Scanning through some values of innovative businesses, I ran across this interesting site from Yahoo!

Their values statement is Excellence, Innovation, Teamwork, Community, Customer Fixation, and Fun.  While those are great, it didn’t really stand out from any other business.

But what did catch my attention was what they don’t value.

I loved it! It says even more about the mission, people, and culture, and personality of the organization than the values statement. What else would we expect from a company that has a “Chief People Officer.”

Here’s a snapshot.

Yahoo!’s “What We Don’t Value”

	Bureaucracy		Entitlement
	Broken links		Too big for your britches
	Ho-hum		All work, no fooz
	Decaf		ALL CAPS
	Losing		Closed doors
	Good enough		Same ol’ same ol’
	Boring		Vaporware
	Arrogance		20/20 hindsight
	A stick in the eye		Fads
	Discrimination		Swashbuckling
	Status quo		Early meetings
	A cog in the wheel		Missing the boat
	Formality		Behind the curve
	Bugs		Head in the sand
	Irrelevance		Following
	Sloth		Bad apples
	CD-ROMs in the mail		High horses
	Pop-ups		Impossible
	Quick fix		One size fits all
	Passing the buck		Playing catchup
	Shoes worn at all times		Yesterday’s news
	Micromanaging		All bark
	90%		Spam
	Additives & preservatives		Shoulda Coulda Woulda
	Hurry up & wait		Typos
	Bad grammar		Rear view mirror
	Monday morning quarterback		Punching the clock

Thanks for the inspiration Yahoo!

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As I was typing a “note to self” in Gmail, something occurred to me. I use Gmail everyday for all kinds of significant information- correspondences, quotes, idea collection, photos, articles, invoices, writing, journaling, blog posts, and yes, those “notes to self.”

If anyone wanted to know anything about me, all they would need to do is read my email.

With all that valuable information sitting on Google’s servers, something else hit me- I should put my Google account information (ID and password) in my will. Or at least write it down some place where my family could find it. (My wife actually has my login information and full permission to my Gmail account).

Think about it. If I were to die right now, I would want my wife and kids to have access to my Moleskine notebooks, files, letters, pictures, journals, etc. Why not the same with my Google account? Then I thought about all of the various web applications I use like Wordpress, del.icio.us, Technorati, Flickr, Google Docs, and more. That stuff should be passed on to my family in case I pass away sooner than expected.

Wouldn’t it be great if there was a company who offered services that stored all this information that can be retrieved at death? Maybe there is. Or…maybe it’s someone’s opportunity.

Just thinking…

Blogged with Flock

Tags: gmail, google, email, wordpress, del.icio.us, technorati, flickr, death, will,

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Check out the makeover of thinkinginprogress.com

What do you think?

I love the customization of Wordpress.

Blogged with Flock

Tags: blog, design, wordpress

Filed under: Blogs, Technology, Websites | 1 Comment

This is one of the coolest things I’ve seen in a while. Thanks to Kem for sharing. Click on the stick figure to play.

Animator vs. Animation by *alanbecker on deviantART

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CNN has a story up about toxins in iPods and iPhones.  Actually, it seems the earphones are the most toxic. You can watch the report here.  The gist is this- don’t eat your iPod.

What was funny was this little ad underneath the story.  Notice the promotional giveaway item.

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An honest look at students today. This is more than a statement about classroom learning, colleges, and universities. It’s a reflection of a generation who are sick of going through the motions in life. Good stuff. Thanks to Noel for passing this along.

Filed under: Current Events, Life, Productivity, Technology | Post a comment

I’m pumped about the public release of YouVersion.com - a new online Bible that combines the pleasures of Web 2.0 with with the truth of Scripture. The gang at LifeChurch.tv absolutely rock!

I encourage you to check it out. I’ve had the pleasure of being in the testing group for this project and I love the customization, interactivity, and social networking opportunities the site provides.

When you log on the default translation is the King James Version (KJV). I would recommend changing your preference to the English Standard Version (ESV).

Enjoy it, play around with the features, and dig in along with me. Below is more information about YouVersion.com courtesy of the Swerve blog from LifeChurch.tv:

“Three months have quickly passed since we revealed the concept of YouVersion.com – a free online Bible that connects the interactivity of Web 2.0 with the timeless truths of scripture. After several stages of Alpha testing and one Private Beta release, we are excited to announce the Public Beta version is now LIVE and ready for you to explore!

Simply go to YouVersion.com to see how it works. Everything is free and will remain free, but to interact with some of the personalized features you’ll need to go through a simple registration process.

Here is what you can do with YouVersion in this release:

• Search for scripture, jump to a book/chapter/verse, or scroll through our Bible Reader
• Star verses and content
• Tag verses and content
• Contribute and/or associate images, videos, links, and text to verses or series of verses
• Start journaling in the “My Journal” feature
• See what others are sharing
• Email items to your friends and family
• Rate content
• And so much more…

Currently we have integrated the following Bible translations:

New King James Version (NKJV) - Thomas Nelson
New Century Version (NCV) - Thomas Nelson
English Standard Version (ESV) - Good News Publishers/Crossway
King James Version (KJV)
World English Bible
American Standard Version (ASV)
Smith and VanDyke Arabic Bible

We have signed license agreements and will very shortly be making available:

The Message (MSG) - Navpress
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB) - Holman Bible Publishers/B&H

We also have a commitment from:

Contemporary English Version (CEV) - American Bible Society

At this point, default translation will be King James Version, but you can easily change that if you’d like by simply clicking on the title.

Our Digerati Team has been eating, sleeping, and dreaming all things YouVersion for the last three months and it is nothing short of incredible to see how their commitment has paid off as we are right on schedule. I’d also like to express our appreciation for the hundreds of Alpha and Private Beta testers who contributed their time and given feedback! Additionally, I’m very thankful for the publishers who have captured the vision of this project and been willing to allow us to use their translations. We certainly couldn’t have made it to this point alone.

This is just the beginning. Several more features will be rolling out in the coming weeks as we continue to develop this tool.

Now it’s your turn to discover YouVersion and help us make it better by giving us feedback during this beta release. For those of you that blog, we’d love to have your post your thoughts about it. I look forward to seeing what God has in store for this new community of people reading, reflecting, and sharing how God is moving in a brand new and exciting way. I’ll see you there!”

Blogged with Flock

Tags: YouVersion, Bible, LifeChurch.tv, Web2.0,

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While I have no intentions on ever canceling my relationship with my excellent wife, it seems that canceling a Facebook relationship is almost as difficult as filing for divorce.

It makes me wonder if there will be a time in the near future when filing for a divorce is as easy as visiting a website and clicking a mouse. Hmmm.

That will be a sad day.

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After answering this question for a friend, I thought maybe someone else could use this information.

1. To publish blog entries into your notes, go to your profile on Facebook, click to drop down the “more” applications from the left sidebar menu.
2. Click on notes.
3. On the right hand side you should see an option to import notes or “import a blog.”
4. You’ll see options for adding an RSS feed. Paste the link to your RSS feed there.
5. After that, Facebook reads the feed and imports the notes.  It should show up up on your mini-feed allowing your friends to see it.

That’s it.

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