Posted By crranky ~ 12th August 2012
I had an idea the other day. And like most days, my ideas are pretty lame. But once in awhile I have one that gets me a little excited about it’s possibilities.
I like minimalist shopping sites. And so I thought, wouldn’t it be cool if I could provide the ability to simply scan and shop for other things besides cool, unique gifts and such?
Like what, you ask?
What about music? What about Apps? What about video content?
My first problem is that I am not a programmer. Pretty sad because all my “good” ideas come down to some sort of web development. Why is that by the way? Why do we hear music in our heads but don’t have the ability to perform it or write it down? Is this the universe’s way of challenging us to learn a new skill? I think I could learn to program but I doubt I am meant to be a programmer.
Back to my “good” idea…
I love iTunes but I hate shopping on it. It’s too cluttered with text and it’s too hard to navigate. Now, in Apple’s defense this is a common problem of having just too much content out there – and the good content is difficult to find. And so, a term has been used for this, “Discovery.”
So, what about a super simple music discovery site based on iTunes Music Store’s Top lists?
So I thought, what about starting Crranky.fm for this reason. Then I thought, I could take this even farther. What about a network of Crranky content.
Crranky.com is simple product discovery.
Crranky.fm is simple music discovery.
Crranky.me is simple app discovery.
Crranky.tv is simple video discovery.
I love it! But oh yeah, I’m not a programmer. So I’ll take it slow. I’ll do what I can to sandbox this idea of The Crranky Network and see how it goes.
Who knows, I might find a programmer or two who likes my “good” idea (hint). 
Got something helpful to tell me? mike (at) crranky (dot) com
Posted By crranky ~ 12th August 2012
I spend a lot of time trying to find cool stuff for crranky.com. I get quite entertained by product descriptions I find on some sites.
“A perfect gift for your home or office…”
“The perfect gift for the man in your life.”
“For anyone who likes dogs, this is the perfect gift for you.”
Blah, blah, blah.
This is what’s known as a meaningless platitude. They make me want to stop reading and gouge my eyes out with these dart coat hooks.
I’m no copywriter, but my advice for those that write these product descriptions is be clever, be interesting and get my attention. That’s what I try to do any ways. Click on any of Crranky.com‘s product titles and check out a few of my most recent product descriptions. I’m getting better, but I’m not “perfect.”
Posted By crranky ~ 4th July 2012
It has been interesting to see what items people click on.
Interesting to me because I like all the items on Crranky.com.
As I’ve stated before, iPhone items are the most popular. But as I look closer at the analytics I find it facinating that people like the other non digital goods as well. This shark ring, the minecraft stuff and this battery temperature changing mug are also hot items.
With the exception of the shark ring, the other two items are digitally related.
Yes, interesting. I guess I need to continue to keep the balance of digital and analog items on Crranky.
Got any suggestions? submit (at) cranky (dot) com.
Posted By crranky ~ 29th June 2012
I like shopping and curration sites like svpply.com and Pinterest.com.
So as I have thought about what items I like, and that’s what this site is about, posting stuff I think is cool, I try to carefully select things I can afford.
I don’t always succeed, however, there are just so many cool, pricey things I want.
I run across lots of these type of sites with super expensive cool things on them. That’s cool. It’s fun to look at a Bart Simpson painted Farrarri, but I also want a site that I can shop on. That is, I want stuff I can afford.
That’s what I hope Crranky is to you too.
Maybe that should be Crranky’s new campaign slogan:
“Want stuff you can afford.”
Posted By crranky ~ 24th June 2012
I started Crranky.com because I couldn’t find an uncluttered place to find cool gifts.
I like minimalism. I like clean design and clean simple websites. Most websites annoy me. And I think it is Google’s fault.
It kind of bothers me that Google believes “good content” means lots of text or as they call it “original content.”
Not me.
That’s why there is very little blah, blah, blah text on the front page.
I’ve added all the product descriptions to the permalink pages. So if you are interested in product descriptions, click the title above the product.
But who reads? When you go to Walmart or Sharper Image to you read paragraphs of text? Or do you look at the item?
I think having a nice product photos and clean simple design is what sells products on the internet.
Posted By crranky ~ 23rd June 2012
We’ve been getting quite a bit of traffic from reddit.com recently.
My Reddit friends are starting to come over to Crranky and check things out.
Welcome! Redditors! There’s plenty of bacon and narwhals here for ya.
Posted By crranky ~ 21st June 2012
I was looking over my Google Analytics for Crranky.com. Specifically seeing what items are the most popular.
Would you be surprised to know iPhone is the most popular category viewed on Crranky.com.
I’m not.
Posted By crranky ~ 20th June 2012
So awhile back I decided to post all the Crranky products on Pinterest. You can find the Crranky Pinterest board here.
I am about to drop some news on you as to why this is no big deal.
Pinterest is a blackhole.
Yep, Pinterest is a great site. But when businesses decide to add their products to Pinterest they will soon learn this one thing.
They will not get much of any traffic from it.
You see, once people log on to Pinterest, they never click out of it.
And that’s just great for Pinterest. No so much for the rest of us.
No worries. Crranky will still be here crrankin’ out cool “pinteresting” products for you all to enjoy!
Posted By crranky ~ 18th June 2012
Hey there. Thanks for stopping by.
I wanted to start a site for cool stuff – cool, unique gifts I like. I spend some time each day looking for stuff I would like to own. Crranky.com has been up about two months now so I thought it was time to start a blog.
I have two hopes for this site:
1. That you like the stuff I post.
2. That I don’t get board and quit.
