Project Rethink

Last week I posted a survey that asked the question, “Why do you use Twitter?”

I am going through the results now and will post them on Wednesday. I was happy to receive more than 256 responses (much more than expected).  When I post the results, I will also make the raw data available for download.

After the first survey, I had another one in mind that I wanted to do.  If you use twitter, please take a second to answer these questions. Just like last time, I will make the results and raw data available for download on this blog. The survey will be open until Thursday evening, results will be posted on Friday. Also, feel free to follow me @shawnwelch.

In the interest of full disclosure, I am not affiliated with twitter or any twitter related services. I am just curious and I’m sure other people are as well.

Thanks again, and remember you can contact me at info@projectrethink.org or follow me on Twitter @shawnwelch.

Lately I’ve noticed some trends in social media, in particular with twitter. I am curious what other people think, so I put this questionnaire together. If you use twitter, please take a chance to fill it out. I will be posting the results to this survey for everyone to see next week.

In the interest of full disclosure, I am not affiliated with twitter or any twitter related services. I am just curious and I’m sure other people are as well.

Thanks everyone, results to this survey will be posted next week on Wednesday. I will leave the survey open to responses until Tuesday evening!

Alright, we are going to try to figure out how many calories are burned per tweet.  As a disclaimer, this is just for fun.

The Data:

Average word length: 6 characters

“Numbers regarding total characters are based on an estimated average word length of five, plus a space, or six characters per word.”

Average typing speed: 60 wpm

An average typist reaches 50 to 70 wpm, while some positions can require 80 to 95 (usually the minimum required for dispatch positions and other typing jobs), and some advanced typists work at speeds above 120. 

Calories burned while typing; this one is more difficult. There are a lot of different sources on this, but the most reliable seems to be bodybuilding.com. They estimate the average person burns about 2.65* calories per minute.

*Calculations based on a male weighing 185 lbs (84kg) with a height of 6’1″ (me)

So assuming 140 character twitter post (we’re exercising here, you’ve gotta do max reps).

140 / 6 = 23.333 words per tweet
23.333 words / 60 wpm =  .389 mins per tweet (or about 23 seconds)

.389 mins per tweet * 2.650 calories per minute = 1.031 calories per tweet!


Of course calculations so complex will vary from person-to-person, but I think it is safe to assume that you burn 1 calorie per tweet. Then again, who knows how many calories are burned when tweeting from a mobile device…

Burn some extra calories and exercise by following me @shawnwelch

Seven ways to make sure you will never succeed:

1. Ask for opinions and suggestions, but don’t listen to them.
2. Send an email when you should make a phone call or meet in person.
3. Make decisions without considering the context of your assumptions.
4. Forget that there is a real person on the other end of an email address.
5. Be unable to say, “It was my fault” (always have an excuse).
6. Never ask for help.
7. Step on anyone to get or stay on top.

Whether you are trying to be the best in your field, invent the next Google, or start the next Microsoft; bridges are good and everybody needs them. You never know when a bridge might come in handy, so do your best to maintain as many as you can.

Be polite, be amicable; don’t be a jerk. If someone takes the time to comment on your work, take the time to write them back and say thanks. Similarly, if you like the work of someone else–tell them!

I used to work in a restaurant as a cook and my boss always told me, “No feedback is good feedback.”  People expect their food to be good, so you only hear from them when it is bad. 

One of the best ways to burn bridges is by only providing negative feedback.

Even if you are at the top, be mindful of how you ask for things (and always remember, sometimes you still have to ask). If you are dealing with a venture capital, or trying to motivate your employees, remember that sugar catches more flies than vinegar.

-Shawn

I just found out that Project Rethink is now listed on http://innovation.alltop.com. To celebrate, I thought I would explain my recent frustrations with Guy Kawasaki, one of the co-founders of Alltop.

10-15 years ago I would find a newspaper, maybe grab a magazine or two, and I would read about the news.  I had one email address (it was a Juno account)–which was checked maybe 3-4 times a week.  But that was enough, only a handful of people were even aware of its existence.

8 years ago I downloaded music for the first time.  I remember my first MP3 data disk CD player. Crafting the perfect playlist that fit on a single CD took skill. It was a great waste of time.

The iPod was released about 6 years ago (though I wasn’t able to afford one until early 2004). Suddenly all of my music followed me everywhere I went.

Gmail Beta launched June 21st, 2004 as invite only; I received my invitation some time late 2004. By this point I had 4-5 email address–two for work, one for school, and a couple more for friends.

By mid 2005 I had about 8 email accounts, 2 blogs, and a music library that followed me everywhere.  Add this to the time I spent checking my favorite websites everyday and it becomes clear why I needed some “GTD” guidance.

Then I had a little help in the form of RSS Feeds.  I was able to cut down my surfing time by checking RSS feeds.  I was disappointed in a way.  Once I got into the habit of checking feeds, my need for “surfing” the Internet was eliminated.  I could sit down an in only a few short minutes be caught up on all of the news in the world that mattered to me.  I didn’t have to find the news, it came to me.

As time passed I accumulated a few more websites, and a few more email addresses, which resulted in some new anti-GTD techniques.  The time I wasn’t spending on surfing my favorite sites was now spent on trying to stay on top of my email.

Well Apple took care of that with the iPhone.  Honestly, having my email with me 24/7 has been both a curse and blessing.  Between the cell phone, email, IM, facebook, or twitter–there is always a way to get a hold of me. 

So now I sit down at my computer and listen to my favorite songs (or songs suggested to me by either Pandora or a Genius Playlist).  I have no reason to surf the Internet because of RSS feeds.  I have no reason to check my email because it is has been with me throughout the day. Between Adium and Skype, I have more than 50 contacts scattered across the globe, only a click away.

Discovering new websites was my only hope for a little anti-GTD.  Browsing wikipedia, following the blogrolls of my peers.  Trying to find the next nugget of information that would interest me.

Thanks to Guy Kawasaki and the fine folks at Alltop, I have no more excuses. 

I love browsing through mac.alltop.com, innovation.alltop.com, ui.alltop.com, photography.alltop.com, even coffee.alltop.com.  I don’t need to hunt, browse, or worry about feeds. Everything important to me is easily accessible with the addition of some new and interesting hand-picked resources.

So thanks Guy.  Thank you for doing (and continuing to do) all of the hard work for me and giving me a reason to get back to work. I really appreciate it.