I had the pleasure of appearing on the Andy Bumatai show and we mostly talked about startups, entreprenuering, and the school of hard knocks. I suggest you take a look at it. I think you’ll like it.
Two things to think about, (1) Is what we actually talked about and (2) is that Andy has what I think is an interesting model of taking shows online. I think he’s got something here.
I just read Seth’s post “Music vs. the music industry” and it echoes conversations I have with many of my customers that operate within endangered industries.
What’s an endangered industry? One that thrived pre-Internet on a business model based on creating scarcity of information that easily converts to digital format. These industries are either already dead (like the CD-based music industry) or have one foot in the grave (like the MLS-centric Real Estate Industry).
Are your industry’s actions characterized by protectionist moves or out-of-the-box growth strategies? Are you working crazy to whack-a-mole new competitors or are you licking your chops and slaying the sacred fat cows of inefficient old generation companies?
I remember the key lesson of the economic hiccup of 2001: it forced smart companies to accelerate their transformation plans to get smarter i.e. more competitive and it gave the ax to fat slob companies that struggled to deliver serious value.
The CD-based music industry is essentially dead and they’re getting steamrolled by the mp3 music industry with places like iTunes or IMO innovative sites like Pandora which are game-changers if anything. The old guard had a chance of course to embrace mp3 formats back in the late ’90s but instead they chose to attempt to protect their untenable position. The rest is history. There will be a new music industry, but it sure won’t be the 2.0 of the old industry. It will be 1.0 of the new industry.
Know what side you’re on. And if you’re on the side fighting for its life, jump over to the side that’s licking its chops at the huge growth opportunities ahead. Remember what drove Anakin to the Dark Side: holding on. Do what Yoda advised: Let go what you want to hold onto the most.
I’m really loving Twitter. After sending a link to my blog post about caring for your social network, I immediately got feedback from many folks and @PhillMoran asked me to write up something similar about email.
I was about to get started but then figured, lets ask the twitterverse and sure enough, within minutes, I started getting responses.
I was planning on dissecting the tweets and summarizing them into a post. But then the thought occurred to me, why? folks already thoughtfully limited their responses to 140 characters so they’ve really done the hard work.
So instead of going through the painful (at least, to me) process of wordsmithing every sentence to make it just write, I simply spent my time embedding links to each tweeter, thankfully crediting their work. Wow. A new writing style. Here’s the resulting post.
Twitter is hot. It’s a new platform. It’s the streaming thought source. And the applications have just begun. It’s like we’re in the opening days of email.
Are you a class act with email? Do you use it thoughtfully? Here’s what really peeves folks that consider email second nature:
cai_mommy: Forwarding jokes, chain mail, and those “if you love someone/know a great mother/believe in God” poems/pictures. That’s abuse.
mochichick: When someone sends a message addressed to loads of people without using bcc!
AndyBumatai: I can’t stand the “If you don’t forward this to 50 people you will (fill in guilt trip here)” How does bandwidth usage play in it?
malewa: people who, “Reply to all”!!
hawaii : I lament the underutilization of “Bcc” and the abuse of “Cc.” Don’t expose everyone’s address. And don’t encourage “reply all”!
FranMagbual: email pet peeve: chain messages that have been forwarded so many times you can’t find original message. Call me the chain killer!
macpro: – I hate opt out. Why do they automatically think I want their emails?
Super thanks to the folks that tweeted back. Awesome!
I’m playing around alot with Twitter, Facebook, Ning, LinkedIn and I’m seeing more and more people essentially abusing their connections with others. Examples:
This indicates a few things:
Don’t do it. It won’t work and you’ll either be shrinking your network or building a valueless network of that’s inherently unmonetizable.
Do: Build a network on a Rock of Gibraltar: the real you. Don’t re-puke other’s posts unless you can add value. Put out stuff that really reflects what you’re thinking inside. If I connect with you, it’s because I want to connect with YOU, not the latest “1001 Internet Marketing Secrets the pros don’t want you to know!” scheme.
I can’t guarantee you’ll attract millions, but I can guarantee that whatever crowd you do attract will be real and will listen to what you have to say.
And that’s worth something.
Download this PDF and Read page 9 of this changeThis publication “Learning to view your customers as a powerful tribe“.
