Last night I was listening to a great new episode of The Wolf Den, my favorite podcast about podcasting, with guest Sarah Mosel.
For those of you unfamiliar with the podcast industry, Sarah is one of the heavy hitters in the sector. After ascending to a VP position in New York Public Radio (basically *the* beating heart for all of public radio and the birthplace of nearly every big talk-driven media name you know) she made waves by joining the C-suite at Acast for a short stint before ending up at Market Engenuity as their Chief Podcasts Sales & Strategy officer.
You should check out this episode for a great look into the incredibly innovative and fast changing world of podcast ad sales. Podcast ads are ads that hosts (mostly) read themselves because they believe that what they are pitching is good and listeners actually (mostly) enjoy listening to - I cannot overstate how important the popularity of podcast ads has been to the growth and development of this new on-demand, decentralized media.
Anyways, I just wanted to share a little nugget that co-host and EVP of sales and development for podcast advertising at Midroll Lex Friedman dropped around the 17:39 mark:
"I think that people are jumping into podcasting...for three reasons: 1) for the on-demandness, 2) the actual quality of their content, and 3) the fact that it doesn't sound like radio, and the ads don't sound like radio ads."
It's hard to argue with that.
Podcasts are a digitally-native medium of communication. They are fundamentally differentiated from the centrally owned, operated and broadcast media that came before it. We are just at the beginning of figuring out what is possible with podcasting. And it is pretty damn exciting to watch, er, listen to.
2018년 3월 31일 토요일
2018년 3월 30일 금요일
Chase What "Adults" Hate
I'm half hungover here, so I'll keep this brief.
Whenever you come across something - anything really, from a concept, to an individual person, or product - that elicits immediate reactions in others (who more often than not happen to be adults), pursue the hell out of it.
Why?
Because there is usually somerthing around there that, if extracted and processed right, could be super valuable.
A value that I have written about before [here] that is so new no one really knows how important it is yet, is that we will eventually be paying for everything - including paying to be paid.
Adults hate that idea. They feel dirty paying for things that aren't inanimate objects.
But paying for something - or specifically appearing to be open to paying (i.e. bountying) - works so damn well in drawing eye as as well as earballs.
Cent is at the forefront of extracting this hitherto unmined value. And let me tell you, this vein runs *deep* af.
Whenever you come across something - anything really, from a concept, to an individual person, or product - that elicits immediate reactions in others (who more often than not happen to be adults), pursue the hell out of it.
Why?
Because there is usually somerthing around there that, if extracted and processed right, could be super valuable.
A value that I have written about before [here] that is so new no one really knows how important it is yet, is that we will eventually be paying for everything - including paying to be paid.
Adults hate that idea. They feel dirty paying for things that aren't inanimate objects.
But paying for something - or specifically appearing to be open to paying (i.e. bountying) - works so damn well in drawing eye as as well as earballs.
Cent is at the forefront of extracting this hitherto unmined value. And let me tell you, this vein runs *deep* af.
2018년 3월 29일 목요일
Dream Fast, Write Slowly
Make haste slowly
There is something just so perfectly zen about this saying. It's derived from the Latinate motto 'festina lente' which in turn came from a Greek saying.
This saying literally carries wisdom through the ages, not too fast and not too slowly.
It also pretty much encapsulates this blog, and more specifically my writings and musings on the future of the internet, beta.cent.co.
Since first reading about Cent back in early November, my day dreams and fantasies about the site have always raced ahead of my writings, whose frequency have never really broken more than a brisk stroll.
The imaginative energy and stimulation from my fantastic thoughts have provided the perfect amount of inspiration and clarity to write simple, deep and thoughtful pieces.
I have achieved the ultimate equilibrium whereby I have managed to balance the fantastical with the repetitively subdued resulting in a constantly replenishing pool of daily creativity.
Now it's time to work towards those dreams, and get paid.
Not too fast, but not too slowly. That's how I'll keep on keeping on.
There is something just so perfectly zen about this saying. It's derived from the Latinate motto 'festina lente' which in turn came from a Greek saying.
This saying literally carries wisdom through the ages, not too fast and not too slowly.
It also pretty much encapsulates this blog, and more specifically my writings and musings on the future of the internet, beta.cent.co.
Since first reading about Cent back in early November, my day dreams and fantasies about the site have always raced ahead of my writings, whose frequency have never really broken more than a brisk stroll.
The imaginative energy and stimulation from my fantastic thoughts have provided the perfect amount of inspiration and clarity to write simple, deep and thoughtful pieces.
I have achieved the ultimate equilibrium whereby I have managed to balance the fantastical with the repetitively subdued resulting in a constantly replenishing pool of daily creativity.
Now it's time to work towards those dreams, and get paid.
Not too fast, but not too slowly. That's how I'll keep on keeping on.
2018년 3월 28일 수요일
Bounty Basics Part 2 - Just Cent It
*This is the fourth post in a series of how-to guides introducing and explaining some of the foundational features and functions of beta.cent.co*
What should I Cent?
Anything. Yep, anything you can think of.
If you've ever posted anything on one of those old, stale, staid social networks and gotten no love back or are craving something more than lazy 'likes', hollow 'hearts', or condescending claps, try Centing those thoughts next time - it'll change everything.
After you click on the '+' symbol in the top-right corner of beta.cent.co, jot your thought down in the title space and color in a bit of context in the description space so that Centians can know if you are looking for a conversation, a specific answer, action or something else and respond accordingly.
Since a bounty is attached to your Cent, many may understandably think they need to ask for something - which also happens to be an amazingly powerful use case for Centing - but that is not necessary.
You can say anything on Cent, and in return Centians give their two cents.
The power of the Cent network is the ability to activate unique insights and harness a staggering spread of sensibilities - the *Centience* of the network - that each Centian has to offer.
It may be a little too early to be so punny, if so I apologize.
So if you have a need or have anything to say - from crowd sourcing active responses, or figuring out what book you should read next, or what the best philosophical mode of living is, to getting your thesis or paper edited and reviewed, or simply want to crowd source ways to improve the Cent site that you are so passionate about - just Cent it.
Now go, stay Centient, and keep Centing.
What should I Cent?
Anything. Yep, anything you can think of.
If you've ever posted anything on one of those old, stale, staid social networks and gotten no love back or are craving something more than lazy 'likes', hollow 'hearts', or condescending claps, try Centing those thoughts next time - it'll change everything.
After you click on the '+' symbol in the top-right corner of beta.cent.co, jot your thought down in the title space and color in a bit of context in the description space so that Centians can know if you are looking for a conversation, a specific answer, action or something else and respond accordingly.
Since a bounty is attached to your Cent, many may understandably think they need to ask for something - which also happens to be an amazingly powerful use case for Centing - but that is not necessary.
You can say anything on Cent, and in return Centians give their two cents.
The power of the Cent network is the ability to activate unique insights and harness a staggering spread of sensibilities - the *Centience* of the network - that each Centian has to offer.
It may be a little too early to be so punny, if so I apologize.
So if you have a need or have anything to say - from crowd sourcing active responses, or figuring out what book you should read next, or what the best philosophical mode of living is, to getting your thesis or paper edited and reviewed, or simply want to crowd source ways to improve the Cent site that you are so passionate about - just Cent it.
Now go, stay Centient, and keep Centing.
2018년 3월 27일 화요일
Sometimes People are Liars
Today, over the course of a series of interactions with one particular individual, I re-learned one of those regrettable but inevitable life truths - some people are just liars.
But before getting into that particular string of interactions, I want to give some context.
For the past two days straight, from the moment I arrive at the office until the second before I dash out to catch the last company shuttle home, I have been in non-stop contact with 12 staff (including myself) that need to sign their new Employment Agreements so they can extend their employment with our company.
By now I have carried out contract extensions for over 50 separate individuals over the past two years, so contract extensions are a bit old hat for me now, but there is a distinct wrinkle in the re-contract work I am now tasked with.
After assuming my Corporate HR position just three weeks back, one of my expanded responsibilities is to handle contract extensions for all global staff with direct HQ contracts - from those working in the various corporate functions and product divisions at our Seoul Office to staff working on overseas projects.
Up until 3 weeks ago each corporate function and division had maintained their own GHR Manager or global HR manager to manage any global staff working for their respective function or division.
Luckily, only roughly 25% of the global staff I am now responsible for need to renew their contracts by Friday. Contract extensions for the remaining bunch are spread comfortably throughout the rest of the year.
Anyways, when I started working in this position I was told the terms and conditions for the global staff outside of the division I came from (since I had already handled and settled those T&C negotiations personally) were settled and agreed upon already.
It'll just be a rubber stamping exercise I was told. But, I was also told to wait for final Corporate HR approval before engaging these employees - in case any of their conditions were changed, which sometimes happens.
Well, the digital approval arrived in my inbox this past Friday evening as I was about to head out the door for the weekend - about 1.5 weeks later than originally expected - without a single change.
At least I had drafted up all the new Employment Agreements ahead of time based on the planned terms and conditions, so I immediately sent out draft copies to everyone before beginning my weekend, asking them to simply review the drafts and let me know if anything was missing, or included when it shouldn't be.
That's when things got interesting.
It turns out that nearly 3/4 of the group (i.e. everyone who was not in the division I came from) had not been informed of the final T&C for their contract extensions. Two individuals hadn't even been presented with initial T&C! Their former GHR managers had simply delayed and delayed before they were re-org'd elsewhere.
So, I come into work Monday morning (yesterday) with an inbox full of WTF emails from 9 staff who I somehow need to reach agreement on new T&C *and* sign new contracts with, all by the end of the week.
Luckily I have seen and been through something like this before. It's mainly about listing up each individual and the specific issues they raise before methodically addressing each and every issue in a series of interactions with the right number of touches, in a sufficiently empathetic tone.
Aside from a few minor clarifications here and there and explaining the standard used to determine new T&C more than a few times, I was able to get final agreement and dotted line signatures for 7 of the 9 global staff.
And then there were two: one located at our Seoul Office and the other on a project site in the Middle East. The one located with me in our Seoul Office requested to meet in person. They had actually settled on a to-be-confirmed 25% salary increase with their HR a month back, so I thought they wanted to discuss something else.
Turns out, they wanted to negotiate an even higher salary! They seemed quite butt-hurt though when he asked for a higher number; it wasn't a cheeky attempt at pulling the wool over the new HR manager's eyes. Long-story short, a series of understandable events had led them to believe they were being significantly underpaid compared to the average salary for an employee with equal years of experience. They weren't, and aren't, and putting that in writing was enough for him to say ok and sign.
Now for the series of increasingly infuriating interactions with our friend based in the Middle East. Instead of boring you with details, let me summarize what happened: I was lied to over the course of 3~4 separate, 30 minute plus phone calls where an absolute work related necessity morphed into a personal demand.
It was infuriating, and all along the way I had been trying to find the easiest win-win solution to for this individual. Anyways, finally, with a voice that apparently was slightly raised, I explained again how our friend could simply use their company supported flight to carry out their personal demand.
After another round of bullshit, I offered to write a simple email to the administrative team leader on their project stating that if it were within the bounds of their site regulations to provide a separate trip to our friend gratis, Corporate HR has neither opinion nor objection on the matter - a totally meaningless empty platitude.
Well that meaningless gesture ended up resolving the situation so I could get back to the rest of my work that had been piling up.
It had been awhile since I have had to deal with a bold faced liar. But I'm glad I got to flex my HR muscle and not just shut it down, but resolve it in a way where our company wasn't damaged but on the other hand (at least to our friend I guess) it appears that I went out of my way to try accommodate an employee's demand in the end.
There are liars everywhere, here's hoping you all don't need to deal with one anytime soon;)
But before getting into that particular string of interactions, I want to give some context.
For the past two days straight, from the moment I arrive at the office until the second before I dash out to catch the last company shuttle home, I have been in non-stop contact with 12 staff (including myself) that need to sign their new Employment Agreements so they can extend their employment with our company.
By now I have carried out contract extensions for over 50 separate individuals over the past two years, so contract extensions are a bit old hat for me now, but there is a distinct wrinkle in the re-contract work I am now tasked with.
After assuming my Corporate HR position just three weeks back, one of my expanded responsibilities is to handle contract extensions for all global staff with direct HQ contracts - from those working in the various corporate functions and product divisions at our Seoul Office to staff working on overseas projects.
Up until 3 weeks ago each corporate function and division had maintained their own GHR Manager or global HR manager to manage any global staff working for their respective function or division.
Luckily, only roughly 25% of the global staff I am now responsible for need to renew their contracts by Friday. Contract extensions for the remaining bunch are spread comfortably throughout the rest of the year.
Anyways, when I started working in this position I was told the terms and conditions for the global staff outside of the division I came from (since I had already handled and settled those T&C negotiations personally) were settled and agreed upon already.
It'll just be a rubber stamping exercise I was told. But, I was also told to wait for final Corporate HR approval before engaging these employees - in case any of their conditions were changed, which sometimes happens.
Well, the digital approval arrived in my inbox this past Friday evening as I was about to head out the door for the weekend - about 1.5 weeks later than originally expected - without a single change.
At least I had drafted up all the new Employment Agreements ahead of time based on the planned terms and conditions, so I immediately sent out draft copies to everyone before beginning my weekend, asking them to simply review the drafts and let me know if anything was missing, or included when it shouldn't be.
That's when things got interesting.
It turns out that nearly 3/4 of the group (i.e. everyone who was not in the division I came from) had not been informed of the final T&C for their contract extensions. Two individuals hadn't even been presented with initial T&C! Their former GHR managers had simply delayed and delayed before they were re-org'd elsewhere.
So, I come into work Monday morning (yesterday) with an inbox full of WTF emails from 9 staff who I somehow need to reach agreement on new T&C *and* sign new contracts with, all by the end of the week.
Luckily I have seen and been through something like this before. It's mainly about listing up each individual and the specific issues they raise before methodically addressing each and every issue in a series of interactions with the right number of touches, in a sufficiently empathetic tone.
Aside from a few minor clarifications here and there and explaining the standard used to determine new T&C more than a few times, I was able to get final agreement and dotted line signatures for 7 of the 9 global staff.
