The Death Ray And The Lean Startup

July 27th, 2010

When I was but a fledgling entrepreneur, like most fledgling entrepreneurs, I became frustrated with the process of trying to raise money for my fledgling venture. Now, this was during the “dot-bomb” era, and so raising money was supposed to be easy. We also had an increasingly vocal contingent of curmudgeons, wondering why we couldn’t just earn our money like everyone else, with hard work and everyday construction materials. We were pioneers, forging a new economy from bits and bytes and assembling entire companies by applying mass production to “value chains” where “capital formation” was no different than tightening bolts on a combustion engine!

How to write an effective résumé

July 22nd, 2010

If you are applying for a job at Border Stylo, you might be interested in this blog post. I want to thank Ray Schneider, our HR Director, for his help with it.

First of all, let’s clear something up: A résumé is a tool to get a phone call, period. It’s not a diary or a list of every single thing you’ve ever done. There are many different opinions on how to write one. The truth is that there is not a single right answer on how to do it. However, there are some tips that might help you write yours in a more effective way. Here you have a list of some recommendations and some things that you should avoid doing.

It's a Long, Long Poll

July 20th, 2010

HTTP, that sprawling protocol responsible for creating and sustaining
the World Wide Web, deals only in requests and responses. That is,
client-generated requests, and server-generated responses. This is strictly observed. J. Random Webserver on the Internet cannot call your web browser up and go beep in its ear.

It happens like this: A client calls out to his server and asks for a
martini. The server gives him a martini. This works fine until the
server forgets to put the olive in. Then what to do? The server can’t go give the client an olive on his own initiative. It just isn’t done. Don’t be gauche. The client must notice the missing garnish and make another request.

The 12 Steps

July 15th, 2010

We’ve all heard of the “12 Steps” that are recommended for people with addictive behavior. Well, these days the somewhat bleak economic outlook (although there are signs it may be improving) would be enough to drive anyone to pull out those “12 Steps” in order to stay on the right path. That got me thinking… what are the 12 Steps that people should think about as they navigate the muddy job market during these troubling times? All of the normal preparation and intensity of looking for a job, having a great interview and how to handle “follow-up” is now 10 times more critical with the marketplace being so congested. There are great candidates on the market who would not normally be looking for a job due the numerous layoffs we’ve been hearing about in the news the last two years. It’s enough to drive anyone crazy. Have no fear – there is now the “12 Steps to Finding a Job in a Down Economy”.

VidCon was about community, not vlogging

July 14th, 2010

If you follow our tweets, then you know I took the weekend off from being a blogger and went to VidCon. I don’t think I quite pulled off being a vlogger – I shied away from most cameras – but the YouTube community was very welcoming of this blogger.

In case you don’t know what VidCon is, it’s the first ever three-day YouTube conference where the most influential and popular video makers and their fans could meet, interact off-screen and dance. Yes, there was a lot of dancing. Check out the crazy dance party that took place during Rawn’s accordion performance. Even the registration line was rickrolled acapella-style!

Setting the Stage for Quality Customer Support

July 1st, 2010

At some point we’ve all been down the rabbit hole that is Customer Service. Being on hold for (insert humanoid voice here) “an estimated time of 5…minutes” is not much more fun than being transferred from one department to the next, only to end up right where you started. And just when you think you’ve figured it all out, you go ahead and press “0” to surpass all this nonsense and talk to a (gasp) real live person; but low and behold, the “instructions have changed” and there is no magical “0” option to ask your 5 second question to a real person (who often hates his/her job and wants you off the phone ASAP) until your “5…minutes” are up.

Adding Nodes to the DOM with Style

June 29th, 2010

Extension developers who want to overlay HTML on pages face two style-related challenges: preventing page styles from affecting the added HTML, and ensuring that the added HTML is visually over top of the rest of page. This blog post will show you how to use XBL to add nodes to the page with style, complete with a working demo.

Social Media gets Sporty

June 24th, 2010

When most think about sports, “social media” is not necessarily the first thing that comes to mind, but don’t be fooled. Professional sports are not immune to the cult of the celebrity, and just as with Hollywood stars, fans want to have more and more access to their favorite athletes.

