Social Product Development (Holy medium confluence Batman!)

A cycling friend is authoring a blog on Social Product Development. Hunh!? You mean, at age 43, I really DO need to consider Twittering, (I had thought that was only for twits), Facebook (I’m already excellent at face-planting. Just join me on a mountain bike ride and I’ll prove it) and blogging?

Well, thanks Robin. Thank you very much for adding yet more distractions from my business of Mechanical Design Consulting. Thanks for thrusting me into a realm that I previously thought was only occupied by the likes of Paris Motel6 and the Real (?) Housewife’s of well, wherever (Certainly and gratefully not my neighborhood) Thanks for forcing me kicking and screaming into the 21st century.

Yeah yeah, I know that I need to network more than I do. And I know that signing up for LinkedIn, Facebook etc. are all for my own good. I guess sometimes we just need to be guilted into action.

So, after wading through all the aforementioned points of resistance, I’m taking the plunge with this blog – BJ Speak. And it’s all thanks to Robin. So, it’s only fitting that I dedicate this 1st rambling to her. Oh, and Robin? If this all goes horribly wrong, I know where to find you.

But where to begin? What was the subject of my 1st blog post going to be? I’ve never been accused of not having an opinion. But, sorting out whether this blog was going to be purely business based or personal or maybe a mixture of both was proving to be a challenge. So, I’ve settled on mixing business with pleasure and my life interests. But still the question begged… Where to begin?

Well, after perusing my favorites for that thar intremanet, I find that I am already tuning into a few fellow designers and manufacturers.

One of my favorite clients, Rob Vandermark of Seven Cycles has been blogging for some time now. If you count cycling among your interests or you are just curious about unique business models and you are not following Rob's posts, you’re missing a real treat. Add 25Seven to your RSS feed’s and browser bookmarks and learn more about bicycle fabrication, socially responsible manufacturing and lean production systems from THE (Yes, I am biased) most thoughtful bicycle manufacturer in the world.

Another favorite is Alternative Needs Transportation (ANT) bikes. Mike Flanigan is a bicycle manufacturer, or more accurately, an artist of utilitarian human powered vehicles.

I also get my cycling industry and racing news from Bicycle Retailer and Industry News (BRAIN) and VeloNews.com.

There are so many more bicycle industry blogs. But, I’ll save those for future posts.

I’d also list my favorite designer sites/blog here too, but this post is already too long. And whadayaknow? My 1st post has written itself. Maybe this will be easier than I thought. Maybe I will be able to keep this up. I know I have many topics running through my head… Designers with identity crises; The positive economics of utilizing consultants; Domestic manufacturing in the current world climate; Upscale watches and why you may want to invest… And a whole lot more.

So, stay tuned, please feel free to comment, and thanks for visiting. You too Robin.