Are you an inventor or innovator with the next big thing on the web? Do you live in fear that someone will steal that idea? Idea theft is a major problem that has taken on a new twist in the information age.   As a web development company, people come to us all the time with [...]]]>

Are you an inventor or innovator with the next big thing on the web? Do you live in fear that someone will steal that idea? Idea theft is a major problem that has taken on a new twist in the information age.  

As a web development company, people come to us all the time with great ideas. We’re privileged to participate in early conversations that shape product launches. Some ideas are great — others not so great (remind me to tell you about a few hilarious ones the next time I see you at a party). One thing is certain, creators often fear someone stealing their idea.

Move Quickly
If you believe in your idea and know people will use it, get started! If your idea is something web-based, it’s critical that you launch and start building a user base. Competitors can steal your idea, but it is harder to steal your users.

Keep Moving
Idea theft is real and fear is warranted. However, don’t let that fear paralyze you. Protect your idea, but keep innovating and inventing. The best defense against idea theft is innovation.

“Should I patent my idea?” people often ask. Patents don’t keep people from stealing your idea. They are just a tool you can use to prosecute people who steal your idea–prosecute them at your own expense. Patents are only worthwhile if have the resources to enforce them.

We launched Web for Good almost two months ago and it’s already a tremendous success. Since then, you’ve been hard at work telling people about the program and submitting applications. We’ve been humbled by the response and thrilled to see the applications pour in. Here’s where things stand: Quick Facts Web for Good helps good [...]]]>

Web for Good is officially in our first review period. We’ll select our first client during the next several weeks.

We launched Web for Good almost two months ago and it’s already a tremendous success. Since then, you’ve been hard at work telling people about the program and submitting applications. We’ve been humbled by the response and thrilled to see the applications pour in. Here’s where things stand:

Quick Facts

• Web for Good helps good causes harness the power of the web. For free.
• We will start by adopting one truly special non-profit and completing a large, mission-critical web project completely free of charge.
• We began taking applications in February 2011.
• Since then, we’ve received 25 applications from 13 states and hundreds of Twitter and Facebook posts spreading the word!

Next Steps

We’ve stopped taking applications for our first project and plan to announce our winner in the next few weeks. We have a lot of work to do between now and then. The entire team will vote to narrow the field to four finalists. We’re assembling a decision-making team of five Worthwhile team members that will request additional information and/or interview the finalists. Once the decision has been made and the winner has been informed, we will announce the winner right here on our blog.

Stay tuned.

If you missed the deadline, you can submit an application anytime. We will award a new winner sometime later this year.

I’m thrilled to announce the most ambitious and exciting thing we’ve done in our 17 year history. Welcome to Web for Good, The Worthwhile Company’s non-profit foundation. We have always placed special emphasis on our relationship with ministries and non-profits. Providing our work virtually at-cost to dozens of organizations making a difference in our world [...]]]>

I’m thrilled to announce the most ambitious and exciting thing we’ve done in our 17 year history. Welcome to Web for Good, The Worthwhile Company’s non-profit foundation.

We have always placed special emphasis on our relationship with ministries and non-profits. Providing our work virtually at-cost to dozens of organizations making a difference in our world has led to some amazing relationships. In the process, we have contributed well over $500,000 in the last few years. We’d love to keep that kind of service as Worthwhile grows. In fact, we want to organize and expand it.

Offering our work at a heavy discount to non-profits has allowed us to embark on some extraordinary partnerships — even friendships. Still, it hasn’t allowed us to work with some of the organizations that need us the most.

Enter Web for Good — A Foundation of The Worthwhile Company. Web for Good started as an idea about 6 months ago. Since then, the Greatest Team in the World has embraced it. Now it is a reality.

Why We Do What We Do (an excerpt from webforgood.org)

It’s because of our passion. We want to serve those who are serving others, and help them to serve even better.

It’s because of our compassion. Helping those in need is worth our while, no matter how much it might cost.

