Dave Morin

One thing I have begun to learn about my generation over the last couple of years, is that we have a vastly different view on relationships, romantic, work, life, or otherwise. I think this comes, most obviously, from our use of communication technology to stay in touch with each other. But, at a more abstract level, we don’t look at time, or geographical distance as an inhibitor for close personal relationships.

Case in point, an email string from a co-worker and friend this weekend went something like this:

Friend: Greetings from Beijing, Dave. Thanks for taking care of that so quickly!

Me: No problem! What are you doing in Beijing? (I had just seen her in a meeting like two days before)

Friend: Vacation - weekend trip from Tokyo where I am visiting my boyfriend who is here for the summer. I’ll be back on Monday. (Clarification: Meaning, she went on “vacation” from Tokyo, where she was already visiting her boyfriend who is there for the summer. And, is going to be back in California on Monday)

It’s a different world for our generation. Again, we see things less in units of time and geographical distance, and more in simply what it takes to “be” there with that person. Maybe online, maybe a simple flight to somewhere (the coasts, maybe Europe, or even Beijing), maybe on the phone. Time is irrelevant in a way. Relationships aren’t confined to geographic space, and more to the strongest connections created between people. For our parents, their world was confined (most of the time) to their hometown. Our generation is seemingly more and more, only confined to the world.

Last week, I was simultaneously talking to two co-workers whom I regularly collaborate with. One was in China, the other in Sweden. To me, I wouldn’t have known the better. Save, the one in Sweden informing me that he jaunted over there for the week. The other, I knew, was in Beijing. He helped me upgrade to first class for a flight I was taking the next morning (because he had domestic frequent flyer miles he wasn’t using due to his move to Beijing). Sweden friend helped me on a project I was working on with some information and quick brainstorming. All via instant messaging. What time it was didn’t matter, nor did the geographical space or location that each of us was in.

My thoughts on all of this are still becoming clear, with more and more conversations about it every day. What does this mean for the future of communication and collaboration technologies? Job choices? Living choices? Will we live anywhere, work anywhere, be with who we want to be with, no matter where they are? Will technology enable this? Or, inhibit it?

What a cool time to be part of it all

Happy Sunday!

Written from The Grove - San Francisco, California

I’d like to present case-in-point to HP’s ridiculousness in Nate Johnson’s last blog post:

http://www.mog.com/beta

Click “Check out TEAM MOG” and witness fantastic worldwide collaboration.

Welcome to my generation, business world, get with program…or we’ll fire YOU (and your company).

I love photography. A lot.

Many of my friends are fantastic photographers (whom you can connect to via my Flickr account). But, my friend Amit Gupta is one of the best photographers I have ever met. He’s decided to put together a fun, informative, and all around fantastic photography newsletter. It’s called Photojojo.

Every week, you’ll get two newsletters with what they call the “best photo stuff anywhere.” This will include anything from great ideas for photo projects, do it yourself ideas, software, and gear.

Since I love photography, I also love anyone trying to get us to do interesting and cool things with our myriad libraries of digital photos. So, pop on over and check out Photojojo.

Thanks Amit!

In my line of work, I have this conversation quite a bit. After I left school, having run a company throughout college, I decided to head to Silicon Valley without much of a clue what I would find. In fact, I’d never even fathomed living in California. I’m from Montana. So, in my humble and short existence here in the “Valley”. Here’s my 7 step guide to getting a great job:

1. Follow your heart. This is number one for a reason. If you stop reading now, at least heed this advice. You heart knows the path you should follow, regardless of what your head may think. Your heart always knows.

2. Know your passions. This means a couple of things. Mostly knowing what it is that makes you tick. For me, its developing world changing technology and communicating that technology to people. I also know that I love doing valuable things which have a huge impact on a worldwide scale. Secondly, its knowing what does NOT make you tick. Dig deep for your strengths.

3. Network. Now, I don’t mean attending some kind of “networking” event that your school/company puts on. Those are worthless. I mean sitting down with people who share the same passions that you do. Schedule breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Never eat alone. But, always remember, that networking is not JUST about networking. It’s about sincerely and passionately meeting and understanding people and figuring out how you can help them. NOT, how they can help you.

4. Follow up. Always follow up. I speak quite a bit, in a lot of different cities and situations across America. Everytime I speak to a group of undergrads, I give everyone my card and mention this as one of the most important things they can take from my talk. I rarely hear from 20% of the room. ALWAYS follow up. If you follow the rules in #3, you should have something from your meeting with that person to follow up on. Some kind of action you were able to take to benefit that person. Follow up with them, and talk about it.

5. Find an advocate. The more you network, the more likely you are to find an advocate who may eventually turn into a mentor. Its almost like dating. As you navigate the business world, you’ll click with some people, others you won’t. That’s ok. Keep going, following rule #1.

6. Give free samples. Whether you are a proven guru in your field, or just getting started. Business is built on trust and relationships. Give away your expertise, passion, and heart. It’ll translate into trust with your advocate, or the decision maker as they decide on supporting you.

7. Persist. I can’t put enough emphasis on this one. After you’ve followed your gut, nailed your strengths to the wall, found people in what you want to do, followed up with those people, and found an advocate, you have to make sure your advocates are fighting for you. Treat it like a project. Check in with them on an ongoing basis. You create your own opportunity.

Written from North Beach - San Francisco, California

Guy Kawasaki just launched a new blog a couple of weeks ago. He’s one of the coolest guys around, and one of the best authors as well. He talks a lot about entrepreneurship, vc, and other cool projects he has been a part of. But, all around, he has some great advice based on a plethora of experience.

In one of his recent posts, he talked about the top ten lies of venture capitalists, then went on to talk about the top ten lies of entrepreneurs. Jason Fried offered back some solid feedback. And, Scoble already has as well.

It is great to see Guy shaking up the blogosphere with interesting ideas. But, I’d like to point back to his post on the art of intrapreneurship. Which, I think is as important for new entrepreneurs to think about as “normal” entrepreneurship.

At a talk I gave at Berkeley a few months ago, I spoke to a group of young entrepreneurs about the art of the intrapreneurship, and its relevance in the family of entrepreneurship as they think about moving into the “real world” after graduation. You don’t have to be “doing a startup” to be an entrepreneur. Sometimes sealing the internal support, budgets, resources, and just plain passion is as hard as chasing the dream with an all-new team and a set of VCs. And, don’t forget, you will have to do this all through an established and throughly rigid culture.

If you dream of fundamentally changing the way your group/division/company does business. Be an intrapreneur. It can be just as rewarding.