Data

You log on Facebook and what is one of the first notifications you get? (or at least you get if you opted into them) A look back into your activity on that day for the entirety of your life on FB. What did you do on April 10, 2011? 2010? Small thing, right? Kinda cool to look back and see that clever comment you made on your cousins post or when you became friends with that person that you have now since muted... It's neat to look into the past and remember when... fill in the blank.

It's also extremely valuable to FB and they want you to post more. They want to build a history of you.

The more you engage with social media the more apt they are to recognize your likes and dislikes, who you will vote for in the upcoming election, what you are likely to buy, etc. and then they can sell this information. You can see how valuable this social mapping is. You don't even realize you are participating in a business model or that you are providing the keys to your belief system. With the advanced algorithms and data science behind the mountains of servers they leverage, they probably know you better than you know yourself. FB isn't the only one. Amazon, Google, Twitter, Walmart, the list goes on and on.

One large purchaser of your data is the government, but that is for another time.

I'm not writing anything new here. Big data has been around for awhile. However, there is one marketplace that seems so obvious that I don't know how I missed it earlier. Finance.

The world of finance has been much slower in adopting new technology and big data, but they are coming up to speed very quickly. Privacy laws being the greatest hinderance to the growth of this market, but it just a matter of time and ingenuity to get this mainstream.

There are slew of early stage companies that are posing as analytical tools for you to know where your money is going, how you are spending, how your assets are performing, and how you can budget better. The fancy pie charts and graphs are undoubtedly useful to the consumer, but the true power is understanding the consumers spending habits and how to sell them more products - say a loan perhaps. This becomes even more valuable when it hits a critical mass point, where you have enough data to look at group behavior and trends. The more people contribute, the better the insights.

I am no expert in this field, but I think it is important to know what is actually happening to your online data. Your digital footprint is being tracked. We leave bread crumbs all over the internet for people to pick up and consume. I believe its important to know that nothing you do is truly a secret. The end goal for these companies is essentially the same, to anticipate what you will want to buy next. From a TV to a mortgage. I think its powerful to know that.

The future from here is anyone's guess. There has never been a more technologically advanced time in the history of mankind and it is still rapidly changing. The fear of the unknown can be scary as the ability to harness this data is extremely powerful. The doomsday scenario is that all of your data is complied into one online profile and used against you. Your medical history, political views, religious beliefs, spending habits, everything available on you, available to be purchased.

TechCrunch Recap

I just spent the last three days at a technology/startup/venture capitalist/entrepreneurship conference. It's called TechCrunch, which is the name of a website, owned by AOL, that reports on business, startups and venture type news. It is widely popular. There were over 3,000 attendees, who paid about $3,000 to get in the doors. It was cool to speak to and hear from some bright entrepreneurs and leaders in the tech space. Here are some overarching takeaways that can be applicable to everyone, but mostly this is me getting my thoughts down which I will hopefully remember and follow.

Take the opportunity to listen to someone who has single handily changed the world in person. Mark Zuckerberg may not be the most exciting or eloquent speaker, but he has over 800 million people that have signed up for Facebook. 800 million. Do you know what the population is of the USA? 300+ million. Thanks for playing. You think his name is just going to fade away or better yet his company? I highly doubt it. 

What is interesting about Zuck is that he didn't think he was the one to take Facebook to the scale it is now. He was just a college kid with his friend in a dorm room. That tells me two things: One, we are all destined for some kind of greatness and we often sell ourselves short. Of course we all won't have the Facebook like story (less than 1% will), but we can all get an idea or ourselves to a higher place; we are destined for it. Two, do something that interest you. Totally cliche, but look at Zuck. He was working on a side project, something that he thought was cool. Side projects don't have to be home runs, they rarely are, but they supplement and give color to our lives. 

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A number of great minds said to think unconventionally and that if everyone is in agreement in your organization, then you have a problem. How do you do that? How do you think outside of the box? For most of our lives we been brainwashed to accept what people say as truth and not to ask too many questions. I'm not saying anything new, but that's just it, everyone talks about this cancer of thinking too like minded, but where is the practical application? Okay, I am a sheep, how do I become a wolf?  

