It turns out that many of the most common stereotypes about aging are dead wrong. Take the cliché of the youthful entrepreneur. As it happens, the average founder of a high-tech startup isn’t a whiz-kid graduate, but a mature 40-year-old engineer or business type with a spouse and children who simply got tired of working for others, says Duke University scholar Vivek Wadhwa, who studied 549 successful technology ventures. What’s more, older entrepreneurs have higher success rates when they start companies. That’s because they have accumulated expertise in their technological fields, have deep knowledge of their customers’ needs, and have spent years developing a network of supporters, often including financial backers. “Older entrepreneurs are just able to build companies that are more advanced in their technology and more sophisticated in the way they deal with customers,” Wadhwa says.

From Newsweek’s piece The Golden Age of Innovation.

This gives me hope.

Most of the time, renter’s, homeowner’s or condo owner’s insurance are for personal considerations, not commercial. Therefore, understanding whether or not your art is a hobby or a business is key to understanding whether or not you need any additional insurance policies for your art business. If it’s a hobby, then you may be covered. If it’s a business, then your current policy may exclude the kinds of coverage you need.

From Insure Your Artwork and Studio by Steve Yahn at Art Calendar.

So I bought it, but I bought it, for the first time, with misgivings. I felt the way I’d feel buying something made in a country with a bad human rights record. That was new. In the past when I bought things from Apple it was an unalloyed pleasure. Oh boy! They make such great stuff. This time it felt like a Faustian bargain. They make such great stuff, but they’re such assholes. Do I really want to support this company?

Graham continues with why Apple should care. The short version: don’t piss off the kick-ass developers you might want to have work for you one day.

The interview begins with a look back at Johnson’s career and ends with some of her insights about social media marketing. For example:

Even more than social media, digital content gives consumers a platform to have a megaphone and talk about anything they want. But the truth is that they are talking about brands. I recently read that 20% of tweets are about brands. We see it now as people use tools like Brightkite and Foursquare to mention the restaurants they’re in on Twitter and other social networking sites. Are people going to be a friend with your brand? That’s the part that’s funny and fishy. But if brands make content that’s relevant to people’s interests and passions then it’s a win-win.

It’s weird seeing someone you know on a somewhat personal level getting some industry-wide recognition and praise. But Johnson has been in the game for awhile, so it’s well deserved.

Bonus? The accompanying photo was captured by another blog family member, Cecily. [Via j. brotherlove]

1. Freelancers know how to hustle.
2. Freelancers are acutely aware of costs in time and money.
3. Freelancers do work for reasons other than money.
4. Freelancers build (and risk) their reputation with every job.

With each point, Trapani tells non-freelancers how they can apply these principles to their regular jobs and careers.

With this book, PM and blogger Meri Williams takes readers through the process of project management. Chapter one gives an overview of the discipline and makes a case for its necessity. Chapters 2 – 5 cover a typical project life cycle: discovery, initiation, planning, change management, and closing a project.

It’s not just a book about managing projects, however. Williams puts an emphasis on management as we typically think about the word. Interpersonal skills and communication are consistent themes in each chapter. Williams reminds us in one chapter that not everyone is a techno-savvy e-mail or instant messaging junkie. In another, she points out that we should clear convey our definition of “complete.”

At just over 200 pages (including the index), The Principles of Project Management is by no means a definitive look at the practice. You won’t become a Certified Project Management Professional after reading it.

What Williams has achieved, however, is a fantastic step-by-step guide to making your next project run smoothly.