Over the weekend I implemented a system over at 750words.com can I think is pretty neat.  Inspired by “pro” accounts like Flickr and Picnik and several other great sites, I wanted to give it a bit of my own spin.  I’m realizing that every feature should adhere to a similar aesthetic, and my aesthetic is about telling a story, and being transparent, and also being simple.  At least, that’s what I want it to be.

So, instead of requiring payment, or just asking for donations, I wanted to make the support and good will of the people using the site as much of a feature as the act of daily writing.

It’s easier to just link to it than to explain it, so this is what I came up with:

http://750words.com/patrons

It’s still in flux, so let me know what you think about it.

As you may know, I’ve recently gained a bit of popularity with 750words.com. It’s gone from 45 people writing a day to 450 the next week and 1,500 the last couple days. Last week I had to go from my cheap hosting service to a bigger server that is gonna cost a bit more than I can afford out of my pocket alone. I’m not interested in doing ads, really, unless they’re for things that I really think are useful. So, yesterday, I asked Penzu if they wanted to try out a little ad to help offset some of my costs. I was already referring people to them quite a bit whenever someone asked me for a feature that I knew I wasn’t going to get to for a while, and which I knew Penzu already did very well. Hence, now there’s a little Penzu ad on the Today’s Writers page.

I like friendly competition. I told Alexander that he’s allowed to adapt or improve on any features that he things Penzu would also benefit from. The act of private journaling isn’t something I want to own… the more people that build tools for it, the better, in my opinion.  And I also believe having someone who’s working on the same stuff as you and keeping you on your toes is good for everyone involved.  Of course, they’re a lot bigger than I am, but that’s good because I’m not ready to move servers again.

Anyway, it’s just a test in keeping things sustainable.  Curious to hear what other people think.

1976: Born in Newport Beach, California
1986: Turned 10
1992: Briefly owned a Ford Mustang convertible, before totaling it
1993: My father passed away
1994: Graduated high school
1994: One year at UC Berkeley
1995: Moved to Seattle, Washington
1998: Graduated from UW
1998: Hired at Amazon.com to answer phones at night
2000: Transferred to Amazon web developer position
2000: Got married
2000: Launched Seattle Stories (now gone)
2001: Launched Nervousness (sold in 2002 for $400)
2002: Launched All Consuming (sold in 2005 for $5,000)
2002: Wrote Man Versus Himself
2003: Transferred to Amazon product manager position
2003: Wrote Disaster
2003: Web developer again
2004: Got divorced
2004: Quit Amazon
2004: Co-founded The Robot Co-op
2004: Bought a loft
2005: Launched 43 Things
2006: Co-founded McLeod Residence (closed in 2008)
2008: Married Kellianne
2009: Started Enjoymentland
2009: Launched Locavore
2009: Quit the Robot Co-op
2009: Kellianne gets pregnant
2010: Launched 750 Words

Coming soon:
2010: Son is born

Would be interesting to dig deeper into these 30ish events to see how they relate to one another:

• Which ones were intentional, versus accidental?
• Which ones had high immediate impact, which had high long-term impact?
• Which one had intended consequences versus unintended consequences?
• Which things am I proud of, which am I ashamed of?

Another thing to consider, as I am currently 33 years old, how many more things will be on this list?  I started this list in 2005 (it was the bio on an old Typepad account), and only just now updated it to include the last 7 things.  Will the list continue to include about 1 item per year?  Will I add things to the past that I don’t currently know are high-impact events?  Will I remove things?

Does it do any good to reduce life life this?