And then there were two: one located at our Seoul Office and the other on a project site in the Middle East. The one located with me in our Seoul Office requested to meet in person. They had actually settled on a to-be-confirmed 25% salary increase with their HR a month back, so I thought they wanted to discuss something else.
Turns out, they wanted to negotiate an even higher salary! They seemed quite butt-hurt though when he asked for a higher number; it wasn't a cheeky attempt at pulling the wool over the new HR manager's eyes. Long-story short, a series of understandable events had led them to believe they were being significantly underpaid compared to the average salary for an employee with equal years of experience. They weren't, and aren't, and putting that in writing was enough for him to say ok and sign.
Now for the series of increasingly infuriating interactions with our friend based in the Middle East. Instead of boring you with details, let me summarize what happened: I was lied to over the course of 3~4 separate, 30 minute plus phone calls where an absolute work related necessity morphed into a personal demand.
It was infuriating, and all along the way I had been trying to find the easiest win-win solution to for this individual. Anyways, finally, with a voice that apparently was slightly raised, I explained again how our friend could simply use their company supported flight to carry out their personal demand.
After another round of bullshit, I offered to write a simple email to the administrative team leader on their project stating that if it were within the bounds of their site regulations to provide a separate trip to our friend gratis, Corporate HR has neither opinion nor objection on the matter - a totally meaningless empty platitude.
Well that meaningless gesture ended up resolving the situation so I could get back to the rest of my work that had been piling up.
It had been awhile since I have had to deal with a bold faced liar. But I'm glad I got to flex my HR muscle and not just shut it down, but resolve it in a way where our company wasn't damaged but on the other hand (at least to our friend I guess) it appears that I went out of my way to try accommodate an employee's demand in the end.
There are liars everywhere, here's hoping you all don't need to deal with one anytime soon;)
2018년 3월 26일 월요일
Bounty Basics Part 1 - Prices & Periods
*This is the third post in a series of how-to guides introducing and explaining some of the foundational features and functions of beta.cent.co*
How much should you set your bounty for?
Good news: There is a wide range and over the last 8 months there doesn't appear to be a bounty amount that is too low.
Although I originally assumed that a high bounty would be the only way to attract a high quality or high number of responses, I can say with absolute certainty that that simply isn't the case.
I think the main reason you can set a bounty for a trivial amount of money (e.g. USD 1.50) and still attract a sufficient amount of decent quality responses has to do with the social network aspect of Cent and the bonds that Centians are forming with one another.
So go ahead and Cent something and don't worry if your bounty is too low, because it isn't.
How long should I leave my bounty open for?
Short answer: Anything over 3~4 days is way too long.
Unless you are asking for a review of something of significant length or detail (e.g. thesis review), a typical bounty will be able to accumulate between 30~100 responses within 3~4 days before it closes.
Probably because Cent pays out in Ethereum, but an attractive quality of of the site (from a responder's perspective) is the potential immediacy of payout.
If new users end up having to wait weeks for their first payout, do you think Cent is likely to attract a consistently large number of diverse responders? This is something to keep mind the next time you are setting a bounty for your cent.
*****************
Next time I will bring up the most important issue currently facing Cent, how we can increase the number of people who actually set bounties to cent something.
How much should you set your bounty for?
Good news: There is a wide range and over the last 8 months there doesn't appear to be a bounty amount that is too low.
Although I originally assumed that a high bounty would be the only way to attract a high quality or high number of responses, I can say with absolute certainty that that simply isn't the case.
I think the main reason you can set a bounty for a trivial amount of money (e.g. USD 1.50) and still attract a sufficient amount of decent quality responses has to do with the social network aspect of Cent and the bonds that Centians are forming with one another.
So go ahead and Cent something and don't worry if your bounty is too low, because it isn't.
How long should I leave my bounty open for?
Short answer: Anything over 3~4 days is way too long.
Unless you are asking for a review of something of significant length or detail (e.g. thesis review), a typical bounty will be able to accumulate between 30~100 responses within 3~4 days before it closes.
Probably because Cent pays out in Ethereum, but an attractive quality of of the site (from a responder's perspective) is the potential immediacy of payout.
If new users end up having to wait weeks for their first payout, do you think Cent is likely to attract a consistently large number of diverse responders? This is something to keep mind the next time you are setting a bounty for your cent.
*****************
Next time I will bring up the most important issue currently facing Cent, how we can increase the number of people who actually set bounties to cent something.
2018년 3월 25일 일요일
My Personal Voting Calculus
*This is the second in a series of how-to guides introducing and explaining some of the foundational features and functions of beta.cent.co*
Up Voting
Although there really is no *one* way to vote, it may be useful to some if I share my own way of voting on Cent.
My voting is quite simple and is based on a 3-tiered quality based distribution schedule. Since there are a maximum of +3 up votes that can be given to any single response, my 3-tiers are: Excellent (+3), great (+2), and good (+1).
Only one post per bounty will receive +3 up votes from me. To ensure I have seen all responses, including late ones, I will usually wait to the last day of a bounty to give +3 votes - but sometimes the best answer is just obvious when you see it.
For great responses I try to keep a *soft cap* of 2 per bounty - but I will give +2 up votes to more than one response if they deserve it.
For *any* responses where the responder gave an original effort, they will receive a +1 up vote from me. Good jokes usually fall into this category for me.
Down Voting
Down voting consists of only two-levels for me: Bad (-1) and Copy/Paste (-3).
Responses that are simply responses for the sake of responses or that miss the point of the bounty are 'bad' to me.
Pure copy/paste jobs take zero effort and actually diminish the legitimacy of a site like Cent. As such they should be voted down to the fullest extent possible.
Conclusion
There is no 'right' way to vote. In fact I am sure there are other Centians who employ their own unique voting strategy when it comes to evaluating responses. I am super curious to hear what those strategies are.
I also know that many Centians seem to not understand the voting process and the important role it plays. Hopefully my posts from today and yesterday help clarify that.
Over the next few days I will be addressing various aspects related to bounty setting.
Up Voting
Although there really is no *one* way to vote, it may be useful to some if I share my own way of voting on Cent.
My voting is quite simple and is based on a 3-tiered quality based distribution schedule. Since there are a maximum of +3 up votes that can be given to any single response, my 3-tiers are: Excellent (+3), great (+2), and good (+1).
Only one post per bounty will receive +3 up votes from me. To ensure I have seen all responses, including late ones, I will usually wait to the last day of a bounty to give +3 votes - but sometimes the best answer is just obvious when you see it.
For great responses I try to keep a *soft cap* of 2 per bounty - but I will give +2 up votes to more than one response if they deserve it.
For *any* responses where the responder gave an original effort, they will receive a +1 up vote from me. Good jokes usually fall into this category for me.
Down Voting
Down voting consists of only two-levels for me: Bad (-1) and Copy/Paste (-3).
Responses that are simply responses for the sake of responses or that miss the point of the bounty are 'bad' to me.
Pure copy/paste jobs take zero effort and actually diminish the legitimacy of a site like Cent. As such they should be voted down to the fullest extent possible.
Conclusion
There is no 'right' way to vote. In fact I am sure there are other Centians who employ their own unique voting strategy when it comes to evaluating responses. I am super curious to hear what those strategies are.
I also know that many Centians seem to not understand the voting process and the important role it plays. Hopefully my posts from today and yesterday help clarify that.
Over the next few days I will be addressing various aspects related to bounty setting.
2018년 3월 24일 토요일
How to Understand Voting on Cent
*This will be the first in a series of how-to guides introducing and explaining some of the foundational features and functions of beta.cent.co*
The Basics of Voting
Voting on Cent is a deceptively simple, but incredibly powerful function that every registered Cent user (a.k.a. Centian) has the right to engage in. It is also the only way - currently - to ensure that quality responses make it to the top and receive their just compensation and that poor responses are pushed out of sight to the bottom.
After you log in to Cent and click on any bounty, you will see a cascading stream of responses. For bounties that have been live for a while, responses will appear in order of up votes received - so responses at the top have received the most up votes. Responses that haven't received votes will appear in descending chronological order with the most recent responses appearing last, but above responses that have received down-votes.
In the top-right corner of every response you will see two light gray triangles: the right-side up triangle on the left is the up-vote button, and the inverted triangle on the right is the down-vote button. You can give a maximum of three (3) up-votes and three (3) down-votes to *each* response. [Refer to the above picture of my beautiful wife @monica up-voting @nickb +3 times using Cipher Browser]
Voting is the primary factor that determines 1) placement of responses (i.e. the more votes your response receives the closer to the top it will appear) and 2) how much of the bounty each response receives.
The Cent team is currently in the process of iterating an innovative "Centurion" algorithm. In it's first iteration this algorithm used the reputation of responders to pump up the proportion of the bounty it could receive.
Currently the algorithm has incorporated quadratic scoring and has limited payouts to the top ten responses. So a payout to any given response in the top ten is based on the square of the number of votes it receives and is proportional to the percentage of the total sum of the square number of votes of each top ten response.
For you and any other Centian who contributes their time and consideration up-voting and down-voting responses, 10% of each bounty will be distributed based on a user's most recent 30 day "reputation."
So each vote you cast on an answer (up or down) results in you increasing your proportion of the 10% bounty reserved for users who vote on responses in that specific bounty. Voting +1 or +3 makes no difference. The degree to which your proportion increases is based off of your reputation.
Reputation is a weighted sum of your performance over the past 30 days. Earnings that are more recent are weighted heavier than older earnings. And earnings from more than 30 days ago do not count at all. A high reputation user earns more per vote compared to a low reputation user. The leaderboard on Cent shows the top users sorted by reputation.
Well, that covers the basics of voting. Tomorrow I will share my own personal voting calculus.
2018년 3월 23일 금요일
Product Evolution
Last night on Telegram I had an interesting little chat with Cameron (aka Cam) from Cent.
At one point the conversation turned to an unassuming bounty that user @tote posted as a simple way to chat with a few other like minded Centians.
Viewed by an outsider - an Un-Centian or someone with no Cents - the post looks and sounds no different than the random thoughts people post on Facebook or Twitter.
Those random posts on social media don't normally get 23 immediate replies though. But by attaching a trivial bounty - just $1.68 in this case - everything changes.
And everyone wins: @tote gets to have some side chats and responders get a few cents for their time and efforts.
Cam said he thought this was like what happens in sub-reddits, only with incentives. It kind of is, but Reddit is super specific, whereas Cent is (potentially) everything - just like Facebook.
To that Cam said:
"True. Facebook is everything related to your friends, and isn't bound to a particular topic. Cent today is like a group of Facebook friends."
These groups are only going to grow as will the possible modes of interaction between Centians. For me personally, I can't wait until I can have this kind of conversation over on Cent. But that's coming soon.
At one point the conversation turned to an unassuming bounty that user @tote posted as a simple way to chat with a few other like minded Centians.
Viewed by an outsider - an Un-Centian or someone with no Cents - the post looks and sounds no different than the random thoughts people post on Facebook or Twitter.
Those random posts on social media don't normally get 23 immediate replies though. But by attaching a trivial bounty - just $1.68 in this case - everything changes.
And everyone wins: @tote gets to have some side chats and responders get a few cents for their time and efforts.
Cam said he thought this was like what happens in sub-reddits, only with incentives. It kind of is, but Reddit is super specific, whereas Cent is (potentially) everything - just like Facebook.
To that Cam said:
"True. Facebook is everything related to your friends, and isn't bound to a particular topic. Cent today is like a group of Facebook friends."
These groups are only going to grow as will the possible modes of interaction between Centians. For me personally, I can't wait until I can have this kind of conversation over on Cent. But that's coming soon.
2018년 3월 22일 목요일
Trust & Truth
Trust is about saying the things that need to be said, and no more.
I am responsible for the sourcing, recruiting, contract negotiation, and overall management of numerous global employees from senior vice president down to assistant manager-level at our corporate office and across our overseas project sites.
Each of those stages is its own page, and if you want to turn a page over and progress to the next one, you need every stakeholder to be on the same page.
Since every position and employee requires their own unique touch, trust needs to be at the core of each relationship and every interaction if you hope to keep everyone aligned on a specific issue.
For example, every recruitment or any issue brought up by a global staff is a balance of sharing enough information with each relevant party and identifying key facts.
If I try to completely avoid talking about something with a candidate or employee, that is evidence of a lack of trust. It also means I am not saying something to my team leader or a supporting function or the department the position will be recruited into or works for.
Anything left unsaid is a potenial surprise. Surprises are violent, like page tears.
Establishing trust is acting in truth - in the Greek sense of the word, in unconcealment - since it exposes whatever *needs* to be laid bare. Sometimes it isn't pretty. Sometimes it isn't clear. But if it's out in the open, it can be handled.
If things are carried out in the open it is easier to spot insurmountable rifts or gaps. When these are spotted goodbyes can quickly be exchanged and no one is the worse for it; in fact it's at those times when the departing party is most appreciative.
They're almost as appreciative as candidates that both end up being a perfect fit for the role and like the package on offer.
In both cases they're happy that you trusted them enough to be truthful with them and didn't waste their time. The other stakeholders typically see things the same too.
Every potential recruit and every employee deserves to be told the truth. You get to the truth through trust. And it's not just good for you and them though. Since it saves time and money, trusting new recruits and employees is simply good business.
I am responsible for the sourcing, recruiting, contract negotiation, and overall management of numerous global employees from senior vice president down to assistant manager-level at our corporate office and across our overseas project sites.
Each of those stages is its own page, and if you want to turn a page over and progress to the next one, you need every stakeholder to be on the same page.
Since every position and employee requires their own unique touch, trust needs to be at the core of each relationship and every interaction if you hope to keep everyone aligned on a specific issue.
For example, every recruitment or any issue brought up by a global staff is a balance of sharing enough information with each relevant party and identifying key facts.
If I try to completely avoid talking about something with a candidate or employee, that is evidence of a lack of trust. It also means I am not saying something to my team leader or a supporting function or the department the position will be recruited into or works for.
