Thoughts On Business

Running a business is the most exhilarating and challenging experience of my life, rivaled only by my tours overseas. What I've learned in a very short time is that very few people actually know what they are doing, while most of us are just trying to figure it out. Here I hope to share my own insights and opinions, in the hopes that my experiences can be of some value.

Thoughts on The BaseCamp Mass Exodus

Published in Business on May 2, 2021

Like many, I have found myself enthralled with what happened at BaseCamp this past week. Mainly because it affects me personally. No, I don’t work at BaseCamp, but I do have startups, have operated and exited a startup, and like Jason and David, share very similar beliefs in how to lead teams and build companies.

While I have grown apart from their social persona’s, especially David, I find alignment, and have for years, in their ideas. Specifically those about where work really happens, remote work, and other similar cultural positions in today’s modern tech business.

Their latest position on what is, and is not acceptable, was no different for me. It was similar to prior positions and highlighted the real challenge many founders and operators have when they are building their teams (especially today). My alignment with their thinking comes from first-hand experience that comes with the very complex business of people management.

That being said, it is important to note that people management is far from a binary problem as a friend of mine said. To which I agree wholeheartedly, and it’s at the core of my personal philosophies on building teams. This is foundational to how I personally think, lead, and ultimately, the actions I traditionally take.

But surely, with so many leaving, it’s a clear sign of unity amongst their employees, and a clear sign the policy change was wrong! right?

Mass Exodus Brought on by Arrogance

Any time a company of any size loses a 1/3 (and growing) of their employees it’s a horrific thing, at least it would be to any outsider. But what if it’s not?

I was exchanging some emails with another founder and operator friend of mine, doing our own HBR case study on what could be happening and the potential impacts. We awed at the spectacular nature of it all.

But the real irony is how political BaseCamp is as a company!! “Live by the sword, die by the sword”.

Can a change like this, a policy, really bring about this type of exodus?

While possible, we couldn’t help but think this severe a response was indicative of a much bigger problem within the organization. This was simply the spark that set the blaze. While impossible to know from the outside, there was one common theme I attribute to the mass exodus – arrogance.

The Power of Arrogance

The arrogance to believe it was necessary to bring a private policy to the public sphere. The arrogance to be so deaf to the social state of the world. The arrogance to believe you could win a public debate on such a sensitive topic in the social sphere. The arrogance to offer 6-month severances if you don’t like the new policies. No matter how silly I might find it, I can’t help but marvel at it.

It’s this thinking that will drive this form of thinking:

Not worried about it at all;
Great time to trim some of the excess weight you pick up over time as a company;
Great time to see what roles we really need, and who we really want to hire;
We’ll be perfectly fine, we’ve been at this for 20+ years;

And, they will be correct.

At some level, many of us that start things, and run things, have some level of arrogance. It’s what allows us to do the things we do. So much so that it begs the question – was this planned? expected? was it acceptable?

Was the Exodus expected?

Another very curious thought process came up with another founder/operator friend, it went something like this:

“you know, it’s hard to believe that they didn’t know what was going to happen with something so controversial.”

For non-operators and founders, you might be appalled by this kind of thinking. But for those that are, there has likely been some point in your experience where you sat back and thought to yourself:

Why do I have so many people?
What does everyone even do?
Why does it feel like I’m moving slower today, than when I was a fraction of the size?
How do you even downsize at this point?
Do I need these people? Who don’t I need?

This happens in all organizations. The problem, however, is it especially difficult to tackle. Surely, everyone is gainfully employed? Where do you even begin to trim the fat? Especially when it’s not mandated by economics, investors, or some other external force? How can you consciously make the decision – I’m doing great, but want to downsize?

You then look at what BaseCamp did.

Compare their actions to how they think. They have traditionally focused purely on optimization, focus, when it comes to business, people and products, it makes all the sense in the world. For as much noise as they create outside of work, they value silence inside their organization. You hear it in their interview about sanity in the office space, and see it in their product refocus efforts (e.g., 37 signals focuses on BaseCamp, kills other products). So why would this be any different? because it involves people?

I would wager that in some virtual hallway, there was a conversation of the potential impacts and the various outcome were deemed acceptable. More important than having all these people, and having their skills, was having people that were aligned in their mission.

For those that argue that this will set them back, hurt them financially, etc… while you’re right, you’re also wrong. It’s right in the short-term, but wrong in the long term. Will it set them back? Sure, any time you have one key person leave, it’s always tough, make a 1/3 of your company and it will be felt at all levels. But, I don’t think it will be as severe as many might make it out to be. But will it also help them? Absolutely. This will help them clear the deck, start over and further optimize the business. For every person that left, there is an opportunity to invest in a new person and tackle a problem more efficiently.

For as fast as they lost people, they will backfill them and it’s possible that as a company they will be happier and more focused moving forward.

Lessons for Founders and Operators

If you’re thinking the lesson here is that your company should lean heavier into social issues, and foster social spaces internally, I would argue it isn’t. Unless it’s something you’re passionate about, I would recommend the complete opposite – stay away from it, leave it alone, and make it exponentially clear where your position is from the onset with all employees.

Here are the things that I take away from it:

1 – Nothing good comes from this kind of transparency and social debate for the company itself. There is no amount of explaining it away. For example, David actually does a wonderful job of explaining his thinking in his Mosaics of Positions piece but it fell on deaf ears in the fickle social, public, debate.

2 – Today, more than ever before, it is imperative that companies make their priorities, and focus, clear. If that is who you are, all the more power to you. But if it’s not, make it clear.

We are a company that does X, and this is what we focus on. We will not lean into social or political issues as a brand, or into those things that don’t directly affect what we’re doing. Our focus is on our people (employees and customers) and the company, and yes, we are a private, for-profit, business.

While we don’t ask for alignment on political, or social beliefs, we do ask for alignment on who we are as a company. If that is not for you, then we might not be the company you want to work at.

3 – For those of us that are creating these businesses, creating these products and services that solve really interesting problems, you are not alone. You are not crazy for failing to understand the hysteria of it all. You are not crazy for appreciating, and understanding, the negative impacts of these things on people, your company, and productivity. And it’s absolutely ok to focus on work.

4 – For as many founders and operators slamming BaseCamp, there are just as many that agree silently for fear of retaliation and being labeled. Agreeing does not make you evil, or a bad leader.

It’s Ok to Focus On What You Do

Published in Business on April 27, 2021

Starting a company is excruciatingly difficult. I am convinced you have to have a predisposition for risk and punishment. No one cares, until they all care, and even that is short lived – nothing more than a blip on the radar in retrospect.

That being said, running a company is in a different sphere in it of itself. By far, the hardest part of it is managing people, more specifically the people dynamics, expectations and emotions.

I can almost guarantee that no one starts a company thinking, “my goodness, I just can’t wait to enact these new human resource policies, or I cannot wait to jump head first into social debates…” The sad reality, however, is that in today’s reality, if you don’t have the fortitude to block out the noise you will need to plan for it.

11 Things to Consider Before Making the First Hire

Published in Business on March 29, 2021

I once sat in a meeting where a leader was making a case to hire another 50 people on their team in the coming year. It’s the only way we’ll hit our targets, achieve our goals they exclaimed. I remember sitting there thinking – “wow, wonder what they’re all going to do.” A year later the goals weren’t hit, but everyone was hired. Turns out it was never really about the people.

When you’re first getting started the most precious thing you have is “focus” and hiring is the anti-focus.

Stop Thinking, Start Doing

Published in Business on November 27, 2020

The biggest lie we tell ourselves is that we can’t do something because we lack the knowledge in something or we don’t have this one thing. We spend more time looking for answers on how to do something, than just doing it.

Over the past few years I have spoken with countless startup executives in the tech industry. These are not the Silicon Valley types, I do not do well with these.

