lessons from the front lines of a startup.

Video

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 15:32:00 -0500

Video

Wed, 16 Jun 2010 23:14:52 -0500

Video

Wed, 16 Jun 2010 21:42:55 -0500

This is how Lost started…

Sat, 13 Feb 2010 07:43:57 -0600

This is how Lost started…

Just another normal Texas weather day.

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 07:27:25 -0600

Just another normal Texas weather day.

Our own superbowl….!

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 15:04:20 -0600

Our own superbowl….!

EKC is so poetic!

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 21:56:07 -0600

[Flash 10 is required to watch video.]

EKC is so poetic!

Took Madelynn out of school for some frappuccinos!

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 09:29:58 -0600

Took Madelynn out of school for some frappuccinos!

Thankful for a great office and smart people to work with.

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 15:18:39 -0600

Thankful for a great office and smart people to work with.

Spotted….! Green women in HP Village Must send green man...

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 16:55:36 -0600

Spotted….! Green women in HP Village

Must send green man asap.

The new obsession.

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 01:20:23 -0500

The new obsession.

On vacation. Beaver Creek, Colorado. 73 degrees. Aspens leaves...

Sat, 18 Jul 2009 23:11:46 -0500

On vacation. Beaver Creek, Colorado. 73 degrees. Aspens leaves blowing in the wind. Kids climbing up the mountain. Life is great.

Murmurs installation…Twitter meets 30 thermal printers. I...

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 01:28:17 -0500

Murmurs installation…Twitter meets 30 thermal printers. I love these intersections of digital and physical.

Wow, killer customer support from IDC Photography! My friend...

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 13:15:20 -0500

Wow, killer customer support from IDC Photography! My friend Austin (@austinmann) just walked in my office with his new LCD Viewfinder for the 5d MkII and we were blown away by the note from their sales rep and the inclusion of a spare screw since he is going to China (something he told them about when he called). It is the little things like this that we all remember.

I wish we could do more… This shot was of the first two...

Sat, 13 Jun 2009 11:02:41 -0500

I wish we could do more…

This shot was of the first two kids that came and greeted us on the trail just east of Playa Hermosa in Costa Rica. We went on an unbelievable 4-hour ATV tour yesterday that provided an unbelievable contrast between the beauty of Costa Rica and the poverty of these little farming communities scattered just inland.

We gave out kids toys, candy, and bracelets to the kids that were along the path. Maddie was wearing this huge orange parka and a black helmet with orange fire on the side. She must have looked like some strange orange angel to the kids on the path.

I want to go back. There is so much more we could do. Shoes? Water? Next time down, we will do more.

Shaw takes plunge. (loving the 5d with underwater housing....

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 23:30:31 -0500

Shaw takes plunge.

(loving the 5d with underwater housing. Thanks Austin.)

Hello Doublewide Labs...and Blinksale baton accepted.

Tue, 26 May 2009 10:41:52 -0500

(from the blinksale blog)

Let’s Build A Better Blinksale

Well, hello there. I’m Brian Oberkirch, the new Managing Director of Blinksale. I’m new because Doublewide Labs has acquired Blinksale. What does this mean for you? It means you have the chance to help us build a better Blinksale, starting now.

I was one of the first users of Blinksale when it launched back in the day. I’ve used it since then to run my own consultancy, and, like you, I appreciate how simple it is to just get down to business. But, I’ve got ideas! I’m sure you do, too. I want to hear them. Together, we can build on the great work Josh, Scott and the great team at Firewheel did to make Blinksale so loved.

So, let’s get started. Feel free to shoot me ideas at brian@blinksale.com, or give me a call at 214.580.2001. You can still always use support@blinksale.com for an everyday support issue. And see that little feedback tab over there at the right? It goes right to our page at Get Satisfaction, where we are going to be gathering all the know how from our community of Blinksale users. We think it’s going to be a great place for all of us to share ideas about making Blinksale even more awesome. Oh, and I’ll be pumping out more frequent updates at our Twitter page.

Sometimes you just have to spin around…

Tue, 19 May 2009 07:48:00 -0500

Sometimes you just have to spin around…

sometimes the accidental shots end up being more interesting...

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 23:07:30 -0500

sometimes the accidental shots end up being more interesting than the purposeful ones.

In crappy times: Get better at writing the spec.

Thu, 12 Mar 2009 13:47:00 -0500

So, maybe I will write a few posts on “crappy times”…not to be jumping on the bandwagon of complaining about how bad things are, but just in recognition that things are tough. Anything we can do to work smarter, faster, more efficiently, lets do it.

I have become a huge fan of Joel Spolsky’s blog, “Joel On Software”. It contains some of the best and most practical lessons for both coders and product managers who long to crank out better software.

As a non-coding manager, I am often stuck in the middle of debates around often “agile” sounding methodologies that launch developers and designers immediately into building mode and more planning-heavy ones that cause you to stop and write some things down before you begin.

Joel does a great job of helping you see the light on these issues. Punchline, you don’t have to measure 5x to cut once, but you do have to measure.

If you are involved in the building of any web business, a web site, or a web-based product, his writings on the topic are invaluable. He even gives you a downloadable sample from one of their projects. Great stuff.