Archives / September 2006

Craig Newmark, Gel :'06: speaker, continues to impress.

From CNN, Craigslist founder says he won't cash in:

The founder of craigslist, the free social networking and classifieds Web site, said on Thursday he is not interested in selling out, a few hours after social networking site MySpace was valued at $15 billion.

"Who needs the money? We don't really care," Craig Newmark said... "We both know some people who own more than a billion (dollars) and they're not any the happier. They also need bodyguards."

See a clip of Craig Newmark's Gel 2006 talk on the Gel videos page.

(Thanks, CHH)

David Pogue writes a column I've been waiting for for awhile: where are the simple cell phones? Not the game-playing, ringtone-downloading, photo-uploading gadget buckets, but the phones that... make a phone call?

I have some thoughts of my own in Uncle Mark 2006. Look for the new, updated '07 version within a month or so.

(This continues A good and generous king, one of the most popular columns in recent months. A number of readers posted responses that showed an impressive range of interpretations. So to mix things up a bit more, I thought I'd continue the story. -mh)

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...continued:

A few years later, the cathedral stood completed on top of the palace hill. Peasants across the countryside could see the tall, gleaming spires whenever they looked up from their work in the fields. The king, in turn, had a commanding view of the entire region, whenever he climbed the spiral staircase to the topmost turret. There was no question in the king's mind that the cathedral was projecting strength and power for miles around. "And," the king often thought, "this all came from asking my subjects their opinion."

One day, as the king held court in the throne room, he summoned his three advisors. "Wise men," the king said, "the cathedral is complete, and your king is shown to be strong - all because I asked my subjects." The advisors bowed.

"What is my greatest opportunity today? I ask you only to name one thing I must improve in order to make the kingdom yet stronger."

The first advisor said, "You are the kingdom, lord. And so whatever you desire, to be happier or live longer, should be your command."

The second advisor said, "Stained glass would make the cathedral much more beautiful, if we hired the finest artisans to create it."

"Intriguing ideas," said the king. And turning to the third advisor he said, "What do you say, magician? As you know, I've already asked my subjects, so now you must give me other wisdom."

The third advisor thought for a moment and said, "King, I have researched the kingdom by talking to some subjects myself" - here the king raised an eyebrow - "and have determined that iron, lord, can make the kingdom stronger. If more of your subjects had access to iron, they could -"

"Enough," the king said, waving off the magician. "I know the rest. Stand aside while I ask my subjects. Guards!"

The three wise men stood aside, watching, as the king's guards brought in several subjects: the cathedral architect, the armorer, and the blacksmith.

The king addressed the subjects. "Men," he said, "I brought you here because you all make use of the iron brought into the kingdom. I ask each of you: how much better would you operate if you had better access to iron supplies?"

The architect, armorer, and blacksmith all said they were satisfied with the iron they were allocated. "The cathedral was made strong by many wagonloads of iron," the architect added.

After dismissing his subjects, the king addressed his advisors again. "I have conducted my survey of those who use our iron," he said, "and they are all satisfied. I hear no one asking for more iron." Now the king looked at the third advisor. "Beware," the king said. "Do not advise me falsely again. I will demand much better words next time. In the meantime, I will consider stained glass for the cathedral."

The advisors bowed and departed.

Zimran on why the iPod is better than Microsoft's Zune player.

From winterspeak.com:

The iPod was not the first portable mp3 player out there, nor was it the cheapest, nor was it the most fully featured. It just made it really easy to get all your songs in one place and carry them around with you. [Unlike] the cheaper, more featurific flash based players... you just plugged the iPod in, put it on shuffle, and suddenly our life had a sound track. A great experience.

Technology Review just announced its 35 innovators under the age of 35, and three people we know are included: game designer Jane McGonigal and 37signals' Jason Fried, both Gel 2006 speakers, whose Gel talks you can watch on the Gel videos page; and "Innovator of the Year" Joshua Schachter, who was a winner of our 2006 Copernican Award.

Congratulations to all three!

See also:

• What I learned redesigning del.icio.us

• TR35

There once was a king who wanted to strengthen his castle, improve the morale of his subjects, increase the crop harvest, and generally strengthen his kingdom. He called in his trusted advisors, all the wise men and magicians in the court, and asked them, "What should I do to make the kingdom stronger?"

One advisor said, "Dress yourself in jeweled robes and address the peasants from your balcony. When your subjects see how regal you look, and hear you say that the kingdom is strong, they will act accordingly."

