Today, Chris Brogan wrote about the value of having an on-line lab. Chris just launched his new travel blog (seperate from his main site) to experiment, try out some new ideas, play, and build another business. Chris also makes the points that labs transform failures into learning opportunities and invite us to continue rolling up our sleeves and getting into the nuts of bolts of making things work.
I have thought about this subject in relation to Compass Yoga, the site I set up 10 days ago to begin my yoga training business. I wondered if I should have fully-baked Compass Yoga into my personal site rather than building out a separate site with its own URL. Was I just shying away from really putting Compass out into the open on my personal site because I was afraid of how it might go? Then I read Matthew Russo’s excellent comment on Chris’s post: “The difference between a pro and an amateur in any field is that pros take the time to “practice off the court” while amateurs practice on the job. Labs are a perfect business example of this analogy.” I do want to be a pro with my yoga business, so I better give it its own court.
Here’s what the separation of my personal site from Compass Yoga does for me:
1.) Gives me a place to solely discuss all things yoga, wellness, and health, which while important to me, is only one of my passions.
2.) Compass is the very first business I’ve ever started. I’ve spent over a year intensely studying entrepreneurs and they have inspired me so much that I could no longer keep from jumping off the cliff. I’m sure I will make lots of mistakes and missteps, and all of them will be valuable to me in the long-term. Having a separate site for Compass lets me take risks and try some new, wild ideas, without worrying what impact it will have on my own personal brand.
3.) Giving Compass its own space keeps both my personal site and the Compass site clutter free. I can’t stand sites that have 800 things to look at. I’m always impressed by a clean design, easy navigation, and the ability of a content provider to edit out the unnecessary so the necessay can speak. I wanted Compass to have its own space, clutter-free, to stretch its wings.
Do you have an online lab where you play and experiment, separate from your main online presence? I’d love to hear about it!
Published by Christa Avampato
IN BRIEF
Author, journalist, digital product manager, and licensed New York City tour guide. Creator and host of NYC's Secrets and Lies. Alumna of the University of Pennsylvania (BA), the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia (MBA), Arizona State University (Biomimicry), and the University of Cambridge (MSt in Sustainability Leadership).
I build digital media platforms, report on urban climate resilience and biodiversity, and produce live narrative experiences that connect communities to history, nature, and place.
THE DEEP DIVE
My work centers on a single thread: building systems and stories that foster deep connection to our shared world. Across digital streaming, environmental reporting, and live civic storytelling, I design experiences that help people understand complex ideas and the environments around them.
DIGITAL PRODUCT STRATEGY & MEDIA LEADERSHIP
At Carnegie Hall, I serve as Digital Product Manager, leading product strategy, operations, and technical delivery for the video streaming platform Carnegie Hall+. I translate artistic mission into scalable, high-performance streaming architecture that reaches audiences globally. Previously, I led agile product and delivery teams across operations and compliance at American Express, managed Broadway theatrical productions and national tours, and guided strategic initiatives across cultural institutions.
ENVIRONMENTAL JOURNALISM & AUTHORSHIP
As a freelance journalist, I investigate how living systems, urban infrastructure, and human culture intersect. My reported features on urban decarbonization, biodiversity, coastal resilience, and biomimicry appear in publications including Smithsonian Magazine, The Washington Post, Mongabay, Natural History Magazine, and Foreign Policy Magazine. In fiction, I write the Emerson Page young adult novel series, alongside upcoming historical fiction and nonfiction works on New York history, mythology, and human resilience. I also write Togetherhood, a LinkedIn newsletter focused on urban ecology and community restoration, and co-host the podcast Frameworks in the Wild.
LIVE EXPERIENCE & CIVIC STORYTELLING
As a licensed New York City tour guide and live event producer, I transform urban landscapes into shared narrative encounters. I created, produce, and host NYC's Secrets and Lies, an interactive live storytelling series staged across cultural landmarks including the New York Transit Museum, the South Street Seaport Museum, and the historic tall ship Wavertree. I also design and lead site-specific walking tours exploring coastal ecology, food history, and neighborhood evolution, often with partners at Climate Week NYC and the Natural Areas Conservancy.
DOUBLE OR NOTHING MEDIA
Through my independent production studio, Double or Nothing Media, I develop ventures across media, ecology, and public history:
Digital Products & Strategy: Architecting scalable digital platforms, streaming experiences, and operational models for mission-driven institutions.
Environmental Reporting & Publications: Delivering long-form reporting, books, and newsletters grounded in climate resilience and regenerative design.
Site-Specific Live Storytelling: Producing immersive live shows and educational walking tours that engage public audiences in community history.
CONNECT
Website & Production Hub: doubleornothingmedia.com and christaavampato.com
Newsletter: Togetherhood on LinkedIn - linkedin.com/newsletters/togetherhood-7273771832221089792/
Instagram & Threads: @christarosenyc
Emerson Page Novels: emersonpagebook.wordpress.com/
View all posts by Christa Avampato
Today, Chris Brogan wrote about the value of having an on-line lab. Chris just launched his new travel blog (seperate from his main site) to experiment, try out some new ideas, play, and build another business. Chris also makes the points that labs transform failures into learning opportunities and invite us to continue rolling up our sleeves and getting into the nuts of bolts of making things work. 