Anything left unsaid is a potenial surprise. Surprises are violent, like page tears.
Establishing trust is acting in truth - in the Greek sense of the word, in unconcealment - since it exposes whatever *needs* to be laid bare. Sometimes it isn't pretty. Sometimes it isn't clear. But if it's out in the open, it can be handled.
If things are carried out in the open it is easier to spot insurmountable rifts or gaps. When these are spotted goodbyes can quickly be exchanged and no one is the worse for it; in fact it's at those times when the departing party is most appreciative.
They're almost as appreciative as candidates that both end up being a perfect fit for the role and like the package on offer.
In both cases they're happy that you trusted them enough to be truthful with them and didn't waste their time. The other stakeholders typically see things the same too.
Every potential recruit and every employee deserves to be told the truth. You get to the truth through trust. And it's not just good for you and them though. Since it saves time and money, trusting new recruits and employees is simply good business.
2018년 3월 21일 수요일
Morning Rituals
Coffee is the common thread that runs through my early Monday through Friday mornings.
This isn't some regular cafe or coffee chain coffee though; I'm talking about hand-ground aeropressed coffee.
After I get out of the shower there is always 200g of beans waiting for me in the grinder.
After I grind those, my wife dumps the ground coffee into the aeropress tube before adding 200g more for me to grind for her cup later. Then she goes back to breaking up fruit for our light morning snack.
Precisely two minutes before I head out my wife pours piping hot water onto the ground coffee in the aeropress tube before giving it a brief stir.
I'm usually tying my shoes as she presses the rich, oily and grainy mixture through a paper filter and into a to-go paper cup.
We head out together and she passes my cup to me. I kiss her and then step into the lift and wave to her saying I will see her soon as the doors close.
Then I take a sip. And my day begins.
2018년 3월 20일 화요일
Golden Tickets & Parachutes
These days, depending on who you talk to or follow on Twitter, it may seem like the corporation is in its last few dying days.
That's because blockchain-powered DAOs or Decentralized Autonomous Organizations and an impending Cambrian explosion in the gig economy are going to make the traditional corporation obsolete.
That's a big claim, and there are a lot of moving pieces that will need to fall in line just right for that picture of the future to become a reality.
Since most plans or forecasts rarely hold, I expect that whilst blockchain-powered organizations will certainly begin to appear in increasing numbers soon and certain individuals will be able to reap outsized returns by participating in a global gig economy, the elite corporations of today will remain and, in some cases, grow even stronger.
If smaller, inefficient companies begin to be replaced by what prove to be more efficient and cheaper decentralized rivals, I would expect landing a job at a large corporation to become akin to getting your hands on a golden ticket. The longer-term security and benefits such positions confer will remain very strong incentives for many, if not most.
That said, we probably can't even begin to imagine the types of jobs that will come online in the decentralized gig economy. But based on my own personal experiences, I can say that certain gigs can be extremely convenient and very lucrative.
There won't be an limits on how many gigs an individual or family can take on other then the natural limit of hours in a day and individual capacity to carry out whatever tasks the gigs demand.
For golden ticket holders as well, employers will be hard pressed to prevent their employees from procuring side gigs that are highly remunerative yet undemanding from a time perspective.
In fact, as corporate cogs build up a resume in the decentralized gig economy of the future, a strong reputation and network there will become the equivalent of a golden parachute.
If the corporate gig gets too stressful, or if the corporate soldier has simply made their nut and doesn't need that much more money, the agonizing that characterizes career changes today will cease to be a major factor.
Those lucky individuals could simply pull the ripcord on their golden parachute to ensure the softest of landings in their second life.
That is the sort of future I see: one where technologies that support and enhance decentralization will act more as compliments than substitutes.
And that is why I am appreciative as hell that I have a spot in a corporate tower with a window that looks out onto the decentralized squares of the world that are growing and expanding with each passing day.
That's because blockchain-powered DAOs or Decentralized Autonomous Organizations and an impending Cambrian explosion in the gig economy are going to make the traditional corporation obsolete.
That's a big claim, and there are a lot of moving pieces that will need to fall in line just right for that picture of the future to become a reality.
Since most plans or forecasts rarely hold, I expect that whilst blockchain-powered organizations will certainly begin to appear in increasing numbers soon and certain individuals will be able to reap outsized returns by participating in a global gig economy, the elite corporations of today will remain and, in some cases, grow even stronger.
If smaller, inefficient companies begin to be replaced by what prove to be more efficient and cheaper decentralized rivals, I would expect landing a job at a large corporation to become akin to getting your hands on a golden ticket. The longer-term security and benefits such positions confer will remain very strong incentives for many, if not most.
That said, we probably can't even begin to imagine the types of jobs that will come online in the decentralized gig economy. But based on my own personal experiences, I can say that certain gigs can be extremely convenient and very lucrative.
There won't be an limits on how many gigs an individual or family can take on other then the natural limit of hours in a day and individual capacity to carry out whatever tasks the gigs demand.
For golden ticket holders as well, employers will be hard pressed to prevent their employees from procuring side gigs that are highly remunerative yet undemanding from a time perspective.
In fact, as corporate cogs build up a resume in the decentralized gig economy of the future, a strong reputation and network there will become the equivalent of a golden parachute.
If the corporate gig gets too stressful, or if the corporate soldier has simply made their nut and doesn't need that much more money, the agonizing that characterizes career changes today will cease to be a major factor.
Those lucky individuals could simply pull the ripcord on their golden parachute to ensure the softest of landings in their second life.
That is the sort of future I see: one where technologies that support and enhance decentralization will act more as compliments than substitutes.
And that is why I am appreciative as hell that I have a spot in a corporate tower with a window that looks out onto the decentralized squares of the world that are growing and expanding with each passing day.
2018년 3월 19일 월요일
Social Supernovas: Business Partners
One of the toughest parts of getting older is finding out how challenging it really is to find a true ride or die business partner.
You can make deep, long lasting friendships at any age, but finding just one person - let alone a group of people - willing to buy into your hyperstition and work with you to turn fiction into reality, that may be the social equivalent of a supernova.
It's about finding someone who is capable of both heading forward on the same train of thought, but open and able to jumping ship with you if a new, better plane of seeing or thinking presents itself.
Over the past five years there have been about six times when I've thought I found my partner in crime; but each time things didn't pan out. Life got in the way of a few potential partners. The other times, well, we just couldn't seem to ever get on the same damn page.
I can't be sure, but I think I may have found a two person team where *I* might be able to be that ride or die partner I've always been looking for. We all share a belief in a similar fiction that we seem hell bent on bringing into unconcealment. And we are all smart as hell.
Well, anyways, we shall see.
You can make deep, long lasting friendships at any age, but finding just one person - let alone a group of people - willing to buy into your hyperstition and work with you to turn fiction into reality, that may be the social equivalent of a supernova.
It's about finding someone who is capable of both heading forward on the same train of thought, but open and able to jumping ship with you if a new, better plane of seeing or thinking presents itself.
Over the past five years there have been about six times when I've thought I found my partner in crime; but each time things didn't pan out. Life got in the way of a few potential partners. The other times, well, we just couldn't seem to ever get on the same damn page.
I can't be sure, but I think I may have found a two person team where *I* might be able to be that ride or die partner I've always been looking for. We all share a belief in a similar fiction that we seem hell bent on bringing into unconcealment. And we are all smart as hell.
Well, anyways, we shall see.
2018년 3월 18일 일요일
Cent - Chapter 4 Global Treasure Hunts
*This is the fourth part in a fictional, forward-looking series based on the site beta.cent.co*
I had been on Cent for about 2 years when the idea came to me.
As a Centurion, a regular responder and publisher on the Cent network with nearly 50,000 supporting followers and 25 personal Centurions, I was pulling in close to USD 15,000 per month - all whilst remaining gainfully employed.
Having had no reason to spend much of the earnings from Cent aside from ensuring responders to my writings had a healthy bounty or asking a few bountied questions, I had amassed quite a healthy surplus. Not to get too specific, but it was in the six-figures.
I forget when exactly I heard it, but it was on an episode of the Epicenter podcast where I first caught wind of an interesting little app that allowed anyone to geo-tag information to highly precise GPS coordinates. Any information, from digital letters to multi-sig addresses.
Like Pokemon Go any user could see this digitally tagged information by looking at the world through the screen of their phone. So if I pasted a digital letter in the middle of Times Square, anyone with the app installed would be able to see it; otherwise it would remain hidden.
My mind immediately connected this app with the idea of a global treasure hunt for my 25 loyal Centurions. My Centurions were (and still are) like a cross between work colleagues and best mates to me.
I wanted to reward them not just for all the time and effort they'd put in reading my writing, fostering discussion, and curating comments - all of which they had been compensated for - but for all the other intangible value they provided by sending them all on a vacation that could double as a treasure hunt with a cash payout of USD 25,000 for one lucky Centurion.
The premise was simple, since every Cent user had a public address key linked with their profile I would deposit the value of a ticket from their home city to Seoul plus the cost of lodging at a hotel I reserved ahead of time. I encouraged everyone to come out on a certain date and let them know they should block out around two weeks since I had something special planned for them.
A few couldn't make it but they were free to keep the funds I sent them. About 20 were excited for this mysterious trip I had planned.
After they arrived and we had a day to talk about our work and roles and future vision for what we were doing on Cent, I instructed them to download the app that let them view digital tags set in the real world and unveiled my ultimate surprise for them.
I gave them a riddle whose answer would point them towards a specific place in Seoul where I had set a digital tag that contained 20 separate 2 of 2 multisig addresses, each based on their public keys, that once unlocked with their matching private key (and mine) would give each of them enough money to purchase a ticket for Mumbai.
The attached letter would contain a riddle that if broken would point them towards a specific place to head to in Mumbai looking for another digital tag that would contain another riddle, but only 15 separate 2 of 2 multisig addresses with the funds needed to travel to the next city.
Each subsequent city would have 5 less addresses with funds for a plane ticket to and lodging in the next city. The final five Centurions would be racing to find the last multisig address with USD 25,000 stored in it.
This was the first of many epic annual gatherings our tiny, but economically more than self-sufficient stack of Centians would hold. I'd like to think that we played an important early role in showing the power and possibility small social sub-networks could have when everyone is economically incentivized.
I had been on Cent for about 2 years when the idea came to me.
As a Centurion, a regular responder and publisher on the Cent network with nearly 50,000 supporting followers and 25 personal Centurions, I was pulling in close to USD 15,000 per month - all whilst remaining gainfully employed.
Having had no reason to spend much of the earnings from Cent aside from ensuring responders to my writings had a healthy bounty or asking a few bountied questions, I had amassed quite a healthy surplus. Not to get too specific, but it was in the six-figures.
I forget when exactly I heard it, but it was on an episode of the Epicenter podcast where I first caught wind of an interesting little app that allowed anyone to geo-tag information to highly precise GPS coordinates. Any information, from digital letters to multi-sig addresses.
Like Pokemon Go any user could see this digitally tagged information by looking at the world through the screen of their phone. So if I pasted a digital letter in the middle of Times Square, anyone with the app installed would be able to see it; otherwise it would remain hidden.
My mind immediately connected this app with the idea of a global treasure hunt for my 25 loyal Centurions. My Centurions were (and still are) like a cross between work colleagues and best mates to me.
I wanted to reward them not just for all the time and effort they'd put in reading my writing, fostering discussion, and curating comments - all of which they had been compensated for - but for all the other intangible value they provided by sending them all on a vacation that could double as a treasure hunt with a cash payout of USD 25,000 for one lucky Centurion.
The premise was simple, since every Cent user had a public address key linked with their profile I would deposit the value of a ticket from their home city to Seoul plus the cost of lodging at a hotel I reserved ahead of time. I encouraged everyone to come out on a certain date and let them know they should block out around two weeks since I had something special planned for them.
A few couldn't make it but they were free to keep the funds I sent them. About 20 were excited for this mysterious trip I had planned.
After they arrived and we had a day to talk about our work and roles and future vision for what we were doing on Cent, I instructed them to download the app that let them view digital tags set in the real world and unveiled my ultimate surprise for them.
I gave them a riddle whose answer would point them towards a specific place in Seoul where I had set a digital tag that contained 20 separate 2 of 2 multisig addresses, each based on their public keys, that once unlocked with their matching private key (and mine) would give each of them enough money to purchase a ticket for Mumbai.
The attached letter would contain a riddle that if broken would point them towards a specific place to head to in Mumbai looking for another digital tag that would contain another riddle, but only 15 separate 2 of 2 multisig addresses with the funds needed to travel to the next city.
Each subsequent city would have 5 less addresses with funds for a plane ticket to and lodging in the next city. The final five Centurions would be racing to find the last multisig address with USD 25,000 stored in it.
This was the first of many epic annual gatherings our tiny, but economically more than self-sufficient stack of Centians would hold. I'd like to think that we played an important early role in showing the power and possibility small social sub-networks could have when everyone is economically incentivized.
2018년 3월 17일 토요일
A Shiny New Cent
My favorite site and personal passion project, beta.cent.co, just got a shiny new design upgrade.
I recently spoke with Max and Cam, the decentralized social network's two co-founders, and this upgrade marks the beginning of their planned v2.0 iterations for the site.
The next most likely addition will be the build-out of an entirely new feature. Currently Cent only offers a bounty-based Q&A feature, but soon they will release an entirely new and separate space based on a brand spanking new smart-contract they are busy working on.
I cannot wait.
In the meantime, head over to Cent, register (if you haven't already) and respond to some questions for a chance to earn cold hard currency.
I just posted a bounty (here) worth 0.05 ETH or about USD 25 asking people when they listen to their top 5 favorite podcasts. Go check it out.
I recently spoke with Max and Cam, the decentralized social network's two co-founders, and this upgrade marks the beginning of their planned v2.0 iterations for the site.
The next most likely addition will be the build-out of an entirely new feature. Currently Cent only offers a bounty-based Q&A feature, but soon they will release an entirely new and separate space based on a brand spanking new smart-contract they are busy working on.
I cannot wait.
In the meantime, head over to Cent, register (if you haven't already) and respond to some questions for a chance to earn cold hard currency.
