Published inThe Startup·Feb 19, 2021Are You Evil Enough?The short version: Emily Ross and I are writing a book on subversive go-to-market strategy called Just Evil Enough. We’ve been asked to create a live online course to go with it, and we’re doing some research. Take me to the survey! One respondent will win a keynote talk or…Marketing6 min readMarketing6 min read
Apr 23, 2020The only game worth playingA toss of a perfect coin is pure randomness. And by perfect, I mean unflawed coin, ideal conditions, perfect 50/50. Similarly, a game that involves only rolling one perfect dice has total randomness. 1/6 chance of a six-sided result. Games with multiple dice are still random, but within predictable patterns…Game Theory10 min readGame Theory10 min read
Dec 31, 2019Why VR isn’t here yetI got an Oculus Quest for Christmas. I’ve been a fan of consumer VR for decades, ever since Snow Crash planted the seed. …Virtual Reality6 min readVirtual Reality6 min read
Dec 8, 2019A game to learn multiplicationKnowing basic multiplication by rote is an accelerant. It’s why our times’ tables are drilled into us at school. And while there are the usual flash cards, multiplication grids, and car-ride pop-quizzes, they’re seldom fun. I’ve posted before about making boardgames as a way to teach art, creativity, game theory…Mathematics2 min readMathematics2 min read
Dec 4, 2019Poetry, AI, and Christmas MarketsA couple of weeks ago, I spent a wonderful weekend in Berlin with friends. In between a hidden gem of Indonesian food one night, and a “textile-free” visit to Spa Vabali, I roamed the city searching for a guilty pleasure of mine—Christmas Markets. If you don’t know what these are…Travel3 min readTravel3 min read
Nov 25, 2019We aren’t thinking weird enoughScience fiction authors like to start with the world as we know it, and then change one aspect of that world: Aliens exist; time travel is possible. …Politics7 min readPolitics7 min read
Published infwd50·Nov 14, 2019How we tackled speaker diversity—and you can tooEmbrase — the team behind Startupfest, FWD50, and Scaletech — has been running events for a decade. In that time, we’ve worked hard to ensure that the diversity we want to see in the world is represented on stage. …Diversity6 min readDiversity6 min read
Published infwd50·Nov 6, 2019AI and Data Science at FWD50 2019There’s plenty of debate over whether AI is real. The very definition of Artificial Intelligence keeps changing — show a computer scientist from 50 years ago a modern algorithm’s ability to drive a car, identify images, compose text, or diagnose diseases, and they’d immediately conclude that AI was here. But…Artificial Intelligence5 min readArtificial Intelligence5 min read
Published infwd50·Nov 4, 2019A focus on culture and transformation at FWD50 2019One of the most striking and consistent pieces of feedback from our 2019 content survey was this: We’ve drunk the Kool-Aid. Many people tasked with IT transformation are already true believers. They want to know how to manage digital innovation, and what to avoid to maximize success. And while technology…Digital Transformation4 min readDigital Transformation4 min read
Published infwd50·Nov 4, 2019Cloud computing deep-dives at FWD50 2019Fifteen years ago, the term “cloud computing” was on the front page of every tech magazine. For that matter, fifteen years ago, we had tech magazines. Today, the term has almost lost its meaning in many IT conversations. …Cloud Computing4 min readCloud Computing4 min read