Kevin Vogelsang

This is a re-post, but it’s something I’d like to get more thoughts on.

The internet has changed the world already.  However, there are plenty of new ways to better utilize this beautiful thing called the Web.

One area where the Web is still lacking is learning–specifically, what I’d call Knowledge Acquisition, when you really want to get a big chunk of deep knowledge on a topic.

If you’re new to a topic, and want to learn it at a deep level, where do you begin on the internet?  You’d likely go to Google and start poking around.  You’ll eventually stop in at the topic’s Wikipedia page.   Wikipedia will give you the basics and help you learn some of the terminology to better refine your search results.  You’ll then go back to Google and do some more searches.

In my experience, I get the following from this process: 1) SEO garbage 2) overviews that aren’t any better than the Wikipedia page 3) pages that are somewhat on the topic but are mainly just entertaining, and 4) I actually stumble across someone’s online presence that is a very good resource that I should spend some time with but I don’t know it.

Here’s a search on “Visual Design” that I think is representative.  On the 2nd page, you’ll find Edward Tufte’s web page.  Tufte is highly regarded when it comes to information presentation and design. If you took a glance at his web page, you certainly wouldn’t know it.  And I’d be surprised if you even took the time to look through his site.

1) The first problem with the internet and knowledge acquisition is that you have to make a serious investment in going through the material.  It’s not just a 400 word article we’re talking about here.  And do you want to commit to going through a substantial amount of material that could actually be junk?

2) Google is great at finding specific or popular pages.  But when it comes to deep learning, it seems to me Google isn’t very good by default.   Google’s ranking system is still largely based on links, and a site gets a large amount of links by having a lot of people link to it.  However, deeper knowledge is held within the small community surrounding the topic that may not come up very highly on Google, and either way, as an outsider you won’t be able to recognize this community even if they do. Figuring out who the community is surrounding that topic takes a long time.

I’ve found that the best way to learn about a topic is to go find someone you respect that is knowledgeable in the field.  Then, ask them to point you to materials and people to pay attention to.  You’ll then find your way through the community and figure out who the real thought leaders are.

This is far and away the best way to learn, but this process could be improved upon greatly.  It is also predicated upon having access to someone that is knowledgeable in the topic.  If you’re around a university, this may not be a problem.  If you’re in the middle of nowhere, it will take you a long time to find your way.

What do you think? Is doing knowledge acquisition on the internet difficult?

-Kevin
5.4.2010

If interested in buying a copy, you can purchase it on CreateSpace (better margin for me if you buy it here!) or on Amazon.  To learn more about the contents of the book, check out the excerpt linked below, or check out the Preview.

Yesterday was an exciting day: the first copy (the “proof” copy) of my book–10 Powerful Personas–arrived.

I’m excited to hear what more people have to say about it.

For me, writing is about getting the ideas that are constantly haunting me out into the world where someone can use them, or even be inspired by them. Ideas sitting in a dusty corner offer nothing. Of course, I also have plenty of things I need to work on as well.

For these reasons, I didn’t spend a whole lot of time getting feedback.  To date, only two people have ever read the book.  Hopefully, that number will grow soon enough.  (I’ve almost talked my mom into buying a copy……)  Some people have already pointed out that the cover is a bit militaristic and maybe even a little menacing, particularly with the black and red.  This is great news.  I want it to be bold and striking.  You’ll be seeing that symbol more in the future and you’ll come to recognize and love what it stands for and the place it holds in your mind.

When the proof copy arrived, I was extremely happy and proud.  It wasn’t perfect (the cover is a little off). But no work of art is ever perfect or even “finished”, and it’s time for this book to be released into the world.

It’s great to finally see a project come together.  It takes a surreal amount of time and focus to write a book.  Creating any product that you deeply care about is an emotional process. I didn’t fully understand this until it came time to demo the product my previous startup had been working on (which I’ll talk more about one day).  No product is more personal than a book.  Not only is it your own personal thoughts, a book is your thoughts that you’ve invested a lot of effort into refining and presenting.

I’ll be looking into different ways of getting these ideas out into the world.  I have many thoughts about this.  Until then, you can buy it here: 10 Powerful Personas. It will also be up on Amazon soon enough.

