Maker Culture

Makers are the technology world's masters of the Do It Yourself (DIY) movement. This is a subculture obsessed with innovation, invention and prototyping. They identify and/or invent new uses for existing technology, or they blend different sources to create new solutions.

The entire subculture emphasizes learning-by-doing. They are all about learning by failure and then sharing their experiences with one another online. As opposed to the historic example of the garage tinker who worked alone to invent something he could patent, the Makers are more likely to license their discoveries under Creative Commons. Makers are the people in the trenches of the STEM fields of study.

All across the world, Maker Spaces are opening their doors. These brick and mortar facilities are gathering places for those willing to learn and share their knowledge. The better funded locations may also include 3d printers, CNC, metalworking and electronics tools. A simple search online will help you find a Maker Space near you.

These are the modern hobbyists. They are the natural extension of early ham radio operators and the Homebrew Computer Club which brought together the founders of Apple Computer. It is within this subculture that will birth the next generation of business moguls. These are the people on the forefront of modern innovation.

Are you a Maker? Tell me about it.

R-Squared Computing | Lou RG | Nearly Free IT | Firm Wisdom

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The Great Convergence

Some time ago I wrote about the looming scientific convergence.  These rare events happen when different sciences all arrive at a unified understanding of a pivotal truth about life, the universe and everything. Each of these different sciences, using different tools and fields of knowledge, all run smack into a unified understanding of reality that causes everything to change dramatically.

The Industrial Revolution was born with the steam engine. But the steam engine was born from the convergence of Newton's laws, advances in metallurgy and applied pneumatics. Then followed all the incredible leaps in science, technology, productivity, work, society, business, governments and economics which we call the Industrial Revolution.

Convergences in science are exciting to witness. You should know because we are seeing one happen now. I am convinced we are living at the very beginning of a rapid series of multiple convergences.

I'm not sure what that next revolution should be called. Instinctively I want to call it the Digital Revolution, because so much of it will be caused by the application of digital technology. However, I cannot ignore the enormous part to be played by biotechnology, nanotech, robotics, new materials and good old physics.

Right now, we are living in the Information Age, born from the transistor, which came from the convergence of materials sciences and information theory. The Information Age is the precursor to the Next Revolution. And just like the Industrial Revolution changed everything about life, work, war, business and economics, so too will this Next Revolution change everything.

At this point, I understand your skepticism. "We just finished having everything change with computers and the Internet, Lou. How much more change can there be?"

Trust me. I have wrestled with the same question. But the facts remain, sciences are converging every day:

• Digital computer printers are making human organs. 
• Green houses are cleaning industrial waste water. 
• Miniaturization is advancing. 
• Battery technology is improving. 
• Materials sciences are delivering newer, more amazing materials at a faster clip. 
• Gesture control of computers is improving.
• Stunning advances in mind control of computers. 
• Nano-tech medicines are being tested.  

Any time when many different fields of scientific study come together, something amazing happens. Everywhere I look, I see signs of that happening right now. We are at the beginning of an unbelievable transformation of society, culture, governments, business, economics, war, technology, productivity, work, efficiency and science. Life will change completely during the Next Revolution.

Are you ready for it? Want to learn how to ensure your business thrives instead of dies? (305) 423-9574

R-Squared Computing | Lou RG | Nearly Free IT | Firm Wisdom

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3D Printers Are Coming to Ruin Your Business

Imagine being able to print anything you need when you need it. Right now, 3D printers are a cool and strange new technology with limited application. But like Kevin Kelly taught us, the questions you need to ask is what happens when the technology becomes ubiquitous. What happens when there is a 3D printer in every house, office, factory, shopping mall and daycare? How does everything change?

For some time now I have been saying that 3D printers are going to revolutionize the world (here & here). The impact of personal-scale manufacturing is enormous. Again -- imagine being able to make anything you need when you need it. It is mind-boggling.

The reason it's so hard to imagine that world is because we have always existed in a world of scarcity. We never have enough of what we want and acquiring them requires energy (time, money, work, etc). The concept of a world where we can have almost anything is too alien to conceive.

But unlike the newspapers and music studios who were woefully unprepared for the Internet, you have been forewarned. You are in a position to do something about it.

