Another way of describing this is: 1.0: establish trust by passing an up-front test (i.e., licensing) 2.0: establishing trust by tracking and publishing your activities (i.e., surveillance) So, in the case of ebay, airbnb, etc the idea is: have at it, start transacting, with a relatively low barrier to entry; but everything you do will be tracked and analyzed, and used to build your reputation and trustworthiness in the long run.  Freedom to act & transact, in exchange for data-driven accountability. There are lots of reasons why this model is incredible and groundbreaking.  First off, it's scalable.  1.0 / licensing-based schemes require a ton of overhead, and can easily be overloaded at high capacity. 2.0 regulation is less expensive and completely scalable.  Secondly, it lowers the barrier to participation, making it easy to get started and experiment.  Whether you're selling baskets on etsy (that could one day become a huge business) or starting a blog (which one day could become the huffpo) this low barrier to entry is one of the key characteristics of web-enabled innovation.  So, we want to preserve and enhance both of those. BUT, there is a tension here, which is that innovation/creativity/experimentation means -- by definition -- stretching/breaking boundaries and acting outside of the status quo.  So while transparency on the one hand increases freedom (by being able to "just get started" in exchange for data), it can also stifle it, by snuffing out good ideas that are outside the norm, or by making it unsafe to challenge power. In the more mild cases, this can be seen as "weird" and in the more severe cases can be seen as "radical" and threatening to power.  So there is an inherent need to experiment outside of the sunlight of transparency. A friend recently made the point that we need to think about personal privacy differently than we do institutional privacy (govts, corporations) because of the institutional power that comes with mass data collection, and the potential for that power to be used to manipulate (on the corporate side) or persecute (on the government side) individuals. Yet at the same time this personal data holds the key to certain kinds of freedom (in the "just get started" kind of way), and also will play a huge role in solving epic societal problems (cancer). So, if your interest is in supporting experimentation & innovation (as mine is) how can we reconcile these two competing forces? (p.s., I am going to see how many posts in a row I can use that graphic in)

Another way of describing this is: 1.0: establish trust by passing an up-front test (i.e., licensing) 2.0: establishing trust by tracking and publishing your activities (i.e., surveillance) So, in the case of ebay, airbnb, etc the idea is: have at it, start transacting, with a relatively low barrier to entry; but everything you do will be tracked and analyzed, and used to build your reputation and trustworthiness in the long run.  Freedom to act & transact, in exchange for data-driven accountability. There are lots of reasons why this model is incredible and groundbreaking.  First off, it's scalable.  1.0 / licensing-based schemes require a ton of overhead, and can easily be overloaded at high capacity. 2.0 regulation is less expensive and completely scalable.  Secondly, it lowers the barrier to participation, making it easy to get started and experiment.  Whether you're selling baskets on etsy (that could one day become a huge business) or starting a blog (which one day could become the huffpo) this low barrier to entry is one of the key characteristics of web-enabled innovation.  So, we want to preserve and enhance both of those. BUT, there is a tension here, which is that innovation/creativity/experimentation means -- by definition -- stretching/breaking boundaries and acting outside of the status quo.  So while transparency on the one hand increases freedom (by being able to "just get started" in exchange for data), it can also stifle it, by snuffing out good ideas that are outside the norm, or by making it unsafe to challenge power. In the more mild cases, this can be seen as "weird" and in the more severe cases can be seen as "radical" and threatening to power.  So there is an inherent need to experiment outside of the sunlight of transparency. A friend recently made the point that we need to think about personal privacy differently than we do institutional privacy (govts, corporations) because of the institutional power that comes with mass data collection, and the potential for that power to be used to manipulate (on the corporate side) or persecute (on the government side) individuals. Yet at the same time this personal data holds the key to certain kinds of freedom (in the "just get started" kind of way), and also will play a huge role in solving epic societal problems (cancer). So, if your interest is in supporting experimentation & innovation (as mine is) how can we reconcile these two competing forces? (p.s., I am going to see how many posts in a row I can use that graphic in)

Happy New Year everyone. I love new years.  It always feels to good to turn the page and have a shot at a fresh new year. And new years in New England is always so so cold -- which I think really helps mark the beginning of the real part of winter and the turn of the year.  Even when it's warm right before new years, as it was this year, it always manages to get super freezing when the time comes. Which brings me to pond hockey. Today, we went to visit some friends who live near Lake Boon in Stow, Mass, which is about 45 minutes west of Boston.  Amazingly, because it was so warm and rainy last week, and then so cold this week, the lake got a natural Zamboni treatment -- so all 163 acres of it are not only frozen solid but also smooth as can be.  I spoke with a woman who had just finished up hockey with her family -- she grew up in the area and said that in her whole life she'd never seen the lake like that. It's was unbelievable, really -- launching from the town beach and skating as far as you felt like, around the edge of the lake or straight across it.  There were tons of people out on the lake -- a bunch of pick up hockey games (our friends counted 5 separate DIY rinks marked out around the lake), people just taking a nice tour, and even a guy riding a motorcycle back and forth across the middle (amazingly). I've written before about why casual & natural is so awesome, and today's experience totally confirmed my view on that.  Being able to skate around, wherever you like, however you like, passing around a puck and buzzing around the lake: unbelievably awesome.  So so much more awesome than skating at a skating rink -- which is also fun, but so much less fluid, with so many more rules, and so much more formality.  You'll notice in the picture that our friends brought their dog out onto the lake.  How awesome is that? I think about this idea of the casual / integrated version of a thing, vs. the formalized version of it.  I don't know why I feel so strongly about this, but I feel so much magic in doing things the casual way.  For example, riding your bike to pick up some groceries, vs organizing a bike ride.  Or skating to work along the Ottowa canals, vs going to a skating rink.  I just love the way fun activities like that feel when they are blended into your daily routine, rather than an event that has to be organized, or done at some special single-purpose facility. Anyway, it was a great way to start off the new year. I feel refreshed and energized and ready to skate off into 2014.  Here's to an excellent 2014 everyone.  

