The Advancement of New Technology

The advancement of new
technology. Positive or negative?

The advancement of new technology has been taking
place since the beginning of human history. From the
invention of items like the spear and knifes made out
of rocks and sticks to aid in the capturing and killing
of animals for food, to items like the first printing
press and the computer.
The advancement in technology has been

exceptionally fast in the 20th and 21st century. With
electronic technology and machines being produced
and improved all the time, it was very likely that along
with the positive aspects of these new advancements,
people would also consider the negative aspects and
look to criticise new technology.
Every day another company brings out something
more advanced in an attempt to win the consumer
war against another company. This consumerism is
driving the rate of advancement faster and faster each
year. The development of the IPhone by Apple is an
example of this. Apple brought out a phone that could
literally do everything and no other company in the
mobile phone market could compare to it. Not only
could you make phone calls and text, but you could
also watch videos, take pictures and videos, listen to
music, connect to the internet, you had app’s for
almost anything. It’s the application market that
really blew the other mobile phone companies out of
the market at the time. You could download games,
books, news, social networking sites in seconds. Of
course this was a positive as people could use the
phone to store data for work, education,
entertainment. But the negative claims began as well,
too expensive, quick battery power loss and could a
device like this stop face to face communication all
together to name just a few claims.
Technology will always have negative aspects because
it depends on what the use of the technology is for and
who is using it; Albert Einstein once said
‘Technological progress is like an axe in the hands of a
pathological criminal’.[1]
One of the biggest negative claims seen in past years

was against the advancement of gaming technology. A
game called Grand Theft Auto was developed and the
game consisted of stealing cars, shooting and hurting
random people to more offensive material like the
prostitute characters. Computer games were given
negative press after an incident in the USA with one
teenage boy who shot at two police men and a
dispatcher killing them in 2003. He had already been
brought into the station on suspicion of driving a
stolen car, which is something that happens within
the game series. But he was not old enough to be
playing the game in the first place. The media
reported the incident in ways such as ‘Lawsuit: 'Grand
Theft Auto' Led Teen to Kill’[2]. The media chose to
blame the technology and the companies who created
and sold the game "What has happened in Alabama is
that four companies participated in the training of
Devin ... to kill three men."[3] This sort of media
attention can be seen to support the negative claims
made by Jacques Ellul, a French sociologist. He
viewed ‘technology as an irresistible, mysterious
force’[4] he continued in calling it ‘menacing’[5] and
‘has an ability to change every aspect of life that it
encounters’[6]. The press on this advancement in
technology were trying to make out that the console
and the game was changing and disrupting the young
boys life, they quoted him to have said ‘’Life is a video
game. You've got to die sometime."[7] Showing how
this technology has changed the boy’s mental state
and changed his view on life itself, that it’s nothing
but a game. They make out that technology has taken
over the boy and controlled him into committing such
an act of violence. Ellul also described technology as
‘some kind of living breathing monster, out of
control’[8] like it’s trying to distribute evil and change
and scare people like it changed and persuaded Devin
to kill those policemen. Although the argument to the
negative claims that technology is evil and changes
peoples mind set’s is that it’s one of the only cases like
this to emerge from such technology. There hasn’t
been an instant in the UK where a murder was blamed
upon console or gaming technology.
Another critic of technology is Neil Postman. He
writes in his book called Technopoly, that ‘technology
in sum, is both friend and enemy’. He can see the
benefits and how technology can be seen as a friend to
humanity that ‘it makes life easier, cleaner and
longer’[9]. He can accept it does humanity good. It’s
almost a positive claim based on technology like
medical advancements such as x-ray devices and
medical drugs that help to lengthen life and help
humanity. Medical advancements have meant that the
average life expectancy of humanity has slowly been
getting older. This is a very positive aspect of the
advancement because we can improve health and
lengthen our lives. But these medical advancements
are mainly produced by companies, who then choose
to monetise the advancement. Companies make
millions out of these medical advancements, if it helps
to lengthen or save people then places like the NHS
will buy it at almost any cost. Moral responsibility is
weakened by this greed for money; they have lost the
objective in saving lives or making people healthy
again. They are only creating advancements in
technology in order to make a lot of money. Neil
Postman also sees technology as undermining human
processes as well. That technology creates ‘a culture
without moral foundation’[10] and undermines social
relations between humans. This can currently be seen
with the argument over social networking sites on the
internet. It was created for people to communicate
and network, yet some people use it as their only form
of communication with other people. This doesn’t
necessarily help their social skills in the real and
outside world away from the internet. People can
become addicted and reliant on this technology and
use it as their main form for creating social relations.
It makes things like understanding facial expressions
and body language hard to grasp. Again this is only if
people rely on it, which only emerges in very few
cases.
Professor Joseph Weizenbaum agreed that

advancements in technology were leading to a loss of
moral responsibility. He carries on in the tradition of
‘those who value humans and human society above all
and who are alarmed by the degree to which society
seems ready to accept technology and all its supposed
benefits with little question’[11] He appears to warn
society that we shouldn’t readily accept all the
advancements of technology, but question them and
look at the dangers of computers one day being so
advanced they replace humans. He was the one to
introduce ‘Alien intelligence’ a term to really argue
that while ‘intelligent computers may appear to be by
virtue of advances in artificial intelligence, they
should never be involved in human affairs.’[12] His
statement is a warning about computers, that they
may be intelligent and rational but they have no
feelings. They may only ever be cold and calculating.
You cannot trust them with decisions that should be
made by humans that possess emotions like
compassion and caring. If a computer was given a task
like that given to an army where it must kill a certain
target, would there be more collateral damage, more
civilians killed because the computer knows no
feelings. He is warning of the severe dangers of
trusting computers and technology and that they
should not replace humans as they can never do the
morally right thing.
Lewis Mumford, a social critic and distinguished
historian of technology can be seen to have a similar
argument to that of Weizenbaum. He believes the
computer will cause the elimination of the human
mind and spirit if advances in technology keep
progressing at such a rate. For Lewis Mumford ‘the
computer itself and its role in automation is just one
more step along a road of constrained human
choice.’[13] This negative claim is based on the fear
that if we keep advancing and developing technology,
that it will eventually have a mind of its own and turn
against humanity and as such enslave it. This fear is
what appears to drive the majority of the negative
claims against the advancement in technology.
Lewis Mumford also suggests that even if computers
do not rise against humanity one day but are making
fundamentally human decisions that the outcome of
these decisions could be catastrophic because
‘computers may be programmed to return only those
results desired by the leaders and managers.’[14] This
suggests that advanced technology in the wrong hands
is a fear that society should be looking at carefully.
Most of Mumford’s writing came before the Atomic
bomb was created, but his fear is somewhat realised in
this technology. This advancement in science and
weaponry can be seen to have fallen into the wrong
hands as the bomb was detonated over the Japanese
city of Hiroshima and later over the city of Nagasaki
killing almost 200,000 Japanese people who were
mostly civilians. The bomb was the decision of life or
death and in the United States hands, they desired
death and so the bomb was detonated. Mumford’s
fear and criticism wasn’t unjust or even dramatic in
anyway. He had a fair criticism and his fear with the
atomic bomb can be seen to have come true.
Technology was controlled for power alone.
Norbet Wiener a mathematician and cybernetics

specialist, appears to make positive claims about
technology that include claims like ‘initially
technological innovation may result in the loss of jobs
but eventually more jobs are created than lost’[15] and
that ‘his concerns were starting to be accepted by the
business world.’[16] That while unemployment would
come about with new technology that new career
prospects would be created to deal and use the new
technology. Employment in the long run would
eventually rise when businesses starting to create the
right jobs to go with the new technology. He still
worries about the advance in technology and had a
‘deep concern about the possible social impact of his
work.’[17] He also worried about the enslavement of
humanity and worried his own work in the cybernetic
field could impact on this. He viewed ‘automatic
equipment as equivalent to slave labour’[18] machines
were being created to do a job humans were doing for
a much lower cost and means that ‘humans in
competition with the mechanical slaves must accept
economic conditions equivalent to theirs.’[19] If
humans wanted to do the job machines are capable of
doing then they must accept payment and working
hours that are the same as the machine. This is
essentially slave labour as machines never have to
stop to eat or sleep like humans. Sweat shops in third
world countries are currently in competition with
machine run factories. These people are paid a
pittance and are expected to work long and hard
hours in an effort to cut costs for companies and make
a bigger profit. This competition with machines
means that essentially these sweat shops are like slave
camps. The people work hard and get almost nothing
for their work. They are treated like machines and
once they cannot perform any more they are replaced
without a moment’s thought. Although machines too
have created new jobs such as IT technicians, robotic
engineers, mechanic’s for cars and trains to name just
a few. With each new advancement or invention of
technology comes a new job prospect. The invention
of the locomotive brought not only faster and easier
travel to society but many new jobs with it. Drivers,
technicians, ticket collectors and traffic controllers are
just a few examples. The running of the technology
and maintaining of it needs human input and so
employment is created. Technology cannot run
essentially without the input of a human. Whether it’s
to direct the technology or write its software, a human
must give the technology input for it to work,
otherwise it will cease to exist.
Technology does not yet have a mind of its own, but

that it what most of the negative claims are suggesting
and are fearful of. The loss of tradition is also a fear
that comes through on the majority of the negative
claims. They can rarely see the positives of technology
because they are living in fear of losing their heritage
and giving it over to something that they fear could
overrule humanity. They don’t look at the medical
advancements that make them healthy, or the
technology that was used to create the paper they
write on and the pens they use to write their criticism
upon. The rate of technological advancement is
increasing with time, society is looking to create and
develop easier ways to live and lengthen their lives.
The internet is a massive source of information that
millions of people use and depend on every day. It’s
updated all the time from many places across the
globe and is storing the history and heritage of the
world that we live in.
Herbert Simon a Nobel prize winner, presents a more

positive and optimistic technological visions ‘As we
design new technology, as we make use of our
knowledge about the world and the knowledge that we
are gaining about ourselves, about our thinking
processes, through research in Al and cognitive
simulation, we will realise that we have to apply our
technology in a way that keeps man’s peace with the
universe in which he lives, instead of conceiving our
technology as a weapon with which man can wage war
on the rest of nature.’[20]
Technology is all about what you do with it, its
humanity’s choice on whether the advancement of
technology will be used for positive or negative
outcomes.
[1] R.Rosenberg, The social impact of

computers (London, Elsevier, 2004) pg70
[2] February 2005, Lawsuit: 'Grand Theft Auto' Led
Teen to Kill. Fox News Available from:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,147722,00.ht
ml

ml
[4] R.Rosenberg, The social impact of computers
(London, Elsevier, 2004) pg75



ml






[15]R.Rosenberg, The social impact of computers





The next sexual revolution will be
digitized
Sep 18, 2016
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Sex is one of the most powerful, fundamental human

drives.
It's caused wars… built and destroyed kingdoms.
It occupies a significant percentage of most people's

thoughts.
As such, it's worth a conversation about how exponential

technologies will change our relationship with sex.
This blog (Part 1 of 2) is a look at the future of sex, dating,
and finding a mate. Next week, in Part 2, we'll dive one
level deeper and discuss the future of human reproduction.
Dating in the Internet Age

Dating in past generations was local and linear. You had
access to a small number of potential mates based on where
you lived, where you went to school and your social status.
In the 1960s, over 50% of marriages globally and 95% of

marriages in India were arranged.
Today that number has dropped to less than 15% (globally).
In 1960, the median age at first marriage for the bride was
20 and the groom was 23 years old.
Today, the median age is closer to 29 for women and 30 for
men.
A cultural shift is happening, and it's changing the game.
Dating has gone digital. As such, it has gone from local and
linear to global and exponential.
Today, 40 million Americans use online dating services

(that's about 40% of the single population in the U.S.),
driving the creation of a $2.4 billion online dating industry.
(Number of members of online dating platforms, 2014)
These services transcend geography and social strata.
People are matched from around the world.
Between 1995 and 2005, there was exponential growth
among heterosexual couples meeting online. (See the green
line in the chart below.)
(Heterosexual marriage trends over time)

For same-sex couples, the online dating trend has been
even more dramatic, with more than 60% of same-sex
couples meeting online in 2008 and 2009 (see the green
line in the chart above).
(Same-Sex Couples – trends over time)

The implications of this are staggering -- besides moving
the marriage age back, there are a number of sociological
effects such as decision fatigue, gamification of dating, and
the commoditization of people that will start to have
population-level effects as mating behaviors change.
And this is just the beginning.
Dating & Exponential Tech

In the very near future, we will see machine learning /
artificial intelligence-based matchmakers that will find the
perfect match for you based upon everything from your
genomics to your psychographics.
Once you're on a date, your augmented reality glasses will

give you real-time dating info, calling up any info you want
to know, as you need to know it.
Perhaps you want to understand how she/he is feeling about
you, and your AR camera is watching her pupillary dilation
and capillary flushing.
Like all technology, these applications are double-edged

swords. My hope is that this tech actually increases the
number of successful, meaningful relationships in the world
and, in turn, has a net positive impact.
But while dating is one side of the coin, sex is another...

and the implications of exponential technology on sex can
be shocking.
Sex & Exponential Tech

Today, sex has been digitized; as such, it has been
dematerialized, demonetized and democratized.
Sex, in the form of pornography, is free, available to
anyone with an Internet connection and pervasive across
many platforms.
In 2015, just one pornography website reported that their

users watched over 4.3 billion hours of porn (87 billion
videos) that year.
The proliferation of Internet connectivity, online video

players and streaming, mobile phones, and advertisement
delivery networks have propelled pornography into a $97
billion industry.
This is causing a number of negative social phenomena.
More than half of boys and nearly a third of girls see their
first pornographic images before they turn 13. In a survey
of hundreds of college students, 93% of boys and 62% of
girls said they were exposed to pornography before they
turned 18.
"Pornography is influencing everything from how teens

language and frame sexuality to how and why they pierce
certain body parts to what they expect to give and receive
in intimate relationships," says Jill Manning, Ph.D,
Witherspoon Institute.
In Japan, a growing population of men report that they

*prefer* having "virtual girlfriends" over real ones (i.e.
they believe they are "dating" virtual avatars that they
largely control).
Forty-five percent of Japanese single women and 25

percent of Japanese single men aged 16 to 24 claim they
aren't even interested in sexual contact.
Given these trends, unless something happens to boost
Japan's birth rate, its population will shrink by a third
between now and 2060. In other words, there is serious
concern of significant UNDERpopulation.
But again, this is only the beginning… as virtual reality

(VR) becomes more widespread, one major application will
inevitably be VR porn.
It will be much more intense, vivid, and addictive -- and as

AI comes online, I believe there will be a proliferation in
AI-powered avatar and robotic relationships, similar to
those characters depicted in the movies Her and Ex
Machina.
Implications
VR porn promises to offer a virtual world filled with more
sex, better sex, endless sex, and new varieties of sex.
The dark secret, however, is that the further a user goes into
that fantasy world, the more likely their reality is to become
just the opposite.
Many psychologists believe that VR porn may numb us to

sexual desire and pleasure in the real world, leading to less
and less satisfying sex.
For many, VR (as well as other exponential technologies

such as robotics, sensors and A.I.) will act as a complete
replacement for intimacy and human relationships, as it is
more easily accessible, cheaper, on-demand, and, well,
controllable.
As the father of two five-year-old boys, this is really

concerning to me...
That said, are there upsides too?