They are quiet, humble, disconnected from the valley noise executives building amazing solutions to interesting problems. They are almost all bootstrapped, an Angel round sprinkled here and there. They don’t lie to themselves about who they are, and yet, have built businesses that range between $10 – $50 M a year in revenue.

In all instances they have spent over a decade building their business. They don’t have the institutionalization everyone speaks to in regards to executives, teams or processes. Frameworks is not a term that comes freely in their vocabulary.

What they do share, however, is time invested, intimate knowledge of the problem they are solving, and a will to do. They almost all grew organically, choosing to grow slowly and modestly vs burning cash in the hopes of exponential growth. They didn’t wait to have all the knowledge, instead they leaned in and started doing knowing the knowledge will come with time.

The biggest gift you can give yourself is to distance yourself from the noise. Stop focusing on the answers everyone is offering, and focus on the answers you already have.

You need less than you think to start, so start.

The Selling Process

Published in Business on July 23, 2020

What does the selling process consist of? This seems to be one of the most common questions I get when I talk to other Founders. This article is designed for them, and shares insights I’ve collected over the years.

The selling process is comprised of five distinct phases – Courting, Terms, Due Diligence, Signing, and Closing. Every phase has a very distinct experience, and a sphere of power exists in each.

The insights I share in this article are personal observations and are not representative of any one entity, but a collection of thoughts based on over a dozen or so different entities I have been a part of, or assisted through the process.

Introducing Power

Every process has a power dynamic.

Power should not be perceived in a derogatory way, but in terms of having the upper hand. Negotiation are a game of chess, there is a strategy and pieces are being moved at all times. Throughout the game, someone has the upper hand. Is it you?

Simplified Example: When you initiate the engagement looking for an acquisition, the power is in the buyers hands. They know you want, or need them. When the strategic engages you, you have the power. They want something you have, or need it.

Power comes in the form of who has the ability to dictate terms, who is moving the ball down the field, and who has the ability to set favorable options. Sometimes it’s the buyer, sometimes it’s the seller.

Power is not the same through the entire process. Starting with power doesn’t mean you end with power. Power flows freely through every engagement.

The smartest buyers and sellers know when to concede the battle to win the war.

Phase I – Courting

Courting doesn’t always happen. In my last article, Preparing for an Exit, I referenced a friend who got a call from Google one day offering them 100’s of millions and they had never spoken. As amazing as that is, that’s not the norm.

For most, there is a courting period even if you realize it or not. Courting periods can start by a simple partnership. A strategic that is looking to partner is naturally curious about providing a specific service to their audience. Will it catch? Can we integrate? What would the economics look like? Does it solve a problem for our customers?

Courting materializes in a number of other ways as well. Regardless of how it starts, it’s the honeymoon phase where everyone is getting to know each other. Every engagement is an opportunity to learn a little something more about how one party does business, and slowly everyone starts thinking if there is something viable in this relationship.

The power in this phase is typically found in the one that isn’t pursuing. If a strategic is knocking on your door, the power is in your hands. If you are engaging the strategic, the power is in their hands. Power can also be found in the one telling the compelling story, helping to connect the dots, the ones painting this utopian picture of what could be.

The dating phase is what helps figure out if there is a potential for marriage, and what eventually leads to Terms, or an LOI.

Phase 2 – Terms

Once every one is done realizing how much they love each other, it will get serious really quick with a document known as the Term Sheet. Depending on the organization, it might also be the Letter of Intent (LOI).

These documents are clearly stating a parties interest to acquire the other. This is one of the more critical points in the process that is often overlooked.

This comes at the tail end of the courting phase so you’re most likely excited and ready to get going. You establish some arbitrary terms and say, “We’ll figure this out during the due diligence. It’ll be fine.”

This one document, however, does something very important for both parties. The buyer gets exclusivity. The seller can get guardrails, but often don’t capitalize on this opportunity.

The buyer wants to get you locked in as quick as possible, they don’t want a bidding war. Exclusivity helps provide this. For a buyer the trick is to get the seller into the term quickly before others smell the blood in the water. The exclusivity can go anywhere between 30 – 60 days, depending on the organization.

The seller should absolutely keep their options open. If you are going to entertain one buyer, you might as well entertain others. As kumbaya as it might feel with one buyer, you have a fiscal responsibility to yourself and your team. When you do sign the terms, aim for a low exclusivity period, within reason. If more time is needed, and it’s progressing as you like, an extension is easy to file.

This is one of the last times that the power has the potential to be in the hands of the seller. It’s why it’s so critical for the seller to spend more time. on this phase. How much a company wants you determines how much power a seller actually has. If you are selling because you have to sell, or feel you need to, the power is going to be in the buyers hands. If you do not have to sell, but are naturally curious about the process, you have exponential power at this phase.

Terms can be as shallow or deep as you want them to be. For those with power, I encourage you to bolster the terms to be more descriptive of things like value, warranties, earn-out periods, expected deliverables, and people. This will help introduce guardrails, these guardrails will prove invaluable when you’re negotiating the actual deal (next phase).

Tip: It’s impossible to know what will surface during the due diligence process, and the specifics of any contract but you should have a basic understanding of the basic structure. Have in your mind the three to five things that are critical to you, and your team. These things will function as your light-tower when it’s dark and foggy and you can’t make head from tail.

Phase 3 – Due Diligence

Many have undoubtedly read or heard horror stories about what this process is like. It can be as bad as you envisioned, better, or worse. It really depends on how prepared you are as a company.

The due diligence will have little to do with understanding the product fit and market opportunity, and everything to do with the artifacts expected of a business. What really exasperates the situation are the multiple work streams happening, and the various teams you will end up working with. This is especially true if the buyer is exponentially larger and you are what I consider a rounding error in revenue and team size to them (e.g., seller makes $1m a year in ARR, buyer makes $1B a year in ARR -> This is a rounding error).

You will assume that the buyer should have a playbook for how these goes, and some do, but many more don’t. You might find yourself at the head of their new acquisition playbook development process.

Either way, the invasiveness of the process is really dependent on the entity. What you can expect is for a document to be thrown over the fence. They will ask you for artifacts that you have never heard of, or maybe read in a business book. The best advice here is to get comfortable with this statement, “Sorry, we don’t have this.” Realize that for many, they will be going off a check list and just doing their job. There will be little emotion to the process, so don’t let it get into yours.

Do not, under any circumstances turn this into an artifact creation process. On that note, understand that not having specific artifacts (e.g., financials, architecture diagrams, etc..) can be used to revisit valuations.

Tucked into this process is the actual negotiations and associated documents. Probably the most important piece, but sometimes lost in the chaos of the noise. Having a deep term sheet will help provide a much needed rudder for this process.

The power in this phase undoubtedly shifts firmly into the hands of whomever is asking the questions and writing the contract, typically the buyer.

By design, attorney’s have their entities best interest in the forefront of their mind. It doesn’t mean they are malicious in the process, but unconscious bias applies. Be prepared for double-negatives, run on sentences, and paragraphs for explanations that require one sentence. This is where your attorney is worth their weight in gold.

I don’t think there is really a way around this process. Mitigate potential risk later by ensuring the terms are structured in a way that they offer you the appropriate guard rails later. You want to come out on the other as close to what you were hoping when you entered the process.

Tip: There is not a definitive way things are done. Every organization is different, but every organization does have a preferred way. That is what they mean, when they say, “This is how it’s done.” Leverage your naiveness in the process to ask questions, and challenge the status quo. The biggest limitation to any contract is typically your own creativity. Listen to every word carefully because through the process, they are implicitly describing the things that matter most. It is on you to find them.

Phase 4 – Signing

I considered consolidating phase 4 and 5, but I separated them intentionally. They are not always one and the same.

You don’t necessarily close when you sign, but you can sign and close at the same time.

