How Does Writing Affect Your Brain? [infographic]

How Does Writing Affect Your Brain? [infographic]:
Most of us write a little something everyday. It might be a grocery list, a poem, or a write-up on the infographic of the day. As we go through this daily ritual, however, we are probably not aware of the effects writing has on our brains.
According to today’s infographic, writing can serve as a calming, meditative tool. Stream of conscious writing exercises, in particular, have been identified as helpful stress coping methods. Keeping a journal, for example, or trying out free-writing exercises, can drastically reduce your levels of stress.
It should also be noted that writing can hold a powerful influence over its readers. Today’s infographic informs us that storytellers have the power to “plant emotions, thoughts, and ideas into the brain of the listener.” But all of these mind-shaping tools can be completely disregarded if one chooses to insert a cliché into his or her writing. When you hear phrases like “love is blind” or “dumb blonde,” your brain skips over these ideas and simply accepts them as a collection of words. Clichés have become so familiar to us that the sensory responses they are supposed to evoke are often severely diluted.
So, whether you’re trying to de-stress, or improve your writing, check out the infographic below for some helpful insight into the goings-on of your brain. I hope you never stop writing! [Via]

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© Micaela Lacy for Daily Infographic, 2013. |
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Post tags: attention, Brain, brains, cliche, cliches, conscious, conscious and unconscious, focus, infographic, literacy, mind, minds, stream of consciousness, stress, stress coping, unconscious, write, writer, writers, writing, writing infographic, your brain on writing

I wanted to be alone in quite an unusual, new way. The very opposite of what you are thinking: namely, without myself…

I wanted to be alone in quite an unusual, new way. The very opposite of what you are thinking: namely, without myself…: Collages by Max Bucaille
Title: Pirandello



















From the collection of JJ Guéron

Will 50 Watts

Jimmy Choo Crocodile Embossed Blue High-Top Sneakers

Jimmy Choo Crocodile Embossed Blue High-Top Sneakers:

Fusing modern style with luxurious craftsmanship, this pair of Jimmy Choo sneakers ($765) will ensure you stand out from the crowd. They are a sleek navy crocodile-embossed leather high-tops with a blue rubber trim. And feature silver eyelets and a contrasting white and navy designer stamp on the rubber soles. Are you willing to snag a pair? See more pics below.

Shake The Sweat: Team USA

Shake The Sweat: Team USA:
August 1st, 2012 - Here at KNSTRCT, we try to deliver design news on a global level, therefore, staying mostly neutral when it comes to our home country. With the Olympics underway, we think it’s necessary to support our athletes on the USA team – ya know? The ones taking home all the gold medals! All jokes aside, the fashion folks over at Stampd’ LA just unveiled their ‘Shake The Sweat’ collection which features a USA T-shirt, USA hats, USA pins, and a white flag; all cut n sewn right here in the USA! ($35 – $42)

(Photographs: Stampd’ LA)

Thinking about Drinking [infographic]

Thinking about Drinking [infographic]:
Do you know how much you drink? Often times, after a long night of drinking, you don’t realize how much you have consumed. Many people limit themselves to one drink, like beer or wine, in an attempt to not get drunk quickly. Today’s infographic sheds some light onto the actual alcohol consumption per drink.
The proper drink amount by type of alcohol is noted in the diagram of a solo cup. One serving of wine (5 ounces) will go a lot quicker than a serving of beer (12 ounces). Do you typically adhere to these measurements? I will definitely take this chart into consideration the next time I pour myself a glass of wine! [Via]

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© chelseykilzer for Daily Infographic, 2012. |
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7 Ways to Write Epic Shit

7 Ways to Write Epic Shit:
Article by ThinkTraffic contributor Gregory Ciotti of Sparring Mind.
Alright, hands up: how many of you fantasize about writing some epic shit that really leaves an impact online?
Let’s see, that’s… one… two… oh yeah, every damn one of you.
Truth is you wouldn’t be reading this site if you didn’t want to create something epic that goes on to change lives.
While the motivation to do something HUGE is certainly the first step to getting it done, there becomes a problem when this “hoo-rah” attitude begins losing it’s luster and you’re faced with the actual work.
That’s why, right now, I want you to take a stand with me by declaring the following:

A goal without a plan is just a wish.

