Tom Markiewicz's Comments

Highway 12 Ventures : Less Data?

Wed, 13 Apr 2011 00:00:19 +0000

Great post Mark. I know this was more focused on personal data tracking, but we actually take some of this approach at StatsMix. We've found that many of our customers have information overload and pulling in all their data from different sources can intensify this problem. So when they start as a new customer, we make opinionated decisions on what metrics they should be tracking from third-party services and then have them make decisions about what custom metrics to send. They still have the option to send as much data as they want, but we found that forcing them to make choices on their metrics at the outset made making actionable decisions on their metrics a bit easier.

Online Aspect : Why charging for developer tools is stupid

Thu, 10 Mar 2011 15:47:38 +0000

I agree with your post, but there's another issue here. I've read that for various accounting reasons Apple has to charge for these apps. They've already done it with FaceTime ($.99 when I was free before the MAS) and they've had to do the same with some of the iOS upgrades in the past. Regardless, to your main point, if that's the case they could have made the price even cheaper.

StartupCFO : Accounting 2.0

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 14:07:24 +0000

Another service not mentioned is WorkingPoint. I'm just starting to test them out and while I like it so far, there are still numerous drawbacks that I'm trying to reconcile before committing to them. Recurring transactions is one and another is import - both of existing accounts from Quickbooks as well as auto importing of data from bank accounts, etc.

Bill Flagg : Is playfulness good for business?

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 21:20:13 +0000

I think this idea works great to the extent that it does feel personable and custom. I'm on Moosejaw's mailing list and I think they actually take it too far. Every email from them sounds cheesy and contrived as opposed to the example you wrote above.

all hail the shag : what's old is new again; RSS & toolbars

Wed, 9 Sep 2009 16:41:32 +0000

Honestly, I absolutely despise this new trend of toolbars - both on websites and from link sharing services. I see them being more useful for the publisher and much less so for the end user / reader. Maybe this is just an advanced user / early adopter perspective, but I already have all my methods in place for reading and sharing. The toolbars (top or bottom) just seem so intrusive to me. Ari, what have you been seeing from Filtrbox's perspective on engagement of users with the toolbars. I'd assume you're still collecting data on this, but if it has been a smashing success I'd love to hear about it and be convinced otherwise.

LilBiker : Startup Weekend Boulder 3

Tue, 9 Jun 2009 21:06:24 +0000

Great post - you captured the weekend quite well. Go MediaPatcher!

Tom Markiewicz : iPhone Impressions After Three Months

Wed, 25 Feb 2009 15:13:14 +0000

Odzyskiwanie, I think you're missing my point. 21 hours of battery life while using the iPhone as a computer (not just phone functions) is still impressive to me when my Macbook Pro can get at best 2 hours on a charge.

Startup Weekend : Boulder Coworking- The Candy Shop

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 09:59:13 +0000

Very exciting! Are you aware of any other more formal (ie. not coffee shops, but actual spaces) in Boulder?

Startup Weekend : Be Political

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 10:24:48 +0000

You make great points, but the problem with most people is that they don't follow your rule #2 - be respectful. I'm very interested in hearing thoughtful and interesting commentary and info from all sides of the political spectrum, but what I don't care for are attacks on candidates and parties. Additionally, most people are simply not open minded enough to listen to all sides even if they've made up their minds. This is where people start alienating others and the likely reason why the strategist said to avoid political commentary on your blog. For many, it may be safer to keep quiet. It's sad and I don't necessarily agree with it, but it's likely true.

Tom Markiewicz : Bad Email Marketing from Priceline

Thu, 9 Oct 2008 15:18:15 +0000

Good points. I guess my overall argument is to get people to fill out surveys it usually takes more that the promise of getting lucky!

Tom Markiewicz : Welcome to Boulder

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 08:54:12 +0000

Thanks Stepan! Chris, my wife's comment to me was basically the same. She said good thing it wasn't a car or you would have hit the brakes! For the cyclist, I almost pulled over to let him have his fun, but at that point there wasn't really anywhere to do that.

Tom Markiewicz : Move to Colorado Complete

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 09:02:26 +0000

Thanks Chris. I completely missed the error in that link.

Gwen Bell Dot Com | Heart of the Start : Thought Experiment: If You Had to Marry a Company, Which Would it Be?

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 09:34:51 +0000

Excellent post Gwen. I especially liked the part on how to keep them coming back. I look forward to the next one!

Tom Markiewicz : Identifying your passions for success

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 07:49:14 +0000

True Cory, but the difference I'm talking about is that passion is necessary for entrepreneurship while for any other job where you're working for someone else it's a "nice to have."

You don't need passion to do most jobs, but obviously your enjoyment and performance would be much better. Entrepreneurs, on the other hand, face a different set of circumstances on average and having passion for their idea/company/etc can carry them through the hard times.

Tom Markiewicz : Corporate Twitter usage for marketing

Mon, 2 Jun 2008 14:37:08 +0000

I basically agree and think it's a good sign they're using Twitter for
proactive customer support. But what about all the other areas of
customer support? Are they trying as hard there?

I guess I'm just a bit cynical when so many are gushing over Comcast's
use of Twitter, when most other aspects of their business are so bad.

TechStars Community : 5 Apps I Use Everyday

Thu, 22 May 2008 05:44:15 +0000

1. Firefox
2. NetNewsWire
3. Mail.app
4. Things
5. Textmate

and Evernote is creeping up the list

Colorado Startups : Coworking in Denver

Sun, 27 Apr 2008 11:22:41 +0000

Thanks Danny! Email sent.

Colorado Startups : Coworking in Denver

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 08:41:10 +0000

David, are there any co-working options in Boulder? I'm moving out there in July and was hoping for something more formalized than coffee shops, etc. that some of these dedicated co-working places provide. Any thoughts?

Kevin Cawley Goes Mobile : Twitter Goodness on Your Mobile Device

Sat, 29 Dec 2007 05:07:01 +0000

Kevin, I just installed on my T-Mobile Dash without a hitch. Very nice app! One suggestion for future releases would be more settings for the user to customize the UI - smaller fonts, turn off avatars, etc.

All Climbing : Using Jiglu for intelligent tagging

Mon, 26 Nov 2007 15:20:12 +0000

Hmm... to be honest, looking at the above post, I think I may have answered my own question. It looks cluttered.