All posts by Evan Hamilton

My challenge to the Twitter IPO winners (and myself)

Life, Tech, ,

A lot of people made a lot of money today. I have no problem with people making money, and I’m sure they put a lot of work into it.

flattened hatBut they’ve also been very lucky. I imagine very few of the folks who won big at Twitter have ever been hopelessly in debt simply due to basic living expenses. Fewer have ever had a chronic, life-threatening disease. Even less have been homeless. But there are millions upon millions of people who suffer through these things every day. We’re only a few moments of bad luck from being these people.

We’re very lucky here in Silicon Valley (myself included). We work hard, but we can’t discount the effect of luck. And even those who didn’t make a bunch today are still paid quite well.

So let’s take a second to pull our heads out of the Valley. Let’s stop obsessing over what WE are doing and start looking at the problems in the world, in this country, and in this city. It’s something I know I don’t do enough.

My challenge to all of you (and to myself): let’s figure out what fun things to spend our money on, what to save, and then what to donate to good causes*. If the last element is not part of your equation, you’re doing life wrong.

Photo courtesy of neurmadic asthetic.

*I believe in sustainable, effective causes as much as good ones. I’m not asking you to put money in some guy’s hat, I’m asking you to find something you believe in. There’s plenty of great stuff out there!

An Ode to Winter

Life, ,

Sunset in Yosemite
Yesterday I lamented the death of Summer
today I celebrate the birth of Winter

Summer is easy
Summer is full of sitting, and talking, or – in truth – laying, and not talking
Summer is full of simple wardrobes and simple syrup
Summer is full of expansive days and fleeting, imaginary nights

Winter is hard
But hard is not bad
Daylight escapes us
And distances grow longer
But successes are more rewarding
And adventures in sharper focus
Our floors grow cold
And we forget our backyards
But we hold tighter and appreciate companionship

We mourn the loss of Summer innocence and Summer ease
But we celebrate the bonds of Winter’s toils
And, of course, we’ll do it all again next year

Why I love Halloween

Community, Life

jack'o'lanternHalloween has always been my favorite holiday. Yes, I like it even more than Christmas.

Why? I guess it comes down to Community. Or, if I’m not being hyperbolic, introversion.

I’m an introvert, something I’ve made no secret of. And it’s because of this that I find Community so interesting. As someone who isn’t able to walk into a room and make five new friends – or sometimes, not able to even spark a conversation – Community is a huge boon. A strong community can help me feel like a real human being. Real community helps me be social and fun and the person that people like.

Halloween is all about Community. Christmas? That’s about family. And that’s great and important (coming from a family with only 2 kids who are 6 months apart, probably less important to me than to big families). But Halloween is about the world around you.

robot costumeHalloween is scary…but enticing. You go out in the world. You meet strangers and take candy from them (something your parents normally tell you not to do). You see the generosity of the world, and you get to talk about your creativity (“I’m Spider-Man!”).

Halloween allows you to step out of yourself for a moment. Even if you’re an awkward person, once you’re a robot, or a space captain, or a zombie, you have some leeway to experiment with being a different person. A fun person.

Halloween is both scary and warm. You go out scared of the darkness (which again, your parents generally don’t let you out in) and you come back with your heart warmed – and your belly filled – by strangers.

Halloween is Community. And I will dress up every Halloween for the rest of my life.

Support team retention? The MOST important thing.

Customer Service, Tech,

ladder to the sky“So many support teams see members come and go. It’s the stepping stone for ‘more respectable’ jobs. This can be okay in certain organizations, but most of the time it simply results in lower quality of support for the customer. High turnover means training, re-training, and undocumented processes … your customers suffer, and usually the bottom line does as well. Keeping support members who are good at the job is vital.”

(From Chris Bowler‘s blog)

Couldn’t have said it better myself.

I’m encountering this a lot while hiring at ZOZI. This is the first company I’ve worked at that is very attractive to the general public (UserVoice was more “startup cool”) and lots of folks have literally told me “I’ve been waiting for a job, any job to open at your company” while I looked on at their marketing-heavy resumes. Some of them are promising (and hey, one of my existing, awesome team members came to us that way) but most of them are the types whose first question is about the career progression track is at the company. In short, they want to know how long until they can go work in Marketing.

I’ve always been focused on keeping my staff happy but this is a great reminder that it’s not just important, but essential.

(Via Andrew Spittle)

Photo courtesy of Prescott Pym.

Banning Madonna from your business? THAT’S community.

Community

After Madonna recently texted throughout an indie film screening, the famous Alamo Drafthouse made an announcement.

Alamo, a fantastic theater chain (Which I’ve been to!) that serves food and beer during movies (much like Oakland’s Parkway Theater), is well known for it’s strict values about not about disrupting movies. Founded by and patronized by film lovers, the Alamo has famously kicked people out for texting during movies (warning: mature language):

Why? Because this is a value their community cares deeply about. Their extreme adherence to this rule builds a much stronger emotional connection with their customers than anything else they could do.

But banning Madonna? Especially the Madonna who just released an indie film? Isn’t that a bit extreme? Won’t that hurt business?

Absolutely not. This is community-building.

Alamo is sticking to their values – taking them to an extreme, even – and it’s going to make their fans love them even more. For every hardcore Madonna fan who might swear off Alamo there’s going to be 3 passionate filmgoers who will make the extra effort to patronize Alamo.

Is this PR? Sure. Madonna wasn’t in an Alamo Drafthouse; they didn’t have to comment on this story. But it’s community-driven PR. It’s building a story not around whatever’s hip, but around what really, emotionally, honestly resonates with your community. As others have said, community is the new PR.

Don’t go middle of the road to avoid insulting people. Stick to your community’s values and back them up, even if it means doing something extreme like pissing off a major celebrity. It’ll make your fans love you (and bring you return business) even more.