Web/Tech

  • The Social Media Universe

    We recently dove into what's happening at Twitter. Since that article, Elon wrote an ultimatum e-mail to his employees saying that if they wanted to stay, they would have to work harder and longer than before … and that they would get three months severance if they chose to leave. In a result that might have surprised Elon, thousands of Twitter employees quit.  In response, Elon locked the doors, cut badge access, and attempted some damage control.

    On top of that, you also have Meta having its own issues

    With that, it's probably a good time to take a look at the social media landscape.  Here is an infographic that shows the relative popularity of various social media properties. 

     

    Ezgif.com-gif-maker (11)

    via visualcapitalist

    If you rank the top 10 social media by monthly users, Twitter isn't even on the list. Nor is it on the list for driving clicks

    Meta and YouTube top the list – by a mile. 

    As well, there's a growing network of smaller social media vying for a spot in the global paradigm, like Parler, Mastodon, or even Onlyfans.

    Meaning there's a lot more chaos in the system. 

    As always, chaos creates opportunity – in this case, both for new media and for brands to capitalize on the change in trends. 

    The question is, will Facebook and Twitter survive the storm, and if not, what will take their place?

  • What’s Up With Twitter?

    Everyone knows that Elon Musk was sued by Twitter and 'forced' to buy Twitter for $44B.  Since then, the now-private company has made a lot of confusing decisions. 

    To start, Musk publicly announced that the company was hemorrhaging money.  To try and remedy this, he began by firing approximately half the employees.  Key executives were fired.  Later, many more executives left on their own.  After the massive exodus, Elon supposedly reached out to some former employees asking them to come back.  He also ended remote work for employees. 

    In an attempt to increase the company's profitability, he announced Twitter Blue, a paid subscription service that would give you a checkmark, and push your content to the top of users' feeds. 

    Screen Shot 2022-11-11 at 5.54.04 PMvia twitter

    Unfortunately, users were quick to abuse the new verification system by pretending to be public figures and even public companies.  As a result, there was real tangible damage to stock prices. 

    That-fake-verified-tweet-cost-eli-lilly-billions-v0-txbw9br3edz91
     via Twitter

    Eli Lilly's drop also brought down its competitors.  Other companies got hit, including Lockheed Martin

    Do you think those are the most influential 8 dollars ever spent in history?

    As a result of the turmoil, advertisers are leaving Twitter in droves, and Twitter has paused Twitter Blue in America – though it remains up in some different geographies. 

    On the surface, it looks like Twitter is being run into the ground.  It seems like Musk is throwing a lot of darts at the board and seeing what sticks.  He said as much when he promised that Twitter would do many dumb things as part of his strategy to innovate and find smart things to do.

    Are the foibles simply the cost of the innovation needed to revitalize the company … or signs of trouble for Twitter's future?

    Even though I'm prone to bet on Musk, I think it's too early to believe you can predict the outcome.

    What do you think?

  • The Swish Machine

    Rube Goldberg machines impress me more often than not. Here's a 70-step outdoor machine that covers a lot of ground … all to put a basketball in a hoop. It took a month to create, and another month to get working. 

     

    via Creezy

    I love stuff like this because it reminds me of life. Looking backward, you see how all the pieces go together. As you're going through it, it feels random and sometimes like you're moving backward or that your effort isn't directly contributing to your goal.

    Nonetheless, it all comes together in the end.

    Onwards!  

  • Ending the Year Strong After a Day of Atonement

    We’re sprinting toward the end of the year.  Just under 100 days left. 

    Stress, high expectations, and a narrow focus often result in hurt feelings.

    Of course, I understand that a little conflict is normal (or even beneficial).  

    Yet, last Wednesday was Yom Kippur (which means “Day of Atonement,” and which is one of the highest holy days in the Jewish religion).  The holiday and its rituals are designed to help you be more sensitive to your actions, impact, and intent than usual.

    As a technology entrepreneur focused on amplified intelligence (which means making better decisions, taking smarter actions, and continually improving performance), I recognize that we’re not using technology to replace humans.  Instead, we’re automating activities that humans used to do – so that humans can focus on things more important and more in line with their unique abilities and tendencies.

    On the other hand, one of the main reasons for automation is to avoid certain tendencies that are baked into human nature.  I say that because as much as the world has changed in the last several thousand years, human nature has remained mostly the same.  That’s apparent from the list of sins in the Yom Kippur Confessional (text available here).  Even though these were written thousands of years ago, the list catalogs the behaviors and challenges that many of us deal with daily.  It’s hard enough to change yourself, it’s unreasonable to expect to radically change others.  Instead, if you want to increase the likelihood of certain actions, it makes sense to rely on technologies that are simple, reputable, consistent, and scalable to make your best intentions and best practices more common.  This is why I say that amplified intelligence has an automatic advantage … because it eliminates the fear, greed, and discretionary mistakes that humans naturally bring to a process.

