Disqus - Latest Comments for Dave Schappell

Re: Stuff

Dave Schappell — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 23:35:06 -0000

Bravo

My mind recently shifted a bit about stuff because of two things:
1) I started a company, and am stressing constantly about my declining net worth :-)
2) I read a book called "Stumbling on Happiness" by Daniel Gilbert -- I forget all of the lessons the book imparted, but I remember the fact that there's a huge disconnect between how much happiness objects give you as compared to what you think they will, before you buy them

Onward!

Re: daryn's tumblelog

Dave Schappell — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 12:16:44 -0000

funny... i saw depeche mode play as well, around the same time... in philly somewhere... can't remember the name of the place, but i felt quite cool going to see them... wearing my long black trenchcoat, black boots, and mini-mullet complete with gelled/spiked hair :-)

Re: About Todd

Dave Schappell — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 13:40:09 -0000

Was great meeting you yesterday at the expo, todd -- like I said, I'm a huge MyBlogLog fan, and look forward to staying in touch, and hearing about new things you work on. Ping me if you come to Seattle -- we'll get Sawicki to buy us coffee :-)

Dave

Re: Connectory- a Blogger Relations Campaign with Whitepages.com

Dave Schappell — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 12:10:29 -0000

Funny, but I didn't think of the event as being a PR-stage at all, so on that front, they probably won in a pretty big way. Having the celebrity effect (Mike Arrington) probably helped pull the larger crowd, but the topic was timely, and the discussion as a lot more lively than you get at most panel events, probably because so many of the folks in the crowd knew several people in the room.

Now that I know that there were several paid bloggers in the room, it makes me wonder a little, but really, I don't have a major problem with it -- at the end of the day, their coverage has to be based on the quality of the product and the perceived impact on customers.

Onward...

Re: TeachStreet expands into Portland

Dave Schappell — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 13:40:15 -0000

Thanks for the TeachStreet coverage -- we really appreciate it. And, we're extremely excited about today's Portland launch -- reaction to TeachStreet in Seattle has been fantastic, and we're hoping of more of the same in the Rose City :-)

Happy Monday!

Dave

Re: Free Beer @ Beer and Blog

Dave Schappell — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 17:30:15 -0000

Was great meeting you last Thursday, and then seeing you again on Friday -- hope to get TeachStreet Team down there more often in coming weeks/months!

Dave
Founder and CEO, TeachStreet

Re: TeachStreet…I likes

Dave Schappell — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 01:44:43 -0000

Hey Jon -- thanks for the link! Remember, the race is on to launch day -- last one to open beta buys the drinks!

We probably need some rules, eh? Public launch, accessible by folks without a private beta key :-)

Onward!

Re: Education and the Edgeconomy

Dave Schappell — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 01:05:30 -0000

Jon -- this was a great post -- I actually started to read it several days ago, and then just saved it because I wanted to read it more closely. What we're building is probably addressing more of the disintermediation aspect (using the web to directly connect the parties) and what you're building is more removing the removal of physical boundaries -- I think they're all going to rapidly fall over the next 5-15 years (yes, that's a fast cycle!) and that we're all playing small/large parts of the shift. I really look forward to helping to expedite this transition.

Best of luck to EduFire!

Dave

Re: The #1 Reason Why Traditional Education Companies are in Trouble

Dave Schappell — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 14:49:55 -0000

TeachStreet couldn't agree with you more -- I use the Jon Bischke "turn teachers into rock stars" quote several times a week, I think! Hope the eduFire team's doing great...

Dave

Re: Happy Birthday to a Fellow Educational Entrepreneur

Dave Schappell — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 12:34:17 -0000

Thanks for the good tidings, Jon -- wish you the best as well!

Now, off for a hike with my wife and Zach the Dog (TeachStreet's Security and Morale Booster)

Re: Who’s on Twitter?

Dave Schappell — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 11:10:15 -0000

Oh yeah, I be twitterin!

http://www.twitter.com/daveschappell

Re: TeachStreet Expands to the Bay Area

Dave Schappell — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 01:37:48 -0000

How do I love edufire? Let me count the ways:

1) Jon Bischke's just the bomb -- you can't help but love the guy :-)

2) What's better than chatting with someone in real-time, halfway across the world? It's flat-out awesome

3) www.twitter.com/edufire -- nuff said

4) free lessons!

5) congratulatory blog posts -- gotta love 'em!

Re: 2008/04/23/teachstreet/

Dave Schappell — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 11:54:22 -0000

Hey Mark -- I'm not sure we actually provided the detailed instructions on how to raise the money -- that could take a few more hours, but I'd be happy to do that for a low hourly free :-)

Seriously, we're really happy with how the last few days post-launch have gone (system's stayed stable, and fast) and user feedback has been fantastic.

Lots more to build, obviously, but we wanted to make sure we had broad/deep class experience to evaluate features and uptake, and we chose our Seattle backyard for that, since it was easier to talk with teachers in person and to get usability feedback. In addition, we wanted to make sure our data collection process was working smoothly before investing in too many cities at once.

Hope to get to the Bay area soon -- later this summer?

Dave (founder and CEO)

p.s. I'm down in SF for Web 2.0 Expo thur EOD Thurs 4/24/08 -- ping me if you're around!

Re: Another Angel and a Marketing Veep

Dave Schappell — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 21:38:38 -0000

Wait... you can't hire Todd... he's supposed to be working for TeachStreet in a few weeks! Of course, as long as you agree to pay him, and we can just use his 'off-hours-time', I think we can live with the arrangement.

Seriously, great addition!

Re: TeachStreet expands to Bay Area

Dave Schappell — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 07:53:00 -0000

Thanks for the post, Eric -- It was great meeting you at the RIP Good Times Seattle event a few weeks ago. Now, the good times continue! And, hope to catch you and John out at a Hops and Chops event one of these Thursdays -- lots of interesting nascent startups have been popping by each week.

