Weary of uprisings enhanced by social media, many autocratic regimes are cracking down on internet sites and mobile apps. Russian, China, Iran, Syria and others have banned or restricted Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. However, a lack of internet and major websites has not stopped social media and free communication advocates from sparking or supporting mass protests.
During the height of the 2011 Egyptian protests, Egypt banned Twitter and many other websites. In response, Google purchased a start-up called SayNow and partnered with Twitter to release a new service. This new service allowed users to post on Twitter by leaving a special phone number voicemails or sending the number text messages. Other users could listen to the posted messages by calling a different phone number.
This past weekend, a new offline service called FireChat was downloaded over 100,000 times per day. The app uses smartphone's bluetooth (radio-like) connection to connect to other phones within 70 meters. Those phones in turn connect to other phones another 70 meters away. This can create large decentralized "mesh" chat networks that are completely offline and almost impossible to track, record, or shut down. Currently, FireChat is mostly being used by Hong Kong students protesting China's inability to let Hong Kong have open democratic elections. However, the app is also gaining popularity in places like Iran and Iraq. China has not banned websites in Hong Kong, but the fear that they might has driven the success of FireChat.
Cheers to the founders of Firechat whose previous accomplishments include managing 20% of web congestion and launching SkypeIn, SkyeOut, and uTorrent (250 million+ users). Their simple completely offline chat application developed by a few people and used by only a few million people may be their most important invention to date.
Monday, September 29, 2014
Monday, September 22, 2014
Is Reducing Carbon Dioxide Emissions a Global or Local Issue?
If you are one of a handful of people that reads my blog, I have good news to share. Code4Sac decided to take up my project! We will be building a gamified app that uses contextual technology to track users' transportation carbon footprint and entices users to offset their footprint (app details in the last blog post). By offsetting your carbon footprint, you are making "life better for the people of Sacramento", a requirement for all Code4Sac projects. Or are you????
The carbon offset market has exploded ever since California signed a mandatory CO2 cap and trade law into effect. Cap and Trade is a market-based environmental control system where regulators set the total amount of pollution (CO2 in this case) that companies can produce. Companies then buy and sell those pollution credits. This creates an incentive to devise greener technologies (and sell excess credits). Many environmentalists think this is a vast improvement on the old "Command and Control" system where regulators told companies how much pollution they could produce and enforced the mechanisms to reduce pollution. If companies exceed their allowable amount, they can "offset" their CO2 by investing in projects that reduce CO2 in other ways. This is where the controversy begins.
Companies have been offsetting their CO2 footprint with tree-planting in Michigan and Brazil, wind farms in India and China, and methane gas capture farms around the country. Why are their projects so far away from California? Simple: Cost! It costs $300 to plant a tree in a Sacramento-area park and have it maintained for 3 years. It costs $1 to plant a small tree in Brazil. Many argue there is nothing wrong with this philosophy. Companies are offsetting the carbon they produce outside of California because it is too expensive here. It's too expensive in California because of a high cost of living and California already has strong environmental protections (forests are protected, trucks have low emissions, etc.) The downsides of solving this global problem without local solutions falls into two main camps. Communities near polluters experience an undue burden (think of a house near a factory) and polluters sometimes find it cheaper to purchase offsets than to reduce pollution. Overall, environmentalists argue Carbon Offsets offer a false sense of security/morality; offsets don't make pollution disappear.
Let's refocus on offsetting individual CO2 footprints (instead of corporate footprints). In fact, let's zoom in even further on Sacramento consumers (the audience for the app Code4Sac will be building). Sacramento consumers need an easy retail solution. Carbonfund.org and other websites offer US and internationally based offset programs but none that focus on Sacramento. Several Universities and other institutions offer offset programs that guarantee the work will be done locally. The College of William and Mary guarantees a certain amount of carbon offset (on campus) based on the size of your donation. You can see their program at Offset.wm.edu. Other national programs with international offsets are listed on Carboncatalog.org.
None of these programs are in the Sacramento area. So the question remains, how do you offset your carbon globally AND help locally? And is that important? My recommendation would be to offset part of your CO2 footprint by donating to carbonfund.org. You can also donate to the sustainable management and replanting of West Coast forests at Pacificforests.org. Another option would be donate to the creation of green technology via the UC Berkeley Climate Action Committee (http://sustainability.berkeley.edu/calcap). Of course, climate action committees don't guarantee offsets. Lastly, many websites offer ways to reduce your carbon footprint, which in turn reduces the need for offsets. Taking shorter showers, riding your bike instead of driving, and using less air conditioning are a few small, incremental ways to reduce your carbon footprint. The answer to how to reduce your CO2 footprint globally and locally is, of course, quite complex and personal. If only there was a local Sacramento offset company....Personally, I would donate even if they were for-profit. Then again, you might be in the camp that offsetting locally is just not what makes offsetting important.