Thus, once untouchable professional sports stars are gaining followers beyond traditional media as they expand their digital presence and fan base. By removing their helmets, shoulder pads and baggy shorts, their real and uncensored selves shine thru Twitter, YouTube, and the blogosphere.

Border Stylo is looking for Catalysts

June 17th, 2010

We’re a rapidly growing internet start-up that’s ready to make the internet a better place for everyone, and we want you to be a part of it.

We’re assembling a team of Catalysts for our summer program who will help champion our new product, Glass, across the web. The Catalyst Program is a three-week crash course in web product and evangelist-based marketing.

What is Glass?
Glass is an add-on for the Firefox browser that creates a virtual canvas over the entire internet. This allows you to share your thoughts online by literally placing notes on top of any website for anyone you choose. We’re currently in Beta, so you’ll be one of the first to have access to this brand spanking new technology. For a quick preview of Glass, check out our Quickstart video here.

Concert-Going 101: Tips from an Usher

June 10th, 2010

One of the great things about our team is that there’s a healthy mix of backgrounds. Some of us are music and entertainment fans, while others are social media or programming enthusiasts. We all have different hobbies and I love learning about them. One thing we all share is a love for the city we work in. We’ve highlighted a few of our favorite parts in the past, but today we’re showcasing another side. Today’s post is for music fans and concert-goers.

Goooooooal!

June 8th, 2010

With the World Cup (and our World Cup party) just days away, we’re all feeling excited and energetic. We took advantage of the extra energy to make another office video.

We have some big soccer (or futbol) fans in the office, but I think some people might be taking it a bit too far. See what I mean in the video after the jump:

Viva Futbol

June 4th, 2010

“Ole Ole Ole Ole!”

You might not be familiar with these words, but in one week this chant will take over the world. The World Cup comes around once every four years, and has earned the title of the biggest sporting event in the world. If we learned anything from the last world cup, over 700 million people will put everything on hold and lose their voices cheering for the World Cup Final.

One of the disadvantages of being a soccer, or rather, futbol fan in the U.S. is that we don’t fully feel the impact of the FIFA World Cup because soccer is not the dominant sport in our country. That is starting to change as more and more people from the U.S. join in the World Cup craze. With this post, I am going to take you through 80 years of World Cup history so you’re ready to chant with the rest of them during the 2010 World Cup.

We all speak marketing

May 28th, 2010

Marketing. It’s where I work at writeonglass.com. It’s where people hang out with wall balls and develop interactive events. It’s an area enclosed by a few walls and managed by a few people.

Or is it?

Yes, we have fun toys and develop interactive campaigns, but every word, image, or color that is published is marketing. The words here, the headers, the footers, the posts, the titles, and everything else that’s built into a product is a part of your marketing. Once it is published, and viewable by the world, your users will have another brand element to consider which helps them make a decision.

Experience Likeable LA

May 25th, 2010

It’s true, a lot of people don’t like Los Angeles. But most of those people don’t live here and have judged it based on stereotypes, or they do live here and just don’t know where to go. If you’re like me, you have no patience for traffic, long lines, and the types of people you’d find in normal Hollywood-type clubs. You also are on the lookout for more cultural and interesting experiences, and perhaps you’re a bit of a foodie/drinkie. Here’s a list of some of my favorite neighborhoods and activities, so next time you have friends visiting from SF or NYC, you can show them that Los Angeles isn’t the touristy, insincere place they think it is. Also, if you’re a single local, these make great date ideas.

People don't like talking to robots

May 20th, 2010

… Unless they’re into robotics and what not. But people who use social media don’t like talking to robots. A successful social media campaign creates a personal voice for the brand with which they engage the community. This usually comes in the form of a community manager. Hello, I’m yours.

Each community manager adds a little bit of their own persona when creating the brand’s voice. From writing style to loves, likes and dislikes, we’re in there. We also keep in the mind the culture of the company. A lot goes into creating just one voice.

The Startup Rush

May 18th, 2010

If you’ve been following along, you know that we have a major upgrade to our signature social media platform, Glass coming any … time … now. Everyone has been working long hours, sacrificing their evenings and weekends, to make this happen. We’ve wrestled with difficult technical challenges and had passionate arguments about the right and wrong way to do something. In the end, though, when all the different parts come together, and we see the result of all the hard work, it’s quite a rush.