Re: Calls from Santa -- Web 2.0 style

Dave Schappell — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 02:47:00 -0000

John -- the first link goes to a crashed page -- remove the '/alpha/' from the end of that link to make it work.

Re: Earth Class Mail to sell business units in major focus shift

Dave Schappell — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 04:29:00 -0000

John -- could you do a follow-up piece on how ECM is different from Zumbox? I was recently introduced to the latter, and the concept is great (an online address for every physical address), but I'm not sure how that's different from what ECM is attempting. And, it seems like Zumbox is doing it with a lot less capital (although I haven't confirmed/checked on that).

Dave

Re: Earth Class Mail to sell business units in major focus shift

Dave Schappell — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 11:29:00 -0000

Mark (#17) -- where's the bad news angle here that you're talking about? I thought the story was pretty straightforward -- I agree that a number of the comments are way out of line, but that's what happens when you don't have folks register and/or supply real names.

In any case, I hope the transition works for ECM -- innovation in the mail delivery/processing space is long overdue.

Dave

Re: Earth Class Mail CEO slams online mail startup Zumbox

Dave Schappell — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 04:57:00 -0000

Why would Ron be so rude about another player in the space? To me, that just reflects badly on him. I don't know a lot about either ECM or Zumbox, but I love what they're both trying to do, in different ways -- my hunch is that neither of them have it right yet, but that they'd be better off collaborating to figure out how to make their visions a reality.

Onward...

Re: Is this the geekiest car in Seattle?

Dave Schappell — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 02:27:00 -0000

No... not by a longshot... Jon Staenberg's eVite VW Bug is still the geekiest car in town -- I'm surprised he hasn't upgraded to a Twittermobile yet :-)

Re: Pay $5, fund a new startup

Dave Schappell — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 11:05:00 -0000

Thanks for the Vittana coverage, Eric -- It's been a privilege to work with Kushal and team to help them make their vision a reality; and, it's been amazing to see all they've accomplished in only a few short months. Their goal is so massive -- ultimately, to untap the 'human capital' in developing countries, by helping people achieve their life goals.

I look forward to seeing their future successes -- in the next 2-3 years, we will see and hear about 1,000's of people attending professional training (police academies, plumbing, trades of all kinds) because of the efforts of the Vittana team -- very exciting to have that type of energy among the Seattle startup community.

Re: Why can't you find a plumber?

Dave Schappell — Wed, 06 May 2009 13:01:00 -0000

Congrats to the HelpHive team on shipping -- the site's really elegant, and I think it's addressing a real need (yes, I still think there's a massive need in this space -- I wish that Facebook & Yelp & other services worked the way I want them, so that I could get the real-time-feedback from my friends and neighbors), but no one has cracked that code yet.

I'm actually an on-and-off Angies List member, but the annual fee always hits me wrong (when I don't need it).

I hope that HelpHive can crack the code -- linking me with the opinions of my friends in these one-off-spaces (i.e. a few weeks ago, our basement flooded -- I would have LOVED to have had feedback from friends... but at the time, it wasn't available... I got lucky with our choice -- since then, several friends gave us their stories, and their glowing referrals).

In any case, it's still very early in this space, IMO -- not to say that folks don't have massive head starts (or, who have failed before). But, by focusing on the unique needs of the service providers, and generating real value for them (and for consumers), I think there's a big business to be built here.

Congrats again to you two (Karim & Dave) and the rest of the team on getting v1 out the door -- now the work begins!

Dave

Full Disclosure -- I'm a HelpHive Advisor -- and a big fan of the local/review space. And, a big fan of Dave/Karim :-)

Re: With new VC deal just around the corner, TeachStreet cuts staff

Dave Schappell — Wed, 13 May 2009 13:35:00 -0000

John -- thanks for the article -- I thought it was very fair, and considerate of the folks who we had to let go.

And, thanks to everyone for the feedback, support, and criticism. We'll use it to spur us on, and fire our creative energies.

We may err, stumble and possibly ultimately fail, but we're in the arena... dusty, sweaty, bleeding... and we're not going to stop fighting. We think we're building a one-of-a-kind experience for teachers and students, and we have a great team, and supportive investors, dedicated to making our vision a reality.

Onward!

Dave

Re: 1000 Markets is an Etsy rival with backing from PayPal founders

Dave Schappell — Fri, 15 May 2009 04:21:00 -0000

I'm a big fan of 1000Markets -- it's amazing what their tiny team (2-3 folks?!?) have built, and I love the self-sufficient nature of the site. They baked community elements in from the get-go, which gives them a huge advantage versus competitors. I'm looking forward to seeing them grow.

Re: 1000 Markets is an Etsy rival with backing from PayPal founders

Dave Schappell — Fri, 15 May 2009 04:21:00 -0000

Re: Thirteen key characteristics of a great startup culture

Dave Schappell — Thu, 21 May 2009 09:44:00 -0000

Awesome post, Gregg -- we just had an offsite on Tuesday, and spent much of it talking about culture/values, and it was awesome. I've added a link, below, that shows an visualization of our TeachStreet Core Values (they're the ALL CAPS words inside each cluster of traits) -- it's fun to match them up to your list above:

http://blog.teachstreet.com/wp-content/TeachStreet%20Core%20Values.jpg

Re: Thirteen key characteristics of a great startup culture

Dave Schappell — Thu, 21 May 2009 09:44:00 -0000

Re: Bouncing back from a layoff, TeachStreet lands $1.2 million

Dave Schappell — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 04:34:00 -0000

Thanks for the kind words, folks.

#Curious George -- we're actually focused less on traditional ad spend, and instead, working to build tools for teachers and schools to grow and manage their student base (think things like payments, messaging systems, calendar tools, syndication/distribution tools, etc.) -- more will hopefully become clear in coming weeks, as we launch v1 of those services.

