An Uber Fail

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Uber means super. An extreme or excessive degree. Mega, ultra, great, super, extreme. 

I first heard of "Uber" with UberConference, born out of Google Ventures. Today, it is safe to say that when you hear or say "Uber" you think of Uber Technologies, Inc. the American mobility service provider. Formerly Ubercab, they became "just Uber" the way that The Facebook became "just Facebook". 

The big news today is that you can hail a Yellow Cab via the Uber app. 

In other news, Ubercab founder Travis Kalanick's head exploded. 

A few years ago, I formed a new staffing company for the global gig economy. Ah yes, what to name it? Of course: UberStaff. 

Uber became so prominent in the sharing economy that commoditization of service industries using computing platforms has been referred to as uberisation, and several startups have described their offerings as "Uber for X".  Yeah, like I did with www.UberStaff.us 

Uber has posted hundreds of millions (or billions) of dollars of losses each year since 2014. Like similar companies, Uber has been criticized for the treatment of its drivers as gig workers and independent contractors, disruption of the taxicab business, and an increase in traffic congestion. Uber has been criticized for various unethical practices and for ignoring local regulations. 

Last week in my blog I mentioned how NFL Head Football Coach Bill Parcells would say "You are what your record says you are" and I love that quote. I think that the same goes for the naming of a company. You cannot be Uber if you are not really Uber. If the world says you are Uber (great, good, super, excellent) then that is fine. 

But just naming yourself Uber because you say so, well, that could lead to failure. 

Like, an Uber Failure. 

People First, Then Money, Then Things

Financial Solutions Expert Suze Orman has a great saying: "People First, Then Money, Then Things"

Facebook was built on people. Any social media channel or social technology, any and all digital channels that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expressions through virtual communities and networks is now at the heart of our global cloud based society. 

One cool feature of Facebook is the "memories" feature that shows you what you were doing exactly 1, 2, 5 or even 10 years ago. 

Exactly 10 years ago today, 3/20/2012 we were at my first NYDLA.org event since taking over the reigns. As a non-profit, during a recession, there was "less than $0" in the NYDLA bank account and prospects were not looking good. There were no jobs in tech - even in Cybersecurity. We had nothing to lose. 

We rebooted the NYDLA as a "for profit" trade association. And I tapped into my personal network of relationships, like the NFL. My first official duty as the new CEO of the NYDLA was to host an event at the NEW YORK FOOTBALL GIANTS training facility at GIANTS STADIUM. Hey, if you got the cards - play 'em! 

Things were bad - very bad - in 2012. And then, they got better. Slowly the recession passed. The economy picked up. The country went from saying "there are no jobs to be found in Cybersecurity" to WE ARE HIRING IN CYBERSECURITY!!! 

Taking over a bankrupt entity seems scary, but it is really the opposite. NYDLA.org leadership Hubert Joly tells the story well of bringing Best Buy back from death's door. You should check out our NYDLAcast.com interview, and pick up a copy of his new book for free. 

There was a time when the NEW YORK FOOTBALL GIANTS we terrible. Like, really bad. And then, they became Super Bowl Champions. 

2012 was bad, then things got better. Now in 2022, we are exiting a Global Pandemic, and dealing with high inflation and a war in Ukraine. 

Professional Sports Teams might be the best example of how things cycle from bad to good to bad to good, ongoing. A "Sports Dynasty" is a team or individual that dominates their sport or league for an extended period of time. In the NBA, the 1995-98 Chicago Bulls is considered to be the greatest All-Time dynasty, and had a 72-10 winning season that stood the mark until 2016. And that is why we have The Hall of Fame for every sport. 

The COVID-19 Pandemic has changed the world forever. But, the world works in cycles. Good, bad, good, bad. Zoom became "a verb" before COVID ever hit, but now in 2022 the future of work, the future of education, will never be the same. 

Yes, Suze Orman says: "People First, Then Money, Then Things" and I now have my own "things of three" saying: "Knowledge, Technology and Talent" which has become the core philosophy and culture of the NYDLA.

