cafedave.net

book: Contagious: Why things catch on

Jonah Berger has put together a highly readable series of insights around what makes people share ideas, packed with examples. The acronym of the book’s ideas is STEPPS.

Social Currency – insider knowledge you can introduce to your social circle.
Triggers – part of the idea is closely tied to some repeating event, so it is brought to mind on a regular basis
Emotion – emotions that trigger the adrenal system (anger, laughter) are better than those that leave the reader passive
Public – transferring private behaviour (like voting, competition entries) into the public eye
Practical Value – explaining how to accomplish a task
Stories – people more easily share ideas that are tied to stories, but make sure the story you’re constructed is closely tied to the brand or concept you’re sharing about

If you’re trying to create a piece of media that you’re hoping will be widely shared, it’s worth considering each of the STEPPS in turn to see if you can make your idea more contagious.

Movie: Expendables 3

I should qualify this first of all that I watched this movie out of a sense of family bonding tradition, and not necessarily for its significance in the pantheon of cinematic choices.

Stallone is back, with a range of 1980’s movie stars from the action genre, with another series of set pieces. To try and reach a broader audience, everything has been edited back to a PG-13 rating (M in Australia, vs MA for previous films in the franchise), which changes the way that the action is perceived.

The best thing about the film is the Antonio Banderas character, who (along with Kelsey Grammer) brings a sense of humour to the film, which is otherwise waiting for popular one-liners to be rehashed. Other high points are the Harrison Ford role, and the Mel Gibson – the villain of the film.

It’s a passable action film, certainly, and there’s plenty for fans of the 1980’s action films, but it’s probably 30 minutes too long.

DVD: Brazil

DVD: Brazil is a movie I’d heard a lot about, but never seen. I found a copy of the DVD at Hum, and it doesn’t disappoint. Gilliam’s vision of a dystopian future is immersive. The consumerism, the slacking, the portrait of family life – they all bring a sense of realism to the surreal world that’s constructed. And there are so many movies that have been influenced by its visual style. Worth a look if you’re a Gilliam fan, if you’re interested in the history of cinema, or if you like dystopian future films.

Sly, Surry Hills

Roastworks coffee. 212 Devonshire St, Surry Hills. In what was once a “sly grog shop” in prohibition-era Sydney is a relaxed, elegantly appointed cafe with a menu that it at once simple and fancy.

My decaf long black has great crema (it’s ground to order), and the jaffle – duck and chestnut is delicious: the familiar over-hot at first, easing back to toasted sandwich perfection that makes the waffle such a childhood throw-back favourite.

If you’re peckish, and looking for a fancy take on a classic, it’s worth a visit.

Single Origin Roasters Mothership, Botany

Single Origin Roasters. 28B Cranbrook St, Botany. I’ve been going to the original Single Origin Roasters shop for at least eight years, and it’s evolved a lot in that time – growing, spawning an extra cafe just for selling takeaway coffees, and moving its roaster off-site.

This new store represents their latest development, bringing their signature approach to food and coffee sales to some spec at the front of their roastery. When we arrive on a rainy day, it’s near empty, but by the time we leave, it’s filled up.

Food and coffee are to the usual high standard, though the prices are also premium. Worth a visit.

How to Order Pizza, Delivered, Online

When I was approached by menulog to try out their service, and was offered a voucher so I wouldn’t have to actually pay for my dinner, I thought “this is an offer too good to refuse”.

I mentioned menulog to a friend who is somewhat younger than me, and not only was she aware of it, she is a regular user (as it saves trips to the supermarket late at night when there are no groceries in the house).

Had my suspicion of online ordering been depriving me of something that could make life much simpler? Perhaps. There have been a few occasions where I had wanted to order some kind of home-delivered food, but hadn’t had enough cash on hand, and so I’d have to go out to an ATM anyway…

Menulog helps get around this by letting you pay with a credit card, or even with PayPal (as I was paying with a voucher, I haven’t tested the latter, but it’s listed as a payment option).

The mobile website is very comprehensive: go to the page for your capital city (e.g. Sydney Food Delivery), type in your postcode, and you’ll see a list of restaurants. I was surprised by how many restaurants there were. Out of the ones that would deliver to my suburb (just choose the suburb from the drop-down when you enter your postcode), there was a lot of Thai food, and quite a few pizza places. I chose pizza this time around.

Looking at the mobile website for a while, I felt that installing the app would be worthwhile, and tried that instead. It’s fast and intuitive, with a few moments of confusion towards the end: when you try and tap the top of the screen (an iOS standard move for “scroll to the top of the list”), it takes you back to the menulog home screen instead.

At times, the mobile app was a little confusing: when you have completed the process, it tells you your order has been placed, but then has a pop-up to try the app – this is clearly something they will work out in time.

Ignoring that minor confusion, the rest is super easy. Moments after placing the order, you receive an SMS confirmation including the delivery time and contact details of the restaurant, and then – ten minutes before they were due – the food arrives at the door like magic.

And here we have the finished product: pizza, ordered online (before the restaurant had even opened for the day), delivered to my place when I wanted it, ready to eat. Thanks for the chance to test out your service, menulog!

Hatch Espresso, Chippendale

The Grounds Espresso. 10 Little Regent St, Chippendale. Next to the Mercure hotel near Central Station, in prime position to take advantage of foot traffic waiting for a bus is a hole in the wall, that’s big enough to hold a full kitchen.

When I first visited a couple of weeks ago, they were doing a $3 happy hour from 8am-10am, but this has stopped now – they’ve transitioned from Espresso Di Manfredi to The Grounds coffee, and upgraded their espresso machine.

Sadly, their prices are back to a level of being competitive with other nearby providers of coffee, but it’s certainly competing on quality. Worth a look, especially if you have a craving for the Grounds coffee. And they have a dedicated decaf grounder.

book: the hard thing about hard things

The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers by Ben Horowitz

The trouble with being a CEO is there’s no rule-book to follow. Horowitz outlines his experiences running companies during the dot com bubble burst, and provides lessons on what it looks like to run a well-structured tech start-up, from garage to IPO and acquisition.

pod coffee and digital rights management

Beyond the ecological nightmare of pod coffee, and the reduced quality from fresh-ground: now there’s the notion of coffee digital rights management, of a sort, to stop people using unofficial pods in their machines.

currently drinking: griffiths coffee

I’m giving the aeropress a brief rest from the conga line of different single origins I’ve been drinking this year, thanks to the generous offer of Marc from Griffiths Coffee.

To celebrate the world cup, they have made their “Mundial 14” – a blend of South American coffees (including Brazil) that comes ground in a vacuum-sealed can. If you don’t have access to a grinder, this is a convenient way to get your morning fix, and they clearly have some skills in putting a blend together.

Thanks for the chance to try something different!