Size does matter

When talking about propellers, size does matter.

A propeller is a type of fan that transmits power by converting rotational motion into thrust. A pressure difference is produced between the forward and rear surfaces of the airfoil shaped blades, and a fluid (such as air or water) is accelerated by the pressure difference. Propeller dynamics, like those of aircraft wings can be modelled by Bernoulli's principle and Newton's third law.

OK!  Got it!  So, what is Propelify?

The Propelify Innovation Festival is coming to Pier A Park in Hoboken, NJ on October 3rd. 

Earlier this year, the New Jersey Tech Council, the state's largest technology trade organization, appointed Aaron Price as its new CEO - and also acquired Propelify - one of the largest communities of entrepreneurs and innovators and the producer of the Propelify Innovation Festival.

Aaron Price started Propelify with the inaugural Innovation Festival in 2016 and a mission to "inspire the tech and innovation community and those who take action - who propel." Since its launch the Festival has grown into one of the world's largest tech events, with 8,000+ entrepreneurs, influencers and policy makers.

Propelify was inspired by Aaron's other focus, the award winning NJ Tech Meetup, the state's largest entrepreneurial community with over 7,000 members. Aaron has served as the tech community expert for NJ Governor Phil Murphy, The White House (Obama Administration), the NJ Economic Development Authority, Fast Company, Entrepreneur Magazine, and the Wall Street Journal.

The New Jersey Tech Council (www.njtc.org) provides business development, education, networking and advocacy for the region's technology businesses. By collectively representing tech, life science and tech-related companies and organizations the Tech Council has the unique ability to offer opportunities to learn, network and grow - to nurture the tech and STEM talent pipeline critical to growth and to provide access to financing sources.

So NJTC aquired Propelify, and the NJTC gets Aaron Price as their new CEO in the process. Brilliant.

Now let's make it even better.

NYDLA.org members attend Propelify for free ($99 savings) and go home with $1000+ in "swag" from our vendors and sponsors. Just fill our the form on NYDLA.org and you're all set.

NYDLA and NJTC have similar missions - to support tech, innovation, and entrepreneurial ecosystems across the state and region. I really don't know who invented the propeller. It might have been Archimedes. Maybe it was Leonardo da Vinci. Could have been the Egyptians. But we DO know who invented Propelify.

In business, there are many factors to consider when contemplating your next move. Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg once received advice from Eric Schmidt in 2001, when he was Google's CEO: "If you are offered a seat on a rocket ship, you don't ask what seat. You just get on."

In that spirit, when someone offers you a free ticket to Propelify, you go.

I'll see you at Pier A Park this Thursday - let's Propel!

An eventful week

Was your week eventful? Thursday the NYDLA attended an event in NYC with our friends at Intrado. I had the privilege of presenting to the room - while streaming LIVE to the world. 

It struck me that just a few years ago, you would have to be a Fortune company to communicate and collaborate with the world. Today, via technologies powered by Intrado and others, we sometimes take global collaboration and real-time communication for granted.

Friday was another event - this time on the INTREPID. 

Our first presenter was Rhonda Vetere, Global CIO/CTO, Two Time Author and Triathlete.

Rhonda's body of work is amazing, celebrating women who are breaking down barriers and defining the future of STEM. Rhonda shared stories how she and her team navigate the volatile tech industry. She spoke of her passion for sport and how she takes her grit to the road, including insight from a recent trip to the Serengeti where she participated in the inaugural Serengeti Girls Run event. Rhonda then ran 55 miles over the course of three days for a female empowerment fundraiser - the first women-only run of its kind. A passionate leader, Rhonda has worked in global executive positions of Estee Lauder, AIG, HP, Barclays / Lehman Brothers, Bank One, JP Morgan Chase, CompuServe, UUNET, MCI and Worldcom - managing teams of more than 20,000 people.

Rhonda says -The best way to make your mark is to get your hands dirty. 

Her book Grit & Grind uses real-life stories of how we all face obstacles as we wind our way through life. Whether you're seeking success at work, creating a lasting relationship, or just trying to get "unstuck" in some area of your life, the quickest way to get what you want is to dive into the mess and learn your way through it. Her book offers simple but elegant ways to face anything that comes your way. Rhonda knows firsthand that there's no such thing as a perfect, struggle-free life. She said: "It's not the challenges you face, but how you face them that matters." 

When you're not afraid of getting your hands dirty, nothing can stop you from achieving the life you desire. Members of NYDLA receive her book for free when they join our global communty.

Our keynote speaker was Major General Brett Williams, USAF (Ret.)