It’s because this is worship. Since God has revealed himself as someone committed to helping those in need, we give back as a way to express His worth.

It Begins Today

We will start by adopting one truly special non-profit and completing a large, mission critical web project completely free of charge. We start taking applications today through  March 22. Soon after that, we will make a selection and get started.

Our goal is to see Web for Good grow enormously over the years. In fact, we hope that one day it might even eclipse Worthwhile in its influence around the world. Today, we turn up the volume on our philanthropic efforts to 11.

Know of a worthy non-profit that needs our help? Recommend them here.

Have a non-profit that wants to get good? Start an application here.

Are you struggling to think of a creative gift for that special someone? Do you believe that nothing says “I don’t care” like gift cards? Do you want to win Gift Giver of the Year at your office Christmas party? Well then have I got the gifts for you. Metallic Ink 4th Amendment T shirt [...]]]>

Are you struggling to think of a creative gift for that special someone? Do you believe that nothing says “I don’t care” like gift cards? Do you want to win Gift Giver of the Year at your office Christmas party? Well then have I got the gifts for you.

Metallic Ink 4th Amendment T shirt
You don’t have to be a nerd to appreciate creativity when you see it. Brilliant. A t-shirt with the 4th amendment printed in metallic ink so the TSA can read it as you walk through a full-body scanner.

Available on Etsy for $45.00

The Best Mouse Ever Created
It really is the best computer pointing device I have ever used. Bonus: Did you know it will work with Windows 7 PC’s? Sure, it won’t give you the full multi-touch functionality you get with a Mac. Even so, it is still the best mouse ever.

Available at Apple.com for $69.99

Star Wars Talking Key Chain
As its description says, “We can’t think of a situation that can’t be improved by the addition of sound effects from Star Wars.” I couldn’t have said it better myself.

Available at ThinkGeek for  $7.99

Jolt Energy Drinks
Does the geek in your life participate in the occasional all-night programming fest? He needs energy drinks. Lots of them. Really, any energy drink will do.

Available at fine stores in various quantities.

Beyerdynamic Headphones
Does your techie love music? Why not get him some of the best mobile headphones money can buy?

Available from Amazon.com for $1295.00

Have you found the best gift ever? Share it in the comments.

I was watching TV the other day and realized I wasn’t just watching an episode of 30 Rock, I was seeing the future. I realized this about the time I picked up my remote and paused my TV. You may be saying “Remote, huh? I’ve had one of those for 30 years!” The extraordinary part [...]]]>

I was watching TV the other day and realized I wasn’t just watching an episode of 30 Rock, I was seeing the future.

I realized this about the time I picked up my remote and paused my TV. You may be saying “Remote, huh? I’ve had one of those for 30 years!” The extraordinary part is what happened next. I picked up my iPad in another room, hit the play button, and continued watching it on my iPad, right where I had left off on my TV.

In fact, I could have paused my iPad and continued it on my computer. Or my iPhone. Or my Nintendo Wii.  That’s extraordinary.

You see, I pay $8.99 for a little service called Netflix.

For almost 50 years people went to TV to spend what well-paid psychologists call their cognitive surplus. It’s a fancy way of describing the extra free time Americans have had post WWII. This was a golden age for TV. Then the Internet arrived. For over a decade, TV has had a nasty little problem. Instead of vegging in front of the telly, people are using their cognitive surplus to manage Wikipedia entries or read and comment on blogs or follow their friends on Facebook.

But TV is getting smarter. You see, TV is now using the Internet as a delivery mechanism. That makes TV way more interesting and competitive again. In fact, Netflix is gobbling up 20% of all the bandwidth in the US during primetime.

I’m happy to report that TV is back. Maybe it hasn’t killed the Internet (I couldn’t resist the title) but the line between the two is fuzzier than ever. And I love fuzzy.

