One of my coauthors for the second Age of Conversation published the timeline leading up to our book’s release. Because I can at times be a little A.D.D, I’m doing the same thing to make sure the dates are top of mind.

…and so you can get excited about ordering it when the time is ripe:

• May 15 All chapters due
• May 16 Editing/reviewing entries begins
• June 15 Edits/requests for re-works etc. out to authors
• June 30 All copy finalized
• July 15 First design/layout due
• August 1 Layout finalized
• August 15 Lulu proofs in hand, final edits made
• August 21 (or so) Book is released

See? It worked. With May 15th right around the corner, I’m now realizing I’d better get after it. Maybe I’ll echo Terrell Meek’s plan of attack.

From illustrator Chad Pugh’s Vimeo page:

This piece inspired the login illustration that vimeo commissioned from me for their redesign earlier this year; it is still in use throughout the site. The video is a condensed time lapse of screenshots over a several month period. Total physical drawing time is close to 40 hours and I’d add an equal amount of time for concept time and readying the print. A screenshot was taken every 5 seconds, which actually results in a full 18 minute video. I’ll upload that for posterity later.

Incredible. Check out more of Chad Pugh’s work at thebigpugh.com.

Thanks to Charlie Trotter , who I can always count on for quality stop-motion, for the link.

As a punk kid working for myself, I often ask myself “Hmm, self…how can I make more money, but do less work?” “Hmm, self…how can I contribute to the greater good by making people’s lives easier?”

For many people, the answer is to create a successful product. And while I still think my Hot Jacolate™ is a pivotal concept, I have a ways to go.

Here are two product development tips I’d do well to keep in mind:

Design for yourself.

Jason Fried, Founder & CEO of 37signals, described their product development process like this:

We start by designing software to solve our own problems. We scratch our own itch.

We recognize our problems aren’t unique. Other people can benefit from the way we solve our problems. So we turn our software into products and put them into the marketplace.

A good read on product development via “itch-scratching” is David Vinjamuri’s Accidental Branding. He explains how entrepreneurs - including J. Peterman, Craig of Craigslist, and Gary Erickson, creator of the Clif bar - created incredibly successful products by solving their own problem first, and building on the solution. (Stay tuned for a legit review of this book.)

Fail, and fail fast.

Jim Coudal of Coudal Partners (and officemates to 37signals), explains:

Not every idea is going to work. Know that going in. Ideas tend to follow the path of least resistance and more often than not that path is the one where you find yourself talking an idea to death, by getting hung up on the “what ifs.” So you need to actively push ideas out and embrace failure. Fail spectacularly whenever possible.

For small businesses, shifting from client-work to a worthwhile product can mean the difference between running a hamster wheel and forward progression. The difference between maintaining and flourishing. And, as it turns out, the first step to that creative spark is to get annoyed.

So, what’s the pain in your day-to-day’s can right now?

…it’s completely in reverse.

The duo has released their new album, “The Odd Couple,” as one long, very backward but very free MP3. If you’re up for the reverse listen (according to Gorilla vs. Bear, “it’s actually kind of cool,”) or flipping it yourself, download it here.

Although some people seem to hate this idea, as a marketing tactic I don’t mind it. Because:

1) It does kind of sound cool backwards, not that I’d jam this all the time, but it does. And

2) We live in an age of mashups, where people are not afraid to grab media and mess with it. I’m positive many folks will slap this into some editing tool (Audacity is a good free one) and flip it around. One of those people will be me. And even beyond that, I hope the reversed sounds give way to some inspired consumer-generated remixes. All of this shifts their product from a knick-knack to a sandbox.

Like Radiohead’s recent remix campaign, Gnarles Barkley is encouraging you to take their work and play around.

(via the fine folks at Gorilla vs. Bear)

Last week, social music network Last.fm said that since allowing free streaming of full-length tracks and albums through their site, just two months ago, they’ve seen a 119% increase music sales through Amazon.

Users can stream music and buy through Amazon in two ways:

1) Through their audio player (downloadable software):

2) Through their site:

Here’s a right-on-the-money reaction from ars technica:

If music sales as a result of streaming offerings show growth over a longer period of time (say, a year), then other services may also begin to push for full-track previews in hopes of increasing sales. Imagine if Amazon MP3 or iTunes allowed full previews on their respective services before buying—digital music could take off even faster than it already has. It shows how the very ideas that the music industry resisted for years have the potential to pay off financially.

Chris Anderson is saying “told you so” right now.

Today’s my birthday, which means it’s time for my grandma to tell you a birthday story:

Tomorrow, in Dallas, there’s a run put together to raise money for two year-old Caden Ledbetter.

On July 26, 2007 his family discovered that a knot on Caden’s head was thought to be a bone tumor. After further testing, he was diagnosed with Stage 4 Neuroblastoma. Tumors were located in his left adrenal gland, abdomen, liver spine, sternum, bone marrow, and two in his skull.

His family is now responsible for an $18K deductible and $45,000 for Caden’s stem cell transplant, which was deemed an “Out of Network” procedure by their insurance company.

So I’m asking for your help - to raise money to cover his medical expenses and Neuroblastoma Research. Even if it’s just a little bit, because a collection of little bits can be a huge thing.

To donate:

• Click the button below, it will take you to the Discovery! donation site.
• When you get to the site, select “Discovery Life” from the “I am paying for” dropdown.
• Put “Caden” in the “Memo/Trainee name” blank.

To learn more, visit ProjectCaden.com. Thanks so much for your help.

A lot has happened over the past week, and as a result I have a backlog of stuff I’d like to talk about here. But in the meantime, here’s this:

I have been listening non-stop to the live recording of M Ward and Jim James (from My Morning Jacket) performing at South by Southwest 08. They played a cooperative set - each taking turns playing their own songs and backing the other.

The music was beautiful, the lyrics almost tangible (Jim James’ in particular), and from what I’ve heard, the venue - St. David’s Church - created an intimacy that “basically mandated silence from the audience” (said livemusicblog.com). Wish I could have been there.

For your vicarious-living pleasure (and mine too) here’s a video of some samples from their show. Enjoy.

(video via livemusicblog.com)

This week I’m in Poughkeepsie, New York visiting a client. This morning Ross, one of the guys I’m working with up here, told us this awesome/traumatic April Fools story:

As if labels didn’t have enough variables to stress about, it seems big brands are now competing for their business too. Groove Armada has signed a 360 deal with Bacardi. Yes, Bacardi:

Read more about the deal at The Daily Swarm.

To learn more about 360 deals, read my post “360 Music Deals: Investing in the Experience.”

Unrelated, but hilarious, is this chart:

(video via hypebot)