There is often a grace period between the time you sign and close, and that grace period itself is the power.

The grace period is used to for a number of different reasons. It can deliver insight into something that was identified during the due diligence phase. It can also be used to get confirmation of a specific contract, maybe legal, or tax, clarification on a specific subject.

General rule of thumb is to keep it as short as possible. You don’t actually get your money, or start the clock until the actual close.

The last thing you want is a 30 day grace period where everyone has a new boss, but you haven’t technically received anything. Long grace periods are typically reserved for very large deals, while most smaller deals are typically within 2 weeks.

Phase 5 – Close

The close is when you are actually done. The money has been wired, you’re eyeing your first ridiculous purchase. The documents are signed. Your company is now owned by someone else.

Funny enough, you will actually sign the closing documents days prior, and everyone’s signatures will be in escrow. You will likely get together with the company on the day of and wait for the call from all the attorney’s that everything is kosher, and that’s it. Once the thumbs up is given, you’re done. Let the fun begin.

You might find yourself thinking, “that’s it?”

Depending on the company, there might be some fan fare. They might make some public announcements, share with the teams. There will be a stream of congratulations coming your way, but all this will subside in 24 / 48 hours and the normal hum of integrations will commence.

Now you will update your social profiles with Former, and ask yourself, was it worth it? For many, you won’t really know the answer for years to come. For some, you’ll know right away.

Navigating a Deal is Not for the Feint of Heart

Through this entire journey you will be running multiple streams for the process itself, while also trying to run the company.

This will create exponential distractions. These distractions will manifest themselves physically in exhaustion, depression, anxiety, and frustrations, while also having a material impact on the business itself.

If there is one thing to remember through the entire process, this is a business transaction. Do not allow yourself to be distracted, or consumed, by niceties. As nice and friendly as things might appear, everyone is doing a job. Every one gets frustrated through the process.

These damn founders! These damn corporate types!

When you start feeling as if something is a personal attack, take a moment to disconnect, consult a friend to get a different perspective, and most importantly, pick up the phone. Email, chat and text are the worst when it comes to these types of engagements.

Going through a process is one of the toughest and loneliest things you’ll likely experience as an entrepreneur. It can also be one of the most rewarding. I share these experiences, and insights, because these are the things I wish I would have known when going through the process. Some were things I experienced, others are things I have seen, and some more are things I have helped others navigate.

Tip: Up the point that you close, you technically have the ability to walk away from the deal. This is the ultimate power that any seller has through the entire process, but it’s only as powerful as your willingness to leverage it.

Lastly, go into the deal with eyes wide open. If you have a small business being purchased by a big business you are about to enter a very different world. Your executive sponsor might not be there in 12 months, the team you report to might not be the same in 6 months, the companies strategy might change dramatically in 3 months. In other words, there is no stupid question through this process and don’t be ashamed, or embarrassed, to ask for assurances and protections.

Wish you all the best.

Negotiations are a Game of Chess, Not Checkers

Published in Business on July 21, 2020

Negotiating a deal for your company is one of the most nerve wrecking processes you will go through in your entrepreneurial journey. Whether you’re raising capital, exiting, or buying a company, the stresses are similar across each event.

Tony, you are playing checkers in a chess game.

One of the most profound insights I ever received about the M&A process is the difference in gamesmanship between a seasoned M&A practitioner, and a founder.

Yes, You will Have to Hustle

Published in Business on June 15, 2020

I continue to see the rise in the “anti-hustle” movement in tech startup. While it is one perspective, I don’t think it’s an absolute for all. Honestly, I think it sends the wrong message to those starting out.

The anti-hustle movement is this idea that it doesn’t have to be crazy. That you don’t have work every day, four days is enough. That you don’t have to lose yourself in your work. That you don’t have “hustle”.

This might be true for a very small select group of individuals, but for the masses the opposite is true. Advise, without context, is mostly ineffective and, often, disingenuous.

Decentralizing Social Platforms

Published in Business on June 12, 2020

The past few years I have grown more disenfranchised with closed-platforms, specifically social platforms. This idea that a conglomerate is built on our information, our data, is wrong. It provides a warm fuzzy to say that social frameworks exist not to abuse our data, our content, but the reality is it does very little beyond that when push comes to shove.

Social Platforms Should Not Be Arbiters of Truth

Published in Business on May 29, 2020

President Trump, the current US president, recently shared a post on Twitter sharing his beliefs on the new move for more mail-in Ballots in California. In it he talked to the risks, from being substantially fraudulent, to the theft, and forgery.

There is NO WAY (ZERO!) that Mail-In Ballots will be anything less than substantially fraudulent. Mail boxes will be robbed, ballots will be forged & even illegally printed out & fraudulently signed. The Governor of California is sending Ballots to millions of people, anyone…..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 26, 2020

The Tweet Twitter Decided to Fact Check

Twitter decided that this was the right time to introduce their fact-checking service. They did so by appending the following to the tweet:

Preparing For An Exit

Published in Business on May 12, 2020

In my last article I shared the journey we embarked on when selling Sucuri.

In this article I will share insights I have collected over the past decade working with all types of organization. These are just a few of the things I wish I knew before, and things I believe will help improve your business hygiene in anticipation of an exit.

This article is comprised of observations, insights, opinions and not designed to be reflective of how any one entity does business. It should not be used to reverse engineer insights for any one organization as its cumulative insight from over two dozen corporations, public and private, and biased to my limited insights and engagements.

Do You Have Something Worth Buying?

Selling a Startup

Published in Business on May 3, 2020

Experience would suggest there is no blueprint to how, or when, to sell. In the end, it falls on your intuition as the founder, or executive. There is, however, a magical delta, a sweet spot, that you want to be considerate of.

Selling Sucuri made one thing abundantly clear.

Never sell too early, and never sell too late. If you know you plan to sell, then you sell when you believe you are at the pinnacle of what great looks like. If you don’t want to sell, make sure you realize that some day you might.
Tony

My personal learning style is to extract nuggets of information from others experiences. To do this, I will share with you the story of Sucuri, and why we sold. There is no right or wrong in this story, it’s just the story and experience that you can leverage as you see fit.

The Open Web is Dying

Published in Business on April 29, 2020

It’s difficult to comprehend that there would be anything else more important right now than public health and the COVID-19 pandemic, but in the midst of it all, there is a very dangerous precedent being set in the world of tech that will have a lasting impact on our lives.

The open web is changing dramatically, and not for anything that resembles openness, and the world seems to be ok with it.

Disclaimer: This post is not about politics, or health. It is, however, about technology, our responsibility as technologists and trying to create a future where our future selfs don’t hate ourselves.

What is the Open Web?

The term “open web” is often overused, and often, a misunderstood phrase.

It is the idea that the web we interface with should continue to be open and transparent. It’s the genesis for how the internet, and subsequent web, was created. It argues for the idea that openness is the pillar of civilized society, one in which a more informed, educated and civic society is how we progress as a society.

The simple premise of the open web is that it is open for all its users and managed by all its users. The spirt of the web was never for the centralization of control for any one entity, private or government. The web has become part of our social fabric.
Tony Perez

In contrast, a closed web has the opposite effect. It becomes an ecosystem controlled by a few, proprietary technology proliferates and potentially governments. The end result is that innovation is stifled. Does this sound familiar?

It should. It’s what we are seeing and experiencing with the proliferation of platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Medium, Google and many others we have come to be reliant on as a society.

The open web is not an absolute concept. It is continuously evolving as the technical landscape evolves (e.g., self-driving vehicles, Internet of Things (IoT), etc…). It is also the foundation of key legislative movements around the world. In the US, they have helped form things like Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), Protect IP Act (PIPA), and principles like Net Neutrality.

How is The Open Web Dying?

