Google’s Kansas City Shuffle
What’s a Kansas City Shuffle? It’s when everybody looks right, and you go left. What does that have to do with Google?
Google is famously known as the only company who does everything in their power to get you off of their home page as fast as possible. However, this is exactly where the Kansas City shuffle is taking place. While they are making sure you are having the best search experience by finding exactly what you are looking for right away they have gained the trust of the people. They also make good products. As a result of these two things you find people using Google’s other products because they trust Google. It is on all of their other sites where they do everything in their power to make you stay as long as possible!

The other Kansas City Shuffle they are pulling off is by making everyone think that advertising is their main product. I have news for you, though it may be their most profitable, none of it would be possible without their crazy awesome infrastructure. That is their primary product, their infrastructure, and it is where the power for all of their moonshot projects comes from. What is it that makes self driving cars, wearable computing, satellite imagery available to anyone anywhere, and all the things we don’t even know about yet work? None other than their brilliant and secretly guarded pride and joy, their crazy awesome server network.
Mailbox is right now the most popular mail app on the iPad and iPhone, and now will be made into a desktop app as well. Mailbox gained momentum by offering a waiting list via its initial app which told you your spot in line. Shortly after launching that app, they had half a million people waiting for a service they knew nothing about. They launched and everyone loved it, then Dropbox bought the company for $100 million. Nice startup story right?
However I digress, that is not the point of this post. I would like to focus on something said by the CEO of Mailbox, Gentry Underwood at the DEMO Europe conference.
During his talk, Underwood provided a broad look at the “mobile revolution” and the opportunities it creates. He also mentioned that while today is often called a mobile computing era, we should think of it as a multi-screen era. Underwood said ”people want their same information on a number of devices of different scale.”
I agree 100%. All day long I am juggling my laptop plugged into an external monitor for a 2 display setup, iPad next to me, and my iPhone always close by. No I am not an Apple fanboy, I actually have my Windows 7 computer running on the desk next to me performing operations as well. I use all the Apple products because of the ecosystem that ties them all together, in other words they all talk to each other and get along really well. This is what Gentry Underwood is talking about, having their products, and other companies building their products across multiple platforms so that we can have access wherever, whenever, and on whichever device we choose. Here’s to the future!
A picture may be worth a thousand words, however these could write collections of volumes. My grandfather always would tell me how he watched the George Washington Bridge being constructed. Once when he was a kid watching the workers go up and down in their daily work he was offered a ride up to see the city from the sky. Let me paint the picture for you, their “elevator” consisted of a large flat platform with no railings or sides of any kind. Now imagine a 6 year old boy being brought aboard and lifted up into the clouds. It’s no wonder as he grew up he always obsessed over trains and scoffed at planes! It was not until much later that he got over his apprehension and started flying when needed.

The above photo is not the George Washing Bridge, however it is the Manhattan Bridge as viewed from Washington Street, used to give you an idea of what a structure of this magnitude looked like during construction. Remember this is the early 1900’s, commercial flight was not exactly commonplace.
You can see how all the cultures were coming together in amazing America! Working hard to achieve that American dream, you see all sorts of people hustling and bustling, some going for a swim in the massive Astoria public pool, to laying bricks to pave 28th street.