There is no such thing as a business that will not be impacted by personal manufacturing. Not one. Start planning for it now or risk becoming the next company steamrolled by new technology.

Call me and I will be happy to help. (305) 423-9574

R-Squared Computing | Lou RG | Nearly Free IT | Firm Wisdom

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Money By Brute Force

Too many businesses focus all their efforts on more sales, more customers but have ever decreasing profits to show for the effort. Why aren't profits increasing along with sales? Because they make money just through brute force. They need finesse to increase profits.

To add finesse to your business, you must root out inefficiency. You also need procedures that reduce error and encourage innovation.

You don't need an MBA from The Wharton School to know that poor planning of resources is wasteful. Anyone that has ever suffered through a remodeling knows the frustrations of missed deadlines and the messy cascade effect that has on the rest of the project. What started as a simple job has turned into a months long nightmare because someone made a mistake early on. And all that adds up to lost profits -- misallocated resources cannot be used somewhere else to make money.

That's why you need procedures in place that minimize these kinds of inefficiencies. Your people (AKA resources) need to know each step in the process so they can map their own progress. These procedures should have error control built in to reduce the cascade effect down the process chain. (Here are 5 ways to improve efficiency.)

Innovation is the name of the game in our rapidly changing business world. Many business owners are uncomfortable with the word "innovation" because they think it will lead to chaos in the workplace. However, a certain amount of chaos is necessary for innovation. The secret is to control the degree of innovation that your employees launch themselves into, and you control that with procedures.

For example, Google's 20% time policy allows employees to spend one day a week working on projects outside their normal job description. This lets people work on projects they are passionate about which leads to greater innovation. Many of Google's most well known products, including Gmail, started because of the 20% time policy.

While I understand you aren't comfortable with giving your employees one day a week to come up with ways to improve your business, there are plenty of other models that could work better. Toyota's model allows any line worker to suggest an improvement which is tried out immediately. If it works, everyone wins. If it doesn't work, someone else recommends switching back to the old way and they do. Workers are proud to be part of solutions that make the company more efficient and it promotes business agility.

If you are interested in adding some finesse to your business, we can help with process optimization, business simplexity, real time intelligence, strategic planning and infrastructure commoditization.

Or just call (305) 423-9574 and we can help you get started.

R-Squared Computing | Lou RG | Nearly Free IT | Firm Wisdom

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The Co-Evolution of Technology & Humanity

About 50,000 years ago, early humans invented the first languages. This innovation allowed us to communicate ideas and information across generations with precision. Language also gave us a mental framework for organizing ideas. By defining and verbalizing a problem, we are better able to innovate a solution.

Interestingly, what followed was an explosion in new technologies. Bows and arrows, throwing spears, nets, snares and a whole host of other tools helped us to further tame and control nature. By 10,000 years ago, humans and our new tools had hunted most of the megafauna into extinction. The earliest forms of agriculture started to change the flora of the planet. We changed our environment.

Evolution is nothing more than genetic adaptation over time to environmental conditions. Evolution is necessarily random, playing with the various components of our DNA until they develop useful adaptations. Useless adaptations die out while the useful ones are reinforced through successful breeding.

Logically, as humans have changed our environment, we have directly impacted our own evolution. And the way we effect the environment is through technology. There is an inescapable link between human evolution and the development of technology. Most interestingly, is that the rate of human mutation seems to have increased over the past 1000 years. We are evolving faster now that we were 50,000 years ago.
As our technology evolves, we evolve. This opens up a whole new range of possibilities. For example, is Twitter making us dumber or wittier? Is Facebook making us more social or more isolated? And how do these developments effect our DNA?

Suddenly your new tool, gadget, gizmo or idea could have far reaching consequences. This is not to say you shouldn't proceed. Anything that can be invented, will be invented -- it's just a matter of time and who gets the credit. However, there is a larger consequence that comes into play.

Be cautious as you forge ahead because your invention can be the next major turning point in human evolution. I don't know about you, but that is incredibly cool -- and frightening.