Onward,

Dave

Re: With new VC deal just around the corner, TeachStreet cuts staff

Dave Schappell — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 04:52:00 -0000

Darrin / others -- thanks for the positive comments -- one of the things you learn early on is to READ all the comments, but not to let the negative ones take you down, or let the overly positive ones take you too high. We're working very hard to build something that creates value for customers, and will evaluate our performance over the long-term.

Thanks!

Dave

Re: Google taps Amazon.com veteran for key Seattle-area position

Dave Schappell — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 05:38:00 -0000

What an awesome choice -- I worked with Scott at Amazon, and he's an incredibly smart guy, but also a really thoughtful and great team leader/manager. Great move by Google.

Re: Next event: TechFlash Summer BBQ and Ping-Pong Tourney

Dave Schappell — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 09:59:00 -0000

I'd put my money on Rob Frederick -- if I can be convinced that he won't enter, I'll waste my $65 on an application!

Re: Startups and venture capitalists look to profit on Twitter mania

Dave Schappell — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 09:52:00 -0000

Hey folks,

I prefer to state my bad opinions directly -- when they come through a filter like 'anonymouse' sometimes they actually improve, and we can't have that happening, can we?

If I had a better memory, I'd remember who I had that conversation with -- but, sadly, I'm finding that my retention span is now narrowing in on a 20 minute time span :-)

Look -- I'm still a regular Twitter user (follow me @daveschappell ... Please! I MUST beat Marcelo on the Seattle 2.0 Twitter Index!!!), but as I wrote on my personal blog, I just think the hype around it is far overblown:

http://www.nosnivelling.com/2009/04/more-than-2...

Really, though, I don't think it's fair to say that it's DOA -- and, in fact, I'm sure that I didn't say that (since I haven't used that term since an 80s concert in Philadelphia).

My point was more of a simple one -- that I think it's overhyped, but that it'll likely be tremendously valuable as a leading trend in real-time web applications & services (vs. the consumer play that it's occupying now).

And, yeah, entrepreneurs are allowed to have different opinions than their investors -- that makes for healthy debate. And, usually (in strategic matters like this), they're right -- since I don't really have that much time to think about this stuff.

Onward...

Dave

Re: Roseman out as CEO of Evri, but retains ties to Paul Allen's Vulcan

Dave Schappell — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 10:55:00 -0000

Best of luck to Neil in what he does next. I don't know Will at all, but I'm sure this is a negative for Evri, just because Neil's as good as they come -- he's a great person, incredibly smart, cares about his co-workers and cares about the investments he's making (with both money, and people's time and efforts).

I think it's a testament to Vulcan that Neil's decided to invest time in finding another venture to apply his energies against -- I hope that's as advertised... because I'd love to see what Neil (and his recruiting/leadership talents) can accomplish, starting with an idea and a team of his own creation.

Best of luck to Will and the Evri team -- hope the advertising experience/focus leads to future success.

Onward...

Re: TeachStreet unveils online payment system for teachers

Dave Schappell — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 09:39:00 -0000

Glenn -- thanks for the support, as ever!

GeekMBA360 -- we chose PayPal because of their deep integration (with their Website Payments Pro product), making it easy to allow the buying customer who wants to use a credit card to stay in our experience. The other two that we considered (Amazon, of course... and Google) both required that we sent the purchaser over to a co-branded buying pipeline, as PayPal does as well, if a person chooses to pay with PayPal instead of a credit card.

That was our primary driver of the decision, and also the fact that we've worked with PayPal before.

But, we're open to alternative solutions in the future, as long as it doesn't negatively impact the customer experience.

Onward...

Dave

Re: Introducing the 'great 48' in the TechFlash ping pong tournament

Dave Schappell — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 07:10:00 -0000

I see an @joesunga / Andy Jassy showdown in the top-right bracket

by the way... why not sell sponsorships for each of the brackets (so that we could refer to them as 'coming out of the ____ bracket'!)

Re: The top 10 best (and worst) CEOs and companies in Seattle

Dave Schappell — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 10:30:00 -0000

All I can say is, "phew!"

Re: The top 10 best (and worst) CEOs and companies in Seattle

Dave Schappell — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 10:30:00 -0000

All I can say is, "phew!"

Re: TechFlash BBQ & Ping-Pong

Dave Schappell — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 03:15:00 -0000

I was thinking to myself, "how did I ever get so bad at ping pong? I just lost 11-0, 11-1... in some circles, that's embarrassing"

Re: TechFlash BBQ & Ping-Pong

Dave Schappell — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 03:16:00 -0000

Andy's getting into classic crane-position, right before smoting his opponent

Re: Guest Post: We're better than this

Dave Schappell — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 10:39:00 -0000

Hey Glenn,

You just wrote about something that I've been complaining about with John, Eric and the TechFlash crew (and others) for months. Lately, I've just decided to not acknowledge the pure-haters at all. I just figure that by paying them little attention, they'll eventually get bored and leave. Or, at least, I won't waste time in an anonymous shouting contest.

However, I'd love if:

* The comment system did have some log-in system. Not that everyone would use it, but there would be some incentive for frequent posters to identify themselves, and it would be easier to identify contributors who you like to follow (i.e. if I like to see your comments). Also, systems like Disqus give you one-click sign-in, which is nice.

* TechFlash and other blogs took a more proactive involvement in the comment streams -- I really do think that a lot of people are turned off by the negativity in the streams. Again, not by fact-based contributions, but by pure vitriol. I was engaged in a pretty active discussion on xConomy this weekend, and I loved it -- but, their comment system is just about as bad as TechFlash's (although they do have subscribe-to-comments)

* Improved commenting (for instance, I can't opt-in to get follow-on comments on this blog -- so, I don't even KNOW that someone has posted a conflicting viewpoint unless I happen to refresh my browser, or if someone tells me -- Subscribe-to-Comments has been a wordpress plugin for years, and Disqus would give this (and other blogs) that functionality immediately

End of day, active commenting and discussion benefits everyone. And, negative comments are fine, really they are. It's just better to know who they are (like the person who stands up at Town Hall Seattle or public forums). As long as a person lays out their opinions, they should be OK with talking a bit against the grain.