    Back to the holiday, during Yom Kippur, one of the rituals is to read down the list of sins, apologize for the ones you committed, ask for forgiveness, and promise to do better next year.  Even if you have managed to stay on the right side of the Ten Commandments and haven’t killed or stolen … you have most likely been frivolous, stubborn, hurtful, dismissive, or judgmental (I know I have …).  

    I recognize that, sometimes, some of those traits can be part of effective strategies.  And usually, people just brush off these smaller-scale sins with the excuse: “I was angry”; or “I’m only human”; or “There is no place for cry-babies in business.” Nevertheless, it’s important to remember that we should strive to be better and that even these smaller sins can harm the people around us.

    To drive the point home further, here is the story of “The Nail in a Fence.” While you might have seen it before, it is worth reading again. 

     

    Nail In The Fence:

    Nail-453782_640There once was a little boy who had a bad temper. His Father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence.

    The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks, as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down.

    He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence.

    Finally the day came when the boy didn't lose his temper at all. He told his father about it; and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper.

    The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone.

    The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. He said, "You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It won't matter how many times you say I'm sorry, the wound is still there."

    A verbal wound is as bad as a physical one.

    One of the themes of Yom Kippur is that you’re only ever one good deed from tipping the scale towards good for yourself and others.  As you recognize and repent for your sins, it’s also important to appreciate the good you did (and do) as well.  I like to think of good deeds as filling in the holes. 

    There’s plenty of time left in the year to do good, accomplish what you set out to do, make a change, and end the year on a high note. 

    There is plenty of time to make this your best year yet.  What can you do?  What will you do?

    I hope you all experience growth in your mental state, your relationships, and your businesses.

  • The Most Common Cyber Attacks Against Businesses

    I recently shared a post on data breaches – and steps you can take to prevent them. It focused on the most famous cyberattacks in history. 

    Visualcapitalist and Global X ETFs just put out a visualization that shows the most common attacks your business may face. 

     

    Global-X-BUG-ETF_Cyberattacks_Main

    Global X via visualcapitalist

    Cyberattacks are at an all-time high – and the more people you have in your business, the more likely you are to have exploitable weaknesses. For example, the World Economic Forum's Global Risk Report for 2022 stated that ransomware attacks have increased by 435% since 2020. 

    It's also worth noting that these numbers are likely understated, as companies are likely to downplay and hide security incidents.  

    Likewise, there is exponential growth in computer use, data production, apps and services (connected through your handphone, devices, or computers), and connected nodes in the internet-of-things (including garage doors, security systems, and a host of connected devices).

    As some things become easier, other things get harder.  Said another way, sometimes peril comes with progress.

    Stay safe. 

  • Living Longer And Healthier

    I am on my way back from Dave Asprey’s BioHacking Conference.

    I enjoy going and being exposed to people and products committed to life extension and regenerative medicine.  

    Here are some of the things I found interesting and useful.

    I own and use every product on the list above. One of my biggest insights from this year’s conference was that I already have great stuff. I have to remember to use it. Some of the stuff is terrific. I know it is. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t sit unused in a room upstairs (or in a box under my stairs). The scary thing is that I know better.  Now I have to do better!

    Each year I get a little bit more focused on what I can be doing to get more out of my time and to increase the quantity of time left.

    Even with a renewed focus on health, it isn’t always easier. As my friend Ben Hardy says, Willpower Doesn’t Work – you have to identify goals that are bigger than yourself, create consequences and rewards for achieving or failing to achieve those goals, and change your environment to make success easy.  

    I don’t just want to be healthier to increase my time on earth, but to better support my family, my business, and to create a positive impact on those around me. 

    When you have a vision of who you want to be, and what you want to accomplish, achieving your goals becomes a lot easier. 

    When the goal is health, there are definitely some decisions that are proven to help. You can click to see the image in full-size. 

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    via informationisbeautiful

    On top of the science, here are some of my anecdotal opinions on living longer, healthier, and better:

    • Losing weight is as simple as calories in, calories out. It doesn’t matter if you’re on keto or eating only twinkies if you can keep your calories ingested below your calories burned. An equally simple alternative is to consider whether what you are about to eat, drink, or do is “cleansing” or “clogging”.  We already know better!
    • Getting enough water and sleep are tips echoed so much that they get annoying. Nonetheless, they are true and help significantly. 
    • In life, and in diets, shortcuts end up hurting you long-term more than they help you short-term.  If something is worth doing, it is usually worth doing right.
    • Living “right” doesn’t mean you can’t let loose … it means that it’s the exception instead of the rule. If your lifestyle doesn’t let you have fun with your friends or family, it’s probably not the healthiest lifestyle. Mental health is just as important as physical health.  From my perspective, deprivation or repression are far less effective or sustainable than delayed gratification.

