Linkage

Under NDA…

So, the first thing I’m going to talk about is my iPhone app that I am currently thinking through. I am under NDA with an iPhone development company in India and can’t reveal anything pertaining to the details of the application, but I can reveal details of an app that I was considering. It’s related, but very different.

My biggest problem with productivity applications for the iPhone, and any other platform for that matter, is that they require the user to already be pretty good at keeping track of things, in order to be effective. One has to stay on top of things, and dig into his or her calendar, or todo list regularly to make sure that things are being scheduled properly, or that alarms have been set, etc.

I had an idea for an iCal enabled secretary application that would ask you questions, ask you if you actually did the things you said you were going to do, and would remind you of all your obligations in a more intuitive helpful fashion. I wanted it to even be able to call you to remind you of things, and spot timing conflicts due to location, that a standard iCal couldn’t. I wanted to call it Lloyd, and license the name with HBO, to use the name of Ari Gold’s secretary in the TV show Entourage.

I eventually found out, through my iPhone SDK information, that iCal integration wasn’t possible, so I had to go back to the drawing board, and I think I’ve come up with something better.

I believe I do actually have the right to tell you my concepts for the application at my own discretion, and honestly I want to, but because I don’t want to cause any waves just yet with the developer I am currently negotiating with, I have decided to keep a lid on my new idea, which I think is actually better. It will lack the benefits of an existing brand, however I think if it turns out as good as I imagine it can be it will “sell itself” and perhaps not need the charm of the fictional movie industry’s coolest gay secretary to pave the way for sales.

The next item up for discussion, is going to be my first “Muse” and that is NOT under NDA, so I’ll walk you through my entire development process.

Did I Not Run Long Enough?

I think my legs look pretty sexy in my black, lycra running pants, but that’s not why I went running tonight. I went out, because I needed to clear my head. I have had a difficult time today trying to put all my various blog drafts into clearer words, and nothing’s been flowing. I thought I had a direction when I can back from my run, but I just couldn’t get my head around any of my drafts enough to complete any one of them. Did I not run long enough? Did I not sweat enough maybe? I expected clarity and I just didn’t get it tonight.

Part of my problem, is that many of the yet unpublished blog entries that I’ve started writing were all started prior to my new idea, and fall outside of my new direction a little and although there is plenty of room for the general idea of those drafts to fit in my new focus, the drive to complete them is also waning a little too.

“Why?” You ask. Because as it turns out, someone has already said most of what I was going to try to say. That person is Seth Godin. He has already written over a Dozen books and hundreds of blog entries on subjects I wanted to cover, and he has written them better than I could have. Well maybe not better, but certainly sooner, and that’s a form of better, as far as I’m concerned.

I knew of Seth, and I knew he was writing this stuff, and I knew his interest and focus similar to mine, but I had no idea just how closely his opinions match mine, or how funny he could be, or just how passionate he is about what he’s doing. The words he writes are backed up with examples, not just theories I complain about not being able to implement and test. He’s doing them. His colleagues are doing these things, and he writes about them, and reads about them in a compelling and engaging way.

So, those topics I was going to talk about earlier, the ones pending in a queue of almost a dozen drafts, will all be reworked as Seth Godin book and blog reviews. In fact, anytime there is any blogger, or author, or filmmaker, or comedian, or anyone else that says anything I wanted to say, and that content is available on the web, I’m just going to start pointing you to their work rather than trying to ultimately redo it myself. I have too little time, and too many other things to talk about, now that I’m going all disclosure up in here.

So next up, I’ll be talking about the companies, an iPhone app idea, and my mentors that are kicking my ass.

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