I just posted a bounty (here) worth 0.05 ETH or about USD 25 asking people when they listen to their top 5 favorite podcasts. Go check it out.
2018년 3월 16일 금요일
The Pain Cage
Korean corporate culture is notorious for booze fueled after work gatherings.
People assume that this is a near daily thing, or that such events are unavoidable.
As always, the reality is more nuanced.
Excluding drinking sessions with work mates that you're close with - because those are always fun - corporate drinking sessions are influenced mainly by who your direct group or team leader is.
This leader may be a frequent drinker, in which case group members will get together more often than other groups, *but* not every session will be a must go event - there is actually a great amount of personal discretion involved.
Some people with experience working in Korea, and even some Korean employees may be surprised at that last comment, but of course there are a few caveats here.
First, if you hold a more senior manager position in the group, you will probably grab dinner and drinks more often than you would like if your group leader is a boozer. Your ability to exercise personal discretion in these positions will be greatly diminished.
Next there are promotion dinners, welcome parties and farewell drinks (unless it's for a hated enemy) which are really the only examples of must go sessions. If you don't go to these, unless you have an airtight excuse like marriage, death, or something, not attending will place a bit of a black mark on your reputation.
Another grey area is the 3~6 month period after you join a new team or group. During this period, there is no other better way to get to know your colleagues and boss than by breaking bread with them. And of course, imbibing copious amounts of alcohol.
During the drinking sessions over this 3~6 month period you will hear the real deal. Your R&R and expectations of you will be laid out. You are free to voice concerns and ask any questions.
In other words you will get to see the hidden 90% of the corporate reality iceberg. What you hear between 8 and 5 during this period may constitute 10% of reality.
I have just begun this 3~6 month period. Over the past two weeks I've had two very late drinking sessions on back to back Thursdays. From the time I wake up on Friday until about 3 pm I have been in the proverbial pain cage.
Drinking is something I am good at, but the next days are torture. It'll be tough, but I will need to attend most drinking sessions over the next couple of months. I can already tell the relationships I am forging and information I am picking up will prove invaluable to my future not just in this position, but in this life overall.
But I cannot wait to exercise my personal discretion again to selectively attend and avoid drinking sessions so that I don't have to serve my post drinking session penance sitting in the pain cage in the office.
People assume that this is a near daily thing, or that such events are unavoidable.
As always, the reality is more nuanced.
Excluding drinking sessions with work mates that you're close with - because those are always fun - corporate drinking sessions are influenced mainly by who your direct group or team leader is.
This leader may be a frequent drinker, in which case group members will get together more often than other groups, *but* not every session will be a must go event - there is actually a great amount of personal discretion involved.
Some people with experience working in Korea, and even some Korean employees may be surprised at that last comment, but of course there are a few caveats here.
First, if you hold a more senior manager position in the group, you will probably grab dinner and drinks more often than you would like if your group leader is a boozer. Your ability to exercise personal discretion in these positions will be greatly diminished.
Next there are promotion dinners, welcome parties and farewell drinks (unless it's for a hated enemy) which are really the only examples of must go sessions. If you don't go to these, unless you have an airtight excuse like marriage, death, or something, not attending will place a bit of a black mark on your reputation.
Another grey area is the 3~6 month period after you join a new team or group. During this period, there is no other better way to get to know your colleagues and boss than by breaking bread with them. And of course, imbibing copious amounts of alcohol.
During the drinking sessions over this 3~6 month period you will hear the real deal. Your R&R and expectations of you will be laid out. You are free to voice concerns and ask any questions.
In other words you will get to see the hidden 90% of the corporate reality iceberg. What you hear between 8 and 5 during this period may constitute 10% of reality.
I have just begun this 3~6 month period. Over the past two weeks I've had two very late drinking sessions on back to back Thursdays. From the time I wake up on Friday until about 3 pm I have been in the proverbial pain cage.
Drinking is something I am good at, but the next days are torture. It'll be tough, but I will need to attend most drinking sessions over the next couple of months. I can already tell the relationships I am forging and information I am picking up will prove invaluable to my future not just in this position, but in this life overall.
But I cannot wait to exercise my personal discretion again to selectively attend and avoid drinking sessions so that I don't have to serve my post drinking session penance sitting in the pain cage in the office.
2018년 3월 15일 목요일
Reflection
Reflection in the face of defeat is not acquiescence.
Sacred beliefs or causes today may, in hindsight, be viewed as divisive and destructive.
Unless you are a zero or one, there are very few binaries in life; we are all living together across a multiplicity of interconnected spectrums.
There will always be causes and beliefs, but there is no rule that says we need to hold onto past ones. Nothing, save for life, is sacred.
Life needs to be reflected onto the future for it to become a reality worth living for everyone.
Sacred beliefs or causes today may, in hindsight, be viewed as divisive and destructive.
Unless you are a zero or one, there are very few binaries in life; we are all living together across a multiplicity of interconnected spectrums.
There will always be causes and beliefs, but there is no rule that says we need to hold onto past ones. Nothing, save for life, is sacred.
Life needs to be reflected onto the future for it to become a reality worth living for everyone.
2018년 3월 14일 수요일
Podcast Day-parting
In yesterday's always informative Hot Pod, the newsletter covering all things podcasts by Nick Quah, I learned a new term: Day-parting.
Day-parting is a traditional broadcast programming approach that dates all the way back to 1915. It's the practice of dividing the day into separate temporal parts so as to best match the different traits and needs of each audience profile.
The practice of day-parting explains, for example, why the first hour or two of the Today Show or Good Morning America have always been more focused on traditional news reporting whilst the latter parts are very loose and soapy - after the audience that the first half targets goes to work, they can focus on their next stay-at-home demographic.
When it comes to podcasts, until very recently, the practice of day-parting had been largely forgotten. But with the appearance of The Daily by the New York Times which drops daily at 6am EST, the practice and potential impact of day-parting has re-emerged.
Since monthly podcast listening has sky rocketed more than 73% since 2014, at least in America, more and more high quality entertaining podcasts have launched.
There is very nearly something for everyone. For me personally, I have a growing stable of around 20 must-listen podcast shows with regular release schedules.
Every podcast is an intimate experience. Many are conversations. All available whenever you need them.
Like Sam Harris expressed in the most recent episode with Robin Hanson, his main focus is on carrying out and sharing more and more fruitful conversations.
It is now possible for every person with a smartphone to personally day-part their own listening schedule. The best schedule will maximize the impact and import of any fruitful conversation that much more.
How do you day-part or even week-part your own podcast listening schedule?
Day-parting is a traditional broadcast programming approach that dates all the way back to 1915. It's the practice of dividing the day into separate temporal parts so as to best match the different traits and needs of each audience profile.
The practice of day-parting explains, for example, why the first hour or two of the Today Show or Good Morning America have always been more focused on traditional news reporting whilst the latter parts are very loose and soapy - after the audience that the first half targets goes to work, they can focus on their next stay-at-home demographic.
When it comes to podcasts, until very recently, the practice of day-parting had been largely forgotten. But with the appearance of The Daily by the New York Times which drops daily at 6am EST, the practice and potential impact of day-parting has re-emerged.
Since monthly podcast listening has sky rocketed more than 73% since 2014, at least in America, more and more high quality entertaining podcasts have launched.
There is very nearly something for everyone. For me personally, I have a growing stable of around 20 must-listen podcast shows with regular release schedules.
Every podcast is an intimate experience. Many are conversations. All available whenever you need them.
Like Sam Harris expressed in the most recent episode with Robin Hanson, his main focus is on carrying out and sharing more and more fruitful conversations.
It is now possible for every person with a smartphone to personally day-part their own listening schedule. The best schedule will maximize the impact and import of any fruitful conversation that much more.
How do you day-part or even week-part your own podcast listening schedule?
2018년 3월 13일 화요일
Private Signaling & Incentive Structures
Last week I wrote about my surprise at how so few AVC.com readers actually make it down into the rich comment section below Fred Wilson's daily posts. To remind my readers that figure stands at a mere 5%.
Robin Hanson appeared on the latest episode of the Waking Up podcast with Sam Harris and basically confirmed that stat and the underlying reason why.
According to Robin it essentially has to do with the human propensity - a need even - to signal. Specifically it has to do with an overwhelming amount of society simply ignoring or failing to engage in actions, regardless of the potential personal benefit, that are private signals (i.e. actions that others aren't able to see or easily know about).
Robin used the example of providing free or paid information that details the success rates of local heart surgeons to individuals who, because of heart problems of their own, presumably would benefit the most from such information.
Only 8% of those targeted took and read that potentially life-saving information.
Just 8%.
That is so close to the 5% comment reading statistic it's scary.
What's even more interesting is the way perceived, norm-based, social incentive structures factor into this. If your signal is shielded, there is no to low chance of receiving any kind of a socially validating benefit. There is no one who is going to admire you more or say, "Good job Bob."
As fundamentally social, networked creatures, that social validation and reaction is like social currency to us.
Even if most AVC readers are working in sectors most closely related to what is discussed below Fred's articles (and thus stand to benefit the most from such discussions), they won't accrue any more social capital by reading the comments (much less if they make a couple of posts here or there) than if they didn't read them at all.
And that seems to be a powerful driver of human choice and action.
But just like I wrote in that post, these findings simply reinforce my original conclusion: a stronger incentive (i.e. cold hard capital) would appear to be all it would take to get people to make better decisions, at least in their private lives.
Moreover, since positive private decisions tend to have a strong compounding effect (see here) it should be expected that there would be a positive spillover effect into public spheres as well.
It was a great podcast, and anyone who hasn't should check it out.
Robin Hanson appeared on the latest episode of the Waking Up podcast with Sam Harris and basically confirmed that stat and the underlying reason why.
According to Robin it essentially has to do with the human propensity - a need even - to signal. Specifically it has to do with an overwhelming amount of society simply ignoring or failing to engage in actions, regardless of the potential personal benefit, that are private signals (i.e. actions that others aren't able to see or easily know about).
Robin used the example of providing free or paid information that details the success rates of local heart surgeons to individuals who, because of heart problems of their own, presumably would benefit the most from such information.
Only 8% of those targeted took and read that potentially life-saving information.
Just 8%.
That is so close to the 5% comment reading statistic it's scary.
What's even more interesting is the way perceived, norm-based, social incentive structures factor into this. If your signal is shielded, there is no to low chance of receiving any kind of a socially validating benefit. There is no one who is going to admire you more or say, "Good job Bob."
As fundamentally social, networked creatures, that social validation and reaction is like social currency to us.
Even if most AVC readers are working in sectors most closely related to what is discussed below Fred's articles (and thus stand to benefit the most from such discussions), they won't accrue any more social capital by reading the comments (much less if they make a couple of posts here or there) than if they didn't read them at all.
And that seems to be a powerful driver of human choice and action.
But just like I wrote in that post, these findings simply reinforce my original conclusion: a stronger incentive (i.e. cold hard capital) would appear to be all it would take to get people to make better decisions, at least in their private lives.
Moreover, since positive private decisions tend to have a strong compounding effect (see here) it should be expected that there would be a positive spillover effect into public spheres as well.
It was a great podcast, and anyone who hasn't should check it out.
2018년 3월 12일 월요일
Know What You Don't Know
Know what you don't know, and know what you can know.
~ Charlie Munger
A good leader will build out a team that fills in and makes up for what she doesn't know and her relative weaknesses.
It's easy to spot this kind of team. Simply look at how different the team members are from the team leader.
The more different the team members are, the better the leader.
A good leader will know how to create the team synergy necessary to get that special something that each of her team members possesses to create the biggest results.
I am reminded of my former Strategy & Planning Part Leader, Matthew Cho.
Charlie Munger에 따르면 좋은 리더가 알아야 할 두 가지 사항이 있다.
자기가 모르는 것과 알 수 있는것을 아는것이 바로 그 두가지이다.
좋은 리더는 모르는 것과 부족한 부분을 바로 채워 줄 수 있는 사람들로 팀을 구성한다.
이러한 팀을 확인하는 쉬운 방법이 있다. 팀원들이 리더와 어떻게 다른지 한번 보죠. 팀의 구성원들이 리더와 다르면 다를수록 리더가 좋다.
그리고 좋은 리더가 각 팀원이 갖고 있는 고유한 특별한 무언가를 활용해서 성과를 창출할 수 있는 팀내 시너지를 일으킨다.
내가 이전에 소속되었던 기획파트가 떠오른다.
~ Charlie Munger
A good leader will build out a team that fills in and makes up for what she doesn't know and her relative weaknesses.
It's easy to spot this kind of team. Simply look at how different the team members are from the team leader.
The more different the team members are, the better the leader.
A good leader will know how to create the team synergy necessary to get that special something that each of her team members possesses to create the biggest results.
I am reminded of my former Strategy & Planning Part Leader, Matthew Cho.
Charlie Munger에 따르면 좋은 리더가 알아야 할 두 가지 사항이 있다.
자기가 모르는 것과 알 수 있는것을 아는것이 바로 그 두가지이다.
좋은 리더는 모르는 것과 부족한 부분을 바로 채워 줄 수 있는 사람들로 팀을 구성한다.
이러한 팀을 확인하는 쉬운 방법이 있다. 팀원들이 리더와 어떻게 다른지 한번 보죠. 팀의 구성원들이 리더와 다르면 다를수록 리더가 좋다.
그리고 좋은 리더가 각 팀원이 갖고 있는 고유한 특별한 무언가를 활용해서 성과를 창출할 수 있는 팀내 시너지를 일으킨다.
내가 이전에 소속되었던 기획파트가 떠오른다.
2018년 3월 11일 일요일
CryptoCountries: Smart Contract Innovation
Smart ideas often first appear to be ordinary; indistinguishable from whatever idea came before it.
A lot of big ideas first arise in the most unlikely or common places imaginable. Some have appeared in peoples garages on weekends. Others have surprisingly sprung out of efforts focused on totally unrelated ends.
The current crop of dapp development is witnessing an enormous amount of energy focused on smart contract development and deployment. My bet is that the biggest ideas - at least initially - will spring out of projects that people simply consider games, scams or both.
