tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62271223751579785022024-02-08T04:32:39.684+02:00Mashing it up...staffordmasie@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13357723827354485559noreply@blogger.comBlogger199125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6227122375157978502.post-1089184181464264642012-06-20T22:56:00.001+02:002012-06-20T22:59:43.562+02:00Awesome observations..."<span style="background-color: white;">Maybe its precisely because javascript was so disruptive...bringing the power of programming into the client... </span><span style="background-color: white;">Like so many disruptive technologies...it didn't do everything...but what it did...made new things possible...and those new things grew... </span><span style="background-color: white;">Disruptive tech breaks open new markets...doing things people didn't think needed to be done" - Tim O'Reilly - Video here : </span><span style="background-color: white;">http://bit.ly/M7sYJ8</span>staffordmasie@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13357723827354485559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6227122375157978502.post-75543023172033927322012-03-22T17:29:00.002+02:002012-03-22T17:29:54.462+02:00BOOM!<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/hmSzqMLA670?fs=1" width="480"></iframe>staffordmasie@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13357723827354485559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6227122375157978502.post-45586321479453274872012-01-27T17:29:00.000+02:002012-01-27T17:29:22.916+02:00What Technology Wants - Kevin Kelly, Co-founder Wired Magazine<iframe width="480" height="270" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/iH5rsM5W8R8?fs=1" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><div>...nuff said! ;)</div>staffordmasie@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13357723827354485559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6227122375157978502.post-29467686106510979312011-09-12T13:48:00.000+02:002011-09-12T13:48:42.283+02:00Inspiring old Apple Ad...<iframe width="425" height="344" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/4oAB83Z1ydE?fs=1" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>staffordmasie@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13357723827354485559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6227122375157978502.post-26299995085635334452011-08-29T19:58:00.004+02:002011-08-29T20:04:50.034+02:00Posits to students done last week...<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 14px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); " ><h6 class="uiStreamMessage" ft="{"type":1}" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; "><span class="messageBody" ft="{"type":3}">Living;</span></h6><h6 class="uiStreamMessage" ft="{"type":1}" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; "><ul><li>Break the rules!</li><li>Fear comfort!</li><li>Fear negativity!</li><li>Mistakes (well documented and understood) are the most beautiful experiences</li><li>Embrace & value integrity!</li><li>Build ecosystems, not products!</li><li>Derive less value than you create!</li><li>Work on stuff that matters!</li><li>Explore continuously!</li><li>Love what & who you love, passionately!</li><li>Learn to play a musical instrument and/or find a homeless adult (at least very 3 months) and buy the person a meal in exchange for their life story...shut up & listen to it all!</li><li>Assume, in all things and every day, that you won't live beyond the next 36 months!</li></ul></h6></span>staffordmasie@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13357723827354485559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6227122375157978502.post-30083367463943188302011-08-12T06:18:00.001+02:002011-08-12T06:19:43.560+02:00Why I do what I do... <!--StartFragment--> <p style="text-align: left;margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; vertical-align: baseline; "><span style="font-family: Arial; "><span class="Apple-style-span" >“It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly…who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who have never known neither victory nor defeat.” - Theodore Roosevelt</span></span></p> <!--EndFragment-->staffordmasie@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13357723827354485559noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6227122375157978502.post-63264015319279180972011-08-04T13:41:00.000+02:002011-08-04T13:41:07.097+02:00Salman Khan: Let's use video to reinvent education<iframe width="480" height="295" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/nTFEUsudhfs?fs=1" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><div><br /></div><div>Spoke about a partnership with Khan Academy this morning - very excited about a project in beta in this regard - Woop! :)</div>staffordmasie@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13357723827354485559noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6227122375157978502.post-60131827888348672162011-08-02T00:21:00.005+02:002011-08-02T00:32:27.817+02:00Verbatim - "I am a hacker...my city a platform!"<meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"> <meta name="ProgId" content="PowerPoint.Slide"> <meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft PowerPoint 2008"> <!--StartFragment--><span style="font-size:18.0pt;font-family:Arial;mso-ascii-font-family: Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#2B5481; mso-color-index:0;mso-font-kerning:12.0pt;language:en-US">Here's that quote I typed verbatim and used in my TEDx presso : “City wide REALTIME sensory blankets...not just broadband or </span><span style="font-size:18.0pt; font-family:Arial;mso-ascii-font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:Arial; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#2B5481;mso-color-index:0;mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;language:en-US">wifi</span><span style="font-size:18.0pt;font-family: Arial;mso-ascii-font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;color:#2B5481;mso-color-index:0;mso-font-kerning:12.0pt;language:en-US"> blanketing; Let's do REALTIME sensory blanketing. </span><span style="font-size:18.0pt;font-family:Arial;mso-ascii-font-family:Arial; mso-fareast-font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#2B5481; mso-color-index:0;mso-font-kerning:12.0pt;language:en-US">i.e.</span><span style="font-size:18.0pt;font-family:Arial;mso-ascii-font-family:Arial; mso-fareast-font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#2B5481; mso-color-index:0;mso-font-kerning:12.0pt;language:en-US"> let's inject verbiage into every object of relevance in our cities... Allow our cities to speak back at us... Change our cities from beautiful mutes we observe with awe and wonder through virtual glass windows and ceilings... to geospatial & logistically verbose and dynamic sensory platforms articulating beautiful messages into our REALTIME SENSORY AWARE hacks of correlation...” ...hey it was around 3am when I scribbled it ;)</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 25, 51); " >
<br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 25, 51); " >Why/How :</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 25, 51); " >
<br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 25, 51); " >*Africa can lead here...we have no legacy!</span></div><div><span><span class="Apple-style-span" > </span><p style="color: rgb(43, 84, 129); margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; vertical-align: baseline; "><span style="color: rgb(0, 25, 51); " > </span></p> <p style="color: rgb(43, 84, 129); margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 25, 51); ">
<br /></span></span></p><p style="color: rgb(43, 84, 129); margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 25, 51); ">*Ask/Action : open ecosystems...GOV 2.0... Start basic... Inject intelligence into everything... Meta language definitions for our continent... Expose rich </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 25, 51); ">Api's</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 25, 51); "> and taxonomies... Create app store modeling and execution...</span></span></p><p style="color: rgb(43, 84, 129); margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; vertical-align: baseline; "><span style="color: rgb(0, 25, 51); " >
<br /></span></p><p style="color: rgb(43, 84, 129); margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; vertical-align: baseline; "><span style="color: rgb(0, 25, 51); " >Targets: transit feeds + healthcare + traffic + mobile companies (they have the herding data - use Vodafone example)</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(43, 84, 129); margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; vertical-align: baseline; "><span style="color: rgb(0, 25, 51); " > </span></p> <p style="color: rgb(43, 84, 129); margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 25, 51); ">