I grew up watching former NFL head coach Bill Parcells who had the famous quote that encapsulates his philosophy about excellence which says, "You are what your record says you are." 

Results speak for themselves. A sports dynasty, a global economy, a pandemic. They cycle of good, to bad, to good, to bad will always be there. Since the cycle of good to bad to good seems to be a constant, it makes sense to have another constant: 

People First. Since everything is going to go from good to bad to good to bad anyway - why not just commit to making people first above all else? 

Make people the constant. Make people the core, the rock that you build everything. Make people the foundation that you build upon to weather the storm. Because, there is always going to be another storm. 

Today, right now, my beloved NEW YORK FOOTBALL GIANTS are not, well, they are not great.

This too shall pass. GO BIG BLUE! 

NFL head coach Bill Parcells

Coffee, Tea or Me?

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Coffee, Tea or Me? is a book of purported memoirs by the fictitious stewardesses Trudy Baker and Rachel Jones first published in 1967. Written by Donald Bain, he said, "I wrote it in 1966 while working in public relations for American Airlines, and it went on to spawn an entire genre of wacky comedies. The books sold in the millions, and became my annuity for almost 17 years."

The book was originally written to emphasize the "sexy" parts of the job, during the golden age of airline travel. 

Times change. That is possibly the biggest understatement, ever. In the sixties and seventies, the general public may have thought that being an airline stewardess was an exciting job, but in reality, stewardesses worked long hours for little pay and were subject to sexism and discrimination. Fast forward to today, and we see flight attendants being assaulted in the air. In 2021, the Federal Aviation Administration received 5,114 reports of unruly passengers. 

My brain went down this rabbit hole because of "Coffee" and how the local Coffee Shop in BOONTON USA has moved to a bigger, better, cooler location. So many things have changed forever, because of technology, because of changes in society, and certainly because of the pandemic. 

It has been a LONG TIME since the golden age of airline travel. And now, the local Coffee Shop has become the office, the meeting place, the community center of well, the community. 

There was great anticipation in BOONTON USA for the "new and improved Boonton Coffee Co. to reopen at their new location, just a few steps up MAIN STREET BOONTON. And that made me pause. We (well, me) did not or would not get so excited about a local Pizzeria or Barber Shop or "any" shop moving up the street to a bigger, new location. It would not make the news. It would not be such a big deal. But the move of Boonton Coffee Co. to a new bigger location became big news - in Morris County New Jersey. 

I guess the lesson of today's blog is all about how things make you FEEL. In business, anyway. In the 60s and 70s, if you said out loud "Airline Stewardess" it made you feel a certain way. Did the TV show Friends change coffee shops forever? In every episode, the gang somehow always ends up getting the same set of chairs, and the couch. Yeah, in New York City's Greenwich Village. Right.....

Anyway, personally, I am very excited about the New and Improved Boonton Coffee Co. A much bigger space, which now serves - wine! And cheeses, and foods and all kinds of cool Coffee Swag. In the heart of Morris County New Jersey - one of the most populated counties in THE COUNTRY, in the heart of BOONTON USA. Somehow those who live in and around the 07005 zip code now feel an ownership, and a sense of pride, and excitement about their local community. In my own mind's eye, I can see us hosting our monthly BoontonWorks.com events at Boonton Coffee Co., where the coffee is on me. 

OK, land the plane, Tom... (see what I did there?)

There are many places to get "coffee" in BOONTON USA, and certainly thousands in Morris County. Starbucks, Dunkin' and only Google knows how many diners. But Boonton Coffee Co. has become a feeling, an emotional oasis. The Company became a Community. 

If you can get your own company or business (including an online business) to become part of the community, where the customers - the people - feel a sense of ownership - where the community becomes a stakeholder in your business - yeah, you won.

Socialmedication

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Californication (word), an expression that refers to the influx of Californians into various western states in the U.S. 

The band Red Hot Chili Peppers also did the song Californication about the deterioration of society. The song is about how the world is becoming very superficial and plastic, much like California. The band formed in Hollywood and are quite familiar with the quirky nature of life in Los Angeles. 