Perhaps a bit of intimacy (if even technological) for those
who are infirmed, aged, crippled and thereby alone.
We shall see. One thing is for sure: as with every

technology in history, from the printing press to VHS and
the Internet, pornography will be on the front line funding
the advance of technology.
Join Me
This is the sort of conversation we explore at my 250-
person executive mastermind group called Abundance 360.
The program is highly selective. If you'd like to be

considered, apply here. Share this with your friends,
especially if they are interested in any of the areas outlined
above.
P.S. Every week I send out a "Tech Blog" like this one. If
you want to sign up, go to Diamandis.com and sign up for
this and Abundance Insider.
P.P.S. My dear friend Dan Sullivan and I have a podcast
called Exponential Wisdom. Our conversations focus on the
exponential technologies creating abundance, the human-
technology collaboration, and entrepreneurship. Head here
to listen and subscribe: a360.com/podcast
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Popular
Robert Floto
RTF Associates
Japan for global future 2045. I love Japanese culture. They are wise, the world needs less
reproduction. America desperately needs to implement proof of income and IQ test
before pregnacy is legal for anyone.
o Like(5)
o Reply(7)
16 hours ago
Alberto Garcia Camacho, Sasha Matar, Luis Garcia de la Fuente, +2
o
Demitrious Jackson
Project Manager at GenArts, Inc.
Eugenics is always short sighted. The purpose of sex is genetic diversity through
recombination. The idea of dramatically skewing this process towards income and "IQ" is
foolish.
 Like(1)
57 minutes ago
Clark Bond
Codi Nowacki
Corporate Operations CSR
I don't see how income and IQ should govern your right or ability to reproduce. I know
some very intelligent and financially stable people I would hate to see produce offspring.
Some of our greatest minds come from extremely humble beginnings - thankfully their
parents were not governed by people like you, Robert.
 Like(5)
2 hours ago
Innovative Travels, Clark Bond, James "Doogie" Kautz, +2

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Shelly Palmer
Business Advisor | Speaker | Author
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When Phones Explode

Sep 18, 2016
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Overheard: “I’d buy a Samsung Note7, but they explode.”

No, they don’t. Defective lithium-ion batteries explode.
This is an important distinction. And regardless of the
sensationalist claims you’ve heard from ratings-seekers and
clickbaiters, lithium-ion batteries don’t explode very often.
Here’s what you need to know.
From Smartphones to Electric Cars
There are hundreds of millions of lithium-ion batteries
manufactured each year. They offer an attractive cost-to-
power ratio, and you’ll find them in almost every kind of
rechargeable device, including smartphones, laptops,
drones, flashlights, e-cigs and even your new Tesla.
How Lithium-ion Batteries Work

Lithium-ion batteries have two electrodes (a cathode and an
anode) separated by a barrier called an electrolyte. When
you charge a lithium-ion battery, ions of lithium move
through the electrolyte from the positive electrode to the
negative electrode. And you guessed it: when you are using
the battery, lithium ions move back through the electrolyte
from the negative electrode to the positive electrode.
Lithium-ion batteries offer many advantages:

 Light weight
 Very high energy density
 Low maintenance compared with most other battery

chemistries
 No memory effect (you do not have to train them; just

don’t overcharge them or completely drain them)
 Lower environmental impact (relatively speaking) when

disposed of
Of course, lithium-ion batteries also have some

disadvantages:
 Require a protection circuit (to prevent overcharging and

overheating)
 Subject to aging (two- to three-year lifespan)
 Constantly evolving chemistries and designs

 More expensive to manufacture than other rechargeable
batteries
 Subject to transportation restrictions (usually not applied to

personal-sized batteries)
 Will die if completely drained (protection circuits are

designed to prevent this)
Why Do Lithium-ion Batteries Explode?

The two chemicals (often Lithium cobalt oxide, or LiCoO2,
and carbon) that enable lithium-ion batteries to store and
discharge energy are separated by a “separator.” The
purpose of the separator is to prevent the electrodes from
short-circuiting. If the separator is compromised (especially
when the battery is fully charged), a significant amount of
heat may be generated in a chemical chain reaction. This
condition is known as a “thermal runaway.” In rare cases,
this can cause the electrolyte to boil or the cell casing to
rupture, or both. This could result in a fire or an explosion.
Again, in a well-designed, well-manufactured battery,
thermal runaways are extremely rare.
What Happened with the Samsung

Note7 Batteries?
With hundreds of millions of lithium-ion batteries being
manufactured each year, it is reasonable to assume that
some defective units will find their way into the
marketplace. Many major manufacturers such as HP, Sony,
Toshiba and Panasonic have had lithium-ion recalls this
year. Samsung identified the Note 7s containing the
defective batteries (by serial number) and, in an abundance
of caution, recalled every Note 7. If you have a Samsung
Note7 purchased before September 15, 2016, you should
exchange it for a new one.
Tim Baxter, president and COO of Samsung Electronics
America, said, “To date, we already have exchanged
130,000 units—a fast and meaningful start. And with the
Consumer Product Safety Commission’s (CPSC)
partnership, we will continue implementing corrective steps
to exchange every single Note7 on the market. Consumers
should visit samsung.com/us/note7recall for carrier and
retailer specific instructions on how and where to exchange
their Note7 device.”
Yes, but Are Samsung Phones Safe?
See, that’s the problem with sensational news stories.
They’re all about the headline and less about the facts.
Samsung recalled the Note7 because it identified a problem
with a small number of batteries it installed in the devices.
Samsungs don’t explode; defective lithium-ion batteries
explode. And with billions of lithium-ion batteries in the
marketplace, fires and explosions are so rare they make the
news.
Responsible Lithium-ion Battery
Ownership
To help avoid issues with your batteries, the CPSC
recommends the following safety tips:
 Only purchase batteries and chargers directly from the

manufacturer or from a manufacturer-recommended source.
Buying counterfeit or poorly manufactured batteries
increases the chance of having an issue.
 Do not let a loose battery come in contact with metal

objects, such as coins, keys, or jewelry. Metal objects can
cross the electrical connections and cause an incident if the
internal protection circuitry isn’t functioning correctly.
 Do not crush, puncture or put a high degree of pressure on

the battery, as this can cause an internal short-circuit,
resulting in overheating.
 Do not place the phone or batteries in areas that may get
very hot, such as on or near a cooking surface, cooking
appliance, iron, radiator or the dashboard of your car in the
summer.
 If you drop your phone or laptop on a hard surface, it can

potentially cause damage to the battery. If you suspect
damage to the battery, take it to a service center for
inspection.
 If your phone gets wet, even if the device dries and

operates normally, the battery contacts or circuitry could
slowly corrode and pose a safety hazard.
 And if you see any bulging, leakage or other abnormality

from your battery, stop using it immediately.
Are the Replacement Samsung Note7s
with Lithium-ion Batteries Safe?
The risk of a lithium-ion battery fire or explosion is so low,
I am happy to carry a smartphone in my pocket (all the
time). As for the Note7, if you have one purchased before
September 15, 2016, send it back and get a new one. If
you’re wondering if the new ones will be safe, the short
answer is YES. And not to put too fine a point on it, the
Note7 has a 3.5mm headphone jack, and Bluetooth, and a
USB C port AND you can charge it on a charging pad,
which means unlike the iPhone 7, you can listen to music
or talk on the phone while charging it. (If you do not
understand my reference to the iPhone 7 in the preceding
sentence, pleaseread this article for clarification.)
Author’s note: This is not a sponsored post. I am the author
of this article and it expresses my own opinions. I am not,
nor is my company, receiving compensation for it.
About Shelly Palmer
Named one of LinkedIn’s Top 10 Voices in

Technology, Shelly Palmer is President & CEO of Palmer
Advanced Media, a strategic advisory and business
development practice focused at the nexus of technology,
media and marketing with a special emphasis on data
science and data-driven decision making. He isFox 5 New
York's on-air tech and digital media expert and a regular
commentator on CNBC and CNN.
Follow @shellypalmer or visit shellypalmer.com or
subscribe to our daily email http://ow.ly/WsHcb
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Caroline Fairchild
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No one in tech will admit that they're

old
Sep 18, 2016
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Dan Lyons knew his book would put him at risk. A former

tech journalist and author, he’d written plenty of things that
had made people angry at him — this was the guy, after all,
who famously authored a blog that mocked Steve
Jobs — but this was the first time he’d do something that
had the power to really change his own prospects.
The book was “Disrupted” and it was a hilarious take on
his 20 months working as a marketing fellow at startup
Hubspot. Specifically, he focused on the fact that everyone
seemed and acted so young, which is exactly what the
company banked on. The difference in age between his new
colleagues — Dan was 52 when he took the job — would
lead to a series of ridiculous stories that propelled the book
into aNew York Times best-seller. A reviewer at the Los
Angeles Times called it "the best book about Silicon Valley
today." (Hubspot CEO Dharmesh Shah challenged Lyons’
take on the company in a LinkedIn post
titled, Undisrupted.)
Those accolades go far, but there’s also been a darker side.
“I knew I would just be seen as the old guy after it

published,” he said. “That’s the hole I put myself in. Now,
people see stories about depressed older workers, and they
immediately think of me.”
Lyons might be the voice of tech’s older worker, but he’s
definitely not alone in his worries. While the median age in
the U.S. workforce is 42, it’s closer to 31 in the tech
industry. As Bloomberg recently reported, more older
workers are speaking out about what they see as inherent
bias against them. While the discussion on both racial and
gender bias in tech has become mainstream, age bias is just
beginning to emerge as the next hot topic for workplace
equality.
“You never want to think you’re old,” said Lyons. “If you
are female, you know you are female. If you are black, you
know you are black. But if you are old, well, what is old?”
Lyons and I ran into each other at the CED Tech Venture
Conference in North Carolina. After working for more than
a year as a co-producer and writer on HBO’s “Silicon
Valley,” Lyons is now touring the country speaking out
about age bias as well as other topics that are important to
the tech industry. In an interview, we talked about why
companies alone can’t fix the age issue — and I couldn’t
help but grill him on his Silicon Valley (the show) work.
Edited excerpts:
Caroline Fairchild: Bloomberg just came out with a

feature on ageism in tech. After your book, how are you
continuing to think about the issue?
Dan Lyons: I don’t know how to continue talking about the
problem without sounding like a broken record. I get
frustrated with the coverage of diversity issues. Every year
Apple, Google and Facebook put out these diversity reports
and show that they haven’t made any progress. [Editor’s
note: You can find LinkedIn’shere.] I don’t know how the
media could cover that in different ways to move the ball
forward. We are all aware of it, but you risk getting into the
realm of cheesiness if you write a story about that company
that took a bet on an older worker and things went great.
Then you feel like you are doing infomercials.
CF: Why is covering age in tech challenging, but we
have reporters covering gender and race in tech for
many publications?
DL:Age bias just gets treated differently than the others.
Nobody even bothers to lie about it. It is just taken for
granted and accepted: “You are 50. You suck. You can’t do
tech stuff.” You see all these people doing things like only
putting their last 10 years of work on their resume or
coloring their hair. I think there is a stigma around age and
our culture. I think there is an element of shame about it.
People won’t even join the AARP because of the stigma
attached to it.
CF: Do you think that stigma associated with age is
strongest in the tech industry?
DL: Yes. Mark Zuckerberg said that young people are
smarter. Now, he said that a long time ago, he probably
would be more diplomatic and discreet about it now, but I
bet he still believes it. I think in tech there is a plentiful
supply of people in their twenties and they are all looking
for work. It may be that we are in this period where
technology is erasing jobs faster than we are creating them,
so we have a net loss of jobs. So that means that you have a
surplus of workers. If that’s the case, why wouldn’t you
just hire people in their twenties who are cheaper and
younger and don’t have distractions?
CF: Do you think different generations inherently like
working with one another?
DL: I like working with younger people, I don’t know if
they like working with me. There are some older people
who probably hate working with younger workers. I think
younger people don’t want to boss you around because you
remind them of their parents. That is awkward. They also
assume you don’t know how to do things. There is almost
an awkwardness, because people don’t even want to have
the conversation. If you and I were working together, it
would likely be hard for us to have a conversation about
what it’s like for me to work with you and what it’s like for
you to work with me. But I think we have been sold this big
bag of bullshit about millennials. I don’t think they are so
different. I think we are all pretty alike. We are in different
life stages, but I don’t think at the end of the day that we
have different DNA. But millennials get described as a
different species.
CF: So do you think that young workers in tech should
be afraid about what will happen to them when they get
older?
DL: Yes. You should read [LinkedIn Co-Founder] Reid
Hoffman’s book The Alliance. The message is that you are
going to have a new job every two years. For employers, it
is a good thing to have a dial-up and dial-down workforce
that allows them to hire for immediate needs. It offers
much more flexibility. It could work, but not with the way
companies are structured now. Companies have this 20th-
century infrastructure around them. Employers are trying to
create a better world, but transitions are painful. [Editor's
note: Reid and his co-authors responded to Dan's critique in
their April 2016 article, "Un-Disrupted: What 'The
Alliance' Actually Says About Employment."]
People in my age came to the workforce with these
expectations for how the workforce would be and it
changed halfway through our careers. We will get to a
point where we can act as freelancers at a company on an
engagement basis almost like consultants do. But right
now, the problem is that physically plugging and
unplugging into a job is such a pain. Our benefits are tied to
our employer. We need societal and structural changes so
that changing jobs doesn’t interrupt your benefits. When
you have children, that disruption of having a new health
insurance company is a pain of the ass.
CF: I’m interested in your thoughts about the debate
raging around Facebook’s responsibility as a news
provider.
DL: I think Facebook’s role in the news is huge. I’ve
noticed in this election cycle that I get a lot of my news
from Facebook. I think there is this flattening effect where
the source of the story is small or not there. Then you click
on the story, and it is clearly just partisan politics, not
objective news. Some random site that didn’t do any
reporting is promoted on Facebook with equal weight
as The Washington Post or The New York Times. It is all
the same, but they are getting worked up over not credible
news. It is very hard as a reader to then decide what sources
he or she should give credibility to. I find myself getting
halfway down the rabbit hole and then realizing that the
story isn’t good.
CF: Speaking of politics, what are your thoughts on
tech leaders like Peter Thiel and Meg Whitman talking
openly about politics?
DL: I think if you have a lot of money, you think you
should be able to run the world. People in Silicon Valley
are like people everywhere. They have feelings about
politics. Most people think Silicon Valley leaders lean left
in most ways, but not every way. Apple not paying its taxes
is not a left-wing thing. I think it is normal. These leaders
have a big megaphone and a lot of money – it makes sense.
CF: Is there any news coming out of the tech industry
that you think would be great for HBO’s “Silicon
Valley”?
DL: I am not working on that show anymore, but I still
email a lot with the guys on the show. They don’t even
know what will be in the next season. I left the last season
over Halloween when they had the whole season done and
then what aired was totally different. They don’t know until
they start shooting. They end every season with no master
plan. They literally end the season, and they go
collapse.Alec Berg treats the show like a startup. He says
they have to build a product and if no one likes it, they go
out of business. He very much relates to startups because
he thinks he is the CEO of the startup that is the show. I
doubt the election will make it onto the show. The
Rothenberg Ventures saga is kind of like Bachmanity
Insanity – they got all this money and then just threw a big
party. I want Erlich Bachman to become really rich. It
won’t happen, but that’s what I want. Imagine Erlich
becoming Sean Parker and having a lot of money and
having a huge wedding and destroying half of Big Sur. I
would love that, but I don’t think they want that.
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Thomas Stratton
Engineer at Caterpillar - Actively Seeking New Opportunities
It's not just a bias, it's becoming a requirement for some companies as I've recently
learned. In my recent job search I've learned that many companies actually make it a job
REQUIREMENT in their job descriptions for a candidate to have earned his/her degree
"recently" ie. within the last 1 to 2 years. To me, that seems like much more than a bias ...
verging on the border of descrimination. The days of continuous self improvement have
been replaced with the need for self re-invention or self re-generation which requires the
need to attain another degree half way through one's career to meet newly implemented
job "requirements". For most, this will require, either eliminating the prospect of having a
family or abandoning family time and devotion in order to pursue self-renewal. The days
of loyalty and long term careers have been replaced by the world's elite with short term
return on investment. The humanity of work has been replaced with a mentality of using
people as monitory assets that are more easily traded on the job market much like a stock
is traded on wall street, rather than nurtured and developed to their full potential. Case in
point ... I continuously attempted to utilize in-house training to rejuvenate and improve
my skill set to match the needed skills I perceived over the past 3 years ... what my
company markets to recently graduating prospective employees as a fringed benefit ...
only to have said training "opportunities" cancelled over and over again due to "low
enrollment". Unfortunately, these skills were obviously being exploited from new hires
who had been trained while they were working on their degrees. Given the fact that the
skills in these courses have been listed alongside the "recent graduate" job requirement on
the latest job postings, I perceive this as a major contributor to the lack of enrollment in,
and elimination of said "continuous improvement training opportunities". My advice to
recent grads ... demand the monetary value for these "benefits" in your salary
compensation that your employers would rather taut as indirect "total compensation
value" of your employment "benefits package" ... chances of actually receiving these
ghost incentives are dwindling further and further. Unfortunately, until the government
protects against such "age biases" and treats them for what they truly are, which is more
like descrimination, then no one is safe from being exploited in this way.
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Katie Carroll
Senior Editor, News
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A record-breaking Emmys for "Game

