007 : Getting The Verge to take notice with Dan Seifert

NNL PodcastWhen you’re launching a new product or service, getting press on a website like The Verge can really be the deciding factor between massive success and slipping into obscurity. Yet entrepreneurs still make the same mistakes, over and over, when emailing and pitching journalists.

Dan Seifert is a Reviews Editor at The Verge and his email inbox is constantly full of pitches from both solo entrepreneurs and professional marketing companies. In this week’s episode of the podcast, we talk about which emails get replies and which get instantly archived. He also shares the common marketing tactic that comes off as insulting, and how to best build a rapport with journalists before pitching.

After listening to this podcast, you’ll be able to write pitches better than 90 percent of your competitors. And that’s not an exaggeration.

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It’s time to help your users do less, not more

We’ve just about reached the tipping point. The major technology companies of tomorrow won’t be focused on allowing users to do more — rather, they will allow us to do the same number of things but require much less work.

The internet gave rise to monster first-generation companies like Google, Facebook, Twitter, and a slew of gaming and coupon businesses. These companies allowed people to do things and they could never do before, like keep in contact with all of their friends, stay up to the minute with global news, and farm little multiplayer digital worlds no matter where they were. These companies are all about doing more.

But there is a limit to how much we as humans can do in a single day. It was easy for these companies to acquire user’s attention when the Internet was still young — simply because there wasn’t that much competition. Now, we are running out of new things that people want to do digitally. Continue reading →

006 : Screw the Queue with Gabe Velez

NNL PodcastWaiting in line sucks. It sucks so much that many people are willing to pay to avoid lines. Whether you’re dying to be the first with an iPhone 5S (without waiting 100 hours in line) or you want to make your trip to Disneyland a little less tedious, those who have the means will do anything to jump to the front.

My guest today is Gabriel Velez, a graphic designer and co-creator of Linesnapp, a mobile app focused disrupting the line. Gabe met his cofounder, Rafael Maya, at a hackathon and the two have been working on rethinking queues ever since.

I really respect what Gabe and Rafael are doing, because they’re not just blindly following their ideas. Instead, they’re talking to users and constantly changing their approach in order to find the version that sticks. You’ll definitely want to hear what Gabe has been doing.

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The time I was almost drawn into a Futurama episode

Dann Berg's Futurama Head in a Jar Tattoo

What do you do when you cross a borderline unhealthy relationship with Futurama and  a free trial of LinkedIn premium?

You get inches away from being drawn into a Futurama episode.

My love affair with Futurama started long after the show was off the air (for the first time). I never really watched the show during the original six-season stint, even though I remember gathering around the living room TV to watch the premiere episode. Continue reading →

005 : Fostering good design when you’re artistically inept with Mike Blea

NNL PodcastI first met Mike Blea (of Michael Blea Design) when I worked at LAPTOP Magazine. He was part of the magazine’s design team, building the magazine’s layout, mocking up covers, and helping with graphics for web. We’ve remained friends even after both of us left that job, and Mike even helped me design the cover for 8 Things to Learn Before Making Your App.

I wanted to bring Mike on the show to have a fresh perspective on building products. I, personally, am completely design challenged — a glaringly apparent fact when looking at the first version of my first app Reader Tracker. I’ve learned a lot about the value of good design since then, and Mike has definitely helped me out along the way.

Mike gives some insights into the life of a professional designers and shares some tips for hiring a freelance designer of your own. If you work it right, you won’t end up spending a fortune.

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 40:28 — 38.6MB) | Embed