I’ve had an iPhone 4 for a little over a month now. I upgraded from a iPhone 3GS and the difference is extraordinary. Allow me to review my 4 favorite features. Sell Your Video Camera and Buy an iPhone 4 I’m really excited about smart phones coming with HD video. I no longer need a [...]]]>

I’ve had an iPhone 4 for a little over a month now. I upgraded from a iPhone 3GS and the difference is extraordinary. Allow me to review my 4 favorite features.

Sell Your Video Camera and Buy an iPhone 4
I’m really excited about smart phones coming with HD video. I no longer need a separate device to record great video. Attention Droid users: I know your phones now have HD video, too. I’m already shooting more video than ever and taking up a lot more hard drive space.

When it Comes to the Screen, Believe the Hype
The Retina Display must be seen to be believed. It really is every bit as crisp and clear as Apple says it is. 30 days later it still amazes me. I know it is the same size but the screen seems larger. The effects of the upgraded screen are felt everywhere but especially when browsing the web.

What Reception Issue?
I’m left handed. Supposedly, people who are left handed experience the issue more often. However, in my personal experience, the reception of the iPhone 4 is noticeably better than my iPhone 3GS. Now, I know it is a problem for some. All I’m saying is that I haven’t been a victim of antennagate thus far. There, I said it. The reception is one of my favorite things about the iPhone 4.

FaceTime is Better at Video Chat than my iMac
Video chat has always felt awkward to me. Awkward to schedule. Awkward back and forth during the conversation. Just awkward. I still can’t figure out how they made the audio so clear and and removed any hint of lag from the video. Furthermore, it is so easy to initiate a video call that I’m using it a lot.

Do you have an iPhone 4? I’d love to hear what you think.

A Note for Android Users
I know you have all these features on your phones — some of them you’ve had for awhile now. I’ve never used an Android phone so I’d love to hear how your experience has been.

Combine Twitter, Facebook, healthy competition and an atlas and what do you get? Location-based services like Gowalla and Foursquare. Location-based services are the new darling of the mobile web. They are getting a lot of press and growing exponentially. How does it work? “Check in” and these services share your current geographic location with a [...]]]>

Combine Twitter, Facebook, healthy competition and an atlas and what do you get? Location-based services like Gowalla and Foursquare.

Location-based services are the new darling of the mobile web. They are getting a lot of press and growing exponentially. How does it work? “Check in” and these services share your current geographic location with a select group of friends… or the entire world. Although they create some legitimate privacy issues, you can have a lot of fun and discover your world in a whole new way if you keep a few things in mind.

Share my location? Are you kidding me?

Now, you may be thinking “why in the world would I want to tell other people where I am? I don’t want people to know where I bank!” You’re not alone. My wife has placed these services on her “dead-to-me” list. In many ways, your concerns are legitimate. Use these tools with a healthy dose of discernment.

Do’s and Dont’s

Do: Join a location-based service. I admit, it isn’t for everyone and it may not be your thing. You never know until you try. If you’re like me, you’ll have a lot of fun and learn about some great new places. Foursquare and Gowalla are the two most popular services. Odds are that your smartphone supports one or both of these services. Here is a great video to get you started on Foursquare.

Do: Be very careful about who you connect with using location-based services. If you’re careless, privacy will be the least of your concerns. If you don’t keep this friend list well-groomed, you’ll be even more annoyed than you are about your “friends” Farmville update on Facebook. Location-based services may end up being your most exclusive social network.

Don’t: Check-in at your house. People don’t need to know where you live and they don’t need to know when you are and aren’t there. My personal rule is this: only check-in at public places.

Don’t: Post your location updates to Twitter and Facebook. Let me rephrase that — don’t always post your location to Twitter and Facebook. If people wanted to see your location from Foursquare, they would join the service and add you as a contact.

My personal favorite location-based service is Gowalla. It isn’t quite as popular as Foursquare so it feels a bit more exclusive. Also, the interface and user experience seem a bit more fun on my iPhone. It even sports an awesome iPad app. Do you already use one of these services? I’d love to hear what you use and why.