You can argue that the openness of the web has been dying for the past decade. For the web, death comes in the form of a centralization of control and power, and arbitrary authoritarian changes made for the “greater good.”

The current state of our fear for the safety of public health has created the perfect event to push the pendulum out of balance.

Let there be no mistake in our minds, the actions that my fellow technologists, and associated companies, are taking, and pushing, are things that society as a whole will feel in the not so distant future.

The scariest part for me is that as a technologists, I have seen first hand what an organization can do with unfettered access to data, when the checks and balances are lost, when we believe we are the ones capable of dictating what is good for society, on their behalf, without choice, and what a little power can do to any person.

What further amplifies the concern is that it is not government that is driving this “big brother” state of affairs, its big tech. These are entities that are not elected officials, but corporations that transcend physical and logical boundaries. They have the ability to influence what you see, what you think, and they have the ability to choose sides.

Overreaching for Your Safety

There are two very specific events that are happening that I believe we should all be extremely concerned about:

Contact-Tracing
Censorship

Contact-Tracing

On April 29,2020 Apple and Google released a virus contact tracing feature to app makers with health organization (for phase I).

What does this mean?

This means they have exposed what is known as an Application Programming Interface (API) that will allow app developers ingest information from your devices. This will apply to both Android and iOS devices; OS’s that have 86.1% (Android) and 13.9% (iOS) market share of smartphones in circulation.

In its simplest form, it will require a user to input their health information into their phones, then health organizations can build apps to consume that data. Then, using bluetooth technology, they will be able to analyze a users behaviors and whom they have come into contact with. Building a web of social behavior information.

The initial release will notify a user if they come in proximity of a user that has been diagnosed to have, or have had, COVID19 via some form of notification system.

What could possibly go wrong if society as a whole can now identify who is sick? Regardless of your political position, or where you stand on the COVID19 issue, I think we can all agree that this level of invasion of privacy should never be tolerated.

Society as a whole is not ready for that level of insight. The fact is, as humans, we are susceptible to our irrational, and sometimes, ignorant beliefs. It doesn’t take much to see what is happening around the world as Asians are being attacked for fear of being “Chinese.” Do we really think that notifications on people’s phone is something that we can handle?

This also raises the question, if this type of visibility should ever be built. Once we accept this for COVID19, what stops us form doing it for those diseases that have any level of mortality (because death is death). What if you have HIV/AIDS? What about H1N1? What about Ebola, SARS? Or what about the next pandemic?

By the way, this is only Phase I. Phase I will have a heavy reliance on apps, which translates to user input and health organizations having to build their own consumption platform.

Phase II will break its dependency on apps, according to Google and Apple.

A second phase of the project, to be released in the coming months, will have deeper integration with Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android operating systems to rely less on apps.
Bloomberg

Do you wear a Google Watch? Do you track your health in any of the iOS apps? What happens in a world where health official establish a set of health indicators (e.g., high fever, heart beat, etc..) that are indicative of disease.

What happens in a world where governments enforce their control and take control of systems, for the greater good. Have we seen this happen anywhere?

Censorship

What exactly is censorship?

The suppression or prohibition of any parts of books, films, news, etc. that are considered obscene, politically unacceptable, or a threat to security.

Let’s take a look at what has happened in April 2020 to date, across two of the most prominent platforms on the web – YouTube and Facebook.

1 – YouTube

In April 2020, Susan Wojcicki, YouTube CEO, announced that they would begin removing information that is problematic. She went on to explain that it would be “anything that is medically unsubstantiated.”

Providing a very specific example:

So people saying ‘take vitamin C; take turmeric, we’ll cure you’, those are the examples of things that would be a violation of our policy….Anything that would go against World Health Organization recommendations would be a violation of our policy.
Susan Wojcicki

Then, in April of 2020, two Doctors from Bakersfield, California released their own press release. In it, they openly shared their findings and observations.

This was not a case of individuals selling snake oil. They were sharing their observations, and opinions. Right or wrong, is not the point. It’s the process of normal debate and discourse. They were also seasoned medical professionals.

Shortly after its release, it was removed from the platform. Because it didn’t conform to the guidance from the World Health Organization (WHO). Say what?

It seems a far stretch to remove their content simply because it doesn’t conform to WHO, and goes contrary to spirt of the examples Susan provided. In essence, YouTube is saying you are not allowed to disagree with WHO, at all; do so, and your content will be removed. But what if they are wrong? Are we not allowed to question that?

That is how science and society works, or at least it should. Everyone working together to come to something that makes sense in a world where nothing makes sense. This level of discourse has been one of the things that makes the web what it is, it has been its beauty and power.

Make no mistake, this is censorship in the worst way and sets a horrible precedent. One that should cause every one of us to take pause, and consider the implications of what this means now, and in the future. Today you might agree because you believe their analysis is wrong, and believe in the stay-at-home orders, but what happens when it doesn’t align with your beliefs? What happens when something is removed because it conforms to what your respective government deems inappropriate?

Do we need to go far to see where else this is happening? How it is affecting societies? China? Russia? North Korea? Venezuela? Cuba? New York? Bay Area?

2 – Facebook

In April 2020, Facebook announced it would ban protest events that violate social distancing rules.

Events that defy governments’ guidance on social distancing aren’t allowed on Facebook
Facebook spokesperson to The Verge

Mark Zuckerberg went on to clarify why they are removing the events:

We do classify that as harmful misinformation and we take that down
Mark Zuckerberg

For those in other countries this might be normal, but in the US these are unprecedented actions.

How do you put this genie back in the bottle?

Once it’s demonstrated that a company has this level of power, how, who, draws the distinction between what government policies they conform with, and which you don’t? What happens when society as a whole disagrees? How do you say yes to state government, but not Federal? How do you tell China, Cuba, North Korea they are wrong for their censorship when we do the same thing?

Our Responsibility as Technologists

I am extremely torn by what I am seeing. It makes it especially difficult because I’m a capitalist. I love free markets. It’s been through these mechanism that I have achieved the things I have and how I live my life.

It’s even more painful because I’m also a technologist. I love building solutions to interesting problems. But I’ll be honest, I feel distressed by what is happening and what appears to be acceptance by other technologists and entrepreneurs that I would typically admire and respect.

What is especially distressing for me is that there is little I see that we can do to reverse the course of events. The most practical approach is a decentralized system that protects the web, but I fear that we have moved well beyond the practicality of a change like that.

That fact is that a very large percentage of society won’t even understand what is happening, and frankly, won’t care, at least until they find themselves wondering why they can’t find information on the web, or why they are wearing a digital golden star.

When we build technologies that have the ability to dramatically affect people globally, it’s imperative that we remove our political and personal biases and focus on the technology. We need to start asking ourselves one very simple question, “just because we can, should we?”

Digital Learning

Published in Business on March 19, 2020

In a previous post I shared some of the tools I use to be a constant learner. They are amazing resources that help you invest in yourself.

Today I’ll share some more resources. Some come from a post my good friend Heather Dopson made on Facebook, and others are other resources I’ve thought of.

Want to write a book?

Scrivener is a tool for you. They offer a 30 day trial, about $49 for the product. You could download the tool free for 30 days, take the webinar on Friday and be on the best path for getting your book written.

There is a webinar on 3.20.2020 that is designed to help you get started.

Want to build an online community?

Ever thought of building on online community? Membership communities are an incredible way to generate revenue.

The guru in the space is Stu McLaren and he is offering a free guide to get started.

Want to learn about Digital Marketing?

Ryan Deiss’s is an accomplished digital marketer with DigitalMarketer. He is offering his Lab Pro for free through the end of the month.

Want to learn about working remotely?

My good friend Chris Lema has a great resource for leading teams remotely, and the guys at BaseCamp literally wrote the book on Remote work. Another great resource to learn more about distributed work is Distributed.blog.

