Disqus - Latest Comments for JustinKownacki

Re: I Can’t Believe I’ve Been Doing This for Ten Years

Justin Kownacki — Mon, 17 Oct 2016 11:03:46 -0000

You can turn off RTs from people on a case-by-case basis?

Re: Why I’m Changing My Focus

Justin Kownacki — Mon, 18 Apr 2016 13:20:42 -0000

Thanks, Ara. I'll check it out.

Re: The Brief Life and Sudden Death of The Baristas — or, How Not to Make a Web Series

Justin Kownacki — Sat, 16 Apr 2016 12:50:25 -0000

Thanks, Ben. As much as producing the show caused me stress, I also loved doing it, and I do miss it. Maybe someday I'll do another.

Re: How Your Expectations Are Keeping You from Actually Changing the World

Justin Kownacki — Wed, 16 Mar 2016 18:45:16 -0000

Thank you, Sarah! I'm glad you enjoyed it. And I hope you're making something you're excited about right now.

Re: 30 March 30 Is a Simple Trick to Make You More Productive

Justin Kownacki — Wed, 02 Mar 2016 02:08:03 -0000

Go for it! Also, happy early birthday to your wife. That's a very good reason to focus on something else for a day.

Re: The Brief Life and Sudden Death of The Baristas — or, How Not to Make a Web Series

Justin Kownacki — Mon, 08 Feb 2016 15:45:57 -0000

Thanks, Eric. By now, your binge-watching is "old enough" to qualify you as an "old fan" of STBD.

You're right about Facebook corralling all discussions into their own garden. I think that'll pass in time, once Facebook is replaced by something else. If we'd leveraged Facebook differently, maybe The Baristas would still be around in some capacity. It's still frustrating to me as a purist that you have to pay to play the publicity game on the web's walled gardens... but there's something to be said for playing that game well.

Re: On transformations.

Justin Kownacki — Sun, 06 Dec 2015 18:15:05 -0000

I've had some interesting discussions about "happiness" lately. One thought I keep bouncing on is the idea that happiness is overrated compared to purpose. Happiness comes and goes; it's great, but it's partly great because it's impermanent, so its absence makes us desire it more and appreciate it when it's here. But purpose is what drives fulfillment, which can be far more lasting.

Which is not to say "don't pursue happiness," so much as "pursue fulfillment and you'll likely find happiness at various points along the way."

Re: What I Learned from Achieving Two Art Goals in One Month

Justin Kownacki — Wed, 02 Dec 2015 18:24:24 -0000

Thanks! The process of working on something in increments is definitely something I'm keeping as part of my day / week. I'm a procrastinator, so I fell behind by several days (and several thousand words) a few times in November, and then I'd have to binge-write over the course of a weekend in order to catch up. As soon as I realized I could do that, it became my new norm. For better or worse, "can I get this done" and "can I do this well" are separate questions, and A doesn't necessarily imply B.. but you can't do B without A, so start there.

Re: Lessons from a Year of Freelancing

Justin Kownacki — Fri, 06 Nov 2015 13:30:10 -0000

Thanks, C.C. 2015 wasn't terrible for me, but it definitely wasn't a high point either. I think it's worth admitting when things haven't gone as well as they could, partly because admitting it requires me to analyze why, and admit to what I could be doing differently. Otherwise, it's too easy for my to blame my shortfall on elements that are out of my control, when the truth is, the vast majority of our lives is within our control, so having a "better" year is up to each of us. Onward, sir.

Re: Why Your Network Is Everything

Justin Kownacki — Sun, 11 Oct 2015 11:18:38 -0000

Thanks! As for your anecdote, that's just how some people see the world: everything is resource management, and they operate from a scarcity panic. They may be very successful with that tunnel vision, but that's not how I prefer to exist. I enjoy unpredictability and serendipity too much to optimize it out of my life.

Re: Why Your Network Is Everything

Justin Kownacki — Tue, 06 Oct 2015 20:34:46 -0000

Sounds like you either need a new network or a new self-estimation. If you know what you want to achieve and your network can help you, ask. If they can't, find people who can. And if you don't know... well, that's a different story. :)

Re: What I Learned from Entering My First Screenwriting Competition

Justin Kownacki — Tue, 01 Sep 2015 11:25:57 -0000

I hear you. As reductive as some of the three-act structure and other traditional storytelling tips can seem, I do think there's value in building around some kind of conflict or problem that demands an emotional resolution. I think I reject a lot of those teachings because, like The Hero's Journey, they've been boiled down to formulas or tropes and their more coherent advice and meaning has been largely lost.

Re: What I Learned from Entering My First Screenwriting Competition

Justin Kownacki — Mon, 31 Aug 2015 09:57:31 -0000

Hmm... Must I?

Yeah, I probably must.

Re: What I Learned from Entering My First Screenwriting Competition

Justin Kownacki — Sun, 30 Aug 2015 18:22:15 -0000

Thanks, Kate. (Or "Kate," as your handle implies.)

