Created from thin air

Create a company; incorporate it, and loan it money - enough to garner your own attention (silly but useful - stay tuned).

This obviously is a pointless act unless the company is charged with a purpose.

Q. Even then, why go through all the crap about setting it up and such?

A. The entity now exists...

Eye tracking rules

(some of which are made to be broken).

Tim points us to a terrific summary of lessons learned from eye tracking studies.

The highlights, in alphabetical order:

Ads in the top and left portions of a page will receive the most eye fixation.
Ads placed next to the best content are seen more often.
Bigger images get more attention.
Clean, clear faces in images attract more eye fixation.
Fancy formatting and fonts are ignored.
Formatting can draw attention.
Headings draw the eye.
Initial eye movement focuses on the upper left corner of the page.
Large blocks of text are avoided.
Lists hold reader attention longer.
Navigation tools work better when placed at the top of the page.
One-column formats perform better in eye-fixation than multi-column formats.
People generally scan lower portions of the page.
Readers ignore banners.
Shorter paragraphs perform better than long ones.
Show numbers as numerals.
Text ads were viewed mostly intently of all types tested.
Text attracts attention before graphics.
Type size influences viewing behavior.
Users initially look at the top left and upper portion of the page before moving down and to the right.
Users only look at a sub headline if it interests them.
Users spend a lot of time looking at buttons and menus.
White space is good.

Consider the theoretical disadvantage

Okay, it's a simple idea:

If you're a real estate broker, you work in an industry where everyone used to charge the same fee: 6%. Now, though, discount brokers are turning up the heat on fees. Lots of brokers are unhappy with this.

The challenge is... what if you had to charge 7%. What if you had to charge more when everyone else was charging less?

What would you do? How could you make it worth it?

Now, just imagine what would happen if you did that at 6% or even 5%? You'd be unstoppable.

Similar idea, inspired by the crazy pricing of the Kindle: What if, when everyone else's blog was free, you had to charge money for yours? What would you do? How would you make it worth it?

By creating this theoretical disadvantage, you find yourself looking for ways to differentiate yourself and be better / offer more / deliver better value. Hmmm...?

That BeachPunk Idea

This BeachPunk entity often creeps its way into my head. So here is a ramble of content, direction and revenue notions.

Live streaming webcam of the beach and surf:
It is interesting etc to look at. It also shouts that this is current and actively managed. So many sites that seem useful / interesting are static and appear to have been the same for months. The site and its contents need to be current. People may visit occassionally just to see the ocean. Or not

Section about natural resources with links and articles that are "beach relevant".

Section about life on the coast; restaurants, homes, activities.

Section that is a social place? Can the beach be enough of a common ground to start such activity?

What else? Sex, music, surfing?

Ad space:
Would restaurants pay?
Would Real Estate Agencies pay?
Who would?
If Google Adwords or some other method of monetizing the site is all there is, it is a hobby, not a business.
What is the scope? Local? Regional? National?