It wasn’t too long after I settled into my job as VP of Interactive Media at The Californian in Spring 2006 that I found a raw copy of “Getting Real” stuffed into one of the drawers in my new office.

The book’s official title -- “Getting Real: The smarter, faster, easier way to build a successful web application” -- doesn’t begin to describe its real message: Think differently by questioning traditional tendencies to build big, instead of small. Specifically, build lean-and-mean software that focuses on what’s important instead of flashy but rarely used bells and whistles (Think Google Docs instead of Microsoft Word).

It’s been more than five years since the folks at 37 Signals self-published “Getting Real ” (sample the free web version). The book has since has become a revelation in tech circles, and helped 37 Signals become a leading provider of business-productivity software, most notably, Basecamp. “Getting Real” also gave 37 Signals a reputation as a company with sage insight, which has been shared via product lines, blog posts, conference presentations and a podcast.

That’s all led up to Tuesday, when 37 Signals founders Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson will release their second book, called “REWORK.” The video above delivers a mood-setting tone, but the explanatory "REWORK" podcast makes it clear Fried and Heinemeier Hansson firmly believe “REWORK” isn’t your typical business book, more "revolutionary" than evolutionary.

Outspoken entrepreneur Mark Cuban raves, "If given a choice between investing in someone who has read 'REWORK' or has an MBA, I’m investing in 'REWORK' every time. A must read for every entrepreneur."

Planning is guessing

“Unless you’re a fortune-teller, long-term business planning is a fantasy. There are just too many factors that are out of your hands: market conditions, competitors, customers, the economy, etc. Writing a plan makes you feel in control of things you can’t actually control.

“Why don’t we just call plans what they really are: guesses. Start referring to your business plans as business guesses, your financial plans as financial guesses, and your strategic plans as strategic guesses. Now you can stop worrying about them as much. They just aren’t worth the stress.

“When you turn guesses into plans, you enter a danger zone. Plans let the past drive the future. They put blinders on you.

“This is where we’re going because, well, that’s where we said we were going.” And that’s the problem: Plans are inconsistent with improvisation.

“And you have to be able to improvise. You have to be able to pick up opportunities that come along. Some- times you need to say, “We’re going in a new direction because that’s what makes sense today.”

“The timing of long-range plans is screwed up too. You have the most information when you’re doing something, not before you’ve done it. Yet when do you write a plan? Usually it’s before you’ve even begun. That’s the worst time to make a big decision.”

B-I-N-G-O.

There’s another chapter called “Underdo the Competition” that -- following on the “Getting Real” theme -- suggests scaling back on products features can actually be a market differentiator. They cite the Flip videocamera and single-gear bicycles as examples of creating best sellers by trimming features. Or “Pick a Fight,” where Fried and Heinemeier Hansson encourage, “If you think a competitor sucks, say so. When you do that, you’ll find that others who agree with you will rally to your side.” Think Apple vs. Microsoft and Dunkin Donuts vs. Starbucks.

But Fried and Heinemeier Hansson should heed their own advice when it comes to lean-and-mean editing. It’s clear from the podcast that Fried and Heinemeier Hansson can be a little full of themselves, suggesting “Rework” will stand out in a sea of bloated business books. Yeah, there’s bad product in any industry, but I think there’s been dramatic improvement in the quality, relevance and focus of business books, typified by thought-provoking reads like “What Would Google Do?” “Purple Cow,” "Grown Up Digital,” “Groundswell” and “Outliers.” So, when Fried and Heinemeier Hansson include chapters titled “Fire the Workaholics” and “Meetings are Toxic,” you find yourself asking, “These are new ideas?”

Don’t get me wrong. I like most things about 37 Signals (except for a sorely lacking "sort by date" feature in Basecamp search). I find their advice generally inspiring, and even pull out my copy of “Getting Real” from time to time for inspiration. I start first with the pages tagged with Post-It Notes, but always return to the introductory pages for a refresher on chasing the concept of lean and mean.

I’ll probably find myself buying “REWORK.” But, note to 37 Signals: Don’t forget your roots. You do lean-and-mean and function over form pretty well. But the things that made you great came about because you played the underdog.

