Creative VIP is the exclusive membership club for creative professionals, writers, and designers. Here’s what membership includes:

  • Discounts on world-class services from Media Temple, Squarespace, Fontdeck, Virb, Name.com, and dozens of other companies.
  • Discounts on apps you’ll love, like TextExpander, LaunchBar, and Backblaze.
  • Access to a growing library of graphics, vectors, icons and themes.
  • A regular goodie bag on your doorstep (with classy gear from Moleskine, Field Notes, SanDisk, and more).

Here’s what Shawn had to say:Creative VIP is a no-nonsense service run by classy folks. The generous discounts on the world-class apps and web services are worth the price of entry alone.

We couldn’t have put it better. As one of Shawn’s readers, you can save 25% on your membership, forever. We’d love to welcome you as a member, so come and take a look around!

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My thanks to Creative VIP for sponsoring the RSS feed this week. They really do have an impressive roster of discounts and other perks with some great software and services. Also, the goodie bag is awesome. I got one a few months ago and who doesn’t like opening a parcel full of fine paper good, etc.?

Sponsor: Creative VIP

Here we go. It’s the inaugural episode of my new podcast, The Weekly Briefly. On today’s show: a brief history of why and how I got into blogging for a living, defining creative success, micropatronage and the pros and cons of paywall-blocked content, and the rough elements of a successful creative business.

You can subscribe to the podcast via the Podcast RSS feed, or in iTunes. And, this is where I say that it would be so nice if you took a minute to rate and review the show in iTunes.

This episode is brought to you by:

  • Scribe: Copy and paste anything from your Mac to your iPhone, without Wi-Fi.
  • And the always-awesome subscribing members of shawnblanc.net
The Weekly Briefly: Indie Life

Sam Polk is a recovering wealth addict, and he wrote a sobering article in The New York Times about his years on Wall Street:

I’d always looked enviously at the people who earned more than I did; now, for the first time, I was embarrassed for them, and for me. I made in a single year more than my mom made her whole life. I knew that wasn’t fair; that wasn’t right. Yes, I was sharp, good with numbers. I had marketable talents. But in the end I didn’t really do anything. I was a derivatives trader, and it occurred to me the world would hardly change at all if credit derivatives ceased to exist. Not so nurse practitioners. What had seemed normal now seemed deeply distorted.

For the Love of Money

Scribe lets you copy and paste snippets of text, web addresses and images from your Mac to your iPhone with a single keystroke. Using Bluetooth LE technology, Scribe keeps your Mac and iOS devices connected without draining your battery.

Unlike other apps with similar functionality, Scribe can copy the sent item in background, so you don’t have to switch apps on your iPhone. Using Bluetooth LE allows you to use Scribe without your devices being on the same network, even without an Internet connection. It’s simply the easiest and safest way to transfer things between your devices.

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My thanks to Scribe for sponsoring the RSS feed this week.

Sponsor: Scribe: Copy and paste anything from your Mac to your iPhone, without Wi-Fi

We just published our latest review on The Sweet Setup, and it’s for the best calendar app on the iPhone. You probably already know what we picked, but that’s okay.

We spent several months working on this review, and a handful of people pitched in to help (Steven Owens, Federico Viticci, Sam Spurlin, and myself). Even though our top picks for calendar apps seem obvious, I really wanted to have a strong foundation for why those apps are great. And I especially wanted to research the importance of natural language parsing and why it is such a valuable feature for removing the friction of creating new events.

The Best Calendar App for iPhone

Brett Terpstra is one of the good guys, and he just recently left his job at AOL to spend more time writing, podcasting, and developing apps.

The leap to working full-time for yourself at home isn’t an easy one (and it’s not for everyone). I applaud Brett for making the move when he felt the time was right. To help make it work, you can support Brett directly though a membership.

I signed up to support Brett for a couple of reasons:

  • For one, I know first hand just how vital the small support of a lot of readers is to making ends meet. There is no way I’d still be here today, three years later, if it weren’t for the subscribing members of this site.

  • Secondly, I signed up to support Brett because he is one of the good guys. He makes some incredible software and services that he gives away for free, and some of the I use every single day (such as nvALT, Text Expander tools, and his App icon grabber). I’d love for him to keep making that software.

Brett Terpstra Goes Indie

This is some epic nerdery right here. I don’t use URL schemes nearly as much as Federico Viticci and company (the extent of my iOS automation is pretty much with my aforementioned Poster workflows), but having an understanding of how URL schemes work can be quite helpful because when you come across a use-case that you think you could automate in iOS you’ll have the understanding to help make that automation a reality.

MacStories’ Comprehensive Guide to URL Schemes and Drafts Actions

myLook lets you easily manage your real-life wardrobe.

You can create your own perfect outfits, change accessories and colors, find your friends, rate their looks and share yours.

Create your real-life wardrobe

  • mix and match your clothes, test different outfits
  • design tomorrow’s or tonight’s outfit
  • take a look into your wardrobe on your mobile device, anywhere; never forget your clothes again.

Create your avatar and design your current look

  • cycle through haircuts, eye colors, skin colors
  • switch backgrounds and select today’s scenario
  • just dress it up as you’re dressed now!

No in-app purchases, no advertising, iPhone and iPad.

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My thanks to myLook for sponsoring the RSS feed this week.

Sponsor: myLook