Mitch Joel's Blog: Six Pixels of Separation, page 221

Six Links Worthy Of Your Attention #249

Is there one link, story, picture or thought that you saw online this week that you think somebody you know must see?

My friends: Alistair Croll (BitCurrent, Year One Labs, GigaOM, Human 2.0, Solve For Interesting, the author of Complete Web Monitoring, Managing Bandwidth: Deploying QOS in Enterprise Networks and Lean Analytics), Hugh McGuire (PressBooks, LibriVox, iambik and co-author of Book: A Futurist's Manifesto) and I decided that every week the three of us are going to share one link for one another (for a total of six links) that each individual feels the other person "must see".

Check out these six links that we're recommending to one another:

Can Predictive Technology Make Us Less Predictable? - Forbes . "I'm worried about how machine optimization feeds us pablum, encouraging us all to take the path more trod. But, as this piece points out, machines can't choose what's unexpected unless they know what's expected -- and eliminate it." (Alistair for Hugh).
Acid Machine . "If you made electronic music, you love the 303 and the 909. You may even have used Propellerhead's Rebirth tool, a software homage to Roland's classic music-making tool. Now there's a web version. Go make something!" (Alistair for Mitch). 
Large Hadron Collider Scientists Hope to Make Contact with Parallel Universe. - Second Nexus . "The number of sentences in this article that are mind-bending is... mind-bending. Here is one: 'We predict that gravity can leak into extra dimensions, and if it does, then miniature black holes can be produced at the LHC.'" (Hugh for Alistair).
Why Is Mason Reese Crying? - Wiretap . "The CBC radio show Wiretap, by Jonathan Goldstein, is one of the few remaining glimmers of hope on the once-great Canadian radio dial. How his show has survived CBC management is a total mystery. Here's a meditation on what YouTube says about us, fame and lost childhood." (Hugh for Mitch). 
How Super Angel Chris Sacca Made Billions, Burned Bridges And Crafted The Best Seed Portfolio Ever - Forbes . "If you play in the startup, tech, Silicon Valley space, then the name 'Chris Sacca' is a known entity. I had heard about him for years, but he was a shadow. I never saw him in the media. I didn't know what he looked like. I knew that he worked at Google, became friends with a lot of people and had early money in places like Twitter and Uber. Then, a few years back, I saw this episode of Kevin Rose's Foundation featuring Sacca. I've written about this story and thought about him quite a bit. I was really taken by his story and how he tells it. We actually wound up connecting after I wrote about him, and I liked him even more. It's funny, I am often asked what I think about a person. My standard answer is: they are super nice and kind... but keep in mind that I don't work with them or have to sleep with them..." (Mitch for Alistair).
What it's like to sell your startup for $120 million before it's even launched. - Business Insider . "Things happen in the business world, and I often wonder if we give pause to really reflect on what just happened. In the past few weeks, there is battle brewing of epic proportions (like the one we saw between MySpace and Facebook back in the day). It is for the live streaming of video content that can be shared (easily) in places like Twitter. The contenders are Meerkat (which came out of the gates strong and became all the buzz at SXSW this past year). And now, Twitter just launched Periscope. The thing about Periscope is that the app wasn't created by Twitter. It was actually bought by them in January of this past year for $100 million. Not a typo. Someone developed an app that wasn't even in-market that got scooped up by Twitter for over $100 million. That's something to stop and think about. We often dream of coming up with a million dollar idea. How does a one hundred million dollar idea sit with you? This is the story." (Mitch for Hugh).

Feel free to share these links and add your picks on Twitter, Facebook, in the comments below or wherever you play.

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The Digital Reality

Do you really think that Google Glass is a flop? I don't.

Google Glass did - and will do - what it was intended for. Now, before I go on, let me explain: Google probably hoped (assumed) that more and more would find these glasses cool, interesting and worth it to wear. From a fashion standpoint, it flopped. Without question. Still, it pushed a notion forward, and this notion was no different than the early cell phone manufacturers, who believed that individuals would walk around and talk on phones wherever they may be. We have a bad sense of history when it comes to these things, but it wasn't too long ago that someone talking on their phone in a restaurant was seen as being rude (or even when the phone rang). Now, when we see someone sitting alone and not talking on a phone or staring at a screen, we wonder if they're "normal." From that perspective, Google's thinking that consumers might be ready to wear that kind of technology on their faces wasn't so far fetched. Apple is banking that by the end of this month, we'll be willing to leap from our pockets to our wrists. Maybe the wrist will be more acceptable/accessible to our culture - at this point in time - than the eyes. We're about to find to find.

