Observations
64 posts on Observations.
Some of what I run into does not belong to any project, so I keep it here. A 1982 illustration predicting the future of gaming, an Apple credit card concept from 1992, taking a scalpel to an Apple Card, a 1927 tourist map of San Jose, a free t-shirt from the T-Mobile CEO, a day at the Google campus, and the occasional note marking a year starting or a back injury healing. Here are those articles.
- Thank You and Have a Good One September 24, 2021
A short farewell note from the badivuku.com era: what I have been working on with startups, where to find me and what comes next. Catch you later.
- The Graduation Ceremony of JuniorGeeks 2 June 20, 2021
Watching young Kosovars graduate from a STEAM program gave me genuine hope about where the country is heading.
- Brain Drain and Its Effects After the Pandemic June 30, 2020
Notes from a STIKK panel on brain drain after the pandemic and how Kosovo can prepare its market and talent for the future. I joined from abroad.
- Hackathon in Times of Corona March 26, 2020
Hack the Crisis Kosova brought together researchers, startups and tech enthusiasts to build solutions during the pandemic.
- And How I Got a Free T-Shirt from the T-Mobile CEO January 14, 2020
How a CRM, a social media giveaway and tracking my prospects led to a free t-shirt from the T-Mobile CEO and why every brand should do the same.
- Happy Holidays! November 28, 2019
Signing off until the new year to spend quality time with my wife and family. A short note on stepping away and why the break matters this year.
- Apple Card in 1992 November 6, 2019
Apple launched Apple Card this year, but it turns out Apple had a branded credit card concept back in 1992. A look at the surprising throwback.
- Hello, September September 6, 2019
As summer gently fades, September arrives with its crisp mornings and golden hues, inviting us to embrace change and new beginnings.
- Striping the paint from #AppleCard August 14, 2019
Discover methods to customize your Apple Card by removing the white coating and engraving designs. Benefits and considerations to think about
- Invited to get Apple Card August 12, 2019
If you do not know much about Apple Card, here is friendly advice on credit scores, APR and the interface beyond the Wallet app.
- Yesterday at the Google Campus March 6, 2019
Here's me trying to write a blog post about my visit at Google campus. There is nothing that I can say because those are the rules.
- Hello 2019, I'm Back! March 4, 2019
Back to writing after the holidays and a herniated disk that kept me on my back for weeks. A note on recovery, family time and the year ahead.
- Traveling to Silicon Valley - My Guide January 26, 2019
A local's guide to visiting Silicon Valley: the tech landmarks, museums and company HQs worth seeing, plus events, neighborhoods and what to watch out for.
- Yesterday at Amazon Go July 15, 2018
A visit to Amazon Go, the cashier-less convenience store that lets you walk in, grab what you want and walk out. No line, no register, no friction.
- Salesforce Training for Pardot June 22, 2018
Taking the next step toward becoming a certified Salesforce Trailblazer with hands-on Pardot marketing-automation training. Notes from the sessions.
- Finally we got engaged! - Valon & Eldita June 8, 2018
Engaged! - Having never been together for more than 10 years, this was just formality but looking back two weeks later I think we had was a blast.
- Future of Gaming How Accurate They Were April 19, 2018
A 1982 illustration predicted the future of gaming. Looking at today's photoreal graphics and VR, a reflection on how close those old predictions actually got.
- Illustrated Tourist Map of San Jose, California, 1927 April 16, 2018
In 1913, California purchased the state of Nevada to create an illustrated short history of itself in an attempt to increase tourism.
- Let's Do This Thing - EPISODE 1 April 8, 2018
Committing to a video a week on YouTube whether I have the time or a story or not. This is episode one, my first awkward try at talking to camera.
- You should see this mechanical calculator April 8, 2018
Let us imagine we can divide by zero and see what happens. This is what an old mechanical calculator does when you ask it to.