R-Squared Computing | Lou RG | Nearly Free IT | Firm Wisdom

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Ray Ozzie's Predictions

I have always been an enormous fan of Ray Ozzie. This is purely my inner geek fanboy coming out, but Ozzie is someone worth listening to. Microsoft is making a major mistake letting him go.

In his farewell to Microsoft blog post, Ozzie writes:

Tomorrow’s experiences will be inherently transmedia & trans-device. They’ll be centered on your own social & organizational networks. For both individuals and businesses, new consumption & interaction models will change the game. It’s inevitable.

I couldn't agree more.

In Nearly Free IT, I argued that how we work with technology is changing. Because of the cloud paradigm we are leaving behind many of the old sacred cows of the early PC era. The machine isn't important anymore -- the only thing that matters is our information and our ability to access it.

We are on the threshold of major new ways to interact and connect with our data. The iPad is just the beginning. Tablet computers are a great start but ultimately, we will begin to see some seriously science fiction-grade technology coming out. When that happens, all bets are off. Every business that relies on technology (and that's all of you!) will need to adapt to completely new shift in the tech ecosystem.

We are living in an age of constant upheaval. The technology you learn today will be obsolete tomorrow. Just when you've mastered Facebook, they decide to change it. Get used to it!

Find out how you can harness this change. Find out how you can get ahead of the curve so that it doesn't swamp you. Find out how to survive in the 21st Century. (305) 423-9574

R-Squared Computing | Lou RG | Nearly Free IT | Firm Wisdom

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The Network Effect & the Electrical Grid

For several years I have been keeping up with the debates surrounding the Smart Grid. The short version is that the smart grid is a plan to add the power of digital internet technology into the electrical grid. The current electrical grid is essentially the exact same technology as developed by Tesla and Edison. There really hasn't been a significant advance in power distribution.

The current grid is all about centralization. Electricity is generated in central power generation facilities, either coal, gas or nuclear. This power is then transmitted over copper wires to homes and businesses everywhere. However, this is terribly inefficient. Up to 66% of the energy generated in a coal plant is lost as heat and another 8% is lost during transmission across the wires. Imagine running a business where you lose 74% of your inventory before it gets to customers!

The smart grid is a plan to modernize our electrical infrastructure. The idea is to incorporate information technologies into the electrical grid to enable two-way communication of information. This will enable a whole new range of smart appliances that can be programmed to work during off-peak electrical hours. Imagine an air conditioner that knows to turn off during peak hours to save you money.

But it's much more than just that. The smart grid will also enable an entirely new generation of decentralized energy generation systems. By 2013 you will be able to buy your very own backyard nuclear reactor to generate electricity and feed it into the smart grid. If you generate more than you consume, then you will make money selling electricity! (For more smart grid benefits, see the graphic from an IBM report.)

The network effect when applied to the electrical grid will spark an innovation revolution. New technologies for power generation, management and conservation will spring up to serve previously unimagined markets, along with all the needed service and maintenance personnel. Also, consumers will be in a position to make choices about when and how they consume electricity by programming their smart appliances to run during off-peak hours, maybe even being able to select the actual sources of their electrical power.

And, as we have seen with the Internet, a decentralized, open system empowers entrepreneurs to innovate a new generation of technologies that will revolutionize how we work, live and play. It sounds like a win-win to me. Now we just need the commitment from government and business to make it a reality.

R-Squared Computing | Lou RG | Nearly Free IT | Firm Wisdom

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Mutants On the Edge

Harvard economist Michael Porter surveyed 100 industries in 10 countries and found that the source of innovations came typically from outsiders. Turbulent times are upon us -- there's no escaping that fact. If you run an established company and you want to ensure your survival into the future, you need to start your own skunk works -- a team of outsiders who innovate for you.

A skunk works is your own private top secret research and development department. This team needs to be separated from the rest of your company. They need to be your best and brightest and they need to be left alone to innovate. They must have the freedom to fail.

The purpose of your skunk works is to mutate your business to adapt to tomorrow. Mutation is a biological imperative. External forces causes fractional changes to DNA until an advantageous mutation is found. As time passes, the failed mutants die off and the advantageous ones overtake the whole population. Eventually positive mutations become the new normal.