I hope my blog helped you choose. Please post a comment if you have any thoughts or questions. You can also join Code4Sac which meets at the Sacramento Hackerlab every Wednesday night 6-9pm.
The carbon offset market has exploded ever since California signed a mandatory CO2 cap and trade law into effect. Cap and Trade is a market-based environmental control system where regulators set the total amount of pollution (CO2 in this case) that companies can produce. Companies then buy and sell those pollution credits. This creates an incentive to devise greener technologies (and sell excess credits). Many environmentalists think this is a vast improvement on the old "Command and Control" system where regulators told companies how much pollution they could produce and enforced the mechanisms to reduce pollution. If companies exceed their allowable amount, they can "offset" their CO2 by investing in projects that reduce CO2 in other ways. This is where the controversy begins.
Companies have been offsetting their CO2 footprint with tree-planting in Michigan and Brazil, wind farms in India and China, and methane gas capture farms around the country. Why are their projects so far away from California? Simple: Cost! It costs $300 to plant a tree in a Sacramento-area park and have it maintained for 3 years. It costs $1 to plant a small tree in Brazil. Many argue there is nothing wrong with this philosophy. Companies are offsetting the carbon they produce outside of California because it is too expensive here. It's too expensive in California because of a high cost of living and California already has strong environmental protections (forests are protected, trucks have low emissions, etc.) The downsides of solving this global problem without local solutions falls into two main camps. Communities near polluters experience an undue burden (think of a house near a factory) and polluters sometimes find it cheaper to purchase offsets than to reduce pollution. Overall, environmentalists argue Carbon Offsets offer a false sense of security/morality; offsets don't make pollution disappear.
Let's refocus on offsetting individual CO2 footprints (instead of corporate footprints). In fact, let's zoom in even further on Sacramento consumers (the audience for the app Code4Sac will be building). Sacramento consumers need an easy retail solution. Carbonfund.org and other websites offer US and internationally based offset programs but none that focus on Sacramento. Several Universities and other institutions offer offset programs that guarantee the work will be done locally. The College of William and Mary guarantees a certain amount of carbon offset (on campus) based on the size of your donation. You can see their program at Offset.wm.edu. Other national programs with international offsets are listed on Carboncatalog.org.
None of these programs are in the Sacramento area. So the question remains, how do you offset your carbon globally AND help locally? And is that important? My recommendation would be to offset part of your CO2 footprint by donating to carbonfund.org. You can also donate to the sustainable management and replanting of West Coast forests at Pacificforests.org. Another option would be donate to the creation of green technology via the UC Berkeley Climate Action Committee (http://sustainability.berkeley.edu/calcap). Of course, climate action committees don't guarantee offsets. Lastly, many websites offer ways to reduce your carbon footprint, which in turn reduces the need for offsets. Taking shorter showers, riding your bike instead of driving, and using less air conditioning are a few small, incremental ways to reduce your carbon footprint. The answer to how to reduce your CO2 footprint globally and locally is, of course, quite complex and personal. If only there was a local Sacramento offset company....Personally, I would donate even if they were for-profit. Then again, you might be in the camp that offsetting locally is just not what makes offsetting important.
I hope my blog helped you choose. Please post a comment if you have any thoughts or questions. You can also join Code4Sac which meets at the Sacramento Hackerlab every Wednesday night 6-9pm.
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
How do we create a Healthy Sustainable Planet? Give it some Context!
In "Age of Context", Robert Scoble and Shel Israel discuss how emerging technologies will give devices context and better assist their human masters. In our homes, bodies, cars, and businesses, devices will use sensors and location-based technology to track activity and present relevant information. These devices will be mobile, social, and store large amounts of data in the cloud which they will share with other devices. Their book is a vision of the future; mostly prediction, a little inspiration; so I don't fault them for avoiding technologies that have no foreseeable commercial success. I'd like to present a complimentary futuristic contextual technology that is 100% inspiration. In other words, I implore readers to think about how they can bring the ideas I'm about to share to life.
One area of our lives we currently have little to no data on is how we personally impact our environment. We collectively pump almost 100 million tons of CO2 into the atmosphere daily, but how much does each individual create? When you plant a garden, what are you doing to your city's air? How are you helping the planet when you eat a vegetarian meal or ride your bike? The fact that answers to these questions are not readily available leaves us disconnected from the world around us (and arguably, unprepared to tackle the largest problem humans face).