<br /></span></span></p><p style="color: rgb(43, 84, 129); margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 25, 51); ">Let's start now! Let's get the support... Let establish two things now: "</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 25, 51); ">africa.gov"</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 25, 51); "> and "code for </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 25, 51); ">africa"</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 25, 51); ">...technologist who give a year of their lives...</span></span></p><p style="color: rgb(43, 84, 129); margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; vertical-align: baseline; "><span style="color: rgb(0, 25, 51); " >
<br /></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(43, 84, 129); margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; vertical-align: baseline; "><span style="color: rgb(0, 25, 51); " >Let's establish participatory frameworks... Africa needs this more...</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(43, 84, 129); margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; vertical-align: baseline; "><span style="color: rgb(0, 25, 51); " > </span></p> <p style="color: rgb(43, 84, 129); margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; vertical-align: baseline; "><span style="color: rgb(0, 25, 51); " >
<br /></span></p><p style="color: rgb(43, 84, 129); margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; vertical-align: baseline; "><span style="color: rgb(0, 25, 51); " >Africa has quicker wins... Africa has hackers...</span></p><p style="color: rgb(43, 84, 129); margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; vertical-align: baseline; "><span style="color: rgb(0, 25, 51); " >
<br /></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(43, 84, 129); margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; vertical-align: baseline; "><span style="color: rgb(0, 25, 51); " > </span></p> <p style="color: rgb(43, 84, 129); margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; vertical-align: baseline; "><span style="color: rgb(0, 25, 51); " >*if we can organize around legislative common frameworks and taxonomy</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(43, 84, 129); margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; vertical-align: baseline; "><span style="color: rgb(0, 25, 51); " >
<br /></span></p><p style="color: rgb(43, 84, 129); margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; vertical-align: baseline; "><span style="color: rgb(0, 25, 51); " >... Why can't we (CITIZENS...NOT GOVERNMENT) do this?</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(43, 84, 129); margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; vertical-align: baseline; "><span style="color: rgb(0, 25, 51); " > </span></p> <p style="color: rgb(43, 84, 129); margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 25, 51); ">*All geospatial data public...all city base map data public...all sensory networks public and have an </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 25, 51); ">api</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 25, 51); ">...</span></span></p><p style="color: rgb(43, 84, 129); margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 25, 51); ">
<br /></span></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(43, 84, 129); margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: left; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; vertical-align: baseline; "><span style="color: rgb(0, 25, 51); " > </span></p> <p style="color: rgb(43, 84, 129); margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: center; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; vertical-align: baseline; "><span style="color: rgb(0, 25, 51); " >I am a hacker...my city a platform!</span></p><p style="color: rgb(43, 84, 129); margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: center; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; vertical-align: baseline; "><span style="color: rgb(0, 25, 51); " >
<br /></span></p> <!--EndFragment--></span></div>staffordmasie@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13357723827354485559noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6227122375157978502.post-47878985287568522842011-02-17T13:31:00.000+02:002011-02-17T13:31:07.664+02:00Parisian Love<iframe width="480" height="295" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/nnsSUqgkDwU?fs=1" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>staffordmasie@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13357723827354485559noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6227122375157978502.post-61668355086206559082010-10-27T12:45:00.000+02:002010-10-27T12:45:58.921+02:00Jake on You Tube<object style="background-image:url(http://i2.ytimg.com/vi/QNgMwXq8x4o/hqdefault.jpg)" width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/QNgMwXq8x4o?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/QNgMwXq8x4o?fs=1&hl=en_US" width="425" height="344" allowscriptaccess="never" allowfullscreen="true" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object>staffordmasie@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13357723827354485559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6227122375157978502.post-35921609419446376232010-07-05T13:14:00.001+02:002010-07-05T13:17:46.229+02:00Jetman and his new delta wing<object width="480" height="295"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/wB-P6lTsPvU&hl=en_US&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/wB-P6lTsPvU&hl=en_US&fs=1" width="480" height="295" allowscriptaccess="never" allowfullscreen="true" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object> Just absolutely loving <a href="http://www.jet-man.com">what he is doing</a>! I want one...so so so badly! There are three developments to watch; The <a href="http://www.teslamotors.com/">Tesla Motor Corp</a>'s recent ipo + JetMan above + The <a href="http://bit.ly/aT6flq">first FAA approved flying car</a> ;) Too awesome!staffordmasie@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13357723827354485559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6227122375157978502.post-68119924767114450702010-04-12T16:34:00.009+02:002010-04-12T20:32:40.408+02:00Startups and Entrepreneurs...great advice!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYdTaaeGRGGW9BnAR0F-VH0LoIXjYoTURY_lMOULJ6QXygdC3Y8A1SWMBBtl6bYLraYEbLEpUGf_wPP7MiRIUVzFy4pWNKZgZ_pWx3zFu4zDKmO7vqXJumayMx_JzUgyPVyr4XDpu1IqE/s1600/startupmagic.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 140px; height: 126px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYdTaaeGRGGW9BnAR0F-VH0LoIXjYoTURY_lMOULJ6QXygdC3Y8A1SWMBBtl6bYLraYEbLEpUGf_wPP7MiRIUVzFy4pWNKZgZ_pWx3zFu4zDKmO7vqXJumayMx_JzUgyPVyr4XDpu1IqE/s320/startupmagic.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459261507222431410" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">[This post is in draft - I got kicked out of the coffee shop I was typing it in *grin*]</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: left;">Just read posts on <a href="http://www.memeburn.com/">Memeburn</a> by <a href="http://memeburn.com/author/justinspratt/">Justin</a> and <a href="http://memeburn.com/author/suerutherford/">Sue</a> which are absolutely brilliant stabs at giving advice to those folks with great ideas and looking to start up that company they're envisioning. I am often personally approached by students and various folks in the ICT industry, interested in involving me in their business or ideas and <a href="http://memeburn.com/2010/04/10-lessons-for-founders/">Justin's post</a> is very insightful (one of the best and it's clear he has some great experience) and so is <a href="http://memeburn.com/2010/04/10-easy-ways-to-fail-as-an-entrepreneur/">Sue's post</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>Allow me to add a few more thoughts;</div><div><br /></div><div>1. If the founders are younger than 35 years they must involve a successful business person (45 years or older) - experience ensures you're focusing on the fundamentals from the get-go! I've recently started a couple companies and involved an industry silverback (won't mentioned his name now) who's insights/advice/input/assistance/compilation of documents in the following areas are proving invaluable;</div><div><br /></div><div>* Org structure</div><div>* Roles and responsibilities</div><div>* P&L assignments per business unit/team</div><div>* Shareholder agreement compilation</div><div>* Hiring & firing policies</div><div>* Disciplinary actions/procedures</div><div>* Employee code of business ethics</div><div>* Company registration/auditing/reporting/declarations</div><div>* Legal rights and policies etc etc.</div><div>* Most importantly - Intellectual Property protection/theft!!</div><div><br /></div><div>Note: this is the boring stuff but ensures you're not sitting in a <a href="http://www.labourguide.co.za/">CCMA court</a> hearing 4 days a week when your company is 3 months old...because your politically incorrect joke offended that DBA!