I think that a new word is ready to be born: the Social Mediation of the world. Maybe we shall call this process Socialmedication. (Social-medi-cation...)

As of this blog, war is raging in Ukraine. I am old enough to remember the first "TV War" - Vietnam. Before then, war was reported NOT in real time, and very rarely with such visuals. 

The Vietnam War (1955-75) was a time of great controversy in the United States. Cold War tensions ran high as the country relentlessly fought against the alleged evils of communism. 

At the same time, advances in video and audio recording enabled both easier and more news coverage. From 1950 to 1966, the percentage of Americans who owned a television skyrocketed from 9 percent to 93 percent as televisions became essential for everyday life.

So why was Vietnam called the first "Television War"?

During World War II, morale was high. Camera crews stayed in noncombat areas to show the happier, more upbeat side of war. The stories were broadcast as motion pictures shown in theaters. And the newscasters shared only good news and reported bad news with a cheery disposition. 

In the 1940s, Government Censorship over the media influenced this outlook. If the press wanted access to stories about the war, they had to receive credentials from the military. This ensured that the news didn't report anything that the military did not want disclosed to the public. Big stories like the A-bomb stayed out of the news until long after the war ended. The main focus (and purpose) of the media was this: maintain high morale and solid support for the war effort. 

Televising the Vietnam War helped to divide a nation that took pride in its ability to unify. The dramatization of stories in the news distorted the public's perception of what was actually happening in the field. Since it was visible in their homes, Americans were able to connect and empathize with the soldiers more than ever before. The Tet Offensive and the My Lai Massacre, both in 1968. It was all on TV. More and more people felt that the United States was involved in a war in which they shouldn't be involved at all. 

And now, in 2022, the war in Ukraine is not only in our living rooms - it is in our hands. The war is in our smartphones. In real-time. Twitter, YouTube, Facebook. Private websites, with streaming media of horrifying scenes. For me, Twitter has become the fastest source of global news, period. And yes, disinformation and fake news is also part of the socialmedication. Just as TV went from 9 percent to 93 percent, access to social media via smartphones rival this growth. I say, is much higher than 93 percent, and much faster that the sixteen years for TV to hit these numbers. 

Twitter. Facebook. Yesterday, U.S. lawmakers held a secure Zoom meeting with the President of Ukraine. And then, the "security" of that meeting was broken, as U.S. lawmakers posted screen shots and notes from that Zoom meeting across social media. 

Social media - all media - is now one of the biggest tools of any war - on all sides. How many years ago did Putin and other bad actors begin using Facebook, Twitter and other platforms? It did not begin in 2022. The Socialmedication of the world (and of war) began many years ago. 

On April 1, 1968, the day after President Lyndon B. Johnson announced that he would not run for reelection, he stated: "As I sat in my office last evening, waiting to speak, I thought of the many times each week when television brings the war into the American home. No one can say exactly what effect that television would have had on earlier conflicts - the Korean war, or even World War II. If every horror of war is televised, I don't think any American back home would have the stomach for it, ever, no matter how dire the circumstance." 

OK, back to music. Jim Morrison of The Doors once famously said, "Whoever controls the media, controls the mind," and I agree with him. The media is a means of mass communication that is impactful and a reflection of our society. The media is a powerful influence that affects opinions and attitudes, affects the lives of individuals and their perceptions, and affects society as a whole. Jim Morrison died in 1971 in Paris. I wonder what Jim Morrison would think about our world today. 

Maybe he would write a song about it. 

Dream of Socialmedication. 

The Doors

Beware the Limelight

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Limelight (also known as Drummond light or calcium light) is a type of stage lighting once used in theaters and music halls. Although it has long been replaced by electric lighting, the term has nonetheless survived, as someone in the public eye is still said to be "in the limelight". 

Ah, the Limelight. The center of public attention. The catbird seat, center stage, spotlight, top billing. 

