What follows isn’t a necessarily revolutionary concept, merely my account of how I interpret some of the brand interactions I have online.

If you’ve been logged into Google since October 26, 2009, you might have noticed your search results displaying a little differently. Since last fall, Google’s been experimenting with a feature they’re calling Social Search (watch the :30 second snippet of the video from the Official Google blog post that’s pertinent to this discussion right here).

Upon reading the Social Circle FAQs, it seems that any links listed in your Google Profile show up in my search results. The only way to disable this feature on your own search results is to log out of Google when searching. Why is it important that a Twitter update I posted about having a great time at my local bowling alley-slash-bar-slash-themed karaoke room megalopolis shows up when you do a search for “The Highball?”

In marketing parlance, the collective references a consumer interprets of a brand are referred to as brand equity; online references you make about the things you consume are a part of this equity—and the online references only increase with the more tools we use online. I’ve added sixteen versions of my online identity to my Google Profile, which includes links to this blog, social network profiles, my photos and to top it off, my location—that’s a lot of data and a lot of value I add or detract from a brand’s equity when you see one of these references in Google and anywhere else we’re “friends.”

Although I’ve positively mentioned The Highball many times on those personal channels, they don’t have to pay me to write good things about them when I Twitter about an event I’m attending (which I do a lot of) or do something like post a photo on Flickr—my attitude towards the brand is already favorable, I love it more every subsequent time I visit and I want to share my good experiences with my friends (negative mentions of course would affect a brand’s equity negatively).

As the internet grows and more and more of our social interactions occur online, companies need to recognize that the best advertising comes right from your users (in the old days, we called that “word of mouth”—and it’s just as immeasurable now as it was then). And when people are talking about you online, you should reward them: both by engaging and talking back when they say something online where you’re allowed (positive or negative—this is key), but also with a great experience in real life—one they won’t care checking in to and tweeting and blogging about.

If a company isn’t approaching their online presence this way, they’re going about it all wrong and their customers will call them out for spamming. Done right, it can prove to be a good investment. At least this 18-32 year old American male thinks so.

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For countless hours throughout the day, I find myself daydreaming and pondering on what I would ultimately love to achieve in life. I’m fascinated by stories of successful people overcoming adversity and other overused phrases to become amazing individuals who have actualized their potential.

Over time, I’ve come to recognize that you can’t just sit and dream about your goals. This type of action is not what will get things happening. You have to take real action to ensure that dreams happen—otherwise, they’ll just stay trapped inside your head forever.

All our lives, we’ve been taught that we can achieve anything we want. We’ve been conditioned to believe that the sky is the limit—and depending on your profession, sometimes even the sky is a meager goal. I have a good grasp of the proverbial “sky,” but I find solace in the fact that I’m not to the point of being jaded just yet where I disagree completely with that sentiment.

What I’m curious to know though, is what factors affect motivation? And I’m not just talking about getting up in the morning, day-to-day kind of motivation; that type of motivation is absolutely crucial to making sure things get done (as I wrote about previously). What I’m interested in is big picture, life’s purpose Motivation. The kind of motivation that blind sides you after some near death experience.

I’m talking about the kind of motivation that people spend all their lives seeking and sometimes never find. One of my biggest fears would be to die and never have recognized what I was put on this earth to do (that and drowning). That scares the shit out of me!

I don’t like to be inefficient with my time (typically—unless I’m goofing off or procrastinating), but it seems like I can’t be focused and put my nose to the grindstone about any goal that I have unless I know for sure that it will eventually be worth something In The End.

But how would I ever know that? I know that I can’t know anything in life for certain, but I’ve come to question my gut feelings more and more as I grow older.

The part that’s the most frustrating though, is the fact that I know a lot of what does put me in the right frame of mind, day-to-day. Workspace is a major one. My desk has to be just right in order for me to feel ready to work. Mindset is another big one; if I’m sleepy or tired, I tend to drag my feet more when it’s time to work.

These are all pretty universal issues and ones that are easily fixed if you find they’re stopping you from work. If your desk isn’t functioning properly, you can get a new desk. If you’re tired, have a nap (or eat something/stop eating something—it’s probably food-related).

But when you’ve got that perfect desk setup and you’re sleeping enough and you’re eating well, how do you know what you’re working on is “it?” If you’re life’s purpose isn’t working out, you can’t really just go to Office Depot to pick out a new one.

At this point, I wish I had some resolution or some huge epiphany to tie this post up really neatly—but I still don’t. I’m trying to stay open to the answer and hopefully someday it will come. From where I’m standing though, that’s the most I can really hope for. Hopefully when the answer does come, it won’t involve CPR and the deep end of the pool. Comments on this post would be greatly appreciated—right now, I need all the insight I can get. What do you think?

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Photo courtesy: gregturner

Loyal readers, friends, esteemed colleagues, Mom—I have a confession to make. I am a big, fat, 72-pt., <strong>face liar.