</div><div><br /></div><div>2. Research - Data beats opinion - numbers numbers numbers - ensure you understand the market and you understand the scope/size. Spend money on gathering official industry stats or commission a reputable orgs to do the research for you. If you're really smart, dredge the web and you'll find tons of valuable data...else...take the CEO or Research Lead from that org out to drinks...get him passionate about your idea/company and he may help get what you need...'wink' Hey, alternatively, get off your backside and do you own research...create the questionnaire and visit those universities, walk through the mall and stop to ask people, ask your family, etc.</div><div><br /></div><div>3. I am going to state this controversial opinion irrespective of the traditional view(s) out there; Don't always focus on a revenue model FIRST - focus on the user (<a href="http://www.google.com/intl/en/corporate/tenthings.html">look at Google's ten things</a> - the first one is the user!) - if your product makes a fundamental difference to the consumer or individual, the revenue model you can figure out later (I am assuming that your funder/VC/angel investor/dad/mum/etc you'll have to sell on this!).</div><div><br /></div><div>Most times, especially in the online world, aggregation and adoption should be your initial focus - Google just focused on the best search user experience. Adwords came later! Look at Twitter...they didn't have a revenue model - click on these <a href="http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/the_ultimate_twitter_revenue_model.php">1</a> <a href="http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Web-Services-Web-20-and-SOA/Twitter-CEO-Evan-Williams-Vaguely-Discusses-Revenue-Model-at-Web-20-Summit-750746/">2</a> <a href="http://calacanis.com/2008/01/02/the-three-business-models-that-make-twitter-a-billion-dollar-bus/">3</a> <a href="http://www.tribbleagency.com/?p=6165">4</a> articles to get an idea of the sort history regarding this matter...and then finally <a href="http://mashable.com/2009/10/21/google-twitter-search-deal/">this article</a> - people were establishing businesses on top of Twitter before they were making a single cent! Because of their massive adoption the <a href="http://apiwiki.twitter.com/">Twitter Firehose api</a> was born and <a href="http://mashable.com/2009/12/21/twitter-is-already-profitable/">they licensed their real-time traffic to the static search engines like Google, Yahoo, Bing!</a>...and <a href="http://mashable.com/2010/03/01/twitter-opens-up-the-firehose-to-startups/">further opened it up to all</a>! We could go on about various revenue models; subscription, advertising, blah blah...not now :)</div><div><br /></div><div>P.S. Must read books; <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Long-Tail-Revised-Updated-Business/dp/B001PTG4BO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1271096974&sr=8-1">Long Tail</a> & <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Free-Smartest-Businesses-Something-Nothing/dp/140131032X/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1271097006&sr=8-4">Free</a> by <a href="http://www.thelongtail.com/">Chris Andersen</a></div><div><br /></div><div>BUT - if your deliverable is a physical product or specific service...understand your margins - you may be able to generate tons of revenue but the cost/effort to deliver is not worth the while!</div><div><br /></div><div>4. Make sure what you build can be atomized and distributed - ensure it's open open open technologically/architecturally! (see above Twitter example for value of this)</div><div><br /></div><div>5. Start by using as many free platforms and services you can get online - drive down costs in this regard and re-use - besides email, skype and the other obvious business tools...here's an example; your marketing and awareness costs; Viral adoption is huge...whilst ensuring you're open...ensure you have a strong social media strategy - don't spend money on magazine ads, billboards, etc. Social media has never made you more powerful when driving awareness - involve a social media guru and engage folks that understand this world! Facebook, Twitter, blogs, blah blah are free and extremely powerful tools!</div><div><br /></div><div>6. Run it from your garage first - forget office space, decor and receptionists - don't need to say more! I'm about to get 10-15 folks to occupy the bottom floor/level of my house...bean bags, blow up couches, sleeping bags and free food baby :)</div><div><br /></div><div>7. Focus focus focus - sniper fire versus shotgunning - get 3-5 clients (if applicable) and go deep...and/or you could build a million derivatives of your application but start with the top 3-5 first!</div><div><br /></div><div>8. Competition - Why you? Who else could? How long will you have first mover advantage? Stealth versus "Hello World" approach? [to be completed]</div><div><br /></div><div>9. Your business plan should be data-driven, verbose but no more than 5 pages - the appendixes is where you wax lyrical! If you cannot position your company, present the vision, describe the tangible value/returns, provide a roadmap with clear measurable milestones, describe the risks, and outline the costs/spend...in 5 A4 pages...you're...well...not going to get funding from me ;)</div><div><br /></div><div>10. You & yours - ok, this is where I'm going to sound a little negative...but it's just an attempt to ensure you're doing the proper personal and situational reality checks! Look at yourself in the mirror and ask yourself whether you are an entrepreneur and/or is the time right now, the right time... Is it and are you really?</div><div><br /></div><div>Ok, ask yourself these questions; What's my present personal financial situation/analysis? i.e. can I afford to take the risk(s)? Did I or my partner have kids recently or do I have several toddlers hanging on? Am I able to give up all the time and effort required to make it happen? Work/Life Balance will be thrown out the window when you start! Am I able to submit some form of tangible "skin in the game" should an investor ask me to share the risk? What are my personal daily/monthly running costs? These are just some of foundational questions that may lead to you having to give away significant portions of equity to cover the risks you and a potential funder may be willing to take.</div><div><br /></div><div>Then there's the "you" part of this... Do you have the stomach for it? Can you handle the pressure, accountability and likely failure? Can your crew around you handle it and/or can you support them through the oncoming tough times? Are you able to handle the responsibility of employing people who have families to feed? What's your emotional state of mind and current ability to handle stress? Can you think on your feet and change mid-stream whilst injecting creatively with practicality into everything? Do you need structure and predictability in the workplace? Here I'm simply trying to get you to understand that fish strive in water and birds strive in the air...(remember the proverb about the bird who fell in love with the fish?)...we're not all cut out to be startup founders...and coming to the realization that your great idea may actually require a different personality to personify it...will save lots of tears and frustrations!</div><div><br /></div><div>P.S. Founders...again...surround yourself with people that are stronger and more competent than you - an echo chamber will be the death of your business!</div></div><div><br /></div><div>Lastly, when building your team, try to stick to this; choose insane passion and a perpetually positive attitudes, combined with integrity, over any level of competency!</div>staffordmasie@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13357723827354485559noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6227122375157978502.post-36978956138701957482010-03-16T11:13:00.004+02:002010-03-16T12:03:00.020+02:00Most beautiful car...ever?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6JF6RVmmQa0yQePn7h2wqN_lHqzC7SRbrY5be6sYonQC7k5dEYTIf56k-elpSgYiNqI0qyGEspamQUfACAPxOmnPWFCWv3OtR5oJex0IXHEZEKH360CLtsSryr2THZz0w-xe41kS0Eao/s1600-h/4BertonePandion.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 178px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6JF6RVmmQa0yQePn7h2wqN_lHqzC7SRbrY5be6sYonQC7k5dEYTIf56k-elpSgYiNqI0qyGEspamQUfACAPxOmnPWFCWv3OtR5oJex0IXHEZEKH360CLtsSryr2THZz0w-xe41kS0Eao/s320/4BertonePandion.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449159583946839954" /></a>This car, the Bertone Pandion, simply blew me away - the design is incredible and I would rank it amongst the top 3 most beautiful super car designs ever conceptualized. Here's <a href="http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/News/Search-Results/First-Official-Pictures/Bertone-Pandion-2010-at-Geneva-motor-show/">a review by UK car mag</a> and also check out this <a href="http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=all&q=bertone+pandion&m=text">Flickr collection of pics</a>. I created <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/staffordmasie/BeautifulCarBertonePandion?feat=directlink">a little Picasa album here</a>.