2011 New Years Goal

• Have at least one $50k month gross income – FAIL
• Have at least 10 paying customers for a new SaaS application – Kinda FAIL (UU+ doesn’t really count)
• Learn to play a new non-stringed instrument – FAIL
• Drink more water – FAIL
• Reconnect with Old Friends – FAIL
• Gain at least 5 lbs – SUCCESS
• Meditate at least once a week – FAIL

1 Success / 6 Fail

Didn’t do so good last year, but got really close on a lot.

During the event I got to hear all the exciting things that are developing on Oahu and Maui and I have to admit it got me a little jealous. Hackerspaces, Meetups, Conferences, just the ability to easily meet up with and hang out with like minded people, that’s something I’ve wanted since we started UU 3 years ago that Kauai really does not have. Though Hawaii as a whole is still very far away from becoming a geek hub like San Francisco, Seattle, Boulder or Austin; Oahu and Maui seem to be taking steps in the right direction while Kauai… well ignorance is part of its charm.

After exchanging some emails with Russel Cheng, I’ve decided that if no one else is going to hold the flag for Kauai, I’m going to have to so I’ve decided to start a monthly Kauai Tech group.

The mission of the group is simple. To help culture the tech (Web Ap, SaaS, mobile ap, interactive content) scene on Kauai and develop a true startup culture here on the island.

The monthly meet ups would be a way for like minded people to get together and share their projects, get feedback and help each other grow their businesses. On an island where the only thing you do with computers is IT (at least according to most here); finding people might be a little difficult but I think I can wrangle 5 or 6 people together for a test run. It might take a while to get traction but like any venture the most important thing is to start. Will keep everyone updated on the progress as we work towards our first meet up.

Our society has shown us time and time again that what we value as humans (at least in the USA) is innovation, creativity, the ability to create art or solve problems; the creation of things of value. As children, we do our best to create things of value. We draw, we paint, we build, we sing, we dance. Yet by high school graduation, few of us draw, paint, sing, or dance. This creativity is slowly discouraged and killed off in the school system. In ironic fashion, we push our children through schools that push them in the exact opposite direction of what society has shown us it rewards.

Our current educational system is set up to produce commoditized employees, which can be swapped in and out, replaced and replenished as needed. This system was create when we lived in an industrial society, but that era has long passed us by. Factories have moved overseas and now even what was once perceived as skilled labor; programming, graphic design, etc can be done overseas fully maximizing our declining dollar.

Our current leaders think the solution is to increase educational opportunities, to help the children of the future to gain better jobs. This is broken logic. At the very best, this is going to increase the gap between the poor and the rich when there is no jobs for those who do not attain degrees of higher education. What is far more likely is that it will commoditize the  high tech, highly specialized labor force creating an even more competitive job market and foster lower wages. We already see the beginning signs of this as many of my college friends have gone to take jobs which do not require a college education.

To me, as a 28 year old (soon to be 29) without any kids, the only way to fix this impending crisis is to begin to teach our children that there is real value in creating things of value. Point out the obvious that society rewards individuals who bring value to the world. Show them that those who we admire are master craftsmen. Point out the fact that by choosing to paint, Picasso added tremendous value to the world. The paintings he created are worth millions of dollars. His art added millions of dollars of value to this world.  Explain to them why we line up to purchase the latest innovations of entrepreneurs. That these are the real world manifestations of this person’s ideas. Without the entrepreneur first imagining the product, it would never have existed. Tell them the world rewards being an individual who cannot be commoditized. Tell them that the world rewards those who are brave enough to be unique and find a passion in life. Above all else, never let them stop creating.

To me this is very exciting because when this happens, it will be a game changer. Of course we’ll always have network TV, but it will be possible for someone with a great idea, to create their own sustainable show and have it broadcasted to million as opposed to thousands a week like it is now with podcasts. It’s going to change the advertising game as well, creating a much  longer longtail with higher ROI the more niche the program becomes. We’ve already seen game systems turn into very powerful computers, I think it’s only logical for televisions to evolve in a similar fashion.

Anyways, here’s Ron’s presentation. Good stuff.