Looking for places to apply for remote work?

Is your company making you go into the office? Do you find yourself wondering, why? Can’t I just do this from home? Ever been interested in working remotely?

Remote.co is a great resource for remote work opportunities.

If there is something I have learned over the years, and continue to be reminded of, is how fortunate I am to work in the tech world. I, like many of you, probably forget what it is not to know.

As of late, as I detach myself more from tech, I find myself meeting some amazing, talented, individuals with amazing potential but lacking in the basic knowledge I take for granted. Their opportunities and potential cut short because they lack the basic knowledge of a professional email or how to establish their digital presence.

It kind of sucks.

With so many forced to hit the pause button, I can’t think of a better opportunity to capitalize on the moment.

Finding Ways to Entertain and Educate Your Kids

Published in Business on March 18, 2020

If you’re like me, you have kids that have been sent home and you are now charged with ensuring they get educated. You are also, probably, petrified at the idea of passing on your stupidity to them, or at least concerned they’ll see it too. :)

Thankfully, while parsing through the noise across the myriad of social platforms I found this list of amazing resources that parents should be made aware of.

For the life of me I can’t remember who the lady was, and I have tried looking for her. Either way, she has been homeschooling for a while and has prior experience as a teacher. She shared the list below, and if someone knows her please let me know so I can credit her for the list.

A few things to remember, this is a PERFECT time to make memories with your children and learn things beyond “normal” math and reading.
Lady on Facebook..

If you know of a resource for FREE education (either permanent or only during this time) please share it in the comments and I’ll update the list.

✅The San Diego Zoo has a website just for kids with amazing videos, activities, and games. Enjoy the tour! https://kids.sandiegozoo.org/

✅Tour Yellowstone National Park!
https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/photosmultimedia/virtualtours.htm

✅Explore the surface of Mars on the Curiosity Rover.
https://accessmars.withgoogle.com/

✅This Canadian site FarmFood 360 offers 11 Virtual Tours of farms from minks, pigs, and cows, to apples and eggs. https://www.farmfood360.ca/

✅Indoor Activities for busy toddlers
https://busytoddler.com/2020/03/indoor-activities/?fbclid=IwAR3tYXAqw7tJRAzLExpPcJo4rApLsKtgL0AwghzxgnhwOajc4auX6o12_xw

✅Play games and learn all about animals
https://switchzoo.com/

✅Play with fave show characters and learn too https://pbskids.org/

✅Travel to Paris, France to see amazing works of art at The Louvre with this virtual field trip.
https://www.louvre.fr/en/visites-en-ligne

✅This Virtual Tour of the Great Wall of China is beautiful and makes history come to life.
https://www.thechinaguide.com/destination/great-wall-of-china

✅Math and Reading games https://www.funbrain.com/

✅Phonics skills https://www.starfall.com/h/

✅This iconic museum located in the heart of London allows virtual visitors to tour the Great Court and discover the ancient Rosetta Stone and Egyptian mummies. https://britishmuseum.withgoogle.com/

✅ Read, play games, and hang out with Dr. Seuss https://www.seussville.com/

✅300,000+ FREE printable worksheets from toddlers to teens https://www.123homeschool4me.com/home-school-free-printables/

✅Geography and animals
https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/

✅Math practice from counting to algebra and geometry http://www.mathscore.com/

✅Fave kids books read by famous people https://www.storylineonline.net/

✅Crafts, activities, mazes, dot to dot, etc, https://www.allkidsnetwork.com/

✅High school chemistry topics https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/resources/highschool/chemmatters/articles-by-topic.html

✅Math and reading games https://www.abcya.com/

✅Math and language games https://www.arcademics.com/

✅Hands on Elem science videos https://www.backpacksciences.com/science-simplified

✅Voice based learning… learn through Alexa https://bamboolearning.com/resources

✅Fun games, recipes, crafts, activities https://www.highlightskids.com/

✅ClickSchooling brings you daily recommendations by email for entertaining websites that help your kids learn. https://clickschooling.com/

✅Math as a fun part of your daily family routine http://bedtimemath.org/

✅Games to get “into the book” https://reading.ecb.org/

✅Online history classes for all ages preteen through adults https://school.bighistoryproject.com/bhplive

✅Biology https://www.biologysimulations.com/

✅ Elem Math through 6th grade https://boddlelearning.com/

✅Educational games K-12 https://www.breakoutedu.com/funathome

✅Digital archive of history https://www.bunkhistory.org/

✅Test Prep for SAT, ACT, etc. https://www.bwseducationconsulting.com/handouts.php

✅Geometry https://www.canfigureit.com/

✅Resources for Spanish practice https://www.difusion.com/campus/

✅Chinese learning activities https://chalkacademy.com/

✅Music is for everyone https://musiclab.chromeexperiments.com/Experiments

✅Science, Math, Social Studies https://www.ck12.org/student/

✅Grammar practice for middle grades https://www.classroomcereal.com/

✅Daily free science or cooking experiment to do at home.http://www.clubscikidzmd.com/blog/

✅Chemistry https://www.playmadagames.com/

✅Reading passages for grades 3-12, with reading comprehension and discussion questions. https://www.commonlit.org/

✅Vocabulary, grammar, listening activities and games in Spanish, French, Italian, German, Portuguese, Korean, and Latin. https://conjuguemos.com/

✅35,000 pages of online content on the cultures and countries of the world. https://www.countryreports.org/

✅K-5th Science lessons https://mysteryscience.com/

✅Tons of free classes from leading universities and companies https://www.coursera.org/

✅Free printable K-8 Reading and Math activity packs (available in English and Spanish) https://www.curriculumassociates.com/supporting-students-away-from-school

✅Digital learning content for preschool through high school https://www.curriki.org/

✅A wide range of math content from middle school through AP Calculus. https://deltamath.com/overview

✅Day-by-day projects to keep kids reading, thinking, and growing. https://classroommagazines.scholastic.com/support/learnathome.html

✅3 Free Weeks of Maker Stations to keep your children creating at home! Each challenge includes simple instructions using materials around the house, QR code video resources, and a student recording sheet. bit.ly/freemakerstations

✅Classes for older teens or adults https://www.thegreatcoursesplus.com/lp/t1/freemo?source_id=FREEMO&utm_source=Social_Media&utm_medium=Facebook&utm_campaign=1000614&fbclid=IwAR1vaJx-3_aCdyE75S0fTJg4JZ_jI6KJvsJb4CnXY03tnfTm3FdgflaNpYs

✅Online homeschool platform & curriculum for Pre-K to 12th grade. All main subjects are covered, plus extra curriculum courses. http://discoveryk12.com/dk12/

✅Printable board games, activities and more for phonics and reading all using evidence-based methods. Can be customized to any student’s needs including creating flashcards for other subjects. https://dogonalogbooks.com/printables/

✅K-8 online math program that looks at how a student is solving problems to adjust accordingly and build a unique learning path for them. https://www.dreambox.com/at-home

✅Engaging reading game for grades 2-8 that combines strategy, engagement, and imaginative reading passages to create a fun, curriculum-aligned literacy game. https://www.squigglepark.com/dreamscape/

✅Higher level math series… online video series with detailed solutions to more than a thousand publicly-released College Board SAT Math, Subject Test Math Level 1, and Subject Test Math Level 2 problems.https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbQoCpvYRYRkRRvsObOPHaA?reload=9

✅Foreign languages https://www.duolingo.com/

✅Interactive video earth science based curriculum supplement. https://www.everyday-earth.com/

✅A safe research site for elementary-level readers. They are offering — free 24/7 access
USERNAME: read (case sensitive)
PASSWORD: read (case sensitive)
https://www.facts4me.com/

✅Resources for AP students including live reviews, live trivia, and study guides! https://app.fiveable.me/