<div><br /></div><div>The car is designed by <a href="http://www.bertone.it/">Berton</a>e, company established by a gentleman called; Guiseppe Nuccio Bertone (actually started by his dad who initiated it's focus on an Italian coach building and design) - <a href="http://www.bertone.it/">the website</a> is in Italian (english link not activated) but here is a rather anemic <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuccio_Bertone">Wikipedia entry regarding the man</a> and here an awesome <a href="http://www.speedace.info/bertone.htm">embedded/hidden landing page</a> I discovered which gives us some chronological depth related to the man - amazing history and relevance to some of the <a href="http://www.bertone.it/gallery1.htm">most iconic automobile designs</a> - great read even if you're not really into this petrolhead stuff :)</div><div><br /></div><div>The best pictures, videos and brochureware related to <a href="http://www.bertone.it/pandion/pandion.htm">the Pandion can be found here</a> - simply the most beautiful car design...ever?!</div>staffordmasie@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13357723827354485559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6227122375157978502.post-9949074781453731782010-03-09T11:27:00.005+02:002010-03-09T11:56:20.000+02:00Social Media Revolution - great video(s)<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p><object height="350" width="425"><param value="http://youtube.com/v/sIFYPQjYhv8" name="movie"><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://youtube.com/v/sIFYPQjYhv8" height="350" width="425"></embed></object></p><p>I think the vids by <a href="http://socialnomics.net/about/">Socialnomics</a> are pretty kewl - also <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/Socialnomics09">check out their YouTube channel</a> - pretty much related to my <a href="http://smasie.blogspot.com/2010/03/stats-statsmore-stats.html">previous post regarding the latest numbers and stats</a> that the business world is truly underestimating! New media guy <a href="http://twitter.com/equalman">Erik Qualman</a> has also published the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Socialnomics-social-transforms-business-ebook/dp/B002M0HHC0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AJZ1BLME50KG1&s=digital-text&qid=1268127836&sr=1-1">Socialnomics book</a> - I just purchased the Kindle version for $17...geez, what happened to the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Price-of-Kindle-books/forum/Fx3HUHV3N7B6MPD/Tx1QUAAKH1J2PH0/1?_encoding=UTF8&asin=0230713955">$9,99 book pricing strategy</a> folks?!<br /></p></div>staffordmasie@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13357723827354485559noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6227122375157978502.post-39034008164814444422010-03-08T17:51:00.003+02:002010-03-08T18:33:35.580+02:00My Kindle....<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoaqaDZyX-rIVvsdn3UgHDyM2jFhzqUIPTHQspu2Sga8-uBf-jIAU_XOxX7_BIkpBZ4NIkPlWV2-ya0FzuiSkdTdeHBa6enncMUUNKZz2G9wX22slyKTrLTwu8BrBLei2UYsZi0AnQv50/s1600-h/kindle.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 83px; height: 122px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoaqaDZyX-rIVvsdn3UgHDyM2jFhzqUIPTHQspu2Sga8-uBf-jIAU_XOxX7_BIkpBZ4NIkPlWV2-ya0FzuiSkdTdeHBa6enncMUUNKZz2G9wX22slyKTrLTwu8BrBLei2UYsZi0AnQv50/s200/kindle.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446301185376527906" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" border-collapse: collapse; font-family:arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Ok, so here are some random thoughts and things about my Kindle after a couple months of daily usage;</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" border-collapse: collapse; font-family:arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">What I don't like</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" border-collapse: collapse; font-family:arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Selection limited for South African's - don't believe the huge library/literature/book download/availability bragging</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">ie I can't download Wired magazine (not allowed) or purchase most books in the tech genre</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">South African local content non-existing</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Content management is flawed - a lot of content comes across formatted incorrectly</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Connectivity in SA pathetic - signal loss means no newspaper (and other daily's) updates</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Clippings possible but not granular enough and the management, review of clippings difficult to navigate and manage</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Newspaper and Mags update erratically and without limited notification or tracking</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Keyboard difficult to type on</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Four point "mouse" quick but feels restricted</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I HATE THE FACT THAT I HAVE TO SUBSCRIBE TO AN ENTIRE MAG OR NEWSPAPER WHEN I ONLY LIKE 1 1000TH OF THE CONTENT - </span><a href="http://smasie.blogspot.com/2010/02/ranting-raving-mad-wantscause-its-my.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">see the following rant</span></a></li><li><a href="http://www.eink.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">e-ink</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> easy on eyes but the plastic screen cover reflects overhead lighting (glare)</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Content still feels static and limited - it's a simple port of offline content onto an electronic medium</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I've already bought so many books I'm yet to read - would be great if I could download those onto </span><span class="il" style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 204); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Kindle</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> at no cost</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Connectivity slow which results in screen display render being slow and frustrating</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Tendency to freeze/hang periodically</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Amazon's social online destination for Kindle owners is so lame...</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Beta web browser on </span><span class="il" style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 204); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Kindle</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> a joke</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Device feels delicate and screen easily scratched</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Search sucks and not accurate - the results often hidden if you don't know exactly what you want</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Kindle device "Home" page layout needs work - simply listing things sequentially and page by page is archiac</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Blogs not accessible to South Africa users</span></li></ul></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" border-collapse: collapse; font-family:arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />What I like;<br /><br /></span></span></div><div><ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" border-collapse: collapse; font-family:arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Instant gratification</span></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" border-collapse: collapse; font-family:arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Ease of purchase - </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1-Click"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">1-click purchase</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> simply awesome!