Kevin Vogelsang

This post is very important to me. It is the 2nd part of a set of posts that began with Our Sphere of Influence. A Sphere of Influence is our realm where we matter most.  Check out the post for further discussion.  These posts hinge on the concept. Do provide your input by commenting.

Technology gives us new capabilities.  Consequently, technology has an important side effect: it makes our Sphere of Influence more accessible to us.  And when a group of people gain access to their Sphere of Influence, communities form.

I don’t think people have thought of it this way, but this is the framework for most community-driven movements:  a group of people focused on their Sphere of Influence that connect with each other.

The initial motivator for getting involved in a community may vary (they may not even be aware of the community), but people recognize their Sphere of Influence within a community of people when they begin to be acknowledged for their work.  This recognition pushes them forward as they realize the importance of their work and realize their work matters.

In the open-source software movement, programmers needed better ways to use a computer, a piece of technology that was highly enabling for them.  They also wanted to have greater control over their tools, to make the tools better, and to learn.  The community pushes this forward as they recognize and appreciate each others work.  They know their work matters and they benefit from the work of others.

The Wikipedian community spends huge amounts of time contributing to Wikipedia.   They may begin by wanting to contribute to the project.  They’re pushed forward when they see the impact/appreciation of their work through recognition and gaining higher command of their realm within Wikipedia.

Technology has another side effect: it makes new Spheres of Influence available. New technologies eventually lead to social changes that cause new communities to form.  A given function becomes democratized and community-driven.

With rapid prototyping technologies becoming affordable, a much greater number of people can take part in designing and fabricating physical things: an open-source hardware community is forming.

The same is also happening with biology research.  There’s a Do-It-Yourself biology community forming completely outside of academia.

Gov 2.0 represents the true democratization of government.  Citizens don’t take part in government by voting for someone. They just implement functions themselves using government resources.

When new Spheres of Influence become available, we’re able to choose one that better suits us.   Entire industries and social constructs are being completely disrupted by technologies that allow  people to do it themselves.  Communities of people form that are willing to do it for free because it’s what they like to do, and its where they feel they matter most.  It’s tough for businesses to compete with, unless they daringly change their business models or create new ones.

But, it’s not impossible for businesses to cope.  The open-source software companies did it….

In the following posts, I’ll talk more about the application of these concepts.

Your comments are important and will help me refine these thoughts as I continue to write about them.  Give me your thoughts by emailing me at KVogelsang11@gmail.com or leaving a comment.

-Kevin
2.8.2010

All people must have or find a “sphere of influence.”

Our sphere of influence is a realm in which we are a mover, a high impact player, the X factor.  Within our sphere of influence, we matter…a lot.

This sphere may be large or small.  It may be easy or hard to find.  It could be a role within our community.   It could be within our family. It could be on a sports team.  It could be within lines of code.  It could be our garden.  It could be the entire world.

The most important thing is that we find it.  We need to find it for ourselves and for everyone else.  Our energy needs to be directed somewhere where it matters.

-Kevin
2.2.2010

As the hardware for reading ebooks improves, eBooks will continue to be adopted. 

But, there’s one thing that eBooks don’t do: they don’t visibly sit on a shelf.

Books aren’t just for reading.  They express something about us.  A book on our shelf represents something we see (or want to see) in ourselves.

They’re also like trophies.  You can’t walk into my house and see all the eBooks I’ve conquered.  You can’t appreciate the grandeur of an eBook library.

eBooks are much more cost effective way of publishing and distributing content.  But, I still think people will continue to buy physical books for a long time.  But, they’ll likely become more of a luxury good.

Today, Apple announced it’s new tablet device–the iPad. They also announced iBooks, the iPad’s application/platform for ebooks.  Interestingly enough, Apple was smart enough to try and replicate the feeling of a book sitting on a shelf.  The idea of putting eBooks on a shelf is much more provocative than adding them to a list of text.

-Kevin
1.27.2009

Over the past week or so I’ve written about why it’s important to find your passion and gain expertise.

Blogging can help you with these, and more.

Blogging is an awesome thing.

