Make Things Users Want!

I have been thinking about this for a while now. How do I maximize the value I can provide to this world? By creating things people want! This is obvious, but then it has been my experience that most true things are. What do people want? Well, I have heard rumor of a bumper sticker saying: "death before inconvenience". This seems to ring a bell somewhere.. Why? Because I love convenience. What makes something convenient? Often it involves cutting out the stupid work that doesn't really serve any point. Many times its having some-one or some-thing do what I would normally have to.

Some examples..

Experts: I hire them to do things (like my taxes, or repairing my cars) because it is more convenient than becoming an expert myself.

Automation: Take the repetitive details and make a mechanical or computer device responsible. They get done faster and better, and I don't have to do anything. Now thats convenient!

Philosophy/Religion: Way more convenient to have someone else tell you what to think as long as its agreeable. (or: much easier to read the many great ideas of humanity than come up with them yourself)

I guess in the end, I am a user and I want convenience!

Ok, I have been reading Paul Graham. Man, this guy has some great thoughts laid out in well written essays. Here are a few of my favorite nuggets:

I once claimed that nerds were unpopular in secondary school mainly because they had better things to do than work full-time at being popular.

Man, is that ever a better explanation than nobody likes you! Or how he recommends fighting corruption:

Like all illicit connections, the connection between wealth and power flourishes in secret. Expose all transactions, and you will greatly reduce it. Log everything. That's a strategy that already seems to be working, and it doesn't have the side effect of making your whole country poor.

Its like log4j only for government! Brilliant! Or how about turning the whole immigration issue on its head like this:

American immigration policy keeps out most smart people, and channels the rest into unproductive jobs. It would be easy to do better. Imagine if, instead, you treated immigration like recruiting-- if you made a conscious effort to seek out the smartest people and get them to come to your country.

Recruiting the best and brightest, just like football, only for nerds!

Definitely spend some time reading these essays you will be glad you did!