We need to talk about startup lust
It seems like, to be a founder in 2017, you not only need a unicorn-worthy idea, but a personal brand that heralds you as something of an entrepreneurial demigod.
It seems like, to be a founder in 2017, you not only need a unicorn-worthy idea, but a personal brand that heralds you as something of an entrepreneurial demigod.
Spurring their peers into action with primal screeches, Terradactyls had it easy in actioning friends because ‘move or die’ is a pretty convincing motivation. Fast-forward a couple of eons and calls to action have been honed into subtle bites of persuasion.
My Inbox is drowning in emails I have no intention of reading. In fact, I’m not even sure I remember ever singing up to receive them. My morning consists of a ritual of deleting impersonal offers of package deal holidays, discount flights, last chance sales and the occasional inheritance from a generous Nigerian relative.
My research led me to assume that somewhere around 1998 an epidemic of bad website design occurred and every second suburban accountant and their abacus got stuck there.
Product descriptions are often written like public service announcements. This is ineffective and is guaranteed to affect your conversion rate.
With online stores popping up faster than bearded hipsters in Surry Hills, there has never been a better time to acquaint yourself with conversion optimisation. I see a lot of websites and I’m always asked what the secret is to a higher conversion rate.
A few weeks ago, whilst out celebrating a friend’s birthday I overheard a group of hipsters bragging about how their coffee shop has Sydney’s first Bitcoin ATM. I couldn’t help myself and barged into their conversation. I was equal parts amused and afraid that this illusive currency is being used to buy cake in suburban Erskinville.
The other day I met someone who introduced themselves as a creative technologist. After 13 years working in the online world, I’ve been witness to the evolution of the online job title and it’s come a long way from it’s humble ‘e-business manager’ beginnings.
After doing a bit of research I came to the conclusion that there are nearly as many online job titles as there are salad dressing varieties and it’s starting to get confusing.