I was writing about disruptors in journalism and began reflecting the other day on whether it’s possible to spot disruption before it happens. I was thinking that in 1970 we could and should have predicted that computers would eventually disrupt our lives. And also caught myself thinking well “how would we know the degree to which they’d be disruptive?” In those days I thought I’d end up with a job in research at IBM, or Kodak, or SRI, or be a university professor (which I was at the time) and just keep doing that, and computers would play an increasingly important role in my life and the world. But, you know, I was pushing the disruptive edge too, without really thinking about it that much. Disruption wasn’t a word we thought about. Or used. [Read more…]
Archives for January 2016
Self-promotion and disruption
Tom Foremski was just named by LinkedIn to their “top 10 media writers of the year” list. He wrote about the awkwardness of self-promotion in LinkedIn Pulse a few days ago.
Tom’s journey from writer at Financial Times to blogger, to publisher is an interesting one. There are some parallels I’d like to call out.
[Tom’s photo here is by JD Lasica taken during Traveling Geeks 2009] [short interview]
Gandhi Action Figure
My friends at The Metta Center, which focuses on nonviolence education, sent me a holiday card. The card is more like a Mahatma Gandhi action figure. Gandi was, of course, a cornerstone of the peaceful action which resulted in India’s independence from Britain in 1947.
The cutout cards are produced by the Unemployed Philosophers’ Guild and they stand up on four legs. There are philosophers, writers, activists, scientists, composers, and many others. The (Unemployed) Philosophers’ Guild sells its cards and other products online. (The online store was broken when I tried it today, but they’re also sold in many stores.) It’s worth a visit to see the promotional videos. Cute.
May Lake High Sierra Camp
The May Lake High Sierra Camp is one of a series of six within Yosemite National Park. They’re a great way to get a wilderness experience without having to pack in food and tents. The camps provide sleeping in canvas tents, and food in a tent dining hall. We’ve gone through the May Lake camp many times in our 30 years of wilderness experiences.
Brian Shoor, who has managed the camp every summer for 14 years, gave me this interview in the summer of 2015. You can find information about the chain of camps, and application information, online. [Read more…]
Proof of intelligent human life in outer space
I was astounded today to see that there is actual evidence that humans exist in outer space.
Here’s what happened. I was looking at this photo of the Horsehead Nebula on the NASA web site.