Fiction: SXSW Homeless HotSpots
At SXSW, the annual tech startup conference in Austin, 13 homeless men are hanging around the conference center wearing white shirts that say “I’m _____, a 4G hotspot.” Each is carrying a wireless internet device, and for a PayPal donation, will provide conference-goers with internet access for as long as they want. .
—
We had long since left the cities and the plains and forest. Now it was heat and dirt. Mother trailed behind us both. Her coughs were getting worse. The dust did something terrible to her. Father had tied a rope to her hand and attached it to his kit. When she fell, it grew taught, and he turned from his silent lumbering to help her up.
We followed the path it gave us. It never told you when, but eventually, past that point where your lungs claim you can’t go any further, you would arrive at a node. I could tell when we were close because Mother’s smile, a beautiful thing, and the dimple that graced it, would transition to a frown, then on to a grimace.
Father told me these used to be shipping containers, used to move things by oil-driven ships. I don’t know whether to believe him or not. All I know is that once they take your pack to charge it, which takes two days, they gave you food, beds, showers, fresh water – even medicine. Mother always looked better when we left.
Father’s back was too weak from the war, so I carried the pack. On the rare occasion we met Consumers, they would invariably comment on this sight. For them, I was too young, the pack too heavy. This was not what they thought they were paying for.
In response, Father would look them in the eye and say, “My son carries this family’s future. I am proud that he does.” I would stare at my feet, pretend I didn’t hear, but I always did, and his words always marked my happiest moments. The Consumers would nod sagely, as if they understood, and then would disappear into their networld.
—
Part of my ongoing startup dystopia series. Previous installments here.
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Announcing: PotteryPrint
Been working with Cameron and Brian on a cool concept. It is a way to get kids engaged with two of the coolest technologies of our time. It’s called PotteryPrint.
We just launched the Kickstarter campaign. You can check it out here. Please donate if you can. We have some cool rewards lined up. You can also sign up to hear about it as it develops here.
Would love to hear your thoughts. I’ll be posting about why this and why now in the next couple days.
On Zipcar’s Future Metropolis Index
ZipCar commissioned some research on the future of American cities as thriving economic engines. Zipcar’s capitalizing on the fractional ownership concept. That’s forward thinking. That’s cool. So I thought this would be interesting research.
It’s not.
Here’s the first half of the list, the rest is after the fold.
What’s wrong?
Really bizarre metrics. It tested innovation (free wifi spots + degree granting institutions), sustainability (hybrids + bike lanes), creativity (parks, art jobs/businesses), efficiency (public transportation), livability (unemployment crime).
Totally ignored HUGE trends and indicators that matter:
- Unrest potential. For example, El Paso is ranked #1 for livability “due to its lowest homicide rate and second lowest burglary rate.” Assumes no spillover violence from Mexico.
- Foreclosures tear holes in social fabric. Not checking for this is like declaring a patient healthy without checking for cancer.
- Nature of industry. Could have checked for the number of people who report as self employeed/consultants/etc. (Instead, they used wifi hotspots and degree granting institutions.)
- Production. Creativity was measured by park land area. What? Urban gardens would be a much better metric. Solar energy production capacity. These constitute real sustainability, not bike lanes and hybrid cars.
Book Contest Update
Had 91 guesses as to what company my upcoming book is about. Thanks! The winner of the $10 Amazon gift card has been notified via email.
Here’s the breakdown, which was fun to see:
- 26 – Apple
- 23 – Facebook
- 19 – Google
- 15 – Amazon
- 7 – Twitter
- 1 – Oracle
The correct answer? You guys did well, it was Apple.
If you’re on , you’ll see the cover art in the next few days. More soon.
Review – Endless Appetites: How the Commodities Casino Creates Hunger and Unrest
Endless Appetites: How the Commodities Casino Creates Hunger and Unrest.
This book takes a deep dive world hunger/food scarcity. Get this if you’re interested in either topic. It’s probably going to be the book on this topic. The author has the bio for this, he gets the farmer perspective (having been one himself), but also the high finance. That’s refreshing.
Beware though, that this is a slog to get through. It’s was probably written with the college classroom in mind, so it has a kind of textbook feel. I could only consume it in small doses, and it took me 2 months, which is pretty rare on my part.
That said, what slows you down is the extreme research that went into this. He makes a cogent, detailed case for just how financial speculation and general mismanagement has led to world hunger.
Worth knowing.