If you blog consistently, you’ll blog about what’s on your mind.  And soon enough, you will realize what’s on your mind and what you want to share.  This says a lot about you.

You’ll talk about things you know.  People will challenge you and ask you questions.  This will cause you to learn more.

People will learn from you.  People will appreciate your experience and the shared experiences between you.

People will also learn about you.  It’s strange how little we know about what is on each other’s minds and what our interests are, even our close friends that live next door to us.  Our minds are in a constant state of flux.  It’s hard to keep up with.  (Ever written something and looked back at it even a few months later?  It almost always gets the response, “Did I write that?  What was I thinking?”)

Blogging gives you an audience to write to.  Writing to people will require you to write clearly, and consequently, think more clearly.  Therefore, you’ll learn from writing.  One of my primary motivators to write is just to figure things out.  When I start writing about a topic, it leads me to unexpected ideas and conclusions.

It’ll also help you stay in touch with others and help them stay in touch with you.  You’re constantly offer people something to talk about with you.

Lastly, when someone writes a comment, or just visits your page,  they provide you with positive feedback.  Your work has been noticed.  As you see your number of visitors slowly increase, you’ll want to keep doing it.  Like running, once you get in shape, once you get in a groove, you won’t want to give it up.

Starting a blog is easy. Just go to WordPress.com .

-Kevin
1.22.10

Admittedly, I didn’t have a resolution ready when the calendar switched to 2010.  I somewhat mulled a few over earlier this month, but none really struck me.  They just didn’t fit.

However, while I didn’t have a resolution ready, I knew what 2010 was going to be about. 2010 is the year of the Hustle.

Establishing yourself in the world takes time.  It takes a lot of hard work and years to become a “somebody.”  Most 22 year-olds aren’t really “anybody”; they haven’t had time to do much of anything yet.  “It takes time. Be patient,” is the common reply.  Some might even say, “being a somebody isn’t important.”

I disagree with both wholeheartedly.  Patience is too close to complacency, and we should all want to be a “somebody.”  We should each have a vision for ourselves, a vision that we’ll need to work for and grow into.  That vision will be drastically different between people, but we need to have one.  The world runs on people making something of themselves.

With this in mind, I think my head’s in the right place.  I’m tired of being a nobody.  And I should feel that way at this stage of my life.

However, I wasn’t sure how to turn this into a good resolution.  At least not until tonight.

Luckily, before too much of 2010 had already come to pass, it came to me. Kevin Vogelsang’s New Year’s Resolution of 2010:  Make 80% of the Days an Absolute Masterpiece.

Any goal should have criteria put in place so you can tell if you achieve it or not.  So what does it mean to make the day a “masterpiece”?

As with many things, it comes down to what you can say to yourself at the end of the day.  I’ve made the day a masterpiece if I can honestly answer the following questions with a ‘yes’:

Did I wake up and take the day on with enthusiasm?
Did I focus on the task at hand?
Did I seize opportunities (within my means) to help someone out?
Did I avoid wasting my time by worrying or harping on mistakes?
Did I take time away from my work for myself and for other people?
Did I appreciate the people around me so much that they felt the appreciation?
Did I learn something?
Did I celebrate the day’s triumphs?

A masterpiece is rarely the most dazzling work of art.  The Mona Lisa isn’t particularly exciting. But there’s an incredible density of substance within the strokes.

It’s the same with the day.  If anyone was to expect to wake up bubbling over with happiness and energy each day, they’d be foolish.  But no matter how you feel, or what you have to do, you can work real beauty into the day.

So how’s that for a resolution? Of course, a resolution ultimately means nothing without real execution.  But, setting the right goals is the key first step.  You can see how I do by following me on twitter (@KevinVogelsang).

-Kevin
1.17.2010

To be a good writer, it’s good to think about writing.  And to think clearly, it’s good to write.  This works so well that I often write just to figure things out. (I’m partially doing that now.)

Skimming is the art of consuming text on the web, and not because we have so much we want to get to, but because we have so much to avoid; most writing is muck and fluff.

