Nov 12, 2010

Of Course Competitors Should be Scared of Steam

Last night, I posted a tweet about retailers and competitors of Steam being worried that Steam is locking down the PC Gaming industry, and that they are killing the industry.

It’s rather ridiculous to think that Steam is doing anything close to “killing” the PC Gaming industry. If anything, they have revitalized it and shown everyone that if you offer games at a fair price and without draconian DRM, a large number of people will flock to your service and purchase games legally.

Want proof? I, someone who pirated ALL of my games prior to 2008, have almost a thousand dollars worth of games from Steam. Why?

It is far easier to get legit games from Steam: they update automatically and will always work on my system, they are on-demand regardless of what computer I am on, and games often go on sale which saves me a TON of money. Not to mention the community aspects that Steam integrates into games (Friend lists, clans, groups, etc.) It’s no real wonder why they’re dominating the market, they’re doing it way better than anyone else.

So retailers and competitors, is Steam really killing the PC Gaming industry, or are they just killing YOUR industry?

Nov 10, 2010

What Am I Doing?

Jon Lim Life 5 Comments

Oh that’s right, I’m doing me. Or whatever.

So it’s been quite a ride since I decided to shutter Up+Atom, having spent a lot of it just trying to figure out where I fit into the world, as well as spending time on various projects here and there. I must also disclose that I have spent a lot of time playing video games, it’s the only way for me to relax nowadays.

Because of me resting on my laurels, so to speak, I have decided to take a rather regimented approach to the rest of November, and if you’re interested, here’s my daily routine:

8AM to 9AM: Read RSS feed + Reddit feed while having breakfast

In order to stay on top of all of the technology, marketing, social media, and everything else news, I have made it a mission to read anything and everything that I can for an hour from my RSS feed as well as the front page of Reddit. Just aiming to stay informed and wake the brain up.

9AM to 10AM: Blog

After reading and absorbing all of that information, I thought it would be best to get something written down, whether or not it was related to what I had read about earlier. It would be a good way to keep track of what I am doing and what thoughts I have of the world around me. Plus, it’s a great way to keep my writing skills sharp, which were pretty dull in the first place. Pew pew!

10AM to 12PM: Job Search and Applications

Having been officially “unemployed” for a month now, I figured it was a great time to start being really aggressive with my job search. I will be spending the majority of this time searching through LinkedIn and other job boards for great opportunities and hopefully firing off a few applications here and there. I can’t be specific with what I am looking for, just trying to make sure my next gig is going to be challenging, interesting, and fun. So if you’re looking for an ambitious, hard-working young gun for your business, be sure to give me a shout!

1PM to 7PM: Work on a Web App

In my quest to understand the web on a deeper level, I have decided learn PHP, CSS, and Javascript to the point where I can build my own app. Currently, I am in the process of creating a web app that lets you compare cars side by side based on features and price, for my personal benefit. My hope is to create a string of apps that I can manage on the side and after-hours, just because.

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So that’s the gist of what I will be up to until at least the end of November. It’s my mission to focus all of my efforts into worthwhile activities for the next little while, hopefully resulting in a job secured before December as well as a web app or two to call my own.

I would love to hear your thoughts on my regiment in the comments, maybe even tell me about your own regiment!

Nov 2, 2010

Jamie Oliver’s Branded Video Content

Jon Lim Business, Marketing, Video 0 Comment

Jamie Oliver has always been one of those guys I have a tremendous amount of respect for – he’s an accomplished chef, and he is on a mission to make people around the world healthier by giving them the knowledge to cook good food, fast.

Well, I just noticed that he has a YouTube presence which he’s using to promote his book, 30-Minute Meals (Aff Link), which is exactly what he’s all about: good food, fast. In the channel, he goes through a lot of basics of cooking, such as knife skills, herbs to use, and a plethora of other useful hints and tips. This is exactly the type of videos that I have been pushing for the past year – they are interesting, they educate you on Jamie’s area of expertise, and it promotes Jamie Oliver and all of his initiatives.

Cheers Jamie, keep up the awesome work!

Oct 26, 2010

An Ode to Common Things

Jon Lim Catherine Nomura, Dan Sullivan, Gratitude, The Laws of Lifetime Growth Life 0 Comment

Recently finished a very short and easy read, Dan Sullivan and Catherine Nomura’s The Laws of Lifetime Growth. (aff link) (Kindle link) One of the best messages I got from the book?

“Always make your gratitude greater than your success.”

This one particular section of the book talks about being thankful for the people around you and the experiences that you go through. If you find the bright spot and a lesson in every single experience and person that you run across, you will be much better off for it.

Not sure where to start? Here’s one of the exercises to get you going:

Write down what you’re grateful for. A common, and always effective, way to focus your attitude on gratitude is the write down five or ten things you’re grateful for every day. You can practice proactive, creative gratitude when you do this and include people, events, and circumstances you just appreciate for their own sake, as well as those that have directly benefited you in some way.

