Clever Illustrations Of Bad Decisions And Human Behavior – DesignTAXI.com.

Looking back…
The past few years at Seesmic have been nothing short of amazing, and I never felt so privileged to work with some of the most amazing people in the tech/startup space, as well as work with an awesome development team out in Bucharest (sadly, it was the only time I ever got to play tennis each time I dropped by…). I was fortunate to play several roles from community to biz dev and finally to product. Along the way, I forged valuable relationships and friendships. I have to personally thank Loic for giving me the opportunity to work with him, and very grateful he was willing to put up with some of my crap. It’s been quite a ride with a lot of cherished memories, and I have no doubt our path’s will cross once again soon.
I also am grateful to have worked with some of the best colleagues to learn from in various areas of management, biz dev, agile, design, user experience, video and film, mobile platforms, mobile design, api’s, technology, community, marketing, support and the list goes on and on…

Looking ahead…
As for taking the next step – I ultimately decided to take on a product position at Telmate, a technology startup that provides communication services to correctional facilities. Initially, it wasn’t something that  jumped out to me as tech-sexy, but there was a connection there that I couldn’t shake off.

Oddly compelling…
Years ago, I once received a 5 year anniversary plaque that had the heading “… an oddly compelling place to work…” – and I sensed a similar environment here. After meeting with leadership, including a CEO with an incredibly strong passion as my previous one, and after several weeks of working with the teams – I find myself fortunate to find a right fit.

Titles? We don’t need no stinkin’ titles…
I’m not much for titles, but my official tag is Product Owner, a term familiar to those in agile/scrum methodologies. It’s one of the reasons that compelled me to the position. With a dedicated scrum master, two-week sprints, product refinement and sprint planning, and dedicated sprint demos led by developers (which the core team is locally based here in the SF office – another big plus) to stakeholders and open to everyone in the company (which many attend), I’ve learned to appreciate what scrum has to offer. Although I’ve had various opportunities for agile training during my product roles in the past several years, the folks here make a dedicated effort to follow agile practices. The discipline is even followed in other departments outside of development, which is pretty impressive and calls for a future post. Also, one of the dev teams I work with happens to be pretty kickass – literally. I’ll leave it there for now until the next post.

Making an impact…
Those close to me know that I spent a good chunk of my early years as a non-profit director, running all sorts of youth programs including programs for at-risk and high-risk youth. Through this, my foundation to provide services to make an impact carried over to a tech career in the higher education space, and now, I feel that this just as fitting. Being able to provide or enhance a service where residents can communicate with their families and loved ones though technology makes it refreshing to know that you can continue to make an impact.

So how’s it going so far?
There are a lot of other things to appreciate, which also makes it very busy. Sure, I can be obliged to say that the past several weeks have been great. But in the short time here, I’ve been fortunate to recruit a couple of folks to work with me – so that in itself speaks more about how one feels about a company – oh, and btw, we’re still hiring…

I’m hoping that I can take more time to blog or share insights that focus on product, agile and design, as it relates to what I do. I’ve applied some of my ideas and practices and quite anxious to share the results in future posts. More to come…

4 lessons Muay Thai taught me about digital marketing and business | @jdelodovici.

1 | Watch: For Muji’s Unsung Designers, Imperfection Breeds Good Design | Co.Design: business + innovation + design.

Calculator: How Many Balloons You’d Need To Lift Your House? – DesignTAXI.com.

Five User Experience Lessons from Tom Cruise | UX Magazine.

uxdesign.smashingmagazine.com

There’s a lot of talk about wireframing, but what does our work look like beyond wireframing? Was I the only one with a simplified approach? What can we do to create successful designs? What does the process beyond ”the poster” look like? Is there a pattern that works well for the majority of design…

www.smashingmagazine.com

To answer the question of how a different perspective leads to a creative solution, we need to understand a little neuropsychology and what happens in the brain when you are solving a problem.