Writing is a great thing.  Everyone should do it.  Consequently, everyone should think about what makes good writing.

A few thoughts on good writing to remember:

A writer is a diamond cutter.  The writer’s job is to slice away meaningless and distracting material, and leaves behind hard-edged, crystalline thought. This doesn’t mean writing must be plain, it does mean you’ll want to look at it.

Good writing delivers insight.  (But what if the writer’s only goal is to convey information?  With lack of insight, they won’t deliver the right information.)

Good writing is conversational.

Good writing has a bit of a bite to it.  It’s so evocative that it stings.

Good writing should be clear, in contradistinction to simple.  Indeed, most of the time writing should be simple, easy to understand, so the reader can glide along, propelled by the words.  The reader needs to feel they’re going somewhere.  However, the writer should also inject the right dose of complexity: too much and the reader stumbles and eventually comes to a halt and their mind stagnates, too little and the reader leaves without sensation. “I could’ve thought of that”, “interesting, but trivial,”they say to themselves.  They’ll quickly move on and lose the chance to contemplate something important.

A swift jab of complexity reminds the reader that the thought possesses complexity and is truly awe-inspiring; the reader must take a moment to wrap their mind around it.  Beautiful things possess both elegant simplicity and complexity.  Clarity requires we illuminate each, or we lose the full meaning.

One last thought: grammar is only a set of rules meant to enhance clarity. Nothing more.

-Kevin
1.5.2010

These days are a blur for me, partly because I have so much I want to do, partly because I don’t want them to go away, partly because so much has changed.  I’ve come a long way this year, more so than usual.

The New Year is about looking ahead.  But, you can’t look ahead thoughtfully without taking a look back .  Here’s what I view as significant this year for me personally:

1. I graduated from MIT .  For me, the sentiment of graduation wasn’t “Hooray, I did it! What a journey! I have a degree!” it was “I finally have a chance to do my real work.”.  An education is undoubtedly valuable, but school always seemed like a cage to me, which was frustrating since I love learning new things.  It was also a relief when I discovered why, I like to learn in order to create:
2. Discovered my calling: to make valuable things.  If I’m not producing something of tangible valuable from my own two hands, I’m not being me.
3. I discovered I’ve got a real “hand” for writing.  I didn’t realize this until I started blogging, which I started doing for other reasons.
4. Started my first business venture.  I went for it, and although it’s a long tough road for an entrepreneur, I feel like I’ve already gotten a payout.  I had a blast.  I’m way ahead of the curve when it comes to knowing how to start something (which is an aspiration many have.)  I got to meet a lot of interesting people like Paul Graham, Marc Fleury, and Allen Nance–entrepreneurs are the most interesting group of people in the world.  (However, by no means was any of it easy at all.)
5. Developed an understanding of what it really means to be Relentless. It takes time to make something great and you really have to slog through the mud to make anything happen, and I want to make things happen.  All doers must understand this.

I’m looking ahead to some audacious goals for the coming year.

Live your dream in 2010.

-Kevin
12.1.2010

I’m working on a book right now.  It’s fairly short, but it’s taking much longer than I had anticipated. Most of the content is there, but as usual, the devil is in the details.  Good writing is crisp, clear, and compelling;  there’s always something to tighten up and improve.    (It’s currently over 11,000 words.  No wonder longer works take years to write.)

But the Truth is, any work of art, any thing we create , is very personal–it represents us.  And it’s never perfect, and we could spend an infinite amount of time on it.  I didn’t fully realize this until my first startup expedition.

For this reason, Ayn Rand, as well as other authors, considered using a pseudonym for her books.  She knew it would always have shortcomings.  She wrote some of the most epic novels of the century.

The strategy most product-related artists take is to push the work out the door as soon as possible and fix it later.  This strategy puts pressure on the artist to improve it as soon as possible (you don’t want something subpar out there) and allows you to start getting thoughts and feedback to improve (or to learn from in your next work.)

Anyone out there that makes stuff have any thoughts on getting a creation out the door?  or deciding when it’s finished?

-Kevin
12.29.2009