One way I have been trying to overcome conventional thinking is to force myself to think in objection. It doesn't have to be voiced aloud, but if someone says something that is an opinion or even fact, I yell at myself "NO! Do not believe them." I try to be the devil's advocate. I'm not saying that unconventional minds argue and are jerks all the time, but they don't go with the grain in all things. I figure if I can train myself into trying to always take an opposite view I will soon be thinking in completely different way - one that is searching and questioning. Questioning is one of the most powerful tools we have. A great problem solver is someone who can ask the cutting question to the heart of the problem. I have no idea if this is a worthwhile exercise, but hell, why not try it? 

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The last thought (which might be completely obvious) is that the future before us is one of technical language and understanding. The next generation must be able to speak and understand technical problems. They must know how to code. They must understand the language of engineers. I listened to several entrepreneurs and had no idea of what they were talking about. The world will continue to become digital and virtual. The building blocks of our companies, our economy, your personal life is technology. 

Cold shoulder.

 Besides being a song by Adele, that everyone should listen to/ like it, I've been getting a cold shoulder from a girl I barely know!

My monster of an Uncle, Rodney, suggested that I should date one of his nieces. No relation. Again, she is not related to me. No, she is not. NO. Nope. Uh-uh. Neva.

He said she was a "10", and that I shouldn't let the grass grow underneath her feet (whatever that means, I don't deal with fertilizer). Rod said that he talked me, made me sound good... so he lied... and anyone can find that out (thanks facebook for making my life transparent)....My uncle then gave me her number. Before I could call her, which should have been immediately, I got a call the next day from my uncle asking me if I had called. He followed up with me because a) this girl is awesome and wants me badly or b) he is worried sick about me. Which leads me to side note....

My family is truly worried about me, not because I am Ute (that does relate to their worries), but because I am not married. I am 24 and single. This is information about me, this doesn't conclude that I will be forever alone. That's not knowledge. Read a book. Then you'll get some knowledge. But I am getting constantly haggled about dating and people are trying to set me up. Call it what you want, I find it obnoxious, just like Tim Tebow. He is really annoying. Back to the story.

I call her. No answer. Hmmmmk. I am thinking. Why play hard to get? I mean, your aunt and unlce, okay, fine OUR aunt and uncle tried to set this up. Can't be a bad thing, right? It's legal! I let it go, kinda, as much as I can. So I don't. I fester.
Then a week later I text her. I was a little bugged that she never returned my call. Wouldn't you be? She texts back saying she is terrible at communication and all that monkey business (an idiom for being a liar). I give her the benefit of the doubt and wait till I am back in Utah to call. I do. She doesn't pick up. Pissed. Me. Off. She responds to my texts, that say stuff like, 'why are you bein lame? C'mon. Be real.' Because I ain't asking a girl out on a date over text. I call her two more times than I ever should have. Why? Pride. The whole thing didn't make sense to me. 

What kind of a person doesn't answer the phone? That was rhetorical, but I'll answer it for you, people without hands or manners! What kind of girl doesn't give a mercy date? Again, I'll take this one, a mean one. This affair was set up by OUR aunt and uncle. This was like an invite to Christmas party. All she had to do was show up. Actually, she just had to be picked up. This was more like me coming over to sing Christmas carols to her. I was asking to sing songs about Christmas... Alas, I gave up the ghost.

I can't wait till my uncle sees me and ask, "Well, my boy, how is my niece?" I will look up, gulp my confidence down, and say, "I never took her out." He will look at me, frown a bit, furrow his brow, and then say, "huh." That will be the end of our conversation and relationship. Thanks cold shoulder girl.

I like this. Thehe

Facebook... Part III

Can you believe it, here we are again, talking about facebook. Simply amazing.

I watched the movie and was entranced by the main character, Mark Zuckerber. I am sure hollywood dramatized him a little bit, but I just kept saying to myself, "Genius. This man is genius, and a jackass." Great movie though. The real Mark gets facebook. He understands what people want from facebook. Remember we discussed how you can be a detective? Well, he has managed to make this so much easier. You are friends with a person, you can click 'See Friendship' and you are given a history of all the interactions you have had with this person. The scary thing is that you can access this friendship link on another persons wall without being friends with them. Like lets say I am friends with Ray. Ray has this smoking hot friend tagging up pictures and commenting all over his wall. I want to see if they are more than friends. Boom. Got you Ray. You little carpetbagger.

There was this whole hoopla that facebook had designed an app to track who exactly was viewing your profile, but come to find out, Mark doesn't want that to happen. The whole point of facebook is to allow strangers to look at strangers and rank them. Right? I mean, for me it is about talking about Kobe, but people got all upset cause he doesn't have a moral fiber in his body... Go Kobe.

