I gave a guest lecture for a new computer science course on software entrepreneurship at the UMass Amherst College of Information and Computer Sciences. It was a pleasure to regale the students with my war stories and tales of the many lessons I learned through experience. Here are my slides. … More Slides from My Guest Lecture on Software Entrepreneurship at UMass
In the first meeting of the UMass Blockchain Developers Group, which I started, I gave an overview of decentralized identities. Here are my slides. … More My Slides on Decentralized Identity from the UMass Blockchain Developers Group Meeting
In the cryptoeconomy, getting clobbered by competition can actually make you rich. The best initial coin offering (ICO) white papers describe business models that are designed to be disrupted. Unfortunately, way too many people who write ICO white papers don’t understand that. … More Disrupt me, please.
The University of Massachusetts College of Information and Computer Sciences (CICS) has doubled its undergraduate enrollment in the past five years. The grad school grew that fast in just two years. It now boast 210 active Ph.D. students out of a total enrollment of over 1,600. Two major sponsors have recently pledged an additional $12 million in funding for the school. That money will fuel continued growth. The latest initiative at the CICS is its Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR) program, which the school asked me to help create. … More I’m an “Entreprenuer In Residence” at the UMass College of Information and Computer Sciences
Media companies need to get and keep our attention. The more people they can attract, and the longer they can hold them, the more money they can make from ads. Cable news channels, on air 24×7, know that a cheap way to maintain our attention is to make us angry and scared. A tried and true tool in their arsenal is to show people shouting at each other. Turn off the TV and use the time you save to do something useful. Or better yet, just listen to NPR’s StoryCorps. It will put you in a far better state of mind, enhancing your ability to do things that will have a positive impact on your life, not to mention the lives of people you care about. I’ve embedded a clip in this post of a father and daughter, who are on opposite ends of a political divide, having a badly-needed conversation. … More Turn Off Cable News. Listen to StoryCorps Instead.
We took our kids sledding yesterday. My work suffered. But if I remember anything when I’m 90-years-old, I’ll remember that they were happy. … More I’ll Remember Yesterday
Sprechen sie coporatisch?
As a business associate recently told me, “We reached out to him because we’ve been reaching out to everyone over there… blah blah blah… OK, I’ll wait until you try reaching out again. If he doesn’t get back to you, I’ll reach out to him.” It not only bugs me that “reach out” is a trendy term, but it also never goes away. In other words, it’s a stale trendy term. It also reminds me of “reach around,” which of course makes me think of that scene from Full Metal Jacket. … More I didn’t “reach out.” I sent a fricken email!
You should read “Writing Without Bullshit: Boost Your Career by Saying What You Mean” before you send another email or write your next blog post. This book focuses on business writing, but you can apply its recommendations to less formal writing, too. The book repeatedly stresses the Iron Imperative: Treat the reader’s time as more valuable than your own. In this post I discuss the most important lessons I learned from Writing Without Bullshit. … More Cut the Crap: Read “Writing Without Bullshit”
I want to read about the new baby, see pics from the mommy-daughter trip, congratulate you on your new job, learn about the contest your kid won, share your sweet memories of loved ones, and cheer when your little guy or girl scores a goal. I’m less interested in reading a torrent of sensational headlines that confirm your preexisting condition…oops, I mean political bias. If you want to tell me your opinion, that’s fine. I don’t mind knowing. I might even join your side if I’m not already on it. But can you stop with the darn click bait on Facebook? … More Be Better Informed: Stop Reading & Posting Garbage News on Facebook
Technophile Musings 