TelarIdeas

Here’s My App for That!

Published originally on March 12th, 2009

Need to scratch your back? There is an App for That – you may think. Well, not yet*. But the iPhone TV Ad reminds me of the times we live in when users just think of a need or problem and the web cornucopia seems to have an “App for That” at the other side of the search query. When not, the frustrated users build it and start to market it by themselves, at their own expense.

I was recently looking for an App to manage my 2 twitter accounts and avoid the inconvenience of logging in and out between accounts. I asked both my Twitter followers and Google.com for alternative apps and got several responses:Matt , Splitweet and Tweet3 on the web, Tweetie for the iPhone, MultiTweetDeck and Twhirl for desktops. I felt as if I was shopping for a pair of shoes in Zappos.com. There’s [already] an App for That: purple, free-spirit, minimalist, etc. Not only the variety but the “time to market” of these Apps grabbed my attention:

“And all in one single page (and all in less than a week, but it was only a silly personal challenge…) While we were developing the tool for ourselves, we thought that maybe it could be useful to other people with our same needs, and that was the origin of Splitweet. I think that the main value of Splitweet is that people can save time having all these features together in a simple interface. And, well, we are only 5 days old…”, says Albert of Splitweet.com

“And just as a fun fact we built it in 4 days. It was a challenge we set for ourselves…”, says @RyanCarson of Carsonified.com in this video.

“Multiple accounts have been really missing from TweetDeck. My frustration lead me to spend a day creating a small utility that lets me switch between multiple TweetDeck profiles…”, says Guy Rosen of Guyro.typepad.com

Years of building infrastructure layers, from semiconductors to web standards and APIs, are now paying off for any of us to create and be a part of the internet economy. Crisis and all, the possibilities for internet developers and entrepreneurs seem endless if we make up our minds. In a matter of days, you may also want to say: “Here’s My App for That!”

(*) This one is close! . But it may need a case with a surface like this. 

 

PSUVista: ¡A ti también te conviene decirle NO a la enmienda!

Te preguntarás: ¿por qué? La respuesta corta: Para que no nos pase a los Venezolanos con el PSUV lo que nos pasó con AD y Copei.  La respuesta larga: ¿te acuerdas de aquel Diciembre de 1998?

Con la llegada de las elecciones del 98, los Venezolanos estabamos todos emocionados con la expectativa de cambio, de mejora, de progreso.  En aquel momento dos rostros y partidos nuevos nos presentaban alternativas que nos invitaban a soñar un nuevo país.  Los Venezolanos estabamos preñados de esperanza y convencidos de que nos esperaban tiempos mejores.   El horizonte era promisorio.

Pero no solo nos embargaban los sueños de porvenir.  Estabamos frustrados, cansados y asfixiados por las mismas caras y los mismos partidos en el gobierno.  Los últimos 15 años en particular nos habían roto el bolsillo y habían mermado toda posibilidad de inclusión y justicia social.  Los gobiernos de esos años no habían logrado leer nuestras necesidades y aspiraciones como nación y por el contrario, repetían como un sello la forma de hacer país, con ideas que se habían quedado en el pasado, 40 años atrás.

Así que, irónicamente, aquellos semi-dioses que a finales de los 50 nos invitaban a los Venezolanos a soñar la nueva Venezuela solo producian desilusión décadas más tarde.  Su estilo de liderazgo había perdido vigencia y ellos no habían logrado entenderlo.  El tiempo los había dejado atrás por no escuchar a las bases y abrir espacios dentro de sus propios partidos para renovarse con liderazgos e ideas nuevas.  Con el transcurrir del tiempo, los líderes que originalmente habían sido eco de nuestras ilusiones, eran paredes sordas a nuestras aspiraciones de inclusión y progreso.

En 1998, un ciclo terminaba y otro comenzaba.  Por fortuna, y como tarde o temprano ocurre, el tiempo de crisis cultivó nuevos líderes.  Y gracias a una constitución que limitaba a 5 años los gobiernos, Hugo Chávez Frías llegó a la presidencia de Venezuela en 1999.  La constitución estuvo allí para proteger a los Venezolanos y garantizar el cambio pacífico de gobierno.  El término finito de gobierno impuesto por la constitución exigió una vez más un cambio y nos facilitó a los Venezolanos el derecho de soñar un mejor futuro sin necesidad de los cañones, las balas y sus muertos.

Enmendar la constitución actual para hacer de la reelección de gobernantes una posibilidad indefinida le garantizaría a Venezuela, al PSUV y a todo partido  político Venezolano un conflicto trás otro con cada nuevo período electoral.  Los gobernantes en el poder asfixirían cualquier posibilidad de liderazgos  emergentes, incluso en el seno de sus propios partidos.  No habría posibilidad alguna de volver a soñar una mejor Venezuela en paz.  Reviviríamos la desesperación de los 90 una y otra vez. ¡Los Venezolanos perderíamos tanto con la enmienda propuesta a nuestra constitución!