    I’d love to hear your favorite “trick” to living better. Feel free to send me an e-mail. 

    Thanks! Live Long and Prosper!

  • The New Era of Energy

    A couple of weeks ago, I talked about oil production.  This week, I want to look at the current energy landscape. 

     

    Screen Shot 2022-08-18 at 12.41.13 PMView the full infographic at visualcapitalist

    Over the past several decades, there has been a massive shift in how we produce and consume energy.  This has been driven by the tech boom – as well as by climate awareness.

    The practical realities of widespread tech adoption directly impact energy consumption.  For example, there are now over 7 billion people with smartphones.  As the population (and the number of gadgets and tech we use) grows, logically, so does our energy consumption.

    Luckily, we're also getting better at powering them. 

    On a different front, oil is still a meaningful and vital part of the energy ecosystem … but, now, it's being supplemented by multiple renewables. 

    Screen Shot 2022-08-18 at 12.41.59 PMView the full infographic at visualcapitalist 

    Over the last decade, investment in green technologies has helped the cost of renewable energies drop precipitously. 

    That spurred a different set of products and use cases.  For example, we've seen the number of electric cars grow exponentially.  In 2011, there were approximately 70,000 EV units in the world.  Now there are around 16.5 million

    This isn't a commentary on the environmental benefit of renewables; it is an observation about the direction energy is heading. 

    And, just like with AI, despite being a space that's existed for a long time, it is still in the "early adoption" phase. 

    Based on estimations, the IEA projects an 8x growth in EV by 2050.  This also means that we will use an increasing amount of batteries and rare metals.  Currently, China controls the supply chains and critical resource constraints

    If our goal is to be energy independent, we have a long way to go … Nonetheless, recognize that this creates massive business and investment opportunities. 

    Onwards!

  • Some Cool “Futuristic” Tech You Might Not Have Seen

    I joke that I have a "tense" problem. I spend a lot of my time thinking about what will be possible in the future. And once I know something is possible, in my head, it has already happened.

    It isn’t a reality distortion engine … it is a reality creation engine.

    For me, this is centered around the way technology is transforming the world and how it affects my business. 

    Sometimes it's nice to take a step back and look at all the "quality of life" improvements. The gadgets that make you say "Wow!" … even though they may not benefit you directly. 

    So, here are a few that caught my eye over the last few weeks. 

    Augmented Reality Running 

    In 2020, Ghost Pacer put together a pair of AR glasses that would give you a virtual running partner. The app would analyze the running route and the wearer's desired goals and set them up against a virtual runner who would push them to their limits. 

    Last year, SNAP and Nike teamed up to create a new AR running experience as well. 

     

    Spectacles via YouTube

    This is a great way to get moving for those (like my wife) who benefit from a structure around their exercise. 

    Magnetic Slime Robot for Healthcare

     

    New Scientist via YouTube

    Watching the video of this slime is somewhat uncanny. Its movements feel almost lifelike. That being said, the potential for this custard-like slime worm is massive. It can navigate narrow passageways, grasp objects, and more. There are already plans to use this to remove foreign objects from people.  

    Functioning Hoverboards 

     

    RIDE via YouTube

    Multiple generations of kids have dreamed of hoverboards after watching Back To The Future. While it's not in homes yet, it is now a reality as seen in this video with Tony Hawk riding one. Unfortunately, since breaking into the scene in 2015 with a successful Kickstarter, I have not seen much from Hendo Hoverboard

    Thankfully, they're not the only company in the space anymore. If you're willing to drop almost 15K, you can own a working hoverboard from Arcaboard

    I remember when we used to go outside to play or exercise.

    We live in interesting times!  

  • What Tasks Should AI Take Over?

    One of the most common pop-sci questions about Artificial Intelligence is whether it will take our jobs.  

    There's a lot of fear from workers about a future where their roles are taken. Gartner recently surveyed workers on what tasks they wanted AI to handle. 

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    Gartner via Statista

    According to VentureBeat, some survey respondents did not want to use AI at work at all. Their reasons were privacy and security concerns. 

    I think one of the tasks that will be thrust upon AI companies is to help workers understand that AI is not meant to replace or take over their jobs, but to help workers be more effective and focused on higher-value tasks. 

    The Heartbeat of AI is Still Human_GapingVoid

    Onwards.