of Thrones," McDonald's may be the
EU's next tax target, and more news.
Sep 19, 2016
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 547 Likes
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Share this using the hashtag #DailyRundown.
Hold the awards: “Game of Thrones” won big on Emmy

night. Thanks to last night’s twelve-award haul, the HBO
show now holds the record for most Emmys awarded to an
individual show — 38, just beating 37 for “Frasier.” And
while HBO nabbed both Best Drama and Best Comedy
(“Veep”), the Emmys gave a wide range of networks some
love: the Television Academy honored a dozen networks
and streaming services, including USA (Rami Malek of
“Mr. Robot”), FX (“The People v. O.J. Simpson: American
Crime Story") and BBC America (Tatiana Maslany of
“Orphan Black”).
ITT Educational Services officially filed for
bankruptcy, after closing ITT Tech’s 137 campuses earlier
this month. The moves come after the US Department of
Education banned ITT from enrolling new students who
receive federal financial aid. Former ITT Tech students are
also refusing to pay their federal student loans, hoping to
pressure the government into cancelling the debts “of
everyone who alleges they were defrauded by the now-
defunct for-profit chain.”
First phones, then fast food: McDonald’s may have to
pay the EU $500M in back taxes, says the FT, as part of the
European Commission’s crackdown on “sweetheart” tax
deals. The fast food chain, whose European headquarters is
in Luxembourg, is under investigation by Brussels for a tax
ruling that “permitted McDonald’s to pay no corporation
tax — either in the US or Luxembourg — on royalty
income from restaurant franchises across Europe.” The
FT finds that McDonald’s paid an average tax rate of
1.49% on $1.8B in European profit since 2009.
It’s not just the EU: Speaking of back taxes, Alphabet
may face fines from Indonesia for five years of avoided
payments, reports Reuters. The fees could include a
$400M+ bill for 2015 alone. Indonesia’s tax office alleges
that Google’s Indonesia branch paid less than 0.1% of the
total income and value-added taxes owed last year.
The UN Assembly kicks off today. 140 heads of state and
government will descend upon UN Headquarters in New
York to discuss the world’s toughest problems, from the
refugee crisis to violent extremism to global poverty. It’s
the last “UN Week” for President Barack Obama, as well
as UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who has held the
position for ten years. Read more about what’s happening
at the UN this week, from the S-G himself.
Remember: brevity is still the soul of wit. Twitter’s
change to tweet length — taking handles, images, GIFs,
and more out of its 140-character limit — should begin
today.
Cover Art: Part of the “Game of Thrones” cast poses in
the press room at the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy
Awards on September 18, 2016 in Los Angeles, California.
(Photo by Michael Kovac/Getty Images for AXN)
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Brian Olson
Owner/Consultant: Conversation Starters LLC
The trouble is not taxes, but how government wastes those revenues when they get them.
o Like(5)
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2 hours ago
Dave Petterson, Andy Hawkins, Nihat KIRAN, +2
Anthony L Fairman
Experienced Construction Manager
You mean things like giving away over 8 BILLION in foreign aid, when we have to
borrow 75 BILLION just to stay afloat. That is a waste. If you have the money then you
can give it away but if you don't ..........
 Like(1)
58 minutes ago
Andy Hawkins
David Fessenden
Editorial Coach/Publishing Consultant/Literary Agent
And if they weren't so wasteful (and corrupt), there wouldn't be such high taxes --- so it's
two sides of the same coin.
 Like(2)
1 hour ago
Andy Hawkins and Helen Jiang

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Kara Goldin
Founder & CEO, Keynote Speaker, Entrepreneur, Growth Marketer
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How To Innovate (Hint: It’s Not The

Way Big Corporations Do It)
Sep 19, 2016
 7,016 views
 597 Likes

28 Comments
It is difficult, if not impossible to innovate within large

companies. The people who have risen up the ranks in most
companies tend to have a finance or production background
—not necessarily an innovation one. They tend to be
focused on shareholder value as a success metric, rather
than promoting change. These are things you know.
The question is: what do you do when you’re IN one of
these companies—or growing your company to become
one? As every company begins to grow, hint® included,
you are faced with the question of how to stay nimble.
There are a few powerful approaches that have helped us…
and are particularly relevant now.
Great ways to innovate:
Open Innovation, The New Way

The idea of open innovation is that companies can’t just
rely on their own R&D and in-house innovation. They
should look outside by buying patents from other
companies, partnering with and buying other companies,
and seeking outside ideas. It’s an innovation idea that’s
been around since the 1960s – and it’s stuck around
because it works.
One of the ways we’re doing this is by learning best

practices from other entrepreneurs. I just started the Kara
Network – which includes a series of video interviews with
entrepreneurs to showcase (and more importantly for me,
learn from) what they’re doing.
Open innovation also extends to customers. You can do a

lot of “research” by simply asking people what they want to
see. Use social networks like Twitter, Facebook, or
Instagram. Ask people what they want to see. Follow
influencers in your category. Seek ideas from people by
talking to them… Open innovation is a systematized way
of doing it. But, really, it’s all about just listening.
Explore The World – I spend time a considerable amount

of time traveling – and I describe myself as a travel junkie.
I was just in Iceland last week fishing and eating
blueberries. Before that, I tacked a couple days onto a
business trip to explore the area—just so I could see what
goes on. I am a CEO with real responsibilities. Why do I do
this and take the time? Because I can. And because it
makes me a more powerful as a CEO, a creative-engine for
my company, and as a being. You can live in a bubble…a
cubicle…a single office…a single city, and it will be
incredibly comfortable for awhile. But your company will
not thrive without new ideas and experimentation. And
being a model for that is what being a founder is. Company
culture is set by company leaders.
Remember The “Lipstick” Trend – Economists have

noticed since WW2 that in times of economic downturn,
sales of small luxuries like lipstick rise dramatically.
This Wall Street Journal article by a Harvard Lecturer talks
about how “as customers pare back, they also need ways to
entertain themselves and indulge in small luxuries and
distractions.” When you’re thinking about innovation, go
for things that signal luxury without expense—like
delicious scents (which are a hallmark of all Hint products),
rich colors, and low price points. You don't’ have to be in
the packaged goods world to play with rich colors—look at
Lyft’s signature pink—or a high end perception for not-
much-money. Focus your money on creating beauty and
sensory experiences in ways that don’t add a lot of cost. It
is a great way to innovate right now.
Adapt And Adopt Lean Methodologies

I am keynoting the Lean Startup Conference in San
Francisco at the end of October with a number of young
startup luminaries. Yes, it’s kind of a plug. And the event
worth noting and attending. Lean Startup, or the term, has
been around since 2008 – and the ideas behind it, have been
around since the startup boom began. They’re ideas that
stuck around, because they work. At it heart, Lean thinking
is all about empathy, experimentation. (Here is a
great Forbes articlethat lays out the basics of lean
thinking--and there’s another more flowchart heavy one
about how this type of thinking can be adapted and adopted
for big companies.) Lean is the way innovate…and startups
are the place to learn it well.
Kara Goldin is Founder and CEO of Hint Water, the

fastest growing flavored water in the United States. Kara
started Hint when she couldn't find a healthy flavored
water that tasted great without questionable additives like
sweeteners and preservatives. Hint Water has 0 calories, 0
sugar, and 0 diet sweeteners and can be purchased in
stores as well as online at www.drinkhint.com in a variety
of flavors including Blackberry and Watermelon, in still
and sparkling as well as caffeinated.
Also check out Kara's newest endeavor The Kara
Network -- for entrepreneurs by an entrepreneur
www.thekaranetwork.com
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Iain Wicking
Unfortunately that is all irrelevant if you can see into all of the technologies of the world
as I can. Given this capability large business would be just as agile as a small one and a
small business could then compete directly with a large business (or a small country with
a larger country). This happens for two reasons as insight into the 'technology landscape'
removes complexity and uncertainty and secondly, 'value' or a targeted 'outcome' (desired
customer benefit for instance) is driven by technology acquisition, manipulation and
management which then drives R&D, Innovation and Funding in a systemised and
repeatable way. Not how much money you can throw at a 'problem' which is pointless
anyway as the correlation between funding and the generation of 'positive outcomes' is
very poor.
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12 hours ago
Dumitrescu Florin_Adrian, Antony Zhong, mr.johnson wu, +1
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Nirajita Banerjee
Associate News Editor at LinkedIn
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Snapdeal Changes Strategy, Alibaba

Deepens India reach And Other News
Sep 19, 2016
 4,425 views
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Strengthening foothold: Even as Alibaba’s plans to foray

into the B2C sector in India isn’t materializing,it is trying
to ramp up its B2B presence in the country. For this,
the Chinese e-commerce giant has signed agreements with
Kotak Mahindra Bank, IDFC Bank, Delhivery, DHL and
Aditya Birla Finance. Apart from offering financial aid, the
partnerships will help the Jack Ma-led company provide
domestic and international logistics support to its Indian
sellers. Even as its Indian e-commerce firm has been
registering profits for the last three years, speculations are
rife that Alibaba is trying to foray into the B2C sector as
well. (Pic Credit: Economic Times)
Strategic shift: In a bid tobeat Amazon and Flipkart,

India’s No. 3 e-commerce player Snapdeal has decided to
ditch the marketplace model. Instead of acting as an
intermediary, Jasper Infotech Pvt Ltd, which runs Snapdeal,
has set up a wholesale unit to buy products. The change is
expected to help the firm gain better control over its
inventory and service levels. The business model will also
apparently help it abide by FDI laws. However, this is in
contrast to what founder Kunal Bahl always advocated – a
marketplace model over an inventory-led one.
#QOTD
“It’s clear that the inventory-led model
is dead...inventory-led e-commerce
companies are discarding their model
and replacing it with the marketplace,”
Snapdeal’s founderKunal Bahl had said in
2013.
Blamegame: Even as Reliance Jio accused Bharti Airtel of
providing“substantially less” number of interconnection
points, India’s largest operator denied the allegations
terming them as mere shadowboxing. Just a day after
Airtel said it would try to release the points of
interconnection (PoIs) “well ahead” of the date mentioned
in the contract, Reliance Jio said “the proposed
augmentation by Airtel would still only suffice for less than
one-fourth of the required interconnection capacity."
However, Airtel is of the view that by citing fewer PoIs as
the reason behind “alarming” level of call failures, the
Mukesh Ambani-led company was probably trying “to
cover up some technical issues in their own network.”
“Full Control:” Although several people turned against

UB group chairman Vijay Mallya as he faces loan default
charges on the home front, his loyal executives haven’t left
his side. He has “full control” over the operations of United
Breweries Holdings Ltd despite relocating to the UK earlier
this year and his executives report to him regularly. The
UB group’s holding firm further disclosed that the
beleaguered businessman has received 16 million rupees as
remuneration in FY16.
ICICI in focus: ICICI Pru Life Insurance's 60 billion
rupees-worth IPO - the biggest in 6 years - kick-started
today. Investors bid for about 1 crore shares on Day 1 of
the bidding process.
To stay prepared: Amazon wants to take the content
world by storm once its Prime Video service launches and
it is preparing to do so. The US-based e-commerce giant
has inked a content deal with Mahesh and Mukesh Bhatt-
owned Vishesh Films. The deal not only gives Amazon
rights to access Vishesh Films’ 53 films but also its
upcoming projects.
For more from LinkedIn Pulse, follow the India
channel here and Daily Pulse India channel here. We
also have an India students channeland an India Tech &
Startups channel.
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the Editor's Picks channel. We're also
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Ben Feferman
Managing Director @ Leverage.IT
Never underestimate jack ma
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kobir choudhori, Vikhyath Kumar, Antony Zhong, +2
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Pahari painting used only for representation
Abhilash Gaur
Writer, researcher and editor based in New Delhi, India.
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When India could tolerate nude gods

Sep 19, 2016
 4,198 views
 176 Likes

23 Comments
India’s growth story gets derailed so easily these days. A

rumour about beef or even a celebrity’s remark can start a
riot. Streets have often burnt for dubious god-men. It was
not very long ago that M F Husain was hounded out of the
country in his last years.
Has independent India always been so intolerant? Back in

