Sir James Dyson on getting it right after 5,126 tries--and how to move air at 400 mph.
I think this is an excellent example of persistence :-) I thought it was an interesting article and wanted to share it with my Digital Napkin readers. Enjoy!
I came across Ziki.com in my digital travels and thought I would test it out. It is very similar to other social networking communities but with a twist. Ziki, will actually buy Google, Yahoo and MSN keywords of your name or business and direct them to your Ziki profile where you can collect all of your online content.
Go ahead, type my name -- Randy Smythe -- into Google and you will see a sponsored link directing you to my Ziki website. I will soon be up on Yahoo and MSN as well. In my case natural search pulls up most of my content but it's still nice to see my name up in lights as a sponsored link. Best of all -- its free.
Okay, I’ll take a step away from Web 2.0 and ecommerce ideas today to talk about toothpaste. As I was brushing my teeth this morning I realized that I was close to being out of toothpaste – why I hadn’t noticed the night before is another discussion – while I began desperately trying to get the last dab of toothpaste out of the tube I began to wonder why the toothpaste companies can’t produce a tube that will allow you to get the last bit of toothpaste? Of course the answer is they can but why don’t they? They leave it up to entrepreneurs to develop the little widgets that do the job for them.
From a marketing standpoint I would think “getting the last dab” would resonate with their customers. Each brand now has 5 or more different types of toothpaste – with baking soda, whitening, mouthwash, etc. – why can’t they modify their packaging to get an edge with the consumer. I would think most single guys wait until the absolute last moment before they buy toiletries why not pitch a new man’s brand with last dab gadgetry? I’d buy it – at the last minute.
I've been toying with the idea of using a blog to publish a book while generating revenue through Google's AdSense and affiliate programs. This is not a new idea as “Blooks” and “Blovels” have been available for several years. Obviously if you are an established author this may not be the route for you to take but if you are an author having trouble finding a publisher it is much better than letting your book take up space on your hard drive.
My father is an established author in media related topics with several published non-fiction books under his belt but he has written his first novel that he calls “Speculative Historical Fiction” from a Christian perspective and he’s had a hard time finding a publisher willing to take a chance on the manuscript. The book is entitled “To Kill the Christ” and is the first book in a trilogy called “A Kingdom called Long Reach” So I decided to publish the first book for him using both Squidoo and a blog. This will be a test as to which platform works best. The hope is that there is sufficient interest in the novel that a publisher is willing to publish the entire trilogy. The second book is complete and he has begun work on the final book in the trilogy.
I have launched the first book on Squidoo calling it a “Squidovel” (clever huh?) and will be adding a blog shortly so please check it out. There will be a place for your comments and he welcomes any points or observations you might have.
I just launched my new Squidoo Lens and wanted to share it with my Digital Napkin readers. The concept is to search the web every day for new and interesting site, stores, photography, art, videos, cool apps, etc. I believe their's gold at the end of the Long Tail and I'm searching real hard to find it. So please stumble on over to my new site and let me know what you think.
