Navigate to your level, or beyond?

Getting smart about the hierarchy of smart - post by Seth Godin

The Dreyfus model of skill acquisition;
1. Novice
2. Advanced beginner
3. Competent
4. Proficient
5. Expert

Made me think about navigation models for web and tablets, do we give the different types of users the means to explore to their level of comfort? Are we aware of the differences, or simply settle for a common ground based on an assumed average user?
Can we offer several paths, while still giving the edited overview?
Are rss and other auto feeds one step? and social sharing or filtering on facebook or twitter another path, partially outside our "control" as such?

-...and the sun hid away behind nightshowers ...

Because we can

Cost reduction for high-end markets:

People who can afford to pay for service often choose to pay for service.

Another Seth G. golden nugget - there are a lot of markets where products don't cost anything proportional to their cost - call it branding or fashion, sometimes there is just a little bit extra there that makes it a comfort purchase more than anything else. So don't squander that on making "yet another" product. Make something special.

Books? Who needs them...

The first printed books came with a question: What do you do with these things? (boston.com via Nieman Lab)

Great read on the history of print and publishing, and how it evoloved - lots of interesing similariteis to the cahnge towards digital now; business leading the way with internal documents, lots and lots of classics reprinted / repurposed, and slim odds for authors expecting to make it big.

And one more thought from this weekend, as I've picked up a couple of magazine for the iPad - at 20-30 NOK ($ 3-5) the digital version is going for ~20% of the retail price here in Norway. And pretty close to the coverprice for a daily newspaper (at least weekend editions)

What does that imply short to medium term for those selling magazines at retail in Norway? 

And for those translating and re-issuing localized versions? Suddenly there is a very direct and very cheap competitor right there. Would you rather have the latest fashion trends the same day as 'everyone' worldwide, or at best a week or three later when the print editon is in the store - or the local version is out?

Learning? No so fast

Picked up a NYT piece a while ago from a tweet by Tim O'Reilly;

Forget What You Know About Good Study Habits, By Benedict Carey from September 6, 2010

Summed up; a disconnect between science findings and popular opinions (no! say it ain't so....)
But there is more; it is better to vary - both in terms of content/subject and place of study. And repeat.

Seems to match up pretty good with the way my own studies were set up - doing four or five different courses at a time, each with a mix of lecture, assignments and projects - spanning roughly four months and then a month of deep diving before final exams. Preparing for the exams by doing the previous exams - thereby mixing up the types of tasks and focus.

But still a nice read and good to know now that junior is in kindergarten, looking ahead to "learning games" and other boost to give him a solid foundation

- ...and the sun hasn't been out in view over the weekend, fall is here and the storms are making themselves known...