Onward,

Dave

Re: Scout blazes trail with Windows 7

Dave Schappell — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 07:00:00 -0000

As a fellow Eagle Scout, I also puzzled over this project's "worthiness" for an ES Project. I can't remember what the qualifications were -- I remember that mine involved repairing tombstones and cleaning up a cemetery at a church near our Troop headquarters. I'm sure it tooks several weekends and involved managing/coordinating some fellow scouts, who earned hours toward their own badges/awards/etc.

Maybe this isn't so different, given the leadership and improvements, but if the school really is a private school, that doesn't seem to make as much sense (maybe work in the public school system, or at volunteer organizations?). And, the direct tie-in to father's work also seems a little too close for comfort.

I love the 21st century spin on age-old Eagle Scout projects; I just hope we see more of the work benefiting the underserved/underresourced community at large, as these projects gain in popularity.

Re: Scout blazes trail with Windows 7

Dave Schappell — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 07:00:00 -0000

Re: Amazon employees battle it out for coveted buffalo wing title

Dave Schappell — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 07:31:00 -0000

Hold the presses -- rumor has it that Jonathan violated the Shrimp Barrett Loophole Rule

Re: Meet a Breakdancing Teacher

Dave Schappell — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 21:26:32 -0000

We love that we just got a request to find a breakdancing teacher near Centerville, Ohio! At the same time, we're sad that we're not ready to launch in Ohio yet -- but, that doesn't mean that we can't try to help.

We just did some quick searching and found a few folks that may be in your neighborhood -- we'll leave it to you to try contacting them -- let us know if you find a teacher to help you out!

1) MeetUp might have a group of folks near you:
http://breakdance.meetup.com/cities/all/

2) Star Perfromance Center:
http://www.starperformancecentre.com/

3) Here's an active MySpacer with a penchant for Breaking:
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction...

Re: Learning to Make Door Desks

Dave Schappell — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 19:30:57 -0000

Heh :-) Yeah, Amazon Legal contacted us, and our licensing fee is one latte per year to El Jefe :-)

Re: Boo hoo — we lost our first startup competition

Dave Schappell — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 10:06:25 -0000

Thanks, Joseph -- we'll keep Dobro on the list -- in the meantime, if you're looking for a great Seattle Dobro instructor, you should check out Orville Johnson

http://www.orvillejohnson.com/

Re: A Hoy Maties! 5 Lessons for Novice Sailors

Dave Schappell — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 21:16:22 -0000

Awesome post, Katie -- if it weren't rainy, cold and foggy in Seattle right now, I might even be tempted to get out on the water :-) As it is, it's perfect weather for starting a education startup!

Re: Learning about Online Tutoring Services

Dave Schappell — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 16:44:25 -0000

heh -- see you in Second Life, Robert :-)

Re: New on the Block

Dave Schappell — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 17:00:11 -0000

I concede -- Janet's much more classy than any Wahlberg :-)

Welcome to the team... now, get back to work!

Re: Must-haves for a Seattle Startup Entrepreneur

Dave Schappell — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 01:08:11 -0000

Daryn -- thanks for the good tidings -- we could have used you on tech support (will explain later!).

Tim -- thanks for the Dabbledb reco -- and, also for the SproutIt mention the other day -- we're checking them both out.

Re: Kayaking in Seattle

Dave Schappell — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 20:41:31 -0000

Rock on, Tim -- we can't wait to get to LA either -- in fact, half the team wants to head down to do due diligence, especially since it's raining cats & dogs here in Seattle today (and this month... and last month...)

Re: Connecting Local Students with Local Teachers.

Dave Schappell — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 12:23:20 -0000

Hey Sam -- that comment is hurtful :-)

Another way to think about it -- we help teachers focus on what they're most passionate about... "teaching"! While they do that, we take care of the stuff they're not so fond of (getting them a great looking web presence, finding them more local students who are motivated to start learning ASAP, and helping them manage their existing student base).

OK... not so short, I guess... I'll work on it.

Yours truly,

The Grouch

Re: Connecting Local Students with Local Teachers.

Dave Schappell — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 13:08:11 -0000

Thanks, Bruce -- I knew I had supporters out there somewhere (not counting my Mom & Dad, who are required to be raving fans)!

Dave

Re: Learning Accounting, Taxes, Bookkeeping and other things I thought I’d never do

Dave Schappell — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 09:17:09 -0000

Great entry, Katie -- you've been doing a killer job with our books (I'm not just saying that since it means I don't have to do it... really!)

Dave

Re: Spotlight on a Quickbooks Instructor: Teaching Small Businesses to Fish

Dave Schappell — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 14:34:36 -0000

So, Katie... when are we having Keith come in to fix up all of our QuickBooks mistakes?!?

Great post!

Dave

Re: Outdoors for All Classes

Dave Schappell — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 21:52:52 -0000

Sam -- really great post -- keep it up!

Re: A Podcast For the Music Lovers and Band Geeks Among Us

Dave Schappell — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 11:22:30 -0000

Great post, Katie -- and, know that it's a good thing to not be as nerdy as the rest of us :-) Of course, it's always something to aspire to!

Re: Seattle Mom Blogs

Dave Schappell — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 11:02:07 -0000

Sam -- this is fantastic -- don't forget shout-outs for the Seattle P-I's MomSeattle and DadSeattle blog communities as well -- I'm amazed at the number of parenting resources just in the Seattle area!

Dave

Re: 826 Seattle

Dave Schappell — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 03:26:15 -0000

Fantastic post, Sam -- love the images -- are they from 826 Seattle, or Flickr? If Flickr, let's be sure to get the creative commons attribution... if 826, let's be sure to link the images to their site -- looks great!

