http://tech.mn

Exhibit A: Tehran, Iran.  That’s happening-like now.  In many instances, faster, more original, and arguably more objective than our traditional media sources.

Interesting analysis from Forbes on the matter . Oh, and this just in from the Times 1 minute ago.

Notice the real time Twitter results.  I don’t think I’ve yet to appreciate the potential impact here.

Exhibit B: Gaza

Call from UN expert for international sanctions.  No short matter.

Again, a real time, albiet (currently) smaller, revolution in the making.  I have to believe that “free” modern communications technology is exacerbating these  “causes”.  I could be wrong?

Curiosity asks:  “Is there any reason why we shouldn’t preserve the integrity of our global digital communications at all costs?”

If we really need to ask, here’s one of the engineers behind this whole web thing saying it how it is.  It’s time, once again, to re-address this topic and ensure that we are fulfilling our commitment to the principles of  “Net Neutrality” & ultimately reaffirm our  moral obligation to a free digital press.  I’d encourage you, my visitor, to do you’re own independent research and form your own conclusions.

“You can’t be neutral on a moving train.” – Howard Zinn

“Net Neutrality” is also a commercial threat as much as a social one.   “Net Neutrality”, to this point in time, is a financially motivated scheme at the convergence of the “internet” & “commerce”.   If you’re thinking a few steps ahead, do digital business,  and are into risk management, one project that I participate in is making a local push for greater awareness, appreciation, and policy action on a local level as it pertains to “Net Nuetrality”, defined as:

“A principle proposed for user access networks participating in the Internet that advocates no restrictions on content, sites, or platforms, on the kinds of equipment that may be attached, and on the modes of communication allowed, as well as communication that is not unreasonably degraded by other traffic.” – via Wikipedia

Keywords: local. Contact me if you’d be open/interested in connecting around this space, the ball is already rolling.

Best,

Jeff

• Entrepreneurialism  is exciting.  The mind must be comfortable with the gray, nebulous, abstract, and unknown.   Keeping your  eyes wide open at all times gets tiring but can be practiced, conditioned, and perfected (so I hear).

• Collaboration is king.  An entrepreneur must strategically draw from the energy, skills,  ideas, and time of those with similar objectives.    Nothing original here, but supremely challenging and thus rewarding.

• Lovecats are where it’s at.  As we all learned in kindergarten, there are those that share and those that don’t.  Associate with lovecats, add value everywhere, lead by example, and deliver on action – not words.

• Details rule.  Every message, every note, every word of every conversation has capacity and potential.  Say less, mean more.

• Prompt and clear communication is an art.  Respond to everyone, quickly, even if to postpone the dialogue to a more convenient time.   If you’re overextended, make it clear up front so you don’t damage your personal brand by blowing people off.

• Very few understand you, what you’re doing, and why you’re doing it.  Get closer with those that get it, moral support is critical.

• Be relevant with those that are relevant to you.   Develop & maintain deep relationships with good people that parallel your ambitions.

• Selling out is harder than it seems but mandatory.

• Everyone can sprint; a balanced mind and body is essential to sustainability.

• Although one can increase the probability of success, it ultimately remains uncertain.  One thing that can be achieved with certainty is value through learning experiences.

Surely I’m not the only one to notice the increase in commercial orgs promoted on google maps. I’m very curious to learn if this is an add-on/upgrade as part of an ad campaign on behalf of the respective org -or- if Google has taken the liberty to self-select what appears on these maps.

How can 6,000 words from such a smart man leave me feeling so stupid?

Personally, I agree with many of the points he makes surrounding the “collateral consequences” of “naked transparency”.  These trade-off’s are nothing new.  If his push is toward election/fund raising reform then he could have shaved off about 3,000 words and actually made a stronger case in the process.

But, what’s the objective? Be controversial? Debate? PR/Press? Unclear…

My issue is with the sheer volume of content he applies to (unsuccessfully) support the title of his piece.   Of course I kept reading, thinking that somewhere along the line he was going to tie it all together…unfortunately not.  There is a complete disconnect between the title and the supporting argument.   What a disappointing display from someone I highly regard.

Lawrence Lessig defending his senseless article

• net neutrality
• censorship
• free (online) speech
• DMCA
• bandwidth throttling

If so, I’d like to connect with a few other people around aforementioned topics for a project I’m developing.

Thanks!

There are times to try & times to do.  More often than not, try is a lame cop-out that succeeds in nothing other than wasting two or more people’s time.  It’s chalk full of fluff and strangely reminiscent of an empty promise.  As a wise man once said, “Do or do not…there is no try”.

Should is another one of these counter-productive overused nonsense words.  Should entails an intent, but not an obligation, to do something; marginal in nature

To use the word should when negotiating or otherwise attempting to establish something concrete is simply weak .  Without adequate explanation or further exploration it leaves too much room for failure.

Since there’s no way around “shoulds” and theoretical future unknowns at large, it’s important to think-through and articulate exactly what a should is contingent or dependent upon.  When using should in a “business context” the question is worth asking: what is creating the uncertainty and most importantly, what can be done to reduce or eliminate that uncertainty all together?

That’s it…nothing major,

6/25/09 UPDATE: “Twitter creator shocked and saddened to learn that Twitter can be useful…”

Iranians using Twitter as means of circumventing Media/ISP control mechanisms.

No doubt there are interests against social media – both at home and abroad; authority is the antithesis of social media (read: decentralized interconnectedness). It’s times like this that I’m reminded of a powerful quote from one of my favorite books – The Cluetrain Manifesto:

And when the thrill of hearing ourselves speak again wears off, we will begin to build a new world. -David Weinberger