Capitalogix

Trading Eyeballs... What Comes After "As Seen On TV!" with Shark Tank's Kevin Harrington

It's a lot easier to manage something you measure. 

Here at Capitalogix, we measure the expectancy score of trading systems.

Former "Shark" Kevin Harrington does something similar with eyeballs. 

For years he killed it on TV with products like Ginsu Knives, the George Foreman Grill, etc. 

But TV viewership has dropped over 50% ... and that's not a sustainable model anymore.

Luckily, like a true "Shark" he realized something that many people don't...

You have to be committed to your goals, not the tools you use to accomplish that goal. 

I shot a video with Kevin where we talk about that ... and more. Check it out

 

If you have been doing the same thing for 18 months (or longer), chances are the practical realities of time, technology, and a changing competitive landscape implies that you should be doing something different (or at least differently).

What are you doing to stay relevant in your space?

Here Are Some Links For Your Weekly Reading - April 29th, 2018

No.1 draft pick, Baker Mayfield, threw the first pitch at a Cleveland Indians game and it was ... not great. Didn't even hit the glove. 

Check it out.  Pretty inauspicious. You'd expect a little more accuracy from a quarterback.

Here are some of the posts that caught my eye recently. Hope you find something interesting.

Lighter Links:

• The Simple Equation Every Manager Needs to Build (Or Repair) Trust. (FastCompany)
• Steve Blank Why Entrepreneurs Start Companies Rather Than Join Them. (SteveBlank)
• Night Owl Behavior Leads to Higher Risk of Dying Sooner, Says Study. (Bulletproof)
• Scientists Develop AI-based Deep Learning Drug Interaction, Prediction System. (KoreaHerald)
• Elon Musk Warns that Creation of 'God-like' AI Could Doom Mankind to an Eternity of Robot Dictatorship. (BusinessInsider)

 

Trading Links:

• Primetime for Jeff Bezos: Amazon Chief's Net Worth Climbs $7.7 Billion in One Week. (Forbes)
• How the Fed Keeps Bank Stocks Down. (Wall Street Journal)
• Some Banks are Technology Companies. (TheFinanser)
• 2018's Hottest Housing Markets. (Ritholtz)
• Starbucks Founder: I Don't Believe that Bitcoin is Going to Be a Currency Today or in the Future' (SBUX). (BusinessInsider)

The United States of Apathy

When I think about World Leaders (in places like North Korea, Russia, or Syria), I recognize how lucky we are to be able to elect our leaders in fair and free elections. 

Unfortunately, that's not an opportunity that we take advantage nearly enough. 

America has a two-party system,  and we count our votes down district and state lines to decide which candidate will end up with the electoral votes for that state ... but what if abstention was counted as a vote for nobody?

 

via Philip Kearney

It's an interesting exercise to visualize what our absenteeism in voting looks like ... in the last presidential election, four times as many voted for nobody as for Trump and Hilary (combined!). 

For all the people who whine and moan in any Presidency, you'd expect more people would have taken action to support their beliefs.

Now, try to imagine how few people vote in the more minor election cycles.

There are many interesting practical and theoretical discussions to be had about voting - engagement, education, etc. - but looking at this graph certainly puts one of the problems into perspective. 

It's easy to point out a problem.  It's more productive to propose a solution.

• Making election day a national holiday?
• Allowing mail-in or digital ballots?

Many individuals feel they don't need to vote because their state uses an "all or none" electoral college approach, or because they feel they already know how their state is going to vote. 

In addition, unless you're in a battleground state - it can often feel pointless - whether or not it is. 

What do you think it would take to increase turnout?

Disney's Imagineering Process – An Overview

How do you build something new and bold?

What steps help make thoughts become things?

What does it take to transform a vivid vision to a revolutionary reality?

Disney calls it 'Imagineering'.

What follows is a simplified version of the process Walt Disney Imagineering uses when it designs and builds theme park attractions, resorts, and other venues.

There are seven pieces or stages in the process. Five stages form the core of the process, while the other two serve as its Prologue and Epilogue.

 

 

 

Prologue: Needs, Requirements, and Constraints: Before the process actually begins, you must identify the project’s specific Needs, Requirements, and Constraints. These form the core parameters of your project.

The goal of the Prologue is to define your overall objective, including what you can do, can’t do, and must do when developing and building your project.

Blue Sky: The initial stage of any Imagineering project is the Blue Sky stage, where initial ideas and concepts are created through a combination of brainstorming and concept design.

The goal of the Blue Sky stage is to create a vision with enough detail to be able to explain, present, and sell it to others.

Concept Development: Once a concept born from the Blue Sky stage has been selected for development, it undergoes a period of concept development where the idea is more fully fleshed out and realized.

The goal of the Concept Development stage is to develop and flesh-out your vision with enough additional detail to explain what needs to be designed and built.

