Kickstarter Spam

Sadly, I was naive about crowdfunding. Apparently, it only works if you already have a large social media footprint and/or a preexisting fan base. Lesson learned. What I can say is that I received at least twice as many solicitations from people and companies promising to promote my campaign than I did actual pledges. I suppose some are legitimate, but I seriously doubt that even those few would be effective - without my preexisting fan base, which as I said, doesn't exist.

(Update 5/9/2016) The campaign ended unsuccessfully today. I learned quite a bit...maybe even enough to be successful next time. And I do not doubt there will be a next time.

I Hate Apple

I hate Apple. There I said it. But I don't hate it because their products are well-designed, cool, and innovative. No. I hate it because every business guru, every motivational speaker, and anyone that wants to talk about successful companies uses Apple Computers as their prime example. Apple (and by extension Steve Jobs) serve to illustrate whatever tip or principle a speaker or writer wants to illustrate. Why does Apple succeed where others failed? I don't know probably lots of reasons. But what I do know is that I'm sick of hearing about Apple did this and Apple did that. Here's a tip for all you gurus, at least try to be original...just like Apple.

Whose "Dear Abby" are You

Does anyone seek your advice? Is there something about which you are particularly knowledgeable? Remember "Dear Abby" and "Miss Manners." People from all around sought their advice on personal matters and etiquette. They were the go to people. Many social media gurus talk about providing great content to build a social media following. That seems like a one-way street, mere pontificating. What any enterprise needs (what I need!) is feedback from people that share a passion.

I have some limited expertise; but not of a kind that has translated into meeting other people of a like minded community. Even when I participate in already existing communities, my contributions seem to get lost. I know that sounds like whining. And it is just a little bit. But this is my darn blog anyway!

Not for Children, a Jumbo Pen for the Adults

The Thixotropic brand pen in not for children. Although kinds find a big pen easier to hold, like jumbo crayons, easier to hold, parents, teachers, and other professionals must encourage children to develop fine motor skills like handwriting. As they gain skill, children naturally adopt increasingly mature grip styles, culminating in their using the dynamic tripod.

The dynamic tripod is generally considered the ideal grip for handwriting. So-called ergonomic grips are designed to force fingers into the ideal dynamic tripod position. The problem is that not everybody's hands are ideal. Rather than adapt the hand to the pen, the better option is to have a pen that adapts to the user. Rheumatoid arthritis and other injury can leave joints damaged, prone to inflammation, and easily fatigued. Using the thumb and index finger to pinch a pen into place isn't comfortable for them. Out of necessity, many revert to a less mature grip styles, like the four-finger or lateral quadrupod (see previous posts for image).

Less mature grip styles do not significantly affect legibility but they can provide great relief and comfort for writers. Super big fat pens like like these commodity pens or the Thixotropic brand pen that I am developing, work better than narrow ones when using less mature grip styles.

THIXOTROPIC, about the brand name

Thixotropic describes a viscous material that becomes more fluid in response to mechanical action. In other words, the more you work it the easier it gets. I chose that name to reflect my intent to develop and promote well-designed aids to make dignified living a little better.

More than that, Thixotropic, as a name is personally symbolic. Among some technically minded fine art painters, a truly thixotropic oil painting medium has the magical quality that allows them to work "wet over wet." So instead of having to wait day or weeks for each layer of paint to dry, an artist can work longer and complete a painting in a single sitting. I appropriated the word thixotropic to reflect my belief that if given the right sort of pen, an arthritic writer can keep writing longer without cramping, fatigue, or other pain.

MiniBlindRx - My First Project

Even as I work to make the Thixotropic Pen a completed reality, I cannot forget about my first child, MiniBlindRx. Bringing MiniBlindRx to life was my first step into product development. Not that I would have done any of it the same way this time. I learned so much in the process. Now that I have the actual patent (4 years later) I must decide if whether to keep selling it myself or trying to sell the patent.

Kickstarter Project Started

My Thixotropic Pen project is up and running on Kickstarter! Was it ready? I don't know. Time was running out and I needed to ship whether it was ready or not. I learned that from Seth Godin.

Kickstarter strongly recommends adding video to your project page. I worried about not having a video. Frankly, I didn't have time and I didn't know what to include. What was I going to show? People writing? It's a pen. What could I say that wasn't already in the text? I know, I know. It's a visual world and people don't read anymore. Maybe. But it seems to me that people that respect and appreciate handwriting would also be readers that love the written word.

I could be wrong. I often am. I had to ship. If it fails, I will have learned something for the next project.

Just One Thing

Over breakfast I told my wife, Kirsten, about all the features I wanted my pen design to have. I also talked about how I hoped to position it in a couple of different markets. She reminded me that to be successful I had to focus on one thing and do that one thing well. And sometimes that's truly hard.

Similarly, I showed my pen design to another occupational therapist. Unlike the others w, she works mostly with children. I wanted her opinion because she would come at it from a different direction. The problem was that the goals for her clients are different from my prospective users. For children, she wanted them to mature and develop properly as they gain more control fine motor skills. In contrast to this, my pen is geared towards people who must adapt to the loss of those same fine motor skills.