What both glasses and watches are pointing us to.

Whether it's a glass or a watch, these are intermediary technologies. They are technologies that we will use - in the meantime and as a bridge - to advance us to the real end-state. Looking out into the not-too-distant future, it is apparent that we entering into the One Screen World. Where screens are everywhere, they're connected and they are ubiquitous. All of our devices will be connected. To one another... to the Internet and some will soon become an Internet unto themselves. These appliances, devices and technologies will be talking... To one another. To us. To businesses. To marketers. Still, these smartphones, these glasses, these watches, these appliances, these tablets, these laptops, these screens still display their information on to a physical surface (glass, plastics and what have you). At the TED conference (this year and the last one), I've had the opportunity to play with two technologies that fall under the nomenclature of "augmented reality" and "virtual reality." While definitions vary from pundit to pundit, I like to think of augmented reality as technology that enhances the physical environment around us. Virtual reality places the consumer into an all encompassing world that could not exist (or doesn't exist) in our physical world. It's hard for the average bear to wrap themselves around what this mean. The mass consumer thinks of augmented reality and virtual reality in terms of videos games, demos at toy stores or rides at a thrill park. In attending these past two TEDs and participating in demonstrations, it is becoming abundantly clear, that both augmented reality and virtual reality are primed to be the true convergence of our digital and physical reality.

A true convergence. 

In following the tech space, the past little while has seen a burst in articles about Magic Leap. It was first announced that Google was pumping $500 million into this startup that was attempting to develop a new way for users to interact with technology. A lot of the speculation was around Magic Leap's development of the new web browser or the mouse of the future. Definitions that sounded ambiguous, ambitious and in line with Google's desire to go after these kind of "moon shots" (like self-driving cars, and the like). Magic Leap was supposed to unveil the first demo of their technology at the TED event (which happened earlier in the month). They pulled out at the last minute. A few days later, they did release the video below. So, Google has Magic Leap, while Facebook bought Oculus VR. Two titans trying - desperately - to figure out how consumers will interact with information. It's something we all need to be paying a lot more attention to.

Thinking about this digital reality. 

Perhaps, the notion of the One Screen World is already feeling aged. Perhaps, what we're seeing is the inevitable digital reality. A place where information and interaction is simply projected or embedded everywhere. We don't need any screen to access information. We don't need any technology physically on us, because it is (somehow) embedded in everything. It's easy to think that this is very far off. It becomes strikingly closer to home after you watch the Magic Leap demo below. Yes, for the next short while, we're going to be fumbling through our pockets or looking at our wrists for information, but it won't be long until our environment really is showing us things that we never imagined it would. It will be speaking to us... as we want to be spoken to. In the short-term, it still speaks volumes to the challenges of business today. The need for leaders to become digital leaders is still paramount. The need for these digital leaders to transform their business, develop new digital products and/or services, and to understand the many new and nuanced channels of distribution is now. The brand's need to leverage data and automation to improve results and trigger more functional outcomes is now. Watch the video below, and tell me that your mind is not running wild with the exciting opportunities we will have to connect our brands in more powerful ways to these types of consumers.

It is a new digital reality, isn't it?

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Email. You're Doing It Wrong.

I suck at email. I think.

It's a form of technology and communication that fascinates me. Fundamentally, email hasn't changed that much since it was first invented. Most of us still struggle with how we sort, file and keep conversations across devices and email addresses. The rest of us take part in daily gladiator-like battles against the inbox. I'm usually quite good at taming my inbox (though, I rarely get to inbox zero). Lately, it has become embarrasingly unwieldy (and, if you're reading this and I have yet to respond to your email, I will... promise... and, I'm sorry!). Email reminds me of one thing: Tetris. The emails keep dropping in, we respond and move them as quickly as we can, but sure enough, they eventually just pile up - one on top of the other - until... it's game over. Some people declare email bankruptcy. I haven't done that, but I have declared voicemail bankruptcy (and, it has worked out... I think). What has changed dramatically in the world of email is the etiquette in writing, reading even sending these digital correspondences. Email has become ubiquitous part of day-to-day life (along with the pervasiveness of mobile devices). Many professionals choose email over meeting in person, placing a phone call or even Skype. It feels like we're writing and reading much more than anyone ever suspected we might.

