Kevin Wnek Industries

"Part of being an expert in an industry is not only knowing it, but being able to communicate it."

Thu, 08 Sep 2011 15:50:00 -0400

“Part of being an expert in an industry is not only knowing it, but being able to communicate it.”

- Harry J. Gold
CEO, Overdrive Interactive

"…a good customer relationship is unique, and loyal customers are hard to steal."

Tue, 30 Aug 2011 11:31:29 -0400

“…a good customer relationship is unique, and loyal customers are hard to steal.”

- Article on keeping customers happy via Smashing Magazine

Just another day at the office.

Wed, 17 Aug 2011 11:56:38 -0400

Just another day at the office.

"Success leads to success."

Thu, 21 Jul 2011 13:18:00 -0400

“Success leads to success.”

- Stanford psychologist BJ Fogg on how you can take baby steps to success by building on small wins.

Conan O’Brien gave the commencement address at Dartmouth...

Wed, 15 Jun 2011 15:16:00 -0400

Conan O’Brien gave the commencement address at Dartmouth Sunday. He basically roasts the school for 20 minutes followed by some very inspirational advice based on lessons he’s learned in the last year.

The new Beastie Boys video is awesome. Tons of cameos by various...

Mon, 25 Apr 2011 12:17:40 -0400

The new Beastie Boys video is awesome. Tons of cameos by various popular actors set in the mid-80’s.

"It’s not the design experience that makes you the professional. It’s the client interaction."

Fri, 08 Apr 2011 16:10:00 -0400

“It’s not the design experience that makes you the professional. It’s the client interaction.”

- Me

A great video on why software is really selling emotion. Using...

Mon, 28 Mar 2011 10:23:00 -0400

A great video on why software is really selling emotion.

Using the Old Spice guy as an example, with extended impersonation, made it pretty easy viewing.

Evolution of a Logo: Spinfree = 37signals

Mon, 21 Mar 2011 13:49:00 -0400

In the “you always learn something new” category: 37signals’ logo has nothing to do with what the company is named after.

Instead, it’s a slight modification of a logo from Jason Fried’s previous endeavor:

Jason Fried, founder of 37signals, asked me to design a logo for his business. At the time Jason’s business was called Spinfree and I proceeded to work on ideas loosely connected to the letters S & F. A fascination with metaballs led me to an idea I quite liked. Not only did it abstractly have the S & F, but could also be interpreted as J & F (Jason’s initials). Jason liked it as well. A couple months later Jason called me sad to say they had started a new company rendering the logo obsolete. After a description of the new company I looked at the logo and could see another aspect. Rotating the logo 90 degrees counter clockwise created an abstract figure with a hand in the air, almost as if to say “hello”. I affectionately called the logo “manlogo” and pitched it back to Jason.

Pretty cool. So the logo was originally the current 37signals logo rotated 90 degrees clockwise (seen below).

You can see where the connections come from now. They make up the S and the dots add the portions of the F.

Rotate 90 degrees CCW, and you have what we know today:

I totally see the “man waving” now. I always thought it represented the distant planets or stars or something. Amazing how things really come to pass.

Awesome Screenshot is Awesome

Fri, 18 Mar 2011 10:34:00 -0400

Awesome Screenshot is Awesome:

I just installed this FireFox plugin. It takes a screenshot of the current page and lets you draw/write all over it and save locally or upload to their site to share.

Don't Forget About HTTPS on Twitter

Wed, 16 Mar 2011 09:54:00 -0400

Don't Forget About HTTPS on Twitter:

As a developer I find it hard to believe this has taken so long. But whatever, make sure you enable it!

Sign in to twitter.com
Click on your username in the top right
Select “Settings”
Scroll to the bottom
Check off “Always use HTTPS.”
Save

Today’s new special burger at Mr. Bartley’s Burger...

Thu, 03 Mar 2011 10:00:27 -0500

Today’s new special burger at Mr. Bartley’s Burger Shack.

"…as long we continue to think that we suck and try to be better every day than we were the day..."

Sat, 19 Feb 2011 11:01:00 -0500

“…as long we continue to think that we suck and try to be better every day than we were the day before, then we can avoid a similar fate.”

- Groupon CEO Andrew Mason in Fast Company (March, 2011) on how they will avoid a fall like past Internet phenomena.

Amazing video, even if you don’t like snowboarding. Watch...

Fri, 18 Feb 2011 11:39:00 -0500

Amazing video, even if you don’t like snowboarding. Watch it in HD if you can.

I haven’t gone much this winter. I blame wedding budgets and a rented condo. But this video may have just put me over the edge. I need to get out…soon.

Got My Flow Invite

Mon, 14 Feb 2011 13:19:49 -0500

I’ve been working on an idea for a new app that helps with personal day-to-day organization. Yes, another one. Trust me, it’s different.

In the meantime, I was researching possibly apps in the process and heard some positive, though minimal, reviews about Flow from MetaLab.

Flow is still in beta and you need an invite, but I got mine pretty quick, which is a plus. And now I have 5 invites. I will have a followup with what I think in a few weeks. Upon first impression I will describe it as streamlined Basecamp task management for internal use.

While I will probably never own a VW (won’t go on that...

Thu, 03 Feb 2011 09:57:00 -0500

While I will probably never own a VW (won’t go on that rant now, maybe another time). They always have great ad campaigns.

Verizon iPhone Ordered

Thu, 03 Feb 2011 09:33:39 -0500

I know, I’m a few years behind everyone. For a long time I didn’t think I’d want a phone with email access on it. I resisted the change because I saw how my friends never got off their phones. Maybe that’s just a reflection of my poor conversation skills, but I saw it as a sign that it takes away the freedom of not being at work.

As we’ve done more with Adjacent Concepts, I’ve found I really need it to give the support our customers need, check ideas on-the-fly, access basic internet while on vacation, the list goes on. With a $30 credit from Verizon and a 5 1/2 year old iPod struggling through life, it was a no-brainer. It ships on the Feb. 10th. Can’t wait.

Self-Cleaning Gym Equipment

Tue, 01 Feb 2011 16:27:00 -0500

Self-Cleaning Gym Equipment:

Great news for those tired of spraying and wiping everything with cleaner at the gym. Even better if there’s people at your gym that don’t.

Is Bing Stealing Google's Search Results?

Tue, 01 Feb 2011 11:40:00 -0500

Is Bing Stealing Google's Search Results?:

Google set up an online sting operation to verify their suspicions. Pretty amazing.

I guess if you can’t beat ‘em, take their top ranking.

Facebook Doesn't Use Secure Connections

Thu, 27 Jan 2011 12:10:17 -0500

Facebook Doesn't Use Secure Connections:

Unless you decide to enable it. I can’t believe this isn’t a default.

If you don’t feel like reading the article, here’s how to enable it.

Go to Account > Account Settings
Scroll down to ‘Account Security’ and hit ‘change’ on the right
Check off the first option and hit ‘Save’