Design: The Design stage is where detailed design documents and specifications are created that will guide the physical construction of the project. These can include architectural documents (blue prints, plans, elevations, etc.) but also more Imagineering-specific documents such as Show Information Guides (documents that outline the story behind the attraction).

The goal of the Design stage is develop the plans and documents that describe and explain how your vision will be brought to life.

Construction: The last major stage of the process involves the actual physical construction of the project, including land development and fabrication.

The goal of the Construction stage is to build the actual project, based on the design developed in the previous stages.

Models: At each main stage in the process, the Imagineers build models of various sizes and scales to help identify and solve potential design challenges.

The goal of creating models and prototypes is test and validate your design at each stage to help solve and/or prevent problems that may arise during the design and construction process.

Epilogue: Openings, Evaluations, and Show Quality Standards: Once construction is complete, the attraction is opened for Guests (including Cast Member previews, Soft Openings, and finally a Grand Opening). In addition, once in operation, the attraction is periodically evaluated to ensure that it maintains a level of quality and that the original Creative Intent of the attraction is intact.

The goal of the Epilogue is to present your project to your audience, allow them to experience it, and evaluate its success and effectiveness over time.

[taken from “CHAPTER TWO: An Overview of the Process” of The Imagineering Process: Using the Disney Theme Park Design Process to Bring Your Creative Ideas to Life]

Here Are Some Links For Your Weekly Reading - April 22nd, 2018

via SMBC

 

Here are some of the posts that caught my eye recently. Hope you find something interesting.

Lighter Links:

• Is Buddhism a Religion? (BigThink)
• Google's Knowledge Graph Identifies Your Medical Symptoms. (DataScienceCentral)
• The Most Violent City in Every US State, According to the FBI. (BusinessInsider)
• By the End of the Decade, Country Star Toby Keith Could Be a Billionaire. (CNW)
• Transcript: James Comey's Interview with ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos. (ABCNews)

 

Trading Links:

• If You Invested $1,000 in the 5 Largest Cryptocurrencies a Year Ago, Here's How Much You'd Have Today. (Fool)
• At $21 Trillion, the National Debt is Growing 36% Faster Than the US Economy. (ZeroHedge)
• This Hasn't Happened since 1987: S&P Correlation Edition. (SeekingAlpha)
• Pedro Domingos on the Arms Race in Artificial Intelligence. (Spiegel)
• China's Largest Trade Fair is the Size of 71 Walmart Supercenters, Where Buyers Go to Stock the World's Shelves with Toys, TVs, and Toilets : Here's What It's Like. (BI)

Hyper-Reality: The Future of Augmented Reality?

Our physical and virtual realities are beginning to blend.  Animation is becoming more realistic.  Virtual and augmented reality are becoming more affordable. Wearables are becoming pervasive.  And, the internet of things will soon overtake the Internet.

We're moving towards a world where technology envelops every aspect of our lives ... figuratively and literally. 

The following (still fictional) video is thought-provoking.  What happens when these new technologies are used to influence behavior, decision-making, and even your identity?  

 

Keiichi Matsuda via Vimeo

Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are not new fields - but, they are evolving quickly. Technology and infrastructure are getting to the point that AR and VR will become common for us.

You have already started to see it (from Google Glass, to the NBA, and of course, to porn). 

"Not too far in the future you will begin to see the integration of AR and VR together eventually leading to having your favorite performer on your lap, in your bedroom doing a custom performance for you and responding to your verbal and physical cues."

- Anna Lee, HoloFilm Productions

Your doctor or nutritionist could help you make better choices for you.  Your therapist or coach could help you perceive and respond differently to the challenges life presents you.  Marketers could better influence your purchases.  Employers could better monitor and measure your performance and productivity. And governments will not be far behind ... doing what they do.

Like many things, these technologies make possible awesome new capabilities (if used well) and horrific consequences (if abused or used in authoritarian ways).

Similar issues are being dealt with in the fields of BioEthics and AI Ethics. In addition, there is a growing discussion of the impact these technologies will have on society. 

We live in interesting times! 

Related articles

What Effect Will VR and AR Have on B2B Customer Service?

Rumors of the demise of augmented reality developers have been greatly exaggerated

Get ready for augmented reality *everything*

Remember Google Glass? It just got its first update in 3 years. Seriously.

Chinese police are using facial-recognition glasses to scan travelers

23 concepts that show what Apple's futuristic smart glasses might look like (AAPL)

Here Are Some Links For Your Weekly Reading - February 18th, 2018

Here are some of the posts that caught my eye recently. Hope you find something interesting.