One school of thought says we can create a sustainable planet if we "Offset" the CO2 we produce. In other words, donate to projects that reduce CO2 or plant trees that consume CO2. Carbonfund.org offers validated projects that offset the carbon you produce when you drive 1 mile for as little as 1 penny.
After some research, I found 4 mobile apps that calculate how much carbon you produce. These apps were simple and informative but offered no high value contextual insight. Tomorrow, 9/17/2014, I will pitch a contextual mobile app to a group called "Code4Sac". The app tracks an individual's CO2 emissions and incentives them to offset it. Code4Sac is a local CfA (Code for America) brigade established "To deploy, maintain, and sustain civic technology and open data infrastructure for the Sacramento region". Below is my pitch. If you would like to help, please contact me via the form on the right. Cross your fingers :)
I’m a recently married 27 year old UC Davis economics graduate. I live near Stockton and Broadway with my wife, dog, cat, and guinea pig. For the last 5 years, I’ve been implementing Salesforce.com software at increasingly large and complex organizations. I also manage small sales and marketing process improvement and automation projects. I’m not a developer but I understand core computer science concepts and hold 2 Salesforce administration and development certifications.
What am I pitching?
I’m pitching a mobile application that tracks users’ transportation carbon footprint. The user then has the ability to donate to a Sacramento project that will offset their carbon footprint. Several carbon footprint calculation apps already exists, however, this app will have higher user loyalty and exponentially more users for several reasons:
So how do the donations work?
We need to convert potential projects into CO2 offset. Large projects offer the best prices for carbon offsetting (price per KG of CO2) but these projects do not directly impact Sacramento (such as Carbonfund.org). If we held onto the money for an extended period of time, we could raise enough to build an electric truck stop. These cost $25-50K+ and prevent truckers from idling their engines while they sleep. The most expensive CO2 offset programs are local and simple; they usually involve planting trees (for example sactree.com). We could offer our users options or only offer the Sacramento tree-planting option. We could possibly offer 1 goal at a time and show overall progress towards goal.
What do I offer the project?
I can facilitate decision-making and release management using my basic project management skills. I would also like to play a part in the UI design, but I am not an expert. Lastly, I can market the app using my diverse social network.
One area of our lives we currently have little to no data on is how we personally impact our environment. We collectively pump almost 100 million tons of CO2 into the atmosphere daily, but how much does each individual create? When you plant a garden, what are you doing to your city's air? How are you helping the planet when you eat a vegetarian meal or ride your bike? The fact that answers to these questions are not readily available leaves us disconnected from the world around us (and arguably, unprepared to tackle the largest problem humans face).
One school of thought says we can create a sustainable planet if we "Offset" the CO2 we produce. In other words, donate to projects that reduce CO2 or plant trees that consume CO2. Carbonfund.org offers validated projects that offset the carbon you produce when you drive 1 mile for as little as 1 penny.
After some research, I found 4 mobile apps that calculate how much carbon you produce. These apps were simple and informative but offered no high value contextual insight. Tomorrow, 9/17/2014, I will pitch a contextual mobile app to a group called "Code4Sac". The app tracks an individual's CO2 emissions and incentives them to offset it. Code4Sac is a local CfA (Code for America) brigade established "To deploy, maintain, and sustain civic technology and open data infrastructure for the Sacramento region". Below is my pitch. If you would like to help, please contact me via the form on the right. Cross your fingers :)
A Greener Sacramento
Who am I?I’m a recently married 27 year old UC Davis economics graduate. I live near Stockton and Broadway with my wife, dog, cat, and guinea pig. For the last 5 years, I’ve been implementing Salesforce.com software at increasingly large and complex organizations. I also manage small sales and marketing process improvement and automation projects. I’m not a developer but I understand core computer science concepts and hold 2 Salesforce administration and development certifications.
What am I pitching?
I’m pitching a mobile application that tracks users’ transportation carbon footprint. The user then has the ability to donate to a Sacramento project that will offset their carbon footprint. Several carbon footprint calculation apps already exists, however, this app will have higher user loyalty and exponentially more users for several reasons:
- Contextual: App will automatically tell if you are in a car, bus, train, or plan
- Automated: App will calculate the distance you traveled and how much CO2 you release
- Social: App will connect with you social networks
- Gamified: Users will visually see their pile of carbon grow and shrink
So how do the donations work?