When do you send your emails?

I used to half-jokingly tell people at the office that I was heading home to get some work done. It's easy to get sucked into the vortex of emails (buffered by meetings) before realizing that the day has escaped you, and that the real critical work (the reason that you were hired) hasn't been done. I've lost many days of sunlight grappling with the inbox. I'm the one usually tapping out by the end of the day. While many "experts" in productivity will tell you to work on the most important stuff first, my email habits are pretty straightforward. I'm best at getting through email first thing in the morning (along with a latte to keep me going), then a minor email spurt after lunch and then again later in the evening (listening to jazz music, if you must know). I also attempt to play catch-up over the weekend, if I can. I'm not saying that my system is right. I am saying that my system seems to be right for me. 

I am killing you all. Sorry.

Last week, Maura Thomas published an article on the Harvard Business Review website titled, Your Late-Night Emails Are Hurting Your Team. I was sent this article via a fellow team member at Mirum. It wasn't, specifically, intended for me. It was more of a provocation. From the article: "As a productivity trainer specializing in attention management, I've seen over the past decade how after-hours emails speed up corporate cultures -- and that, in turn, chips away at creativity, innovation, and true productivity. If this is a common behavior for you, you're missing the opportunity to get some distance from work -- distance that's critical to the fresh perspective you need as the leader. And, when the boss is working, the team feels like they should be working. Think about the message you'd like to send. Do you intend for your staff to reply to you immediately? Or are you just sending the email because you're thinking about it at the moment, and want to get it done before you forget? If it's the former, you're intentionally chaining your employees to the office 24/7. If it's the latter, you're unintentionally chaining your employees to the office 24/7. And this isn't good for you, your employees, or your company culture."  

Do as I say, not as I do.

Beyond a swift kick to the gut, this article reminded me of something very important: you're only a workaholic if you're truly missing balance in your life. In my second business book, CTRL ALT Delete, I talk a lot about the myths of work and life balance. Namely: work is a huge component of life - especially if you are driven by something that you are both passionate and skilled at - and the work that you are meant to do should never be relegated to any kind of corner. With that, true balance can best be visualized by thinking of life as a stool with three legs. The three legs are:

Personal.
Professional.
Community.

If you don't have balance between your personal/family, your professional/work and your community/service to others, that three-legged stool is going to topple over. With that, how you operate has to be crystal clear to your team (and everyone else). I do my best to let everyone know that just because I have a more comfortable time to write emails, it doesn't mean that there is any expectation or anticipation of anything mentioned in the Harvard Business Review piece. That is, unless, things are marked "urgent" (which is rare). All emails can be responded to when the recipient is most comfortable. With that, there is no doubt that many people in the workforce don't understand how to manage their technology, or the expectations of their fellow team members. While it may be easy to point the finger at email and smartphones as the culprits in this always-on, real-time and 24/7 work cycle, the blame lies with the people. If suddenly people have become addicted to their devices or feel the need to respond as some sort of one-upping of their peers, they would find a way to do it if email never existed. With that, setting expectations is critical, but let's not point the finger at off-campus emailing as some kind of indicator that brands are suddenly less creative, innovative or productive. If something as simple as when emails are sent is sending your business into a tailspin, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that something was going to get you, regardless.
 
Do you care when emails are sent to you?

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My Week At The TED Conference

Every Monday morning at 7:10 am, I am a guest contributor on CHOM 97.7 FM radio broadcasting out of Montreal (home base). It's not a long segment - about 5 to 10 minutes every week - about everything that is happening in the world of technology and digital media. The good folks at CHOM 97.7 FM are posting these segments weekly to SoundCloud, if you're interested in hearing more of me blathering away. I'm really excited about this opportunity, because this is the radio station that I grew up on listening to, and it really is a fun treat to be invited to the Mornings Rock with Terry and Heather B. morning show. The segment is called, CTRL ALT Delete with Mitch Joel.