A lot of people aren’t really cut out for start-ups. It sounds thrilling and romantic – it’s us against the world.

Got Questions?

May 14th, 2010

If you’ve come to our site for the first time today, you’re probably wondering what do we do? We’re currently focusing on Glass (http://www.writeonglass.com/), an add-on for Firefox that allows you to share your thoughts with your friends, and have conversations, on top of any website. All of those conversations are socially-directed, meaning that they are only seen by the people you want to share with.

“How does this work?” you might ask yourself. When you install the Glass app, it creates a virtual sheet of Glass across the entire internet. Essentially, it builds a platform upon which you can currently place messages, and in the future you’ll be able to place photos, videos and even other applications.

Productivity 101

May 11th, 2010

You might not recognize me because I’m the new guy here at Border Stylo. This is my first official blog post – cue the celebratory noises. I have been sweating this for a while, mainly because I have never written a blog post before. But as the saying goes, there’s a first time for everything. Since joining the team I’ve had a lot of firsts, including joining Twitter, which led to spending more time online in the last month than the rest of my Internet-deprived life. I’d like to thank our Community Manager for that, and especially for pushing my blog deadline ahead by a month – I think it’s her way of welcoming me with opening arms to the marketing department.

The Good Ole’ Beta Days

May 6th, 2010

Software betas, in traditional terms, are defined as being the stage at which a software product is feature-complete (but not yet to its full capacity) and usually entail testing of some sort. In reality though, that flashy ‘beta’ banner found on a website signifies something far greater than mere testing; it stands for something new, fresh, and exclusive — it essentially symbolizes copious opportunity for the company behind the product that just took its first breath of fresh air.

Self-Creating Franken Post

May 4th, 2010

A Markov chain is a system whose next state depends on the current state; the idea of a text generator based on Markov chains works like this: the next word in a phrase is selected randomly based on the current phrase. For example, suppose the current phrase is “6 year” and in our previous blog posts, someone mentioned a “6 year old” or perhaps a “6 year plague” (probably not, but just an example). In this case, the word “old” was randomly selected to go after “6 year”. The entire text is generated based on such an algorithm.

Creating Tech Needs

April 29th, 2010

Cure for Cancer. Sliced Bread. Cars that run on water. These are all inventions which are obvious winners. However, to me, “interesting” innovation not only satisfies our practical needs, but unveils needs we never knew we had.

For example, I’m a fan of the service Evernote, which unveiled an organizational problem in my life that I never thought about solving until I stumbled upon the service. When I go on a trip, I take notes of addresses, phone numbers, landmarks, and restaurants I’ll pass along the way. I had been saving these notes within my email or on a piece of paper, which worked great until day two or three of the trip when the ‘list’ turned into an organizational mess.

99 Problems but a News Feed Patent Ain’t One.

April 28th, 2010

Back in February I received an email from someone asking me if Facebook’s patent on its News Feed affects us. Clearly, this person had both (a) read an article about Facebook’s patented feed and (b) used our product enough to notice that Glass has a feed of its own kind.

After quickly reading the article, my gut was to say, no this does not affect us much. I immediately thought our feed is much more different on a few levels, including usage, design, and what information populates our feed, etc. In fact, I was surprised that the Facebook patent in question had gone through the USPTO because it seemed so abstract.

Take A Peek Inside Border Stylo

April 27th, 2010

Border Stylo might be a technology company, but we’re a creative bunch with unique personalities. That’s why we’ve made sure our workspace is comfortable, creative and fun.

I thought I’d take this opportunity to let you peek inside Border Stylo’s doors and see the place that has become our home away from home.

Humanizing Your Brand

April 22nd, 2010

On Monday I attended my second Social Fresh event in St. Louis. For those who don’t know, Social Fresh a day-long event for marketers and social media enthusiasts, full of speakers, panels and case studies. At each event I go to, there is usually one speaker, presentation or piece of advice that stands out. This time, for me, it was simple:

It’s not about the product, it’s about the soul of the brand. It’s about people, not logos. In short, humanize your brand.

