Louis C.K. publishes the results of self publishing his comedy special

“The show went on sale at noon on Saturday, December 10th. 12 hours later, we had over 50,000 purchases and had earned $250,000, breaking even on the cost of production and website. As of Today, we’ve sold over 110,000 copies for a total of over $500,000. Minus some money for PayPal charges etc, I have a profit around $200,000 (after taxes $75.58). This is less than I would have been paid by a large company to simply perform the show and let them sell it to you, but they would have charged you about $20 for the video.”

Louis C.K.


In the future we won’t easily remember how big of a shift this was.

Louis C.K. on what he’s learning

I’m learning […] a HUGE amount with this web experiment. This live at the beacon thing (available at louisck.com for 5 bucks) is like that thing in the movie “Twisiter” where they send a bunch of little data collecting balls up into a tornado and just download the lovely results. The whole thing has been like that. From the moment it went online and I saw the result of every decision I made. the last question the web guys asked me before we posted was if I wanted the mail list button defaulted to “opt in” or “opt out” and i said start it at opt out. It’s such a tiny thing but I keep hearing about it from people. So so interesting to watch this grow.’

Louis C.K.

Design is more like farming than art

There are places I go on the internet to get design inspiration.

I go to places like this and I browse and browse.

And I realize: good design feels like a commodity.

Everybody has a well designed site now. If they don’t, they will in the next 5 years. (more…)

Louis C.K. changes the comedy industry

As I write this I’m watching Louis C.K.’s latest comedy special. He’s self published it, which is ground breaking. It’s good so far – he’s just starting to sweat a little through his black shirt.

The short version: Louis self publishing his latest special is important and encouraging for all of us. You should definitely go get it for $5 if you like life

I love Louis because he’s a truth teller. He calls out life’s little bullshit moments. He’s insightful. I love that.

I also love him because he’s a creator. He works hard. He makes. His show on FX is his show alone – he’s given a set budget and he can do whatever he wants with it and that’s what he does and all he wants: to make this stuff he wants to make. (more…)

Good fucking design advice

Believe in your fucking self. Stay up all fucking night. Work outside of your fucking habits. Know when to fucking speak up. Fucking collaborate. Don’t fucking procrastinate. Get over your fucking self. Keep fucking learning. Form follows fucking function. A computer is a Lite-Brite for bad fucking ideas. Find fucking inspiration everywhere. Fucking network. Educate your fucking client. Trust your fucking gut. Ask for fucking help. Make it fucking sustainable. Question fucking everything. Have a fucking concept. Learn to take some fucking criticism. Make me fucking care. Use fucking spell check. Do your fucking research. Sketch more fucking ideas. The problem contains the fucking solution. Think about all the fucking possibilities.”

Good Fucking Design Advice

Bob Lefsetz on perseverance

… anybody can have an idea, but not everybody has the perseverance to execute. Usually success comes long after you expect it, when you’re running on fumes, when there are just enough crumbs to keep you going, but everybody else laughs and tells you to give up.”

Bob Lefsetz