Another wise man had just returned from a long journey, learning about the ways of many faraway kingdoms. "Build a cathedral," he told the king. "Strong kingdoms all have a beautiful, towering structure at the top of the palace hill. Build a cathedral with the highest spire and everyone will know that you, king, are strong."

A third advisor said, "Ask your subjects. They will tell you how to improve the kingdom."

After considering the wise men's words, the king went to work. First he ordered the design of the finest possible robes, inlaid with the most expensive gems; then he met with the royal architects to begin planning the tallest cathedral in the whole region. Soon after, he began writing the royal decree that he would read to his subjects about all the improvements underway.

It was around this time that the king remembered the words of the third advisor: "Ask your subjects." A reasonable request, the king thought, especially since the subjects were helping to pay for the cathedral. "I'll prove what a good and generous king I am," the king thought. "I will ask the subjects their opinion."

Within a few months the plans were well underway. The royal robes were already draped over the king's shoulders; the decree was written on the finest parchment; and the skeleton of what was to become the cathedral was already taking shape on the palace hill. It was during this time that, one day, the king asked his guards to bring a handful of peasants into the royal hall.

When the peasants were assembled before his throne, the king spoke. "Very soon I will address all of my subjects about many things I am doing to improve our kingdom. Today, being a good and generous king, I will ask you, my chosen few subjects, to give me your opinions."

None of the peasants spoke.

The king said, "I ask all of you, what do you think of my new royal robes? The finest materials, the most precious gems. Do they fill you with awe? Do you find my raiment wonderful? If so, you may bow to me." The peasants bowed.

The king continued, in the same way, asking the peasants their opinion on the the cathedral, the decree, and other matters in the kingdom. The peasants said nothing but continued to bow.

After he finished and the peasants returned to their villages, the king summoned the third advisor. "Thank you, wise man," said the king. "I have asked my subjects, just as you advised, and they are in accord with everything that I have planned. I am truly a good and generous king."

The advisor said nothing but only bowed, turned, and left the castle.

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Continued in Part 2...

Greg writes about his experience using Gootodo.com as his todo list, giving it his highest possible recommendation:

"Over the years, I have tried a number of task management systems, including paper-based lists, Franklin planners, various forms of GTD, Outlook, etc. If it's out there, I've probably tried it at least once. All the systems work for awhile but I've never gotten one to stick for an extended period. I've been using Gootodo for a couple of months now and I'm hopeful it will be my long-term solution.

"It's not a perfect tool (is that possible?) but it has a lot of great features that overcome challenges I've had with other systems. First, you can conveniently schedule to-do's in the future and then forget about those tasks until the right day comes. Each day, I see just the things I need to focus on in that 24-hour period - and can easily prioritize accordingly. And, uncompleted tasks automatically roll over to the next day rather than me having to manually transfer them.

"Second, email integration is key. I probably receive a couple of hundred emails a day so it's great to be able to get things onto my to-do list (on the appropriate day) without having to constantly switch between Outlook/Gmail and Gootodo.

"Finally, and most importantly, the tool is simple. It doesn't have a bunch of bells and whistles that you don't need anyway. In short, I couldn't recommend Gootodo more highly."

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Try it for 30 days free: Gootodo.com

Maybe the best slogan I've ever seen on a website homepage: see it at incompetech.com.

Gel speaker Andrew Zolli Gel '04 (and host of the PopTech conference) writes in Business Week about trends in "innovation culture":

Corporate managers eagerly soak up this "right-brain religion." At some point every consumer product on Earth will be dipped in white acrylic, feel totally ergonomic and embody a whimsical anthropomorphic cuteness.

"Ecovation", play, and the arts figure into the trends: Recognizing Tomorrow's Hot Ideas Today

"This is all about improving the shopping experience. Unless you're going to do something that's going to give a direct customer benefit, it's never going to catch on.''

So says Doug Bartlett, from a New Zealand company that makes a $100,000 shopping cart system that allows young passengers to watch TV in the cart while the parent shops.

Groceries are a notoriously low-margin business. Is this the key unmet need for customers?

Link: High - Tech Shopping Carts Face Hurdles - New York Times

Jimmy Wales - speaker at Gel Gel '05 (video) and our recent euroGel conference in Copenhagen - comments on China, Google, and Encyclopedia Britannica... as attendees will remember, he made many of the same points during his presentation at euroGel.

From the Observer, Wikipedia defies China's censors:

Wales said censorship was ' antithetical to the philosophy of Wikipedia. We occupy a position in the culture that I wish Google would take up, which is that we stand for the freedom for information, and for us to compromise I think would send very much the wrong signal: that there's no one left on the planet who's willing to say "You know what? We're not going to give up."'