Great concept but tired messaging

All they’d need to do to kickstart this thing would be to create the web presence, then toss out the challenge to the 16,000+ followers of @TacoBell. Zero marketing cost.

Just a thought.

Toyota bigwig Jim Lentz will answer questions from the Digg community at 2 p.m. Pacific time todayThis is part of a regular Digg Dialogg series so the concept isn't new. But it's been awhile since the interviewee has been someone currently sitting in a boiling pot of water (I think you have to go back to this Timothy Geithner interview).

What's great about the Dialogg concept isn't just that the crowd is asking the questions but that the questions are 1) made public beforehand and 2) the Digg community votes on which ones get asked. Some of the questions are better than others, but there's some detail to some that wouldn't normally surface in a typical media interview.

I can't tell whether a professional/traditional journalist will be asking the questions, as is sometimes the case, but in these types of hot-button interviews on extremely important issues, I think it's an advantage. It's one thing to have the crowd submit questions, which builds depth and diversity, but a professional interviewer will be more skilled at calling B.S. on some answers and also asked pointed questions of his/her own.

Either way, it's an example of the continued evolution in media where the crowd gets more control for the benefit of all.

Nearly four years ago, I spent a week at a multimedia bootcamp at UC Berkeley put on by the Knight Digital Media Center. It was a wonderful experience, not only because of the practical skills I picked up but also because my team was assigned to interview Jeff Heer, then a graduate student studying data visualization. Our finished multimedia package was rough around the edges, but had some great visuals and detail on Heer's quest to help people understand the power of social relationships on the distribution of information.

I immediately thought of Heer when I started poking around with a new social-visualization tool called Pearltrees that's currently in beta. It's a completely different way of organizing content, a mix of old-school bookmarking and drag-and-drop organizing to fit the new, flexible world of Web 2.0 and 3.0. Here's a snapshot of content dealing with Android software.

As we create more and more data, search becomes more and more important. Textual search is only the beginning -- visualizing online searches are becoming more important because social connections behind the data can add new layers of trust and relevance. That's because you might be more likely to trust information created or vetted by people you know rather than the masses. Google gets this, and is just starting to introduce social search at the bottom of its results pages. As time goes on and the quality of searches is refined, we'll see that presentation gain more prominence, and perhaps offered as an alternative UI. 

In the meantime, it's fun to tinker around with tools like Pearltrees that place a sense of "discovery" front and center. It's hard to describe the concept with words, so I've attached a lengthy but detailed video to guide you through the possibilities. But, knowing 30-minute videos are too long for most people, I'd encourage you to just jump in and start playing.

We have since made changes to both products that increase advertising revenue and reduce costs in ways we hope will position them for success now and down the road. Bakersfield Voice will relaunch Sunday with a new print design and strategy, while we recently put the biweekly Bakotopia print magazine on hold after two years. We will continue to operate the websites for each brand and are working on other tools to increase their reach in our community.

Bakersfield Voice

The printed version of Bakersfield Voice has a new look that will debut Sunday and will be delivered weekly to 146,295 households in the Bakersfield area. The Voice will be delivered to non-subscribers of The Californian, and for the first time, on the east side of Bakersfield.

The Voice initially was created to serve the fast-growing northwest portion of Bakersfield (hence its initial name, Northwest Voice), but a year ago was merged with its sister publication Southwest Voice and renamed Bakersfield Voice to better reflect its readership.

While the different incarnations of the Voices had enjoyed good readership, we struggled to maintain initial advertising success and keep the hyperlocal ads that had not been a part of the daily Californian. We tried different pricing, packaging and distribution, but couldn’t find a formula for profitability.

The new Bakersfield Voice is printed on a 54-inch web and on thick stockBy dramatically increasing our circulation and using Bakersfield Voice as a “jacket” for preprint advertisements, we believe we’re better positioned than ever to ensure the Voice's success in increasing advertising, readership and engagement with our community.

The new distribution more than doubles Bakersfield Voice's previous circulation, and is nearly six times that of Northwest Voice at its peak. We’re hoping that increased print distribution will increase activity on BakersfieldVoice.com as a central location for hyperlocal user-submitted news throughout our market.