Also, here’s a link to a PDF of one of the Powerful Personas you’ll meet in the book: The Cocky Son-of-a-Bitch. It’s not my favorite chapter, although I do love it. And it’s not the best.  But I know you’ll love it and find a real gem somewhere within its pages.  Feel free to distribute as you please.

Last thing, I write like I talk and think.  Consequently, there are grammatical errors.  I’m aware of this.  In fact, the very first sentence of the “Introduction” has a grammar problem.  See if you can spot it.

Buy a copy.  Read it. Enjoy. Pass it on.  Let us know what you think.

-Kevin
4.29.2010

Yep, it’s true.  I’m an MIT Bioengineer working as a mover.  One, maybe two days a week, I get up real’ early in the morning to go move furniture and boxes for people. It’s definitely tough, physical labor.

“That sounds like it sucks. That has to be terrible right?”

Nope.  I’m lovin it.  I’d do it once a week, even if I didn’t need a little extra spending money.

For one, there’s something extremely satisfying about working with your hands to directly produce value for someone.  Moving is very stressful for people.  Can you imagine having someone that you don’t know come move all your belongings for you?  Much less worrying about the move itself.

People are relieved and extremely happy when they meet us, see that we’re competent and enjoyable people, and then watch us do a great job and fast.  Run to the truck.  Grab a stack of boxes. Pass them off to the next guy and repeat.  We do great work and get a lot of extremely tangible work done.

Secondly, for men (I can’t speak for women), there’s something about working with your hands that let’s guys talk.  Some of the best conversations I’ve ever had between a group of guys was while working–painting, hanging drywall, framing a house.  I’m not sure what it is.   I think part of it is the fact that there is a valuable objective involved, but at the same time, once the work begins, there is still plenty of mental capacity to talk while passing the time.

Thirdly, I get a workout and get away from my desk and computer.  Something very good about that.  There’s something much more natural about being out in the world and moving heavy objects.

Fourthly, it’s always important to get out of your “bubble.”  People tend to forget what the world is like outside of their immediate environment or community.  For me, my community spends a lot of time focused on technology and getting jobs on Wall Street.  That’s a small part of the world.  And closing yourself off from the world is a huge loss, in addition to being dangerous.

Lastly, in addition to other reasons, no one can say that I’m not interesting.  (Well, they could, but would you believe them?)

Kevin
1.23.2010

Over time, people adopt new rules regarding what is “socially acceptable.”   Some practices are discarded, while new ones are created.

So what are some of the new and “cutting edge” social blunders?  I’ll take a stab at a few (some serious, some not):

1. Insulting someone’s blog or Twitter stream.  (It’s essentially the same as saying “your thoughts/life suck.”)
2. Texting at the dinner table.
3. Breaking up with a significant other via text.
4. Canceling a date via text.
5. Tweeting “I’m talking to John Doe”, while you’re actually talking to John Doe.  (Yes, this happened to a friend of mine.)
6. Tweeting that your date sucks while on your date. (This is pretty hilarious, particularly if your date is following you on Twitter and has text updates enabled on their phone.  It has happened.)
7. Writing an inappropriate comment on Facebook that then comes up in your Mom/Aunt/Grandma’s Facebook feed or is viewable by them on Facebook.
8. Updating your relationship status on Facebook during your wedding.
9. Making a Facebook page for your school for the sake of bashing your school. (Apparently this is a problem, seems fine to me.)
10. Making a fake Facebook profile for a friend (or Twitter account), friending people (getting followers) in their name, then using it to make them look gay/racist/sexist, etc. (Ahem, Bryan…..)

Got some others that are either true blunders or are just funny?  Post them in the comments section.  (Note: if you can’t see the comments, you need to click on the title of the article to see the comments section.)

-Kevin
1.19.2010

There’s a problem with digital content right now, incentives exist for creating crappy content: content is defined  by SEO (Search Engine Optimization, creating content that will rank highly in Google) and “realtime” (breaking stories quickly).

