Matthew Lang

Awesome colour by the way.

via Pedal Consumption

Digital technology. The great invention of the late 20th century and now integrated into our daily lives on such a scale that many of us take it for granted. It's a very present in our home. We have the usual things like a laptop, a tablet, a games console, a reading tablet, smartphones and a number of other devices like televisions, digital picture frames and various MP3 players.

We also have two sons, our oldest is six years old and extremely well versed in the various digital devices around the house. While I applaud his ability to use all these devices un-supervised, for a while there I was worried about the frequency and time that he was using these devices. Every day started with a request to play this device or that device. I felt he was becoming too dependent on the devices for entertainment.I've read a number of articles in the past about the current generation of youngsters that have been brought up in an on-demand environment. If they want it, they can have it. And that is very true when it comes to digital devices. Very few things are out of reach with laptop or a tablet. I don't want this way of thinking for my kids. Technology is great, but it also has it's place.

Technology plays an important part in education and in the workplace. I'm not suggesting that technology is bad, but rather it's best used in moderation. While I like him playing Minecraft, I also like to see him play with his Lego. Drawing on the iPad is another activity he does, but I like to see what he can create with his own hands using crayons, pencils and paper.

Kid activities such as playing with toys, drawing, reading and getting him outside are things my wife and I are going to encourage this year with our oldest son. This isn't about restricting access to technology, instead it's about teaching him that technology has it's place and he shouldn't be too dependent on it.

Learning to appreciate technology and when to use it is an important subject to teach children. We shouldn't forget that there's a world for our kids to see with their own eyes rather than seeing it through a browser.

My attempt to blog every weekday on my blog hit a snag today. I didn't have anything scheduled for today. No worries though. I'll simply start again from tomorrow and ensure that I always have a couple of articles in reserve for days where I just can't think of anything to write about.

Journalong is up and running and I'm happy with it, but there's another itch building. Another itch to build something else and DecisionMail is it's name. The product bug has bitten me, but this time around it's slightly different. I'm not building a product as a revenue stream, I'm more interested in how the product is used and people's perceptions of using software in the decision making process.

So what is the new idea?

DecisionMail is simply a way of getting feedback on a decision through the use of email. You write the question that you want your colleagues to give you feedback on, list those people who you want feedback on the decision from, and then DecisionMail will email that question along with a link, to each of the people you want feedback from on the question.

Your colleagues receive the email and simply click their response to the question. From your select group of people you should then have a clear idea what the group's decision is.

One of my key concerns is that the email from DecisionMail to someone who has been asked for feedback on a decision will either be automatically dropped in a spam folder or will be completely missed in the inbox. I'm aware that the inbox is becoming a horrible place for people. Some people get hundreds of new email every day. I don't know how they manage it, but if this person was involved in a decision, then how can you be sure that that person will respond?

I'm not building this product to solve a particular problem, but I'm instead building this to delve more into using software as a decision making tool. I've already built a number of decision support systems for clients, but I wanted to build something simpler that involved the minimum number of steps to get feedback on a decision. Email is too complicated already for gathering feedback, which is why the email from a DecisionMail account holder, will only require the respondent to click the answer to the question that they agree with the most.

I initially perceived this as a product for virtual teams who have members across different countries, but the anyone could use it to make decisions.

The next few weeks are about getting the basics up and running. Watch this space!

Amazing photograph.

via Mme Scherzo

... with some teaser posters from the fans. Really like this one.

via DBSW

It's been over a year now since Journalong was launched and since it's launch, the total number of customers is still less than triple figures. Okay, so I wasn't expecting to be the next Dropbox of the journalling world in terms of success, but hitting my milestone of a hundred customers would be nice.

I still believe there is a place for a product like Journalong in the world, but I'm definitely not attracting increasing numbers of customers with the current pricing model. What got me thinking about this was the recent product announcements from 37signals for their Basecamp Personal and Breeze products which are priced as one off purchases. Sure, these are products that will hang off Basecamp, but the idea of a one off price for software is something that is done in the native mobile apps area. Lots of apps are priced as a one-off purchase rather than as a subscription. Journalong has been priced as a subscription service from the start but is it priced right?

While $10 a year sounds cheap as chips to some people, others look at as expensive. I fork out about $50 (US) per month on software subscriptions and I use everyone of them daily. Some are a couple of dollars a month, while one almost hits the $20 mark. So, I'm used to seeing value that software can provide and pay for it.

Which brings me to my next question. Does Journalong provide value? For me, most definitely yes. For others? Maybe not. Journalong definitely delivers value in my eyes, but I also need to determine if that value is worth the current subscription price.

Pricing and value are two of the most important areas in a successful product. Without getting the price and value right for your product, you're going to be left with a product that no-one is going to pay for and use.

So if you've created an account for a trial of Journalong in the last year but didn't fancy it, then expect an email from myself in the next few weeks. I'm looking to get more feedback on Journalong as a product and whether it is delivering value.

Goal setting. How many different methods have you tried? Lots? So have I, and every time I tried to use them I failed to reach the goal. Inevitably when I focus on one goal, everything else suffers. A few years ago I tried freelancing at night, however after month I was flat out exhausted and I the time I had to spend with my family also suffered. At the time I focused on the goal without seeing the rest of the world.

Last year though I tried something different. I used compass points.

Compass points are Nicholas Bate's strategy for making sure that goals in each aspect of life are moving forward goals in life that are based on aspects of your life. We all have different aspects in life, but when people set goals, they tend to focus on a specific set of goals and forget everything else in life.

The compass points that Nicholas Bate uses are:

• Career
• Mind/Body
• Personal Finance
• Relationships
• Fun
• Contribution

Now before you jump in and start assigning next actions to each of these compass points, take a step back. Each of these compass points are different and therefore require a different plan. Maintaining a healthy diet and exercise is different to advancing your career. Being healthy means regular exercise and of course eating healthily, but advancing your career might involve a training course at a local college. Also, compass points are not independent of each other. Focusing on one compass point for too long will likely have a negative affect on the other five compass points.

I used these compass points last year and had some success with them. Obviously, there's things in life that affect your plans and goals, but last year I advanced my career and I had some success with getting my finances in order and I made some open source contributions. I didn't set goals for all the compass points, but it did keep me focused on trying to maintain a balance between all of them. I'm using the compass points again this year, but with more of a focus on achieving a goal with each of them.

Nicholas has full blog post and free download on using compass points, which I highly recommend you read.

I would fail at this as well.

via xkcd

via Pedal Consumption