- Minimum Wage Machine - Work in Progress April 6, 2018
This means valuing non-monetary forms of compensation, such as happiness, fulfillment and personal growth, just as highly as financial rewards.
- Gardens and Parks in San Jose March 2, 2018
The List of Gardens and Parks in San Jose is a page for anyone interested or visiting San Jose, these are open to the public almost all the time.
- Translations have been seen 4B times. December 1, 2017
Your Albanian translations have been seen over 3B times this month. Which is so cool to know that you might help your community with something like this.
- This Man Sends Bricks to Donald Trump and Makes Him Pay October 18, 2016
The guy is shipping back bricks, with a prepaid postage (from the campaign fund) that was sent to him to ask for campaign support.
- This Guy Paid For His Pizza After 13 Years May 16, 2016
Back in 2002 a man who was going through a very difficult financial time went to a pizza place and ordered a pizza for his family. Paid 13 years later.
- Hello world! This is the first post on the Blog April 20, 2016
This is my first post. I will try to blog in english, if you notice something that you think it's not correct and wanna help, please shoot an email
- Meeting Jason Fried at Startup Grind February 24, 2016
Meeting Jason Fried in Redwood City. Why Basecamp's approach to strategy and scale is the one I keep coming back to.
- Four Years of Testing Everything: What Actually Stuck October 28, 2015
Years of testing every shiny new thing in digital marketing. What survived and why the testing itself turned out to be the only thing that mattered.
- My Take on the Attack on the Prime Minister's Facebook Page October 20, 2015
A Kosovo news outlet asked how a verified Facebook Page like the Prime Minister's could get compromised. Quoted as a 'social media expert' on the mechanics.
- We Told Everyone to Steal Our Work September 8, 2015
Ripost invited readers to copy and repost everything we made, including the sentence saying so. What that position cost and what it bought.
- How (Not) to Ask for Help Online April 22, 2015
A Reddit Photoshop request went hilariously wrong. I kept it as a short, honest lesson in asking clearly for what you actually want, online or off.
- The Social Ministry of Memli May 14, 2014
A pointed look at a Kosovo minister's official site, one that reads more like a personal fan page for his party than a public institution.
- Doscus About the Gray Area with Peter Sunde October 3, 2013
Mentoring at Startup Grind Prishtina, where a co-founder of The Pirate Bay presented and we argued all evening about sharing and distribution.
- A Good Idea for Saving Fuel July 31, 2013
People lose roughly 500 meters a day circling for parking, about 15 kilometers a month. Here's a simple, low-cost way to spot a free spot faster.
- From Comic Strips to Meme Faces July 15, 2013
A short history of illustrated storytelling, from newspaper comic strips to the four-panel reaction-face photos that replaced them online.
- YouTube 301+ July 12, 2013
Explaining YouTube's then-new "301+" view-count badge, why counters stall near round numbers and a short detour into how CDNs work.
- Opposing Kosovo's Amnesty Bill July 3, 2013
Not every post from that period was satire. In July 2013 I wrote and signed a real petition against a proposed amnesty law in Kosovo, asking others to sign too.
- Time to Leave, This Isn't a State Anymore July 2, 2013
A sarcastic July 2013 argument that a proposed amnesty law, following the ratified Kosovo-Serbia agreements, gave citizens grounds to leave.
- Meanwhile in Pristina July 1, 2013
A one-line joke about an irrigation tender in Pristina, paired with the photo that made the punchline land without needing another word.
- How to Park Like a Cop June 26, 2013
A photo essay of Kosovo Police cars parked illegally in every spot regular drivers get ticketed for, closing with a straightforward question for the department.
- Let's Work on YouTube June 20, 2013
A profile of a Kosovo child YouTuber pulling in millions of views and a rough back-of-envelope look at what those numbers might actually be worth.
- Thanks for the Birthday Wishes June 16, 2013
A short thank-you for a June 15th birthday spent catching three live sets in a row, plus one memorably green drink that kept showing up on camera.