As for SEO-driven content, Content Creators play the game of mass-producing content for niche-based searches (What are people searching for?  Let’s pay someone $10 to write an article on it.  Rinse and repeat thousands of times per day.)  Michael Arrington wrote a good post on this topic “The End of Handcrafted Content.”

The increased incentive to be “realtime” and break stories quickly over services like Twitter also lead to poor content.  Take for instance, the “Black Screen of Death” Episode.  PC World essentially spread a completely unfounded rumor about a technical problem on Windows.  PC World’s editor’s justification: “We were chasing the story in realtime.”  (Give me a break.  Just say you fucked up.)

Ed Bott at ZDnet had a good write-up about the representative fiasco here: “What the Black Screen of Death  story says about Tech Journalism.”

Then of course, there’s the problem of content creators ripping off quality stories from real journalists and doing sub-par writeups to catch the story.  This only adds to the crud littering the web, burying quality content.

ReadWriteWeb has a good synopsis of the issues facing content here: “Content Farms: Why Media, Blogs and Google should be worried.”

The incentive to churn out poor content dilutes the value of the information on the web, as well as throws in misinformation.  It’s difficult to tell the difference.  How much time do you really want to spend sifting through content? And still, how do you tell if it’s good information, particularly if its an area outside your expertise?

The internet can provide easily accessible information and should be the ultimate educational/informational resource.  Allowing people to easily become well-informed is vital.  And while there is plenty of quality content that can be found, if you’re adept at it, it needs to be much better.  (I still largely rely on word of mouth to find good sources.  Best way to find good content: ask someone knowledgeable on the topic what they read.  What if you don’t have access to such people?)

It will get solved.  In a way, I’m working on this problem.  I hope others are as well.

-Kevin
12.28.09

A little over 24 hours ago, I began the “Uberman Sleep Schedule,” 20 minute naps every 4 hours.  And despite the lack of sleep, thus far, I like it.

Yesterday at 11PM I took my first 20 minute rest.  Since I wasn’t used to the schedule I didn’t fall asleep.  I’ve never been able to fall asleep quickly, so the same happened for my next two naps at 3AM and 7Am–I rested but no sleep.

At 8AM, I went for a run with Ovid.  I was feeling tired prior to that, but the run got me going.  I didn’t actually sleep until my next rest period at 11AM, when I slept for approximately twenty minutes.  This was some great sleep, and I felt much better afterwards.

I did a good amount of work this afternoon getting Vogel Labs setup* and went and lifted with Ryan at 2PM.  I didn’t sleep any during my 3PM or 7PM rests.  At 9:30, I went and played a pretty tough game of pickup basketball (my team won) and was quite exhausted afterwards, which was unrelated to my sleep.

After the game, I hurried home, took a quick  shower, and hopped in bed for my 11PM rest.  Again, no sleep.  Body still can’t fall asleep that quickly.

Despite the lack of sleep, I don’t feel all that bad.  I’ve stayed up all night before and usually I feel terrible.  After my 11PM rest, I’d say I felt pretty darn good, although I felt tired very quickly.

To keep the record straight, I haven’t been using any stimulants during any of this .

There’s a few interesting insights I’ve already discovered.  First, I’m not feeling too bad, although I do feel quite sleep deprived.  I credit this to a few reasons:

1) I really enjoy the schedule. By the time I start feeling really tired, it’s time for a rest period, which is gratifying.

2) I feel much more productive, and I don’t think this is necessarily related to having a lot more waking hours.  Rather, I think it’s more of a mental trick related to cutting the day up into smaller 4 hour cycles.

In his book “How to Stop Worrying and Start Living,” Dale Carnegie spoke about how many, very successful people lived in “day-tight” compartments–they didn’t devote their mental energy to worrying about all the things they had to do tomorrow, nor did they worry about all the things they didn’t do yesterday.  Instead, the successful people that Dale came to know each did their work and accomplished a few things every day, but focused completely on those daily triumphs.  If you can just focus on enjoying and completing the daily tasks at hand, you’re in a good position.

I think the Uberman Schedule enforces this.  Instead of having 7 days per week, the Uberman has 42 smaller, more manageable “day-tight” compartments.  I find myself getting up, eating, and working on a few things until I get tired and take a rest.  The structure is very beneficial to just focusing on the task at hand.  It also takes away the inefficiency of working for long periods of time; for each compartment, I end up with about 2.5 hours of real work time.