Humanizing a brand can be done in a number of ways; the goal is to show that there are people behind the logo and not just number-hungry monsters. Here are a few examples of companies that are getting it right:

On Innovation

April 20th, 2010

Steve Perlman is a veteran entrepreneur whose past credits include QuickTime, WebTV, and MOVA, which helped earn The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button a visual effects Oscar. His latest innovation is the OnLive gaming platform, which takes the software-as-a-service concept to an extreme, and may well completely revolutionize the gaming industry in the process. He recently gave a talk on the platform at Columbia, which is, in itself, an interesting subject. What makes the talk worth posting here, however, is that, along the way, he shares a lot of insights on how to innovate successfully.

Where Amazing Happens

April 15th, 2010

Being a vocal NBA fan can cause some eyes to roll when working at a tech company. That’s fine, I don’t take it personally. I know there are “better things” that I could be doing with my Monday night than going to the Staples Center to see the Clippers bench players phone it in on their way to a 23 point loss. I still find myself being extremely entertained on a number of levels- and besides, 70% off End of Season Sale on all merchandise!!

With the NBA playoffs starting this weekend, I figured now was as appropriate of a time as ever to shine a light on different ways in which some NBA players and the league itself are embracing the web and integrating new technology.

Get in the Zone & Increase Productivity

April 13th, 2010

Trying to sit down and start working on a design can be a real challenge. Though if I have my ideas ready to go and can get “in the zone”, I am golden. When I say “in the zone”, I’m referring to being completely free of distractions and 100% devoted to what I am working on. I am going to share my simple process on how I get “in the zone” and increase productivity.

Before I start doing any pixel pushing in Photoshop or write any line of code, I make sure I have all the details needed to begin. Depending on the project, this usually means sketches I’ve drawn up or wireframes that have been handed off to me. If I don’t have these details laid out, I’ll most likely end up shooting in the dark and waste a bunch of time.

Determining time estimates for development projects: A non-dev´s perspective

April 8th, 2010

As an engineer specialized in industrial processes, the subject of determining time estimates for software development projects has been something that I’ve always found very interesting.

Non-devs usually have no understanding at all about programming. They do not understand the considerable intellectual challenges that come with it. Every new design is a totally new problem. Coding one day can be like building a water dam, the next day a skyscraper and the following one a cargo port. In the end, they are all three examples of building efforts; however, the implications, required abilities and intrinsic challenges vary completely.

The Revolution Will Not Be Reading Your Email

April 6th, 2010

Information is useful. Historically, information dominance has built empires and colonial corporations. When the war path of the mongol armies under Genghis Khan could travel as fast as the information announcing their arrival, everything in their path was helpless. Today, unprecedented amounts of information is tied up in a complex mess of parties with various access and capability to interpret it, but by centralizing information on the internet, companies like Google have been able to derive enormous profits from such subtitles as displaying messages in the sidebar of people’s email clients. The popularization of the internet has changed many things about modern life, and will continue to.

How do you win the internet?

April 2nd, 2010

Every day, I wake up excited to find out what I will discover online. Yeah, I know, I’ve talked about this before, but I really mean it.

The internet is an ever-changing world with the most amazing things inside of it. You never know what’s going to be released and some days are just the best internet days ever.

But…

With every good day and every day, there must be a winner.

Everybody Loves Ruby

March 29th, 2010

Everybody loves Ruby. She is a star of Style Network’s highest rated show which documents her weight -loss journey. Going from 715 lbs to 350 lbs. She even has the Ruby red hair to match her name. She tells her story to help those who are on a similar road and . . .

Confessions of a Newb

March 25th, 2010

So I finally joined this generation and bought a smartphone, an Android to be exact. To be honest with you, I was overwhelmed at first and semi-hated it for a few minutes. Yes, I know I should be judged and made fun of for making that type of outlandish statement. How can I work for a tech start-up and be afraid of technology?

I couldn’t help it though. I went from a phone with a decent touch-pad and ugly browser (too horrific to use) to a mini computer in my purse. I had convinced myself that all I needed was a phone to text and make phone-calls. Nothing more or less. I was in denial and this made me reminisce about the days of little me. It was then that I had my ‘a-ha’ moment.