psychology

Thoughts On The Psychology of Crowdfunding

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We’re no strangers to Kickstarter here. Hell, Rob is writing his own series on the experience (which you should be seriously reading just for the resources). Our friends are using Kickstarter. I interview people using Kickstarter.

There’s also other sources of fundraising. There’s Indiegogo. There’s Rockethub. There’s specialist sites from Gambitious for games to – and I’m serious – Offbeatr for adult (and no, no link sorry).

Even tightwads like me get into the act. I got my Ouya fully knowing it was more of a lab experiment than anything else, but it was worth participating. I’m waiting on several projects to move forward now and really enjoyed being a part of them.

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Why We’re Bad At Networking #5: Many Personalities, One Method

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Why are we bad at Networking? This issue has been obsessing me for the last few weeks, which I hope has been as informative for you as it’s been therapeutic for me. It’s nice to organize my thoughts and get them out. As you may guess, I’m not done yet.

Now there’s a lot of effective networking advice out there. Sure it’s often basic, sure we get the same stuff thrown at us again and again, sure the tools are overwhelming. But we do get a lot of good network advice and options out there.

It’s just that in a lot of cases . . . it’s pitched at people who already network in specific ways, do specific things, and have specific personalities.

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American Politics: Beasts, Ghosts, and Demons

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Awhile ago I posted on how the famous six realms of Tibetian Buddhism could also indicate psychological states, and how that made me rethink my late dog’s life. I’d like to focus more on those six realms, and what they mean for American politics.

To review, the six realms one can be incarnated in (or that one can experience, if your take the psychological viewpoint) are:

  • Gods (Devas) – A realm of pleasure, but the pleasure distances one, and even gods die.  Think of this as pleasurable and peak experiences.
  • Asuras – A realm of ambition and striving godlike beings, who suffer paranoia and envy.  Think of this as a state of “drive.”
  • Humans – Our realm, a real of desire, doubt, and some confusion but also balance so we may achieve Enlightenment, and where we may develop important compassion that lets us do so.
  • Animals – The realm of instinct, ignorance carnality – and fear and opposition to change.  Think of this as functioning in basic fear-response.
  • Hungry Ghosts – The realm of mournful, craving spirits.  Think of this as being in a state of addiction and sheer need.
  • Hell Realm – The realm of anger, hate, and fear.  Think of this as being in a state of terror and rage.

You can see how these realms can easily represent different human sates from peak experiences to unbridled rage, with honest humanity in the middle. Now let’s turn to American politics using this psychological model.

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