Tweet this to the world, don’t be shy.

How to Write Epic Shit

Yep, I said it.
I’m not telling you that you’ll never be able to do amazing things, what I’m saying that is you need to avoid this fluffy advice about “Doin’ awesome schtuff!” and start looking at how to form an actual gameplan to get it done.
Truth is…
“Be awesome!”, isn’t real advice, it’s slimey new marketing snake-oil.
The same concept applies to writing epic shit.
Luckily, there are folks like Corbett & Caleb who strive to teach actionable advice for getting your “shit” to epic status.
There’s also people like me who wouldn’t make a single timid claim without citing some source of research (like I do on Sparring Mind) that gives legs to the advice.
As a content strategist for a few wonderful startups (see my work on HelpScout), I’m very familiar with the content creation process.
I’m also quite familiar with getting my work picked apart.
You see, when you’re writing for other people, they are going to give you feedback, and it’s not always good.
This is actually a blessing though, because you will never find more honest feedback than from those people paying you.
Through this kind of experience, I’ve learned a lot about smart content creation, enough to start a blog and a free newsletter on the process, sharing what I’ve learned about content that does well and content that does… not so well.
Today, I’d like to share with you 7 different methods that you can use to write epic shit.
Add these to your playbook, and never head out to the blogosphere without a gameplan again!

1.) Find Discontent & Solve It To Perfection

The term “actionable” is thrown around a lot, but I’ve recognized the one recurring aspect of how-to content that gets people to actually appreciate what you wrote…
All of the best “actionable” content is created as a result of discontent.
When Sean Davis wrote about an easier way to style AWeber forms, I was supremely happy: it was a long-time headache solved for a non-designer like myself.
(I’m also linking to Sean’s post right now, because good content gets rewarded).
As simple as that little post was, here I am recalling it easily, whereas I’ve read a boatload of “how-to” posts on much more prestigious topics… yet, since they didn’t connect with real, specific problem I’d been having, my brain pushed them aside.
Over on my camp, no post has gotten me more emails than my article on Blog Design on a Budget, with practically every email stating how they loved my way of addressing a design related topic in a boot-strap and “tech-impaired” fashion.
You know your niche, you know the problems that beginners (and even experienced folks) will run into.
Solve those problems, people will thank you for it.

2.) Don’t Be Afraid to Generate Outrage

There are a lot of “this vs. that” debates in practically every topic I can think up (just don’t get into a Batman vs. Superman debate with anyone, there are no winners there ).
It’s a process that some smart people call “flag-planting”, and it’s an incredibly effective way to create content.
The real power in creating the sort of content that stands it’s ground on a certain “side” and seeks to generate this emotional reaction from readers is that is causes people to trip over themselves to chime-in and give their 2 cents.
Yes, you’re purposefully manipulating people by arousing emotions, but what you’re also doing is excluding the people you don’t want on your site.
Trying to be “fair-and-balanced” all of the time will force you into creating generic content that never takes a stand or creates a real impact, and that will leave in the midst of hundreds of thousands of other blogs that never get past even 1,000 subscribers.
Want to hear of an amazing example of manipulation from history?
Machiavelli, known by most for his work in The Prince, stirred up a hornet’s nest of controversy in a piece that seems to promote doing whatever it takes to reach a desired goal (“The ends justify the means,” despite that phrase never appearing in the actual book).
Here’s the thing though… most political scholars are in agreement that The Prince was written as a satire!
I don’t mean to bring down the works of an influential political scholar like Niccolò Machiavelli to your typical blog content standards, my point is only this… what other books or works does the average person associate with Machavelli?
I’m honestly betting you couldn’t name even one (and all of them are highly regarded in the political science community).
Surprise: his most controversial work is his most lasting legacy, I think there’s a lesson in that somewhere.

