Living in the Silicon Valley is tough, even if you have a lot of money

I just spent 4 days in the bay area and ready to head home to Seattle, specifically in Redmond.  22 Years ago I left my home is Los Gatos, working in Cupertino for Apple to move to Redmond to work for Microsoft.  I didn’t know anyone in Seattle or Microsoft in 1992, and figured I would give it a try worse case I move.  There are three reasons why I moved - real estate prices, traffic and state income tax.  None of that has really changed.

I do come down to the bay area often though as there many companies I chat with, conferences to attend, and to see family and friends.

Chatting with one of my friends who makes the commute from Seattle to the bay area for work last night got me thinking to write this post.  One observation is the number of people who commute in to their job an hour or more reminded us of the commutes for NYC.  Yet, working in silicon valley doesn’t carry the cachet that NYC does, and being in downtown NYC has many more benefits than being in downtown Mountain View.

I have friends who have lived in the bay area and just rent due to the crazy house prices and their long term plans are to move somewhere else.

Many of the people who commute to silicon valley have chosen to live somewhere else they want to be longer term.  Many people who were lucky enough to buy real estate long ago can live closer to work, but the recent hires have a much more difficult time when buyers are paying cash for homes costing over $2 mil.

All of this has an affect on the talent Silicon Valley can attract.  At some point there will be a transition to ????

Changing how you get Books to Learn more

There are some people who will not change the habit of reading printed books.  Many times these same people have to print something to read it.  They will make statements that they love the feel of the book and enjoy to hear the sound of the pages turn.  These same people probably miss the retail bookstores that used to be in all the malls.

I’ve watched the eBooks effort at Microsoft stumble, and when Amazon launched the Kindle some enthusiastic friends convinced me to buy one.  And, I now rarely buy a printed book, and for years accumulated a collection of Kindle eBooks.

There are some books that just don’t work on the Kindle.  Like Photography ones.  I would then turn to the Library and check out books.

I also went through the phase of putting the Kindle books on the smartphone and tablet.  Recently, I decided to get a Kindle Paperwhite, thinking that if I only read 10% faster it is worth it.  The best thing about the Paperwhite is when I read a book, I am less tempted to switch and read mail or surf the web.  I read and focus.

The other change I made is to stop buying Kindle eBooks.  I now buy a Kindle eBook maybe once every 3-4 months, sometimes less.  Amazon.com’s algorithms know what I am doing.  I choose to rent the Kindle eBooks from the Library, and rent 3-4 times the amount of books I used to buy just to try out different books.

I worked on all kinds of print technology - fonts, graphics, printers, high end RIPS, scanners so I know the technology.  Sometimes it is best to move on, and leave the technology behind.  The technology of printing and buying books.  

Intermittent Blogging for next month, Mid Nov to Mid Dec 2013

A few days ago I realized I am traveling for work or pleasure every week for the next 4 weeks.  Lots of good things going on, but this means my regular time to blog will be disrupted.  I don’t think of myself as traveling that much, but when I add it up at the end of the year I am traveling a trip a bit less than every other week.  The majority to the bay area which I do so often it doesn’t really feel like a plane ride.  

I have been thinking more about how the industry is going through changes and how I have been changing what I blog about.  The Green Data Center is more accepted.  Google, Apple, Facebook, and Microsoft all have renewable energy announcements on a regular basis.  There are many who don’t do this yet, and thanks to the environmental groups more pressure will build for others to jump on the environmental movement.

I have lots to write.  The problem is my schedule is a little crazy for the next month.

Thanks for following this blog.  

I’ll see a few of regular readers in my travels, and sharing ideas through this blog jump starts the conversations.

Why Bloggers Fail, break the rules

I found this post on why bloggers fail, and the following are ways that I like to break all the rules the writer puts in his post.

There is no way I am like these type of bloggers.

What’s unfortunate is, in that group of people, I’m betting there’s someone just like you….

…Someone who believed pumping out good content will generate the leads and sales they need to run a profitable business.

…Someone who believed a journalist or Google would notice their hard work—and reward them with an endless supply of traffic that converts.

I am not a journalist, and spend little time pumping out content, and i don't try to make it good.  I try to make it interesting.  I think interesting content beats good content.

Traffic is not my goal.  In fact, I don't want to get too big, because it means I don't have targeted readers.

Most people who start blogs dream about their blog soaring to Everest-level subscriber numbers.

The results focus is shallow.

They’ll waste their first 3 months, and they’ll have NOTHING to show for it other than a bunch of social media logins, passwords, and the belief that “I’ll be ready to go, when I just finish this one thing…”

And here is the assumption that I disagree with.

They start their blog with good intentions, but fall off the beaten path because they waste time on pointless drivel that doesn’t deliver what they really want: more traffic… more leads… more sales.

I don't make any money on the traffic.  Well less than $1,000 a year in google adsense I don't consider money, it's loose change from not splurging at Starbucks.  I don't get any leads or sales.

So, why do I blog?  Writing my ideas down ingrains them in my memory.  My blog entries are all searchable.  The thing I didn't expect from this blog is many of my friends read regularly and we have fun chatting in person.

My main value from blogging is it enhances the conversations I have when I meet with my friends in person, talk on the phone, or exchange e-mail.

Name me a blogger who uses their blog to improve the quality of the communication with their friends.