✅Educational brain breaks to help students review essential literacy and math skills, while getting in some exercise. Find over 900 videos to help your child keep learning at home and burn off some extra energy. Our site is best used for ages 4-8. https://fluencyandfitness.com/register/school-closures/

✅Movement and mindfulness videos created by child development experts. https://www.gonoodle.com/

✅7,000 free videos in 13 subject areas https://hippocampus.org/

✅Carmen Sandiego videos, stories, and lessons for all subject areas https://www.carmensandiego.com/resources/

✅Math Videos with lessons, real life uses of math, famous actors https://www.hmhco.com/math-at-work

✅Entertaining & educational videos for all levels and subjects
https://www.izzit.org/index.php

✅Online education program for toddler through high school… https://www.khanacademy.org/

✅Free Printables for PreK-2nd Grade https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Literacy-With-The-Littles/Price-Range/Free

✅Free printables library with activities for children 0-6 https://www.littlesparkcompany.com/printables-library

✅Free at-home kids yoga lesson plans https://littletwistersyoga.com/online-store/

✅Magic Spell is a carefully crafted spelling adventure. https://brainbox.games/

✅Resources for AP students https://marcolearning.com/

✅Enter your math problem or search term, press the button, and they show you the step-by-step work and answer instantly. 2nd grade through college. https://www.mathcelebrity.com/online-math-tutor.php

✅Elem Math games, logic puzzles and educational resources https://www.mathplayground.com/

✅Poetry and music https://www.thewell.world/mindful-music/mindful-poetry-moments

✅3D printing projects and Coding projects, involving math and other K-12 subjects https://www.instructables.com/member/EdgertonCenter/instructables/

✅Introductory and intermediate music theory lessons, exercises, ear trainers, and calculators. https://www.musictheory.net/

✅Scads of free resources, games, learning resources, and lesson plans for teaching personal finance https://www.ngpf.org/

✅Improve your typing skills while competing in fast-paced races with up to 5 typers from around the world. https://www.nitrotype.com/

✅Illustrated recipes designed to help kids age 2-12 cook with their grown-ups. Recipes encourage culinary skills, literacy, math, and science. https://www.nomsterchef.com/nomster-recipe-library

✅Online curriculum that builds better writers. https://www.noredink.com/

✅80+ do at home science activities https://elementalscience.com/blogs/news/80-free-science-activities

✅Daily lessons and educational activities that kids can do on their own https://www.superchargedschool.com/

✅Adaptive curriculum in Math and ELA for Grades K-8
https://www.scootpad.com/

✅Novel Effect makes storytime a little more fun for kids (and grown-ups too!) As you read out loud from print books (or ebooks!) music, sound effects, and character voices play at just the right moment, adjusting and responding to your voice. https://noveleffect.com/

✅Quick & easy at home projects curated for kids 2 and up
https://www.kiwico.com/kids-at-home

✅Teaches students how to write a paragraph through interactive online tutorial http://www.paragraphpunch.com/

✅PreK-12 digital media service with more than 30,000 learning materials https://www.pbslearningmedia.org/

✅Curricular content hub specifically designed for K-3 students.
https://pebblego.com/free-pebblego-capstone-interactive-access-school-closures?fbclid=IwAR0ldr6TT3grhEDzJ_fEpYvNGG13kqYo5ogwEqYneW7QBkX8L4u7cEIS0nE

✅Science and math labs and simulations https://phet.colorado.edu/

✅An online physics problem and video bank designed for conceptual, standard, honors or AP1 physics. https://www.positivephysics.org/home

✅Prodigies is a colorful music curriculum for kids 1-12 that will teach your kids how to play their first instrument, how to sing in tune & how to understand the language of music! 21 for free https://prodigiesmusic.com/

✅Free videos from around the world from grade 3-12
https://www.projectexplorer.org/

✅QuaverMusic is offering free access to general music activities to all impacted schools, including free student access at-home https://www.quavermusic.com/info/at-home-resources/

✅For students to practice and master whatever they are learning. https://quizlet.com/

✅ReadWorks is an online resource of reading passages and lesson plans for students of all levels K-12. https://www.readworks.org/

✅Critical Thinking resources for K-6 students https://marketplace.mythinkscape.com/store/redtkids

✅Music Based Spanish Learning https://rockalingua.com/

✅Science simulations, scientist profiles, and other digital resources for middle school science and high school biology
https://sepuplhs.org/

✅The Shurley English program for grades K-8 provides a clear, logical, and concrete approach to language arts. https://www.shurley.com/

✅Sight reading and sight singing practice exercises. https://www.sightreadingfactory.com/

✅Music practice transformed https://www.smartmusic.com/

✅Spellingcity is free right now with code VSCFree90
https://www.spellingcity.com/

✅Kid-friendly workouts — choose from Strength for Kids, Agility for Kids, Flexibility and Balance for Kids, Warm-Up for Kids, Cooldown for Kids, Stand Up and Move for Kids, OR create your own custom kid workout. https://app.sworkit.com/collections/kids-workouts

✅A collection of hundreds of free K-12 STEM resources, from standalone models and simulations to short activities and week long sequences of curriculum materials. https://learn.concord.org/

✅Course sets (Levels 1–5) that combine and thoroughly cover phonics, reading, writing, spelling, literature, grammar, punctuation, art, and geography—all in one easy-to-use, beautiful course. https://www.goodandbeautiful.com/

✅At home OT, PT, and ST resources designed to build skills in children through movement and play. https://www.theottoolbox.com/

✅Science projects that can be completed with or without Internet access https://sciencespot.net/Pages/classhome.html

✅Keyboarding practice https://www.typingclub.com/ or https://www.typing.com/

✅Next Generation Science video game focused on middle school where students directly engage in science phenomena as they solve problems. https://www.tytoonline.com/

✅Short videos and readings that answer various burning questions for students. There are vocabulary challenges and comprehension questions. http://wonderopolis.org/

✅Math practice https://xtramath.org/#/home/index

✅K-5 curriculum that builds deep understanding and a love of learning math for all students https://www.zearn.org/

✅A quick start resource to help families pull together a plan for surviving the next 1-2 months at home with their kids, but it can also be a time of slowing down and enjoying kids as they learn.
Preschool through 8th grade https://abetterwaytohomeschool.com/learning-at-home-everything-you-need-in-one-place.html?fbclid=IwAR0Lo2FZ5cWLMt-6nto19auqTtI5kztqLqwi3japOPl1rcR_rLaNuCUcaYw

✅450 Ivy League courses that you can take https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/ivy-league-free-online-courses-a0d7ae675869/?fbclid=IwAR0tbYeSJTzmrzgs1z1Brpoh-Lg8zoqnThQAUTFqR-bBX9O6AEh2_lnLhTs

✅Spelling 1-4 grade
https://www.spellingtraining.com/

✅2,500+ online courses from top institutions https://www.edx.org/

✅22 languages to learn https://www.memrise.com/

✅Learn to code https://www.codecademy.com/

✅Miscellaneous games for all subjects k-8 https://www.funbrain.com/

✅Phonics and learning to read https://readingeggs.com/

✅PreK – 5 games for all subjects https://www.turtlediary.com/

✅Online digital coloring pages https://www.thecolor.com/

✅Every course you could possibly want to homeschool preschool – 8 https://allinonehomeschool.com/

✅Every course you could possibly want to homeschool for high school https://allinonehighschool.com/

✅Phonics worksheets for kids https://www.funfonix.com/

✅Free stories online ages 3-12 https://www.freechildrenstories.com/

✅National Geographic Young Explorers is a magazine designed specifically for kindergarten and first grade students. Children can listen to the magazine being read to them as they follow along with the highlighted text. https://ngexplorer.cengage.com/ngyoungexplorer/index.html

✅Learn all about earthquakes https://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/kids/