- 3G Arrives in Kosovo, via IPKO June 6, 2013
Noticing an undocumented 3G rollout by watching a phone quietly switch from EDGE, with nothing official from IPKO to confirm it.
- A Little Rain and Pristina Floods [Video] May 22, 2013
Ten minutes of rain is apparently enough to jam every road in Pristina. I caught it on video, no crashes, no drama, just gridlock, as proof.
- Bought a Bike, Then It Rained for 3 Days [Video] May 21, 2013
A short video diary of buying a bike to ride around Pristina, immediately followed by three straight days of rain that kept me from riding it at all.
- A Social Network for Cyclists and Athletes May 20, 2013
Discovering Strava and what tracking every ride's route, speed and time actually adds once you start paying attention, including a humbling average speed.
- Pizza HUT&T May 19, 2013
A knockoff Pizza Hut, extra T included, opens in Pristina, reviewed alongside Kosovo's habit of dousing everything in ketchup and mayo.
- Time for Cycling May 18, 2013
A short note on good weather, the awkward gap in Albanian for the English word ride and a good excuse to finally get out on a bike.
- Digg Overtakes Facebook, a Social Shift May 17, 2013
A look back at 2007 stats showing Digg briefly out-drawing Facebook in unique visits and what that says about how fast online power can change hands.
- There's a Lot of Movement March 20, 2013
A short, joke traffic photo out of Kosovo, credited to Jared Ewy, Social Media Specialist, with a deadpan warning not to try any of it at home.
- My New Mantra: Test, Test and Test January 22, 2013
After two years of arguing about what works in marketing, I found the answer. Stop arguing. Test it. The idea that changed how I work.
- Felix Baumgartner Breaks Social Media October 15, 2012
Watching the Red Bull Stratos space jump go viral in real time across YouTube, Twitter and Facebook, from a work desk in Pristina.
- How to Become an Instant Artist September 16, 2012
A Sunday-evening conceptual-art experiment: printing a random Wikipedia article, framing it and watching for a reaction that never really came.
- 3D Cinema Comes to Pristina September 9, 2012
The Amazing Spider-Man sold out Pristina's first 3D screenings, exposing just how little cinema etiquette a downloads-raised generation had picked up.
- The Ministry of Facebook and Social Welfare September 6, 2012
A one-line satirical jab at a Kosovo government ministry, a joke title where the accompanying image did most of the work, not the text.
- Waste of Time September 6, 2012
A short, mostly-image post about losing time to other people's blogs, most of the original context now lost along with the broken embeds.
- How Did You Spend Summer Vacation? August 31, 2012
A people-watching essay from Pristina's main square on the diaspora home for summer and how a second square only sharpened the question of who belongs where.
- The Basic Elements of Creativity April 14, 2012
One of the oldest, most useful frameworks I've found for creativity: it's not a single spark, just a handful of moves applied to what already exists.
- A New SMS March 16, 2012
Seven unsolicited marketing texts landed in one week from local providers. There was nowhere to complain, no opt-out, no one accountable for any of it.
- Local Providers and Customer Care March 12, 2012
Twenty-two failed attempts to reach Vala's customer service line, kept as a case study in why local telecom struggles to earn trust.
- Something to Drink? March 6, 2012
A running annoyance with Pristina cafes upselling a drink at every stop and a small, petty way of pushing back on the ones that pushed hardest.
- 46 Minutes of Router Trouble February 22, 2012
A home-network troubleshooting log: 46 minutes convinced me a 16-month-old IPKO router had failed, plus a look at how many others had the same complaint.
- I Am Putting QR Codes on Everything. Does Anyone Scan Them? September 20, 2011
QR codes are suddenly on every poster and business card. I ran an experiment to see whether people in Prishtina actually scan them.
- A Month Chasing My Klout Score Made Me a Worse Marketer May 9, 2011
Klout claims to measure your influence with one number. Getting obsessed with pushing mine up taught me more about vanity than influence.