The look of the printed Voice is changing too. A 54-inch broadsheet has replaced the long-standing tab format, and we’ve placed a greater emphasis on long-term advertising contracts with local retailers (with a strong focus on coupons) and national preprint advertisers that we think will ensure profitability. News content remains 100% user submitted through BakersfieldVoice.com, but in order to control newsprint costs and gain profitability, we’re limiting content – at least initially -- to 25% of newshole. Stories in Sunday's edition include staples like pets, school activities and local arts.

The Voice will be a work in progress moving forward, but we’re excited about the prospects.

(Disclosure: My wife is a Voice contractor, coordinating content for publication).

Bakotopia

The second niche product undergoing changes is Bakotopia.com, an edgy alternative to The Californian that launched five years ago as a competitor to Craigslist, and which later evolved into a local social network centered around local arts and music. Bakotopia magazine's last issue before going into hibernation. The dress is comprised of issues of Bakotopia magazineTwo years ago, we spun off a biweekly print magazine titled Bakotopia featuring a mix of staff and user-submitted content from the website. The magazine (here's an e-edition sample) generated new revenue from mostly small advertisers -- with occasional full page ads from national companies -- and brought us readers who wouldn't touch The Californian. Despite those positives, we were unable to cover our costs.

The recession sapped our ability to absorb those losses, so in late December, we put the magazine version of Bakotopia on hold, with hopes of returning when the economy rebounds and we can rebuild the ad base.

Matt Munoz, the longtime face of Bakotopia in print and online, has since focused his time on feeding the website, coordinating sponsored events and launching a new weekly “Bakotopia Radio” show on local rock station KRAB. It’s proof that Bakotopia is evolving but full of more life than ever.

In the coming weeks and months, we’re planning to migrate Bakotopia.com onto a Drupal platform, launch a cool and long overdue website redesign and create a new digital version of the magazine using our home-grown Printcasting tools. We're also tossing around ideas on how to weave some Bakotopia content into The Californian.

Stay tuned.

Download and sign this petition if you would like to restore water to the Kern Riverbed through BakersfieldThe mighty Kern River -- home to some of the most daring whitewater rapids in the West -- is tamed by canals in and around Bakersfield and diverted from its natural flow through the heart of the city. Only when we get heavy rainy seasons do we see the true Kern River at play within Bakersfield. And what a difference that water makes in recharging our acquifers, attracting wildlife and generally giving us a visual and psychological lift. Who can resist a ride or walk along the 26-mile-long Kern River Parkway when it's in its natural state, something beautiful that's a magnet rather than a repellant?

That's why The Californian is encouraging all local residents to sign a petition urging state officials to permanently grant the city of Bakersfield a disputed share of Kern Rever water rights, a move that would ensure water flow is restored.

Californian columnist Lois Henry has been pushing for change for years, and explains her reasoning and the urgency in getting the public to lobby for this change. Our publisher, Ginger Moorhouse, shares similar reasoning.

If you care about quality of life in Bakersfield, please read their opinions. If you agree with them, please take a few moments to print out and sign a PDF version of the petition, and then mail it to state officials so they can introduce your support in the public record. But hurry, all petitions must be received in Sacramento by Feb. 9 or they won't be considered.

Your support is critical to driving this change, which would have enormous benefits to the city for years to come.

Yep, Guardian blogger Steve Busfield, writing a post collecting reaction to the paper’s innovative “The Wire Re-Up” book, had quoted from and linked to my own review from back in November:

“The interaction of the blog and book was what attracted Logan Molen, the chief operating officer of The Bakersfield Californian. He says: "The Wire is so nuanced and full of layers that you want – and need – a crowd to help source the storylines. Kudos to the Guardian for recognising that." (Interesting that they substituted my American spelling of “recognizing” for the British variation. Note to my pitchfork-wielding U.S. readers: I remain thee patriotic American).

Boo-yah! Points too to Busfield for commenting on this site shortly after my original post went up.

I’m not so jaded to say it's fun to get some notice from one of the world’s most respected newspapers and websites, even if it's just cribbing my words to promote one of their own products. My little corner of the Interweb is an odd mish-mash of personal and work-related stuff, so it’s nice to have an outsider with some juice find some value in the junk drawer.