✅Learn all about the periodic table https://www.chemicool.com/

✅Farmer’s almanac for kids… Date, weather, moon phase, etc. https://www.almanac.com/kids

✅Guide to gardening for kids https://web.extension.illinois.edu/firstgarden/

✅Website allows students to play basic games to reinforce math skills and compete against the computer or others https://www.mangahigh.com/en-us/

✅Space science for kiddos https://www.nasa.gov/kidsclub/index.html

✅Math Games, Logic Puzzles and Brain Builders https://www.mathplayground.com/

✅Games, quizzes and fact sheets take kids on a journey through time. https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/forkids/

✅NGAkids interactives offer an entertaining and informative introduction to art and art history. https://www.nga.gov/education/kids.html

✅News and more for kids https://www.youngzine.org/

✅Randomly generates 356,300,262,144 story starters
https://thestorystarter.com/

✅Immerse yourself in cryptography https://www.cryptoclub.org/

✅Math games galore https://gridclub.com/

✅Tons of science experiments that you can do at home
https://www.stevespanglerscience.com/lab/experiments/

✅An interactive way to learn history
https://www.mission-us.org/

✅Just explore, have fun, and learn some science along the way. https://thehappyscientist.com/

✅Interactive games based on the book series
https://www.magictreehouse.com/

✅Work on the 8 parts of speech https://www.grammaropolis.com/

✅Learn all about cells https://www.cellsalive.com/

✅All sorts of learning here if you dig in https://www.google.com/earth/

✅Scratch draws students of all types into coding and lays a foundation for future learning. https://scratch.mit.edu/

✅A wonderful, endlessly detailed way to get kids engaged in the world of art. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/online-features/metkids/

✅Tests kids’ geography skills. Using images from Google’s Street View, it plops players down in the middle of the street and asks them to figure out where they are. https://www.geoguessr.com/

✅Allows students to type in any city, state, or country to view an archive of historical photographs and other documents. It’s a unique way to help them learn about history.
http://www.whatwasthere.com//

✅Short videos about numbers that help kids explore complex math topics and make math more fun. https://www.numberphile.com/

✅A human visualization platform that allows students to explore the human body in really cool ways. https://human.biodigital.com/login?returnUrl=/dashboard

✅Helps kids learn to appreciate the arts by providing them with the opportunity to play games, conduct investigations, and explore different forms of art. https://artsology.com/

✅Lets kids play instruments online. Instruments include the guitar, piano, pan flute, drums, and bongos. https://www.virtualmusicalinstruments.com/

✅Crafts, activities, bulletin board designs, and finger plays for early education teachers and parents to use with kids.
http://www.preschoolexpress.com/

✅A large selection of fun songs to help teach preschool and kindergarten students https://www.songsforteaching.com/preschoolkindergarten.htm

✅Resource section includes free flashcards, coloring pages, worksheets, and other resources for children, teachers, and parents. https://supersimple.com/

✅Life skills curriculum for students in grades K-12. Their resources include strategies for teaching social and emotional skills. https://www.overcomingobstacles.org/

✅Coding for ages 4-10 https://www.kodable.com/

✅No need to travel to one of the Smithsonian’s zoos or museums — this website brings your child everything from live video of the National Zoo to the Smithsonian Learning Lab right to their screen https://www.si.edu/kids

✅Cool Kid Facts gives your child access to educational videos, pictures, quizzes, downloadable worksheets, and infographics. They can use these to learn about geography, history, science, animals, and even the human body.
https://www.coolkidfacts.com/

✅This interactive website, hosted by the U.S. Government Publishing Office, allows your child to see the ins and outs of the U.S. government by taking a series of learning adventures with none other than Benjamin Franklin. https://bensguide.gpo.gov/

✅This NASA initiative covers a wide range of topics including weather, climate, atmosphere, water, energy, plants, and animals. https://climatekids.nasa.gov/

✅Ask Dr. Universe is a science-education project from Washington State University. Kids can send Dr. Universe any question they may have about history, geography, plants, animals, technology, engineering, math, culture, and more.
https://askdruniverse.wsu.edu/

✅Your child can play games, learn fun facts, and find out how to turn coin collecting into a hobby. https://www.usmint.gov/learn/kids

✅From rainbows to tornadoes and winter storms to tsunamis, meteorologist Crystal Wicker breaks down the fascinating world of weather. http://www.weatherwizkids.com/

✅Kids Think Design explores careers in fashion design, graphic design, interior design, book design, product design, film and theatre, architecture, animation, and environmental design. http://www.kidsthinkdesign.org/

✅This educational website hosted by the Smithsonian Museum takes a deep dive into ocean life. https://ocean.si.edu/

✅Brainscape offers over a million flashcard decks for every subject, entrance exam, and certification imaginable. https://www.brainscape.com/

✅The Theta Music Trainer offers a series of online courses and games for ear training and music theory.
https://trainer.thetamusic.com/en

✅Banzai exposes students to real-world financial dilemmas to teach them the importance of smart money management. https://www.teachbanzai.com/

✅Innerbody explores the 11 bodily systems in depth. With interactive models and detailed explanations, this website will help them learn more about the internal mechanics of the amazing human body.https://www.innerbody.com/htm/body.html

This is also a great opportunity to learn ways to create a family friendly network environment on your home network to help restrict access to porn / obscene content.

Resources to Help You Take Advantage of Time

Published in Business on March 17, 2020

With time comes opportunity.

As we all get more accustomed to working from home, many of us will realize how much time and energy we waste in our business lives. Time is lost doing a number of things: driving to work, chit-chatting with friends, joining endless meetings, and the list goes on. Mind you, this experience is not the same for everyone (i.e., industry specific).

Needless to say, the advent of working from home, should, technically, introduce a lot more time to your life. I personally believe that for those that are truly productive you’ll likely be able to finish your work in a fraction of the time, adding even more time to your life.

So what is one to do with this new time?

It doesn’t take much to find meme’s across the web sharing insights into how to use the time to get more fit, spend time with your family, or play more with your pets. I am, however, a big advocate for distance learning.

Distance learning is how I have accomplished much in my life. This post will focus on the resources you have at your disposal. It will focus on the educational resources we have at our disposal to take control of our own destiny.

When things are down you can’t sit and wait for things to get better, you have to double down on yourself so that when it gets better you can capitalize on the new opportunities that will present themselves.

Sources of Professional Development

This applies to anyone that has to earn money for themselves, or their family. Doesn’t matter if you’re in tech, business, retail or the restaurant business.

As I often tell my teams, it’s not about what the institution is going to do for you but what you are going to do for yourself.

Many of these resources offer you trials, 7 – 14 days sometimes, it’s amazing what you can learn in those short time periods.

LinkedIn Learning

This platform came way of the acquisition of Lynda.com. I personally enjoy their training style and curriculum. You can learn almost anything you want, from how to develop a website to how to manage your finances to how to start a company.

Reference: https://www.linkedin.com/learning/me

Linux Academy

This platform is the go to for most things technology related. It’s an amazing resources, with amazing hands-on-trainings and labs. You have the ability to spin up your own test environments and try everything you’re learning. It’s an amazing resource for technologists and those interested in technology.

Reference: https://linuxacademy.com/

Code Academy

Ever wanted to learn how to start programming? This is where I would send you. It starts from the very basics, and provides a great interactive platform.

Reference: https://www.codecademy.com/

WP101 / WPBeginner

Want to know more about this WordPress thing you keep hearing about? Here are two great resources. WP101 and WPBeginner have committed their existence to helping you get acquainted and be successful with the platform. With what you learn from them you can quickly get your idea online and start your own digital organization.

Reference: https://www.wpbeginner.com/

Reference: https://www.wp101.com/

For Veterans Interested in Technology

If you’re a Veteran that was honorably discharged I encourage you to look at this new resource Veteran Employment Through Technology Education Courses (VET TEC).