1962 when The Illustrated Weekly of India — an important
magazine with a circulation of more than 100,000 —
published a nude painting of Radha and Krishna, its office
was not burnt down, its editor and publisher were not
thrown behind bars. The government’s measured reaction
at the time could be a lesson for us today.
Benefit of the doubt
The offensive painting was published in the magazine’s

issue dated August 26, 1962, but there was no immediate
hue and cry. Three months passed before the matter was
discussed in Parliament on November 15, 1962.
When A M Tariq, a Congress MP from Jammu & Kashmir,

asked what action the government proposed to take against
the publisher, minister of state for home affairs B N Datar
replied they had received complaints and representations to
act against the weekly’s printer and publisher but
“Government are advised that the reproduction in question
is not actionable under the law.”
“Government are advised that the

reproduction in question is not
actionable under the law”
Braja Kishore Prasad Sinha, an MP from Bihar, suggested
that other laws might be invoked to make an example of the
publisher: “Publication of the picture of a nude woman is
itself obscene and punishable under the law. Moreover, this
publication offends the religious feelings of a large section
of Indian people. That is also punishable.”
But the government was not minded to use anything but

straightforward laws. When Tariq asked why the
government had stopped reproducing erotic Khajuraho
images in its own publications if their use was not an
offence, home minister and future Prime Minister Lal
Bahadur Shastri stood up to reply.
“Our problem is that we are somewhat ‘uncouth’ and

incapable of appreciating the art in modern painting…” he
said with self-deprecating humour. “When I first saw it I
was afraid I would make a fool of myself and tried hard to
find some art in it and determine whether it was fine (art) or
superfine.”
When I first saw it I was afraid I would
make a fool of myself and tried hard to
find some art in it and determine
whether it was fine (art) or superfine”
While he clearly disapproved of the image, Shastri gave the
publishers the benefit of the doubt: “Whatever the case, I
judged it could be objectionable, yet it had been taken from
a museum, and it is a very old museum, so it is not that the
intention (of the publication) was mala fide. No legal action
can be taken, but we still cautioned the publication against
publishing such material in future.”
Not satisfied, Tariq said, “Our museums have many
sexually explicit exhibits that the public never sees, but
what this paper has published is an insult to a great
leader of this nation (Tariq, being Muslim, perhaps had
reservations about accepting divinity in an avatar) and
an esteemed lady who have been depicted in the nude.
They have been insensitive to people’s religious
sentiments… this is the first time they have been depicted
visually in this way. This depiction is against the morality
and character of our nation. The government should have
objected and the publisher should have apologised.”
But Shastri remained calm and left it at: “We have taken up
the matter with them and expect them to reply soon. It
might be high art but there should be safeguards against
hurting people’s sentiments.”
***
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Enrique Dans
Professor at IE Business School
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Whatever happened to business

ethics?
Sep 18, 2016
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On September 13, thousands of HP inkjet printers stopped
working and displayed this error message: “The following
ink cartridges appear to be missing or damaged. Replace
the ink cartridges to resume printing. “
The problem is that the message was a big, fat lie. The
printer was fine, the cartridge was working perfectly, the
print quality was good, and ink levels were, in most of the
cases, right. Instead, the company had programmed that
message in the firmware of their printers so that, from that
date, printers that were working perfectly normally began
to reject the cartridges that were not manufactured by HP
and would not print unless they were replaced. Thousands
of customers protested on HP’s forums saying their printers
had stopped working until they replaced their ink
cartridges, and all because of a software message arbitrarily
set at a predetermined date.
HP’s apologies referring to an alleged unforeseen side
effect from a firmware upgrade, are false: many printers
that do not have access to the company’s network also were
affected by the error, suggesting that the company had
come up with the brilliant idea of programming the error at
the factory: a pre-programmed date to get customers to
purchase HP’s own cartridges.
Everything about the printer business model is disgusting,

and has been for many years. The catalog of techniques
used to try to increase manufacturers’ profits enormous,
and at the same time incomprehensible: prices that defy all
logic, putting the value of printer ink above that of unicorn
blood, meaning that machines in perfect condition that
might work for years are discarded because it is cheaper to
buy a new one thanks to tricks likeprogramming printers to
waste ink in a hidden reservoir filled with absorbent
material, or applications lying about the amount of ink in
cartridges, programming cartridges to print only a certain
number of pages, programs that require users to print
absurd diagnostic pages that waste ink without helping
anything, etc. A good number of managers responsible for
such absurdities should have gone to jail charged with
fraud.
But of course we all know that these kinds of practices are
not restricted to HP and the printer business: they are
rampant in just about every industry.Vehicles that detect
their engines are being subjected to emissions tests and lie
about those emissions until the test ends and then resume
polluting up to thirty times the legal limit, products
designed to intentionally fail after a period of time, lies
about ingredients, guarantees of organic origin or of certain
manufacturing processes… we have reached the point
where lying no longer carries any consequences.
At what point did we decide as a society that it made sense
to abandon ethics? When did we decide not to severely
punish certain behavior, and instead accept it as normal?
How is it that someone can brazenly lie and then only be
give a mild reprimand or laughable fine?
Hand on heart: I have spent the last twenty-six years

working in a business school and I can say without fear of
contradiction that I’ve ever seen such practices taught
there, whether by action or omission. Whilst there’s
obviously no 100 percent security to find out and avoid
awarding a diploma to someone with a lack of respect for
ethics, displaying or insinuating such attitudes in a class,
test or exam can easily grant someone a failing grade or
even a disciplinary expulsion.
In our hyper-connected world why don’t we punish such

wrongdoers by banning them from operating anywhere in
the world? Instead, we show infinite tolerance, and after a
few headlines in response to the first scandal we soon
forget, tending to fall back on the old truism that “everyone
does it”, or accepting the false logic that low prices are the
most important thing. Shouldn’t we ask what part of our
education system or social codes have led us here?
(En español, aquí)
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How Augmented Reality drives the

Internet of Things
Sep 18, 2016
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It is a pretty familiar scene, that of the classic morning

routine of the future. A person wakes up, gets out of bed,
and walks over to their window. As they gaze out at their
city skyline, a hologram hovering somewhere in the sky
informs them of the weather. Other floating projections
display the morning news, their itinerary for the day, and
whatever else may be relevant to that person at that time.
After updating themselves sufficiently, they head over to

their closet and virtually try on a few different outfits in a
matter of seconds, finally settling on one they are happy
with. As they continue to prepare for the day, all the
mundane necessities which humans previously had to do
manually now operate automatically, leaving the person
more time to do something of importance before they
embark out the door.
Anyone who has seen more than a few science fiction
movies can attest to the frequency in which a scene such as
this starts off a film, setting the tone for the viewer that this
is a world far more advanced than our own. And while the
average person might still believe this type of world only
exists in some far off future, those in the tech industry
know we are far closer than most would imagine. In fact, as
the powerful concept of the Internet of Things continues to
establish itself as the definitive topic of discussion and
enquiry among the tech world, we may very well be on the
cusp of such a world becoming a reality.
IOT CARS AND SELFIE FRIDGES
The Internet of Things is an idea which is quite simple in

its essence, but extremely complicated when one delves
into the details. The main idea of IoT is this: eventually,
every physical object in our world which exhibits any sort
of variation or movement will be connected to the Internet.
This will allow physical objects to transmit and receive
information, permitting their normal affairs and
maintenance to run automatically. This in turn would
increase the efficiency and reduce the time needed, cost,
and errors of virtually every occurrence and event in our
modern world. Sounds nice, doesn’t it?
For those that are still confused, imagine a highway where

every car on the road is digitally communicating with every
other car, constantly updating their current location to
ensure that there is never a single accident. Elon Musk's
Tesla is following that approach with the so called <a
href="https://blogmitcnc.org/2014/08/21/the-tesla-iot-car-
case-study/">IoT car</a>. Or imagine a refrigerator that
knows when it is out of lunchmeat and automatically
notifies a grocery delivery service that it will need more by
noon the next day. Industry giant Bosch made the first step
in their <a href="http://www.bosch-home.co.uk/home-
connect.html#fridges">"Home Connect"</a> program with
a refrigerator that takes selfies of its contents. In the next
step that will be combined with an Augmented Reality app.
CONNECTED WORLD
These are just a couple of everyday scenarios illustrating

the unlimited potential of a worldwide connection between
the physical universe and the Internet. And while they
undoubtedly sound futuristic, the numbers show that our
world is irreversibly heading in the direction of connection.
Last year alone, an estimated $698.6 billion dollars was
spent by businesses on the Internet of Things. By 2019, this
number is expected to reach upwards of $1.3 trillion.
According to Cisco’s Trend Report, the amount of
connected devices exceeded the amount of connected
people in the year 2008. Currently the number of connected
devices stands at around 13.4 billion, and is expected to
reach somewhere between 30 and 50 billion by the year
2020 . These numbers are outstanding, and although 87%
of consumers still haven’t heard the term Internet of
Things yet, they represent a growing tidal wave in the
business world which will certainly crash into major
markets once circumstances and timing permit.
Considering forecasts, such as GE’s, which predicted the
rising presence of connected machines in industry will add
as much as 15 trillion dollars to the global GDP over the
next 20 years, it is no surprise many businesses are
fervently adapting their business models to be harmonious
with the Internet of Things. This convergence of machines,
data, and analytics is being dubbed the fourth Industrial
Revolution, or “Industry 4.0”, and every major Internet
company from IBM and Cisco to Google and Microsoft are
competing to be the main provider of the platform which
makes this convergence possible. The positive effects for
businesses constantly connected to their products,
customers and manufacturing hardware are quite apparent,
including benefits such as increased operational efficiency,
faster decision making, better customer relationships, and a
larger potential for correspondence between different parts
of the company. Ultimately, all these benefits culminate
into a “smarter” industry in which every aspect of the
supply chain operates with a greater sense of ease and
efficiency.
BECOMING "IOT READY"
There are essentially four different elements of the IoT

process which companies must incorporate into their
infrastructure to truly achieve the status of an “Industry
4.0” company.
Implementation of “connectedness” capabilities

This is done by implanting sensors, processors, or any other
technologies which allow data to be exchanged between the
product and its environment. In support of their IoT
platform, Bosch Software Innovations advertises that in
2013 they shipped out more than one billion of their
MEMS sensors which are designed with this type of
information exchange in mind. Bosch also has the upper-
hand in this area since they are already a leading
manufacturer of electronic products.
Cloud computing and platform systems
Cloud systems can store the flow of data and allow for the
oversight of the products themselves as well as any
applications a company might sell or utilize. In this area,
Amazon’s IoT Amazon Web Services platform dominates
with cloud capabilities and services which are quoted as
being “many times the aggregate size of all other providers
in the market.” Our partner Microsoft offers their Universal
Windows Platform which allows developing apps cross-
device for smartphones, tablets and smart glasses like the
Hololens as well as for the Internet of Things.
Structure and analyze the collected data

This is a huge make-it-or-break-it point for an IoT platform
since the technology serving this function needs to ensure
that not even a speck of data in the sea of information made
available goes to waste. Additionally, the technology
should be capable of actively making decisions based on its
analytics. IBM has attached their artificial intelligence
supercomputer, "Watson", to the front of their IoT platform
for precisely this reason, "Watson" is also famously known
for winning the popular TV trivia show Jeopardy.
Nonetheless, usage of AI supercomputers emphasize the
fact that by utilizing the network of information within a
platform makes it possible to be actively increase a
machine's output to the fullest extent.
THE FOURTH ELEMENT: AUGMENTED

REALITY
Now, the fourth and final aspect of this process is arguably

the key to bringing IoT from the level of a specialized
function into a full on industrial transformation of total
connectivity. This aspect is the visualization in real-time of
all the data which the Internet of Things will have to offer,
and the most obvious candidate to make this visualization
occur at the level of scalability which industry requires is
none other than Augmented Reality.
Some may ask: If the data can be cognitively analyzed by

machines, why is it so important that humans are able to
visualize it? The answer here is simple. Ultimately, the
whole point of the Internet of Things and the technology
which goes into making it a reality is to unlock the full
capabilities of human potential. The reason virtually every
major tech company is becoming so invested in bringing
the idea of IoT to life, and the reason why Augmented
Reality is so often brought up alongside this concept, is
because they understand the unlimited possibilities it will
bring to human existence.
Companies need an ecosystem to integrate Augmented

Reality into the Internet of Things. Together with our
Industry partner Bosch Automotive Service Solutions we
made our content authoring platform REFLEKT ONE "IoT
Ready". Whether it comes to the visualization of contextual
information or showing live data on machines, cars or any
other objects, the platform allows to seamless connectivity
to existing infrastructures.
With AR, information will be digitally attached to the
physical world, waiting for us to access and use it to further
develop our goals and ambitions without ever having to
turn our attention away from what it is we wish to do. This
will allow for uninterrupted workflows, making processes
which previously required a constant shift in attention
much more natural and intuitive - thus giving us more time
to enjoy life.
And while industry is certainly the first branch of society

which is beginning to understand the fundamental
importance of what this new development in information
processing offers, it will not be long before every other
aspect of society catches on as well. It is only a matter of
time. Even though very little about this field is still to be set
in stone, the knowledge that it could change all of our lives
certainly has been. And for now, that knowledge is all
Augmented Reality experts such as us require to continue
to create and innovate in this revolutionary field,
steadfastly propelling us all into the future.
This article was posted on Augmented and Virtual Reality

Blog WeAreAR.
Co-author of the article: Scott Hicken
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Charles Wigelsworth
founder | anon tree
Love these IoT articles, they never cease to remind me of how absolutely worthless and
trivial these solutions are in a world in which the underlying systemic structures are
crumbling. Don't bother solving any real problems in the world, let's create a fridge that
takes selfies and data mines the contents. These articles represent the proverbial polishing
of the brass on the Titanic.
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19 hours ago
Ignatius Ondwasi, Robert Reno, Daniel Griffin, +1
Charles Wigelsworth
founder | anon tree
Peter Smirniotopoulos Fight Club ;)
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19 hours ago
Peter Smirniotopoulos and Andy Hawkins
Peter Smirniotopoulos
Adjunct Professor of Real Estate, Department of Finance, MBA Program
at George Washington University
I thought the metaphor was "rearranging the deck chairs" but, otherwise, spot on,
Charles.
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19 hours ago
Robert Reno and Andy Hawkins
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Bruce Upbin
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You May Not Know It, But You're