CryptoCountries is one example where some interesting smart contracts and incentive structures have been developed for what appears to be a somewhat scammy game.
In its current iteration, countries and cities are represented as smart contracts. Ownership of each country and city is transferred to any user who sends double the amount of ETH the current owner paid.
The scammy nature of this dapp seems to stem from the fact that ETH from the initial purchase transaction goes to the developer (though this has never really been confirmed).
It's either that or people just don't realize that 95~98% of ETH paid when a user usurps control of a country goes straight to the current owner of the country, with the developer receiving only 2~5%. For cities, the developer receives 1% of the ETH paid to usurp control of the city, with 5% going to the current owner of the country that the city is located in, and the remaining 94% being sent to the current owner of the city.
Regardless of whether or not it's a scam, that last bit is the idea that's really interesting to me. But instead of trivial tokens, imagine that this fluid ownership structure was applied to something else, like original content.
Imagine that you can fund creators so they post more artwork, drawings, music recordings, podcasts, blogs or any other creations and you, along with any other supporter, would automatically (via the underlying smart contract) become entitled to a recurring portion of future revenue earned by that specific creator.
Just like CryptoCountries, however, someone could take your shares over by paying double what you did. In order to prevent someone from doing that, for example because you expect your stake in their future revenue to continue to increase due to their increasing popularity, you could simply pay the same smart contract double what you paid.
You would receive all of that money back to your own digital wallet though, save for a fee of say 6% where 5% would go to the creator and 1% would be paid to the developers.
If shares in a musician, for example, were that valuable I think that it would make sense to help increase their value by helping to book new venues, sell tickets or merchandise, or anything else that could increase the artist's revenue and popularity, since a percentage of that increased value would come back to you.
This is kind of amazing to think about. It really feels like this is kind of perfect. And I think I know of the perfect test bed to try this out. I truly feel like this is the beginning of one of those big ideas.
A lot of big ideas first arise in the most unlikely or common places imaginable. Some have appeared in peoples garages on weekends. Others have surprisingly sprung out of efforts focused on totally unrelated ends.
The current crop of dapp development is witnessing an enormous amount of energy focused on smart contract development and deployment. My bet is that the biggest ideas - at least initially - will spring out of projects that people simply consider games, scams or both.
CryptoCountries is one example where some interesting smart contracts and incentive structures have been developed for what appears to be a somewhat scammy game.
In its current iteration, countries and cities are represented as smart contracts. Ownership of each country and city is transferred to any user who sends double the amount of ETH the current owner paid.
The scammy nature of this dapp seems to stem from the fact that ETH from the initial purchase transaction goes to the developer (though this has never really been confirmed).
It's either that or people just don't realize that 95~98% of ETH paid when a user usurps control of a country goes straight to the current owner of the country, with the developer receiving only 2~5%. For cities, the developer receives 1% of the ETH paid to usurp control of the city, with 5% going to the current owner of the country that the city is located in, and the remaining 94% being sent to the current owner of the city.
Regardless of whether or not it's a scam, that last bit is the idea that's really interesting to me. But instead of trivial tokens, imagine that this fluid ownership structure was applied to something else, like original content.
Imagine that you can fund creators so they post more artwork, drawings, music recordings, podcasts, blogs or any other creations and you, along with any other supporter, would automatically (via the underlying smart contract) become entitled to a recurring portion of future revenue earned by that specific creator.
Just like CryptoCountries, however, someone could take your shares over by paying double what you did. In order to prevent someone from doing that, for example because you expect your stake in their future revenue to continue to increase due to their increasing popularity, you could simply pay the same smart contract double what you paid.
You would receive all of that money back to your own digital wallet though, save for a fee of say 6% where 5% would go to the creator and 1% would be paid to the developers.
If shares in a musician, for example, were that valuable I think that it would make sense to help increase their value by helping to book new venues, sell tickets or merchandise, or anything else that could increase the artist's revenue and popularity, since a percentage of that increased value would come back to you.
This is kind of amazing to think about. It really feels like this is kind of perfect. And I think I know of the perfect test bed to try this out. I truly feel like this is the beginning of one of those big ideas.
2018년 3월 10일 토요일
Empty Leadership
Leadership comes in many sizes and shapes.
Large companies though, seem to provide just the right climate that fosters a very unique type of negative leadership that I like to call 'Empty Leadership'.
Empty leadership is how saying nothing, but saying it loudly and often, becomes leadership.
Large companies tend towards complexity. As this complexity grows, and especially if HR remains centralized near the top, understanding the competencies and shortcomings of even the relatively small group of executive leaders throughout the company becomes an increasingly difficult affair.
At companies like this, meetings tend to be the most important platforms to evaluate these executives.
It is at these meetings that empty leaders are at their best. They say more than others, and seem to say it the same way each time, but somehow also just different enough. Pointing out problems in the plans or proposals of everyone else is another common tactic of empty leaders.
Empty leadership is usually accompanied by several other symptoms that frequently appear together throughout an organization that typify the syndrome of corporate inefficiency.
Since there is no one common underlying cause of syndromes (unlike diseases) there is, unfortunately, no silver bullet.
That said, there are several actions that if taken can help to alleviate the severity and impact of certain symptoms. The most important steps to be taken are organizational streamlining and regular, unplanned communication.
If your HR operates functionally with a centralized corporate HR team that has lines into each business via an embedded HR function, keep the embedded HR functions as small as possible.
At the same time, cycle top performers in the embedded HR teams who are well networked back and forth between the corporate function to minimize knowledge gaps and streamline planning, recruitment, re-contracting and training.
Active and unplanned conversation with working level associates is key. If you are a CEO in a large corporation where certain business lines are underperforming with no clear understanding as to why, go walk through those business lines and talk to a few of the younger staff.
Unfortunately this is exceedingly rare. Most CEOs are "too busy" with other things. If you were a good operator though, I am not sure there is anything more important than your executive team in-charge of actually operating the business. These informal executive evaluations are more important than any formalized employee evaluations.
What percentage of leadership at your work is empty leadership?
Large companies though, seem to provide just the right climate that fosters a very unique type of negative leadership that I like to call 'Empty Leadership'.
Empty leadership is how saying nothing, but saying it loudly and often, becomes leadership.
Large companies tend towards complexity. As this complexity grows, and especially if HR remains centralized near the top, understanding the competencies and shortcomings of even the relatively small group of executive leaders throughout the company becomes an increasingly difficult affair.
At companies like this, meetings tend to be the most important platforms to evaluate these executives.
It is at these meetings that empty leaders are at their best. They say more than others, and seem to say it the same way each time, but somehow also just different enough. Pointing out problems in the plans or proposals of everyone else is another common tactic of empty leaders.
Empty leadership is usually accompanied by several other symptoms that frequently appear together throughout an organization that typify the syndrome of corporate inefficiency.
Since there is no one common underlying cause of syndromes (unlike diseases) there is, unfortunately, no silver bullet.
That said, there are several actions that if taken can help to alleviate the severity and impact of certain symptoms. The most important steps to be taken are organizational streamlining and regular, unplanned communication.
If your HR operates functionally with a centralized corporate HR team that has lines into each business via an embedded HR function, keep the embedded HR functions as small as possible.
At the same time, cycle top performers in the embedded HR teams who are well networked back and forth between the corporate function to minimize knowledge gaps and streamline planning, recruitment, re-contracting and training.
Active and unplanned conversation with working level associates is key. If you are a CEO in a large corporation where certain business lines are underperforming with no clear understanding as to why, go walk through those business lines and talk to a few of the younger staff.
Unfortunately this is exceedingly rare. Most CEOs are "too busy" with other things. If you were a good operator though, I am not sure there is anything more important than your executive team in-charge of actually operating the business. These informal executive evaluations are more important than any formalized employee evaluations.
What percentage of leadership at your work is empty leadership?
2018년 3월 9일 금요일
Living Algorithms
If it's a good place, order the special.
If it's a bad place, order what they can't screw up.
If it's a bad place, order what they can't screw up.
2018년 3월 8일 목요일
Interstitial Anxiety
Everything digital has its base in the real world.
Digital interaction designers (correctly) focus considerable efforts on reducing potential interstitial anxiety in users.
Interstitial anxiety refers to that momentary tension a user experiences after executing some action before a response occurs (e.g. a button click before moving to another page).
A real life example could be that anxious period after beginning a new job before you start doing any actual work or that time after you meet someone for the first time but before friendship or animosity manifests.
Interaction designers create transition elements that allude to the next screen in a sequence as a way to mitigate interstitial anxiety and fear of what is to come.
What are some ways to minimize interstitial anxiety in real life?
Digital interaction designers (correctly) focus considerable efforts on reducing potential interstitial anxiety in users.
Interstitial anxiety refers to that momentary tension a user experiences after executing some action before a response occurs (e.g. a button click before moving to another page).
A real life example could be that anxious period after beginning a new job before you start doing any actual work or that time after you meet someone for the first time but before friendship or animosity manifests.
Interaction designers create transition elements that allude to the next screen in a sequence as a way to mitigate interstitial anxiety and fear of what is to come.
What are some ways to minimize interstitial anxiety in real life?
2018년 3월 7일 수요일
Achieving the Impossible
The ever eloquent and piercingly prescient Ben Thompson penned a gem in Stratechery yesterday.
He elaborated on his comparison of Spotify and Netflix.
What really struck me though was his breakdown of how Netflix went from being a pipsqueak DVD purveyor worried about getting crushed by Blockbuster to being the global content behemoth it is today with a library of over 700 original shows.
You don't just flick a switch and become the latter.
Instead you need to be able to piece together a series of (orthogonal) steps from here to the future that build on each other.
Each intermediary step should be a prerequisite to everything that follows.
That is it. That is the formula for achieving the impossible.
He elaborated on his comparison of Spotify and Netflix.
What really struck me though was his breakdown of how Netflix went from being a pipsqueak DVD purveyor worried about getting crushed by Blockbuster to being the global content behemoth it is today with a library of over 700 original shows.
You don't just flick a switch and become the latter.
Instead you need to be able to piece together a series of (orthogonal) steps from here to the future that build on each other.
Each intermediary step should be a prerequisite to everything that follows.
That is it. That is the formula for achieving the impossible.
2018년 3월 6일 화요일
The Future of Jobs
The other day on Cent there was a bounty seeking responses from Centians regarding their predictions on the future of jobs.
On a side note before I share my response, it's just amazing how many of my responses on Cent also stand up well as individual blog posts.
Anyways here is my response:
Every Centian is helping to materialize a new job class already.
At an atomic level Centians are single voices and perspectives. At scale Centians become whatever you need: an engaged audience, critics, brainstorming colleagues, an academy, task masters, etc.
I'm sure the form will change, but it isn't hard to imagine a future where individual Centians scour whatever the blockchain equivalent expression for 'the interwebs' is (outer chains??) to identify the remunerative posts, ads, or bounties they can reply to as a way to earn 'beer money' or maybe even a living wage.
On a side note before I share my response, it's just amazing how many of my responses on Cent also stand up well as individual blog posts.
Anyways here is my response:
Every Centian is helping to materialize a new job class already.
At an atomic level Centians are single voices and perspectives. At scale Centians become whatever you need: an engaged audience, critics, brainstorming colleagues, an academy, task masters, etc.
I'm sure the form will change, but it isn't hard to imagine a future where individual Centians scour whatever the blockchain equivalent expression for 'the interwebs' is (outer chains??) to identify the remunerative posts, ads, or bounties they can reply to as a way to earn 'beer money' or maybe even a living wage.
2018년 3월 5일 월요일
Great (Freelancing) Work Strategies
There was a perfect little HBR article the other day that distilled strategies of successful freelancers.
To ward off the ever looming threats of distraction and loneliness, successful freelancers cultivate "holding environments" or physical, social, and psychological spaces for their work based on "liberating connections."
Specific places, routines, purposes and people all help to free individuals up enough to give them the scope and mind space needed to bind themselves to their work.
As much as this report was focused on freelancers, the article also astutely mentioned that these factors can be extremely important for those working traditional jobs as well.
And based on my experience, that is absolutely true.
My workstation is always just so. I can pack and set it up in less than 30 minutes exactly how I like it - I just did it this morning.
I've already written about how important my habits and routines are to me here and here.
Helping to make things better for everyone - that is the ticking Swiss heart beat that keeps me focused on moving forward.
And my regular meetups: coffee mates, lunch mates, work mates, drinking mates, way back mates. I'm not sure I would have learned as much or been as happy and of steady mind had it not been for the people I work with and meet up with regularly.
It's a good read and a simple guide to leading a fulfilling and productive work life.
To ward off the ever looming threats of distraction and loneliness, successful freelancers cultivate "holding environments" or physical, social, and psychological spaces for their work based on "liberating connections."
Specific places, routines, purposes and people all help to free individuals up enough to give them the scope and mind space needed to bind themselves to their work.
As much as this report was focused on freelancers, the article also astutely mentioned that these factors can be extremely important for those working traditional jobs as well.
And based on my experience, that is absolutely true.
My workstation is always just so. I can pack and set it up in less than 30 minutes exactly how I like it - I just did it this morning.
I've already written about how important my habits and routines are to me here and here.
Helping to make things better for everyone - that is the ticking Swiss heart beat that keeps me focused on moving forward.
And my regular meetups: coffee mates, lunch mates, work mates, drinking mates, way back mates. I'm not sure I would have learned as much or been as happy and of steady mind had it not been for the people I work with and meet up with regularly.
It's a good read and a simple guide to leading a fulfilling and productive work life.
2018년 3월 4일 일요일
4 Steps to Revolutionize Culture
I was listening to an older episode of a16z with Ben Horowitz the other day where Ben offered up a few steps for how to revolutionize workplace culture.
Here they are complete with real, live examples:
1. Keep what works, just like Steve Jobs did upon his return to Apple.
2. Create strong rules, a la Zuck with Facebook's 'move fast & break things' motto.
3. Incorporate outside leadership as a way to bring in the culture you need.
4. Make decisions that demonstrate priority, like Reid Hastings did when he told
the DVD division not to come to executive meetings anymore (despite them
accounting for 100% of revenue at the time).