Limelight is one of those words inspired by the theater. Upstage is another: you might think an actor trying to capture the audience's attention would move TOWARD, rather than away from, the front of the stage. But in theater, upstaging comes up when an actor moves to the BACK part of the stage before speaking their lines - thereby forcing the other actors on the stage to turn their backs to the audience, so that the speaker is the only character seen from the front.

Comedy of Errors is from William Shakespeare, from the 1500s. The phrase refers to any effort or event that is subject to a series of mishaps, whether dramatic or in real life.

Waiting in the Wings refers to the areas on each side of the stage, just out of sight from the audience, where an actor awaits the cue to enter the scene. Something that waits in the wings, therefore, is close at hand or readily available, or in a stage of planning or development. 

And when you Bring Down the House, you have audiences that express unbridled approval after a performance. It goes against common sense, that a large crowd's enthusiastic applause could be so thunderous that it cause structural damage to the building. 

A regular feature of classical Greek drama is the Greek Chorus, members who would sing or wail with commentary on the events of the play, particularly those with a moral angle. Think of the Oompa Loompas singing after each kid misbehaves in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Such commentary is often delivered directly to the audience. 

Ah, but let's look deeper. Limelights weren't originally meant for the theater. Thomas Drummond intended his invention, developed in 1816, to provide safety lighting for boats and ships traveling along dark coasts. That didn't work out practically, but the projection of an oxyhydrogen flame onto a cylinder of lime and then concentrated through a lens provided the right kind of direct illumination for playhouses. 

Tom? Where are you going...

Well, let's try to use them all, shall we? Donald Trump, "The Donald" has spent his entire life, trying to be in the limelight. His massive ego knows no bounds. The self-proclaimed Stable Genius. The "no one but me can fix it" guy. The Trump Presidency was a Comedy of Errors, with a Greek Chorus of GOP sycophants and "The MAGAs" who Bring Down the House when The Donald spins his web of lies. Vladimir Putin saw this useful idiot acting out for years - and - Putin was Waiting in the Wings to enter the scene! And now, Vlad is trying to upstage Donald as the world's nemesis of democracy! 

"The MAGAs"

Hero is another word from ancient theater. Myth, legend. A person of great strength and courage, favored by the gods. The central figure in any important event or period, honored for outstanding qualities. A role model. 

Sorry Donald, your time in the limelight is done. You have been recast. Also, the Department of Justice would like a word. 

 And Vlad, you screwed up - really bad this time. Your long and painful Greek Tragedy is coming to an end. America - I think the limelight is now clearly shining on a new hero on the world stage, don't you agree? With a little help from his friends. 

And, scene.

Rules for thee and not for me

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If you are a Star Trek fan, you know all about the Prime Directive. Also known as "Starfleet General Order 1" and the "non-interference directive" - it is the guiding principle of Starfleet that prohibits its members from interfering with the natural development of alien civilizations. It is supposed to protect unprepared civilizations from the dangerous tendency of well-intentioned starship crews to introduce advanced technology, knowledge, and values before they are ready. If you want to geek out, you can read all about it here. 

What about Isaac Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics?

First Law: A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. 

Second Law: A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.

Third Law: A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law. 

The original laws of robotics have been altered and elaborated by Asimov and others. In later science fiction where robots had taken responsibility for government of whole planets and human civilizations, Asimov also added a fourth, or zeroth law, to precede the others:

Zeroth Law: A robot may not harm humanity, or by inaction, allow humanity to come to harm.

The three laws, and the zeroth, have pervaded science fiction and are referred to in many books, films, and other media. They have affected thoughts on ethics of artificial intelligence as well. 

Where are you going with this, Tom?

Robots and artificial intelligences do not inherently contain or obey laws. Any laws. And we humans (aka Starfleet crews) much choose to program in such laws. The Prime Directive. Three Laws of Robotics. These rules (laws) only exist if and when HUMANS put them into place, and then continue to monitor their enforcement. You know, kinda how we humans all follow The Golden Rule all the time. Also this: for the first time ever, Facebook (Meta) is shrinking. 