Living In The Golden Age Of
Tunneling
Sep 19, 2016
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 199 Likes
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Science writer Laurie Winkless explores the growth

industry hiding below us.
In 1843, it was called the Eighth Wonder of the World,
attracting 50,000 visitors on its first day. But this wasn’t an
exhibition or a must-see show, it was London’s Thames
Tunnel, which connected the neighborhoods of Rotherhithe
and Wapping. Built by Marc Isambard Brunel and his son
Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the Thames Tunnel was an
engineering masterpiece, the first ever tunnel to be
constructed under a busy, navigable river. As with all world
firsts, the project faced many challenges, the geology key
among them.
The north side of London is dominated by a solid clay, but
to the south-east (where the Thames Tunnel lies), water-
drenched sands and gravel are the norm. Early attempts to
dig a tunnel through these sands were disastrous, with
hundreds of men made sick by exposure to raw sewage
from the river, and numerous floods claiming lives. It took
the invention of the tunneling shield to make working
conditions a little more bearable. In its simplest form, it
was an iron frame, split into 36 cells, each large enough for
a worker to stand in. The frame supported the tunnel as it
was being excavated, which gave bricklayers time to shore
up the walls. Using this process didn’t entirely solve the
issue of flooding, but it did allow the Thames Tunnel to
progress slowly, but surely. In the end, construction of the
1332 foot-long tunnel took upwards of 16 years. Despite its
impressive age, it remains in use.
These days, tunnels just aren’t considered to be a ‘big deal’
by most people. They are very much seen as a normal part
of our modern landscape, and between transport and water
supply, most of us rely on them every single day. But it’s in
relatively recent years that this has been the case. More
record-breaking tunnels have been constructed since the
year 2000 than in the previous 150 years. In fact, of the 50
longest tunnels on Earth, 30 came into being since the turn
of the millennium. And the sector is continuing to grow,
with at least 20 rail, road, water or waste tunnels longer
than 9 miles currently under construction, with another 10
to 15 at the advanced planning stage. One thing that’s
driving this growth is cost – on average, the cost of tunnel
construction has been dropping by 4% every year. In built-
up areas like cities, tunnels are often cheaper to construct
(around £50 million per kilometer in the UK) than
equivalent surface structures.
The cost of tunnel construction has been

dropping by 4% every year. In cities,
tunnels are often cheaper to
construct than equivalent surface
structures.
While the Brunel shield made tunneling practical, it is the
tunnel boring machine, or TBM, that heralded the current
golden age of tunneling, allowing us to dream bigger and to
dig further and faster ever before. TBMs are giant, high-
tech earthworms that use a rotating cutter face covered in
hard, tungsten carbide teeth to munch whatever is in its
way. The ground-up rock is mixed with other compounds
inside the TBM, to produce a material with the consistency
of toothpaste that can be reused to build wetland nature
reserves, among other things. While the face is busy
digging, the TBM’s hydraulic arm lifts curved sections of
reinforced concrete into place, building the tunnel like a
circular jigsaw. Europe’s most famous TBMs can be found
on London’s Crossrail project. Weighing in at 1,100 tons
and measuring 470 feet long, these behemoths can each
construct 4.3 miles of tunnels a year. That’s 190 times
faster than Brunel could manage!
The world’s largest TBM was launched in June 2015, and
will create an undersea link between mainland China and
Hong Kong International Airport. With a diameter of 57
feet, it’s slightly larger than Seattle’s TBM, Bertha. She
recently restarted excavating a new aqueduct under the city,
after a delay of almost three years, caused by metal piping
found in her path. And this brings us back to reality. As
tunnel projects become more complex and the demands
more extreme, delays in projects may well become more
prevalent.
To my mind, excavating tunnels suitable to house
Hyperloop One’s vacuum trains will push existing
tunneling technology to its limits, and it’s partly thanks to
the enormous lengths and short timescales involved. Earlier
this year, Gotthard Base Tunnel, the longest and deepest
rail tunnel in the world opened in the Swiss Alps. The 35
mile (57 km) long twin-bore tunnels are predicted to
remove a million heavy-duty trucks from the roads, but
they took almost 20 years to construct. For Hyperloop One,
this is a snail’s pace. “One of our major challenges is the
economy of building a super-high-speed system
quickly”, said Hyperloop One Senior Geotechnical
Engineer, Brandon Kluzniak. “TBMs are pretty cool, but
they still build tunnels slowly. We want to go much, much
faster than today’s systems can manage. This shouldn’t
mean that we’ll need to completely rethink how we build
tunnels, but it’s likely that our ideal solution will use a
combination of technologies.”
New York City's East Side Access Tunnel
So how big is the challenge exactly? Well, in July, FS
Links published a preliminary feasibility study for a
Hyperloop One route that would run between Stockholm
and Helsinki, a distance of more than 310 miles. With just
84.5 miles of track in Sweden and 98 miles in Finland, it’s
clear that most of this route would be undersea. If the
Hyperloop One team achieve this engineering feat, it will
dwarf the current record holder – the 33.5 mile-long Seikan
Tunnel in Japan.
Hyperloop One isn’t looking at tunnels just yet though. Its
DevLoop test track, currently under construction, will use
sections of steel tube roughly 11 feet in diameter, elevated
several yards above the ground. But, longer term, their
high-speed freight and (eventually) passenger system is
likely to move – at least partly –underground. “Tunnels let
you optimize routes so there’s the least amount of
disturbance to existing landscapes. And, without tunnels, it
would hard to connect urban centers. Both are
fundamentally important factors for the Hyperloop
system,” says Brandon.
There may well be lessons to be learned from elsewhere in

the construction industry. Norwegian engineers have a
rather special tunnel in mind -- one that floats. (Read this
blog post on subsea tunnels from Hyperloop One marine
engineer, Blake Cole). Officially called an Archimedes
Bridge, it has been proposed as a way to cross one of
Norway’s many fjords. It would use a combination of floats
and tethers to hold the structure stable, making it
indistinguishable from a traditional tunnel for those driving
through it. With Hyperloop’s ambitions targeting a
European route, it couldn’t hurt to look towards innovative
tunneling approaches like this.
Laurie Winkless is a physicist-tuned science writer,
currently based in London. Her first book, Science And
The City: The Mechanics Behind The Metropolis, offers a
whistle-stop tour of how cities work, and how they’ll
change in future. It is already available in Europe, and will
hit US bookshelves on 25 October (Published by
Bloomsbury, pre-order it here).
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Jos. F. McKenna
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We might need 'em, eh?
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Dr. Wladimir Klitschko
Founder, Owner, Inspirer, Initiator and long-time Heavyweight Champion of the World
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More respect, please!

Sep 19, 2016
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 406 Likes
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Respect cuts both ways. Everyone expects to be respected

by others, or at least to be treated with respect. You, too, no
doubt. On the other hand, I realize time and again that
people do not necessarily treat those around them
respectfully. That they do not show any respect to the
homeless person outside the supermarket. That they do not
greet the cleaning crew in the company in the same friendly
manner as they would their company’s CEO. Or that they
interrupt a colleague in front of the entire team because
they don’t like the way he acts.
Respect is also frequently the subject of public debate:
soccer player Lukas Podolski demanded it during the
European Championship when his performance - and that
of other ‘aging’ players - was criticized. Secretaries want
more recognition for their profession, and advertising
managers, a better standing for their industry. The list goes
on and on and it would seem that disrespect is a widespread
phenomenon: executives snub their employees. Privileged
individuals treat less educated or cultured people
condescendingly. Young people mock the elderly.
Such behavior is not just indicative of a poor upbringing -

I'm absolutely certain it doesn’t do us any favors either.
Those who don’t respect others stand to miss out on
insights, experience and valuable interaction with others
themselves. Or would you trust somebody who patronizes
you?
My parents taught me that respect is just as important as
humility, honesty and a sense of responsibility. They were
living examples of this for me, just as I am a living
example for my daughter.
This is something that I can regularly be seen doing on

camera as a boxer: Fury, my opponent last fall, is known
for stepping out of line occasionally. At the press
conference before the last fight, the Brit appeared in a
Batman costume and wrestled someone dressed as the
Joker to the ground. On other occasions he insulted me
verbally and then spread them on his Twitter channel.
Many believe that provocations like this are just part of our
sport, that fans expect it, and that it livens things up. I was
never especially impressed by such behavior, let alone
provoked by it. I treat all of my opponents with respect,
regardless of how badly they behave. I could even construe
Fury’s failure to appear at our press conference for the
return fight on October 29, last week, because he had a
breakdown and there was too much traffic on the M6, as a
provocation. But I won’t.
Even as a teenager I internalized that it is essential to show

one’s opponents respect. After all, anyone who doesn’t take
his opponent seriously, risks becoming arrogant and hence
vulnerable.
What is an important survival strategy in the ring also

applies in the business world. Those who don’t take their
competitors seriously will soon be overtaken by them.
There are plenty of examples of this. Kodak scoffed at
digital photography and smartphone manufacturers rather
than recognizing them as the upcoming competition that
they were with the result that the former market and
technology leader eventually had to file for bankruptcy -
after no fewer than 132 years on the market.
The same thing can be observed wherever “creative
destroyers” shake up a market and take top dogs by
surprise, because they do not take their young,
unconventional rivals seriously: in the music business when
online services replaced the CD, with BlackBerry when
touch-screens devices rendered the old key telephone
obsolete, or as was the case with the established high-
priced airlines that didn’t regard budget airlines as serious
competition.
The faster and more global the economy becomes, the more
important it is to accept other market participants as
potential partners and perhaps even cooperate with them in
order to be faster and more effective together. However,
one thing is essential before opening up to and entering into
negotiations with them: respect! The ability to
acknowledge one’s counterpart’s achievements, without
selling oneself short.
Whenever I tell students attending my “CAS Change &
Innovation Management” course at the University of St.
Gallen about the benefits of this so-called ‘coopetition’
(cooperation with competitors), whenever I speak of
humility and respect as a prerequisite for strength, it
sometimes strikes me as self-evident. But a look at
companies reveals that this is not the case. Managers
embezzle money and enrich themselves, because they do
not respect the boundary between what is their’s and what
isn’t. Entrepreneurs commit tax fraud. And executives fly
on vacation or invite customers on pleasure trips on
company expenses. The number of spectacular managerial
scandals has increased in my opinion: the papers report on
new scandals on an almost weekly basis.
Harvard professor Clayton Christensen already addressed

this development in his 2012 book “How will you measure
your life” : because many of his former students were either
divorced, leading unhappy private lives or even doing time
in prison for fraud, he wanted to consciously choose a
better way. Christensen cherishes such values as integrity,
loyalty and honesty and points out that professional success
means little compared to love or friendship. In his book, he
raises such questions as “How do I lead a happy and
meaningful life?”, “How do I become professionally
successful and enjoy work?” and “How can I avoid ending
up in prison?” He answers these question by applying
economic theories to personal life choices; for example the
introduction of a family culture. In so doing, he focuses on
values capable of guiding him, his children, grandchildren
and his wife in their professional and private lives. These
include decency, humility and respect.
Interestingly enough, the issue of respect is experiencing

something of a renaissance elsewhere under a different
name: mindfulness. When MIT professor emeritus Jon
Kabat-Zinn spoke at the World Economic Forum in Davos
on mindfulness, dozens of tough top managers,
entrepreneurs and other decision makers hung on his every
word. He is convinced that mindfulness training can help
people prevent stress, anxiety and illness, by teaching them
to be more mindful of themselves and their environment.
In other words, they work toward developing respect for

themselves and their fellow human beings. A great
development, right?
Whatever we call it: my life will be more worth living if

my fellow humans treat me and others respectfully. And it
will be more successful if we treat one another in a mindful
and dignified way. Therefore and this isn’t just an example
I want to set my little daughter - be attentive and ask
yourself how you would like to be treated. And once
you’ve decided, please treat those around you the same
way, too!
 Leadership
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Ajay Kapoor
Head -Domestic Marketing at Hartex Rubber Pvt. Ltd.
Awards or no awrds, Respecting is civilised behaviour.
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4 hours ago
Metka Locicnik Zvikart, Mohammad Saiful Islam Jilani, Prakash Bhatia, +2
Metka Locicnik Zvikart

newly stay at home mom
True!
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These 3 Simple Strategies Will Improve Your Chances of Getting Funded! (photo credit:
Buzzfeed)
John-Paul Iwuoha
Author, Business Strategist & Champion for Entrepreneurship in Africa
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3 Simple But Powerful Things You

Can Do To Raise Capital For Your
Business
Sep 18, 2016
 2,048 views
 257 Likes

8 Comments
Funding is the reason many business ideas haven’t taken

off.
It’s the reason many promising businesses that should be

growing remain stunted. Even big companies too want to
raise more capital.
Whether you’re looking for less than $10,000 to develop a

prototype or start up your business, or you’re hunting for
$15 million to scale and expand your product, there’s one
major question that goes through your mind when you’re
trying to fall asleep at night, or awake to a new day in the
morning:
How exactly can I raise the funding I need for my business?
Because of how hard it can be to raise funding these days,
we ogle and celebrate those ‘lucky’ entrepreneurs who
successfully attract capital. After all, if they can raise
capital when thousands of others cannot, luck must have
played a huge part in it, right?
Yes, you’re right.
But you’re also wrong!
Through my personal struggles with raising funding, and

my observation of over 100 entrepreneurs who have
successfully raised capital for businesses at different stages
of growth, I think I know why these guys are ‘lucky’.
There is actually a method to raising capital. And with
some luck, this method will work for you as long as you
follow the steps I’m about to show you, and abide by them.
Since raising capital is often wrapped in the myth and
mystique of high finance, I’m sure some of you reading this
would be expecting to see some complex and jaw-dropping
formula that will magically show you the answers you seek.
But no, I’m so sorry to disappoint you.
While I have a penchant for snazzy formulas given my

background in consulting, accounting and engineering, the
method I’m about to share with you is quite simple.
But don’t be fooled, it’s absolutely powerful too going by

the kind of results you can achieve with it.
This method is actually built around three strategies. Like
hunting wild antelopes or positioning yourself to attract a
dream job or a beautiful girlfriend, to successfully achieve
any goal in life, you need effective strategies.
And raising funding in an environment where thousands of
other people are looking for the same capital as you, it’s
very important that you have a winning strategy that sets
you apart and bests your chances of attracting the funding
you need.
So what is this method of raising funding all about?
This method is about 3 inter-related strategies that any

entrepreneur around the world can combine to achieve
interesting results.
The first strategy is your preparation and
positioning strategy.
The second is your packaging strategy.
And the third is your promotion strategy.
And I’ll take you through each of these 3 strategies in the
rest of this article.
1) Preparation and Positioning Strategy

Every military general knows that preparation is key to
winning every battle. With an effective preparation and
positioning strategy, a small army can overwhelm and
defeat a larger and more intimidating adversary.
While raising capital for your business is not war, it’s

actually quite close.
In fact, raising capital is a selling process. That’s because

you’re trying to convince other people to buy into your
idea, vision or business, and invest their hard-earned money
into it.
And I have found that your ability to communicate your
idea, business or vision in a very convincing way can
significantly increase your chances of raising funding.
What I find is many entrepreneurs who are looking for

funding just want money to ‘develop a prototype’ or ‘grow
their businesses’. While these needs are very genuine
nonetheless, they’re actually very vague and will hardly
convince anyone.
What kind of funding are you looking for? Equity, debt or
free capital (like grants, prize awards or informal
funding)?
Do you know the options available for the kind of capital
you’re looking for? Do you know their requirements,
questions and criteria for investing in or financing
businesses like yours?
How much capital should you really be asking for so these
investors and lenders can take you seriously? What’s in it
for them? Why should they invest in, or finance your
business?
The truth is, targeting the top sources of funding for your
type of business, industry and geography is one of the best
ways to prepare yourself for funding.
Unfortunately, many entrepreneurs adopt a ‘machine gun

approach’ to funding. They send out their business plans
and proposals to everyone and everywhere in the hope of
attracting funding. While this approach works sometimes, it
fails most times.
What you need is a ‘sniper approach’. You need to
intentionally target those sources and options that are more
likely to fund your type and category of business. As you
may already know by watching action movies, snipers can
be highly effective on the battleground.
In my upcoming free online course, I’ll be introducing you
to the Top 15 sources of raising funding for any business.
I’ll show you their good sides and bad sides, and how you
can find, prepare for, and target them.
Sadly, when most entrepreneurs share their experiences
with raising funding, they typically talk about banks?
Really, banks?
On my list of top funding sources, banks are #14. While

banks are the most familiar option, they’re not suited to
funding all types of businesses. And I’ll tell you why in the
course.
2) Packaging Strategy
Anyone who’s ever been in a supermarket knows just how
powerful and influential packaging can be.
Everywhere you look in a big supermarket, packaging

strategies are at work. Most consumer-focused businesses
use a combination of color, lighting, texture, smiles,
gestures, scent and sounds to attract you to their products,
and ultimately influence you to like it and buy it.
These beautifully-packaged products are designed to get

your attention because they know there are other products
that are also vying for your attention. Worse still, they
know most buyers have a short attention span, so they have
just a few seconds to catch your eyeballs.
Investors and lenders receive a lot of solicitations, business

plans and proposals in their email, in the post, and in
person every day. Sadly, most of these are never read and
end up in the trash. You can’t blame these busy
professionals; they have a lot of work to do.
So, whatever you have to say to these guys – whether in
person or via email – you have only a few minutes to catch
their eyeballs.
These days, everybody follows the classic route of writing

a long, boring and ‘academic-style’ business plan.
Really, who’s going to read through all those pages?
Am I saying you don’t need a business plan? Of course not.