Corporations are usually conflict-avoidant by design, since they need to be brand-friendly to all potential customers, investors, etc. But if you're making business videos, you can still find ways to frame the narrative in terms of the problem that the corporation is solving. Less touchy-feely rah-rah, and more "this is why X matters, and why we're doing it." At the very least, you can help color in a brand's identity by loudly proclaiming what the company WON'T do. Good luck.

Re: You Can’t Achieve Your Goals Until You Do This

Justin Kownacki — Mon, 24 Aug 2015 15:19:08 -0000

Becky -- You hit on a really important part of this process: knowing what you DON'T want to do. Even though you might be great at general small business marketing, you know that you're happier doing that work for a specific kind of customer (rural businesses) and toward a specific end (reinvestment in that business's locale). That focus is smart because it's going to save you from spreading yourself too thin and making less impact than you'd be happy with. Cheers to your continued success -- and if you need help with anything, let me know!

Re: Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride.

Justin Kownacki — Mon, 24 Aug 2015 10:13:12 -0000

You know, I think about the implications of that Thompson quote, which is that YOU change when you buy the ticket and take the ride (AKA have the experience). But you're not alone when you do that -- you're making contact with other people the whole time, and potentially affecting or changing them in ways that you can't plan or predict. To me, that's double the reason to take any risk; because you never know whose life will change as a result -- yours or someone else's -- but your odds of growth and improvement are definitely better than just staying home.

Re: Touchpoints

Justin Kownacki — Mon, 20 Jul 2015 09:51:42 -0000

Thanks! I figure if I'm going to interrupt someone's Monday morning, I should make it worthwhile. :)

Re: Why Twitter May Have Trouble Attracting New Advertisers

Justin Kownacki — Wed, 15 Jul 2015 16:04:25 -0000

No, I haven't reached out to Twitter about this directly (which I realize makes me something of a hypocrite, since I prefer to solve problems rather than just point them out). But I have trouble going out of my way just to give someone else my money.

Re: Why Twitter May Have Trouble Attracting New Advertisers

Justin Kownacki — Wed, 15 Jul 2015 15:13:53 -0000

Yeah, I've had great success advertising with Facebook in the past. I've heard Twitter's targeting is quite impressive, but I'm curious if their ad conversion rates are as good as Facebook's. If so, that might justify a higher spend... but probably not.

Re: Why Twitter May Have Trouble Attracting New Advertisers

Justin Kownacki — Wed, 15 Jul 2015 14:49:07 -0000

So many user experience issues on so many levels... I swear, if Twitter launched from scratch today, it would never gain traction.

Re: The Only Three Ways to Succeed

Justin Kownacki — Thu, 04 Jun 2015 00:16:08 -0000

Thanks, Flora -- and thanks also for the reminder that I didn't credit the diagram's designer. His name is BJ Heinley. I found his diagram through a Google Image search and I linked back to his original blog on the topic, but I forgot to credit him on the post. Just fixed that now.

Re: SURVEY RESULTS: How and Why Do We Use Social Media?

Justin Kownacki — Mon, 01 Jun 2015 11:50:29 -0000

Thanks, Mark. Personally, I never saw a need for G+ when I was already spending time on so many other networks. It always seemed like an answer to a question no one was asking. But if certain groups are seeing value in it, rock on.

As for a better pro network than LinkedIn, the need is certainly there. It'll probably be designed by a Millennial, though. It would almost have to come from someone thinking completely outside the box compared what's already there; a vague improvement just wouldn't do it. LinkedIn is "good enough" for most of us, so -- like G+ -- we'd need a major reason to change over to something new.

Re: Why We’re All Afraid to Speak Our Minds at Thanksgiving

Justin Kownacki — Fri, 28 Nov 2014 13:07:12 -0000

I think the phrase "well-behaved women rarely make history" is applicable here. If you don't like the way the system works, deferring to it just so others won't be made uncomfortable isn't going to help. If everyone's comfortable, the system has no reason to change; it just gets maintained, and "fitting in" is considered more important than "living better."

Re: Why We’re All Afraid to Speak Our Minds at Thanksgiving

Justin Kownacki — Fri, 28 Nov 2014 13:04:43 -0000

Start having the conversations. It's the only way we're going to feel like we're getting somewhere. Whatever temporary emotional or psychological stress we experience during them is nothing compared to the impact they could have.

Re: Private: Why I’m a Narcissistic Asshole

Justin Kownacki — Fri, 21 Nov 2014 12:29:06 -0000

I've actually come across dozens of strangers on Instagram who are taking really amazing photos, which I discover through hashtags. But I feel odd clicking like or follow, since they're strangers. Unless their friend count is ludicrously high, which means they *want* followers... at which point I still feel odd, because now it seems like I'm buying into a personal brand.

I think it's impossible to truly parse "why" anyone does anything -- especially on social platforms, where any action or result could be interpreted half a dozen different but equally valid ways.