Facebook's total number of users has declined - a first for the social media platform that has experienced seemingly never-ending growth since it debuted 17 years ago. 

Social Media and Technology companies (any/all) are now powered by AI, powered by algorithms. You know, Robots. 

Fictional TV / Movie series Star Trek saw it all coming for years. Asimov's Laws of Robotics were first introduced in his 1942 short story "Runaround" and in I, Robot. 

Land the plane, Tom.

Hey Mark, Hey Rupert, Hey Jeff, Hey (fill in name of greedy media technology bastard here) pay attention: 

The NEW Zeroth Law: Media and Technology companies powered by AI and algorithms and robots shall not harm humanity, or by inaction, allow humanity to come to harm.

Guys, you are not in compliance. 

Hedging Super Brawl Sunday

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2/13/2022: Super Bowl Sunday. Can you feel it? The excitement! The biggest media event of the year! Game time is set for 6:30 pm EST but coverage looks like it will begin at noon. Ya gotta have time to run all of the amazing Super Bowl ads, more than once, right? 

Check it out: you can find all of the non-car ads here, and all of the car ads right here. 

A thirty second ad this year costs $7M plus the cost of MAKING the commercial. I forget how many years ago it happened, but I remember when you HAD to WATCH the GAME to see the ads. You HAD to WATCH the GAME (LIVE) to see the Super Bowl Commercials, or you would miss out.

Viewership for NBC's coverage of the Beijing Winter Olympics is down. WAY DOWN. Why? 

Well, there is a general decline in TV viewing, period. Also a 13 hour time difference between Beijing and the East Coast, a controversy over China's human rights record, fewer fans attending due to COVID-19 restrictions, and potential view fatigue with a second Olympics just six months after the summer games.

Today's Super Bowl is projected to reach a record audience of 117 million viewers. And betting on the big game could surpass $7 billion. That's up from the $3.3 billion wagered last year when the Brady-led Tampa Bay Buccaneers faced the Chiefs. 

I think it would be a "safe bet" that you already knew that you could bet on the Super Bowl. The American Gaming Association says that 31.4 million Americans will bet on the Bengals-Rams game. The AGA estimates that 55% of gamblers will bet on the Rams winning Super Bowl 56, while 45% are betting on the Bengals. 

Some guy named Jim McIngvale, better known as "Mattress Mack" bet $4.5 million on the Bengals to win. Sports betting is now legal in 30 states and New York set a record for $1.6 billion in wagers. 

I think it is ALSO a safe bet that you DID NOT KNOW that you could bet on the Olympics. I did not know that you could bet on the Olympics. The Beijing Olympics marks the second year that millions of Americans will be able to legally place bets on their favorite country or athlete from their mobile phones. 

FanDuel, DraftKings, Caesars, they are all expanding. Most professional betters typically don't take the Olympics too seriously. There are too many unpredictable elements to the Olympic Games. Here is the take home: people who bet on the Super Bowl love football. People who bet on the Olympics, love gambling. 

Amazing how you can bet on just about anything these days. As of this blog, the Las Vegas odds that Russia crosses the Ukrainian border: 60% chance for a peaceful compromise, 30% probability for a limited military incursion, and a 10% risk of a full scale invasion. 

I won't be making any bets today. I just want today's Super Bowl to be a good game. In other news: I also hope that Putin has hedged his bet, and is willing to NOT invade Ukraine. 

In life, when someone hedges a situation they are limiting their exposure to the downside. Hedging a bet is an advanced strategy to reduce the risk of a wager or to guarantee a profit of some kind from a wager. Allowing people to watch Super Bowl ads anytime - before, during and AFTER the game - feels like the advertisers are hedging on their $7 million 30 second investments, right? 

Olympics. Super Bowls. Invasions. Commercials and Advertising. In day-to-day life, it seems like a good idea to hedge your bets. Hedging is a way to guarantee at least some kind of win. 

GM Hedging on Climate Change

https://youtu.be/uEuEBT0TWQE