This week we discussed:

I was one of the fortunate few to attend the TED conference this year in Vancouver. I have been a TEDster since 2008. The headlines were stacked because of Monica Lewinsky's speech on cyberbullying. TED stands for Technology Entertainment and Design. It's not uncommon to be sitting - side-by-side - watching the talks with luminaries from every industry. What makes it most interesting isn't just what happens on stage, but the banter before, during and after the talks have gone viral. That being said, it was fascinating to see a 3D printer based on Terminator (not joking).
While we were busy thinking about future at TED, Jeff Bezos (who was in attendance) got the green light from the FAA that will allow Amazon to conduct test flights of drones to deliver packages. For now, these tests will conducted outside of daylight hours, and the drones must remain in sight of trained pilots. All data will need to be reported back to the FAA, but this is huge step forward. Autonomous cars... drone deliveries... Apple Watch... hello, Jetsons!
According to eMarketer, US adults spend over 20 minutes every day on Facebook. This accounts for 6% of their time spent online (which is incredible enough). Facebook made a big move by announcing that users will soon be ablate pay their friends through Facebook Messenger. The feature will be rolled out in the US over the next few months, with countries like Canada to follow suit. This is huge. Not only will push those usage numbers higher up, but also could help them become a fundamental backbone of the mobile payment space.
App of the week: Do Button.

Listen here...

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How To Pick Winners In The Digital Age

Episode #454 of Six Pixels of Separation - The Mirum Podcast is now live and ready for you to listen to.

Rohit Bhargava is here to help. The trend curator, founder of the Influential Marketing Group, and the bestselling author of five business books (including his latest, Non-Obvious), has a special skill when it comes to seeing trends in business, marketing and communications. His signature annual, Non-Obvious Trend Report, has been viewed more than half a million times online, and has established Rohit as one someone who is able to both curate what is important today, tag it for tomorrow and name it for the next few years. Enjoy the conversation...  

You can grab the latest episode of Six Pixels of Separation here (or feel free to subscribe via iTunes): Six Pixels of Separation - The Mirum Podcast #454.

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Six Links Worthy Of Your Attention #248

Is there one link, story, picture or thought that you saw online this week that you think somebody you know must see?

My friends: Alistair Croll (BitCurrent, Year One Labs, GigaOM, Human 2.0, Solve For Interesting, the author of Complete Web Monitoring, Managing Bandwidth: Deploying QOS in Enterprise Networks and Lean Analytics), Hugh McGuire (PressBooks, LibriVox, iambik and co-author of Book: A Futurist's Manifesto) and I decided that every week the three of us are going to share one link for one another (for a total of six links) that each individual feels the other person "must see".

Check out these six links that we're recommending to one another:

Can Predictive Technology Make Us Less Predictable? - Forbes . "It's an interesting paradox: the more machines know us, the more algorithms identify what's optimal, and the more the optimal path gets crowded. I spent some time on the road in the past two weeks, talking about what it means to have a prosthetic brain, and this post on optimization got me thinking: to help us find serendipity, an algorithm needs to know what predictable would be in the first place." (Alistair for Hugh).
Your life at your fingertips -- courtesy of the Pentagon - USA Today . "Fire up the Wayback Machine to 2003, when DARPA announced a life-log project. I came across this story when I was working on background for the life-logging talk. It was soon scrapped due to privacy concerns. But in a Facebook era, I can't help thinking it'd be easy to get approved - and that it's already here." (Alistair for Mitch).
Technology should be used to create social mobility - not to spy on citizens - The Guardian . "I'm pretty sure I saw this link posted by Alistair on Twitter, but I am going to send it back to him anyway, since it's something I'd like to discuss with him one of these days, and we should both re-read it beforehand. It's an economic argument about two glaring and hugely significant trends - and their relationship to technology. First, the growing divide between rich and poor, and second, the inexorable rise of the pervasive security/spy state. The argument goes like this: 'guard labour' is the amount of resources a society needs to commit to protecting rich/powerful people from poor/powerless people. The more inequitable the society, the more guard labour is required. So, dictatorships require huge investments in a police state, to maintain the huge inequalities in their populations. The trend in Western society for the past century or so has been to address this issue by reducing inequality, thereby reducing the need to spend on guard labour. However, recent technological advances enable cheaper pervasive spying, which makes guard labour far more efficient and cheaper. And the result is that it becomes cheaper to maintain inequality than it used to be. So, more spying on citizens is directly related to growing inequality." (Hugh for Alistair).
When Exponential Progress Becomes Reality - Niv Dror . "An article about Moore's Law (computing power doubles every two years), and how progress is going to continue to grow exponentially. The article is worth reading, if for no other reason than the 'Moore's Law visualized through the evolution of Lara Croft' picture, which will now forevermore be lodged in my mind as the Platonic/ideal representation of Moore's Law... and what it means." (Hugh for Mitch).
The huge implications of Google's idea to rank sites based on their accuracy - The Washington Post . "I spent the week at the TED conference in Vancouver. I'm spent. I call it 'yoga for the mind,' but it's exhausting physically as well. It's true. I have a physical reaction to all of the learning and interactions. On my way to the airport, I noticed someone looking for a cab. I offered to share my ride to the airport. It turns out that this person is one of the founding members of the Singularity University and has an illustrious past that includes being the person responsible for getting several audio formats on to the Internet. That's another TED moment. As the cab zipped through traffic, we discussed this exact topic: how will Google define accuracy? Seems obvious from an anti-vax standpoint. Seems much more complex, when you bring stuff like politics and opinions into the fray." (Mitch for Alistair).
Your Late-Night Emails Are Hurting Your Team - Harvard Business Review . "A senior member of our team at Mirum sent me this article (thanks, Jon ;). I have terrible email habits. I tend to attack email very early in the morning or late at night. I always fall behind, so I try to catch up over the weekend. Is this making the people I work with hate me? It could be, if you read this article. I try to always let everyone know that it's never an emergency, unless it's clearly an emergency. Otherwise, getting back to me when they're most comfortable is perfectly fine. I think it's time for me to send a refresher about my email philosophy to the team again." (Mitch for Hugh).

Feel free to share these links and add your picks on Twitter, Facebook, in the comments below or wherever you play.

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The Fascinating Thing About The Wrist

Every Monday morning at 7:10 am, I am a guest contributor on CHOM 97.7 FM radio broadcasting out of Montreal (home base). It's not a long segment - about 5 to 10 minutes every week - about everything that is happening in the world of technology and digital media. The good folks at CHOM 97.7 FM are posting these segments weekly to SoundCloud, if you're interested in hearing more of me blathering away. I'm really excited about this opportunity, because this is the radio station that I grew up on listening to, and it really is a fun treat to be invited to the Mornings Rock with Terry and Heather B. morning show. The segment is called, CTRL ALT Delete with Mitch Joel.

This week we discussed:

Headed to my personal brain spa this week: the TED conference.
Well, the Apple watch has arrived. We know a lot more about it, but it raises a bunch of powerful questions about what we may become as a people. We're already scrounging for our mobile devices during any free moments that we have. Will having a watch pinging and vibrating make us better, or even that much more distracted? Also, if the future of digital screens is on our wrists, how much more might this amplify the FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) syndrome that we all face? Does the Apple watch feel less like a watch and much more like handcuffs after watching Tim Cook present it?
How crazy is the new MacBook to be released without any real ports beyond the new USB C? Is this a move towards a smarter world, and are we leaving the dongle and cable world? Let's hope that this is the end of cables, and not the beginning of a major frustration as we have to change all of our cables, accessories and more again... and again.
App of the week: InstaSize.

Listen here...

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The Art Of The LEGO Brick

Episode #453 of Six Pixels of Separation - The Mirum Podcast is now live and ready for you to listen to.

I can't remember when I first heard of Nathan Sawaya, but I knew his work long before I knew the artist's name. That's what happens when you see a sculpture made of LEGO. That sculpture stopped me dead in my tracks. It was very evocative... almost disturbing. Yes, those same little bricks that get jammed into our feet at two in the morning when we're trying to get a glass of water from the kitchen. Was someone making a joke? Was this serious art? A great piece of art does this. It moves you. Emotionally. Physically. It gets you thinking. After you experience it, you can't stop thinking about it. Delving online to discover who had created this piece - and if there was any more where that one had come from - you discover Nathan Sawaya. Sawaya was a corporate attorney in New York City, until he decided to leave that life to become a full-time artist working with LEGO bricks as his medium. It's an amazing journey and a fascinating story. Enjoy the conversation...

