Sunshine, Water, Rest, Air, Exercise, Diet

Image by Joi via FlickrThe best six doctors anywhere
And no one can deny it
Are sunshine, water, rest, and air
Exercise and diet.
These six will gladly you attend
If only you are willing
Your mind they’ll ease
Your will they’ll mend
And charge you not a shilling.

~Nursery rhyme

(Via Caterina Fake)

Not Yet The Era Of Grassroots Governance

Dean 2004 - and I was part of it - was a little too early. But Obama 2008 finally had the grassroots lay a claim to the presidency. So the electioneering part is done. But we are not yet in the era of grassroots governance. 2009 did not feel like 2008. 2010 has not felt like 2008. It is because we are not there yet. Data.gov is a big step in the right direction, but we are not there yet. Not enough data has been released. And not enough data is being served in compelling ways for the grassroots to munch upon. A thing to do is to make it possible for the people at the grassroots to follow the debates and discussions and votes on Capitol Hill in meaningful ways. Who is saying what? What are their track records? What are the implications of what they are saying and how they intend to vote? What would be the Web 2.0 version of the Congressional Budget Office?

Reverend, What Do You Do?

Image via Wikipedia

A black comic once asked Jesse Jackson on national television, "But, Reverend, what exactly it is that you do!"

Let me try and answer that question for my well wishers.

Me and my small team are exploring the idea of a microfinance tech startup, one a microfinance junkie currently at Wharton, another a techie. Clean tech, bio tech, nano tech, microfinance: microfinance might be at the bottom of that sexy ladder in some ways, but I believe it is in the same league. It is one of the next big things. And it is very real. Education, health, credit: all of humanity deserves to have access to those three things. The term computer has not meant the same thing year after year, decade after decade. The term microfinance is not stagnant either.

Sleek Data Centers

All Things Digital: Apple Reaching for the Cloud With MacBook Air and N.C. Data Center

Will Online Ads Rise To The Occasion?

Image via WikipediaA New York Times that is completely digital, completely global, completely social, completely mobile and completely ad driven should make more money than the New York Times that is about to be its ancestor. If not the web is a chimera. And I don't believe it is. On its part the New York Times has made the mistake of not fully converting. On the other hand the ad platforms are not really there yet. The ads on display don't make as much money as they should. And the New York Times has not exhibited the Gawker aggression of going out there and getting your own ads at much higher prices.

Cure For The Common Cold, Aka The Great Recession

Da iPad

(Via Change The Ratio)

Event At Hunch: Gender Talk (2)

Image via WikipediaThe first step is to just be able to bring up the topic: gender. A lot of men get defensive about the very topic. There are two types of men: good men and bad men. Those men who get defensive are not good men.

The second step is to have honest conversations. There will be many, many rounds to such conversations. There will be a lot of back and forth. It is important to not abruptly stand up and walk away. It is important to make people feel like they are being listened to, they are being heard.

The third step is to try and identify problem areas and possible solutions. That also will take place in more than one sitting.

Event At Hunch: Gender Talk (1)

Event At Hunch: Angel, Super Angel, VC

Image via WikipediaFred Wilson and Chris Dixon remind me of each other, although I met Chris only for the first time yesterday, and it was my second time meeting Fred in person, although it feels like I meet him near daily since he blogs daily, and I drop by when I can. I greeted him at the very outset - "Hello Fred, so very good to see you" - and then pretty much left the space for the crowd. It felt like an AVC community thing to do. We already meet you most days, let others have a go at you now.

A Facebook Browser? A Facebook Operating System?

Image via CrunchBase

TechCrunch: Another Chrome OS Engineer Defects To Facebook In The Build-Up To Launch: 99.99 percent of my working day is currently spent in Chrome ...... a mildly worrisome trend occurring leading up to the launch of Google’s first desktop operating system: defections. Also interesting: what does Facebook want with these guys? ..... the talent continues to pour into Facebook — and much of it from Google