Why Emailing can be a Terrible Way to Converse

 Don’t get my wrong I love emails but there are some situations where emails aren’t an effective way to communicate. In my experience emailing is a terrible way to resolve disputes, it is not effective for getting a job, and it’s not a great way to talk to your girlfriend. Here are some of the reasons why emailing isn’t always the best tool to use in certain situations.

1. Emails can easily be misinterpreted

2. People get very emotional when reading emails

3. Everyone is much tougher when writing an email than face to face

4. You don’t know how people reacted to your email until they reply

5. People usually interpret emails negatively, not positively

6. Besides smiley faces there isn’t much friendly about emails (and I don’t use smiley faces)

7. Emails are easy to write and therefore take little effect

8. Anyone can write an email

9. You can easily send someone the wrong email or to the wrong email

10. Your email is one of hundreds which they will receive that week.

Spy Recruits Needed

I’ve struggled with the right way or format to recruit on, so while working on my latest project I came across an article in the International Herald about a British spy agency embedding ads into video games to recruit, I thought it was pretty unique. Apparently they are looking for internet savvy people for their spy operations and that’s why they picked the video game platform. The good news for “internet savvy kids” everywhere is that we have a great reason to continue our video game playing, “Hey Mom, I’m not playing video games, I’m working on getting a job as a spy!”.

43ish things that I did and want to do next

I moved to Seattle with a major check list of three things: 1. Get a place to live 2. Get a job 3. Catch a Steelhead. In 7 weeks I have completed this checklist so it’s time for a new one (Steelhead pictures coming soon). It’s in no particular order of importance or of time but here is my new list of objectives.

1. Catch a Steelhead sans guide

2. Serve my country

3. Land a Tarpon from a kayak, also sans guide

4. Start my own successful business

5. Kill an Elk with a bow

6. Get Married (doesn’t have to be soon)

7. Catch a Permit on a fly, sans guide

8. Buy a house

If you have any other suggestions feel free to comment.

Surfer Vietnam Vet On War

In Surfer’s Journal, one of the best magazines I have ever read and one that resonates with everyone who has the feeling of adventure, exploration, and beauty running through their veins, there is an article that talks about Surfers in Vietnam. And I just love this explanation of war language and I had to post it, even though it has some seriously bad explicit language- I apologize,

“I read these books that guys write about Vietnam and its like, “…and then we went to the jungle.” No, we went to the fucking jungle! We wanted to get the fuck out of the jungle, my feet are fucking rotten, I got prickly heat- everything. I stink, I haven’t brushed my teeth in a fucking month. Everything was fuck….that’s how war is. The only word you need to know in a war is fuck. Everything is fucked. It’s fucked. They’re fucked. We’re fucked. Everybody’s fucked. And that the biggest word used in war.”

Craigslist Personal Ad Drama

A recent article in the NY Times, my life line to the east coast, reminded me of one reason why I am taking a break. According to the NYT, a woman posted an ad on Craigslist as “spectacularly beautiful”, 25-year-olds, and “seeking a husband who made at least $500,000 a year, because “$250,000 won’t get me to Central Park West.”

But if that wasn’t enough, someone else couldn’t let this post just slide, and he or she replied, “In economic terms, you are a depreciating asset and I am an earning asset, your looks will fade and my money will likely continue into perpetuity.”

The story made quite a stir, showing up in the NY Times and crashing the NYC Craigslist server. For awhile the reply had a name attached to it, an employee of Morgan Stanley who fit the description, but he has since denied adding the reply. I checked out the Craigslist postings and it would be interesting to do some kind of study on what kind of posts are more effect than others. It is an incredible platform for advertising, advertising yourself with only a paragraph of words. Here is the full posting:

What am I doing wrong?

Okay, I’m tired of beating around the bush. I’m a beautiful (spectacularly beautiful) 25 year old girl. I’m articulate and classy.
I’m not from New York . I’m looking to get married to a guy who makes at least half a million a year. I know how that sounds, but keep in mind that a million a year is middle class in New York City, so I don’t think I’m overreaching at all.

Are there any guys who make 500K or more on this board? Any wives? Could you send me some tips? I dated a business man who makes average around 200 – 250. But that’s where I seem to hit a roadblock. 250,000 won’t get me to central park west. I know a woman in my yoga class who was married to an investment banker and lives in Tribeca, and she’s not as pretty as I am, nor is she a great genius. So what is she doing right? How do I get to her level?

Here are my questions specifically:

- Where do you single rich men hang out? Give me specifics- bars, restaurants, gyms

-What are you looking for in a mate? Be honest guys, you won’t hurt my feelings

-Is there an age range I should be targeting (I’m 25)?

- Why are some of the women living lavish lifestyles on the upper east side so plain? I’ve seen really ‘plain jane’ boring types who have nothing to offer married to incredibly wealthy guys. I’ve seen drop dead gorgeous girls in singles bars in the east village. What’s the story there?

- Jobs I should look out for? Everyone knows – lawyer, investment banker, doctor. How much do those guys really make? And where do they hang out? Where do the hedge fund guys hang out?

- How you decide marriage vs. just a girlfriend? I am looking for MARRIAGE ONLY

Please hold your insults – I’m putting myself out there in an honest way. Most beautiful women are superficial; at least I’m being up front about it. I wouldn’t be searching for these kind of guys if I wasn’t able to match them – in looks, culture, sophistication, and keeping a nice home and hearth.

it’s NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests
PostingID: 432279810

THE ANSWER
Dear Pers-431649184:

I read your posting with great interest and have thought meaningfully about your dilemma. I offer the following analysis of your predicament.
Firstly, I’m not wasting your time, I qualify as a guy who fits your bill; that is I make more than $500K per year. That said here’s how I see it.