</span></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" border-collapse: collapse; font-family:arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Archiving older subscription based publications I missed</span></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" border-collapse: collapse; font-family:arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Memory of where I was even though I navigated away</span></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" border-collapse: collapse; font-family:arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">e-ink is just like paper and easy on eyes</span></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" border-collapse: collapse; font-family:arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Navigating through news sections efficient (but I'd like each article title to have a relevant blurb that makes better sense to the relevance and subject matter of the hyperlink)</span></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" border-collapse: collapse; font-family:arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Form factor allows me to carry an entire bookcase without the burden of lugging a tree trunk in my bag</span></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" border-collapse: collapse; font-family:arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Bookmarking easy</span></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" border-collapse: collapse; font-family:arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Battery life</span></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" border-collapse: collapse; font-family:arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Amazon's huge book selection</span></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" border-collapse: collapse; font-family:arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Screensavers/hibernate displays are cool</span></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" border-collapse: collapse; font-family:arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Digital text platform - </span><a href="http://dtp.amazon.com/" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(25, 107, 123); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">dtp.amazon.com</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> - allows others to sell their books on the </span><span class="il" style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 204); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Kindle</span></span></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" border-collapse: collapse; font-family:arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Self publishing </span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/seller-account/mm-product-page.html?topic=200354160&ld=AZOnDemandMakeM"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">via third party</span></a></span></li></ul></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" border-collapse: collapse; font-family:arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />Summary: with all it's quirks, it still works awesomely well and has become a complete substitute...so much so that it's extremely frustrating that I can't do more with it or get more on it. There are so so many possibilities with this product/platform. I think it's expensive and I think it's inevitable that we'll see the free </span><span class="il" style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 204); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Kindle </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">on a 2 year plan...just like a mobile phone...(it costs half the price of a blackberry so why not?)<br /><br />What I would love;</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" border-collapse: collapse; font-family:arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; border-collapse: collapse; ">A <span class="il" style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 204); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">Kindle</span> for my kids - colourful...with access to only kids content (ie all archie comics) - my 9 year old would eat it up!</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; border-collapse: collapse; ">Granular, per article subscription</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; border-collapse: collapse; ">Touch screen with multitouch</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; border-collapse: collapse; ">Better caching of amazon titles - why not store all titles local so we don't have to go online to search</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; border-collapse: collapse; ">Broader SA/local content - deal with Naspers?</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; border-collapse: collapse; ">Better search and navigation</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; border-collapse: collapse; ">Ability to browse better</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; border-collapse: collapse; ">Facebook friend connect for <span class="il" style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 204); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">Kindle</span> - imagine!</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; border-collapse: collapse; "><span class="il" style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 204); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">Kindle</span> application marketplace - therefore <span class="il" style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 204); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">Kindle</span> content needs to be completely open and free?</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; border-collapse: collapse; ">Instant messaging and twitter enablement?</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; border-collapse: collapse; ">Blackberry type keyboard</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; border-collapse: collapse; ">Home page look and feel makeover</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; border-collapse: collapse; ">Phone calls on my <span class="il" style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 204); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">Kindle</span>? - skype + webcam please?</span></li></ul></div></div>staffordmasie@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13357723827354485559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6227122375157978502.post-31048117913530334802010-03-03T16:17:00.004+02:002010-03-03T17:20:20.589+02:00Stats, stats...more stats!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-hRTBLib7bTWXAM8RPW-_C0R4n1GjftA1g5-NhC1H_l-1JNTV0S28L5bdMRFCPaxzVBYjQxGRydv9b35WoHEjsPQaqAD6CAytl33GtVnEZrKHvFg3Mk4Ivl3amgW5nXTLFjpkcYhMz1k/s1600-h/itunes.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 131px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-hRTBLib7bTWXAM8RPW-_C0R4n1GjftA1g5-NhC1H_l-1JNTV0S28L5bdMRFCPaxzVBYjQxGRydv9b35WoHEjsPQaqAD6CAytl33GtVnEZrKHvFg3Mk4Ivl3amgW5nXTLFjpkcYhMz1k/s200/itunes.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444415198432250290" border="0" /></a>Apple surpasses <a href="http://www.apple.com/itunes/10-billion-song-countdown/">TEN BILLION iTunes songs downloaded/purchased</a><br /><br />Apple App Store =<br /><a href="http://gigaom.com/2010/01/12/the-apple-app-store-economy/">58 million users</a><br /><a href="http://gigaom.com/2010/01/12/the-apple-app-store-economy/">280 million apps downloaded in December 2009 alone</a>!<br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/App_Store">3+ billion downloads</a><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/App_Store">140,000+ apps available</a><br /><br />Great <a href="http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/the_truth_about_mobile_application_stores.php">article comparing all the mobile application stores</a><br /><br />Amazon Kindle sales estimates <a href="http://www.trefis.com/company#/AMZN/n-0014/0177?from=filmstrip&c=top">approx 2 million units sold</a>!<br />Amazon Kindle <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/news/telecom/business/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=222600622">sales push profits by 71%</a>!<br /><br />Twitter about to hit <a href="http://mashable.com/2010/03/03/twitter-10-billion-tweets/">TEN BILLION tweets served</a>!<br /><br />More than <a href="http://youtube-global.blogspot.com/2009/05/zoinks-20-hours-of-video-uploaded-every_20.html">20 hours of video uploaded into YouTube every minute of every day</a>! (May'09 stat!)<br /><br />Google's <a href="http://www.technologyreview.com/web/13557/?a=f">query per second (QPS) is approx 30-40 million</a> on a calm worldwide day!<br /><br />We really should take a step back and realize what's actually happening here - these numbers are ENORMOUS and we're definitely drifting over them lightly. At minimum they're proving consumer acceptance of the e-reader/mobile phone connected to application store/data repository models emerging today. I will be blogging on these architectures and my two-cents on what they mean and where we're heading from hereon - fascinating to be a part of this technological renaissance!<br /><br />"We tend to overestimate technology in the short term and underestimate it in the long term!"<br /><br />"The future is already here...just unevenly distributed!"staffordmasie@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13357723827354485559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6227122375157978502.post-54180760329263739512010-03-01T10:31:00.006+02:002010-03-01T10:57:13.774+02:00Bill Gates backing a nuclear energy startup!