But mutations only happen on the edges. At the edges there is less friction and more chaos. Mutations cannot happen inside rigidly ordered environments. In the center, mutants must compete with the establishment where they have no chance to survive. On the edges they are only forced to confront other mutants where the best will rise to the top. Kind of like the X-Men but with less spandex.

Now apply that same logic to your skunk works. By keeping them away from the rigidly controlled corporate managed center of your organization, you give the members of your team the chance to explore mutations. Without the constant grind of mandated success, they are free to fail -- and fail spectacularly too.

It is incredibly important that you also protect your skunk works team from the pressure to produce results until their ideas have had a chance to mature. New ideas from the edges will always have rough edges that need to be fixed before the idea is "ready for prime time."

Without a skunk works, you can never develop those mutants. Without allowing your skunk works team to operate on the edges, you will never give those ideas a chance to mature. And without a skunk works, you probably won't survive the next economic downturn.

Do you have a skunk works?

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We Need An Energy Manhattan Project

As a native Floridian I am concerned about the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. I admit my concerns are mostly selfish since my favorite beach vacation spot is on that coast but I am also aware of the enormous  costs of this environmental disaster.

Moreso it has gotten me thinking about the problem of energy. For over 100 years we have relied on oil as a source of fuel. President George W. Bush stated America is addicted to oil and just a few nights ago, President Obama upped the ante by declaring we are addicted to all fossil fuels. We have been mining sequestrated carbon (coal, oil & natural gas) and burning it to produce cheap energy for centuries.

But the costs of that energy are steadily rising. Not just the price per barrel of oil, but also the environmental costs that are difficult to measure. No matter where you stand on the issue of global climate change, it is undeniable that we cannot continue to pollute our biosphere without drastic repercussions.

Several years ago, I postulated that America had managed to achieve greatness by undertaking generational projects of epic scope. Somewhere along the line, we lost the political will to continue with these projects and it has made us weaker.

There are numerous examples of this country engaging its capital and intellect to develop solutions to pressing problems. The Erie Canal project (1817-1825) was our first major stab at westward expansion. By linking New York and the Great Lakes, the Erie Canal led to an explosion of commerce and trade. It gave the interior of the United States access to eastern seaports and international trade routes.

Between 1863 and 1869, the United States completed the first transcontinental railroad. A massive achievement that opened up the West and connected both sides of our young nation. It was a monumental achievement completed by a people who believed we could accomplish anything with grit, vigor and plenty of cheap Chinese labor.

Let's skip ahead past the wiring of America for telegraph, telephone and electricity. From 1942-1946, the United States dedicated itself to the Manhattan Project. This historic team of 130,000 of the brightest technical and scientific minds under the brilliant J. Robert Oppenheimer conceived and built the first atomic bombs. For the modern price tag of about $22 billion, the United States leapt ahead of the rest of the world and established itself as the dominant military power.

Then again on May 25, 1961, President Kennedy challenged America to land a man on the moon before the end of the decade. This led to the Apollo Program which on July 20, 1969 successfully let Neil Armstrong leave the first human footprints on our nearest celestial neighbor.

And since then -- nothing. Politicians have tried to score points by declaring wars on cancer, drugs and homelessness but have done next to nothing to eliminate these problems. We need to stop declaring these feel-good, ideological wars and focus on solving real problems. Fortunately, BP has catastrophically illustrated the largest of those concerns.

I call on our elected representatives to stop paying lip service to problems and to have the foresight to properly fund a new Manhattan / Apollo project to finally solve the energy crisis. Deficits be damned. This is something that will easily repay itself from all the money we will stop spending on imported oil.

America is at it's best when we are confronting challenges. We are at our best when we are all reaching for a common goal. Our so-called leaders in Washington have failed us for far too long (I don't care which party you worship, they are equally culpable!).

It is past time that we embark on a generational project to solve the energy crisis. It is within our grasp to develop clean, renewable, cheap and plentiful energy -- if only we dare reach for it. It is time to end the energy status quo and to abandon the 1000 year old practice of burning fossil fuels. Now we just need to political will to demand it from our elected officials. 