Trivia question: What is the most important decision you will be making at the ballot box at this November election? (Hint: it’s not the election of any candidate).
Answer: Whether or not to hold a Constitutional Convention or “ConCon”.
Every 10 years, voters have the opportunity to decide whether or not we can hold a ConCon which is where wholesale changes can be made to our state constitution.
Our last ConCon was 30 years ago and in 1978 some important changes were made, according to Dkosopedia including among others:
• Creation of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs
• Term limits for governor
• Requiring a balanced budget
And so in 2008, we once again have the chance to hold a ConCon.
So where’s the historic “Geek Component” opportunity?
I believe that we have before us the potential to put our heads together and create a web application that lends itself to democratic participation and decision-making. I believe this model can be applied to ConCon and if successful can subsequently be used for other public decision-making systems like the City Council and State Legislature.
Open source development paradigm meets public decision making
From what I’ve learned so far, my understanding is that ConCons have strong grassroots elements. They are a chance for the people to engage in an open conversation about Hawaii’s future. In 1978, they didn’t have the Internet. Today, we have broadband networks and powerful computers. Do we have sufficient technological resources to enable digital debates? I think so.
We have Internet-based political campaigning. What about Internet-based lawmaking?
Barack Obama has taken Internet-based campaigning and fundraising to a new level. He has permanently “torn the fabric of space” in regards to merging Internet with politics. I believe we can take the next logical step and use the Internet for public debate, decision-making, and perhaps even legislation. Imagine the kind of input and diversity of thought that would result if any citizen could participate in a serious debate on important issues from the comfort and convenience of their home. What kind of increased participation could we get from that?
A bold step has been taken
There’s only one way to find out and I’m proud to say that together with other leaders like Burt Lum, Ryan Ozawa, Former Congressman Ed Case, Jay Fidell, and Representative Della Au Bellati, we’ve launched HawaiiConCon.org. Today, it’s a combination of Ning social networking and pbwiki.com wiki infrastructures. Tomorrow, who knows? The users will drive the need.
E Komo Mai!
I’m cordially inviting all of you to come over to HawaiiConCon.org and participate. Get involved. There are some issues about Hawaii’s government you must hold dear or want to change. What are they? Tell us about it! We too are using Ning so there’s no signup process.
We need Geeks Like You to get involved!
So far the initial success has been great. But as the site grows in popularity, people will need both help and more features. And that’s where YOU come in. Hawaii’s tech community could and should be the ambassadors that herald in a new age of Digital Democracy. It can happen if you help us make it happen.
Be a part of the solution
This year, the voters will decide if they want to hold a ConCon. Right now there is only one site that is encouraging learning, discussions, and decisions regarding this most important issue and with your help and participation, HawaiiConCon.org can become the epicenter of a new paradigm of public political participation.
See you there!
I had a great time presenting to a crowd of about 200 people on Friday, Sept 28 on a topic I’m really in love with known as “The Wisdom of Crowds”
“The Wisdom of Crowds” Based on the Book by James Surowiecki
that basically says you can setup a method of getting input from people in such a way that the result is nearly always the right answer.
test
I’m a big fan of Paul Graham and had the pleasure to meet him personally when I spoke @ MIT about one of my inventions (PDF).
If you’re pondering starting up a tech company and are looking for money, I suggest you read his essay, “The Hacker’s Guide to Investors“.
In classic Graham style, he’s talking to you, the geek. Good stuff. Read it.
Paul covers these points:
1. The investors are what make a startup hub.
2. Angel investors are the most critical.
3. Angels don’t like publicity.
4. Most investors, especially VCs, are not like founders.
5. Most investors are momentum investors.
6. Most investors are looking for big hits.
7. VCs want to invest large amounts.
8. Valuations are fiction.
9. Investors look for founders like the current stars.
10. The contribution of investors tends to be underestimated.
11. VCs are afraid of looking bad.
12. Being turned down by investors doesn’t mean much.
13. Investors are emotional.
14. The negotiation never stops till the closing.
15. Investors like to co-invest.
16. Investors collude.
17. Large-scale investors care about their portfolio, not any individual company.
18. Investors have different risk profiles from founders.
19. Investors vary greatly.
20. Investors don’t realize how much it costs to raise money from them.
21. Investors don’t like to say no.
22. You need investors.
23. Investors like it when you don’t need them.