Start writing down those five to ten things a day, even if they are simple and common things. I am sure that it will brighten your day.

Cheers!

Oct 25, 2010

The Web Playroom

Jon Lim Playroom, TED, Ze Frank Life 0 Comment

Had to share this one.

Ze Frank creates all these wonderful projects that have tons of people sharing and contributing, and its because he has an engaged audience along with a willingness to try ideas that seem silly.

Why aren’t you doing fun projects with your audiences?

Oct 21, 2010

Fear of Failure

Jon Lim Daniel Debow, entrepreneurship, failure, Rypple, Sprouter, SproutUp Business, Life 0 Comment

Last night at SproutUp, I had the chance to hear Daniel Debow from Rypple speaking about his journey to get to where he was at, and one of the things he said struck so close to home: “People are afraid to fail because they are afraid to look dumb.”

Let me tell you something: he is completely right.

As you may know, I chose to shut down the video for business side of Up+Atom earlier this week, and with good reason – I lost the passion for creating videos for businesses. It was a hard decision to make, but a very necessary one. However, here’s a little honesty: I had lost the passion a long time ago. Every minute since I had lost the passion, I spent re-iterating the business and trying to find more clients in order to spark the passion back up again. Monday was essentially the post-tipping-point of all of that time spent; I had had enough and I couldn’t expend all of that effort in doing something I didn’t believe in anymore.

Why? Well, I was afraid of looking dumb and disappointing all of the wonderful people who had given me support through that year. After I had gone public with the news, the complete opposite had happened: everyone shared their sadness for my decision, but gave me tremendous support for my decision and for the decisions I was about to make. For that, I know that not only was I completely wrong, but I had surrounded myself with people who didn’t care that I failed, but they loved that I tried my best.

In conclusion, fear of failure is natural because we are afraid of looking dumb and disappointing others, but more often than not, the only person you will look dumb to and disappoint is… yourself. Everyone around you who has supported you and told you that you are awesome? They will still be there, doing just that.

Thanks guys, you rock my world. : )

Oct 18, 2010

The Next Chapter

Jon Lim Up+Atom Business, Life 16 Comments

For the last year, I have had the incredible experience of owning my own business. Up+Atom was my baby, it was what kept me going through the days, good and bad, and taught me a million lessons and introduced me to wonderful people. I was incredibly proud to be able to say “I’m an entrepreneur, and I love every minute of it.”

And today, I get to break my own heart. As of today, Up+Atom will be officially closing up shop.

Gosh, it sure feels weird to say that. Thought I would never see the day. But there is a simple reason behind it all: I have lost the passion toward creating videos for businesses. If I do not 100% believe in the product I am selling, then I would never want to sell it in the first place. That’s why I’m stepping back, so I can find the next steps for me to move forward.

For everyone who has had an impact in my life for the past year: thank you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you so much for helping me steer my business, keeping me motivated, and just being awesome in general. It seems like I am surrounded by some of the most intelligent and supportive people in the world, and there are not enough positive things for me to say about them. Once again, thank you.

What’s next? Well, that’s difficult to answer – because I don’t exactly know. I am looking for a full time position in various places, and I’m also working on a few things on the side, but other than that I’m taking it easy so I can step back and figure out where I want to go in the future.

Just know that I’m looking for one thing: to wake up every day and say “This is what I do, and I love every minute of it.”

Cheers!

Oct 15, 2010

The Deep Blue

Jon Lim Barbara Block, ocean, TED, tuna Life 0 Comment

Barbara Block talks about all of the effort her and her team has expended trying to tag a vast array of oceanic creatures.

Having always had a love for the deep blue, this was just a fascinating talk overall. I love hearing about the habits of oceanic creatures and this was a great way to start my day.

Hope you can get an appreciation for these fantastic creatures as well!

Oct 14, 2010

Lessons for Non-Profits from Coca-Cola

Jon Lim Gates Foundation, Melinda Gates, TED Life 0 Comment

Melinda Gates speaks out about lessons that non-profits can learn from Coca-Cola, and she advocates local marketing, and giving access to data so that the locals can solve problems quickly.

Seems like a lesson we can all take away. The video is worth watching because it’s fascinating to hear about all of the efforts of the Gates foundation and other non-profits. Take a look, worth your 17 minutes!

Oct 13, 2010

True Success

Jon Lim John Wooden, Success, TED Life 0 Comment

John Wooden talking about what is “true success.” He had this great quote that was told to him by his father:

Never try to be better than someone else, always learn from others. Never cease trying to be the best you can be — that’s under your control. If you get too engrossed and involved and concerned in regard to the things over which you have no control, it will adversely affect the things over which you have control.

That’s how I define success: being the best you can be, and making sure that you give 100% to everything that is under your control.

Keep being the best you can be!

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