He described his experiences transitioning from the world of flying operations into leading teams of Cyber and IT professionals. He compared and contrasted his experiences in DoD to what he experienced in the past five years in the private sector. Brett provided an overview of today's threat with specific emphasis on the nation state threat. He had strong opinions of why, at an executive level, we are challenged to defend today's networks and how moving to the cloud offers some clear advantages with regards to security. 

And then, we enjoyed a VIP tour of the INTREPID with Sebastian, Museum Educator.

Sebastian made the INTREPID come alive. His words, retelling the history of the ship, from its first days of service, to WWII to Vietnam, to recovering NASA space capsules. And now, as the SEA, AIR & SPACE MUSEUM.

While taking a VIP tour on the INTREPID, I learned of how many people of color were true heroes, how many times they saved the entire ship. And because they were people of color, they were never honored or even recognized until many years later. 

Each branch of the Armed Forces has historically had different policies regarding racial segregation. Although Executive Order 9981 officially ended segregation in the Armed Forces in 1948, following World War II, some forms of racial segregation continued until after the Korean War. I have been thinking about this ever since I left the ship. How (as a person of color) it must have felt to fight for, to put your life on the line for a country that still had active racial segregation.

On October 29, 1944, a kamikaze smashed into a gun tub on INTREPID's port side. A gun crew of African American sailors, who usually served as cooks or waiters in the officer's mess, courageously fired at the airplane as it crashed into their position. Ten men lost their lives. 

Yes, this was an eventful week. We met people live, and we met people virtually. We shook people's hands, and we "shook hands" with people via video, 12 time zones away. 

And we met people - true heroes - via their life stories being retold by Sebastian, from 74 years, 10 months and 25 days ago. 

Life is a series of moments and events, some live, some virtual, some retold via stories of the past. 

I just finished reading Rhonda's book - it's one of those books that you cannot put down once you start reading. Here's to living an extraordinary life - an INTREPID life. 

A workplace for all of us

We had a problem. The NYDLA grew like crazy over the last seven years. It was a rocket ship experiencing exponential acceleration. Google this:

"When someone offers you a seat on a rocket ship"

NYDLA started out as a tiny association in New York City, focused on fans of the distance learning world. Well, distance learning has morphed into DIGITAL learning, and today, it is just DIGITAL LIVING. DL = Distance Learning > DIGITAL Learning > DIGITAL LIVING.

Ever watch a TED talk? Ever watch a NETFLIX documentary? How about YouTube? Ever use Uber, or stay at an Airbnb or buy anything (or buy EVERYTHING) on Amazon?

Want to talk about Telemedicine or Drones or Coding or Cyber security? How about Peloton or the new Mirror, for at-home live coaching and live personal training?

LinkedIn bought Linda.com (online education) and it became LinkedIn Learning. And then, Microsoft bought LinkedIn.

There are now 700,000 podcasts in the world and growing. Are podcasts not a version of distance learning?

How long ago was it that you first used Google or Facebook or Twitter? If you stop and think about it, it was only a few years ago that people were not really sure they needed a website for their business. And people were not really sure they needed a cell phone. Now, more than 50% of all Internet traffic is from a mobile device. 

So, in the years since my oldest son was born, the "DL" in NYDLA has morphed more than once. 

And in that same period of time the "NY" as in NEW YORK CITY also morphed into the New York Megalopolis. There are 55M+ people living from Maine to Virginia, that consider "New York" to be their home. I always see people reading the New York Times in LA, but I never see anyone reading the LA Times in New York. It's the Big Apple! 

New York "anything" became New York "everything" as the New York Megalopolis became the center of the known universe. 

Back to our problem: how did a small association like NYDLA go from servicing just a few thousand members to attempting to service the 55M+ people who are living, learning, working, playing in the clouds?

Enter Workplace by Facebook.

Facebook used "Facebook" to run....Facebook. They used an internal, private version of Facebook to run the company. Well this story is similar that of our friends at Basecamp. 

Basecamp was a home grown tool used internally by the webmasters at 37Signals in Chicago, to work with remote teams to build out websites. 37Signals customers and clients would say "Hey, that's cool....what is that? Can we buy it?" At first, it was no, this is just some tool we made to keep our remote teams connected. Well, over time, that home-grown internal project management tool became Basecamp, the #1 project management tool in the world. 

Facebook internal staff was using Facebook to run....Facebook. Big clients and customers of Facebook would ask if they too, could have a private version of Facebook for THEIR needs. And over time, this "private" version of Facebook, became Workplace by Facebook. 

I don't have time to cover the past three or four years of metamorphosis of Workplace by Facebook. Suffice it to say, that if you are in business (of any size) you are going to be checking out Workplace by Facebook. If you are a school, if you are a college or university, if you are an NGO, if you are a public company, a private company, if you are a team of 5 or 500 or 5,000 or 50,000 or 500,000...... you are going to be checking out Workplace. It changed our lives at NYDLA, and I think it will change yours.