Dave

Re: Blog Resources for Teachers

Dave Schappell — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 12:39:41 -0000

This is incredibly well-written. At the same time, I'd be more strong with some recommendations:

1) Google Reader -- just do it -- it's great, easy-to-use and constantly evolving. And, if you're a GMail user, it integrates really nicely. I'd recommend people get familiar with productivity-enhancing keystrokes (you can read about them in the Google Reader Help area).

2) Blogger's probably the easiest to get started with. But, SixApart may be even more personality/fun focused (they let you spice things up a bit). The key is to not be intimidated by the word 'blog'. Really, a blog is nothing more than an easy way to publish content on the web. It's sort of like a word processor that saves to the Internet -- nothing more complicated than that!

3) Feedburner's really for more advanced users. To keep distractions low, folks should just go to Blogger (or pick one of the others), and write their first post. Then write another. Then try linking to someone. After a few posts, it just starts to make sense. Most people end up scrapping their first blogs, because they realize they weren't focused on any one thing that readers would care about. But if they still have the blogging bug, they can very easily start another one -- that's what makes it fun!

Re: Friends of Seattle Public Library Book Sale @ Magnuson Park

Dave Schappell — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 08:57:51 -0000

funny, but you beat me to this post -- i was at the library last night in montlake and thought about posting this -- nice!

Re: Multi-Sport Coaches in Seattle

Dave Schappell — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 10:38:00 -0000

I was surprised that this didn't include Mary Meyer training groups -- I see them all the time down at Lake Washington in Madrona/Leschi -- usually they have 50-100 people doing combined swimming/biking/running workouts. It always inspires me for about 5 minutes, and then I roll over and get a tan on my other side :-)

Re: 10 Top-Rated Seattle Dog Trainers

Dave Schappell — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 17:11:03 -0000

Hey Wendy -- thanks for the post -- I miss seeing Declan at the old Amazon headquarters! Of course, he was always more well-behaved than Zach the Dog, and always will be :-)

Hope things are going great for you at Meetup -- we're huge fans!

Dave

Re: Getting ready to flip the On Switch

Dave Schappell — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 03:35:43 -0000

Yes... we thought of that joke as well... but, wait til we turn this baby on! ;-)

Re: Welcome to TeachStreet — we’re live in Seattle!

Dave Schappell — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 17:30:16 -0000

Thanks to everyone for your encouragement and support -- the team's super excited about what we're trying to build, and we look forward to your continued feedback and support!

Dave

Re: TeachStreet finds DailyCandy oh so Sweet

Dave Schappell — Tue, 13 May 2008 20:08:40 -0000

Yes, Emily... I think someone mentioned that :-)

Re: Find Local Reviews

Dave Schappell — Thu, 15 May 2008 10:17:22 -0000

Great post -- I was so psyched after checking out LaborFair -- the concept of people helping people, and leveraging the web to give consumers more information, and to empower day laborers and other workers with a platform to succeed was just awesome. Hoping to find ways for TeachStreet and LaborFair to work together to reach our common goals - just seems like we've got so many common values!

Also, don't forget to check out Jenna Raby (LaborFair CEO)'s blog

Re: Classes of the Week

Dave Schappell — Tue, 27 May 2008 23:10:11 -0000

Love the Chess link -- I saw that class come up last week and immediately wished it was in my neighborhood (Madrona)! I continue to be one of the worst chess players ever :-)

Re: New Features on TeachStreet

Dave Schappell — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 16:19:28 -0000

Awesome post, Sam -- and, double bonus points for working in a few more references to Mr. Cooley :-)

Re: Real Teacher Reviews

Dave Schappell — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 15:10:31 -0000

Thanks for the reply, Mark -- as you know, we're huge fans of Avvo -- recently noticed a whole slew of things you've implemented that we can learn from (Answers, promoting 'claimed profiles' above unclaimed ones, etc.) -- keep up the great work!

Dave

Re: It’s Not Easy Being Green…. Or is it?

Dave Schappell — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 23:31:20 -0000

Heck, why not take a Motorcycle Riding Class, buy a scooter, and start saving some gas that way too -- 100 miles per gallon, and fun too!

Dave

Re: Writing Contest?

Dave Schappell — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 11:29:09 -0000

Love this one! Sheila, we look forward to updates on how the contest is going -- let us know if we can help build buzz over the course of the summer!

Re: Bluetooth 101

Dave Schappell — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 11:05:30 -0000

Love the post -- I just bought me a new iPhone, so a new bluetooth headset is in my future, I'm sure -- welcome to TeachStreet!

Dave

Re: On Disease and Drinking

Dave Schappell — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 20:36:56 -0000

Love it -- who knew that these habits were so healthy?!?

Re: How to Raise Urban Chickens

Dave Schappell — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 01:04:04 -0000

I, for one, will be OK if folks forego the chicken tending -- every time we go on vacations and the roosters are running wild, they drive me insane with their crowing... of course, the fresh eggs are another matter...

Re: The Egg and I

Dave Schappell — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 01:43:10 -0000

I'm not sure which came first, but I know that they're both delicious... I'd eat the chicken first... then the egg... then some more chicken ;-)

Re: Comics Taking Over the Big Screen!

Dave Schappell — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 03:28:15 -0000

Joseph -- I absolutely LOVE this post -- great job! I look forward to future 'Early Stage' episodes... or, are they 'strips'? In any case, I'd love to see that evolve and take flight on the TeachStreet blog -- would be awesome!

Dave

Re: Lifelong Learner in Seattle

Dave Schappell — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 21:15:29 -0000

I, for one, prefer 'missrasmussen' over Angel -- hearkens back to my favorite librarian, Miss Rothermel! Really, Angel, you're about as good as they come -- we love your participation on TeachStreet, and I hope we can continue to improve the community to make it that much more fun (and educational) for you.

Now, when are you going to start teaching some classes yourself?

At a minimum, you could probably teach an "Introduction to TeachStreet" coffee starter class ;-)

Dave

Re: Learning Natural Horsemanship, and introducing TeachStreet TV!