You can grab the latest episode of Six Pixels of Separation here (or feel free to subscribe via iTunes): Six Pixels of Separation - The Mirum Podcast #453.

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Six Links Worthy Of Your Attention #247

Is there one link, story, picture or thought that you saw online this week that you think somebody you know must see?

My friends: Alistair Croll (BitCurrent, Year One Labs, GigaOM, Human 2.0, Solve For Interesting, the author of Complete Web Monitoring, Managing Bandwidth: Deploying QOS in Enterprise Networks and Lean Analytics), Hugh McGuire (PressBooks, LibriVox, iambik and co-author of Book: A Futurist's Manifesto) and I decided that every week the three of us are going to share one link for one another (for a total of six links) that each individual feels the other person "must see".

Check out these six links that we're recommending to one another:

IBM Selectric Typewriter and its Digital to Analogue Converter - YouTube . "The Selectric was a real innovation -- instead of dozens of little arms flying up, it featured a small ball that spun quickly as you typed. Behind the scenes, it was converting digital information (which key was pressed) to analog movement (spinning and tilting the ball). It also paved the way for the computer printer. Here's how." (Alistair for Hugh).
Before I Go - Time warps for a young surgeon with metastatic lung cancer - Paul Kalanithi . "The future tense seemed vacant and, on others' lips, jarring. I recently celebrated my 15th college reunion; it seemed rude to respond to parting promises from old friends, 'We'll see you at the 25th!' with a 'Probably not!'. A neurosurgeon talks about time dilation as a surgeon, and as a patient. Moving." (Alistair for Mitch).
The Humane Representation of Thought - Bret Victor . "Stunning talk about how representing thoughts in new ways (writing, mathematics) transformed our worlds, and what new - and more accessible - kinds of representations of thought are possible." (Hugh for Alistair).
That Way We're All Writing Now - The Message . "Clive Thompson on some of the latest linguistic trends." (Hugh for Mitch).
Which Flight Will Get You There Fastest? - FiveThirtyEight . "I had to fly from Jacksonville, Florida to Montreal this week. It involved one stop-over in Washington (IAD). Usually not a problem, but my layover was only 45 minutes. That's just shy of enough time to keep me out of the anxiety zone. I was shocked that I made the connection. Love data? Are you often on a plane? Is there any kind of method to the madness that is airline travel cancellations, delays and frustrations? Let's bring in Nate Silver and see. 'FiveThirtyEight analyzed 6 million flights to figure out which airports, airlines and routes are most likely to get you there on time and which ones will leave you waiting.' That's how he describes his tool. If you do travel, you may want to bookmark this one... and avoid LGA." (Mitch for Alistair).
Everyone's opinions are fatiguing after a while - even your own - The Guardian . "Peak Social Media. Is it enough already? At what point, will we all look at each other and wonder if we can go back to simpler and more serendipitous times? Over-sharing, FOMO... call it what you want. We are constantly on display. Few of us display the rawness of who we are. Most of us display the version of us that we hope others will believe. Is it exhausting? Is there too much pressure in making sure that we're fully updated across all social networks? Can we then handle all of the comments, likes and shares? Human beings are media channels. Like it or not. The question is this: were we built to be media channels?" (Mitch for Hugh).

Feel free to share these links and add your picks on Twitter, Facebook, in the comments below or wherever you play.

The Humane Representation of Thought from Bret Victor on Vimeo.

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Amp Up Your Online Video Knowledge With Mark Cuban

Marketers don't know that much about online video. We think that we do. We don't.

That statement is not meant as a slight. Online video has a lot of opportunities for brands that transcend the advertising model and mindset. Most marketers still live and breathe in the advertising realm. There are big deals at play, and it's hard not think that YouTube is quickly becoming something as important as television. The question: is the content just as good? Where does the best video content now play? Love him or hate him, Mark Cuban has a breath and depth of knowledge into what is happening with the Internet, online video, YouTube, Netflix and what could be. He believes (and it's an important thought) that with everything that has happened online, TV still has the best content with the most focused viewers. At the recent Code/Media conference, he spent about thirty minutes discussing the current state of online video. It's captivating (because Cuban is a wise and fast-talking brain who knows how to provoke), and it's educational for most marketers who spend their days thinking about either making a viral video or buying up some pre-roll space.

Mark Cuban at ReCode on the future of online video, YouTube and television... 

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