The above photo is of Delancy Street on the Lower East Side in 1908. The caption is talking about the workers digging and always building, however I would like to focus on the storefronts on this street. In the foreground you see a sign that says Men’s Furnishing Goods. The Hebrew below it is not a translation, rather a transliteration which reads Mens Fornishing! It’s actually the name of the store, and the rest of the sign is translated. Further on down the block you see Weinberg and Pollak Skirts, clearly a Jewish store as well. The best of all is the little boy in the lower center chilling out watching the workers and the city buzz around him. This is relevant to me as I am Jewish and other stories my grandfather used to tell, included many tales of the Lower East Side. :-)
See a larger sample of the images here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2134408/Never-seen-photos-100-years-ago-tell-vivid-story-gritty-New-York-City.html
What are your best memories of when you were a kid?
How important is eye contact? How can it work to our advantages and disadvantages? If you look too little you might come off as disinterested or rude, however if you hold the stare too long, that’s just creepy. Here is a solid rule to live by from Fast Company:
“The Goldilocks of eye contact comes in two flavors: if you’re in a one-on-one setting, hold eye contact for 7 to 10 seconds; while if you’re in a group, shorten that to 3 to 5 seconds–that’s according to Ben Decker, CEO of Decker Communications, a San Francisco-based training and consulting firm.
But there’s more going on here, too: like the way people queue up in the elevator, eye contact reveals office pecking order. Studies show that people thought of as influential get a lot of eye contact, while those lacking in influence don’t. What’s more, the latter study finds, people use eye contact as a way of dominating a room–which is a little terrifying.”
I have seen people do this and it’s in a way a scary thing to watch someone dominate a room by saying the right things and holding eye contact for too long. Personally I find that I don’t blink as often as the average individual and am constantly reminding myself to blink. I often wondered where that line was of how long to hold the stare, and when to look away. It’s will be different in every situation, you have to read the other persons nonverbal cues to know when it’s right to look away.
That all being said, if someone is in an active one on one discussion with you and you are looking directly at each other that’s ok too. This means you are both engaged heavily in the conversation, just remember to blink!
Incredible. Can’t get enough of this guy, such an excellent individual! Star Trek all the way!
Let me tell you a thing, about an amazing man named Patrick Stewart
I went to Comicpalooza this weekend and I was full of nervous energy as I was standing in line to ask Sir Patrick Stewart a question at his panel. I first had to thank him for a speech he had given at amnesty international about domestic violence towards women . I had only seen it a few months ago but I was still dealing with my own personal experience with a similar issue, and I didn’t know what to call it. After seeing Patrick talk so personally about it I finally was able to correctly call it abuse, in my case sexual abuse that was going to quickly turn into physical abuse as well. I didn’t feel guilty or disgusting anymore. I finally didn’t feel responsible for the abuse that was put upon me. I was finally able to start my healing process and to put that part of my life behind me.
After thanking him I asked him “Besides acting, what are you most proud of that you have done in you life (that you are willing to share with us)?”. Sir Patrick told us about how he couldn’t protect his mother from abuse in his household growing up and so in her name works with an organization called Refuge for safe houses for women and children to escape from abusive house holds. Sir Patrick Stewart learned only last year that his father had actually been suffering from PTSD after he returned from the military and was never properly treated. In his father’s name he works with an organization called Combat Stress to help those soldiers who are suffering from PTSD.
They were about to move onto the next question when Sir Patrick looked at me and asked me “My Dear, are you okay?” I said yes, and that I was finally able to move on from that part of my life. He then passionately said that his mother had done nothing to provoke his father and that even if she had, violence was never, ever a choice a man should make. That it is in the power of men to stop violence towards women. The moderator then asked “Do you want a hug?”
Sir Patrick didn’t even hesitate, he smiled, hopped off the stage and came over to embrace me in a hug. Which he held me there for a long while. He told me “You never have to go through that again, you’re safe now.” I couldn’t stop thanking him. His embrace was so warm and genuine. It was two people, two strangers, supporting and giving love. And when we pulled away he looked strait in my eyes, like he was promising that. He told me to take care. And I will.
Sir Patrick Stewart is an absolute roll model for men. He is an amazing man and was so kind and full of heart. I want to let everyone know to please find help if you are in a violent or abusive house hold or relationship. There are organizations and people ready to help. I had countless people after the panel thanking me for sharing the story and asking him those questions. Many said they went through similar things. You are not alone.
^ Here is the video of my question to Sir Patrick Stewart
Photos by Eugene Lee, Thank you
Great post by joelgascoigne after a conversation we had on startups!
I met with Jesse Nowlin a few days ago, a great founder who’s really hustling. We spent some time discussing his idea and I shared some of my experiences with Buffer.
When we’d almost finished our 30 minute meeting, Jesse said “I have one last question”. He asked me the following:
…
Reblogged from Startups, life, learning and happiness
Now thats just clever! I am not the biggest fan of fast food but that is cool. Honestly though I doubt that meal will fill me. ;-) I wonder if the cardboard is recycled?
Reblogged from Laughing Squid Links
Well Thats That It’s Official! Tumblr is purchased by Yahoo!
Everyone, I’m elated to tell you that Tumblr will be joining Yahoo.
Before touching on how awesome this is, let me try to allay any concerns: We’re not turning purple. Our headquarters isn’t moving. Our team isn’t changing. Our roadmap isn’t changing. And our mission – to empower creators to…
Reblogged from Tumblr Staff