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Laugh It Up Google

Today (April Fools Day) we're reminded how much time and money Google spends on gags [http://www.theverge.com/2017/3/31/15140206/google-best-april-fools-jokes-roundup-2017?utm_source=CJ+Chilvers&utm_campaign=d3c2c58c5f-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_04_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_14b49ec31e-d3c2c58c5f-340462493] . A fraction of

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The Importance of Being Small

I've received hundreds of suggestions about how to grow my list [https://www.cjchilvers.com/subscribe] (my primary publishing outlet). Dozens of people approach me about doing podcasts on everything from music to photography to self-help, so I can boost my "visibility" to the creative community.

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Being Creatively Lost is Awesome

Every six months or so I feel a little lost creatively. It leads to a lot of good things, but in the moment it feels disconcerting. This is something readers write to me about all the time. They want to know what can be done to get them back to

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How Good is the President's Pen?

Did you know there's an official presidential pen [http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/27/politics/donald-trump-cross-pen-white-house/?utm_source=CJ+Chilvers&utm_campaign=bbe52ab4f2-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_03_02&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_14b49ec31e-bbe52ab4f2-340462145] ? The past several U.S. Presidents have agreed on a

How Good is the President's Pen?
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I Like Analog Because I Am Analog

I've been shooting a lot with Instax [http://amzn.to/2lYuvoV] film lately. Instax is the modern equivalent of Polaroid film, which can still be had, but I prefer Instax: * It's mass produced in a very consistent way by Fuji (mostly for kids and the Japanese

I Like Analog Because I Am Analog
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Seth Godin on Why He Keeps Blogging and Creating Books

Seth Godin appeared on the Design Matters podcast [http://designobserver.com/feature/seth-godin/39502] and got a little more personal than usual about his work and life before he became THE Seth Godin. I recommend listening to the whole thing, but I transcribed a few gems for my own notes:

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Self Awareness

Self Awareness
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Home Screens as Therapy

I have nothing against technology. I do have a problem with using technology as a crutch to keep you from being creative. I have a big problem with my natural, sometimes destructive, tendency to consume a lot of information. Batching time to consume helps, but sometimes it's more

Home Screens as Therapy
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Schedule Your Thinking

Tom Kelley and David Kelley in Harvard Business Review [https://hbr.org/2012/12/reclaim-your-creative-confidence]: > “Schedule daily 'white space' in your calendar, where your only task is to think or take a walk and daydream. When you try to generate ideas, shoot for 100 instead of 10.

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Where the Herd Is

Dave Winer [http://scripting.com/2017/01/14/pngwriterUpdate.html] (co-creator of podcasting and the father of blogging): > "I'm feeling very Fuck You about controlling motherfuckers. Twitter can't help its users communicate. Facebook breaks the web by not letting writers link to other websites