Monthly Archives: April 2009
I Want To Win the Tour de France (Again)
… of the Internet awards that is…
We focus on winning just ONE award per year: The Webby Awards. Being nominated for awards is flattering and ego-boosting, but we’ve learned to settle down and focus on what’s really important to the business — to the goal.
We’ve won plenty of awards from various organizations, and it’s awesome. But when it comes to putting our muscle behind winning something, we focus. There may be some who are critical of the Webbys, but there’s no denying that it’s the most prestigious, expensive and most competitive of the Internet awards. Regardless, what matters to us is that if we win, the Webbys gives us the best and largest exposure — and an excellent return on our investment.
In fact, in 2008, I Can Has Cheezburger? took home not just one, but two Webbys. This year, we hope to take home two more for FAIL Blog. This isn’t about the vanity of recognition, or patting ourselves on the back. (What do we do with the awards once we get them home? Well, the last two are sitting behind the printer somewhere.)
Lance Armstrong, during his touring days, would focus on winning just the Tour de France. In fact, he wasn’t even a regular podium finisher at the other big cycling tours. He was focused.
Because we focus our attention, we can put together a large campaign to mobilize our users to vote for us in the Webbys. And we do this just once a year. And because we all participate, we can share this victory with our entire community.
So go vote for us. I promise I won’t ask you to do this in 2009 again.
Tulips are Internets too
My wife and I went photo-hunting at the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival and found something quite surprising. Apparently, ninjas are everywhere, even in IRL.
Here are your normal, beautiful, colorful varieties of tulips:
Then came the Ninja variety.
True to form, they could not be seen…
(More on ninjas…)
Read the rest of this entry
That cat's just all up in my bidness
Thanks for all your emails, tweets and screen shots about me on the New York Times front page. (It was for this article on blogs to books.) The kitteh on mah shoulder is the Happy Cat plushy from Lolmart.com.
How do you do it?
At the Denver Wordcamp, I talked about the value of making decisions that matter by focusing only on the most valuable decisions. I believe that the role of the Chief Executive (regardless of the size of the company) is to tackle the HARD decisions, not chase the RIGHT ones. Simply, there’s no way to know if you are going to be right or wrong. But those hard decisions you’ve been putting off won’t get any easier.
After a while, this can get really taxing and stressful. It’s like running a mental marathon everyday, whether you feel like it or not. Running a start-up isn’t a young man’s game, it’s a game for people who love what they do. Because if you don’t love doing it, it’s not worth the pain.
My friend Jeffrey Kalmikoff of Threadless wrote about the time in between the running. Sometimes the hardest thing for me to do is to turn off the brain. Instead of fighting it, I’ve learned to just redirect that energy at something else. I’ve found it extremely important to structure an environment that helps me become more knowledgeable and connected.
When I’m not working, here’s what I’ve been able to structure myself to do:
- Help my friends:
During the week, I make a list of things I “owe” to my friends and I try to come up with ideas to help them. It’s sometimes a lot of fun to think outside of my world and put myself in their shoes. I found myself learning a lot about my friends and myself that way. - Read:
Technology can make a big difference. I purchased a Kindle 2 recently and it’s upped my book-based information intake 300%. Dorky, but I love it. I also found a way to use my credit card points to pay for magazines I like. Cash is king. And saved up points don’t accrue interest. Use them. - Plan relaxation:
Personal trips, buying some toys, making appointments for things. This commits me to blowing off steam so that I am sure to do it and give me the mental reward of knowing that there’s a small reward at some point in the certain future.
So, how do you turn it off?
Subway Art, the Improv Everywhere Kind.
Charlie Todd of Improv Everywhere explains the Subway Art Gallery “prank” at the 23rd street C,E train stop.
Why yes officer, we are ROFLing.
Jeffrey Kalmikoff of Threadless and I happened to meet up in Chicago today. After dim sum, Jeffrey gets pulled over for talking on his phone while driving. But it’s not your average traffic stop. Watch idiocy ensue…
Thank You Wordcamp NOLA, for teaching me this critical life lesson:
How to eat a crawfish.
Eaten at this amazing restaurant:
Imma Cover Cat
Ben Huh on Sound Magazine Cover, April 2009
My very first cover. It was a fun, crazy, cat-filled photo shoot (half kitler, btw). Here’s the link to the digital version of the mag.
I know that Macbook looks totally HAWT on my head. I should wear it more often. I did get a little nervous when I read that title “Seattle’s Internet King.” I’m sure some Seattle Internet folks are asking “Who died and…”