3.) Give People a Place to Start

Do you remember when you just got started with blogging?
You had to look up those instructions on installing WordPress, on setting up themes, on writing your first post… and that was just the baby steps!
You then had to find information on promoting your blog, figuring out what makes you different, finding a way to create worthwhile content and drive visitors to your site… it’s exhausting!
Everybody at one point in time has faced that fact that getting started is tough work, and if you can alleviate that problem by providing people with a roadmap to set out on their first step, they will remember you far later on in the journey.
This is the exact reason why sites like the Khan Academy have generated massive interest from folks all over the world (in fact, Bill Gates is a huge supporter of the site).
If you’re unaware, the site was created by a single guy (Sal Khan) out of a walk-in closet and with his computer.
Khan has done a tremendous service to inspire learners all over the world: he breaks down the “beginner’s versions” of tough topics that range from economics to advanced mathematics.
Ask anyone who regularly uses the Khan Academy archives (yours truly!) and you’ll find nothing but fanatic support for the site.
Why?
Because Sal has so selflessly given people a place to start their journey.
While he tackles a wide breadth of knowledge, you can address a singular topic in a similarly comprehensive fashion.
Steve Kamb’s Beginner’s Guide to the Paleo Diet is a perfect example of this, you can see it’s popularity through it’s placing in Google (getting beat out by only the Wikipedia page and ThePaleoDiet.com)

4.) Take Readers for a Journey

Did you know that storytelling, of all things, is some of the most influential content that you can write?
It’s true.
A well-written story relies on transportation, and research has found that people are much more likely to get caught up in stories, absorb their message, and then subsequently become more primed to take action.
Even crazier, this was found to be true when stories were stacked up against black-and-white facts.
Let me emphasize that: A well written story can be more influential than proven facts.
The best part?
The most influential stories have a combination of both.
Stories serve as a more effective medium for wrapping people up in their message, and since stories captivate attention so well, people will absorb the lesson at hand and feel inspired to share it.
But hey, what do I know, it’s just science.
Great example? I got you covered.
Jon Morrow knows how to write a good tale, so good that he wrote the most popular Problogger post of all time (that Twitter share count has been reset, it’s closer to 10,000 shares).
We’re all just suckers for a good story, are you using them to get your point across?

5.) Leave People with a Game Plan

Motivational content is powerful stuff…
You might think that I’d be against it, considering I just called out the fluffy “Be awesome!” variety above, but there is a fine line between good motivational content and filler that gets people excited over nothing.
Allow me to introduce you to some of the latter.
Some of my favorite producers of this content are the fine folks over at the BufferApp.
Joel Gascoigne manages to write some of the best “Be your best” content out there in my eyes, and here’s why: he doesn’t leave you hanging with motivation, he leaves you with a gameplan.
Surprise!
Of all things, Joel recently wrote about the importance of a “sleep ritual” in keeping your mind focused for the boatloads of work that come with running a startup.
I didn’t come away from the post with a “Hoo-rah, sleep is important and so am I!”, kind of attitude, because Joel doesn’t write fluff.
I honestly use Joel’s exact gameplan for getting a good night’s rest, every single night, how’s that for creating so-called “life-changing” content?
The best part about this content type is that it can be incorporated into so many topics, it’s insane!
Another great example comes in the form of 33 Ways to Make More Time in Your Life for Music-Making by Nick Tozier.
As a guy who loves music, I was glad to find this motivational post wasn’t full of “Be awesome” bologna, Nick brought out some great methods to get yourself back into playing.
Better yet: the post was insanely popular, and here I am linking to it again.