Here they are complete with real, live examples:
1. Keep what works, just like Steve Jobs did upon his return to Apple.
2. Create strong rules, a la Zuck with Facebook's 'move fast & break things' motto.
3. Incorporate outside leadership as a way to bring in the culture you need.
4. Make decisions that demonstrate priority, like Reid Hastings did when he told
the DVD division not to come to executive meetings anymore (despite them
accounting for 100% of revenue at the time).
2018년 3월 3일 토요일
The Brain Drain of the Korean War
I just started to re-read Son Jung-mok's five volume magnum opus 'The Story of Seoul's Urban Planning' the other day.
Part of the reason I wanted to re-read these books is because a single reading is simply not enough time to absorb all of the facts, figures and history contained in this collection that details Seoul's rapid development in the 50 year period following the Korean War.
It's my hope that over the course of my re-reading I can share some lesser known history with my dear readers, starting from today.
Most casual observers of history know that the Korean War was bloody and destructive. Enormous number of soldiers and civilians died as a result of the war. Seoul was destroyed - over 30% of buildings from personal homes and schools to banks and government buildings were obliterated either from bombing, fire or a combination of the two.
At the outset of war, Seoul had a population of around 1.5 million, 1.4 million of which resided north of the Han River. After North Korea attacked, 400,000 citizens immediately fled by crossing the Han and heading south. By December of 1950 that number increased to 800,000.
Over 95,000 Seoulites (i.e. non-military civilians) were lost between 4 am on 25 June 1950 until the armistice was signed nearly three years later on 27 July 1953.
The term 'lost' includes casualties as well as those who were slaughtered, abducted, and unaccounted for. There were 29,628 civilian casualties; 8,800 Seoul citizens who were slaughtered; and 20,738 civilians who were kidnapped by the North Koreans.
Before reading this work, I never heard or thought about any potential abductions, so after seeing that stat I was immediately curious who was targeted. It shouldn't have come as a surprise that the elites of South Korean society were the main targets of the abductions: university professors, doctors, lawyers, judges, prosecutors, businessmen, and journalists occupy a large portion of the list of those who were abducted.
It didn't help that the elites were clustered in the Jongro and Central districts of Seoul. But it is mind blowing to think that over 32% of all lawyers (there were barely 100 lawyers at the time) in South Korea were abducted at once, literally overnight, by the North Koreans never to be seen again.
That fact makes the story of South Koreas rapid development after the war all the more amazing. And goes to show that "ordinary" people can accomplish outsized results.
2018년 3월 2일 금요일
Be in the Minority
Yesterday in the comment section on AVC.com I came across a surprising thread:
So there are roughly 200k people who read Fred's blog daily, and of that readership, 5% or 10k drop down into the comments.
Since there have been maybe 200 readers max who have posted more than one comment, that would mean only 0.001% of readers engage in commenting. Of course the core cast of the commentariat represents an even smaller minority of overall readers.
Whilst it has always been clear that commenters were a small minority of overall readers, I was as surprised as Jason was that so few readers make it to the comment section.
That said, it feels good to be in the minority in this case, because - as I have said numerous times over the years - there is so much wisdom and value shared within that comment section.
But the question arises: Why do so few readers of the blog make it down into the comment section in the first place?
Jason thinks it may be a function of limited time, but DJL thinks it's a matter of indifference.
I'm not sure if there's anything as thought-provoking today as the fact that reading, listening to, and considering other opinions and viewpoints is becoming even more uncommon.
Like DJL, I think a lot of people attribute this fact to a growing ignorance and indifference in the "stupid" majority of society. I initially thought that way too.
But after thinking a little more, why should people care? There is certainly no immediate incentive to care, and if there is a long-term incentive, it is so bloody far away as to be rendered meaningless.
If you want others to care about different opinions and viewpoints, you're going to have to pay them to do so.
Now that is an extreme opinion. One that no more than a handful of people probably hold. But *that* is the kind of minority I want to be in.
So there are roughly 200k people who read Fred's blog daily, and of that readership, 5% or 10k drop down into the comments.
Since there have been maybe 200 readers max who have posted more than one comment, that would mean only 0.001% of readers engage in commenting. Of course the core cast of the commentariat represents an even smaller minority of overall readers.
Whilst it has always been clear that commenters were a small minority of overall readers, I was as surprised as Jason was that so few readers make it to the comment section.
That said, it feels good to be in the minority in this case, because - as I have said numerous times over the years - there is so much wisdom and value shared within that comment section.
But the question arises: Why do so few readers of the blog make it down into the comment section in the first place?
Jason thinks it may be a function of limited time, but DJL thinks it's a matter of indifference.
I'm not sure if there's anything as thought-provoking today as the fact that reading, listening to, and considering other opinions and viewpoints is becoming even more uncommon.
Like DJL, I think a lot of people attribute this fact to a growing ignorance and indifference in the "stupid" majority of society. I initially thought that way too.
But after thinking a little more, why should people care? There is certainly no immediate incentive to care, and if there is a long-term incentive, it is so bloody far away as to be rendered meaningless.
If you want others to care about different opinions and viewpoints, you're going to have to pay them to do so.
Now that is an extreme opinion. One that no more than a handful of people probably hold. But *that* is the kind of minority I want to be in.
2018년 3월 1일 목요일
Keeping On
Although I for sure will be taking advantage of the long weekend, I will not be taking days off from reading, blogging, or exercising. To be clear though I'll be enjoying this break by wrapping up each day with a few tasty Hand and Malt pints at their flagship Seoul taproom with the wife.
In the words of one of my favorite (construction site) project managers I have had the good fortune to get to know over the years, "You have to keep on keeping on."
Keep on keeping on with all the things that are important to you. And celebrate free time when you have some.
2018년 2월 28일 수요일
Decentralized Microphones
Simply put, it covered the string of famous persons who have ostensibly been banished from traditional mass media. What makes this noteworthy is the fact that many are now hosts of popular podcasts.
This is interesting to me because it highlights the power and fundamental agnostic essence of decentralized tools.
When viewed as tools, podcasts become decentralized microphones. Blogs are like decentralized fountain pens that flow forever. Their existence renders impotent the power of traditional media to determine which voices are heard and which aren't.
The channels or networks that make up traditional mass media naturally control the individual shows or articles - and voices behind them - that are broadcast or printed on them.
Whilst shows are consumable and are a matter of taste, channels/networks are primarily consumer facing and so rely upon their reputation.
Thus when a show threatens their reputation, they tend to eliminate that threat as quickly as possible. Other channels and networks are typically not open to taking on outsized risks and so that voice is silenced.
But individuals also have reputations. Those whose reputations have flowed far and decently wide are considered famous. Note that both negatively perceived 'infamy' and the positively conotated 'fame' both are rooted in dispersed reputation.
Fame or 有名 in Chinese and Korean, when literally translated, means that you have a name or that people know your name. They know it because they have heard or read something about it. They have consumed some aspect of that person.
Podcasts are effectively networks or channels in and of themselves that can also be consumed in the same way shows are.
Effectively decentralized media like podcasts provide unlimited, undifferentiated containers to be filled with digital reputation that can be consumed on-demand in a predictable, standardized way. Thus they allow anyone to bottle their own distributed fame to be consumed anytime by their consumers.
For persons of sufficient fame these new tools have rendered their reputation portable. In order to monetize the consumption of their reputation, as of today, this means relying mainly on advertising revenue. Direct subscriptions are also a growing source of potential income.
But both advertising and traditional means of financial payments (i.e. credit cards), owing to the relatively centralized nature of both industries, could potentially silence certain voices by cutting off their income streams. And their reliance on scale and outsized profit taking effectively makes it all but impossible for a person of little to no fame from monetizing their voice.
If I have any readers, some of you may be upset with me, but it's at this point that I can't help but again bring up the potential that a platform and network like Cent holds for those of us who have voices, but slight to nil fame.
Cent effectively monetizes the micro-reputation of individuals by ensuring whatever they contribute in their own voice, as long as it is of a certain standard, is compensated.
When tokens are introduced, the accumulation of tokens will be a trustless way to express individual reputation, which potentially could be as portable as the reputations of famous people today.
One last thought though, since all networks allow for some element of "down voting" of other voices, these down votes too could become portable. Could accumulated down vote tokens received on one or many networks be used as currency or validation of ones "outside accepted cultural norms" reputation on other "outside" networks?
So much food for thought. But now it's time to enjoy this tasty drip coffee and brownie in front of me. Drink and eat the day up everybody.
2018년 2월 27일 화요일
Moving On & Moving Up
For the past two years I've been the Global HR Manager in a multi-billion dollar product division of an international Korean contractor.
Today though, it was finally confirmed that I will be moving up to join the corporate HR function within this week. I will be assuming GHR, training, and senior recruitment responsibilities for our entire $10+ Billion business.
Things move slowly until they happen fast.
One of my best mates will fly down to Singapore tomorrow to take over a senior management position on one of our metro projects with a contract value of $800 Million. As his HR manager, this move has been many months or - depending on how you look at it - perhaps over a year in the making. And tomorrow it's finally happening.
Behind both of these big changes were hundreds if not thousands of incremental steps leading up to their respective new beginnings. Sometimes these steps follow a clearly lit, well worn path.
Such was the case with my mate. I needed to liaise with several stakeholders, negotiate, gain consensus, tick boxes that set various processes in motion, and check on the progress of every step to make sure everything came into alignment in the end. The road was far, but I could essentially see the end from the moment I embarked upon it.
Sometimes though, as in my case, the path is decidedly less worn and considerably darker. That's where orienting oneself towards loosely defined goals comes in handy. At least within larger, more hierarchical firms, timing and luck have as much to do with career progression as individual work performance and experiences.
Instead of simply ticking a pre-determined number of boxes, a combination of meeting and getting to know the right people, fortuitous corporate re-organizations, strategically scheduled meetings with certain high level figures to get out of comparatively lower-level meetings, and selectively showing off unique skills when the situation allowed all contributed to putting me in contention for this jump up to corporate. Of course I selectively communicated this desire to key figures along the way and kept it in mind as short-term goal.
Whether scheduled or not, when change happens it hits quick. The difference is whether or not you are ready for that change. My mate sure as hell is. I have been ushering him towards that change for awhile. And I am too, thanks to being able to piece together the right string of experiences over that difficult to handle rope of timing and luck.
Today though, it was finally confirmed that I will be moving up to join the corporate HR function within this week. I will be assuming GHR, training, and senior recruitment responsibilities for our entire $10+ Billion business.
Things move slowly until they happen fast.
One of my best mates will fly down to Singapore tomorrow to take over a senior management position on one of our metro projects with a contract value of $800 Million. As his HR manager, this move has been many months or - depending on how you look at it - perhaps over a year in the making. And tomorrow it's finally happening.
Behind both of these big changes were hundreds if not thousands of incremental steps leading up to their respective new beginnings. Sometimes these steps follow a clearly lit, well worn path.
Such was the case with my mate. I needed to liaise with several stakeholders, negotiate, gain consensus, tick boxes that set various processes in motion, and check on the progress of every step to make sure everything came into alignment in the end. The road was far, but I could essentially see the end from the moment I embarked upon it.
Sometimes though, as in my case, the path is decidedly less worn and considerably darker. That's where orienting oneself towards loosely defined goals comes in handy. At least within larger, more hierarchical firms, timing and luck have as much to do with career progression as individual work performance and experiences.
Instead of simply ticking a pre-determined number of boxes, a combination of meeting and getting to know the right people, fortuitous corporate re-organizations, strategically scheduled meetings with certain high level figures to get out of comparatively lower-level meetings, and selectively showing off unique skills when the situation allowed all contributed to putting me in contention for this jump up to corporate. Of course I selectively communicated this desire to key figures along the way and kept it in mind as short-term goal.
Whether scheduled or not, when change happens it hits quick. The difference is whether or not you are ready for that change. My mate sure as hell is. I have been ushering him towards that change for awhile. And I am too, thanks to being able to piece together the right string of experiences over that difficult to handle rope of timing and luck.
2018년 2월 26일 월요일
Sick Day
Perhaps once a year, always around January or February, I tend to get sick. It has to do with some combination of the cold weather and the wrong food and usually lasts for just a day or two.
Yesterday was one of those days.
Luckily my wife was here to take care of me. I am so thankful to have her.
With my unexpected time off I caught up on sleep first and foremost. After I got some strength back I caught up on some podcasts: The Ezra Klein Show, Unchained, a16z, and the Joe Rogan Experience.
After the podcasts I read a little bit and lounged around some more with my wife.
Sometimes we all need a sick day to catch up on things important.
Yesterday was one of those days.
Luckily my wife was here to take care of me. I am so thankful to have her.
With my unexpected time off I caught up on sleep first and foremost. After I got some strength back I caught up on some podcasts: The Ezra Klein Show, Unchained, a16z, and the Joe Rogan Experience.
After the podcasts I read a little bit and lounged around some more with my wife.
Sometimes we all need a sick day to catch up on things important.
2018년 2월 25일 일요일
1. How do You Tie Your Shoes?
2. When did you learn to tie shoes that way?
2a. (If from when they were young) Why have you stuck with that method?
2b. (If from when they were older) why did you change the way you tied your shoes?
3. What are some criteria that could be used to evaluate the efficacy of tieing shoes to determine which method is best?
4. If you find a better way to tie your shoes, will you change? Explain.
I am not sure if there is a more mundane or seemingly trivial question to ask someone above the age of 6 than, "How do you tie your shoes?"
But if you think about it and ask some follow up questions like the ones I listed above, I have found that they can help paint a pretty comprehensive picture of the personality of the person responding.
You can learn a lot about: how detailed they are, how creative they are, how open minded they are, their critical reasoning skills, and many other things.
It isn't appropriate to break out in every interview, but when interviewing for senior management or executive positions it is a fun question to use to get to know the candidate much better.
2a. (If from when they were young) Why have you stuck with that method?
2b. (If from when they were older) why did you change the way you tied your shoes?
