Unstructured Thoughts | Taylor Davidson

Category Archives: Unstructured Thoughts

This year did not end up as I thought it would

December 31, 2008 – 8:49

Around the corner | Refugio Beach State Park, California | Dec 2008
This year did not end up as I thought it would.
Despite my constantly-updated lists of projects, what I accomplished bears little in relation to what I planned.

I started the year off by staying up all night, similar to 2007.

I came back from India planning [...]

By Taylor Davidson | Also posted in Announcements, Photography | Tagged photo, reflections | Comments

Ahead, Joshua Tree and Ahead, SXSW

December 24, 2008 – 6:12

Ahead | Joshua Tree National Park, California, USA | Dec 2008
As announced earlier in the week on Unstructured Thoughts:
Last Friday SXSW added “Venture Capital for Long Tail Entrepreneurs” to the Core Conversation schedule. Obviously I’m looking forward to leading the discussion; I have been thrashing around the topic in blog posts and conversations with [...]

By Taylor Davidson | Also posted in Photography | Tagged joshua tree, national park, photo, sxsw | Comments

We are always looking for advice: but do we know what to make of it?

November 19, 2008 – 11:07

Magnum recently posted a lengthy list of responses to the question “what advice would you give young photographers?”
The list is full of great photographers with a variety of interesting thoughts on how to make better images; a recurring train of thought appears to be improve yourself to improve your eye.
While I’ve seen a lot of [...]

By Taylor Davidson | Also posted in Photography | Tagged advice, context, magnum, Photography | Comments

Shifting Gears

November 17, 2008 – 16:20

I often discard t-shirts after workouts. Sweaty, old, past their prime, knowing that they served their purpose for many years, their worthiness proven but no longer needed, I cast them away instead of taking them home to recover and re-enter the fray.
Gone, into the trash. And it feels oddly good.
* * *
A [...]

By Taylor Davidson | Also posted in Announcements | Tagged career, choices, decisions, how to fail, life, options | Comments

Decisions, Priorities and Biases

November 13, 2008 – 8:36

Decisions | Scarsdale, New York | Nov 2008
Priorities
Tim Ferris: How to Surf Life: Attorney Turned Surf Guru:
These days, he often sees his former self in the under-joyed and overworked professionals he takes out on the waves. Waiting for the swell, the true emotions come out: “God, I wish I could do what you do.” [...]

By Taylor Davidson | Also posted in Photography | Tagged chessboard, decisions, photo, priorities | Comments

“It’s neither good nor bad, it just is.”

November 12, 2008 – 6:36

The Usual | Grand Central Station, New York City, NY | Nov 2008
Related
A photography project from 2007: In a New York Minute.
Unrelated
I used to think in extremes: good or bad, black or white, right or wrong.
I’ve always believed that everything in life is a choice, and that anything can be changed, no matter how good, [...]

By Taylor Davidson | Also posted in Photography | Tagged life, new york city, photo | Comments

Influences, Quarterlife Crisis and More Unordered Thoughts

November 5, 2008 – 10:20

Dancing with fire | Champaign, Iliinois, USA | Nov 2008
More unordered thoughts…

What have been my five biggest influences? (in no order, any source, cultural, business, off the top of my head, etc.): The Beastie Boys, Ferris Bueller, The Economist, Douglas Adams and Henri Cartier-Bresson.

I coined the term “Quarterlife Crisis” before it became a book and [...]

By Taylor Davidson | Also posted in Business & Society | Tagged facebook, influences, life, photo, quarterlife crisis, time management | Comments

What are you advertising?

November 4, 2008 – 13:17

Around and Around | Champaign, Illinois, USA | Nov 2008
You are a walking advertorial:
You thought that a system that auctions keywords to search terms was smart – it was after all smart enough to create and cement a multi-billion dollar search/online-ad monopoly. But wait until this advertising extends into the digitally tagged physical world - [...]

By Taylor Davidson | Also posted in Business & Society | Tagged advertising, design, photo | Comments

Workspaces: How We Work and Our Changing Workspaces

November 3, 2008 – 8:49

Earlier this year I submitted a proposal to the Graham Foundation for a Research and Development 2009 Grant.
Last week I found out it was not accepted for the final review. Understandable and expected. But since the proposal was about workspaces, a repeated topic of mine, I decided to share the full proposal, reprinted [...]

By Taylor Davidson | Also posted in Business & Society | Tagged co-working, communication, productivity, proposal, social, work, workspaces | Comments