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When the Winds of Change Blow

There's an old Spanish proverb that says "When the winds of change blow, some build walls and others build windmills."


Businesses need to figure out ways to harness change so they can remain relevant into the future -- they need to build windmills. You can't protect yourself from tomorrow. 


But there is always resistance to change. We are creatures of habit and we don' t like anything new. It's alien, threatening and probably French. This mindset can kill you in the 21st Century. Clay Shirky summarized it best by saying: "Institutions will try to preserve the problem to which they are the solution."


That's what happens. You focus so intently on the old problem you don't even realize it isn't relevant anymore. I remember IBM's woes from the early 1990's. They were so focused on solving the "mainframe computing problem" that they didn't see the marketplace change into personal computers. 


As long as you keep solving yesterday's problems you will never be able to see tomorrow. Eventually you become irrelevant. And irrelevance leads to bankruptcy. 


IBM survived because they had enormous amounts of money, prestige, clout and the most well known brand in the world of technology. Do you have those assets? Could you rebound? If not, we can help you get futureproof. 

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A Looming Convergence

Recently on Facebook, I posted a TED Talk by Stephen Wolfram. This is one of those TED Talks that's had me thinking for the past two weeks. Here's the talk:



I think I know what caught my attention. Wolfram talks about how computation is giving insights into the Standard Model of physics. He has started using his software tools to model multiple universes with properties similar to ours. What is impressive is that he has achieved models that account for much of modern physics starting with simple components.

For the last 100 years, physicists have been searching for the Grand Unified Theory which will bring together all the different, incompatible theories of physics. String theory, super gravity, M-theory are all attempts to resolve this dilemma -- with varying results. Now, Wolfram is working on the same thing but from a completely different direction.

I think we are on the verge of a massive scientific convergence. These rare events always bring about incredible social, political and economic changes.

Convergence is when multiple sciences come to a unified understanding of a pivotal truth -- from their unique and different directions. Every major tech revolution has been brought about by convergence. The theories of one field are applied to the processes of another to arrive at a new physical understanding.

For example, the Industrial Revolution came about because of the convergence of Newtonian physics, metallurgy and pneumatics -- to name just the Top 3. Isaac Newton figured out his famous "1 Inch Formulas" that describe motion and forces. They formed the "language" that made the Industrial Revolution possible. Metallurgy created new steel alloys which could contain the forces calculated by Newton's laws. And pneumatics tied them all together to create the steam engine.

We are heading towards another major convergence. Our understanding of the physical world is growing by leaps and bounds. The discoveries made in particle accelerators and quantum mechanics are enabling advances in nano technology. Computers are working around the clock to break down and understand organic processes, like DNA mapping. Our technology is being applied across scientific fields with staggering results.

This next convergence is coming on the heels of the Information Revolution. This will cause a massive change in every aspect of our lives -- so much that it is impossible to predict what will happen. I'm not necessarily talking about Ray Kurweil's Singularity, but something big is coming.

And it's coming soon.

The looming convergence is going to rewrite the rules. Again. Get used to it. Change is coming faster than ever before. Those businesses designed for agility and a willingness to adapt to change will survive. The rest will fail.

Are you ready for tomorrow? Get futureproof with R-Squared Computing.

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Did You Notice?

Happy New Year!

Did you notice? Consumer confidence is up. Holiday sales didn't exactly break any records, but sales were higher than expected.

Some super shoppers are still in withdrawal from tighter budgets - their poor credit cards rust in disuse. Frugal is now chic, hip and cool. And everyone's angry at gas prices.

We're finding the new normal for consumption patterns. The economy isn't Wall Street or the President nor even The Fed. Ten percent unemployment sucks but that means there's still 90% of us making money.

The economy is 150 million Americans buying goods and services. It's groceries, bills, that great sweater you bought and even fees for ticket defense lawyers.  It's when we stop being afraid and start buying again that the economy moves out of recession. Not government stimulus.

Once consumer confidence rises after a crisis, new spending patterns emerge.

So, did you notice?

2010 is the year we bounce back. This is the moment in every crisis where opportunities abound. Once a new normal is established, people's priorities realign. New services become valuable. New problems need products to solve them.

