Flywheel - The Blog of Withers Davis

Over the past month or so I have found four great tech tools that I really enjoy.

1. 99designs.com. This site allows you do harness the power of globalization and competition to create basic designs. I'm getting a new logo for Flywheel and my business card here.

Cost: $200-$1,000 per design.

2. PandoraJam. This program saves your Pandora playlists into iTunes. Ummm.. great.

Cost: Demo for free, $15 for license (well worth it).

3. Vuze. Great BitTorrent program. Simple and easy and you can find a ton of content. Free.

Cost: Free

4. MacBook Pro. Just got this bad boy 2 weeks ago and I freaking love it. Plays movies like an HD TV, the touchpad rocks, and it is fast and stable.

Cost: $2,000

I just received the new Malcolm Gladwell book - Outliers - The Story of Success. I really loved his other two books: Blink and The Tipping Point. I hope to enjoy this one just as much, if not more.

His books are the mini-carrots of reading. They are generally short, tasty, and good for you.

I ran across a pretty cool article in Inc. magazine about the prospects for the U.S. economy.

Check it here.

Basic gist... The US will remain strong based primarily because of our entrepreneurial spirit. No other country creates like we do.

Why do we have such a strong entrepreneurial spirit? Well one idea is that its in our genetics. Just about everyone in the US has descended from semi-recent immigrants. To leave one's homeland is a HUGE risk, regardless of the situation. To start a company is a HUGE risk, regardless of the idea. These concepts (risk-taking+product creation) really drive the US economy.

This NY Times article discusses the idea that the US is genetically a nation of risk-takers.

I am reading a truly life-changing book - The Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb. Life-changing books don't happen very often.

The premise of the book is that improbable and unforeseeable events have significant impacts in our lives. There is a false, almost ingrained, faith that we all have in planning and forecasting (especially economically) and it can cause some extremely positive and negative effects in our lives.

A black swan is an outlier, something not expected but that has dramatic impacts. Here are a few: the rise of Google, the internet, the wheel, September 11, the 2008 stock market implosion, etc, etc. Basically these things are virtually unpredictable, yet they have enormous impacts in our daily lives.

How is this a life changing idea? Isn't this a 'duh'? Well I would argue quite vehemently no this is not obvious. Just about every day we are all expected to make plans (which we almost never really meet). We all place significant faith in government numbers (e.g. Socaial Security in 2050) that are virtually unpredictable.

Personnally, I think the key is simultaneously harnessing and protecting oneself from Black Swans. Expose yourself to good things and people (go to cocktail parties, talk to strangers). Don't waste your time by worrying abut minutia (e.g. Say no to News) as it doesen't matter in the long run. Financially, be conservative with most of your money but hyper-aggressive with some of it.

Anyway, if you get a chance, read the book.

I've been in Mexico for the last 2 days (3 more to go). I'm in Cancun at this pretty damn cool hotel, Me by Melia.

So I have decided that Mexico is a great country. Having been a semi-seasoned world traveler I think I have some bearing here. For those of us from the USA this a great vacation spot. There is this rap that Mexico is a shady place but that makes zero sense to me right now.

Here's what I like about it:

1. People. Everyone here is very friendly. I'm sure there is some bias in that I'm a tourist in a very touristy town, but I've been to other touristy towns where people aren't nearly as nice.

2. Food. Mexican food rocks. Seriously. Mexican food in Mexico is better than it is in the US (unlike Thai food for example). The guacamole here is SOOOO good. Even the tortillas here are good. Black beans... mmm..

3. Beach. The beaches in Cancun are redonkulous. I've been to some good beaches, and these are up there. Crystal clear blue water, some waves but not too crazy, and perfect weather.

So over the last month or so I've been doing a fair bit of traveling. I've been to San Francisco twice, LA, San Diego, Baltimore, and New York City. Upcoming are trips to Mexico and Savannah.

One thing I've noticed is that I tend to meet more random people when I'm traveling then when I am home. So I'm asking myself why that is? I think its that I'm more of a hermit when I'm home. When you are in a new or unknown place the entire city is your home. I think its probably an exposure thing. When one travels one 'hits the town'. How often do peeps 'hit the town' in their own towns? Not that often.

So that's my thought of the day. Leave a comment if you have any ideas how I can fight this paralysis of comfort.

Technology is an interesting bird. While it gives the impression of linear progression, it without a doubt is very cyclical in some elements. How different really are the Commodore 64 and the iMac? The notes to my right are by an attendee at a talk given by Alan Kay back in 1982. These notes are as applicable today as they were back then.

One big way that technology has "circled back" is the resurgence of Apple and what I will call the "Integrated Products Paradigm." The key distinction with Apple products (iPod, iPhone, Macs, etc) is the integration of hardware and software. This concept gives Apple designers significant advantages over the software-only or hardware-only world that has been pioneered largely by Microsoft. Take for example the new MacBook touchpad. The new touchpad is revolutionary (and awesome) because it has no buttons. I got one for my mom (a novice computer user) and she loves it. That is saying a lot.

The only reason that this concept is even possible is because the hardware and software designs have been integrated.

Innovation has recently led to increased integration amongst products and life. There are self-parking cars, embedded GPSs in lingerie, MP3 players in cell phones, etc. Toys now unlock access to virtual worlds. You can control your air conditioning from work. I could go on for hours.

The bottom line is this. The real gains that (I believe) we are going to see in the near future is the continued integration of products (and life). Companies and individuals that position themselves in the integrated market should see some interesting growth opportunities. I think we're all better off for it.

Side note: Over the last month I've been on a reading tear. Finished 4 books in a month.

1776: Story about George Washington and the revolutionary war. Amazing how close we were to losing the revolutionary war. Imagine, America still being a British colony. (Kinda boring, but interesting nonetheless)

Moneyball: Great story about the positive use of statistics and data. (Recommended reading, especially for sports fans who happen to be business people)

The Black Swan (still reading): Great story about how major life-changing events are unpredictable. (HIGHLY recommended reading for all, heavy reading)

Built to Last: Good book about lasting visionary companies. Core concept: great companies have a strong purpose (besides just to make money) and they are constantly reinventing ways to deliver products that support the core purpose. (Recommended reading for entrepreneurs)