Nobody builds a house without a plan, so why build a
business without one.
It’s really all about how you package it and when you
introduce the business plan into the conversation.
Unless they specifically ask for the full document, before

you drown a prospective investor, lender or partner in all
the details of your business plan, you need to serve them a
teaser or appetizer first. If they’re hooked and ask to know
more, then you can serve them something more.
And who says a business proposal has to be written in

words? These days, written words are the slowest and most
time-consuming type of information to absorb.
In fact, images are really worth a thousand words.
Voice is worth ten thousand.
Video is worth ten million.
In my upcoming free course, I’ll also be sharing interesting

strategies that help to package your vision, idea or business
to be far more attractive and interesting to prospective
investors and partners.
When it comes to funding, there’s a lot of noise out there.
You need to package your business proposition so it sounds
like music. That way, it filters through all the noise and
investors want to listen to it.
3) Promotion strategy
In my opinion, I think the world is an unfair place. If the
world were fair, all the best and brightest ideas shouldn’t
have to struggle to raise funding. In a fair world, these
ideas and businesses would ‘naturally’ find investors.
But again, the world is not fair. Even with the internet and
social media that have made the world much smaller, it’s
still not very easy for investors to find good business ideas
and promising businesses to invest in. There’s just a lot of
noise and distraction everywhere.
Rather than sit on your genius idea and hope the right
investor finds you, there’s something else you should be
doing.
Hope works, but not all the time. But taking action works
most of the time.
You have to get on your feet and actively promote your
business to the sources of capital you identified during the
preparation and promotion stage. Those guys may be too
busy or unaware to find you, but you can make it easy for
them. Go out to them and reach them.
Don’t just wait until you randomly come across an

opportunity for funding. Keep on applying! You should be
signed up to the email newsletters of the organisations
you’re targeting. Track them down on social media, and
engage with them. Google and look up the people and
decision makers on their teams and target them too.
Another very important point is to never give up due to
rejection.
In the race for capital, there are only three possible answers
you’ll get from potential investors and funders: Yes,
Maybe, or No.
All of these answers are good for you.
Especially when you get a ‘No’, always respond with

a ‘Why not?’ (of course, in a polite and respectable format).
It’s important that even when you miss the funding, never
miss the lesson.
The critical feedback you get from these lessons will feed
back into your preparation and packaging strategies and
make your next promotion much better!
Raising funding is not a ‘win or lose’ game. It’s a ‘win or
learn’ game. That’s the mentality and attitude you need
when you’re in funding mode.
Remember, if you have a business you believe in, and you
think you deserve funding, you have to actively promote it.
There’s no use having a good and well-packaged product

when nobody knows about it.
Reserve Your Spot On My Upcoming

Free Online Course…
Starting from the 1st October 2016, my free online
course, Capital Attraction Secrets, goes live. Over 1,200
people from 60+ countries around the world have already
reserved their spots to attend the course.
The course will be a series of 4 video lessons delivered
over 5 days. It will be available online so anyone who has
access to the internet on any device – mobile phone, tablet
or laptop – can participate.
Here’s the link to reserve your spot: Reserve My Spot On

The Free Course!
During the course, I’ll be sharing some of the top mental
roadblocks that prevent most people from raising funding.
I’ll also be revealing the top 15 sources of funding for most
types of businesses, and real-life success stories of
businesses that have used them to raise funding.
I’ll be glad to have you attend.
Here’s the link again to reserve your spot: Reserve My

Spot On The Free Course!
See you inside!
PS: If you know somebody who’s facing challenges with
funding, SHARE this article with them. They will be
grateful to you for it
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
John-Paul Iwuoha is an author, impact entrepreneur,
business strategist, and founder of Smallstarter Africa. He
works with entrepreneurs and investors to start up and
grow businesses in Africa. He is also the co-author of 101
Ways To Make Money in Africa, the widely-acclaimed book
which reveals several interesting business ideas, market
opportunities, and inspiring entrepreneur success stories
across Africa.
To read more of his riveting articles on small business and
entrepreneurship from across Africa,
visit www.smallstarter.com
Follow him on Twitter @JP_Iwuoha for updates, articles,
insights and other great stuff.
 Featured In
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o Entrepreneurship
Written by
John-Paul Iwuoha
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Cardiyan HIS
Owner, SWI Group
So very good article
o Like(5)
o Reply(1)
18 hours ago
John-Paul Iwuoha, Maridalglim Lopes, Antony Zhong, +2
John-Paul Iwuoha
Author, Business Strategist & Champion for Entrepreneurship in Africa
Thank you, Cardiyan!
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8 hours ago
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Nirmalya Kumar
Member - Group Executive Council at Tata Sons
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Why Demographic Segmentation

Rarely Works?
Sep 19, 2016
 2,020 views
 371 Likes

26 Comments
Marketing as a corporate function originated out of sales

more than a hundred years ago. Rather than simply trying
to sell what the company manufactures (the sales concept),
the marketing idea was that it made more sense to start by
first examining customer needs and then producing what
consumers actually need. As Peter Drucker argued: The
aim of Marketing is to make Selling superfluous by
understanding the customer so well the product or service
fits him/her and sells itself.
As companies began examining customer needs closely,

they quickly realized that customers differ in their
preferences. This gave rise to the concept of market
segmentation, which is about dividing the market into
homogeneous groups of customers who respond similarly
to the marketing mix. The marketing mix, or the 4 Ps of
product, price, place and promotion, are the essential tools
available to a marketer to position the company’s offer to
the segment that is targeted for sales. In my experience,
solving any marketing problem ultimately requires a deep
understanding of market segments.
Having observed marketing practice for three decades, I am

frustrated that the fundamental concept of segmentation is
so poorly understood and implemented in companies.
Rather than thinking deeply about customer needs and the
resulting segments, marketers slip too easily into defining
segments based on demographic variables such as gender,
age, education and income. I suspect this happens because
it is so easy, through demographics, to identify who falls
into which segment: males versus females, for instance, or
singles versus married.
The problem with demographic segments is that they rarely
reflect differences in customer needs. For product
categories such as toys, apparel and cosmetics,
demographic segments can undeniably be a valuable
starting point. But even here it is rarely enough. One needs
to further subsegment the chosen demographic target based
on ‘needs’ in order to develop actionable strategy or
marketing recommendations.
Segmenting Porsche Buyers

Consider an exercise I often ran while teaching. I would
ask my class, “Who buys a Porsche in the United States?”
The immediate response was: male, 40-plus, college
educated and earning more than $200,000 annually. Yes, it
is true that a large proportion of people who buy a Porsche
fall into this group. Yet it does not tell us why they buy
one: what is the need they are trying to fulfil with a
Porsche?
When pushed the class typically argued for the profile we
call ‘top guns,’ driven, ambitious types for whom power
and control matter. They buy a Porsche to be noticed. But
these top guns account for only a quarter of Porsche buyers.
There are four other segments that buy Porsche with
varying motivations.
Implications for Marketers
1. Marketing versus sales function?
The role of group marketing is to support the sales function
with better targeting so that it increases conversion rates.
Clearly, except by chance, no dealer or salesperson for
Porsche could develop this segmentation scheme. It is the
central marketing team of the brand that has this capability
and responsibility.
Beyond segmentation, marketing must generate the ideal

scripts to converse with each segment and, subsequently,
roll it out across the dealer network. This will ensure that
dealer salespeople do not treat every customer conversation
as if they are interacting with a top gun, as all that would
achieve is turning off potential buyers from the other four
segments.
2. How is the segment to be identified?

Of course, the problem remains that even after a
salesperson is trained on these five segments that exist and
the ideal scripts are prepared, how is she to know which
segment the customer in front of her falls into? The
identification of the segment is essential for differential
conversations to happen. At the outset we must
acknowledge that identification will always be a challenge
with needs-based segmentation.
While perfection is the enemy of any action, there are

methods that get us closer to solving the identification
problem. For example, one may profile the segments to see
if they differ in some demographic manner. There may be
other clues, such as dress or mannerisms which can help
identify which segment an individual belongs to. Finally,
one may develop a set of questions — fewer the better —
which help in discriminating between segments.
To keep improving, if a customer database is maintained it
should have a column for segmentation that is updated by
the salesperson. This ensures more appropriate follow-ups.
None of these approaches are ideal, but together they
improve the hit rate for identification. Over time, it is to be
hoped, companies learn and get better at it. It is such
improvement that results in a competitive advantage for the
enterprise.
3. Modify product or modify other elements of

marketing?
It is important to understand when segmentation will drive
the development of unique products for each segment
versus when changes will be restricted to the other
elements of the marketing mix. In the Porsche example,
one would not have singular products for each segment.
Instead, it is the sales approach and advertising — perhaps
the segments consume different media and, as a result,
advertising copies can be tactically placed — that will
differ across the segments.
In conclusion, if there is one thing that I have learnt

examining marketing problems over the years is that they
ultimately boil down to a segmentation problem. Perhaps
the segments have not been defined appropriately? Or, one
is not targeting the right segment? May be the marketing
mix is not aligned to the target segment?
As we say, “who targets best, wins” but,

to do that the foundation is an effective
segmentation scheme.
Warmly
Nirmalya @ProfKumar
Magic Dust: Beyoncé, Ed Sheeran & Gary Clark Jr. Tribute
Stevie Wonder
For more such posts, visit nirmalyakumar.com

This is a personal blog post. The opinions expressed here
are of the author and not those of Tata Sons Limited or the
Tata Group and are not intended to harm, malign, or
defame any group, organization, or individual.
 Featured In
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Nirmalya Kumar
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Prabhakar Mundkur
Chief Mentor, HGS Interactive
Unfortunately India was about 20 years behind in adopting a measurable Living
Standards System, wholly relying on an outdated SEC ( socio-economic classification )
from media data . When I was working in South Africa early 90s there was already an
LSM system there. Not sure how many companies in India still follow LSM?
o Like(3)
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8 hours ago
kobir choudhori, James O Maloney, and Pramod Vasudev Bhat
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Sandeep Das
Experienced Strategist, Mentor
Hardly any or very few Prabs. Left India in 2002 when SEC was still a rage and currently
come across lots of global work with India as a key focus. Again SEC predominates. But
I do believe the system was revamped a few years back to reflect the changing socio-
demographics of India. Broadly, demographic segmentation hardly works anymore
unless and until it is layered with behavioural and attitudinal data. The whole Millennials
craze is a driven by a demographic segment who were born during a specific time period.
To design and implement meaningful strategies targeting Millennials it is critical that
brands pay more attention to what Millennials are doing rather than 'who they are in
terms of age, gender and birth years'.
 Like(5)
8 hours ago
Prabhakar Mundkur, Vimal Solanki, Karan Chawla, +2
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Kaustubh Patekar
Entrepreneur, Product Strategist, Rocket Scientist
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Startup traps: Are you falling in one?

Sep 19, 2016
 1,762 views
 169 Likes

20 Comments
Over the last couple of years I have met founders of many

startups across India and US and observed some common
pitfalls. Many of these were conversations about how they
could accelerate and some were just for fun. Founder's age
or the type of industry did not seem to dictate the likelihood
of falling in one or more of these traps.
You often see statistics about large number of failed
startups and success seems mystical but more often than
not the failures are possible to avoid. Outside of non-
existent business models and ideas that are too early or too
late, mistakes below can be the bane of many startups.
More people are better than higher paid

expertise
Possibly more common in developing economies, this is

seen across hiring practices, retention policies and the type
of talent sought. Some startups even put age limit in their
job ads or recruit exclusively at colleges. I have also come
across companies who will find multiple suitable
candidates for a role and just go with the one that is cheaper
to hire. There is absolute value in hiring smart people and
training them, but be mindful of what requires a higher
level of experience or expertise. Can you afford to have a
role filled by someone who will learn on the job instead of
hitting the ground running?
Startups may not have enough money to compete with

larger corporations or their better funded brethren.
However, you should have vision, equity, exciting work
environment - all things you can use to convert and
compete effectively with the higher paying employers.
Understand the difference between investing in your
employees, systems and - shopping around before buying.
Cheaper is NOT necessarily better.
Open source for everything
Tech crazy startups have developers who want to learn new

things and are continuously exploiting new languages and
other tools. Open source is usually the easiest to try and
acquire. I have seen companies with over 20 developers
using some open source code management tools and losing
days because the tool had a bug and kept crashing. If you
use open source take into account the costs of maintaining
if you are not able to buy support. More importantly don't
forget the cost of lost productivity. In fast moving markets
and spaces lost time can cost you a win and even market
dominance.
We can build it ourselves
This is common in the well funded and tech savvy. I have

seen companies likeGoogle and Facebook argue at one
point that they could build an analytics and reporting tool
themselves and then eventually buy it from the company I
worked with- MicroStrategy. There are a lot of things that a
company can do when it has money and smart people, but
the key question is "Is it the best use of resources?"
No points for reinventing the wheel unless it's a damn
better wheel. In more recent times, Flipkart's experiments
with their own data center and maintaining a reliable site
during high traffic times, or the lack thereof, is telling.
Bootstrapping as a religion
Money opens doors and opportunities. For a venture that

wants to grow fast money is a tonic. Founders' aversion to
sharing equity and inviting interference by picking the
wrong investors is natural. Money can accelerate your
product and company, so if you are holding onto equity
because you don't want to share you could be falling in the
trap of slow growth. Time and again I have seen companies
choose slower growth because they lack the capital to
invest in product or people or avoid pursuing larger deals or
stop going to more geographies. If you have the revenues to
support organic growth at a pace that you like - then by all
means hold it close. If not, you are loosing out and risking
becoming obsolete if you don't grow fast enough. Picking
the right amount of investment and the right investor is
totally in your control - it's your choice.
Hiring yes men or women
Unfortunately, this is not restricted to big companies.