Dave Schappell — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 10:37:33 -0000

wow -- really impressive video -- you two both looked fantastic! loved the interview with Robyn, and the fact that you two got up on horseback -- one of my wife's funny (in her opinion) stories is when we went riding a few year's ago... i was behind everyone yelling 'whoooaaaa!' every time the horse started to gallop (errr... trot...)... didn't like that one bit :-)

Re: Top 3 Tools to Market Your Business (when you’d rather be creating)

Dave Schappell — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 13:08:23 -0000

love this post - I've been meaning to buy personal Moo cards for several weeks so this was a great reminder!

Re: Flying Lessons for Kids

Dave Schappell — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 20:37:48 -0000

What's the maximum age limit for kids? Is 40 too old?

Re: How to grill the perfect steak

Dave Schappell — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 10:12:58 -0000

Sam's comment was the same as mine -- I always use a fork to flip steaks, and didn't know that I was undoing some of the best flavor/juices -- so, yes, I've learned something new today!

Re: Using E-Newsletters to Build your Biz – Part One of Four

Dave Schappell — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 11:55:35 -0000

I'd be remiss if I didn't give a shout-out to the folks at Seattle's WhatCounts. They do a great job, and offer tools ranging from starter packages to heavy lifting mailing tools for millions of recipients.

Re: 2008 Presidential Election

Dave Schappell — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 09:45:04 -0000

funny -- that Bob Barker question made me do a double-take... really, which one is he?!?

Re: I’m Listening!

Dave Schappell — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 11:19:26 -0000

Loved this post -- I actually did Toastmasters when I was in grad school to try to improve my public speaking -- I got just as stressed preparing for those 'fake speeches' as I did for real ones, but it definitely improved my ability to get up in front of a crowd, stay on topic (or try) and have a theme. Other assistance over the years has come from folks like Seth Godin, and others, on improvements to the presentations/slides themselves (moving away from all-text, and incorporating more meaningful visuals, etc.)

I think this election's gonna be a great one -- I'm really looking forward to meaningful debate (I'm a sucker... every 4 years, I hold out hope :-) )

Re: Free Beer (for Teachers) on Sept 16th

Dave Schappell — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 10:46:43 -0000

Looking forward to it, Joseph! But, what about those wine drinkers out there? And those who drink coffee? Remember that they may not all be keg-lurkers like yourself ;-)

Re: How to Become a Math Whiz

Dave Schappell — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 10:48:30 -0000

Harold -- did you know these tricks (errr.. methods..) yourself, or did you find them somewhere on the web?!? Pretty cool stuff!

Re: Tapas Cooking Class in Seattle

Dave Schappell — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 10:50:13 -0000

Tekla, your post was delicious (OK, I know I'm pushing the food puns...) -- really loved it! Hope you can share other learning adventures with us!

Re: Baking Classes in Seattle

Dave Schappell — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 20:13:29 -0000

as a youngster growing up in farm country in pennsylvania, i can attest to the deliciousness of bunnies... and, the bunny bread is just as delicious... they'd go very well together!

Re: Sponge Autumn Moon Festival

Dave Schappell — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 23:00:02 -0000

Yet another reason to celebrate on the 14th... is also the 40th birthday of a certain comedian turned entrepreneur... happy birthday to me.... love the post, Sam!

Re: Baking Classes in Seattle

Dave Schappell — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 00:42:11 -0000

A bread turducken is pure genius -- that's TeachStreet type thinkin'!

Re: Best Classes to Prepare for Tailgating

Dave Schappell — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 00:16:21 -0000

Annie, there are no bunnies involved in Seahawks football... just lots of choking, snivelling and fumbling...

Re: How to Grow Your E-Newsletter Mailing List – Part Two of Four

Dave Schappell — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 19:48:30 -0000

great job, katie -- i actually enjoy reading these, as nice reminders on 'return to the core/basics' -- hope you have a great weekend

Re: Schappell Show – 40 Years and Running.

Dave Schappell — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 12:21:56 -0000

Wow -- folks, thank you. The banners made me smile, and the destruction of my desk (with black balloons, cobwebs and the like) repeated the smiles! It's been a fantastic year+

Really looking forward to the coming year!

Re: Schappell Show – 40 Years and Running.

Dave Schappell — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 09:53:06 -0000

Hey An -- no one actually walked in off the street, but I did get some in-building walk-ins to wish good tidings -- was really a good feeling to get the positive vibes from the team -- I look forward to talking with you today.

Dave

Re: Double Your Pleasure, Double Your Fun

Dave Schappell — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 11:28:51 -0000

Love the post, Amanda -- and the links to some relevant categories, classes and teachers at TeachStreet -- hope you're enjoying school!

Re: Happy Hour Recap

Dave Schappell — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 09:58:30 -0000

Huge kudos to you, Joseph for doing anything and everything to make the event happen -- you did an awesome job, and, it was a blast! Looking forward to more of the same!

Re: Happy Hour Video

Dave Schappell — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 18:00:34 -0000

Awesome job, Harold -- love it! Thanks to all of the teachers who came out to make the event a huge success -- am really looking forward to meeting 100s and 1,000s more!

Dave

Re: And the Band Played…

Dave Schappell — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 10:43:44 -0000

Thanks for the post -- my wife and I are actually ready to undertake v3 of our swing dancing training... I'll have to warn her that we're wandering into the darker sexier side of america...

Re: Learn to Swing Dance with HepCat (starting Tuesday!)

Dave Schappell — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 08:32:25 -0000

Oh Hanhster, I can't wait to cut a rug with you -- we'll make quite the couple...

Re: Desert Island Classes

Dave Schappell — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 08:47:53 -0000

Seeing as how it's a desert island class, I'd probably take a 'How to build a robot' class -- it would be handy to have Bob the Robot around to do chores :-)

Re: TeachStreet 101 Video Tutorial: Requesting Reviews

Dave Schappell — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 12:50:03 -0000

Love the video, Joseph -- great job!

