Interesting

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Web Design 101

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Even though I spend most of my professional career as a software developer, I do have interest in web design. I have also done some design work for clients and Flexnode's own sites. Since I couldn't get someone else to present at Webcamp KK so I decided to try it myself. Here are the slides and a ton of useful links for web design. I'm glad I decided to do this because of the sheer amount of things I've learned in the process. Hopefully, you'll find something useful here.

Web design 101
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Webcamp KK

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Last night, we had our very first Webcamp KK and surprisingly about 30 people attended.  Although mostly dominated by developers and programmers, we had some photographers, designers, bloggers and marketers in the mix. My hope is that eventually we will be able get a better mix of web professionals together to share and create awesome stuff. For those who missed the event, check out the slides:-

Mobile web application development

View more presentations from edthix

I consider this event a success and hopefully we will be able to keep the momentum going. As I said to attendees of Webcamp, I want everyone to gather together to not just share their knowledge or expertise but also lend their hand in creating and building awesome work/projects. I hope it will be more than just a gathering but also a catalyst for cool and exciting projects between the community.

If you are interested in Webcamp KK, check out our Facebook group. Webcamp KK will be held on the first Tuesday of every month. Come join us!

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Toothbrush Theory

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Note: I've recently updated this post and expanded it with methods on how to not fall into the trap of over-valuing our own ideas. Read it here.

I came across this theory on how we tend to value our own creation more than others while reading Dan Ariely's latest book, The Upside of Irrationality.

Toothbrush Theory

Everyone wants a toothbrush, everyone needs one, everyone has one, but no one wants to use anyone else's

It is also known as the Not-Invented-Here bias. This applies to things you buy, food you eat and even your ideas.

We tend to overrate and overvalue our own ideas and creations. In fact, we continue to do so even when someone else made it seems as if we came up with it ourselves.

This bias is useful in keeping us motivated and committed to pursue our own work but it could also blind us from better solutions and ideas out there.

On the other hand, it seems quite a number of Malaysians including myself tend to prefer products from other countries. I think we need to strike a balance on this and give some of the local products a chance.

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Facebook Comments

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Finally decided to switch over to Facebook Comments box. I'm using this plugin and there were quite a bit of modifications required on my theme. You have to disable and hide Wordpress own commenting system and make sure the theme is using Facebook comments count. Before you take the jump and move your blog over to use Facebook comments, here's some pros and cons to consider.

Pros

  1. Integrated with Facebook. Comments can easily be posted on Facebook to increase views and publicity. You also get the cool Facebook Insights stats.
  2. You'll get comments from actual people with their name and photo. Makes it easier to figure out who is who.
  3. Less spam. Well, there are spammers on Facebook but definitely less than those annoying spam bots.

Cons

  1. Not exactly easy to setup. Might require some knowledge in HTML/CSS/PHP.
  2. No longer integrated with Wordpress Comments. Meaning you won't be managing your comments from your Wordpress admin site.

If you are planning to use Facebook Comments, you have to create an app on Facebook and set it up to point to your blog. The settings page for the plugin have all the information you need to get started.

You may also need to modify some of these files to hide the existing commenting system and change how the comments count are displayed.

  • comments.php
  • single.php
  • index.php

Here's the comments count code.

<a href="<?php echo the_permalink() ?>#comments"><fb:comments-count href=<?php echo the_permalink() ?> /></fb:comments-count> Comments</a>

Depending on the theme you are using, this can be really simple or quite a task. On Flexnode Blog, there were more modifications required on the theme functions and the styling of the comments area. If you need any help, leave a comment below.

Inspire action

Simon Sinek says he found out why some people and organizations are so inspirational. In his book, Start with Why he codifies the method for us to lead better and inspire change. He calls it the Golden Circle.

All organizations and careers function on 3 levels. What you do, How you do it and Why you do it.  The problem is, most don’t even know that Why exists.

Influential and inspirational companies like Apple starts from the 'why'. It sells you a story of why they are different. Simon argues that most companies start with a story that tells their customer what they are selling. They should instead focus on telling their customer what they believe in and stand for.

Here's a talk from Simon at TED that you should watch. If you are leader of some sort or want to inspire action and change, do NOT miss this.