6.) Make Content that Keeps You Up at Night

It’s 1am, you should be going to bed, but you just hit this amazing thing on StumbleUpon that you just HAVE to go through.
“Wow, I am so glad I found this!”
Eyelids heavy with fatigue, you just can’t bring yourself to look away, this is the stuff you’ve always hoped that you’d find someday.
I’m careful not to name this things like “pillar content” or “an ultimate resource” (although those are great examples) because I’d rather look at why this kind of content turns into the sort of stuff that keeps people coming back.
The answer: this kind of content satiates a desire to be entertained OR to be well informed.
It comes in many (often strange) forms, that’s why I don’t want to limit my explanations to terms like “pillar content”.
Most gamers would recognize the Grand List of RPG Cliches (this may not be your thing, but it’s been viewed hundreds of thousands of times).
History nerds all know about the Hardcore History podcast (which regularly has 2+ hour episodes).
You know what else is a good example? The Oatmeal.
Remember the first time you hit that site? I know I went through the archives for way longer than I’d like to admit!
Yes, it’s a collection of silly comics, but again, this kind of content is the stuff that keeps you coming back, whether that’s through being insanely informative, or just incredibly entertaining.
There’s also tons of examples over on the informative side, a few of my favorites being The Beginner’s Guide to SEO (by SEOmoz) and the How to Blog Guide from Ramsay Taplin.
Are you creating the kind of content that keeps people up at night?

7.) People Love Secrets, Inside Looks, and Exclusives

I find it shocking how few blogs recognize the above fact, despite that a huge majority of us read newspapers and other online publications (who take this to an extreme).
Remember back when the Gawker crew broke the iPhone 4 leak wide open?
That’s a minuscule example that lead to monstrous pageviews, I say minuscule because this kind of stuff goes on all the time with the big publications: everybody is out to give you something new and “fresh”.
How can you apply this to the typical blog level though?
Simple: figure out the kind of “insider” content you’d like to see in your niche, and make it happen.
This is typically a lot easier than you might guess.
I’ve talked before about how I grew my music blog Sophistefunk with the use of artists interviews because they were so popular (and the artists usually shared them).
You’d be surprised about who you can get a hold of for interviews in your niche, in fact, Corbett recommends this strategy wholeheartedly, especially when launching a new blog.
It doesn’t end there though: leveraging other big stories is an amazing tactic you can use to utilize “breaking news”… without breaking the news yourself!
What you’ve got to do is put a spin on some news that creates some buzz.
I loved Derek Halpern’s example of how Ryan Holiday spun a story about his client (Max Tucker) and his flopped attempt to donate 500,000 to Planned Parenthood.
Purposefully manipulative? Riding on a wave of controversy? Made for promotion?
Yup.
But it combined people’s love of the “exclusive” with their susceptibility to storytelling (discussed above) and ended with an amazingly viral post.
You need to be doing the same in your niche.

Now it’s your turn…

First, I wanted to just say thanks… that was a long post to get through so I’m sincerely thankful that you spent time to read it.
Second, I wanted to let you know what’s next…

1. Let me know what you think about these content types. Have you tried any of them yourself? Do you plan on trying some?
2. What’s a post like this without a little debate? Let me know about any you don’t agree with, and I’ll take off the gloves and dual with you in the comments section.
3. As a thanks for reading my post (and if you want more), definitely check out my free e-Book on ‘Conversion Psychology’, which you can download instantly.

Thanks for your time, and I’ll see you in the comments!
Gregory Ciotti is a content strategist for a few great startups and founder of Sparring Mind. Feel free to download his free e-Book on ‘Conversion Psychology’ or connect with him on Google+.

What is a minimum viable product

What is a minimum viable product:

Common sense tells us to wait to release our product until it works perfectly; however, in the startup world, nothing could be further from the truth.  Too many startups fail because they launch too slowly.
The ideal product launch is a product that is just good enough; the ideal product launch is a minimum viable product (MVP).

What is a minimum viable product?