Last week, having been inspired by (of all things) this awesome and awful samsung gear commercial, i ordered a Pebble smartwatch. I can't remember the last time I wore a watch -- maybe it was 20 years ago in high school.  My standard line for the past 10 years has been "why do I need a watch when I have my phone?".  I've carried my watchlessness as a some kind of badge of honor since then, pledging my allegiance to the post-watch generation. But this is different, of course, as smart watches so much smart watches as wearable computers with a watch app.  There is almost no question tha wearable computers are going to be a big part of our future, so we might as well start experimenting with them. Here are my really brief first impressions, after having worn the watch for two days: Apps: the thing I'm most excited about with Pebble is that it's an app platform, with developers starting to experiment with features that are uniquely suited to a connected watch. But it's not yet clear to me what the "killer app" for this watch is.  The use case that seems most appealing to me is calendar integration -- specifically, prompting me with information about the when & where of the specific meeting I'm heading to.  I also like the idea of the vibrating alarm (though I don't really like sleeping with it on).  Email and SMS notifications are OK.  I can't wait for my first chance to check in with Foursquare from my watch. That said, the process of setting up the phone did (IMO) a really bad job pointing me to where all the apps are.  The "Get Watch Apps" button included in the Pebble app just links to a list of skins for the default time-telling feature.  I had to google to find the Pebble Apps app, a Play store directory of available pebble apps. So the initial experience was kind of disappointing -- I couldn't get the app to do much more than tell the time and receive text messages.  I was confused -- like "isn't this supposed to be able to do more?".  Just an issue with the onboarding process that should be relatively easy to fix. It turns out that there are a small handful (50 at the moment) of Pebble apps available Comfort: wearing a watch is cumbersome and annoying to begin with, and this watch is a bit bulky.  So right off the bat, it has made me feel a little bit uncomfortable. Also, and maybe this is just the way my arms and hands are put together, but I haven't found a really comfortable way to push the buttons yet.  I'm either reaching over the top of the watch awkwardly or reaching around the bottom of the watch awkwardly. UX: The basic UX of the watch is pretty simple -- a "back" button on the left side, and "up" "down" and "enter" buttons on the right.  You click through a series of side-by-side screens similarly to how you did on early ipods. You manage your settings using a paired phone app (in my case the Android one) Again, I feel like there is a lot of room for improvement in the way the app works -- especially the onboarding process, where there are some glitches (asking me to connect to my phone even though i'm already connected), and some missed opportunities (pointers to apps, as I mentioned above). There are a bunch of rough edges -- for example, when you load a new app onto the phone, the progress bar gets to the end but then nothing happens prompting you to do the next thing.  And try as I might, I can't configure my gmail to notify me with my Priority inbox emails rather than the firehose inbox (which, if I can't fix it, will result in me just turning email notifications off). Also, the connections between the pebble core app and all of pebble "apps" is confusing, as you bounce around between a variety of apps (the core pebble app, the pebble "loader" app which loads apps onto the phone, the Pebble app catalog app, each individual app, etc).  It's disjointed and confusing. All in all, none of these are deal breakers, and I'm sure are just the result of this being a really new platform.  I just hope that enough of the folks who got Pebbles as Christmas gifts aren't thrown by it, especially the less technical / geeky ones. So, in conclusion -- there's no question that there is a lot of potential here.  And I really like the Pebble story and approach, and the fact that they are an independent player.  So I am rooting for them, and I will keep wearing the watch, for at least the next few weeks, to see what other habits form or great use cases emerge.