We need to convert potential projects into CO2 offset. Large projects offer the best prices for carbon offsetting (price per KG of CO2) but these projects do not directly impact Sacramento (such as Carbonfund.org). If we held onto the money for an extended period of time, we could raise enough to build an electric truck stop. These cost $25-50K+ and prevent truckers from idling their engines while they sleep. The most expensive CO2 offset programs are local and simple; they usually involve planting trees (for example sactree.com). We could offer our users options or only offer the Sacramento tree-planting option. We could possibly offer 1 goal at a time and show overall progress towards goal.
What do I offer the project?
I can facilitate decision-making and release management using my basic project management skills. I would also like to play a part in the UI design, but I am not an expert. Lastly, I can market the app using my diverse social network.
Saturday, September 13, 2014
Why is the internet in my tooth brush?!
Several converging technologies are creating a soup of information primed for creative thinkers. Let's examine 2 such technologies. Later, I will explain the "soup".
Contextual Computing: This is the ability for a device or computer to gather information from its surroundings and present relevant, actionable findings. Your favorite cell phone map application is contextual because it knows where you are and only needs to know where you want to go. In fact, some map applications remember your history, know where you will be going and present traffic information and directions with no inputs.
Internet of Things (IoF): This is the concept of connecting typically low tech devices to the internet. Connect your thermostat to the internet so you can control the temperature from you iphone. Connect your fridge and automatically re-order groceries you are missing.
At first glance, these two technologies seem like first world luxuries, but can they actually create a better world? I think so, I'll share one such example.
The Smart Toothbrush:
Several companies are in different stages of developing and releasing a smart toothbrush. Let's consider a few things a contextual, internet connected toothbrush could do:
Contextual Computing: This is the ability for a device or computer to gather information from its surroundings and present relevant, actionable findings. Your favorite cell phone map application is contextual because it knows where you are and only needs to know where you want to go. In fact, some map applications remember your history, know where you will be going and present traffic information and directions with no inputs.
Internet of Things (IoF): This is the concept of connecting typically low tech devices to the internet. Connect your thermostat to the internet so you can control the temperature from you iphone. Connect your fridge and automatically re-order groceries you are missing.
At first glance, these two technologies seem like first world luxuries, but can they actually create a better world? I think so, I'll share one such example.
The Smart Toothbrush:
Several companies are in different stages of developing and releasing a smart toothbrush. Let's consider a few things a contextual, internet connected toothbrush could do:
- Monitor your brushing habits on a mobile app (present them to you, your parents, and dentist)
- Advise you in real time if you haven't brushed every tooth
- "Gamify" brushing your teeth by giving you points or other incentives in a virtual game when you practice good hygiene
- Let you know when your toothbrush head needs replacing
In other words, in can lower healthcare costs, increase the personalized advise your dentist can give you, and stimulate the economy and the purchase of consumables all at the same time.
The "soup" I spoke of in the first line of this blog is semi-free flowing contextual data from a variety of sources. Your heart rate from a smart watch. The typical times you lock and unlock your door. I say the data is semi-free flowing because it will be up to you, companies, and the government to decide how the data can be used. The cloud technology for the data to be shared is already here.
Your body, your house, your car, and your phone will soon all be streaming data to one another. If you allow it, they will also be streaming data to your friends' phones. So, connect the dots; what can we create in this bizarre world of contextual seemingly unrelated data? Can we help the sick, motivate the lazy, empower the brilliant? YES. Can we become self-monitoring super beings? MAYBE Can a computer virus attack the soup of information and cripple us all? MAYBE. Technology empowers people. In the end, it's up to all of us humans to decide how we use the power. My recommendation would be to use machines to enhance human creativity and decision-making but not replace it.
Thursday, September 11, 2014
Once upon a time, everything was automated....
Many modern day philosophers have wondered what happens if technology could perform most necessary societal functions? I see a few immediate outcomes:
Within high-tech America, after-tax corporate profits were 1.7 trillion last year yet 15% of the population is below the poverty line. Economists rightly predict if we give that 15% of the population free money they will be less incentivized to work. And in our current paradigm, if nobody in your family is working, you're probably being a drain on society.
So how do we change the paradigm? How do we use our incredible technology to improve the human existence instead of building consumables and business tools? We have plenty of food, clothing, and shelter. We have plenty of gadgets and toys. We've been able to revolutionize communication with the internet and disrupt digital and real manufacturing with personalized cloud solutions and configurable robotics. Yet we remain in the paradigm of work hard so you can play hard AKA, make money so you can spend money.
First we were hunters and gatherers
Then we were farmers and settlers
Then manufacturers and consumers
When will we be thinkers and creators?
We have all the resources and technology we need. It's time to think. Time to find a new reason to be.