You can learn a lot about the web in places you might not expect. Take Superbowl ads, for instance. Anytime a company invests about $3 million just to show you something for 30 seconds, it was probably well-thought-out. If you watch closely, and can get past the bright lights and loud noises, you can learn [...]]]>

You can learn a lot about the web in places you might not expect. Take Superbowl ads, for instance. Anytime a company invests about $3 million just to show you something for 30 seconds, it was probably well-thought-out. If you watch closely, and can get past the bright lights and loud noises, you can learn a lot. Here are three ads that stood out to me.

A great product still speaks for itself. All Google had to do to prove it is still way cooler than Bing was to show its product in action. Could you make a compelling 30 second ad solely from screen capture of your site or application? Think about it.

Plan for success. If you are going to spend $2 million on a 30 second ad, make sure viewers can follow your call to action. Two minutes after watching the Dockers ad that ended with “dockers.com/freepants” I visited the site from my iPhone. Oops. Maybe it was hosted by GoDaddy.com.

Quality still counts. I’ve never been particularly impressed by Hyundai automobiles, but I loved their commercial about quality. They claimed their plant in the US employs 3300 people who are each considered quality specialists. Is quality something you tack-on at the end of a project or is quality the job of each and every team member?

What did you learn about the web from Superbowl ads? Watch them all on Hulu.

I’ve always wanted to write a legendary email forward. You know what I’m talking about. Something like the email I’ve been getting since 1995 about how “Bill Gates wants to give me his money and all I need to do is forward this email.” Or the urban legend about waking up in a bathtub full [...]]]>

I’ve always wanted to write a legendary email forward. You know what I’m talking about. Something like the email I’ve been getting since 1995 about how “Bill Gates wants to give me his money and all I need to do is forward this email.” Or the urban legend about waking up in a bathtub full of ice after falling victim to a kidney harvesting ring. If you’re like me and need a book that will help you write the perfect email forward, then Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die is the book for you.

In all seriousness, there is a reason we still get those email forwards even after they have been proven false. They are sticky. Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die is a fun eye-opening summary of six principles that make messages stick (simplicity, unexpectedness, concreteness, credibility, emotions and stories).

Authors Chip and Dan Heath unabashedly draw their inspiration from another great book - The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell. They make their message stick by using practical examples of the six principles in action. I highly recommend this book to anyone in web development, marketing, or writing.

Special Opportunity for readers of the Worthwhile blog: Steve Jobs needs people to test the new and secret iPhone 4G so he is giving everyone who comments on this blog a free iPhone! Leave a comment below and your phone will arrive in a few days. I promise this works. I tried it myself. I don’t know how it works, but it does. You can believe me because I never do anything like this unless I know it is real.

Are blogs a lead generation tool? Someone recently asked me why Worthwhile didn’t market to folks who comment on our blog. He expected to be added to our email list as a result of his comment. I was taken back by his question — particularly because he would have preferred that we treat him as [...]]]>

Someone recently asked me why Worthwhile didn’t market to folks who comment on our blog. He expected to be added to our email list as a result of his comment.

I was taken back by his question — particularly because he would have preferred that we treat him as a lead. My initial response was a bit of a hurried recitation of the golden rule. After all, I didn’t want every blog I commented on harvesting my email address and violating my inbox!

In retrospect, he asked a very thought-provoking question that deserves a more philosophical response. So, I started thinking. Are blogs a lead generation tool?

I was asking the wrong question.

Our business isn’t about generating a transaction but it is about cultivating a relationship. A blog is a great way to start and continue a business relationship. Instead of contemplating how much information I can take from our readers, I needed to be thinking about how much I could give our readers.

Lead generation is one possible use of blog comments (though not at Worthwhile). However, their highest and best use is listening for feedback on what your readers want.