Woof!

Zach the Dog

Re: Trick or Teach?

Dave Schappell — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 23:43:50 -0000

Note that Zach will attack all toilet-paper wielding trick or treaters -- buyer beware!

Re: Vibrant Knitting Community

Dave Schappell — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 18:58:14 -0000

Awesome, Hanh -- if you had a great class, I'm sure Lauren would love a review -- you can review So Much Yarn on their profile page (or off of the class page that you found) -- thanks!

Re: Financial Times covers TeachStreet

Dave Schappell — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 09:02:02 -0000

Thanks for the shout-out Hanson -- yeah, Dan's a bit of a magician with that camera -- his pics on his site are amazing!

Re: Jorge Vera – Native Spanish Tutor

Dave Schappell — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 09:11:04 -0000

Thank you for participating on TeachStreet, Jorge -- we're so happy to have you here!

Re: Ways to Find More Students

Dave Schappell — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 16:09:37 -0000

Hey Chris -- thanks for participating on TeachStreet, both as a teacher, and as a guest blogger -- now, when do we get our free lesson(s) for helping you boost your business?!? :-)

Re: Social Security or Calamity? (Part 1 of 4)

Dave Schappell — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 16:09:19 -0000

thanks for the happy thoughts, Salar -- just what I needed after week's of stock market happiness!

Re: The ideal TeachStreet teacher — Seattle’s Ryan “Guitar Man” Casperson

Dave Schappell — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 12:56:18 -0000

So, you'd prioritize online payments as a feature request for us? That's good to hear... anything else you'd ask for as a high priority? Thanks for your feedback!

Dave

Re: eduFire for Test Prep and Language Instructors

Dave Schappell — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 14:28:14 -0000

John, can you point us to your blog? We know the EduFire team fairly well, and I think they'd want to know if this is happening (it's possible that it's an overzealous customer/tutor, and they'd want to rein that in).

Re: Things to Look for in an Animal Behavior Specialist

Dave Schappell — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 12:05:38 -0000

This is a very helpful post -- thank you -- we've never had major behavioral problems with either of our dogs, but I do know of other dogs with some odd behaviors (barking at flies, etc.) -- is good to know that they're often solve-able!

Re: Encouraging Musicality In Your Children

Dave Schappell — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 23:36:21 -0000

Thanks, James -- I agree, the article was great -- she did a wonderful job -- and, I'm glad you're finding so much enjoyment in your music, now! I never ended up finding too much fun with it... probably because I somehow chose the trombone -- I sure wish that someone had wised me up to the piano or guitar! Anyway, thanks for contributing your thoughts - we really appreciate it!

Re: Frugal Gal’s Guide to Fitness: Upper Body

Dave Schappell — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 12:21:53 -0000

Great post, Kristen -- it's especially relevant now, as we're all working so many late nights, and blowing off our morning workouts, right Daryn?

Re: Encouraging Musicality In Your Children

Dave Schappell — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 09:24:34 -0000

And, of course, you can also check out Erik's TeachStreet page here!

http://www.teachstreet.com/teacher/jazz-night-school

Re: TeachStreet employees dancing holiday disco!

Dave Schappell — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 19:12:37 -0000

Just wait until you see Team TeachStreet break out our moves for the Charleston

Re: San Francisco Bay Area – Here we come!

Dave Schappell — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 13:35:25 -0000

So proud of the entire team -- the site looks wonderful, and there's so many little improvements that collectively say BUNNIES!

Re: San Francisco Bay Area – Here we come!

Dave Schappell — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 14:12:38 -0000

Thanks, Kamal -- please send all feedback our way :-)

Re: Portland Teacher Meet-Up Recap

Dave Schappell — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 19:05:12 -0000

Loved this post -- sorry it took me a few days to catch up on it -- hope to see more of these gatherings in coming days and weeks!

Re: People Search + Better Geographic Mapping

Dave Schappell — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 19:14:54 -0000

Geraldine -- I loved your first post -- now I can say that I'm beginning to understand our constrained parallelograms :-)

And, Kare, thanks for your active blog participation -- I know you've been a long-time fan (from your earlier education blog post), so I'm psyched that we're finally in your neighborhood in a big way!

Re: Frugal Gal’s Guide to Fitness: Core and Lower Body

Dave Schappell — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 13:08:31 -0000

The lunge has always been my least favorite exercise -- even with no weight at all, I'm usually panting by the time I get to the 10th rep. This is a great reminder about the simple exercises we can all do to spruce up our workout. Thank you!

Re: It’s Never Too Late to Play Music

Dave Schappell — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 01:22:55 -0000

Hi Anne,

You may not be near Seattle, but you're right next door on TeachStreet! We're so excited to have added the Bay Area to our site, and hope you're enjoying your experience thus far. Please share any comments and/or suggestions!

Dave

Re: TeachStreet’s 2008 Accomplishments

Dave Schappell — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 02:39:46 -0000

Thanks everyone -- Annie, as usual, you rule.

Emile -- can't wait to get to Chicago, and all I can say is that the light is at the end of the Chi-tunnel -- hope to see you in next few months!

Glenn -- yeah, it was a little difficult to figure out what to include and not, for competitive reasons. In the end, I figured full disclosure is usually the better rule. We've been actively trying to constrain the market expansion (per Andy Sack's advice) to try to make sure we understand how to build vibrancy in our existing markets; at the same time, we know that the SEO advantages to expansion exist (helping minimize bounce rate % issues in non-launched cities, etc.) and so we're trying to figure out the balance. I bet those learnings will make a great post in 6-12 months.

Thanks for all your support!

Dave

Re: Recap: Technology for Yoga Teachers Workshop

Dave Schappell — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 10:16:08 -0000

Great job with the event, Soleil, Joseph and others -- I really enjoyed it, and the energy in the room.