Lighter Links:

• SpaceX Hid a Second, Secret Payload Aboard Falcon Heavy, and It Sounds Amazing. (ScienceAlert)
• Weird: Naked Mole Rats Don't Die of Old Age. (FoxNews)
• Your WHOLE Body Could Be Replaced or Upgraded' with Robot Parts by 2070. (TheSun)
• Drones Grounded at Opening Ceremony _ but Not on Tape Delay. (AP News)
• These Videos of the North Korean Cheerleading Squad Chanting Will Haunt Your Nightmares. (SomeEcards)

Trading Links:

• How Bitcoin's Plunge May Have Been a Precursor to Market Turmoil. (CNBC)
• Blockchain, AI, Machine Learning & IOE Will Make You Money in 2018. (Forbes)
• BlackRock's Message: Contribute to Society, or Risk Losing Our Support. (New York Times)
• US Tax Reform Could Cause Repatriation of $2 Trillion Overseas Investment. (Worldview)
• A Bunch of Shell-shocked Wall Streeters Met in Paradise during the Market Meltdown Here's What Scares Them Most. (BusinessInsider)

Here Are Some Links For Your Weekly Reading - April 15th, 2018

via CloudTweaks

Here are some of the posts that caught my eye recently. Hope you find something interesting.

Lighter Links:

• Steve Jobs's Last Words: 'Oh Wow. Oh Wow. Oh Wow'. (TheGuardian)
• Yale is Letting Anyone Take Its Most Popular Class Ever for Free. (Inc)
• These Seafaring Robots Will Search for Life across the Solar System. (Popular Science)
• Bugatti Boss Reveals What Kind of People Buy Its $3 Million Hypercars. (BusinessInsider)
• What Did Ancient Romans Do without Toilet Paper? (Sapiens)

 

Trading Links:

• Forbes Billionaires 2018: Meet the Richest People on the Planet. (Forbes)
• Worried about Your Tax Bill? Hedge-Fund Star John Paulson Owes $1 Billion. (Wall Street Journal)
• Is College Worth the Cost? (AWealthOfCommonSense)
• On the Market's Historic 9 Year Anniversary, Here are the Winners and Losers. (ZeroHedge)
• China Now Has the Most Valuable AI Startup in the World. (Bloomberg)

Slaughterbots Assemble!

Technology can be scary - especially when it is used to move towards autonomous killing machines. 

Recently, a UC Berkeley computer science professor helped to create a video that imagined a world where nuclear weapons were replaced by swarms of autonomous tiny drones that could kill half a city and are virtually unstoppable.

Stuart Russell, the professor, said these drones are already a technological reality.

The video takes the viewer to an auditorium where a speaker showcases a drone roughly the size of a mockingbird. At one point the drone lands on his hand, the speaker quickly recalibrates it and then throws it out into the audience again. After a few seconds, the small drone turns back to the stage and crashes into the forehead of a dummy standing off to the left of the speaker.

 

 

The video was released earlier this month by the Future of Life Institute, which is backed by Stephen Hawking and Elon Musk. It was presented by Russell at a United Nations Convention on Conventional Weapons in Geneva, according to The Mercury News.

“Trained as a team, [the drones] can penetrate buildings, cars, trains, all while having the capacity to evade any countermeasure. They cannot be stopped,” the speaker told the audience in the video.

Russell said that although A.I.’s “potential to benefit humanity is enormous, even in defense,” allowing the widespread use of machines that “choose to kill humans will be devastating to our security and freedom.”

Expect to hear a lot more about Swarm Intelligence (and some of the more positive things it can do).

What Is The Internet of Things?

The Internet of Things (IoT) is literally just a connected network of digital "things" that can interact with each other through the internet (or intranets). 

Yet, the IoT also represents a paradigm shift (and the next big upgrade to the web). By 2020, over 26 billion (with a b) things will be connected to the internet.

 

But how does it work, and why do you care?

 

Information Is Beautiful created a helpful interactive primer on the IoT that's worth a look.

Click here to see it. It answers questions like "What kind of things? and "how will the things be used?" but also gives you a chance to look at the innovations, the innovators, and the challenges involved. 

 

via Information Is Beautiful

Ultimately, things like cars, buildings, home appliances and wearables will communicate and interact to create a connected world. 

People's homes are already becoming more connected. With smart hubs you can control your alarms, your lights and HVAC, all the way down to starting your coffee machine. 

Now imagine that connectivity in a hospital or a supply chain. It's going to be a huge breakthrough. 

 

But what about challenges?

 

As we get more technologically advanced and interconnected, there are inherent issues and weaknesses. 

For example, as more devices access the internet you have more chances for attacks by hackers. 

Computers, smartphones and other devices often come with virus protection, security measures and more. The same isn't true of your fridge or your coffee machine...

If there's one vulnerability in your network, that can easily affect all other devices on your network. 

In fact, hacker's just stole a Casino's high roller database through a "smart" thermometer in their lobby aquarium. 

As well, there are privacy issues, bandwidth issues and the unfortunate reality for many companies which is ... you may not be nimble enough to keep up with this innovation landscape. 

What do you think about IoT? Do you have a connected home already? Can you start your car with your phone?  Does your hedge fund use technology like this to let trading systems communicate, coordinate, and collaborate?  Can you imagine what that would be like?

I can!