If you can do something great, then do it. Don't be mediocre. Be remarkable. This is the year you grow your business. This is the year you finally start chasing your dream.

Did you notice?

So... what are you going to do about it?

Let me help you start your business...download it free today!

The Network Effect

Metcalfe's law states that the value of a telecommunications network is proportional to the square of the number of connected users of the system. Therefore, as the number of connected users in a network increases arithmetically, the value of the network increases exponentially.

In simple language, the more people using something, the more powerful (and beneficial) it becomes.

Think of the very first fax machine. By itself it was useless -- until there was a 2nd fax machine! Suddenly, they could fax each other. As more people got fax machines, the network grew and the usefulness soared. Every fax owner encouraged others to buy fax machines so they could fax more people. Simply using the fax machine was a advertisement for others to buy one. Now, practically everyone has fax capabilities.

Order your copy today!

With the network effect, adding just 1 new member has enormous implications. For example, let's assume 4 close friends - together they make 12 distinct one-to-one relationships. If you add a fifth friend, the network increases to 20 different relationships. 6 makes 30; 7 creates 42; and so on.

Each new member increases the power of the network which in turn attracts more members. This is a large part of what Malcolm Gladwell talks about in The Tipping Point. After a certain point, network growth is automatic and continuous without further effort.

But this is a complete departure from our human past. The industrial economy was based entirely on the laws of decreasing return. Growth was linear and directly related to effort. Small efforts led to small returns. Economies of scale were mandatory otherwise costs could never be brought low enough for high returns.

The system has been turned on its head however.  Networks work exponentially so small efforts (properly applied!) can yield enormous results. Companies that rely on the network experience small early gains until they hit their tipping point, then growth accelerates explosively with minimal additional energy.

Facebook is a great example. With more the 350 million subscribers, how many connections are available to all members?  Now imagine the ripple effect on that enormous scale network with 1 new member!

Everything is magnified exponentially because of the network. Respect it and understand how to use it to your advantage.

Learn more about the network effect from Kevin Kelly here.

Performance Bias

One of the greatest lessons I learned from my children is that how anything is presented matters.  Broccoli presented as "healthy vegetables" guarantees screaming fits at the dinner table. However, sell those same broccoli to the kids as "Little Trees" and they demand seconds.

"Cognitive neuroscientists have...observed how... a mental rotation task is presented to women (as either a threateningly "male" spatial reasoning task or a more feminine sounding "perspective-taking" test) affects which brain regions are recruited - and even how well the women do at it."  from The Britannica Guide to The Brain; pXVI

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Forget the slightly sexist language in the quote and think about the implications. How the task is presented determines the outcome. How the manager describes the task has an immediate impact on the results.

We perform based on our biases. When we think something is easy, then it is. Our perception controls our reality. How challenges are presented matters!

What if we could harness those biases? What if we could identify the least threatening way to present tasks to our workers? How would this impact management? How would it change our work environments?

Free Idea: Cameras With GPS

Digital cameras should embed the date, the GPS coordinates and the orientation of the camera in each photo. With this data, you can then search for every photo taken by date and location.

My wife is one of those people that is always behind a camera. The only pictures we have of my wife are pictures of her taking pictures. She recently noticed that one of the bloggers she follows had posted photos that were very similar to some she had taken at Disney World. As it turns out, we were there at the same time as the blogger! She even had a few photos of the blogger and his family.

But that isn't so strange if you think about it. Everywhere you go there are thousands of people snapping photos. Millions of these photos are posted online and shared with the world. Therefore, it is technically possible that you are in hundreds of other people's pictures just standing aroung in the background. Hopefully you're not picking your nose...
Just think of the possibilities if you could search for photos based on date, location and angle?
Incidentally, there is already an online service that offers part of this: Live Where I Am. Just take a picture with your GPS enabled cell phone and upload it to your blog or social site through this service. They will tag it with your comments and GPS coordinates.

What do you think? Could you benefit from all the extra features I mentioned? How?

Can Creativity Be Taught?

No it cannot. It must be unleashed.

We spend the majority of our lives having our creativity beat out of us.