For years now, I’ve been claiming that I know what GTD is. Let me rephrase that—obviously, I know what it stands for, but until this weekend, I didn’t really grasp the true concept behind what’s probably the most popular productivity methodology in the world.

These are my confessions
I’ve always felt that I had a good sense for the way the GTD methodology worked and felt that since I had the tools that any decent GTDer owns, of course I too was GTDing like the best of ‘em. (Look I even have the lingo down!)

I am the proud owner of the beautiful Things software (both for Mac and iPhone), I continually strive to obsessive levels of zero when it comes to my inbox (I take screenshots on my Flickr account) and I even audibly cheered when David Allen finally broke down and joined Twitter (and was a little peeved that he had to resort to a second-rate, spammerish name like @gtdguy since he was so late to the Twitter game).

I even had the Getting Things Done audiobook sitting in iTunes, albeit for a long time. I always felt like I understood the process well enough that whenever there were things to be done, well, by golly, I was getting them. So there the audiobook sat, collecting digital dust—there was no need to read the book, I was too busy getting things done!

I mean, what’s the point? It’s pretty straight forward: things come into your inbox—take them out of there. Do your things! Duh. I’ve been indoctrinated to carry and use agendas since middle school (it was part of a grade) and I’ve always been utterly obsessed with iCal. Wait, David Allen’s made an empire out of this?

Finding myself with some forced downtime this Thanksgiving weekend and with an appropriately-sized tofurkey and pumpkin pie food baby, I settled down on my parents’ couch with Mr. Allen in paperback (which I had acquired brand new at half price from a bookstore’s going-out-of-business sale last summer—buy a new Amazon copy for $14 with shipping); I decided I was bored enough to at least skim the pages. Halfheartedly reading about productivity is the same thing as being productive, right?

You think you know, but you have no idea
While first getting into the book (and in between glances to “Gosford Park”), I was breezing through the introduction and the initial description of the whole GTD system that David Allen is now world-famous for. The more I read, however, the more and more I realized how many holes were present in my current system and what small, simple things I could do to improve the way I handled items in my collective inboxes.

Over the past few days, I’ve made a few adjustments to the way tasks are filed. So far, I feel that I have a good sense for how to make better use of the Things software (partly from watching these few, short (promise) screencasts made by a fan of the software and partly by reading the surprisingly short, but informative FAQs at Cultured Code). I also process email in my Gmail inbox in a better, more streamlined and efficient way AND I’ve gone up two cup sizes since starting the book (I blame pie).

Since reading through even half of the book, I feel like I have a way better understanding and definitely feel more productive and motivated (who knew that there was more than just buying the tools and showing up?!).

These realizations are tough to realize for someone who considers himself “creative” and “right-brained.” I’m historically “not supposed to” do well in these kinds of frameworks, but I find it really working. I’m trying to resist having a cabinet full of labeled manila folders, but Mr. Allen’s already got me using an @Action label in Gmail. While I was at Target the other night, I just happened to stumble across some Pendaflex files and a Brother label maker—I didn’t buy anything, but I’m pretty sure my outlook looks grim. Rather than admit that I’m more left-brained than I thought, I’ll definitely attest that it’s helped clear my mind of all of the small, trivial things (plus the bigger, not so trivial things) that I have to “do.”

• • •

If you’ve been thinking about diving in to the GTD system and you haven’t before, I would highly recommend it (remember, this is the Legit Cesar talking, not the Fraud Cesar). Not to edify, but I think it’s an intelligent way to get everything out and off of your mind and into a system that you trust—in the end you don’t really have to stick to David Allen’s methods, but rather learn from them and adopt them to your lifestyle. It’s paradoxical, but I feel more motivated since I’m even slightly more organized, but I had to find the motivation (despite that food coma, among other things) to get organized.

If you’re a GTD veteran, December’s a great time to review your process—work is slower for most people and the winter is a great time to reevaluate what’s up before the first of the new year rolls around and you feel obligated to set arbitrary resolutions and the impending panic and apathy that sets in once you inevitably lose track of your goals (at least, this is what continually happens to me).

It sounds weird to write aloud, but I’m actually looking forward to blocking out two days and cleaning up everything around the house and my home office (one of the things David Allen suggests you as a top executive do). I can smell the noxious label maker tape smell already.

Edit: As it turns out, Merlin Mann’s most popular post is his entry on “Getting Started With Getting Things Done.” If I failed to convince you, read his no-bullshit overview of the methodology at 43Folders and see if it’s something you can apply to your life.

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I’ve been doing a lot of reading on design theory and process lately, including articles in architecture and industrial design publications, blogs (Google Reader has seen no mercy) and the occasional whitepaper. One book that’s been particularly helpful to read is Donald M. Norman’s The Design of Everyday Things, originally published as The Psychology Of Everyday Things. Last night, I came across an interesting portion:

Would you like a pocket-size device that reminded you of each appointment and daily event? I would. I am waiting for the day when portable computers can become small enough that I can keep one with me at all times. I will definitely put all my reminding burdens upon it. It has to be small. It has to be convenient to use. And it has to be relatively powerful, at least by today’s standards. It has to have a full standard typewriter keyboard and a reasonably large display. It needs good graphics, because that makes a tremendous difference in usability, and a lot of memory—a huge amount, actually. And it should be easy to hook up to the telephone; I need to connect it to my home and laboratory computers. Of course, it should be relatively inexpensive.