<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p><object height="350" width="425"><param value="http://youtube.com/v/JaF-fq2Zn7I" name="movie"><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://youtube.com/v/JaF-fq2Zn7I" height="350" width="425"></embed></object></p><p>I found this quite interesting; Gates at <a href="http://www.ted.com/">TED2010</a> speaking about the planetary CO2 emission problem and our challenge bringing it to zero. "We need an energy miracle", says Gates. Most of the talk was the usual global warming and CO2 jargon but towards the end of his presso he mentions a company called <a href="http://www.intellectualventures.com/TerraPower.aspx">Terrapower</a> - he describes them as a company focusing on enabling great alternative ideas and innovation within the nuclear energy arena - mentions some of this in the video above but here's a snippet from their online company info; “a wave of fission moving slowly through a fuel core could generate<span style="font-style: italic;"> a billion watts of electricity continuously for well over 50 to 100 years without refueling</span>.” In other words, power is generated via reactors that run on natural or depleted uranium - ok, that sounds pretty miraculous to me!</p><p>He is backing this nuclear reactor redesigning "startup" via <a href="http://www.intellectualventures.com/default.aspx">Intellectual Ventures</a> (Microsoft CTO, Nathan Myhrvold is also involved) - <a href="http://www.intellectualventures.com/terrapowervideo.aspx">click here for the official video</a> describing what Terrapower is all about. I'll be doing more research into this from hereon - looks interesting and very promising; "an important alternative to create a financially and socially attractive emission-free energy that is safe and sustainable." - if Bill Gate's is backing it we've got to pay attention to it...hopefully that $40+ billion gets us our "energy miracle".</p><p><span style="font-size:85%;">P.S. Funny comment at posted below the video on youtube; "What will plants breath without CO2?" :)<br /></span></p><div class="watch-comment-body"> </div></div>staffordmasie@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13357723827354485559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6227122375157978502.post-79723033158897302322010-03-01T10:06:00.003+02:002010-03-01T10:23:02.574+02:00Microsoft GEO team getting it together folks!!<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p><object height="350" width="425"><param value="http://youtube.com/v/NCPzji_-2Oo" name="movie"><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://youtube.com/v/NCPzji_-2Oo" height="350" width="425"></embed></object></p><p>I've always been using <a href="http://maps.google.com/">Google Maps</a> with <a href="http://www.google.com/intl/en_us/help/maps/streetview/">Streetview</a> but this demonstration of <a href="http://www.bing.com/maps/">Microsoft's Bing mapping</a> (Microsoft calls it "<a href="http://www.bing.com/community/blogs/search/archive/2010/02/11/spatial-search-the-next-frontier.aspx">spatial search</a>" - <a href="http://www.bing.com/community/blogs/search/archive/2010/02/11/spatial-search-the-next-frontier.aspx">click here for the official explanation</a>) with user generated overlays, internal building/structure dimensional views (via some backpack image capturing) and to cap it all; LIVE REAL-TIME streaming imagery overlays...with point of interest augmentation...is insane! (integration of the sky imagery pretty cool too!) <a href="http://searchengineland.com/bing-demos-streetside-with-flickr-photos-live-video-bing-sky-35994">Check out this article</a> on <a href="http://searchengineland.com/">searchengineland.com</a> <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/maps/">Microsoft's getting it together folks</a>!! I love the end credits in this video where the TED participant states that this is truly a glimpse of the future where we would have the world and everything happening real time, accessible, interactive and personalized, in the palm of our hands...awesome!<br /></p></div>staffordmasie@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13357723827354485559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6227122375157978502.post-45270530728363959472010-02-26T09:35:00.016+02:002010-02-28T10:55:58.330+02:00Ranting raving Kindle/Nook/iPad & media wants...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW8cs9POb2330wFF4XQ4uL8I3b2PgljmIlcnKxrShC6GzIlnYnA5sQ9v3CEdGbrUzfZM8WCAq7ZdUIy-9is5j5HDPhYcqoGZdGGVkOkyNGcADb6NYMRht4Xj0R-Btyp64V62v4q7Zv8Ac/s1600-h/assembly.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 100px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW8cs9POb2330wFF4XQ4uL8I3b2PgljmIlcnKxrShC6GzIlnYnA5sQ9v3CEdGbrUzfZM8WCAq7ZdUIy-9is5j5HDPhYcqoGZdGGVkOkyNGcADb6NYMRht4Xj0R-Btyp64V62v4q7Zv8Ac/s200/assembly.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442506662014239554" border="0" /></a>[28th Feb '10 update - <a href="http://battellemedia.com/archives/005136.php">click here for a more sane version</a> written by @johnbattelle]<br /><br />I'm about to do a keynote at a <a href="https://wasps.vodacom.co.za/Pages/default.aspx">wireless carrier's WASP</a> event and decided to copy and paste the following rant I wrote on my mobile whilst stuck in traffic on the way here. The event running a few mins late. Here's goes nothing - don't care about grammar and spelling right now :) Note: I will update this with links and better formatting later - Enjoy and/or cringe;<br /><br />Content providers, owners and specifically publishers need to wake up!<br /><br />Consumers are changing... They want content they want! ...specific and personalized to them...and very specific on a song by song basis, a book by book basis, and now with newspapers/magazines; I want my newspaper/magazine on an article by article subscription or micropayment basis...<br /><br />I want the <a href="http://www.apple.com/itunes/">Apple iTunes</a> model applied to newspaper and magazine literature on my <a href="http://www.amazon.com/kindle">Amazon Kindle</a> - i.e. individual track/episode purchasing! I don't want to subscribe to the ENTIRE newspaper/magazine... I don't want the letters to editor section... I don't want the Lifestyle section! Example: when I subscribe to the Daily Mail on my Kindle... I don't want the entire newspaper...it irritates me! I think Daily Mail does awesome premiere league soccer coverage but the LA Times publishes a great tech section and the New York times business section works best for me!<div><div><br /></div><div>Today, on my Kindle or Nook, I have to subscribe to the full newspaper or magazine... Haven't we been here before? Remember the music business before iTunes and the 99c a track? When we were forced to by the entire LP, cassette or CD...even though we only wanted that one or two great tracks...! I don't want the entire <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/">Newsweek magazine</a>...I only want to pay for <a href="http://www.fareedzakaria.com/articles/archive.html">the columns written</a> by <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/32251">Fareed Zakira</a> and I would be willing to pay 99c a month to tap into his continuous newsfeed/opinion feed...ONLY!<br /><br />Everyone's arguing about making content free or not... The argument isn't about buying the book or the newspaper! The strategic focus should be on drip based and very modular subscription capability...with dynamic and tag'able content that drives upsell revenue! Period! It would be like mixing the 99c/track iTunes model up with the Google Adsense model and mobile application stores. Stop thinking in globs and force feeding crap down users throats...I don't want to read your "letters to the editor" or your "horoscopes"! ALL your content is not great and not valuable TO ME! Atomise yourself for goodness sake - there's more revenue in micro subscription payments than there is in the total newspaper/magazine product sku!<br /><br />The business model philosophy is; THE CONSUMER, ME AND YOU, HAVE NEVER BEEN MORE POWERFUL IN THE HISTORY OF COMMERCE...AND IF YOU DON'T MEET OUR EXPECTATIONS...WE WILL LEAVE YOU! If you don't create great news...we'll capture it (i.e. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizen_journalism">citizen journalism</a> - example; <a href="http://www.cnn.com/ireport">CNN iReport</a>)... If you don't write great news articles...we'll blog about it... If you sell a crap product we'll video tape how crappy it is and everyone globally can see it... <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">We want granular choice and WE WILL PAY BECAUSE WE ARE INHERENTLY GOOD NOT EVIL!</span> Your traditional overheads should not leak into our world...nevermind the fact that if you got your heads out the sand/clouds you may find a positive revenue infliction rejuventation and the Longtail whipping around, personified, in your old archived content!