Happy New Year everyone. I love new years.  It always feels to good to turn the page and have a shot at a fresh new year. And new years in New England is always so so cold -- which I think really helps mark the beginning of the real part of winter and the turn of the year.  Even when it's warm right before new years, as it was this year, it always manages to get super freezing when the time comes. Which brings me to pond hockey. Today, we went to visit some friends who live near Lake Boon in Stow, Mass, which is about 45 minutes west of Boston.  Amazingly, because it was so warm and rainy last week, and then so cold this week, the lake got a natural Zamboni treatment -- so all 163 acres of it are not only frozen solid but also smooth as can be.  I spoke with a woman who had just finished up hockey with her family -- she grew up in the area and said that in her whole life she'd never seen the lake like that. It's was unbelievable, really -- launching from the town beach and skating as far as you felt like, around the edge of the lake or straight across it.  There were tons of people out on the lake -- a bunch of pick up hockey games (our friends counted 5 separate DIY rinks marked out around the lake), people just taking a nice tour, and even a guy riding a motorcycle back and forth across the middle (amazingly). I've written before about why casual & natural is so awesome, and today's experience totally confirmed my view on that.  Being able to skate around, wherever you like, however you like, passing around a puck and buzzing around the lake: unbelievably awesome.  So so much more awesome than skating at a skating rink -- which is also fun, but so much less fluid, with so many more rules, and so much more formality.  You'll notice in the picture that our friends brought their dog out onto the lake.  How awesome is that? I think about this idea of the casual / integrated version of a thing, vs. the formalized version of it.  I don't know why I feel so strongly about this, but I feel so much magic in doing things the casual way.  For example, riding your bike to pick up some groceries, vs organizing a bike ride.  Or skating to work along the Ottowa canals, vs going to a skating rink.  I just love the way fun activities like that feel when they are blended into your daily routine, rather than an event that has to be organized, or done at some special single-purpose facility. Anyway, it was a great way to start off the new year. I feel refreshed and energized and ready to skate off into 2014.  Here's to an excellent 2014 everyone.  

Last week, having been inspired by (of all things) this awesome and awful samsung gear commercial, i ordered a Pebble smartwatch. I can't remember the last time I wore a watch -- maybe it was 20 years ago in high school.  My standard line for the past 10 years has been "why do I need a watch when I have my phone?".  I've carried my watchlessness as a some kind of badge of honor since then, pledging my allegiance to the post-watch generation. But this is different, of course, as smart watches so much smart watches as wearable computers with a watch app.  There is almost no question tha wearable computers are going to be a big part of our future, so we might as well start experimenting with them. Here are my really brief first impressions, after having worn the watch for two days: Apps: the thing I'm most excited about with Pebble is that it's an app platform, with developers starting to experiment with features that are uniquely suited to a connected watch. But it's not yet clear to me what the "killer app" for this watch is.  The use case that seems most appealing to me is calendar integration -- specifically, prompting me with information about the when & where of the specific meeting I'm heading to.  I also like the idea of the vibrating alarm (though I don't really like sleeping with it on).  Email and SMS notifications are OK.  I can't wait for my first chance to check in with Foursquare from my watch. That said, the process of setting up the phone did (IMO) a really bad job pointing me to where all the apps are.  The "Get Watch Apps" button included in the Pebble app just links to a list of skins for the default time-telling feature.  I had to google to find the Pebble Apps app, a Play store directory of available pebble apps. So the initial experience was kind of disappointing -- I couldn't get the app to do much more than tell the time and receive text messages.  I was confused -- like "isn't this supposed to be able to do more?".  Just an issue with the onboarding process that should be relatively easy to fix. It turns out that there are a small handful (50 at the moment) of Pebble apps available Comfort: wearing a watch is cumbersome and annoying to begin with, and this watch is a bit bulky.  So right off the bat, it has made me feel a little bit uncomfortable. Also, and maybe this is just the way my arms and hands are put together, but I haven't found a really comfortable way to push the buttons yet.  I'm either reaching over the top of the watch awkwardly or reaching around the bottom of the watch awkwardly. UX: The basic UX of the watch is pretty simple -- a "back" button on the left side, and "up" "down" and "enter" buttons on the right.  You click through a series of side-by-side screens similarly to how you did on early ipods. You manage your settings using a paired phone app (in my case the Android one) Again, I feel like there is a lot of room for improvement in the way the app works -- especially the onboarding process, where there are some glitches (asking me to connect to my phone even though i'm already connected), and some missed opportunities (pointers to apps, as I mentioned above). There are a bunch of rough edges -- for example, when you load a new app onto the phone, the progress bar gets to the end but then nothing happens prompting you to do the next thing.  And try as I might, I can't configure my gmail to notify me with my Priority inbox emails rather than the firehose inbox (which, if I can't fix it, will result in me just turning email notifications off). Also, the connections between the pebble core app and all of pebble "apps" is confusing, as you bounce around between a variety of apps (the core pebble app, the pebble "loader" app which loads apps onto the phone, the Pebble app catalog app, each individual app, etc).  It's disjointed and confusing. All in all, none of these are deal breakers, and I'm sure are just the result of this being a really new platform.  I just hope that enough of the folks who got Pebbles as Christmas gifts aren't thrown by it, especially the less technical / geeky ones. So, in conclusion -- there's no question that there is a lot of potential here.  And I really like the Pebble story and approach, and the fact that they are an independent player.  So I am rooting for them, and I will keep wearing the watch, for at least the next few weeks, to see what other habits form or great use cases emerge.

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