• Factory grade schools with teachers shouting at daydreamers
• A society that preaches conformity and ignorance
• Bland professors afraid (or unable) to rock the boat
• Dull jobs that don't require real brainpower

These are all factors that cage our creativity.

Think back to childhood when a stick and a garden hose were fodder for hours of imagination-enabled entertainment.

To harness creativity you must unleash the imagination.

"Imagination is more important than knowledge."
~ Albert Einstein

Until you liberate your imagination, you'll never be creative. And creativity is the heart of innovation.

The Future of Copyrights and All Intellectual Property

I've been thinking about copyrights alot lately. And about digital piracy.

The truth is that both have been locked in a cold war for a very long time. Every new advance in delivery media (vinyl LPs, magnetic tape, etc.) has been met with a counter to enable theft. The largest barrier for the casual thief was the enormous price of the equipment. But as that equipment got cheaper, the rate of theft has increased.

For some reason, it is very hard for humans to think of the free exchange of information as theft. I know people who are proud of their collection of stolen music and movies.

The internet is all about the free and easy exchange of digital information. It allows us to seamless communicate with anyone in the world.  The cost barrier for internet access gets lower every day.
Pretty soon it will be impossible to enforce copyrights. The cold war between content creator and info pirate just got very hot. The internet makes it impossible for the enforcers to stop piracy. They can stop one site, one service but dozens more will spring up. It's the Hydra Effect.

So...

1. Keep fighting a losing battle until all copyrights become worthless.
2. Find an alternative solution.

As someone who creates content, I prefer Option 2.

So, let's figure it out. What does an alternative to copyright look like? What should it include? How is it enforced? What does 21st Century Copyright look like?

Sell It First

I have seen products sold from nothing more than a picture. A computer generated graphic of a product that only existed on the piece of paper. Maybe some specifications thrown in too.

No molds, no prototypes, no source code, no wiring diagrams, no factory, no nothing.

No engineer had drawn anything. No programmer had typed anything. The Product Development guys were not consulted. R&D was clueless. Just a picture on a piece of paper.

I am not just talking about consumer electronics, I have also seen it done with:

• vaporware (software that doesn't exist)
• houses
• automobiles
• airplanes
• the list goes on and on...

Sell it first. Otherwise, why bother making it?

Mind-Control Your Computer

The brilliant minds at Emotiv have developed the next generation of human user interface with a computer. Literally control your computer with your mind! Absolutely amazing and I can't wait to see it in action.
I want one.  Check them out: http://emotiv.com/

Eventually this technology will be in everything. Imagine how amazing it will be when you can control your cell phone with your thoughts!

Between mind control and roll-out flexible LCD screens, the future generation of smart phones will be the primary tool of the future business road warrior.  Add in a laser projection keyboard and you have the laptop replacement of tomorrow. Then the Cloud hosts your emails, documents and software tools and you have a 100% mobile, always-on business.

This isn't as far away as you might imagine. All the pieces are in place, now someone has to invest the time and money into their integration.

Nike Had It Right

Nike's JUST DO IT! ad campaign is probably the best business advice anyone can receive.

1. Stop complaining about your job.
2. Stop talking about your great business idea.

Roll up your sleeves and get started! Now is the perfect time to do it. There will always be 100 million excuses not to do something. Forget them all and follow your dreams!

Here's a hard fact:
Your business idea is not original and there is someone else out there right now working on it too. If you don’t beat them to market then you will have a tougher hill to climb.

Contrary to conventional wisdom, now is the best time to start a new business. The giants of the business world are reeling from poor management, worse resource allocation, a terrible economy and changing technology. A smart business person can take full advantage of this weakness and carve away a sizeable chunk of market share if they provide a product/service that will improve on existing paradigms. The strategy is to provide a product / service that will let customers reduce costs as a way to “get your foot in the door.” Once you are there you start the process of up-selling them on everything else.

Now is also the time where everything is cheap. Rents are at a 20 year low, labor is cheap (a client posted a entry-level job on craigslist and within 10 minutes had over 100 applicants!) and every business is looking to cut costs. That means you need to negotiate everything! There is no such thing as a fixed price now. Take full advantage.

Stop talking about it, and just do it. You will thank me for it.

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