I’ll give you a concrete example.
When we launched RewardMe back in October 2011, we launched a minimum viable product:

• Our product was buggy and needed to be restarted at least once a week
• Our training materials were very early-stage, resulting in a ton of customer service calls from our clients
• Product implementation at a location was slow and inefficient

It’s scary to launch an MVP, but it’s absolutely crucial to the success of a startup for the following reasons:

The first customers are a testing ground

The first version of our product

The first customers that sign up to use your product or service understand the risks they’re taking as a first-mover.  First-movers sign up to use your product because they believe in your big vision even though you’re unproven, you have no client case studies, and they’re taking a big risk with your technology. Use this opportunity to test the product.

Iterate as fast as possible

Our product after the 3rd product iteration

Use the feedback collected from clients and users to iterate the product as fast as possible.  With RewardMe, we learned that users had trouble punching the numbers on the iPad, so we made the numbers larger and more apparent; we learned that the casing of the iPad was a bit too bulky for the counter space, so we trimmed down the hardware design and made space to store the wires and cords.  Testing was done in real-time at the client location, allowing us to quickly iterate the product towards the right direction.
Can’t product testing be done in-house in a safe environment?
I often get asked this question.  Many entrepreneurs choose to fully test the product in-house at the office to make sure that the product isn’t buggy and that the first clients get a perfect product.  Here’s the thing though: we did do a lot of product testing in-house.  Even with product testing, it’s impossible for a small startup to catch every possible bug in the product.  Furthermore, it’s impossible to predict every possible scenario that can go wrong at a client location that is full of variables: cashiers, customers, internet connection, different point of sale systems.

Superb customer service is a must

Because the MVP will be buggy, it’s critically important that customer service is superb.  Though first-movers are tolerant to product bugs, they do have a limit to their patience.  It’s therefore important to constantly reassure clients that you’re making strides towards eliminating bugs.  If the client sees progress every week and is reassured that they’re your top priority, then they’ll stick it out with you throughout all of the iterations.

My current minimum viable product

Last week I announced that I left RewardMe to build my own project.  Though I haven’t officially launched the release of my new project, I’ve had my minimal viable product running for just over a month now.  During this time, I’ve analyzed how people have used the site, where they click, and how they fill out a form.
These are the steps I took to launch my minimum viable product in just 3 days:

Website creation and development

I used a simple WordPress install and uploaded the Thesis theme.  It cost me $12 for the domain name.  I’ve had a developer license for Thesis for a while now, so the theme itself did not cost me anything extra.

Website design

I made the logo in about 20 minutes using Photoshop.  I googled “traveler icon” and found the funny looking guy with blonde hair to use as my logo for now.  I didn’t need anything fancy for launch; I just needed something good enough.

Web form

I used Wufoo to create my contact form on the home page.  I’m using the free version of Wufoo, which is super simple to use and robust enough for what I’m currently using it for.
I didn’t put too much thought into the form fields.  My goal was to put the form up quickly and see how people use it.  I’ll optimize the fields in the coming weeks.

Testimonials

Not sure if I mentioned this before, but I’ve been testing Tour Woo with my friends for the past 3 months now (even before I launched my website).  I wanted to validate my product idea with my friends.  When I realized that I could successfully book tours for them and gain a commission on each booked tour, I decided to move forward and build the MVP.  The testimonials section displays a list of friends whom I helped to book a tour.

What are the next steps now that I’ve launched my MVP?

My immediate next steps:

1. Refine the site design
2. Create a welcome video
3. Aggressively go after press

The MVP is great to test out the product with early customer or users, but it’s NOT a scalable product.  Because the MVP is untested and buggy, it won’t benefit from a huge surge in users or clients.
With RewardMe, there was no way that we could have implemented with thousands of stores at the launch of our MVP.  We launched with about 50 stores, allowing us time to iterate the product and build systems for implementation and customer service.
With Tour Woo, there’s no way that I can service hundreds of inquires per week right now; I just don’t have the systems built yet.  But I can handle less than 10 inquires per week at the moment, giving me time to learn from user feedback and constantly iterate my product.
Once I have the designs and systems in place, I can use press to increase leads and grow exponentially.
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Don’t wait until your product is perfect.  Get early customers and early feedback by launching your minimal viable product as fast as possible.