Workplace has allowed the NYDLA to service not only the 55M+ people living, learning, working, playing in the New York Megalopolis, but also - Workplace powers global digital transformation.  This past Friday I spent the day at Facebook NYC (where else, right - NEW YORK!) to discuss the future of work, the future of education, the future of global collaboration.

NYDLA.net (dot net) shall soon be powered by Workplace, basically making the global scalability and growth of the NYDLA community, limitless. I could go on WABC Talk Radio with their new owner, our friend and billionaire John Catsimatidis and tell everyone to "go to NYDLA dot net" and we're good. Workplace can handle anything we throw at it. Workplace could handle a Super Bowl ad, driving traffic to NYDLA.net

Worldwide, there are well over 2 Billion users on Facebook. The Workplace by Facebook (private, no ads) network uses the same infrastructure. Workplace SCALES. 

We could have an NYDLA event "live" on the INTREPID, with 50 people attending in person, 5,000 attending remotely, and 500,000+ watching the archive of the event. Workplace allows for global, unlimited synchronous and asynchronous collaboration and communication. 

Over the next several months, we shall be training and certifying dozens (hundreds?) of NYDLA Workplace "Ambassadors" to empower our members to fully embrace the power of Workplace. Soon, mastery of Workplace shall be like mastering WordPress. It will look great on a resume. 

We expect that many of the members of NYDLA will want "their own" Workplace, just like the big customers of Facebook.

Fantastic! Via NYDLA we shall help them to make their own Workplace experience all that it can be. After all, "NYED-LA" (that's what they call us these days) is Workplace, and Workplace is us.

Google wanted to organize the world's information. 

Facebook wanted to give people the power to build community, bringing the world closer together. 

And now: Workplace by Facebook - because anything is possible when people work together.

Join the NYDLA.org 

Starting a Podcast? First Get Messy

Back in March of this year, I did a blog on podcasting. Since that time, it seems like the already exploding podcasting world has now shifted in to supernova mode.

Molly Beck was paying attention.

There is a very good chance that you have an idea for your own podcast. It could be a podcast about sports, or cooking, or business. But you might never take your idea for a podcast and give it life, because it seems too hard. Where do you begin? How do you do it? 

Molly Beck launched, built, and grew Forbes Podcasts. She had the idea that creating and launching a podcast should not be so hard. Why can't someone record, edit, publish, and monetize their podcast, as easy as writing a blog? 

Enter Messy.fm the web-based software that allows anyone of any technical level play with the big guys in the world of podcasting. Think of Messy.fm as WordPress for podcasting.

Molly's first investment round for Messy was led by Randi Zuckerberg, the former director of market development for Facebook. So far, thousands of podcasters have created tens of thousands of episodes using Messy. 

It was August 23rd (16 days ago) that I met Molly Beck on LinkedIn. We then had a Zoom meeting, and yesterday (Saturday) we met in NYC. And just like that.....

Messy.fm is a now a member benefit of NYDLA.org. 

Join the NYDLA - and get Messy as part of your paid membership. Done.  

Whether you want to launch a new podcast or improve an existing podcast, Molly and her team (and her technology) will get it done for you. Anyone can (and should) make a podcast. But most people won't because they are afraid, or they feel like they will fail. 

I remember when people would say: "Do I really need a website?" or "Do I really need a blog?"

In today's world, not having a podcast will be the same as not having a website. The people who get into podcasting now will be the ones that build an audience and make it the centerpiece of their company or brand. 

NYDLA.org members shall now benefit from the Messy.fm platform - and - from the body of work of industry experts like Molly Beck, Randi Zuckerberg, and others. 

Podcasting has gone mainstream. From history buffs, to business experts, to comics, everyone has a podcast these days. But the market is just getting started. There are 165 million podcast listeners and slightly more than 700,000 podcasts being updated all the time. 

Randi Zuckerberg and her longtime business associate Natasha Lewin launched a silly, yet surprisingly dark, family friendly podcast on Messy.fm re-telling classic fairytales, with contemporary themes like politics, gender, and the tech world. 

So: yesterday my wife and I took the bus to The Big Apple for a Saturday day trip to meet Molly Beck (and her Dad). And we met a few people in the "Messy Posse" - people who are rocking the podcasting world via the Messy.fm platform.

As soon as possible (this month) Molly and I will record a "NYDLAcast" and blast it out to the millions in our community. I'll let Molly tell the story behind her company name - but it was not always...Messy. For now (until we get NYDLA.org updated) you can just send an email to Messy@NYDLA.org and we'll take good care of you. 

