At f8 2017, Facebook aims to become your social network for reality, augmented reality and virtual reality…really. In the heart of Silicon Valley, Facebook once again hosted its highly-anticipated developer conference, which, for the record, appeals to anyone who follows, designs for, or uses the world’s largest social network. Drawing an estimated 4,000 attendees from all around the world, Facebook’s news blurred the line between reality and virtual reality and human and robot engagement for users in their personal and…
This is a Time for New Leadership – Building Bridges Between People Who Think Differently
At the end or beginning of each year, smart folks ask other smart folks to contribute their thoughts about the year ahead. Then everyone promotes their participation and the host benefits from a landslide of new traffic and followers. I usually don’t participate. But my friend Tom Goodwin had a different take on the assemblage idea. He asked, “what’s the one thing you learned in 2016?” He had me at “learned.” The post is now live at Forbes but I wanted to…
How to Get Unstuck
I received a note from a dear friend while on the road with what seemed to be a simple request. “Would you have time to make a 60 second video that shares advice for how to #GetUnstuck?” Easier said than done. We all hit those barriers where we get stuck or worse, go backwards. It’s not just any one thing that causes these moments. And, it’s not any one thing that helps break through them. Sometimes we… …just can’t see…
Hello Flexon: I Can See Clearly Now the Strain is Gone
This is a personal story… After a successful GDOL event in Istanbul a few years ago, my friends and I enjoyed cocktails overlooking the Bosphorus. I believe it was TechCrunch’s Mike Butcher who made a comment about an advertisement on a building across the water. I couldn’t read it at all but I could see that there was something there. I also remember questioning whether he could read it or if he was just playing around. So I borrowed his…
The New Peeple App Does Not Represent People; Stop This App Before It’s Released
“Character is destiny.” This is the ironic tagline for Peeple (I’m not linking to it), a new app that wants to be the “Yelp for people” allowing anyone to rate you “professionally, personally and romantically” as long as they have 1) a Facebook account, 2) your phone number and 3) that they’re a real person. I’m not kidding. This is a real app that is one-to-two months away from impacting your social, professional and dating graphs all because two…
Silicon Valley Hierarchy of Needs
The other day, my friend Loic Le Meur shared a hilarious take on Maslov’s famous Hierarchy of Needs, simply called, “Silicon Valley Hierarchy of Needs.” For many, including me, the list of laughably superficial “needs” of those mocked in Silicon Valley are also a little too familiar or relatable. We all know that person, someone like them, or we’ve seen them characterized in spoofs, TV, movies, books, etc. As a refresher, Abraham Maslov’s Hierarchy of Needs were inspired by his…
What Do You Stand For? #WDYSF
To change, to make things matter to real people, everything must begin with a new perspective and approach. Ask yourself…What do you stand for? It’s an important question you must answer before expecting anyone to stand alongside you. #WDYSF What is the value you wish to add? What is the value you wish to take away? How does engagement make things better or create new possibilities and opportunities for all involved? No matter how much we say or create, it…
Habits are the Invisible Architecture of Everyday Life
Guest post by Gretchen Rubin (@gretchenrubin), one of the most thought-provoking writers on habits and happiness. Her new book, Better than Before, is about how we change our habits. Habits are the invisible architecture of everyday life. Research shows that each day, we repeat about 40 percent of our behavior, so our habits shape our existence, and our future. If our habits work for us, we’re far more likely to be happy, healthy, and productive—and if our habits don’t work…
Insights: Interviews on The Future of Social Media as Curated by Anil Dash and Gina Trapani
I’ve long admired the work of Anil Dash and Gina Tripani over the years. In many ways, each has shaped my perspectives in new media and its impact on our professional and personal lives over the years. It came as no surprise that Dash and Tripani collaborated on yet another project. This time, they created ThinkUp, a social media service that offers daily insights about you and your friends on Twitter and Facebook. To celebrate the launch of their latest…
ContextMatters Episode 3: Brian Williams, The Future of Social Media + The Anti-Vaccine Movement
Three weeks in and three episodes are now online. Chris Saad and I really got into these topics in the latest episode of ContextMatters. There are parts that are charged and definitely NSFW. We stray a bit away from tech to tackle timely subjects related to journalism and the future of social media as well as the hotly debated topic of vaccinations. Schedule Topic 1: First up is Brian Williams and the controversy surrounding his news coverage in Iraq. We…
