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Lesson #5: “It was fun for me”

Article Overview: Before he invented the Apple computer, Wozniak created the first ever dial-a-joke service. He took calls live from his small kitchen, or while lying on the mattress in his bedroom. They called; he would make them laugh. For an admittedly shy guy, this was a significant feat.

Lesson #5: “It was fun for me”

Before he invented the Apple computer, Wozniak created the first ever dial-a-joke service. He took calls live from his small kitchen, or while lying on the mattress in his bedroom. They called; he would make them laugh. For an admittedly shy guy, this was a significant feat. It was even, in fact, how Wozniak met his first wife. Alice Robertson called dial-a-joke and heard Wozniak say, ‘I bet I can hang up faster than you.' He did, she called back, and the courtship began. But Alice was just one of 2,000 people that were calling Wozniak's dial-a-joke service on a daily basis.

In addition to helping Wozniak overcome his shyness, the experience emphasized one thing: if Wozniak was going to put time into something, it had better be fun.

The dial-a-joke service, of course, came before Wozniak had invented the "blue boxes" and almost woke up the Pope by calling the Vatican.

Wozniak has been a prankster since he was a child. In high school, he once printed seemingly official cards announcing false classroom changes. For an entire morning, the school was in chaos. But that was nothing compared to the fake bomb he built, complete with ticking noises and all, which caused the school evacuation and induced the school guidance counselor to recommend Wozniak for psychiatric treatment.

Wozniak's college days were no less boring. He built a device that allowed him to interfere with television broadcasts. It was so small so as to fit inside the casing of a magic marker. Then, in common television rooms where sports fans congregated to watch big games, he would secretly use his device at key points in game, much to the horror of the die-hard sports fans that surrounded him.

One prank happened upon Wozniak by accident. His phone number matched that of a Pan Am reservation number. People living in Silicon Valley's 408 area who forgot to dial 800 before would find themselves making a reservation with none other than Wozniak. And there was no end to the fun Wozniak would have with the people who called him. Once, he told the caller that he was the millionth passenger on Pan Am and, as such, had won a lifetime of free travel. Then, while collecting the caller's personal information, he would hang up. When the person called back for confirmation of their prize, there would be no recollection of it, and they would be left confused and disappointed.

Wozniak liked to have fun. But it was the kind of fun that tested his creativity, and also tested other people's assumptions. He had a theory that most people would assume something is trustworthy simply if it appeared to be well organized. It was a theory he found amusing, and one he went to all lengths to prove.

But his pranks went beyond just being amusing. If one looks closely enough at his work, it is possible to see that sense of humour - to see some of his best pranks compressed into his best designs. It is in their simplicity and their elegance; in their beauty and their originality. That is why Apple users are so passionate about and loyal to their computers - like his jokes, Wozniak created computers that were not necessarily more powerful, but were subtle and more thoughtfully designed.

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Article Tags: alice robertson, apple computer, big games, classroom changes, college days, computer wozniak, daily basis, first wife, joke service, magic marker, prankster, psychiatric treatment, reservation number, s college, school guidance counselor, shy guy, silicon valley, sports fans, television broadcasts, wife alice



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Dan Kennedy Marketing Methods - We haven't sent out the physical letter yet as the person owning the list wanted to make modifications to the letter that we knew would work well but the List owner had a point - it didn't reflect her personality so her clients would know it didn't come from her. Lesson learned for me. We're back to the drawing board with the list owner more involved in the development of the letter and emails. I should have known better being a Business Analyst in my day job that you never leave the end-user out. So Evan we haven't had the opportunity to test any of it yet but it's been a fun process for me to stand back and look at.


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