Personal

End of the Blog

I’m closing and archiving this blog.

March 12, 2013 — 0 Comments

Leaving AgencyND

Almost six years ago, I started working in higher ed web marketing. In two weeks, I start a new job in a different career path.

November 11, 2011 — 2 Comments

My 1996 Spam Filter

It’s usually a mystery how a spammer got your info. But in 1996, a tiny mistake became to the most useful spam filter I’ve ever found.

October 26, 2011 — 0 Comments

6 Things I Wish I'd Known 10 Years Ago

My blog is 5 years old, and I’ve been working professionally in this industry for a decade. Reading Katya Andresen’s blog got me thinking about what I would have told my young self, just embarking on a career (without quite realizing that’s what I was doing).

October 12, 2011 — 1 Comment

Should there even be a backchannel?

At major conferences, there are always attendees to blog, tweet, and chat about the conference while it’s happening. This is known as a backchannel. Many conferences and events share official Twitter hashtags (e.g., #eduweb) to help attendees find each other. At Railsconf a few years ago, ...

June 07, 2011 — 8 Comments

3 Tales of Shut the Hell Up

The Chatterbox A few years ago, I was in a meeting with a group of officers at Notre Dame. I was accompanied by my boss, who insisted that he be present. But during the discussion I was about the speak up and my boss signaled to me to wait – I held my tongue. The rest of the group continued...

February 17, 2011 — 0 Comments

Yes, Clothes Make the Man

A few months ago at a conference, I found myself one of just a few who were wearing a tie and I stood out. At a another conference, I found I was one of the few who wasn’t wearing a suit and I stood out again. Guess which one I preferred? Nick Denardis started a brief discussion last month...

January 03, 2011 — 4 Comments

How Are You Relevant?

One of my bosses told me about a nonprofit association she’s working with, and she mentioned that they have an interesting challenge: they’re becoming irrelevant. An old organization, they find themselves struggling to attract members and donors or explain the value of their mission. ...

December 26, 2010 — 0 Comments

The Myth of Separation

“In an ideal world, of course, your personal life would be impermeably separated from your professional existence.” After reading a thought-provoking article by Nikki Massaro Kauffman on privacy and digital tattoos I realized something: I don’t want my work and my personal life ...

May 03, 2010 — 0 Comments

Everyone Needs a Strategic Plan

On my non-profit blog I write a lot about strategic planning. But it’s clear that most people don’t understand what a strategic plan is or why it’s important. Strategic plans aren’t just for big organizations. They are useful to departments, small groups, or even individua...

September 01, 2009 — 0 Comments

eduWeb Countdown: 6 Presentation Tips for New Speakers

I’ve been working on my upcoming talk at the eduWeb conference in Chicago next week. I’ve held workshops and given plenty of speeches… and as my colleagues at Notre Dame know, I have no trouble filling an hour or three. But I’ve never spoken at a normal conference – ...

July 13, 2009 — 3 Comments

My Quest to Start Working

I have a confession: there are entire days – maybe weeks – when I don’t actually do any work. Yeah, I show up at the office, go to meetings, do paperwork, and read, write, and forward a lot of emails. But that’s not work. In a typical day, I spend about five hours in meet...

June 15, 2009 — 2 Comments

Speaking to AMOA - Slides and More

This afternoon I led a workshop for an industry association for amusement operators – the folks responsible for creating, selling, supporting, and maintaining jukeboxes, arcade games, pool tables, and other coin-op stuff. They’re a really interesting crowd, but they don’t pull a...

May 01, 2009 — 0 Comments

Blogstravaganza!

Today, I joined the good folks at eduStyle.net as a contributor to their blog. I’m really excited about offending even more designers and developers than I do during my day job. Check out my first post, Web Design is the Fastest Way to Ruin a Website: Web designers and developers are an ar...

February 09, 2009 — 1 Comment

Contemplation in a Connected World

A few years ago, I spent a week and a half on vacation for the winter holidays. I left my computer at home, having made the decision to disconnect and enjoy my time away. I felt nagging urge to check my email. There were withdrawal symptoms. After a few days, I found myself much more relaxed. The...

December 09, 2008 — 0 Comments

Quit Comparing Yourself To Winners

In a conversation about web companies, we compare ourselves to Google. If you’re talking branding, Nike is sure to come up. For product development, it’s Apple we admire. If you’re a marketing blogger, you want to be Seth Godin. The list goes on and on. They are outliers. They a...