Strong and charismatic founders can be guilty of this more
often than not. While having a founder be the face of the
company has its merits, no successful company is the result
of a single individual. Even Apple had several strong
product, design leaders and executives in its ranks to help
realize what was arguably one man's vision. Having strong
people on the team can accelerate your growth and a
healthy dissent can encourage you to build a more robust
product and business.
All this is about how to avoid falling, but the real fun is in
growing, going beyond what everyone else thinks is
possible. Take a look at our recent article by Nitrous Oxide
co-founder Raaj Sivaram about co-creating and growing
exponentially.
Kaustubh Patekar is co-founder of Nitrous Oxide a venture
leadership, creating money firm. He is a rocket scientist by
training and studied at IIT Bombay andMIT. After working
for over a decade in the US, he returned to India and is
currently leading more than one venture. To explore a new
venture you can write to mail@nitrousoxide.com.
 Featured In
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o India Tech And Startups
Written by
Kaustubh Patekar
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Rãaj Sivaram
creator. maestro chõice.
Beautiful article. sincere approach.
o Like(3)
o Reply
9 hours ago
Antony Zhong, Tyler Wong, and Ram D
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Angel Gurría
Secretary General at OECD - OCDE
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Refugee Crisis: enough words, now it

is time for action
Sep 19, 2016
 1,683 views
 332 Likes

51 Comments
Anti-immigration voices are on the rise, to a great extent as

a result of our citizens’ perception that governments are
failing to manage the refugee crisis. While many people
may be naturally concerned, confused and afraid of the
unknown, it is the sheer perception that we lack the means
to deal with this situation that is giving wings to growing
anti-migration rhetoric. Unless we take urgent action to
manage refugee flows in a coordinated manner and
effectively integrate them, we will lose. We should seize
the opportunity that refugees bring for our economies and
societies.
The arrival of refugees is not a new phenomenon, but the

current volume is putting European countries under an
unprecedented test and is questioning the ability of the
European Union to meet this challenge with a coherent,
unified approach. This challenge is here to stay: when
refugees leave a country that has been hit by war or natural
disaster with everything they own on their backs, they don’t
go in search of taking other people’s jobs or making trouble
– they go in search of a better life and the opportunities that
they lack at home. Unfortunately, this reality often gets
twisted in the public discourse, and no matter how much
we try, we just can't seem to turn public opinion.
What can we do? Governments and policy makers need to

develop better arguments to explain the core reasons of
migration and refugee flows and develop policies that
integrate migrants and refugees into our societies by
tapping into their skills. If given the proper opportunities,
the same people that we see on our screens today can help
us grow our economies tomorrow.
The OECD has collected a wealth of evidence showing that

the medium and longer term effects of migration on public
finance, economic growth, and the labour market are
generally positive. People assume that immigrants burden
local services, when in fact our research shows that in
many cases such services may have been broken well
before the newcomers ever arrived. Indeed, very often
immigrants can hold the key to fixing our ageing welfare
systems, by paying taxes and contributing to pension
systems. There is also concern about the ability of our
countries to absorb current inflows, although countries like
Canada have successfully resettled 25,000 refugees in just a
couple of months, while Sweden is showing the world how
to fast-track refugees’ skills.
What is needed is early integration that is tailored to the

needs of the individual migrant and the local community.
This implies measures such as more efficient and
transparent qualification recognition processes; investing
on education, re-skilling and language courses; and
providing the support and mechanisms to facilitate a
prompt and effective integration into labour markets.
Our OECD International Migration Outlook, released

today coinciding with the UN Summit on Refugees and
Migration and the Leaders Meeting hosted by President
Obama, points out specific actions on a number of fronts to
manage the current situation and reap the full benefits that
migration can offer:
 International cooperation: It cannot be assumed that
countries will naturally work together. Collaboration
requires incentives, rules, and recognition that this is a
shared responsibility for the whole international
community, not only for the main recipient countries.
 Temporary protection: Unfortunately, this is becoming
the rule but may be insufficient in the case of protracted
crisis, such as the one we are witnessing now.
 Global resettlement efforts. We must reinforce the global
resettlement effort but this is not sufficient as it excludes
large groups of people in need of protection (as
resettlement focuses on the most vulnerable). Resettlement
should be complemented by other actions; such as making
better use of alternative pathways for refugees.
 Time is of the essence. Needs must be identified and
addressed more rapidly at both the global and local level.
Adapting to higher migration flows can take time, during
which political resistance builds up. If authorities fail to
respond quickly to emerging migration challenges, the
impression that it is out of control becomes entrenched.
About 120 million people living in OECD countries were
born elsewhere and one person out of five is either a
migrant or was born to a migrant parent. On average, over
the past decade, more than 4 million new permanent
migrants settled in OECD countries each year. History
teaches us that efforts in welcoming and integrating
refugees are a down-payment on the future, and will benefit
our societies. This is the main message that we need to
convey to our citizens. And it is a message that needs to be
accompanied by effective action.
https://youtu.be/VXUIQEnWmGg
Useful links
IMO book
page: http://www.oecd.org/migration/international-
migration-outlook-1999124x.htm
IMO press
release: http://www.oecd.org/migration/governments-must-
address-anti-immigration-backlash.htm
 Featured In
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o Editor's Picks,
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Angel Gurría
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
LinkedIn MemberWhat % are refugees and what % are economic migrants?
Why do they not settle in the first safe country as is the law? Why do people in the UK
make such a song and dance about people struggling to survive in other countries whilst
not giving two hoots about people sleeping on the streets in Britain?
o Like(3)
o Reply(6)
4 hours ago
Steve Bain, Ric Limburg, and Anthony L Fairman
Milan Gacik-Repcik
Technology Manager
Angelique Karolina Milewska Therefore doing so they are by definition not
anymore refugees but economic migrants.
 Like
7 minutes ago
LinkedIn MemberWell as Orwell said Liberals are just power worshippers with
no power.
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1 hour ago
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Abhijeet Satapathy
Looking for Opportunities
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The case for hiring Psych majors as

Product Managers
Sep 19, 2016
 1,430 views
 382 Likes

13 Comments
During my engineering undergraduate days, a course in

Applied Organizational Psychology was but a compulsion
to meet the minimum credits in Humanities subjects.
Beyond Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (theroti-kapda-
makan theory), there is precious little I have retained. Truth
be told, careers after a psychology major have been limited.
The lucrative jobs in corporate counseling and private
practice require at a bare minimum, a graduate degree and
more importantly, years of demonstrated excellence. As
this article shows
Starting salaries as a psychology

graduate trail that of a computer
science or engineering graduate by as
much as 30–35%.
However, I would like to think that with just a little bit of
an inclination to straddle the world of
technology, psychology majors have an excellent career
choice in terms of making the cut for product
managers(PMs). Recently, I have been reading Hooked
by Nir Eyal, a must-read for all aspiring PMs. As he states
quite demonstrably, the ability to understand what products
and how they can be used to inculcate habit-forming
behaviours in the target customer base, can lead to the
design of a sustaining product.
The more important finding has been the variation
between declared preferences and revealed
preferences. This is a very important takeaway which
means that the most detailed survey can fail to capture what
the consumer is actually looking for in a product. Too
often, we talk about products needing to solve a pain-point
but this does not explain the popularity of cat-videos on
YouTube or Snapchat, Instagram etc. as people did live
their lives quite well before the advent of such products.
Even under the garb of anonymity, people very rarely delve
into opening up about their insecurities, the fear of being
left out or keeping up with the Joneses for instance. So
much so that an entire acronym FOMO (Fear of
Missing Out) has been coined to describe this
phenomenon.
Now let’s turn to the role of the Product Manger. His/her
role is pretty challenging one balancing the needs of the
consumer with the design being implemented by the
engineers. It is a role that demands deep empathy, both
with the user base and with the engineering team and
understanding theserevealed preferences way before they
are “revealed”. Moreover, as we have seen, even the best
product managers have at times got the consumer
wrong. Steve Jobs, one of the finest of this line, did get
things horribly wrong in the late 80s/early 90s before
remarkably turning things around. Stating that a product
was ahead of its time does not cut it because after all
product-market fit identification should be the key role of
the product manager. It is amazing that in the world of
technology, identification of customer needs is still treated
more as “an art rather than a science” and I feel that the use
of psychology could help make this a more science-driven
effort and bring more consistency to what today is more
akin to a hit-or-miss.
Now in order to create these program managers, the right
kind of courses would need to be developed at universities.
Courses that give psychology majors a reasonable insight
into the world of technology through carefully curated
electives could enable this field to come into its own in a
way not seen since the times of Sigmund Freud and Carl
Jung. After all, during times, when we debate whether
some roles may be made redundant with the advent of
technology, there just might be some roles that actually
find more relevance.
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Umesh Mutta
Founder at Easy Service
How about adding Statisticians to the list as they score better and more accurate than
Psych majors.
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5 hours ago
Tyler Wong, hugo zhu, and Abhijeet Satapathy
Abhijeet Satapathy
Looking for Opportunities
Umesh statisticians are already making a major impact with machine learning efforts
bringing the likes of regression, variance etc. to the mainstream.
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5 hours ago
Kelly Ardila Aunca, Lee Mathers, and Umesh Mutta
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Tara Hunt
Digital Marketing Executive
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Put Yourself in Your Customer's

Shoes
Sep 18, 2016
 1,256 views
 221 Likes

7 Comments
In the roughly 17 years I've been helping companies

communicate with their customers, I've encountered an
incredibly persistent lack of empathy by companies for
their customers' POV.
Usually, the assumption is that their customers will drop

everything to rush to buy whatever it is that they've made
because, well, it's awesome. But as someone who describes
herself as a "customer advocate rather than a marketer," I
can assure you that this rarely, if ever happens (even Apple
- who get that reaction with every product launch now -
didn't start out that way).
So, when I start working with anyone, the first thing I do is

to sit down and ask them frankly:
"I'm your customer. Explain what's in it for me?"
I've encountered all sorts of not-so-convincing value

propositions lobbed back at me ("Everyone says my app is
super addictive!") before we sit down to truly go through
the exercise I describe in this week's video on creating a
Customer Value Proposition/CVP (or Unique Value
Proposition/UVP).
This is the process that I've developed over the years, but
I'll also recommend the following resource that I have
bought for clients over the years:
Value Proposition Design: http://amzn.to/2cHRnYX

------
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I've been working on this social stuff for over 16 years and
I've been a participant in the social web since 1992. My
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"lessons" on what are truly social practices (and what are
NOT).
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Johnny G
Sales Consultant - Magnolia Home Theater at Best Buy
When a person goes to the local hardware store to buy a 1/2" drill bit, the customer
doesn't really want a drill bit. The person wants a 1/2" hole. It is imperative that the
person selling the drill bit understands this.
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11 hours ago
Shelly Schaner, Dúi Róbertsson, Marijana Bojić, +2

o
Linda Kemp
Freelance writer and editor
Fantastic perspective!
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6 hours ago
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Sandeep Aggarwal
Founder ShopClues & Droom
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5Cs to look for in your Startup's

Dream Team
Sep 19, 2016
 1,146 views
 204 Likes

21 Comments
In my experience, Vision, Capital and Team are three

critical ingredients to create a world-class company from
scratch. Of these three, I would choose team as the secret
sauce for creating that winning company. While people
tend to be important for any organization, it becomes super
critical in start-ups, given the challenging roller coaster ride
it is! And the 5Cs listed below are the traits I have
constantly sought while forming my teams both
at ShopClues.com and Droom.in and I have been validated
that these matter more than anything else.
1. Commitment: Startups require nothing less than 100%
commitment. I have pushed myself to commit it all to my
startups and have expected similar commitment from my
core team members too. I lived in Silicon Valley when I
founded ShopClues and when I took that big leap to move
back to India for it, my core team members - who were also
living in the US then, joined me in it. While I gave up my
lucrative wall street career to take this leap, other team
members - who were among the best professionals across
industries - were also willing to incur high opportunity
costs by joining in at low salaries (of course with the
possibility of big upsides through stocks). I have been truly
fortunate to have created teams that have been totally
committed to the startup's vision and to each other.
2. Character: Company culture and fate of a startup hinges
on the character of every single team member. One hack I
used was to answer to myself if I would let my sibling date
and marry the person in front of me - which required me to
take a close look at what the person stood for and if they
would stand by through thick or thin.
3. Craving: Fire in the bellies of team members fuel
startup's chances at success. And what I have seen is that
indigestion kills more often than hunger. Find team
members who are hungry and passionate to create an
impact. With that hunger, even simple interactions - be it
over a meal or at a pub - presents an opportunity to come
up with that magical idea!
4. Capacity: Startups present challenges and opportunities
at various levels. In order to tackle the challenges and seize
the opportunities, one needs to learn and unlearn multiple
things at a breakneck speed. Team members' headroom for
learning and growth become critical for ensuring the startup
does not flounder in the wake of existential challenges or
sudden traction.
5. Capability: While the above 4Cs pertain to the values of
an individual, capability pertains to the hard skills and
experience the person brings to the table. I have found time
and again that being uncompromising on the core values
while offering some leeway on the capability front still
works out well, given capability can be developed over
time or compensated for.
What are you waiting for? Go out, look for people with
these 5Cs and create that winner startup!
Sandeep Aggarwal is a serial entrepreneur, angel investor,
internet visionary and philanthropist. He is widely regarded
as the father of marketplaces in the Indian Internet
ecosystem - having founded ShopClues (2011) - India’s
first managed marketplace, which became 5th Unicorn in
Consumer Internet in India & Droom (2014) - India’s first
marketplace for automobiles. Sandeep is passionate about
Digitizing India through mentoring startups, especially on
entrepreneurship traits and skills.
Twitter: @sandeepagg
 Featured In
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Petrina Scott
Senior Consultant at Judgment Index AU Petrina.scott@jiau.com.au
Phone: 1300 677 572
Great post! I like to look at Good Judgment + Skill Set + Capability as a combination.
The importance of ensuring a new employee can make good decisions is critical to our
success
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Vineet Taneja
Product. Partnerships. Director, Mobile Device Solutions, InMobi
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Final question: How to make the most

out of your time at B-school?
Sep 19, 2016
 1,009 views
 187 Likes

8 Comments
Now comes the time to prioritize, prioritize, prioritize!
There are multiple things once can do with their time in the
B-school, but having a firm eye on the goal you set for
yourself will help you chose the right places to invest your
time and energy into.
Academics
Acads, and accompanying grades, are important. Their
relative importance also depends on your goal. If
consulting and investment banking are your goals, you
better get ready to be amongst the top 10% of your batch
because most firms in these sectors mandate high grades. If
you have selected the industry sector of your choice, then
keeping above average grades may suffice provided you
bolster your profile with the right internship, projects,
papers, elective courses, etc. Do people who do not get
good grades still make it big in the world of business? Yes,
there are a few. Have you entered the b-school to do more
than just slog it out on the grades, then read on …
Organizational skills
Unless you have decided to pursue academia, mere
understanding of concepts may not prepare you for the
corporate world. Acquiring, exercising, honing
organizational skills while at b-school will make you better
prepared to navigate the real challenges. And no better
avenues to get this experience than by getting into one of
many clubs or student body activities. Ranging from
placement committee, sports club, industry interaction club,
tech club, cultural club, marketing/finance/consulting clubs,
etc. to elected student bodies, there are usually many
options for you to choose depending on your areas of
interest. From organizing and marketing events/activities,
raising funds, recruiting and managing members, juggling
priorities (acads and club activities), even understanding
organizational politics to some extent, a club’s membership
brings multiple benefits. You can even test your leadership
qualities as many clubs elect their office bearers to run the
show.
The network
The relationships you build in b-school will endure and
enrich you in multiple ways throughout life. With your
batch mates, seniors, juniors as well as academic staff.
Beyond your class/section and hostel block, you are in
company of a diverse and talented bunch of people whom
you can tap into for advise on subject matters, industry
nuances, their networks, references, etc. Make sure to
invest time in building a few meaningful relationships – be
sure to add value to the relationship yourself. Merely
knowing a hundred names is less useful than knowing ten
people in depth.
Having fun
Beyond the pressures of academics, skill-gathering and
placements, b-school can also be a place for some serious
fun. Engaging chat sessions at late night canteens, the
dance parties, inter b-school sports and cultural meets, all
come together to string memories that will stay with you
for ever!
This is the last post in the series. The previous two are
here First question: Should I do an MBA? and here Next
question: What should I know before I join a B-school?
Good luck with your B-school adventure!
This post first appeared on InsideIIM.com