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Exponential growth

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I'm sure all of you know the power of compound interest. Whenever you add the interest you earn to your principal and let the interest itself earns interest, you have compound interest. The growth on your principal over time is exponential. What this means is that, if you have a steady growth of 10%, your principal will double in roughly 7.2 years. This is known as the Rule of 72. In order to calculate when your principal will double, take the number 72 and divide it by the interest earn per year.

10% interest per year - 72 / 10 = 7.2 years

7% interest per year - 72 / 7 = 10.28 years

3% interest per year - 72 / 3 = 24 years

If you attempt to calculate how long it will take to double your net worth with the current fixed/term deposit interest rate, you'll find out it takes an awful long amount of time. Most of us will consider 2-3% growth a year to be rather small and at times negligible.

But things are very different when the numbers are much bigger. Take world population as an example. Current population growth rate is around 1%. Total world population now is at 6.8 billion. 1% is equivalent to  68 million.

1% of 6.8 billion = 68 million

1% growth per year means it takes 72 years to double.

In about 3/4 of a century, there will be more than 13 billion of us on this planet

No one can explain the power of exponential growth better than Professor Albert Bartlett (retired Physics prof. at University of Colorado-Boulde). In his presentation titled "Arithmetic, Population, and Energy", he show us what are the consequences of 'steady growth' to population and energy usage.

The greatest shortcoming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential function. - Professor Albert Bartlett

Set aside 1 hour of your time and watch his presentation on Youtube. It's just simple arithmetic and very easy to follow. It makes you wonder if steady growth is always good and grasp the true meaning of the exponential growth. I've included the first video below for your convenience.

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Ramp vs Treadmill

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Are you charging higher and higher for your products or services as time goes by? Or are you charging the same rate or worse, less and less? Dave Navarro argues that if you are not charging more, you are using the wrong business model.

Your business can be one of two things: A ramp, or a treadmill.

A ramp leads to a bigger and bigger business.  A treadmill leads to more of the same, and a plateau of sales.  (Or, if you have a fancy treadmill, a gentle incline that doesn’t get you that much farther.)

A ramp gets you to the next level.  A treadmill doesn’t.

Credits: Dave Navarro

However, don't be mistaken and think that all you need to do is increase the price of your products. You need to increase the value provided by your products and services. To command a premium, you need to improve your skills, innovate and be different.

Read the post by Dave on why you should build your own ramp and how to go about it.

Don't be content with running on the same spot. Build a ramp by improving and innovating the value you can deliver to your customers. Only a ramp can bring you and your business forward.

Envelope System

I recently stumble upon a really simple but effective budgeting system. I'm sure some of you are already practicing a similar system. It's called the Envelope System. The idea is very simple. You just need to divide your budget into categories and store the cash allocated in their individual envelopes. Once the envelope for a category is empty, you can't spend anymore until the next time you fill it up.

Here's are a few steps highlighted by Dave Ramsey to help start budgeting with the Envelope System.

  1. Budget each paycheck. Budget is a dirty word to most people, but you must budget down to the last dime if you're going to successfully implement the envelope system.
  2. Divide and conquer. Of course, there will be budget items that you cannot include in your envelope system, like bills paid by check or automatic withdraw. However, you can create categories like food, gas, clothing and entertainment.
  3. Fill 'er Up. After you've categorized your cash expenses, fill each envelope with the money allotted for it in your budget. For example, if you allow $100 for clothing, put $100 in cash in your clothing envelope for the month.
  4. When it's gone, it's gone. Once you've spent all the money in a given envelope, you're done spending for that category. If you go on a shopping spree and spend the $100 in your clothing envelope, you can't spend any more on clothes until you budget for that category again. That means no visits to the ATM to withdraw more money!
  5. Don't be tempted. While debit cards can't get you directly into debt, if used carelessly, they can cause you to over-spend. There's something psychological about spending cash that hurts more than swiping a piece of plastic. If spending cash whenever possible can become a habit, you'll be less likely to over-spend or buy on impulse.
  6. Give it time. It will take a few months to perfect your envelope system. Don't give up after a month or two if it's not clicking. You'll get the hang of it and see how beneficial the envelope system is as you dump debt, build wealth, and achieve financial peace! See ... simple!

Credits: Dave Ramsey

Of course, you don't have to really use actual envelopes to implement your budget. You could maintain a spreadsheet, a log or if you are savvy enough, download and run Bucketwise. Start budgeting today to achieve your financial goals!