November 23, 2008 — 2 Comments

The Effort List

This is an excerpt from Seth Godin’s post, Is Effort a Myth?. I’m thinking about this a lot – that parts I already do and the parts I don’t. With that forewarning, here’s a bootstrapper’s/marketer’s/entrepreneur’s/fast-rising executive’s effor...

October 08, 2008 — 0 Comments

Comcast: My Nemesis

What good can come from capping bandwidth for legitimate use? As the Internet provides new reasons for consumers to be online, Comcast will benefit from increased demand. Streaming HD video, for instance, might be the reason my mom tries broadband again. I’ve had a lot of problems with Com...

August 29, 2008 — 0 Comments

A Dose of Self-Deprecation

I talk a lot. My conversations with certain people (other talkers) tend to spin off into six hour summit meetings where we try to solve the problems of the world. Or, at least, our little slice of the world. Lately, I’ve forced myself to listen more – not only to others but also to my...

August 05, 2008 — 2 Comments

On thinking aloud...

I have always enjoyed thinking out loud, and I realized that you can’t think out loud so easily as dean because your thoughts are taken much more seriously than you intended them to be. It was one of my first shocks as dean…that people really listened to what you had to say. Mark Roch...

July 11, 2008 — 0 Comments

On Leadership...

Courtesy of PhilanTopic: The most important things a leader can bring to a changing organization are passion, conviction, and confidence in others. Too often executives announce a plan, launch a task force, and then simply hope that people find the answers — instead of offering a dream, str...

June 29, 2008 — 0 Comments

Elevator Wisdom

I caught the Hesburgh Library elevator this afternoon, and just as the doors opened Father Theodore Hesburgh, C.S.C. joined us. For ten floors, I got to listen to him chat to others in the elevator about various subjects, including an undergraduate who is majoring in PLS – Program of Libera...

April 18, 2008 — 0 Comments

2008 is the year of...

2008 is the year of……being proactive. Most of the work emergencies I face are simply a lack of planning and preparation. In 2007, one of our developers had to work crazy hours to put together a series of pages for Holy Week, right before Easter. Why did this take us by surprise? As I&...

January 10, 2008 — 0 Comments

Like writing your own obituary...

I’m shutting the doors of my company, Birch Lake Studios. I’ve decided, after months of struggling with the idea, to say no to new business. I’m working on a final client project, slated to launch early in 2008. I still have a couple of clients hosting with me, while I provide a...

December 31, 2007 — 0 Comments

During my absence...

I’ve been very busy. Here are a few of the things going on:1. Amber and I bought a house and moved up to Birch Lake in Vandalia, Michigan. It’s a small sport lake where Amber lived as a child. We’re excited about this, as stressful as it’s been. The entire process from fir...

July 12, 2007 — 0 Comments

Long time, no post

I’ve got a lot of posts I’m working on, but it’s been a while since I posted anything. That’s because I’ve been ridiculously busy with a few projects:1. SouthBend.rb – John Nunemaker asked me to present at the Ruby Users Group. Rather than try and present a top...

April 10, 2007 — 0 Comments

The Frugal Diner

Good advice from Kimber… and somewhat in line with Jason’s fatblogging movement. :) http://www.nolimitsladies.com/2007/03/frugal_fridays_eating_out.html

March 02, 2007 — 1 Comment

On Choosing Your Own Fate

It’s not about the money. I finally found a way to define my reasons for being so stubborn about my work and general unwillingness to sacrifice on quality:There are plenty of ways to make money. I chose this one because I enjoy it.

January 31, 2007 — 0 Comments

On Being "In the Zone"

When I’m at the top of my game, I notice it. Things click, ideas flow, and I feel great. I’m unstoppable.Today was one of those days. I put in a lot of hours coding. I managed a few project situations that were a bit tough and are turning out nicely. And I was churning out ideas like ...

January 19, 2007 — 0 Comments

Presence != Productivity, Control != Management

Glimpses of wisdom from Tony Long of Wired Magazine: “The company gets what it’s paying for — all this brilliant insight — and I get an early slide to get on with the most important thing in my life, which is living my life.” “In little words, you can work whe...

January 18, 2007 — 0 Comments

On the flip side...