Turning a Mistake Into an Opportunity (Or How We Went from “Oh F!@%!” to “F!@% Yeah!”)

Turning a Mistake Into an Opportunity (Or How We Went from “Oh F!@%!” to “F!@% Yeah!”):

On Friday June 15^th, 2012 we sent errant emails to ~650 people.  We thought we fixed the issue.  That Sunday morning we sent the same incorrect email to the same 650 people.  F!@%!

On Friday, some 650 people who had been referred by our members to Sparkology had just received their reminders to join the service… 4 months after they were supposed to (member referrals is how we grow).  We didn’t know why the emails went out 4 months too late.  But we did know that we got some nastygrams from people who had forgotten about the original invitation and were accusing us of spamming them.  This was embarrassing… but we quelled the angry mob and moved on to fix the bug.
Sunday mornings are meant for catching up on all the projects I’ve been working on without the usual weekday distractions of emails or calls.  Sundays are sacred.  But on that Sunday, I found our corporate inbox filled by undeliverable mail notices even though no newsletter mailing had been scheduled.
It happened again.  The same people.  The same email.  If folks didn’t feel the need to express their disappointment with our email practices on Friday, they sure would find their courage on Sunday.
We were bracing ourselves for damage control until I remembered a speech by Peter Shankman, founder of HARO, where he told budding entrepreneurs to “own your mistakes”.  And so, I did.
I wrote an honest, earnest letter (included below) to everybody that received the duplicate emails and I sent it from my personal inbox.  I detailed exactly what went wrong, how we planned to fix it, and how I had personally wiped their email addresses from our system so it wouldn’t happen again.  I also expressed my sincere apologies for “clogging up their inboxes on a Sunday afternoon”  and my hope that this would not negatively impact the trust that we build with our customers.  Lastly, I included a section where I offered to comp the membership of anyone who was affected but still wanted to join our dating site.
Here are just some of the responses we received:

• My personal favorite: This is either a brilliant marketing strategy or your tech guys messed up.  I will slow clap you nonetheless.
• No worries! Love the site!
• Thanks for the email – rarely do companies go this far in the name of customer service.
• No problem. Happy to give this a try for a month. Please let me know what I need to do to get access.
• No sweat, just signed up.
• It’s no problem – and – thanks so much for the email and offer for the free month. Thought you’d like to know that just this is impressive as far as customer service goes.

What was the end result?  Only two people managed to send us mean emails and dozens of affected people signed up for Sparkology.  Those who did not sign up for Sparkology now have an unparalleled respect for our brand.
I am extremely proud of the result of this ordeal.  With so many jerks succeeding in business, it’s nice to see situations where the nice guys actually win.

Copy of the email:

Good afternoon [Name],
I am personally very sorry for the reminder emails you have received from Sparkology on Friday and this morning. Our service department notified me of the issue and we have worked with the tech team to resolve it. In essence, you were supposed to receive two reminder emails a few days after your friends referred you to Sparkology. However, our mail servers did not run that script for several months and only ran the script for the first time on Friday.
a) We have removed email addresses of anyone who received these emails from our systems. Your email is no longer in our referrals database.
b) I am deeply sorry for clogging up your inboxes on a Sunday afternoon. I hope you can accept my apology. Our reputation is our greatest asset and I fear we have impacted your trust with these emails. I hope this letter helps to explain what went wrong and will help start to rebuild your trust in our brand.
In further effort to re-earn your trust, I’d be happy to comp your membership so you can experience our typical level of customer service. Please forward this email to service@sparkology.com and we’ll give you a free month (women) or a free spark pack (men).
Thank you, and please enjoy the rest of your Sunday,
Alex Furmansky, President
Since graduating with two degrees from the University of Pennsylvania, Alex Furmansky has enjoyed a successful career in both finance and tech entrepreneurship. He is the founder of Sparkology, an exclusive, quality-driven dating site set for attractive young professional singles.