Oscar Pistorius is an inspiration to all of us | wrapupp.

I’m not a big foodie compared to others and I’m not a chicken connoisseur, but I can appreciate a good fried chicken dish like the next person. Of course, my circle of fried chicken is much different from a typical person from, let’s say, Atlanta – where the answer to the question “Where’s the best place to get fried chicken?” is usually “MY HOUSE!” Alas, my selection is  narrowed to my favorite Asian restaurants (with one exception). So without further adieu, my personal picks in honor of National Fried Chicken Day:

Capital’s Fried Chicken Wings (Chinatown) – Yelp – 4SQ

from http://www.flickr.com/photos/cmjocson/4385299423/

Some may consider Capital a hole-in-a-wall joint, but it’s a really just a normal mom-n-pop cash-only Chinese restaurant. But while they cover all the basic Chinese rice/noodle/family-style dishes, the fried chicken wings in the appetizer section is a mouth watering find. If you crave a fried salt and pepper style crunch, this is the place. There’s a joke in a yelp entry that the chicken wings must be laced with crack. Many a days where I have been completely satisfied with a few orders of chicken wings and a bowl of rice (well, two or three bowls, but who’s counting?).

San Tung – Dried Fried Chicken (Sunset District) – Site – Yelp – 4SQ

from http://www.flickr.com/photos/rikomatic/5431470386/

The San Tung Chicken wings are the sweet glazed Ying to Capital Chicken’s salty Yang.
Their wings are so flavorful, that after the first bite, you end up at another level of carnal after each wing you finished, by the time you’re done, you’re part of an Asian version of Zombieland or have been cursed as an animagus of the Sunset. My take is that the honey glazed sauce seems to have the same consistency as blood, and starts getting messier after the first wing. You want to wipe you’re hands, but you’d rather have another wing, so you end up giving up being nice & clean and forgo all civil etiquette. It takes finger-lickin’ to another level.

One tip: I always need to remind myself that they are closed on Wednesdays. I think they chose that day because they know that’s the day that people are most likely in the mood for those addictive wings. Also be prepared for longs waits during the dinner hours.

Shin Toe Bul Yi’s Fried Chicken (Outer Sunset) – Yelp – 4SQ

courtesy  http://www.foodspotting.com/reviews/1994510

Even though I’m half-Korean, I’ll always forget the name of this restaurant. But I’ll never forget the OMG chicken… And compared to the other previous picks – this isn’t just wings, but this here’s the real deal, the whole enchilada (mmm, enchiladas…). Anyway, this fried chicken’s power comes from the juicy steam-tender flavor hidden within the crispy cover. You’ll appreciate all the different pieces of the chicken with this dish. You’ll find yourself constantly picking at it with your sensitive fingers because the pieces are so hot from being immediately served from the fryer, but you can’t stop because it’s sooo good once it hits your lips!

Honorable Mentions:

So – Yelp
The cousin of San Tung in SOMA. It’s not as good as San Tung, but it’s quite close.

Citizen Band – Yelp – 4SQ
For the token traditional style (non-Asian) fried chicken – the first thing that comes to mind. Juicy.

Toyose – Yelp – 4SQ
Held in someone’s garage in the foggy netherworld of the Sunset district, their fried chicken and spicy chicken wings are complementary dishes to all the fruity soju drinks.

Playground – Yelp – 4SQ
Known for their karaoke rooms and their corn and cheese, it’s their spicy Fire Chicken which goes great with yogurt soju.

Posthumous Award – NY:

Baden Baden
I was heart broken to hear Baden Baden closed down a couple of years ago. The next time I’m in NY, I’ll need to try out Bonchon Chicken (hat tip – Matthew) or Mad for Chicken

Unfortunately, I haven’t found a good fried chicken place in Japan, which I travel frequently, but that’s because I’m usually preoccupied with other things while I’m there. I’ll make sure to have a follow up, and I’m sure I’ll find something that matches up to the top ones I shared above.