And, I love the photos (and photo viewer) above -- look great!

Dave

Re: Meet a Breakdancing Teacher

Dave Schappell — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 22:45:57 -0000

Hi Mikhayla -- sorry, but no signs of breakdancing classes near Centerville yet. But, I did just add/invite Jaron Joiner to the site, so hopefully he'll activate his TeachStreet classes, and maybe he'll know of some other folks to invite to TeachStreet -- you can find his profile here:

http://www.teachstreet.com/teacher/jaron-joiner

Re: Meetup with TeachStreet in Denver/Boulder (5/7-5/9)

Dave Schappell — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 18:29:47 -0000

Thanks, Robert -- we like that idea -- keep your eyes peeled, OK? :-)

Re: Welcome Windy City!

Dave Schappell — Fri, 15 May 2009 01:08:02 -0000

Annie -- thanks! We miss you!

Paul -- thanks for the friendly welcome -- we're so excited about our Chicago appearance -- and, your TeachStreet profile's looking fantastic!

http://www.teachstreet.com/teacher/paul-nowak

Re: Feeling Hot Hot Hot with Bikram Yoga

Dave Schappell — Fri, 15 May 2009 18:29:51 -0000

Thanks, Stu -- we'd love to have you add a class to TeachStreet -- it's free!

http://www.teachstreet.com

Re: The Biggest Loser (@daryn vs. @daveschappell)

Dave Schappell — Tue, 26 May 2009 21:44:24 -0000

Hey Marc -- we agree that body fat percentage would probably be a better measure, but since neither of us really have any muscle on our frames, we'll probably be OK just measuring percentage of weight lost, right? :-) We'll add in body fat percentage in the next go-round!

Re: The Biggest Loser (@daryn vs. @daveschappell)

Dave Schappell — Tue, 26 May 2009 22:17:00 -0000

Thanks for the advice -- it'll be extra-helpful for Daryn, as he's been relying mostly on a diet of ice cream and fudgesicles :-)

Re: Add a Widget. Get a Free T-Shirt.

Dave Schappell — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 17:32:43 -0000

Sorry you're having troubles with that -- you should be able to get to the widget from this link:

http://www.teachstreet.com/widget

Re: Add a Widget. Get a Free T-Shirt.

Dave Schappell — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 18:04:10 -0000

Hey folks -- sorry for causing a little confusion -- we updated the blog post yesterday and inadvertantly deleted the 'form' submission where you enter your address, website and other info -- it's now added back to the blog entry, so if you return and fill out/submit that info, we'll get you into the t-shirt queue (as soon as we verify the widget install).

Thanks!

Dave

Re: Take a Bath with TeachStreet Fizzy Bath Salts

Dave Schappell — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 11:38:34 -0000

Awesome vid, Harold -- I particularly loved the Jeopardy soundtrack/speed-up effect!

Re: Top 10 Bay Area Music Teachers

Dave Schappell — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 17:20:15 -0000

Thanks for the reply -- we're glad you like the post!

Re: TeachStreet named one of 3 ‘Best in Show’ at Seattle WTIA Fast Pitch Forum

Dave Schappell — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 19:05:54 -0000

Thanks, Katie!

Re: What should I be doing on Teachstreet today?

Dave Schappell — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 00:28:43 -0000

Really awesome work -- Phil, you should be incredibly proud -- this is your first official 'teachstreet baby', and you delivered in a huge way (puns abound). DaveS#2, you rocked -- looking forward to more of the same with NashFord v2 and other fun (and useful value-add) projects.

Onward!

Re: Learn Something New: All Things Yoga

Dave Schappell — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 16:55:41 -0000

Thanks, Kat -- this is great -- I've been experimenting with Pilates lately, but intend to try my first Bikram Hot Yoga session over the upcoming 3-day weekend -- very excited!

Re: Learn Something New: All Things Art

Dave Schappell — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 14:06:39 -0000

Kat, I love the links to the articles and forum discussion -- even I missed some of these when they went live -- thanks!

Re: How to add a video to a TeachStreet article

Dave Schappell — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 18:46:38 -0000

Love this, Jenn!

Re: Introducing TeachStreet Payments!

Dave Schappell — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 09:59:19 -0000

Zach -- thanks for the heads up.

Everyone -- due to the late-evening hours around launch, we made some bad math errors on the Fees page -- the correct Fee examples should be as follows:

a) New student paid $50 to teacher
Total Fees = $3.70 (4.9% + 2.5%)
Net Payment to Teacher = $46.30

b) Recurring student paid $50 to teacher
Total Fees = $2.45 (4.9%)
Net Payment to Teacher = $47.55

c) Free = Free = Great Karma!

Re: Reflections from the MBA Intern

Dave Schappell — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 10:27:49 -0000

We miss you already, Julie -- when are you bringing cookies by the office? And, remember, that someone likes donuts...

Re: Miss Tess – Piano, Voice, and Composition Teacher

Dave Schappell — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 13:13:04 -0000

You can find Miss Tess's class here:

http://www.teachstreet.com/seattle-wa/piano/private-piano-voice-music-theory-solfege-composition-conducting-lessons/cl-10i9a78bxc

Re: TeachStreet Raises $2.25 First Round For Local Teacher Search

Dave Schappell — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 00:54:11 -0000

Thanks for the post, Joseph -- we've had a great few days in the office -- customer response has been great, and also lots of feedback on things we need to fix. Have been trying to quickly address that stuff, and the team's also excited to move on to v2 product improvements -- never a dull moment!

Dave

Re: TeachStreet Raises $1.2 Million In Second Round; Premium Services On The Way

Dave Schappell — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 15:38:02 -0000

Thanks for the coverage, Joseph -- and, Lei, we appreciate your support -- the next few weeks should be really exciting (for us), as we launch v1 of our premium services to better help teachers and schools grow and manage their student base -- think things like payments, calendaring, messaging systems, distribution/syndication tools, etc.

Onward!

Dave