Más allá de las aspiraciones de uno están las necesidades y aspiraciones de uno y cada uno de todos nosotros como nación.  Si decidimos no enmendar la constitución, el presidente Chávez tendrá la oportunidad de madurar como politico y construir desde su partido, el PSUV tendrá la posibilidad de ver a sus jovenes y líderes natos emerger, y los Venezolanos tendremos la oportunidad de renovar nuestras esperanzas una vez más con cada término electoral.  Por fortuna, la constitución actual nos facilita este futuro si votamos NO.

Vota amigo PSUVista por tu futuro.  Vota NO.

Our Sam Perry "Mr.Man" jumps to the spotlight between Oprah and Obama

 

Today's front page of the Palo Alto Daily Post shows our good friend and fellow of the Reuters Digital Vision program at Stanford University, Sam Perry, as the new "Joe The Plumber" in the news today after Oprah reclined on his shoulder to cry on during Obama's speech in Grant Park in Chicago. See this post and video on the Huffington Post

Way to go Sam!

Shall we call this the "Joe The Plumber Effect"?

Sam Perry "Mr.Man" jumps to the spotlight between Oprah and Obama

Laborfair.com goes FREE on independence day!

I am very excited as Laborfair.com goes FREE! It will open up the opportunities for all our community of service providers and consumers in the home service market. This measure will catalyze growth and open the spectrum of what is possible for Laborfair.com with creativity and passion. We are building the trusted, safe and free home service spot on the web for all of you out there with needs around your home and family and we are excited about making it happen! Join us!

Jose
http://laborfair.com


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Paul Graham: Benevolence as a success factor in start-ups

"We do not need to see to have a vision" - Caroline Casey

"We all have potential... It's all about facing the demons and taking the risks."
Caroline Casey - The Aisling Foundation

Courtesy of Global X.

Una gota de cobijo (A drop of shelter)

Hoy muchos padres y madres en Venezuela y Estados Unidos viven momentos de angustia y  miedo.   

Unos en su propia tierra, al sur, no saben si perderán la potestad sobre los hijos, la propiedad que les dá refugio, la vida en una bala o el sueldo que les alimenta el día en un arrebato.  Los habitantes de ésta, mi tierra natal Venezuela, viven a diario una vida angustiosa, sin descanso, que convierte sueños y ahorros por igual en sal entre los dedos.

Hoy mi familia y yo estamos tan lejos pero vivimos tan cerca aquella nuestra realidad.  En este nuevo lugar común y de brazos abiertos para tantos de nosotros extranjeros,  son muchos sin embargo quienes viven momentos difíciles.  Hoy, este estado asume lamentablemente un rol inquisidor.  Y quienes una vez dejaron tantas caras en lágrimas y tomaron el riesgo de cruzar sus fronteras en búsqueda de trabajo y un mejor futuro para sus hijos viven hoy presos de la angustia y el miedo.

Solo aspiro que estas palabras y estas melodías viertan una gota de cobijo en sus espíritus mientras pasa la tormenta.  Con afecto,

Play Melancolía

Play Nostalgia

Sobre esta música:

Ambas, Melancolía y Nostalgia, son composiciones del maestro Rodrigo Riera, compositor  venezolano de la guitarra (1923-1999).  Estas piezas son parte de su Tríptico Venezolano - Melancolía, Monotonía, Nostalgia (1968).

Gracias a mi amiga Margarita Quihuis por prestarme su guitarra.

(English)

Today many parents in Venezuela and the USA live moments of distress and fear.

Some, in their own country, don't know if they are about to loose to the State the paternity over their own children,  the property that gives them shelter, their life to a lost bullet or their day wage to the attack of the unexpected.  The citizens of that, my own country, Venezuela, live a life in distress day in day out,  a nonstop distress that transforms both their dreams and little savings equally into airy salt in their hands.

Today, my family and I are both so far away and so close.   In this new commonplace, friendly and welcoming to many of us foreigners, many are however living through tough times.  Today, the state is regretfully assuming an inquisitor role.  And those that once left wet their loving eyes and crossed the south borders with no support but their own hope for a better future are facing fear and distress.

I hope these words and melodies pour a drop of shelter in your spirits while the storm passes by.  With affection.

About the music (see podcast links above):

Both Melancolía and Nostalgia are compositions of Rodrigo Riera, Venezuelan composer for the classical guitar (1923-1999).  They are part of his Venezuelan triptych - Melancolía, Monotonía, Nostalgia (1968)

I want to thank my friend, Margarita Quihuis, for lending me her guitar.

Inspired by Muhammad Yunus

I recently watched Muhammad Yunus full of joy, sharing his story and advocating for his ideas during his Nobel Lecture of December 10, 2006, at the Oslo City Hall, Norway. I was deeply inspired and connected to his values and believe. I would like to contribute my 2 cents in promoting his lecture in this post.