<br /><br />The business model is <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Long-Tail-Revised-Updated-Business/dp/B001PTG4BO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1267177931&sr=8-1">longtail </a>+ <a href="http://developers.facebook.com/connect.php">social </a>+ <a href="http://news.cnet.com/2100-1027_3-5208436.html">subscription </a>+ content data structures/tagging/geo/feeds (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semantic_Web">semantic web</a>) + <a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10459753-1.html">mobile application stores</a> + (something like <a href="http://code.google.com/apis/opensocial/">Google OpenSocial)</a> x the 99c a track/30% app store margin biz model + <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1-Click">easy method of payment</a></div><div><br /></div><div>This means a radical change in business model and views on content valuations...and who owns the user...and who bills...and who owns the identity...and who owns the device...and who the affiliate is...and who the last mile and carrier is...and who owns the bank account/facility...and which currency...and where?<br /><br />There will be the Apple closed fashion oriented model...and then there will be the free and open model... Both will have to be embraced!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.waspa.org.za/">WASP's</a> are about to enter an era of mass potential and revenue possibilities... Look at just the application marketplaces and how that's evolving... The reach it gives you and the ease of application rapid development, consumption and data Protection...and billing!<br /><br />But...WASP'S...you will have to start adapting and start understanding where the users are and how their behaviour patterns are changing...AND MOST IMPORTANTLY HOW DEVICES THAT ARE CONNECTED ARE PROLIFERATING AND CHANGING... <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-style: italic;">THE AGE OF THE MOBILE "PHONE" IS DEAD...THE AGE OF THE WIRELESSLY CONNECTED DEVICE IS UPON US!</span> THAT THING THAT FITS JUST BETWEEN THE TRADITIONAL PHONE AND THE TRADITIONAL LAPTOP OR COMPUTER...HAVING THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS! ...APPLE'S IPAD IS HUGE! WHY? NOT TECHNOLOGICALLY BUT TAKE A LOOK AT THE PLATFORM/ECOSYSTEM IT CREATES...LOOK AT HOW IT WILL AFFECT USER CONTENT CONSUMPTION... WATCH HOW IT WILL RUN SMACK BAM INTO HOLLYWOOD AND ALL OTHER TRADITIONAL PUBLISHING/MEDIA HOUSES! (I just hope and pray that they don't simply render dead mags and news on a sexy device - please media companies...embrace open and don't repeat my current Kindle experience!)<br /><br />We are seeing an evolution of application stores connected to mobile devices...each carrier involved and mobile manufacturer getting in and content owner...and and and... all this creating silos again...<span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">SOMEBODY PLEASE PUBLISH THE <a href="http://code.google.com/apis/opensocial/">OPEN-SOCIAL TYPE</a> API'S FOR APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT, INTEGRATION AND RENDERING OF MOBILE APPLICATIONS ACROSS ALL CARRIER/PHONE MANUFACTURER'S/MOBILE OS/ ETC. APPLICATION STORES</span>...THEN I WANT THE <a href="http://www.google.com/adsense">GOOGLE ADSENSE</a> CLONE FOR ALL CONTENT RENDERED ON THE IPAD, NOOK AND KINDLE...AND THEN I WANT THE SDK AND API SET FOR WRITING AND RENDERING MY APPLICATIONS RELEVANT TO CONTENT TAGS AND CONTEXT IDENTIFICATION AND TRACKING...AND THEN I WANT <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=468480">AMAZON'S ONE-CLICK-PURCHASE BUTTON</a> CLONED AND AVAILABLE ACROSS ALL CONTENT AND STORES...IF NOT AMAZON THEN I'LL JUST SETTLE FOR TRANSVERSAL <a href="http://www.paypal.com/">PAYPAL MERCHANT AND USER</a> INTEGRATION ENABLED ON A WORD-BY-WORD/TAG-BY-TAG BASIS... P L U E E Z E!<br /><br />ENOUGH ALREADY STAFFORD - GET UP THERE AND <a href="http://www.speakersinc.co.za/?contentid=12334035592&contenttype=speaker">TAP DANCE BOY</a>!<br /><br />Btw: This Wired tablet app demo is visually very appealing but concerns me a little;<br /></div></div><br /><br /><object id="flashObj" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,47,0" height="436" width="404"><param name="movie" value="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9/1813626064?isVid=1&publisherID=1564549380"><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF"><param name="flashVars" value="videoId=66775419001&playerID=1813626064&domain=embed&"><param name="base" value="http://admin.brightcove.com"><param name="seamlesstabbing" value="false"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="swLiveConnect" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9/1813626064?isVid=1&publisherID=1564549380" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" flashvars="videoId=66775419001&playerID=1813626064&domain=embed&" base="http://admin.brightcove.com" name="flashObj" seamlesstabbing="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" swliveconnect="true" allowscriptaccess="always" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash" height="436" width="404"></embed></object>staffordmasie@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13357723827354485559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6227122375157978502.post-87116401998347647412010-02-09T16:51:00.002+02:002010-02-09T17:12:26.236+02:00Tribes by Seth Godin<div><a href="http://www.sethgodin.com/sg/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Seth Godin</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> is the author of </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Tribes-We-Need-You-Lead/dp/1591842336/permissionmarket"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">the book "Tribes"</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> - this is the first time I've actually watched him speak in person about the ideas surrounding his posit - I think it's brilliant and branches/extends from the concept(s) of crowd sourcing and wise crowds.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Three fundamental questions at the foundation of tribe establishment/creation/realization; Who are you upsetting? Who are you connecting? Who are you leading? - really insightful and personifies the value proposition of </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperconnectivity"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">hyper-connectivity</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><a href="http://www.mashable.com"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Mashable</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> accurately describes this presentation by saying, Seth Godin </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 19px; ">"believes that our revolutionary new connectedness has brought human culture back to its roots, and that tribes (groups of people mobilized around a shared interest) are the present and future of all web content"</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 19px; "><br /></span></div><br /><object width="446" height="326"><param name="movie" value="http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><param name="bgColor" value="#ffffff"></param> <param name="flashvars" value="vu=http://video.ted.com/talks/dynamic/SethGodin_2009-medium.flv&su=http://images.ted.com/images/ted/tedindex/embed-posters/SethGodin-2009.embed_thumbnail.jpg&vw=432&vh=240&ap=0&ti=538&introDuration=16500&adDuration=4000&postAdDuration=2000&adKeys=talk=seth_godin_on_the_tribes_we_lead;year=2009;theme=not_business_as_usual;theme=media_that_matters;theme=unconventional_explanations;theme=the_rise_of_collaboration;event=TED2009;&preAdTag=tconf.ted/embed;tile=1;sz=512x288;" /><embed src="http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf" pluginspace="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" bgColor="#ffffff" width="446" height="326" allowFullScreen="true" flashvars="vu=http://video.ted.com/talks/dynamic/SethGodin_2009-medium.flv&su=http://images.ted.com/images/ted/tedindex/embed-posters/SethGodin-2009.embed_thumbnail.jpg&vw=432&vh=240&ap=0&ti=538&introDuration=16500&adDuration=4000&postAdDuration=2000&adKeys=talk=seth_godin_on_the_tribes_we_lead;year=2009;theme=not_business_as_usual;theme=media_that_matters;theme=unconventional_explanations;theme=the_rise_of_collaboration;event=TED2009;"></embed></object>staffordmasie@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13357723827354485559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6227122375157978502.post-2278380322791283442010-02-08T12:01:00.001+02:002010-02-08T12:01:37.756+02:00Google TELEVISION superbowl ad - Awesome!