Separately, the WSJ hosted an e-mail exchanged between Jimmy and
Dale Hoiberg, editor-in-chief of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

From Will Wikipedia Mean the End Of Traditional Encyclopedias?, Jimmy writes:

Britannica has long been a standard bearer, and they have done a fine job within their model. But it is time to work in a different model, with different techniques made possible by new technologies but the same goals, to reach ever higher standards.

As I said at euroGel, I consider Wikipedia to be one of the most important projects in the world today - and I'm rooting for Jimmy.

Also see:
• Video of Jimmy Wales at Gel 2005
• Good Experience interview with Jimmy Wales (March 2005)
• August '06 mention of Jimmy
• Gel speakers commenting on Wikipedia
• Gel conference entry at Wikipedia (Wikipedians, please expand it)

Sign spotted in Manhattan: "It's not a store. It's HBO. The retail experience. Opening November 2006"

If the "retail experience" isn't a store, what is it? A bank? A travel agency?

Just calling it an experience doesn't magically make people excited. If it's an authentic good experience, people will understand it right away, no matter what the sign says.

(Thanks, Anne)

Henning Rübsam knows about good experience from several angles: he's an accomplished choreographer, dancer, and writer. He's a longtime friend and supporter of Gel, and I've asked him to speak at Gel 2007 in April in New York about the experience of dance.

(Starting September 14, Rübsam's new class, "The Artistry of Dance: Watching Dance with Understanding and Joy", is open to the public - with registration - and is held at Juilliard in New York City: link to class)

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Q - What prompted you to create the class at Juilliard?

Often when I go to dance performances I hear people saying, "That was nice, but I didn't understand it." People don't feel confident to enjoy dance without reservation, just because they don't have a background in it. Dance isn't part of any curriculum in regular schooling. People know about literature, theater, music, but dance as an art form has been forgotten.

I want to teach people how to be comfortable and know what to look for at a dance performance, but also sometimes to just revel in the kinetic excitement. George Balanchine was asked once after a performance, "What's this about?" and he said, "It's about seventeen minutes."

I think dance is the most accessible art form, but we just have to be open to our body. It's body language. We all have it, but we have to trust it. No one can just pick up an instrument and play it, but we can all dance. Dance as an art form is more refined, but we can all move.

Since this generation is often divorced from their bodies, living in the virtual world, I hope that dance becomes more important exactly as a return to one's own roots.

Dance is important in people's lives [as opposed to] just working out and being fit like a soldier. We don't learn much about bodies just pumping up our muscles - we're not really sensitized to movement or other people. Dance is about sensitizing, being aware of one's body, and being able to share that awareness with another person. In the end, dance is about communication, and that's what I think is so beautiful about it.

Q - What about the experience of watching dance?

What I hope to achieve in my own performances is that an audience can go out skipping, that there is something that wants to make you move. When you see something that moves you - kinetically and emotionally - those are the most successful performances. If it makes me swoon, or makes me skip, or makes me roll along Broadway, I think those are the memorable performances that affect me kinetically, where that spark takes over.

I remember when I saw Merrill Ashley at New York City Ballet do the "spring" section of Jerome Robbins' "Four Seasons." I jumped out of my seat in the middle of the performance - I couldn't contain myself. I couldn't believe what she was doing - her energy was electrifying. When a dancer takes risks, even when they know they're secure technically - but it isn't enough to be secure - just teases it, just pushes it a little bit beyond... every time you raise a leg, it's about devouring space, propelling oneself across with great abandon. If that happens, there's nothing better.

A lot of dancers don't get there. They might have technique and they display that they have it, listening to the music and doing the movement. But some dancers have a musicality, a "dancicality" - they converse with the music. Sometimes a little ahead, sometimes behind, and they syncopate their movement in the tiniest ways. They're not with the music, but they are. It's a conversation with the music. That's wonderful if that happens.

Q - What's on for your dance company's fall season?

It's mostly going to be to new music. There will be one premiere, a song cycle by Berkeley-based composer Leslie Wildman. The title of the dance piece is "Merciless Beauty" - they're beautiful songs. We're also doing a new piece to music by Ricardo Llorca, whose music I've used several times, one of the finest contemporary composers today. The other finest composer is Beata Moon, and we're repeating last year's "Dinner is West."

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More about Gel 2007, where Henning will be speaking.

Henning's dance company: SENSEDANCE.