I'll leave you with a teaser on the Messy name: Mark Twain, Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein and Steve Jobs had messy desks. Just like most other geniuses. 

So if you ARE going to have a podcast - it should be a messy podcast. 

The Messy.fm Posse

(that's me on the couch)

Sounds Laborious

I love words. When you look up the word Labor and find "Laborious" you see synonyms like: arduous, hard, heavy, difficult, strenuous, grueling, murderous, punishing, onerous, burdensome, back-breaking, trying, boring, demanding.

Back-breaking? 

There is a well-known slogan in the labor movement: "Unions: The Folks Who Brought You the Weekend."

It might be a slight exaggeration, but this much is true: Unions brought us the three-day Labor Day Weekend that is considered the end of summer in the USA. Unions celebrated the first Labor Day in New York City on the first Tuesday in September 1882. By 1894, they persuaded an additional 23 states to celebrate the holiday. And on June 28, 1894 President Grover Cleveland made it official: The First Monday in September of each year is a national holiday.

Yet today, membership in America's once mighty labor movement is in decline.

• Most union members live in California, with 2.4 million people in a union. The Golden State is followed by New York, with 1.9 million union members.
• More than half of the 14.7 million union members in the U.S. live in just seven states: California, New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio, and Washington.
• Men continue to have higher union membership rates: 11.1 percent compared to 9.9 percent for women.
• In the public sector, union membership rates are highest in local government, at 40.3 percent. Heavily unionized occupations include police officers, firefighters, and teachers. Private sector industries with high unionization rates include utilities, transportation, warehousing, and telecommunications. 

Labor Day started as a protest against shoddy and unsafe working conditions and long hours. But it has also had a long tradition of end-of-summer revelry. By the time the second Labor Day rolled around in New York City, the parks, the shops, and the bars of The Big Apple were teeming with people. 

Today, there are a growing number of regions around the country where there are labor shortages.

Businesses literally cannot find the workers they need to operate their business. 

Labor Day: a day to celebrate the workers who built America and the labor movement that rose up to protect workers from abusive labor practices. And now it is worth noting that we don't have enough labor in our country right now. Some of this results from the strong economy which is 10+ years into an expansion. Some of this results from restrictive immigration policies. 

Regardless of the cause, we have an abundance of capital and a shortage of labor in the U.S. economy right now. 

That makes it difficult to operate a business and even more difficult to expand. And this shall force business to automate. Automation (AI, bots, machines, etc.) can solve some of these issues. I expect we shall see more automation in an environment where capital is available to fund investments and labor is very tight.

SO: we have a choice. Do we want more robots or more people? How much longer should we maintain a restrictive immigration policy? I believe we should have more legal immigration in the United States. We have labor shortages and there are many talented people who would like to come here and live and work. If we are not going to allow people to do the work, then it shall be left to the robots. But the work will get done, one way or the other. 

I am fortunate to know Adam Grant and Simon Sinek. 

When you meet someone new, don't ask "What do you do?" as this limits what people share about themselves to a job description. Instead, try "What do you love to do?" It ignites and invites people to express their distinctive interests. ~ Adam Grant

Our passion lies deep in who we are, not what we do. ~ Simon Sinek

Labor Day pays tribute to the contributions and achievements of American workers. Labor Day, an annual celebration of workers and their achievements, originated during one of American labor history's most dismal chapters. In the late 1800s, at the height of the Industrial Revolution, the average American worked 12-hour days and seven-day weeks in order to eke out a basic living. Despite restrictions in some states, children as young as 5 or 6 toiled in mills, factories and mines across the country, earning a fraction of their adult counterparts. Something had to give, right?

Folks, change is coming. Big time. 

Nature abhors a vacuum. This idiom is used to express the idea that empty or unfilled spaces are unnatural as they go against the laws of nature and physics. 

We have an abundance of capital and a shortage of labor in the U.S. economy right now. Something is going to fill the vacuum of those unfulfilled jobs, either with people, or robots, or some combination of both. Big money will not allow that job and labor vacuum to exist for long. 

Labor Unions are in decline. Technology and automation of labor, especially having robots and AI (Artificial Intelligence) doing repetitive tasks is increasing. Labor Day, first and foremost, is a celebration of the working people who keep the gears of American commerce turning like they should be. 

But the gears of American commerce are moving to the cloud, away from the factories, away from the farms, and away from the mines. I predict that within our lifetime, we shall see a "new" Labor Day.

A Labor Day for robots and their owners. 

After all, where would Luke Skywalker be without R2-D2? 

We experienced the Agricultural Revolution, then the Industrial Revolution, and now we are living - the Digital Revolution. 

And this one shall be the biggest of them all. 

Then: What do you do?

Today: What do you love to do?

Tomorrow: What does your robot love to do?