can lay out an axiomatically perfect argument, then the prospect, by dint of my logic and persuasion, will buy right away. While I believe strongly in being able to express myself well, I am working hard to listen, to ask questions, then more questions, and to make sure that the customer’s problems and goals are well matched with our offering.

Rule 17: The Professional Does What He Did As a Dummy - on Purpose

Here Sandler encourages the professional sales executive to ask simple questions, embarrassingly simple, questions to tease out information and to make sure there is total clarity. Are you comfortable with asking simple questions and leaving long periods of awkward silence? I am not, and I am working hard to allow silence to fill the room and for the prospect to fill it with information rather than for me to fill it with nervous energy and output.

Rule 30: You Can’t Lose Anything You Don’t Have

I’ve been guilty of spending far too much time on accounts that are failing to close. Am I worried the customer will turn to another vendor, that the deal will eventually close if I just keep humping it…? Sandler advises that one either close the sale or close the file - I need to do that better.

Rule 32: Get an IOU for Everything You Do

Often in start-ups, we are missionary sales people. We feel a huge need to prove ourselves worthy in order to break into large accounts. Accordingly, in our early days, I found myself doing lots of “free work” on the come. Sandler recommends that sales, by definition, does too much free work. The professional makes sure that the customer realizes that you are providing free service and that the IOU helps win future business. One of Flite’s major learnings is that we don’t need to do as much free work as we thought, that asking for clear understanding that the customer will commit to buy if you we validate x, y, or z through a pilot works. If the answer is no deal no matter what you deliver, then why do it? Get an IOU and be sure that any work on the come is tied to clear commitments to buy.

I learn more every day as I sell and found Sandler’s book a tremendous reference for putting into words and simple rules problems that I encounter every day along with useful solutions for how best to handle them.

Cirrata Lamp by Markus Johansson | Hypebeast

Sat, 04 Jun 2011 12:39:08 -0400

Cirrata Lamp by Markus Johansson | Hypebeast:

An absolutely stunning display of originality from both a form and material perspective. The Cirrata Lamp by Markus Johannson truly challenges what is possible to be made from Corian while challenging the form factor of the lamp.