What I ask for is not unreasonable. The technology I need is available today. It’s just that the full package has never been put together, partly because the cost in today’s world would be prohibitive. But it will exist in imperfect form in five years, possibly in perfect form in ten. —Donald A. Norman, The Design Of Everyday Things (1988)

Norman’s description of this killer device starts out as something resembling a simple PDA, but as he adds more and more to his “do want” list, I couldn’t help but recalling the features of something strikingly familiar. It’s interesting to note the time of the book’s publishing; development for Apple’s Newton platform started in 1989, shortly after the publication of DOET. The Apple Newton hardware was released in 1993 and is often regarded as the failed precursor to what we now know as iPhone*.

While Norman is grossly optimistic about his timeline for this amazing device, what he’s not off base about is the initial imperfection of such a product. In the early 90s, Apple probably never regarded their device a “prototype,” but we know now that it was definitely imperfect. Only after years and years of hindsight can we call their evolved product a success.

Iteration is key when you’re creating stuff that people want, but so is not getting bogged down with failure. Norman stated that the technology “was there” in the late 80s to make amazing stuff happen. If that was the case almost three decades ago, it’s definitely the case today. We have access to some of the most amazing technology and information at any time of the day. With all this access, however, proper process needs to be taken when something is bouncing around your head, waiting to come out. If you’re just starting out, I know it’s difficult to hire a designer, but at least think like one (then hire one as fast as you can and really listen to what they have to say).

We’re living in the future—we have the technology and the creativity to make beautiful, functional stuff that’s in line with that. Now, who do I speak to about a flying car?

*Note: it was Apple’s John Sculley who came up with the term “personal digital assistant” late in the Newton project.

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When it comes to anything technology-related, I tend to be an ardent early adopter, typically to the point of personal identity pollution across the web. Sometimes, however, a service finds its way to critical mass and I see an audience larger than my Dunbar number begin to use it.

I’ve had my Twitter account for a while now in which time I’ve watched it grow from something my industry friends and I obsessed over to something mainstream media cannibalized and subsequently also made mainstream.

Twitter has always aspired to be a reflection of a global conversation and it’s probably safe to assume that we have reached that point. Anytime a substantial event occurs, the site’s trending topics—and the majority of my friends’ stream—shift to reflect this public consciousness. My definition of “substantial event” of course differs from yours. I tweet about design, startups, eating, traveling, going out with friends, Stevenotes, Longhorn football—things that I find interesting; things that I love. The idea is that this creates a stream that attracts others with similar interest to follow me, perpetuating conversation and activity as a whole.

In effect, Twitter has come to be a sort of Geiger counter for conversation (a.k.a. pop culture): on the micro level, it’s a record for each individual user while on the macro level, it becomes a big picture conversation.

If on the day of the pug gymnastics semifinals though, you find that what is in your stream is boring or irrelevant to your interests, you have the freedom to unfollow people perpetuating that specific topic that’s not to your tastes. I, on the other hand, will be following the pug tweets along closely. This asynchronous quality is the beauty of the site—something that Twitter CEO Evan Williams has noted as one of the services’ strong suits. The irony is that this unbalanced approach to virtual relationships is in part, what has allowed users to create a stream comprised of their favorite actors, singers and celebrities, in addition to their family, friends and business contacts.

Whenever I explain Twitter to prospective users (my mom), I tend to relate it to a party metaphor—describing it as something more exciting than “a global conversation.” It seems though that Larry King and Oprah have turned it into a “pants party”—one where everyone’s invited, but that the early attendees have to contend with.

I feel that this large quantity of usage presents an opportunity for a new micro-service to offer grouping or lists of some sort for your stream. This is not something I would expect Twitter to offer as they’ve declined to develop this type of feature and have plenty of issues to deal with at present (I’ve already told you how I feel about the fail whale); OpenMicroBlogging is not out of the question either.

As many people begin to rely on Twitter as one of their main forms of communication and news, I’m sure many early adopters and power users wish there was somewhere to take refuge, whether behind a filter or a similar service (Pownce, you were too young to die).

So when a topic comes across your screen that you find irrelevant, know that the jocks, skaters, politicos, the skanks, the PTA and the popular kids have all crashed the nerd party. Thankfully, this isn’t middle school anymore.

(Note: Kevin’s Twitter name above hasn’t been edited to protect his identity—he’s even more of an early adopter than I am and really has the username @k.)

PS: I reskinned the site. Last time I did this was over a year ago.

UPDATE: Holy redactions, Batman! On September 30th, Twitter announced they would be releasing List functionality. Color me excited.

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