Your offer, from the prospective of a guy like me, is plain and simple a crappy business deal. Here’s why. Cutting through all the B.S., what you suggest is a simple trade: you bring your looks to the party and I bring my money. Fine, simple. But here’s the rub, your looks will fade and my money will likely continue into perpetuity…in fact, it is very likely that my income increases but it is an absolute certainty that you won’t be getting any more beautiful!

So, in economic terms you are a depreciating asset and I am an earning asset. Not only are you a depreciating asset, your depreciation accelerates! Let me explain, you’re 25 now and will likely stay pretty hot for the next 5 years, but less so each year. Then the fade begins in earnest. By 35 stick a fork in you!

So in Wall Street terms, we would call you a trading position, not a buy and hold…hence the rub…marriage. It doesn’t make good business sense to “buy you” (which is what you’re asking) so I’d rather lease. In case you think I’m being cruel, I would say the following. If my money were to go away, so would you, so when your beauty fades I need an out. It’s as simple as that. So a deal that makes sense is dating, not marriage.

Separately, I was taught early in my career about efficient markets. So, I wonder why a girl as “articulate, classy and spectacularly beautiful”
as you has been unable to find your sugar daddy. I find it hard to believe that if you are as gorgeous as you say you are that the $500K hasn’t found you, if not only for a tryout.

By the way, you could always find a way to make your own money and then we wouldn’t need to have this difficult conversation.

With all that said, I must say you’re going about it the right way.
Classic “pump and dump.”
I hope this is helpful, and if you want to enter into some sort of lease, let me know.

Veritas de Vendo

As Andy Dale, a successful VC and Harvard graduate, pointed out- Harvard grads have a stigma towards working in sales- it is seen, by some, as a filthy profession. But Andy said, and as you can see Steve Baumer in the video, most every business is sales or has some sales component, “I’m a VC and I sell my company to get money. People come to me and sell their idea to acquire investment money. Then they go out and sell their product. You are selling yourself to get a job. Business, for the most part, is sales. So it is an important skill to have.”

That’s why I was seriously considering a sales position at Payscale, an online tool for finding out how much your salary should be. It wouldn’t have been glamorous- I would have been cold calling people most of the day- but it would have been an invaluable skill to have. I ended up, however, taking another job that would teach me sales as well as other facets, such as acquiring VC funding and project management, at another start up.

Random: It’s ok on the weekend

It’s ok to put random stuff up on the weekend, but only on the weekends. So here is an very impressive solution to solving the “How was Stone Hedge built” question. One guy from Michigan has taken on the task and some of the stuff he’s proven is really impressive. Watch him put up a huge rock, weighing two bulldozers, by himself only using gravity, wood, and his own two hands.

TIE Event “Opportunities in the Web 2.0 Ecosystem”

I attended TIE’s event tonight on “opportunities in the Web 2.0 ecosystem”. It was lead by John Cook with a panel of:

Brian Goffman Venture Partner, Madrona Venture Group,
Joe Heitzeberg CEO, Snapvine,
Jordan Mitchell CEO, OthersOnline
Shirish Nadkarni CEO, LiveMocha.com
Jonathan Sposato CEO , picnik.com

I’ll highlight the points that I thought were relevant and interesting:

Facebook:

- Facebook platform and application is an incredibly crowded place

- Utility applications don’t necessarily work well rather application with solid virals seem to work better (nothing new here)

- Be careful that Facebook isn’t going to be your biggest competition if you do create a great application

- At any time Facebook can shut things down and Facebook still owns the information to all your users

Other Information/points: 

- be in control of your distribution  (meaning sometimes you don’t want certain type of users)

- don’t give away too much of your company

- don’t believe your own hype

- web 3.0 is going to sift through all the crap of web 2.0

- build your company on the cheap

Quotes of the night:

“Screw up fast”

“Eat your own dog food”

“Build something that you would use and that solves an actual problem”

“It can’t be nice to have, it has to be need to have”

When Everything’s On the Line

When I was playing professional hockey one of the things that I had to overcome as a player was that I had options; I had an education at a top university and therefore hockey wasn’t my only choice. I could always retire and get a decent paying job someplace else. Some other players, however, didn’t have other options. I remember one of my teammates saying, “when I stop playing, I will be pumping gas,” and he wasn’t kidding. But coaches, owners, and GM’s loved these players. These were the players that didn’t hesitate to jump infront of pucks, drop their gloves and fight, and sacrifice their body’s. They had so much more to lose.

Business is no different. The companies that are run out of desperation are so often the ones that succeed. Inc magazine, in their September issue investigated the top 500 fastest growing privately held companies and only 7.65% of these companies had VC investments and 81.65% were self-invested- the 81.65% had no other option but to succeed.

Often, in hockey and in business, to overcome this stigma of having options you have to go out and sacrifice even more.

Picnik Launches Premier Service

Last week I attended Picnik’s premier launching party here in my new home of beautiful Seattle, WA. I was invited by a friend but didn’t really know anyone there so I ate some great burgers, had a couple of free drinks on Picnik- thanks guys- and listened to them talk about their product.

Picnik is basically an adobe photoshop online. You can easily upload a photo then crop it, cut it, turn it, brighten it, etc. Then you can upload it back onto your computer or into Facebook, Flickr, etc. Probably its most usual feature is shrinking pictures down to a smaller size, such as I did with the picture of my Mom below. But for this week only they will be allowing users to try out their premier package, so in return for my free burgers I’m going to promote their site- go check it out!