Muhammad Yunus talked about poverty as the absence of human rights and the need to promote social businesses either as non-dividend and not-for-losses businesses or those owned by their customers, the financially poor, as it is the case for Grameen Bank. Muhammad Yunus also talked about the need for a new kind of social business marketplace, the need to fight terrorism in the most sustainable way by diverting the developed nations spending from war into the poverty fight. He also shared all the diversifying efforts the Grameen organization is taking to address the multidimensional needs of the poor. Out of the many creative and incredible stories, he shared the initiative of lending to the beggars of Bangladesh. The Grameen bank today lends to 85,000 beggars. Out of those, 5,000 of them decided to transform themselves from beggars to door-to-door salesmen with the help of Grameen. It is wonderful to see that there is a deep belief in enterprising rather than charity as a mechanism to bring forth a sustainable future.

It was revealing for me to learn of his beginning as a professor, emotionally connected to people, troubled by the contrasts between theory and the reality out of the door of his classroom. He started finding ways to protect the dignity of the women borrowing from lenders who abused of their financial vulnerability. As he saw results in the little he thought he did initially, he looked at the traditional banking system to solve the borrower condition. But this banking system did not respond limited by its traditional practices, its lack of trust of customers and the demand for collateral. Thus, he decided to take it in his hand, from his own pocket literally.

This story was vivid to me, raised in a town surrounded and living with poverty. A reality we became used to. As I matured, this reality transformed from being natural to intolerable to me. My fellow Venezuelans, many of them, yet today, live vulnerable to the daily abuses of the imperfect market and a state that is unaccountable and ill-powered to respond and bring dignity and prosperity. After many years, the reality of exclusion and now segregation is there regardless of the good service that media and propaganda brings to my country government. I am just a new kid around the block. I am in Yunus late 70s. And I may not reach high and deep as he has. But watching Muhammad Yunus was supportive to this early, struggling path as social entrepreneur.

As Yunus, I believe in every human being regardless of his or her social and economical condition. Every one. The financial condition, the lack of access to basic human rights or any prejudice we may expectedly live with does not take away our humanity, our dignity, our creativity, our ability to prosper when given the chance and the right conditions. I firmly agree that it is not about charity. It is about giving opportunities and accompanying and supporting each other in the process.

For many years, I have been an advocate and practitioner of innovation. One of the convictions that I have always communicated to the youth is: “The world is what we want it to be. We have the power to change it and build the future we dream. What we have now is what we human beings created for ourselves given the conceptions of the times. But this does not have to be the future. In fact, it will not be. This is just a step in the long, continuously-emerging and erratic experiment called humanity.” I gladly heard Yunus bring that message loud and clear to inspire and support the many of us making our away through social enterprising.

Honor to Muhammad Yunus and the many who around him and in many other microfinance institutions are building this wonderful new world of hope, dignity and prosperity for every one.

Lecture movie: http://nobelprize.org/cgi-bin/asxgen.asx?id=88&type=lecture&year=2006

Lecture text:  http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2006/yunus-lecture-en.html

About time, money and knowledge as entrepreneurs

Learning is a wonderful and a slowly, painful process when we entrepreneurs are in early stages with no sustainable means and desperate for results. We want to go faster than what our human nature can take with its limiting structures, habits, social responsabilities and preconceptions.  The speed of learning is of essence for us as entrepreneurs. 

In fact what I am coming to realize is that we entrepreneurs have no time for learning.  Yes, no time for learning with a solo approach when it comes to action.  We should look for people that already know what we need to learn and team up with them to make things happen, in no time: mentors, partners, team members, volunteers, etc.

It is also of essence to recognize what strategies for financing our time and learning are the best with our given circumstances.  A "mother" entrepreneur who wants to keep her family needs a financing strategy different from a single, student entrepreneur leaving college.  This may look a trivial understanding but it is not.  (If anybody knows of such studies, please share it with this post.)

As I always like to look at things, there is a paradox in every story.  This one is no exception.  Early financing in "inadequate" degree can hamper the future of an initiative as the need is the mother of invention and financing may end up reinforcing the nonworking approaches and rather being the mother of costly and inappropriate solutions.  In fact, I would rephrase this famous statement by saying that the need is the mother of learning acceleration and as a consequence we invent.  Could somebody know of the right times and the adequate levels of financing?  probably after having done that and being there.

As my former advisor at MIT once told me, you just hope that you will do it  in time not to face an irreversible consequence you did not balance appropriately.   At this period of early-stage struggles, I am just hoping I will be able to keep my attention fronts in "dynamic" balance. 

This just sounded like a hymn to my Aha moment, my frustrations and my stubborn perseverance.  Moving along.

The meaning of a kiss

Harrasment? Fear? Mistrust? Political populism? Well, the meaning has become so complex with all the distortions and prejudices created by our political affairs, social disconnectedness, and their consequential mistrust and fears, that a kiss is not a kiss anymore.  Where did we leave compassion? love? solidarity? gratefulness? human empathy?

Not only the human complexities of these two events grabbed my attention, but the way I learnt about them.   Enjoy the power of these conversational voices , unitedirelander and geriatric1927, expressing their frustration and struggle to make sense of a kiss,     a kiss.

Geriatric1927:

United Irelander:
http://unitedirelander.blogspot.com/2006/07/vicar-steps-down-for-cheek-kiss.html