3) I spend no time trying to manage my time, nor do I spend energy worrying about having enough time.  I’ve always got a lot of things I’m working on, so I generally end up putting a lot of energy into managing my time.  On this schedule, having enough time isn’t the worry, and the structure is beneficial to tackling one sizable task per cycle.

4) Even if I don’t sleep, my rest periods are 20 minutes of glorious, solace.  I feel as if I’m in a deep meditation.  Nothing is on my mind, and I simply rest.  I don’t remember a time when this happened.  Usually the wheels seem to turn 24/7.

It’s still early, and I may just be high off the challenge.  But, so far, so good.

-Kevin
11.18.2009

*I’ll hopefully have grounds to talk more about this in the coming months.  I will say, I’m already enjoying the project though.

This is it.  I’m going for it.  I’ve started the quest to discover the fabled “Uberman Sleep Schedule“.

This highly sought sleep cycle is a polyphasic sleep schedule that consists of a 20 minute nap every 4 hours.  The idea behind this rather absurd sleep schedule is that once your body becomes acclimated, you immediately enter REM (deep) sleep as soon as you close your eyes.  Thus, you get the same 2 hours of REM sleep that a person that sleeps 8 hours would.

Admittedly, this is somewhat absurd.  There have been a number of people who claimed to have achieved this sleep cycle that have blogged about it. They claim that after the first 2 weeks, they felt more rested than ever and got to enjoy 22 hour days.  Of course, the difficulty is the acclimation phase.

Now, of course, I don’t just assume these accounts to be true.  So I have to wonder, is there any reason to think this is possible?  Well, I do know that the 8 hour, monophasic sleep schedule is something we’ve imposed upon ourselves.  I also know that the human body is adaptive.  Our natural behaviors aren’t meant for performance.  Our behaviors come from the need for efficiency and conservation.  But, what are we capable of when we test our limits?

Way back, before someone came up with the concept of business hours and the human need for 8 hours of sleep, I wonder how our ancestors slept?  While the farmers were back in the village living according to the sun, I imagine that the hunters were out tracking woolly mammoths and making use of a very different sleep cycle to keep up with their game.  And if I were to guess, I’d say I’m more of a hunter than a farmer.

Personally, I’m tired of the frustrating process of getting to sleep.  It’s never felt natural to me, nor worked very well.  So I’m going for it. My friends have put me at not being able to get past Day 3.  We’ll see.  I’ll track my progress on the blog.

The human condition is a vast frontier.  More than anything, I have to know if this really exists.

-Kevin
11.17.2009

Earlier today, I stopped into MIT’s Kresge Auditorium for the interview between NPR’s Tom Ashbrook and Google CEO Eric Schmidt.

During the interview, Eric stated (paraphrased), “corporate social responsibility is good for shareholders….the CEO should be focused on it.”

The first thing that came to my mind was management’s primary responsibility: profit maximization.  While this is of course debatable whether this is management’s only responsibility, I would say it is the primary responsibility.

Eric’s statement also reminded me of another concept: the triple bottom line–the idea that a company’s success can be measured economically (profit) , environmentally (planet) , and socially  (people.)  As one would guess, research seems to suggest that companies that focus solely on profit maximization make more money than those that additionally focus on social and environmental issues.

Let’s assume that this is in fact historically true–companies focused on profit maximization make more money.  Do we have reason to believe this has changed (or is changing)?

I think we do.  This is a product of the Information Age.  Nothing is secret on the internet.  When something evil happens, people know about it.  (Heck, I heard about Kanye taking the microphone from Taylor Swift within minutes, and I pay no attention to their music or the VMA’s.)

If nothing is secret, I think social and environmental responsibility do in fact begin to coincide with profit maximization.  As Eric went on to say (again paraphrased), “Social Responsibility gets you better people and better financial returns.”

All else equal, do you want to pay money to an Evil Empire or a company that provides value beyond the product?  And with the internet, I think people are more aware of that “value beyond the product.”

-Kevin
11.4.2009