<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><p><object height='350' width='425'><param value='http://youtube.com/v/nnsSUqgkDwU' name='movie'/><embed height='350' width='425' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' src='http://youtube.com/v/nnsSUqgkDwU'/></object></p></div>staffordmasie@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13357723827354485559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6227122375157978502.post-2805618713248581432010-02-01T11:33:00.001+02:002010-02-01T11:33:45.409+02:00Kseniya Simonova - Sand Animation<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><p><object height='350' width='425'><param value='http://youtube.com/v/518XP8prwZo' name='movie'/><embed height='350' width='425' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' src='http://youtube.com/v/518XP8prwZo'/></object></p><p>Scott sent me the link to this video over the past weekend - simply left me speechless! An amazing display of real-time talent - i.e. If Google was like contemporary art...this girl would be like twitter; real-time, in-the-present, and brilliant artistic expression. I've seen some folks write beautiful code with impressive real-time rendering...but this just blows me away - so much is told without the use of any technology - wow!</p></div>staffordmasie@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13357723827354485559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6227122375157978502.post-18006114919750190282010-01-26T14:48:00.014+02:002010-01-27T15:51:51.287+02:00Ray Kurzweil at Google<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><object width="425" height="350">Some of Ray's (author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Singularity-Near-Humans-Transcend-Biology/dp/0670033847">The Singularity</a>) outtakes - (check <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43zo82W7aPI">out the video</a> below);</object></span></p><p style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">* </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Machines will achieve human-level artificial intelligence by 2029<br /></span></p><p style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">* </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Tiny robots will be implanted in people's brains to make them more intelligent</span></p><p style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">* We will have both the hardware and the software to achieve human level artificial intelligence with the broad suppleness of human intelligence including our emotional intelligence by 2029</span></p><p style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">* Humans and machines will eventually merge, by means of devices embedded in people's bodies to keep them healthy and improve their intelligence</span></p><p style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">* We'll have intelligent nanobots go into our brains through the capillaries and interact directly with our biological neurons</span></p><p style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">* The nanobots will make us smarter, remember things better and automatically go into full emergent virtual reality environments through the nervous system</span></p><p style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">The last one above worries me a little; imagine personalized advertising being rendered within your body based upon present bio-chemical composition or state of mind? And we all thought climate aware ads were cool?! This will be when every human body becomes a physical node "on the network" and we can be anywhere, everywhere, and know everything...instantly - as <a href="http://www.gildertech.com/">George Gilder</a> said in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/TELECOSM-Infinite-Bandwidth-Revolutionize-World/dp/0684809303">Telecosm</a>; the <a href="http://smasie.blogspot.com/2008/04/one-of-my-favourite-quotes.html">only beings documented doing this are angels</a> :)<br /><br /><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/43zo82W7aPI&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/43zo82W7aPI&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object><br /><span class="Apple-style-span">Ray is also a member of a team of influential thinkers (<a href="http://www.google.co.za/intl/en/corporate/execs.html#larry">Larry Page</a>, <a href="http://www.google.co.za/intl/en/corporate/execs.html#sergey">Sergey Brin</a> and <a href="http://www.jcvi.org/cms/about/bios/jcventer/">Craig Venter</a> included) assembled by the <a href="http://www.nae.edu/">US National Academy of Engineering</a> to identify the great technological challenges facing humanity in the 21st century. Here are the 14 they all agreed are of the greatest importance;</span></span></p><div class="sih"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Make solar energy affordable</span></span></div><div class="mva"> <div class="bull"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Provide energy from fusion</span></div> <div class="bull"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Develop carbon sequestration<br /></span></div> <div class="bull"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Manage the nitrogen cycle</span></div> <div class="bull"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Provide access to clean water</span></div> <div class="bull"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Reverse engineer the brain</span></div> <div class="bull"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Prevent nuclear terror</span></div> <div class="bull"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Secure cyberspace</span></div> <div class="bull"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Enhance virtual reality </span></div> <div class="bull"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Improve urban infrastructure</span></div> <div class="bull"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Advance health informatics</span></div> <div class="bull"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Engineer better medicines</span></div> <div class="bull"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Advance personalised learning</span></div> <div class="bull"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Explore natural frontiers<br /><br />Conspiracy FYI: </span><a href="https://23andme.https.internapcdn.net/res/4962/img/public/anne_large.jpg"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Sergey's wife</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> heads up </span><a href="https://www.23andme.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">23andme</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> whose official mission is "</span><a href="https://www.23andme.com/about/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">to be the world's trusted source of personal genetic information</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">" - in other words; </span><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">making your entire DNA helix and genes "</span><a href="http://www.google.com/corporate/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> information universally accessible and useful</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">" - hmmm! :-)</span></span></span></div> </div><p></p></div>staffordmasie@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13357723827354485559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6227122375157978502.post-48929083617090520852010-01-21T12:15:00.002+02:002010-01-21T12:21:23.295+02:00Martin Luther King "I have a dream"<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">This is the complete speech and makes me think of the eloquence of Obama</span></p><p><object height="350" width="425"><param value="http://youtube.com/v/PbUtL_0vAJk" name="movie"><embed height="350" width="425" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://youtube.com/v/PbUtL_0vAJk"></embed></object></p></div>staffordmasie@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13357723827354485559noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6227122375157978502.post-82878832349433887882009-11-25T11:31:00.003+02:002009-11-25T15:04:59.694+02:00Meteor hits Johannesburg...uh, actually...Botswana<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p><object height="350" width="425"><param value="http://youtube.com/v/8UOcRCSxeS4" name="movie"><embed height="350" width="425" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://youtube.com/v/8UOcRCSxeS4"></embed></object></p><p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Footage from the security camera of the </span><a href="http://maps.google.co.za/maps/place?cid=6416047068599997880&q=mustek&hl=en&cd=2&cad=src:pplink&ei=hPwMS8XeJsiwONXK1IgC&sig2=FrD7xZQUrfP3naaVo5UGmg"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Mustek building in Midrand</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> (Johannesburg South Africa) of the meteor shower that took place on 21 Nov 2009. Yip everyone thought it was the end of the world :)</span></p></div>staffordmasie@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13357723827354485559noreply@blogger.com5