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Manas.J Saloi
Product Manager
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50 Lessons I've Learned from

working at Start-ups
Sep 18, 2016
 1,002 views
 26 Likes

6 Comments
I have been obsessed with start-ups since I got introduced

to the world of start-ups as a starry eyed first year college
student. After having worked for close to 5 start-ups over
the last few years (including one attempt to start-up of my
own) I have learned quite a bit about what makes a start-up
tick. Here are 50 lessons (in no particular order) I've
learned while working for RedBus, Kony Labs, Kore,
CouponDunia & Craftsvilla:
1. Always hire A-Players. A-Players hate working with B-

Players and the worse thing you can do is hire a bunch of
B-Players and expect them to work at the same level as of
A-Players. A-Players attract more A-Players while B-
Players attract B and C-Players. Have a high hiring bar.
Nowadays the first thing every employee going through a
company's interview process does is look up the people
working there.
2. Always give honest and direct feedback by cutting out
the bullshit.Radical candor is the secret to being a good
boss and you should set up processes to facilitate receiving
radical candor.
3. Have monthly All-Hands. Make sure all critical decisions
are communicated well. You don't want your employees to
hear about the latest acquisition or lay offs from the Media.
If you think All-Hands are boring you can use Etsy's
playbook and make it fun.
4. Understand what truly motivates your employees. For
some people it might be just the salary but for most
employees it is the quality of work and the chance to grow
in their career. Make sure people are learning at their roles.
Help create a career path for them. Give them fulfilling
work to make sure they don't get bored. Bored employees
quit.
5. Listen to your employees. Sometimes they just need a
person who is willing to hear them out. If you are a
manager and your subordinate comes up with a work issue
the easiest thing to do would be to take a dismissive tone
and just ignore it. But don't. You might not be in a position
to solve all their problems. But you can definitely give
them a platform where they can share their feelings. Let
them rant if needed. They will calm down after some time.
6. Have regular One on One with your reports.
7. Make goal setting an inclusive exercise. Most companies
takes a top-down approach while setting organisation wide
goals and sometimes employees are not involved in
deciding their own quarterly goals. This is not how OKRs
are implemented folks! Also don't ever tie OKRs with
performance appraisals. The whole point of OKRs is to
objectives ambitious enough to push you beyond your
limits.
8. You can either ship a certain number of features well (have
depth) or a bunch of them fast in their MVP state (have
breadth). The goal should be to strike a healthy middle
ground. Strive to ship a few well thought out (and tested)
features regularly. As you grow beyond a point doing
things right take precedence over doing things fast.
9. Have a way to measure the impact of your releases. Have
analytics in place from Day 1. Blindly shipping cosmetic
UI changes will take you no where.
10. Company Mission Statement and Vision are not empty
words you make your employees memorise (or put them on
their email signatures). Clearly defining both, and living by
them every day is a key aspect of building a successful
technology company.
11. Every organisation has their core values and
employees try to take all important decisions based on
them. For Amazon customer is the king and they will do
everything needed to make her happy (from overworking
their employees to taking the customer's side when it comes
to Customers vs Sellers). Don't merely hang your values
on the wall to impress visitors. Make sure you follow
them too
12. Between a free breakfast and a stable internet your
employees will always choose the later. Know your
priorities.
13. If you are a Manager always ask for a deadline for
open items/tasks.
14. Be more proactive in putting ideas across. It is easy
to nod your head during meetings, just do what your
manager says and then say 'I always knew this was stupid'.
It takes guts to confront your manager and voice your
disagreement. Amazon always says disagree but once a
decision is made commit to it. A healthy work environment
ensures all stakeholders can voice their opinions and it is
not always the HIPPO (highest paid person in the office)
who has the final say.
15. If you have a major marketing campaign coming up
make sure you don't deploy code one day prior to D-day.
Similarly avoid making last minute additions before major
releases. Every thing which goes to production should be
properly tested.
16. Set goals. Find problems. Find their root cause. Design
solutions. Complete the tasks related to them. In that order.
Most startups just keep looking for more tasks/features to
complete and then complain when there is no movement of
the performance needle.
17. The easiest option for founders/senior managers is to
surround themselves with friends/sycophants. Please don't
do this if you ever dream of running a successful start-
up. Always hire people better than you and let them
challenge your opinions. Your opinions are just that-
Opinions and not Facts. Let the best approach (backed with
data) win and not the HIPPO's.
18. Create a culture where people are not afraid of
making mistakes.If anything breaks the priority should be
on fixing it and not start a blame game. Going forward
create a process to prevent similar mistakes from
happening.
19. Hire people with integrity. Don't hire brilliant
jerks. You will be spending a lot of time with your
colleagues. Make sure you at least you respect each other.
20. Have morning Stand-ups. The best time for a team to
sync up is always in the morning when everyone is fresh
and the day is just starting.
21. Accept when you screw up (because you most
definitely will sooner or later). Your colleagues will
understand as long as you own up to your mistake and take
full responsibility.
22. It is very important for managers to have a strong
opinion. But it is equally important to be prepared to
change your opinion once proven wrong in the light of new
information.
23. Name your important projects. Instead of 'The
ongoing project to clean up catalog data and create a
process flow for adding products for a particular catalog'
call it simply 'Aristos' or something.
24. Have a demo day every week to allow your engineers
to show off their latest projects and make sure everyone in
your company knows what is happening.
25. Images are better than words. Similarly a working
prototype is better than a long mail explaining the
same. If you have a working feature/ product have an early
demo to get feedback from major stakeholders. This will
help you get buy-in early and avoid churn later.
26. Important decisions should have buy-in from all
stakeholders.Changing code (on which other teams'
features are dependent on), breaking things in production
and then saying 'I already had sent a mail informing about
that' is not acceptable. Make sure everyone clearly knows
what you are up to. Over communicate if needed.
27. If you are interviewing a senior developer a junior
developer should be involved in some part of the hiring
process. Making a subordinate talk to the interviewee will
ensure that someone who is unable to gain the respect of
their future reports is not hired.
28. Getting new users is much costlier than retaining
old ones. Do keep listening/talking to them actively. If you
have to spend on Customer Support do so.
29. Company wide discussions should be held to discuss
important issues. A Town hall can help prevent rumours
from surfacing during bad times and keeping your troops
motivated. Make sure your employees understand the
rational behind every important decision. Radical
transparency is the way to go.
30. Spend time on boarding new employees. The first
day is extremely crucial. Help them settle in. Fix a mentor.
Also have a training program in place.
31. Read exit interviews as well as GlassDoor reviews.
They will tell you a lot about what is broken with your
company as well as culture.
32. Have courage to make big decisions and stand by
them. If a decision goes wrong you will have to accept it
and hold your hands up. No one will give you any credit
when you make the right ones though. This is part of being
a manager. Accept it.
33. Say Thanks often. Sit with your team while
firefighting. It is not OK to expect your team to pull all-
nighters while you sleep comfortably at home.
34. Don't criticise in public. It will only make people
defensive and hate you. Sort every issue during one on
ones. Losing your cool is not cool.
35. Having a mentor is really important. If you have a
trusted senior person you can go to start-up life will be
much easier. I have been lucky to have amazing mentors
during my career from whom I have learned a lot. Find
someone who will root for you.
36. A key activity of a founder is to keep sharing the
company vision with her employees. In the darkest times
people will still stand by you if they trust your vision.
37. One of the toughest things to do as a Manager is to say

'No' to new tasks/features. With so many things happening
at startups it becomes almost impossible to prioritise and
focus on a few goals. It becomes even more difficult to say
No to requests from senior management. But if there is one
quality which separates good managers from bad ones it is
this - Ruthless Prioritisation.Learn how to say No and
stand your ground.
38. Most start-up cultures are defined by the founding
team (especially the CEO). If your CEO is data obsessed it
is more than likely that most of the team's decisions will be
data driven. If your CEO is a workaholic who works long
hours you will find other employees doing the
same. Culture is one of the most important factors that can
make or break your startup. As a founder it is critical you
are setting a strong culture.
39. By default every critical information should be shared.
Openness will breed a culture of trust. Radical transparency
is easy when things are going well. The key is to maintain
the same level of transparency during turmoil too.
40. Long term goals are speculative at best. Use
70/20/10 rule where you spend 70% of your energy
focusing on upcoming weeks, 20% on the next quarter and
the remaining 10% further out.
41. People working on same features should sit together.
Instead of strict seating arrangements make sure people can
move and work based on their requirements. Have war
rooms for critical projects.
42. Have a specific day of the week where you discuss
your key KPIs. It is important to keep improving on your
numbers and have a general idea about the health of your
company.
43. Avoid wasting time during meetings. All meetings
should have a clear agenda and only the relevant
stakeholders should be present. Take notes. Never leave a
meeting without a follow up mail with action items and
deadlines for them.
44. Know your north star metric and make sure you
obsessively chase it.
45. Don't let people suffer from shitty office politics. Beat
bureaucracy. If you are setting up any new process ask who
it is going to help. If you are not sure then you are better off
without it.
46. Once people lose confidence in their manager it is
terribly hard to maintain a good working relationship. Also
studies show that a lot of people leave their managers and
not companies. Make feedback and praise a habit.
47. Having regular releases is better than a single big bang
release. A lot of things can go wrong during a major release
as it involves a lot of moving parts. Better to break the
complexity and go for smaller scheduled releases.
48. Have all important communication written down. It
prevents people from changing their statements later and
also helps align everyone on the right direction.
49. When a Start-up is in hyper scaling mode it becomes
even harder to keep everyone on the same page and pointed
in the right direction. The CEO's job here is again to keep
reminding everyone of the original vision and why things
are the way they are. Over communication is better than
people losing touch and looking for other opportunities. A
strong culture from the beginning helps.
50. Your own employees should be the most passionate
advocates of your product. If you are running a consumer
start-up and you can't make your own employees use your
product then something major is broken. Try to figure out
the root cause. Be willing to go deep if required. This will
help you achieve product-market fit faster.
If you liked reading this blog post you might also want
to check out:
How We Scaled CashBoss To 500K downloads in 5
months
A simple Growth Model for your Start-Up
Want To Work For An Indian Startup? Here's What You
Need to Do
P.S I tweet a lot of interesting articles/studies related to
start-ups. Follow me here:@manas_saloi
 Featured In
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Manas.J Saloi
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Babu Lal (Poonia)

iOS Developer at Lybrate
Thank you Manas.J Saloi for sharing this. 🙏 I have just learned 50 Lessons reading
this. Would love to work with PM like you. You are a rockstar!
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The Advancement of New Technology

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The advancement of new

technology. Positive or negative?

The advancement in technology has been

One of the biggest negative claims seen in past years

Professor Joseph Weizenbaum agreed that

Norbet Wiener a mathematician and cybernetics

Technology does not yet have a mind of its own, but

Herbert Simon a Nobel prize winner, presents a more

[1] R.Rosenberg, The social impact of

[3] February 2005, Lawsuit: 'Grand Theft Auto' Led

[5] R.Rosenberg, The social impact of computers

[6] R.Rosenberg, The social impact of computers

[7] February 2005, Lawsuit: 'Grand Theft Auto' Led

[8] R.Rosenberg, The social impact of computers

[10] R.Rosenberg, The social impact of computers

[11] R.Rosenberg, The social impact of computers

[12] R.Rosenberg, The social impact of computers

[13] R.Rosenberg, The social impact of computers

[14] R.Rosenberg, The social impact of computers

[16] R.Rosenberg, The social impact of computers

[17] R.Rosenberg, The social impact of computers

[18] R.Rosenberg, The social impact of computers

[19] R.Rosenberg, The social impact of computers

[20] R.Rosenberg, The social impact of computers

Sex is one of the most powerful, fundamental human

It's caused wars… built and destroyed kingdoms.

It occupies a significant percentage of most people's

As such, it's worth a conversation about how exponential

Dating in the Internet Age

In the 1960s, over 50% of marriages globally and 95% of

Today that number has dropped to less than 15% (globally).

A cultural shift is happening, and it's changing the game.

Today, 40 million Americans use online dating services

(Heterosexual marriage trends over time)

(Same-Sex Couples – trends over time)

And this is just the beginning.

Dating & Exponential Tech

Once you're on a date, your augmented reality glasses will

Like all technology, these applications are double-edged

But while dating is one side of the coin, sex is another...

Sex & Exponential Tech

In 2015, just one pornography website reported that their

The proliferation of Internet connectivity, online video

This is causing a number of negative social phenomena.

"Pornography is influencing everything from how teens

In Japan, a growing population of men report that they

Forty-five percent of Japanese single women and 25

But again, this is only the beginning… as virtual reality

It will be much more intense, vivid, and addictive -- and as

Many psychologists believe that VR porn may numb us to

For many, VR (as well as other exponential technologies

As the father of two five-year-old boys, this is really

That said, are there upsides too?

We shall see. One thing is for sure: as with every

The program is highly selective. If you'd like to be

Add your comment

Alberto Garcia Camacho, Sasha Matar, Luis Garcia de la Fuente, +2

Innovative Travels, Clark Bond, James "Doogie" Kautz, +2

When Phones Explode

Overheard: “I’d buy a Samsung Note7, but they explode.”

How Lithium-ion Batteries Work

Lithium-ion batteries offer many advantages:

 Very high energy density