3. What are some criteria that could be used to evaluate the efficacy of tieing shoes to determine which method is best?
4. If you find a better way to tie your shoes, will you change? Explain.
I am not sure if there is a more mundane or seemingly trivial question to ask someone above the age of 6 than, "How do you tie your shoes?"
But if you think about it and ask some follow up questions like the ones I listed above, I have found that they can help paint a pretty comprehensive picture of the personality of the person responding.
You can learn a lot about: how detailed they are, how creative they are, how open minded they are, their critical reasoning skills, and many other things.
It isn't appropriate to break out in every interview, but when interviewing for senior management or executive positions it is a fun question to use to get to know the candidate much better.
2018년 2월 24일 토요일
What I Write About
From my accidental habit of blogging daily, I have written 34 posts already so far this year. Well, 35 if you include this post.
Predictably, I have written the most about Crypto and my current obsession, Cent. A total of 14 posts have been written on those two topics alone.
I have written a total of 10 posts - 5 posts each - about my daily life and other random inspirations. Posts about my life have focused on my habits and routines as well as specific daily moments. Daily inspirations have come from well written articles, podcasts that I want to listen to again, and other random bits and pieces of life that I encountered at some point during my day.
AVC.com and Wolfstreet are both part of my daily routine, but I have broken both of them out into a separate category due to their outsized impact on me. I have written 4 posts inspired by both of them so far.
Reading has been a life long passion. I have read thousands of books in the couple of decades I've been alive. Whilst I am uncertain how many books I will read and re-read this year, I plan to write about most of the books I read and will post a list of every book I read this year at the end of December. So far there have been 3 posts on 2 of the 3 books I have read this year.
My work in the HR department of a major Korean conglomerate has made it into 3 posts. I expect many more blog posts reflecting my unique experiences and lessons learned heading forward.
Who knows what other categories or topics will make it into my writings as the year progresses, but I think it is safe to say the the topics I have written about up until this point will continue to figure prominently in future writings.
If anyone is reading what I write, feel free to let me know what you think of my writing. Let's talk in the comments. Hopefully I can get you paid. And you can help me build up a reader base that helps support this whole thing.
Predictably, I have written the most about Crypto and my current obsession, Cent. A total of 14 posts have been written on those two topics alone.
I have written a total of 10 posts - 5 posts each - about my daily life and other random inspirations. Posts about my life have focused on my habits and routines as well as specific daily moments. Daily inspirations have come from well written articles, podcasts that I want to listen to again, and other random bits and pieces of life that I encountered at some point during my day.
AVC.com and Wolfstreet are both part of my daily routine, but I have broken both of them out into a separate category due to their outsized impact on me. I have written 4 posts inspired by both of them so far.
Reading has been a life long passion. I have read thousands of books in the couple of decades I've been alive. Whilst I am uncertain how many books I will read and re-read this year, I plan to write about most of the books I read and will post a list of every book I read this year at the end of December. So far there have been 3 posts on 2 of the 3 books I have read this year.
My work in the HR department of a major Korean conglomerate has made it into 3 posts. I expect many more blog posts reflecting my unique experiences and lessons learned heading forward.
Who knows what other categories or topics will make it into my writings as the year progresses, but I think it is safe to say the the topics I have written about up until this point will continue to figure prominently in future writings.
If anyone is reading what I write, feel free to let me know what you think of my writing. Let's talk in the comments. Hopefully I can get you paid. And you can help me build up a reader base that helps support this whole thing.
2018년 2월 23일 금요일
Debt & Capital Mindsets
Nick Grossman penned a nice article yesterday that included a novel analysis of procrastination and self-improvement.
Both involve short amounts of time: the former involves the avoidance of something in lieu of some other short-term choice, whilst the latter involves engaging in short, productive acts.
In either case the results are compounding.
Each time you put off doing something it increases the time not spent on the issue. This can go very quickly from minutes to weeks to months and longer not doing something.
As more time goes by the burden of actually engaging with something likewise compounds. By avoiding something you give yourself less time to do it thus compounding the difficulty of doing it as well as the risk of penalty. If the activity involves health or work you are literally endangering your welfare and livelihood.
On the other hand, plugging away at something in short, sustained bursts will ensure that something gets completed or you become better and better at something.
A couple of steps a day can turn into a great separation over time placing you in a much better place. Moreover, if others haven't taken those same steps then you will be in an even better relative position.
So we can say:
Avoidance is a debt frame of mind, whilst habit setting and steady, self-improvement both exemplify a capital frame of mind.
Both involve short amounts of time: the former involves the avoidance of something in lieu of some other short-term choice, whilst the latter involves engaging in short, productive acts.
In either case the results are compounding.
Each time you put off doing something it increases the time not spent on the issue. This can go very quickly from minutes to weeks to months and longer not doing something.
As more time goes by the burden of actually engaging with something likewise compounds. By avoiding something you give yourself less time to do it thus compounding the difficulty of doing it as well as the risk of penalty. If the activity involves health or work you are literally endangering your welfare and livelihood.
On the other hand, plugging away at something in short, sustained bursts will ensure that something gets completed or you become better and better at something.
A couple of steps a day can turn into a great separation over time placing you in a much better place. Moreover, if others haven't taken those same steps then you will be in an even better relative position.
So we can say:
Avoidance is a debt frame of mind, whilst habit setting and steady, self-improvement both exemplify a capital frame of mind.
2018년 2월 22일 목요일
Foot in the Crypto Door
Over the past couple of weeks I've reached out to a few teams and individuals who are building what are - to me at least - some of the most interesting projects in crypto today.
As it stands, I'm supporting two projects, in the middle of an email exchange with a founder/developer, and waiting for a response from another project.
One project, CryptoCountries, actually reached out to me asking for support with audience engagement and translation work for the Korean market after finding my profile on Ethlance.com. That's pretty cool.
I am also on the small Korean translation team for OpenBazaar supporting the translation of their site for Korean users.
After reading about StakeTree in the Token Economy newsletter a few weeks ago, I reached out directly to Niel de la Rouviere, the 'Chief Catalyst' there. I congratulated him on the great initial interest and traction he has started to receive before offering my translation services and help with any other needs he may have. He is a one man show for now, but I'll keep checking in with him every couple of weeks.
Lastly, I am still waiting for a response from the Cent team. I am most excited about this project, so I really hope there is some aspect of the project that I can get involved with and support. As a gesture of good will I sent them Korean translations of their three Medium posts. We'll see what happens.
I am very bullish on the future of this space, and super excited to be a part of it any way I can.
As it stands, I'm supporting two projects, in the middle of an email exchange with a founder/developer, and waiting for a response from another project.
One project, CryptoCountries, actually reached out to me asking for support with audience engagement and translation work for the Korean market after finding my profile on Ethlance.com. That's pretty cool.
I am also on the small Korean translation team for OpenBazaar supporting the translation of their site for Korean users.
After reading about StakeTree in the Token Economy newsletter a few weeks ago, I reached out directly to Niel de la Rouviere, the 'Chief Catalyst' there. I congratulated him on the great initial interest and traction he has started to receive before offering my translation services and help with any other needs he may have. He is a one man show for now, but I'll keep checking in with him every couple of weeks.
Lastly, I am still waiting for a response from the Cent team. I am most excited about this project, so I really hope there is some aspect of the project that I can get involved with and support. As a gesture of good will I sent them Korean translations of their three Medium posts. We'll see what happens.
I am very bullish on the future of this space, and super excited to be a part of it any way I can.
2018년 2월 21일 수요일
Being Right
So I found another podcast that's worth listening to more than once.
Niall Ferguson was on the 'Waking Up with Sam Harris' podcast and he was dropping knowledge whilst talking about his new book called "The Square and the Tower: Networks and Power, from the Freemasons to Facebook."
It's full of interesting bits about networks, hierarchies, and balanced, centrist perspectives, but there was one quote that stood out in particular:
"Sometimes being right condemns you to being in a minority."
Print that on a t-shirt and sell it.
No really, that's what Sam said right after Niall said that;)
Joking aside, I'd buy that shirt, and his book (which I plan on doing asap).
Happy listening.
Niall Ferguson was on the 'Waking Up with Sam Harris' podcast and he was dropping knowledge whilst talking about his new book called "The Square and the Tower: Networks and Power, from the Freemasons to Facebook."
It's full of interesting bits about networks, hierarchies, and balanced, centrist perspectives, but there was one quote that stood out in particular:
"Sometimes being right condemns you to being in a minority."
Print that on a t-shirt and sell it.
No really, that's what Sam said right after Niall said that;)
Joking aside, I'd buy that shirt, and his book (which I plan on doing asap).
Happy listening.
2018년 2월 20일 화요일
My AVC.com
I didn't set out to post daily, it just kind of happened. But I like it.
As Fred Wilson put it so succinctly in a recent tweet: "Writing is remembering."
These posts allow me to reflect on the day and return to what was top of mind, or interesting, or thought provoking. Put simply, writing helps me focus on what is worth remembering.
Since I think I will keep this little habit up, now is as good a time as any to pen one of my very quaint dreams: I hope that I can earn a few readers who want to join into a daily discussion below my posts.
I have said it many times, but the comment sections on AVC.com and Wolfstreet are amazing resources. The discussions that go on there by a steady cast of characters is food for my soul on a daily basis.
As an unknown, I know that discussion will never happen here. Why would it? It'll probably never happen on Steemit either. I will write about 'why' later.
My belief is that it will happen on Cent. Very soon (I hope) the site will add a section for content creators. Hopefully it will allow for two-way funding (i.e. a way for me to support those daily, commenting readers and for readers to support my writing). And hopefully I will be able to anoint my own Centurions - my steady cast of commenters.
Hopefully.
Anyways, until that becomes a reality, I will keep plugging away, writing things worth remembering.
2018년 2월 19일 월요일
The Autonomy & Dao of the Korean People
No other book in my life has come close to having as large an impact on both my personal growth and my intellectual development as this book has.
Its title is "The Autonomy & Dao of the Korean People."
I came across it serendipitously as I was browsing a random Korean bookstore just as I was beginning my university studies in Korea.
This book has given me so much. Not only did it help me gain a firm understanding of Daoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism (better than any English-language material I've ever come across) that worked a type of therapy on the way I view life, but it introduced me - via footnotes - to the two other major intellectual influences in my life: Lewis Mumford and Martin Heidegger.
I have read and re-read this book so many times that the original binding fell apart. Luckily I took it to a local copy store that re-bound it for me. It is full of my marginalia, notes and underlines.
It is my treasure.
Unfortunately, this book has been out of print for years now, and most Koreans aren't even able to read it anyways because of all of the Chinese characters in it. Of course there is no translation available, but I have translated a few passages throughout the years on this blog that may be of interest to some.
Check out those writings via this link, and I recommend you start with 'Dao and Study'.
2018년 2월 18일 일요일
Cent - Chapter 2 Centurions & CENT
*This is the second part in a fictional forward-looking series based on the site beta.cent.co - click here for Part 1*
The 'beer money' payout marked the first, and perhaps most important, viral hit for Cent.
And at the heart of that decisive change was the decision to anoint an exclusive class of users: the Centurions.
The debate amongst a few Centians and the two founders prior to the decision to introduce this separate user class was heated. The biggest worry was that existing users and potential new users would be turned off by what could be construed as a centralization. They were also afraid it was an unnecessary complication.
Those worries were quickly replaced by a major problem that erupted on the site. Due to the lack of any real mechanism to prevent users from signing up under multiple emails, a number of spam responses posted by single users with multiple accounts began siphoning off major portions of bounties.
Max and Cam tried to minimize the problem by sending these responses to the bottom of the response list by erasing the amount of the bounty they received, but that didn't address the root of the problem. And it didn't prevent those users from receiving those funds, since fund distribution was carried out automatically via a smart contract.
Therefore the founders finally acquiesced to the repeated pleadings of a few, passionate Centians who perceived the problem early on and created the exclusive Centurion class consisting of seven users: Max, Cam, Steven McKie, yours truly and three others
It seems obvious now, but the Centurions did more than simply establish a novel way to mitigate spam accounts and help reinforce the 'beer money' standard.
Through their consistent up/down voting of responses they helped curate the responses that bounty setters were seeking in the first place.
Centurions also made it possible to introduce the tagging system the site sorely needed to facilitate searches for past bounty topics. This allowed old bounties to be re-opened if updates were needed as one example. For each new tag a Centurion added, they were awarded 1% of the 7% of the bounty reserved for Centurions.
A major moment for Cent was when the big names started showing up. The Burniskes. The Navals. The Wilsons. The Centurions were behind this as well.
The Centurions brought a human touch for these new users. They brought them onboard, verified their sns accounts and broadcast their membership. In a time when automation was the singular focus, Cent combined the best of the human experience complimented by the convenience of automation.
Cent became a site for users, run by users. And Centurions were the first employees.
One of the most important contributions the Centurions made was an indirect one. Their introduction essentially laid the framework to launch Cent's native token, CENT.
Cent's token distribution came together almost overnight after the Centurions were introduced. Since the value of the network had been created in advance, there was no need to carry out an ICO. Instead the three classes of users (bounty setters, centurions, bounty responders) received CENT based on how much they contributed to Cent up until that point.
The amount of CENT bounty setters received was 1000x the amount of ETH they previously set as bounties on Cent. Centurions received 700x the amount of ETH they received for their support in CENT. Regular Centians received 300x what they earned in ETH by providing responses and up voting in CENT.
What set CENT apart from ICOs or token distributions that came before it was the distinct utility it gave users right away:
Centurions and CENT were pivotal in the development and growth of Cent. They have proven invaluable to the growth and development of Cent not to mention the additional features and uses of the CENT token were built out later.
The 'beer money' payout marked the first, and perhaps most important, viral hit for Cent.
And at the heart of that decisive change was the decision to anoint an exclusive class of users: the Centurions.
The debate amongst a few Centians and the two founders prior to the decision to introduce this separate user class was heated. The biggest worry was that existing users and potential new users would be turned off by what could be construed as a centralization. They were also afraid it was an unnecessary complication.