Right after posting my experience about Donovan’s, where we spent more on the meal than we spent on one of our flights home, I found this blog. It’s an amazing story from a guy who voluntarily spent a month with a $1/day food budget. If I had seen this before I went on vacation, I may...

January 04, 2007 — 0 Comments

A Real Vacation

In a recent post I wrote that I had decided to go “off the grid” for my vacation. Having just returned last night from my trip to Arizona (visiting Amber’s parents), I want to reflect for a bit. It’s been a resolution of mine to more clearly delineate between work and the rest of my...

January 03, 2007 — 0 Comments

How You Feel Affects How You Will Feel

A while back, Matt Klawitter asked me if I ever found that my expectations for the day affected my experiences throughout that day. The answer, of course, is Yes My Expectations Matter.This isn’t a new concept. Expectations have everything to do with attitude, and as the cliche poster says,...

December 19, 2006 — 0 Comments

The Individual Brand

“A brand is nothing but the promise of an experience.”Robert Jones, Wolff-OlinsWe accept that companies have a brand. We study it. We consciously work on ways to improve it. We hire expensive consultants to develop it.What is lost on many people is how they, as individuals, also have a brand....

December 08, 2006 — 0 Comments

Going Off the Grid

From techdirt.com: On top of that, those who do go on vacation don’t disconnect. 72% say they stayed in contact with the office by email or phone while on vacation — and, once again, many do so in order to avoid having a huge pile of work on their return.This is a big deal to me. I...

December 04, 2006 — 1 Comment

The Secret of Caring for Life

“"A good cook changes his knife once a year—because he cuts. A mediocre cook changes his knife once a month—because he hacks.”“A good cook changes his knife once a year—because he cuts. A mediocre cook changes his knife once a month—because he hacks. I’ve had this knife of mine for nin...

November 29, 2006 — 1 Comment

A Sports Fan's Manifesto

I’m a Notre Dame fan. I’m a Cubs fan. I’m a Bears fan. I’m a Colts fan. I know the pain of loss and frustration of futility. This manifesto is based on Hugh’s manifesto guidelines. Love sports for sports’ sake. Recognize greatness in even sports you don’...

November 28, 2006 — 1 Comment

How to be Productive on Monday mornings at 8am

Monday mornings starting foggy? Do you take a couple of hours before you can get anything done? You might grab a cup of coffee (I sure do), but don’t just count on the caffeine to get going. Try these tips for perking up.1. Exercise. Getting your heart rate up also means increased blood flow to...

November 13, 2006 — 1 Comment

Misplaced Values

Paul Graham recently posted an essay about the gap between wealthy and poor. It had me thinking about the values we hold in society. “When we say that one kind of work is overpaid and another underpaid, what are we really saying? In a free market, prices are determined by what buyers want. People...

November 12, 2006 — 5 Comments

It's your life...enjoy it.

“You only have to talk about what you do for five minutes at parties, but you have to live what you do every day of your life, so better to do what you love and forget about how it looks.” Yolanda O’Bannon NPR runs a series called “This I Believe.” Today’s was ...

November 06, 2006 — 0 Comments

Losing your temper: How to Keep Your Cool

I noticed that one of my recent posts, 12 Tips for Staying Productive and Avoiding Burnout has attracted some searchers coming in looking for advice on keeping your temper. To be honest, I have a short temper. However, I’ve found that I have a large capacity for managing my temper. Pause...

October 30, 2006 — 0 Comments

2 Years Old

“According to the SBA, over 50% of small businesses fail in the first year.” From about.comToday is the two year anniversary of my web design company Birch Lake Studios. October 12, 2004 is the official date of our incorporation. While we didn’t really start (by that I mean taki...

October 12, 2006 — 1 Comment

Metapost: Angry Blogger

I am an angry blogger. Not two weeks ago I was happy to finally get a site up and start writing. But the blogging software I was using kept corrupting files and crashing. After spending too many hours at a command prompt trying to chmod and reading log files, I decided to blow it away and start o...

October 11, 2006 — 1 Comment

Grow a Beard and Get a Blog

I have a blog.I should have had one years ago, before it was popular. I was building them for clients. I temporarily had a blog before the term ‘blog’ was even conceived. I even built a site for other people to have blogs (along with other stuff) while they studied abroad. When the wo...

October 11, 2006 — 0 Comments