Rewind to five years ago. No facebook (I think). Back then girls wrote in their journal or diary, at least up until they were done with middle school. They usually wrote who they had a crush on, that was the only real hard evidence a man could obtain to know where he stood with this little lady. The problem is that facebook has turned adults into diary writing and picture taking fiends. Here is why I am so fired up. I am losing a battle to a guy that is over three thousand miles away. I've seen the evidence, but the predicament is that I can't really address it. How can I?  I basically looked in this girls journal and saw another mans name written on the pages. Now that I have this knowledge I do not know what to do. You can never really begin a constructive conversation with, "I saw on your facebook..." Then again, that could be old news. I tend to over analyze things, so I have been told. Lets say I did start that convo... then automatically I come across as a jealous, controlling, over analyzing freak. And even if that is partly true, no one wants to have that label on them. Kiss of death. I do know two things: 1. I am a fool. and 2. I need to quit living my life on facebook.

Facebook... part II

Oh, I am loving part II of things right now.

I have mocked facebook. I basically called it stupid, and for that, I must apologize. This is not because of the film, that I have yet to see, this is because facebook is genius. As with all genius inventions there are some draw backs, but let's focus on what facebook has done.

Facebook has allowed every single one of us to become a detective. Ah, we are all apart of the justice system. I am not really talking about taking criminals down, although facebook has been used to smoke some bad dudes. I am talking about the ability to spy, to see what is really going on, and that is why is a thing of beauty. You used to have to ask people around for information. You used to have to wait for people to give you hints and guide you to what is behind closed doors. Now, with a click of button you have access to a grip of information. Sure you can put up security blocks and what not, but ultimately, if people want to find something out, they will. This all sounds creepy, but let's face it, almost all of us like spying. We like to know what we are up against. People always tease each other about facebook stalking. It really happens though. We make a joke out of it to try and hide the fact that is goes on. You see a cutie at school, you find out the persons name, boom you type it in and then it all comes out. Scary. Pictures are worth a thousand words, but it doesn't really stop there.

Comments create a bridge between the gaps which help to better understand the story that is really going on. Creeper status. I know, I know, but seriously, brilliant. The sad part is people usually expose who they really are without intending to. Like what I am doing right now....I didn't really intend on letting anyone know that I facebook stalk. Listen though, be hunted or the hunter. This is just one aspect of facebook. I am sure there will be a facebook part III post, in which I tear it apart, but for now, it is genius.

Facebook.

We are all familiar with this re-created myspace. All of us are members of its club. We play its games. We poke each other. We post something dramatic, hoping someone will notice. And are constantly reminded of the people we need to "reconnect" with, people who have visited our profile, and upcoming events. But where did this come from? Why all of the sudden do we combat this urge to get online and check our notifications, hoping that we've been tagged in that recent road trip we went on?

You see, it all started with the cavemen. This need to post on walls. A caveman would need to boast his bounteous kill in the recent hunt. Communication was limited to grunting (despite what the geico man might say), so he drew a picture, which could convey a thousand words. Do you see where we are going with this? Egyptians, Mayans, Romans, all of the ancients did it. They of course had a designated people to carry out this important assignment... carving stories into walls.

Therefore, this is part of human nature, wall writing. We have saying about walls. "Can you see the writing on the wall" "They hit the wall" "Do you mind carving on my wall"... it is all around us. However, history is full of power hungry men wanting to limit others. Writing things down became more popular. Paper became accessible. And some jerk named Gutenberg, invented a printing press that almost destroyed the wall writers.

Despite the best efforts of the so called inventions and progress, there were those who held on to the core beliefs of wall writing. Although suppressed to the underground circles, it thrived. Spray paint liberated the gang members, who once again revived the forgotten art. The public saw this revitalized form of communication and wanted to participate. Bathroom stalls became a perfect way to update everyone, "MIKE WAS HERE", or give out numbers. YES! The revolution had begun. Most messages were uncouth and inappropriate, but it was still a light. A light that others followed.

Enter the modern age. Cyber walls. You, yes you, you are apart of the truest communication. Enjoy those walls. There are only character limits on comments, but the possibilities--limitless.

Song: Dan Black ft. Kid Cudi. Symphonies.