Those worries were quickly replaced by a major problem that erupted on the site. Due to the lack of any real mechanism to prevent users from signing up under multiple emails, a number of spam responses posted by single users with multiple accounts began siphoning off major portions of bounties.
Max and Cam tried to minimize the problem by sending these responses to the bottom of the response list by erasing the amount of the bounty they received, but that didn't address the root of the problem. And it didn't prevent those users from receiving those funds, since fund distribution was carried out automatically via a smart contract.
Therefore the founders finally acquiesced to the repeated pleadings of a few, passionate Centians who perceived the problem early on and created the exclusive Centurion class consisting of seven users: Max, Cam, Steven McKie, yours truly and three others
It seems obvious now, but the Centurions did more than simply establish a novel way to mitigate spam accounts and help reinforce the 'beer money' standard.
Through their consistent up/down voting of responses they helped curate the responses that bounty setters were seeking in the first place.
Centurions also made it possible to introduce the tagging system the site sorely needed to facilitate searches for past bounty topics. This allowed old bounties to be re-opened if updates were needed as one example. For each new tag a Centurion added, they were awarded 1% of the 7% of the bounty reserved for Centurions.
A major moment for Cent was when the big names started showing up. The Burniskes. The Navals. The Wilsons. The Centurions were behind this as well.
The Centurions brought a human touch for these new users. They brought them onboard, verified their sns accounts and broadcast their membership. In a time when automation was the singular focus, Cent combined the best of the human experience complimented by the convenience of automation.
Cent became a site for users, run by users. And Centurions were the first employees.
One of the most important contributions the Centurions made was an indirect one. Their introduction essentially laid the framework to launch Cent's native token, CENT.
Cent's token distribution came together almost overnight after the Centurions were introduced. Since the value of the network had been created in advance, there was no need to carry out an ICO. Instead the three classes of users (bounty setters, centurions, bounty responders) received CENT based on how much they contributed to Cent up until that point.
The amount of CENT bounty setters received was 1000x the amount of ETH they previously set as bounties on Cent. Centurions received 700x the amount of ETH they received for their support in CENT. Regular Centians received 300x what they earned in ETH by providing responses and up voting in CENT.
What set CENT apart from ICOs or token distributions that came before it was the distinct utility it gave users right away:
- It allowed bounty setters to feature their bounties on the main Cent feed (the number of CENT they attached to their bounty was clearly displayed on active bounties)
- Centians could attach CENT to their responses to ensure it featured at the top of all responses whilst the bounty was active. (Note: that CENT was distributed across all responses (including theirs) that received net positive up votes for that bounty proportional to the total number of up votes received)
- Centians could attach CENT to other responses that, when combined with up votes would ensure that response was featured higher in the responses and go directly to the responder after the bounty ended; if the response was down voted the response was displayed towards the bottom of the responses and distributed to responses that receives net positive up votes when the bounty expired
- Whilst the number of Centurions was initially fixed at seven, after CENT was introduced, each Centurion was required to stake a minimum amount of CENT. After that, anyone could become a Centurion if they staked an amount of CENT equal to 100% more than the most recent amount of CENT staked by the newest Centurion. (E.g. if the last Centurion staked 1000 CENT, the next centurion would have to stake 2000, the next 4000, the next 8000 etc...).
Centurions and CENT were pivotal in the development and growth of Cent. They have proven invaluable to the growth and development of Cent not to mention the additional features and uses of the CENT token were built out later.
2018년 2월 17일 토요일
Cryptoassets
Definitions are important. They help shape our conceptions, expectations and interactions.
I don't know why but the following definition popped into my head about 'cryptoassets' and it seems kind of perfect.
Cryptoassets are shapeless representative units of value in digital wrappers that provide malleable functionality.
Cryptoassets include: cryptocommodities, cryptocurrencies, cryptotokens, and cryptocollectibles.
This definition was definitely influenced by Chris Burniske and Jack Tatar's excellent, epynonymously titled book 'Cryptoassets'. Check that out if you haven't yet.
Have a happy weekend everybody.
I don't know why but the following definition popped into my head about 'cryptoassets' and it seems kind of perfect.
Cryptoassets are shapeless representative units of value in digital wrappers that provide malleable functionality.
Cryptoassets include: cryptocommodities, cryptocurrencies, cryptotokens, and cryptocollectibles.
This definition was definitely influenced by Chris Burniske and Jack Tatar's excellent, epynonymously titled book 'Cryptoassets'. Check that out if you haven't yet.
Have a happy weekend everybody.
2018년 2월 16일 금요일
Locked Doors & Open Windows
Often times during negotiations you hit what at first may seem like an insurmountable impasse. I like to refer to these as locked doors.
The door may be locked for a number of reasons. Often times it is locked because of the 'form' a request or demand takes.
During contract extensions many people try to add new or extra benefits. Granting one employee a benefit that others do not have can be a slippery slope.
The Asian rumor mill is a very real thing and unfortunately exceptions that are granted to a few always seem to find their way out into the open. Once that happens you have the potential for thousands of employees demanding that very same benefit.
Hence we prefer not to grant new benefits. This fact upsets many staff with experience working for more international employers that have - to put it bluntly - much more professional HR departments.
As the global HR manager in charge of recruitment and contract extensions for these international professionals, I usually find myself in the middle of two houses with locked front doors during negotiations because of the demand for extra benefits.
But what are benefits, really? At the end of the day, whilst a specific benefit such as additional leave or a company car may mean or signify a great deal for an individual person, they are simply items with a specific dollar value.
It is very easy - much easier than most think - to justify a salary bump for a respected employee. Where I work is no different.
So when I report on the status of negotiations to my direct boss and corporate HR, I state the benefit that has been requested, and very quickly provide the dollar value and percentage increase in salary that it represents.
I get unofficial approval for that salary increase - or at least an increase that is very close - every time.
Despite the door being locked to a new benefit request, there was a window open to it in a different form.
When I go back to the candidate or colleague I am very upfront with them. After explaining that their request for new benefits is not possible, I pause and let them know there may be another way.
Letting them know the dollar value of their requested benefit (and when appropriate the formula used to make the calculation) is usually enough to give them the feeling that I am taking their case seriously and may even be on their side.
It is never a problem to get someone to take extra money. Letting them know that a certain percentage of their salary or salary increase represents 'x' benefit is just as effective - if not more so - as the actual provisioning of said benefit.
When you run up against a locked door during your next negotiation, look for an open window.
The door may be locked for a number of reasons. Often times it is locked because of the 'form' a request or demand takes.
During contract extensions many people try to add new or extra benefits. Granting one employee a benefit that others do not have can be a slippery slope.
The Asian rumor mill is a very real thing and unfortunately exceptions that are granted to a few always seem to find their way out into the open. Once that happens you have the potential for thousands of employees demanding that very same benefit.
Hence we prefer not to grant new benefits. This fact upsets many staff with experience working for more international employers that have - to put it bluntly - much more professional HR departments.
As the global HR manager in charge of recruitment and contract extensions for these international professionals, I usually find myself in the middle of two houses with locked front doors during negotiations because of the demand for extra benefits.
But what are benefits, really? At the end of the day, whilst a specific benefit such as additional leave or a company car may mean or signify a great deal for an individual person, they are simply items with a specific dollar value.
It is very easy - much easier than most think - to justify a salary bump for a respected employee. Where I work is no different.
So when I report on the status of negotiations to my direct boss and corporate HR, I state the benefit that has been requested, and very quickly provide the dollar value and percentage increase in salary that it represents.
I get unofficial approval for that salary increase - or at least an increase that is very close - every time.
Despite the door being locked to a new benefit request, there was a window open to it in a different form.
When I go back to the candidate or colleague I am very upfront with them. After explaining that their request for new benefits is not possible, I pause and let them know there may be another way.
Letting them know the dollar value of their requested benefit (and when appropriate the formula used to make the calculation) is usually enough to give them the feeling that I am taking their case seriously and may even be on their side.
It is never a problem to get someone to take extra money. Letting them know that a certain percentage of their salary or salary increase represents 'x' benefit is just as effective - if not more so - as the actual provisioning of said benefit.
When you run up against a locked door during your next negotiation, look for an open window.
2018년 2월 15일 목요일
Cent - Chapter 1 Beer Money
*This is the first part in a fictional forward-looking series based on the site beta.cent.co*
It started out as a Quora-like imitator with a novel bounty smart contract attached to it.
Then it added a section for musicians to set bounties to attract fans who could fund them. Then a space for bloggers. Next a Reddit-esque platform. On and on it went.
It started out as a Quora-like imitator with a novel bounty smart contract attached to it.
Then it added a section for musicians to set bounties to attract fans who could fund them. Then a space for bloggers. Next a Reddit-esque platform. On and on it went.
The next thing we knew the big names showed up. The Navals. The Burniskies. The Wilsons.
That's when Cent blew up. And after that, nothing was ever the same.
--------------------
Cent was already different before it took everything over. It solved the decentralized organization problem before anyone else.
But I want to take you back through the series of events that led up to that defining moment in history.
The first step towards solving the decentralized organization was Cent's introduction of a hybrid 'centralized-decentralized' model led by a small coterie of users called Centurions.
The Centurions numbered only seven in total and included the two co-founders, Max and Cam. They helped curate the site by distributing weighted votes.
Before Centurions were introduced, every registered user or Centian was able to up/down vote the responses of any other users.
This led to pitiful payouts for all Centians. They were lucky if they made a few cents. It wasn't very attractive to new users let alone for those Centians who made well thought out and sincere responses.
For every bounty posted on the original Cent feed, at first hundreds, then pretty soon thousands of responses were submitted by Centians vying for a piece of the bounty.
And the Centurions faithfully read every response.
Each Centurion had the power to distribute 10% of each bounty across corresponding responses. Regular users were - and to this day still are - able to up/down vote any post distributing 20% of each bounty.
For their efforts voting and curating responses, 7% and 3% of each bounty were distributed equally to Centurions and regular Centians respectively.
So for an easy example, imagine that someone placed a bounty of $1000 soliciting feedback on a new song they composed.
Exactly 100 Centians responded, of which seven were clearly outstanding. Every Centurion voted, and the seven outstanding responses received all of their votes. Half of all Centian votes also went to those seven responses. The other half of their votes were evenly distributed amongst 75 responses.
Thus when the bounty paid out, the seven top responses received 80% or $800 distributed proportionally to the percentage of the total number of votes they received. The 75 Centians who were up-voted received 10% or $100 which translated to about $1.33 per response, and each Centurion received $10 with 3% or $30 distributed to any other Centians who voted.
Back when the Centurions first appeared the bounties were considerably lower - they averaged around $10~$30 apiece. On special occasions you may have seen a $100 bounty, usually set by the esteemed Sir Mckie himself.
After the Centurions came onto the scene, every Centian who posted was still pretty much guaranteed to take home a few pennies per response which was unprecedented for any social network at the time, but for those who gave the best responses, they were bringing in legit 'beer money' payouts.
That 'beer money' was a major game changer.
2018년 2월 14일 수요일
Reading Books & People
The more books you read, the better reader you become.
Because books are written by people about either people or things people do, reading books also helps you read people.
You pay more attention to subtleties like past events, context, tone and word choice when you read books or people. There really is no difference.
Some people, like books, are harder to read than others, but if you have time and patience nothing and no one are absolutely unreadable.
It's a common refrain these days though that people really don't read anything. They skim or look something (usually very short) over from time to time, but beyond that they really don't read anymore.
If you don't read a lot of books, there must be some impact. Since reading sharpens your ability to detect and understand subtleties, by not reading your perception and understanding may remain dull and common.
Perhaps this explains the numerous misunderstandings that arise between people.
Whilst the work place demands absolutely clear and direct prose in communication, if you spoke to friends and loved ones in such a manner life would become as dull and staid as a generic floor in some corporate office.
These days, however, I have heard that several loved ones "need me to be clearer and more direct" about future plans and events that are in no way clear or directly knowable ahead of time.
Last night I heard it again. After I was told that, I took a long sip of my wonderfully bitter, slightly hoppy and perfectly fragrant Omija Ale, and thought, "How sad that no one seems to be able to read me."
I guess I expect more of others. If anyone bothered to read between my lines, or remember who I have always been and the loving words shared over long talks they would hear all that they apparently want stated directly, and more.
Reading isn't special. What reading allows for, though, is a richness and fullness of our human experience.
I would expect others to want to live as rich and full a life as possible, but since this requires people to read, maybe my lowly expectations of others are simply too high.
That is just so damn sad.
But at least I have you though, right?
Happy Valentines Day everybody;)
Because books are written by people about either people or things people do, reading books also helps you read people.
You pay more attention to subtleties like past events, context, tone and word choice when you read books or people. There really is no difference.
Some people, like books, are harder to read than others, but if you have time and patience nothing and no one are absolutely unreadable.
It's a common refrain these days though that people really don't read anything. They skim or look something (usually very short) over from time to time, but beyond that they really don't read anymore.
If you don't read a lot of books, there must be some impact. Since reading sharpens your ability to detect and understand subtleties, by not reading your perception and understanding may remain dull and common.
Perhaps this explains the numerous misunderstandings that arise between people.
Whilst the work place demands absolutely clear and direct prose in communication, if you spoke to friends and loved ones in such a manner life would become as dull and staid as a generic floor in some corporate office.
These days, however, I have heard that several loved ones "need me to be clearer and more direct" about future plans and events that are in no way clear or directly knowable ahead of time.
Last night I heard it again. After I was told that, I took a long sip of my wonderfully bitter, slightly hoppy and perfectly fragrant Omija Ale, and thought, "How sad that no one seems to be able to read me."
I guess I expect more of others. If anyone bothered to read between my lines, or remember who I have always been and the loving words shared over long talks they would hear all that they apparently want stated directly, and more.
Reading isn't special. What reading allows for, though, is a richness and fullness of our human experience.
I would expect others to want to live as rich and full a life as possible, but since this requires people to read, maybe my lowly expectations of others are simply too high.
That is just so damn sad.
But at least I have you though, right?
Happy Valentines Day everybody;)
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