- There won't be enough jobs
- There will be plenty of wealth
- The owners of the technological capital will have most of the wealth
- Many will be poor OR if we share the massive wealth, many will have to re-evaluate life goals because working will no longer be required
Within high-tech America, after-tax corporate profits were 1.7 trillion last year yet 15% of the population is below the poverty line. Economists rightly predict if we give that 15% of the population free money they will be less incentivized to work. And in our current paradigm, if nobody in your family is working, you're probably being a drain on society.
So how do we change the paradigm? How do we use our incredible technology to improve the human existence instead of building consumables and business tools? We have plenty of food, clothing, and shelter. We have plenty of gadgets and toys. We've been able to revolutionize communication with the internet and disrupt digital and real manufacturing with personalized cloud solutions and configurable robotics. Yet we remain in the paradigm of work hard so you can play hard AKA, make money so you can spend money.
First we were hunters and gatherers
Then we were farmers and settlers
Then manufacturers and consumers
When will we be thinkers and creators?
We have all the resources and technology we need. It's time to think. Time to find a new reason to be.
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
What do Celebrity Photo Leaks, Google Stories, and Salesforce Wear have in common?
Google & Yahoo have tracked thousands of my web searches; they know me pretty well. They know I'm interested in business, technology, politics and celebrity news. This last week they targeted me with three news stories.
So what do they all have in common? They are an ongoing debate about the value contextual information can bring you with cloud technology. Even though Apple has stated that their iCloud has had no recent break-ins, it's hard to argue that the photos could have been stolen without being in a cloud. Somehow the celebrities' usernames and passwords were stolen and hackers retrieved the pictures from the cloud. Many of the celebrities are blaming Apple and wondering why their pictures are in the cloud. Well, why are their pictures in the cloud when new iphones have dozens of gigs of storage? So they can see their pictures from any device? That doesn't seem to be enough value.
Companies that collect contextual information about you (where you are, what you are doing, etc.) must continue to innovate and provide their customers with value or customers will simply stop sharing. Google Stories tries to provide value but I think it falls short. It uses highly sophisticated algorithms to be mediocre at something I can already do on Facebook and Instagram.
Salesforce Wear is an important step in the right direction. Why would I spend hundreds of dollars on a smartwatch if its features are disappointing and it tracks me everywhere I go? Maybe within a few years smart devices will provide enough value for consumers to buy and trust them. Ultimately, their price must come down substantially. This will happen when consumers use them enough that the services they come with subsidize their cost (just like smartphones today).
Until then, I recommend companies stop advertising their products are in the cloud. Being in the cloud is new, different, scary, risky, etc. It's an inherent negative until companies can prove its value (as they have with enterprise cloud products).
If you read my last blog entry, the experiment is going well. It's definitely harder to remember to log expenditures then I thought it would be. However, overall, I am spending less money....I think that's value :)
- Nude photos of celebrities were stolen from Apple's iCloud and shared across the internet.
- Google Stories is a new Google product that interprets the context around a series of photos and videos you post and turns them into a creative presentation.
- Salesforce Wear was released. This allows developers to design apps specifically for wearable devices like Google Glass, smart watches, and smart rings.
So what do they all have in common? They are an ongoing debate about the value contextual information can bring you with cloud technology. Even though Apple has stated that their iCloud has had no recent break-ins, it's hard to argue that the photos could have been stolen without being in a cloud. Somehow the celebrities' usernames and passwords were stolen and hackers retrieved the pictures from the cloud. Many of the celebrities are blaming Apple and wondering why their pictures are in the cloud. Well, why are their pictures in the cloud when new iphones have dozens of gigs of storage? So they can see their pictures from any device? That doesn't seem to be enough value.
Companies that collect contextual information about you (where you are, what you are doing, etc.) must continue to innovate and provide their customers with value or customers will simply stop sharing. Google Stories tries to provide value but I think it falls short. It uses highly sophisticated algorithms to be mediocre at something I can already do on Facebook and Instagram.
Salesforce Wear is an important step in the right direction. Why would I spend hundreds of dollars on a smartwatch if its features are disappointing and it tracks me everywhere I go? Maybe within a few years smart devices will provide enough value for consumers to buy and trust them. Ultimately, their price must come down substantially. This will happen when consumers use them enough that the services they come with subsidize their cost (just like smartphones today).
Until then, I recommend companies stop advertising their products are in the cloud. Being in the cloud is new, different, scary, risky, etc. It's an inherent negative until companies can prove its value (as they have with enterprise cloud products).
If you read my last blog entry, the experiment is going well. It's definitely harder to remember to log expenditures then I thought it would be. However, overall, I am spending less money....I think that's value :)
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