December 2010 Newsletter: Fill & Download for Free

Around December 2010, I noticed that Medianama's follower count began increasing by a 100-150 every day, from a base of around 600. In a week, it surpassed my follower count (then 1200; I'm @nixxin on twitter), and this made me very happy. This then continued for many, many months.For the life of me, I couldn't explain it. I shared this with a few friends, one of whom pointed out that Medianama had been included in Twitter's recommended followers for Twitter. This was when Twitter had first begun introducing 'Who to follow' users to new users in India. As a result, our follower count grew dramatically until Twitter took us off that list. By that time, we had around 38,000 or so followers.I don't know why they removed us from that list, but then again, I don't know why they put us there. I'm not complaining.Here's a question for you: does it matter? For me, I'm not sure of how relevant that follower count is, because as a publication, our focus is to do content that matters for people who matter. It's more about quality than quantity, and I'd rather that the right people follow us on Twitter.It's the same philosophy when it comes to MediaNama. Our focus is on decision makers reading us. If we want to jack up traffic, we could always publish 20 press releases a day without bothering to question, analyse or verify, or publish information about the iphone's pricing in India, or any other handset related news. But we don't chase traffic, which is why we also don't sell advertising on the basis of pageviews.Twitter is transient. Timelines are usually so full that stories get lost. Facebook has become much too selective in surfacing updates. If you ask me, I wish we had more newsletter subscribers, because that is a loyal reader base.

The Founded Project was just born in December 2010. We feature interviews with up and coming entrepreneurs from all over the world focusing on the inspiration that sparked their idea and what it took for them to get started. We talk to founders at all stages, in all industries, from renewable energy to food/beverage to fashion. Check us out and subscribe to our "Founded on Friday" newsletter.http://www.foundedproject.com

Sitting: Put a block or a 4-inch ball between the seat and the back of the chair and sit with the bottom of your back against it. This will make it easier not to slouch. Using a lot of effort to have “good posture” or “sit right” will never work, so it has to be relatively simple and easy. You can also put a ball behind your ribcage. If you put it there, it will fall when you start to crane your neck toward the computer screen in hour ten of editing that fascinating spreadsheet.On an airplane or in a car, you can move the ball to under one thigh or the other, or put it anywhere on your back, symmetrical or not. Keep moving it around. Animals are not meant to hold the same position for any length of time, even if that position is “correct”. You and I are animals.Standing: When you stand and walk, think of ONE of the following things:No matter what you’re doing, orient your constantly moving, breathing ribcage as if it were a spotlight facing down that will always cast its light all around your feet. Don’t hold it there. Instead, “refocus it” the way you would refocus your eyes to keep them on a moving target.You are more like a flamingo than I think you realize. Go to the Post Office if you need verification of this, but humans stand on one leg, not two. Don’t try to stand on two legs. It’s unnatural! But do fool around with shifting your weight from one foot to another. And if you’re in line at the Post Office, spend the time wisely by experimenting with taking the weight completely off one foot. You can do this while leaving that foot on the floor or you can actually lift it up if you want attention and praise from the other people waiting.Aim to have the whole spine, from your tail to the top of your head, in line and slightly “in front” of your legs. From tail to skull, think of it all moving a bit forward with your legs staying back, but don’t let your low back arch. You may feel that this is impossible, but trying will make you stand up better.Lying downThere’s an article from my website about sleeping, which is entertaining and has the info you want about lying down. December 2010 NewsletterWalking:When you walk, land on the outer heel and press the floor back with the base of your big toe.Think of the inner volume of your body (which is a water volume for the most part) as being able to flow upward from its center as you progress forward.Think of the thigh bones as if they continued up and behind you from your hips. Imagine the hip crease as the spot where the two hips attach to your body. Each time the left foot goes forward, imagine that the part of the leg that extends up and behind your body swings downward from the center point of the hip joint.This is my version of an image given to me by Michael Hanko, a genius Alexander Technique and singing teacher. Imagine that you are a seahorse (if you’re not doing that already). Without doing any movement, feel the fact that your head curves forward at the top, and your tailbone curves forward at its bottom. Again, don’t make that happen. Just realize that it is anatomically true when you walk and you’ll move more easily and be tallerGOOD LUCK!