For Kids

If you’re like me and you have kids, don’t worry there a number of great resources at your disposal. I have heard of two that I am only now getting familiarized with. Depending on your country, county, state this might become your friend really quick. In Riverside county, schools are being shut through April 30th.

Kahn Academy: https://www.khanacademy.org/

Scholastic Learn At Home: https://classroommagazines.scholastic.com/support/learnathome.html

Your Future is Your Responsibility

Whenever a team member would ask me what we were going to do to for them to improve, I would typically respond – “Show me you are investing in yourself before I invest in you.” As crude as it might sound, it was intentional. My personal belief is that if someone is unable to invest in themselves first, then why should I.

Regardless of where you are in your professional career you can never be too proud to advance yourself. Thankfully, we have been presented with an amazing opportunity. Let’s take advantage of it.

If you’re working from home you can probably do all your work, and still have time to invest in yourself, and if you’re out of work because of a lay off or something similar, you can use this time to learn a new skill. Regardless, immersing yourself in professional development is a great way to disconnect yourself from the overwhelming noise you might find across other mediums. Who knows, you might enjoy it! :)

I have no affiliation with any of the organizations above, they are just great resources with exceptional knowledge.

This is also a great opportunity to learn ways to create a family friendly network environment on your home network to help restrict access to porn / obscene content.

Leadership Behaviors

Published in Business on January 8, 2019

I have been given a lot of thought to Leadership lately. I have been placing special emphasis on the things I personally look for in Leaders. It doesn’t matter if it’s someone I report to, or someone that reports to me. Coincidently, my biggest observations about leadership in corporate America is that we too often align leadership with an individuals position, and as those in those positions we rely too heavily on that assigned leadership. We get lazy.

Leadership is servitude, and we’re here for our teams, not ourselves.

Don’t Allow Yesterday’s Failures Stop You From Getting to Tomorrow

Published in Business on September 21, 2018

When you’re building or leading your team, it’s easy to be crippled by the myriad of decisions, and indecisions, you’re faced with on a daily basis. It’s easy to be dissuaded from something you know can be done, but when measured against your own rational thought seems improbable.

We spend a great amount of time focusing on the external obstacles, when in reality – the only obstacle that keeps us from achieving something great is ourself. – @perezbox

Ask yourself, in this scenario, which one are you?

A. Look at past failures and tell yourself, “we can never do X because we have failed at A, B, or C.”

B. Look at past failures and tell yourself, “we can do X because we have failed at A, B, or C.”

I chose to be B, intentionally. How about you?

I intentionally say “I choose” because it’s an active choice, my rationale mind by default moves me to be A.

The rationale mind tells me that the odds are against you. The math doesn’t make sense. The opportunity is wrapped in intangible benefits, and no explicitly attribution to a tangible metric. My irrational heart, tells me – but imagine if you can!

Failing doesn’t scare me, not trying does.

Whether you’re building, or leading, a company, product, platform or team, the same principle applies.

Don’t stop dreaming!

Thinking Through the WP Engine Acquisition of StudioPress

Published in Business on June 28, 2018

As a fun thought exercise I decided to think through the WP Engine and Studio Press acquisition. Specifically, what I would do, and think they will do, with the new asset. While I know all the parties, I have less than zero knowledge about the deal or intentions. In other words, this is pure conjecture and insights from a dude in his hammock and flip flops thousands of miles away from the discussions.

I will focus on what I would do with the asset and why I think it makes a lot sense. I won’t focus on the people or the community. I encourage you to also read StudioPress’ Release, Jason’s (WPE Engine Founder) Thoughts, Brian Clark’s position, and finally Bob Dunn’s insights.

Strategic Alignment

Strategically this deal makes sense. To understand this you have to understand the penetration the Genesis framework has amongst developers and integrators, and WPE’s strategic direction.

This is chess, not checkers motherfucker – Ben Horowitz (Hard Thing About Hard Things)

In my opinion, the Genesis framework is one of the most powerful and utilized framework in the market. They have been for years, and while the theme market has dramatically changed they continue to be at the forefront.

Interestingly, it’s not it’s themes I find most attractive – it’s the framework. Countless developers and agencies leverage it as the foundation of their development work. It’s so prevalent in this specific community (the Agencies) that I would argue that it powers more sites in WP than even the website owners are aware of.

I can also attest to its prominence amongst this market with my experience at Sucuri, agencies are also an important cohort for us, and I can tell you, without-a-doubt it’s the preferred preferred platform.

Understanding this point makes the strategic partnership oh that much more so sweet.

Winning the Agencies

Coincidently, this week I read a report highlighting WPE initiative to win over agencies. It’s grown well over the past twelve months. This is an important insight, it speaks to what and where they are focusing their energy, where they see the opportunity

Note: You could argue that Agencies have always been at the core of their strategy, whether intentionally or not.

If I were to guess, WPE realized that the Genesis framework is most prevalent in their environment and amongst their core market.

Give the people what they want!

If you are strategically pursing a market and you realize they all use a tool, then the next step is obvious – buy it or partner with them. In this instance, buying makes the most sense. Buying will allow WPE to execute against their strategy to provide a fully immersive platform. Speaking of which..

Simplifying the Experience

If you think that WPE is competing against hosts, you’re wrong.

While WPE might have started out as a host I would wager they are positioning themselves towards a fully immersive experience. WordPress just happens to be at its core, but like Automattic’s .com I’d wager that soon it’ll be similar only in name.

What the hell is a fully immersive experience ? Think Hub-spot.

If you haven’t tried Hub-spot, you should. It aims to put all the tools you need around marketing, sales and the core application at your finger tips. As Sucuri grew, this became exponentially that much more important. I think this is where WPE is going. To do this though, they have to do it in pieces.

While they have simplified the end point experience (you never have to worry about the servers availability, state, security, speed, etc..), they have to move upward in the stack, into the application layer, to truly encapsulate the “experience”. That’s where the real opportunity with the Genesis framework comes into play.

In today’s world, those with the desire to get their presence online via a “website” have a number of things to think about across multiple vectors. There’s the endpoint, the application, the supporting systems and services, and the list goes on. Just to get online!

Imagine a world where you streamline that experience. Imagine a world where getting online is a seamless click of a button, and now you’re simply tuning. You’re not starting at zero, you’re starting at the 50 yard line. You don’t have to worry whether something is in the application, the server, the service provider.. it’s all one thing. You’ve removed all the blurred lines.

Oh yes, and all while giving your audience the tools they already use and love.

This is where I would go. This is where I think they are going.

Congrats to the Entire Team!

Huge congrats to the entire team. Having just gone through my own acquisition, I can tell you this is where the real work will began. I fully expect this acquisition to be very different than the last one with Copyblogger. In this instance you have a technology company buying a critical asset to propel them closer to their strategic objectives.

It will all come down to their ability to integrate.

The Lost Art of Making Decisions

Published in Business on June 25, 2018

At the end of one of my keynotes last year I was asked:

Tony, how did you know what decision to make?

In war, there is nothing worse than a leader that can’t make a decision. People die. While not as dire in business, your indecisiveness will slowly kill your product, your team, your moment, and eventually your company.

Gutenberg and The Impacts It’ll Have on the WordPress Business Ecosystem

Published in Business on December 4, 2017

As has become customary over the past 8 years, I joined thousands of fellow WordPress enthusiasts and supporters for WordCamp US 2018 in Nashville, Tennessee. For me, the highlight is always the State of The Word (SOTW), delivered by Matt Mullenweg (Co-Founder of the platform).

The SOTW provides an opportunity to reflect on the last year, and where the platform is going. Where the platform goes is often a strong indicator of where the rest of the ecosystem will follow.

The WordPress Business Ecosystem

Last year it was a pivotal year for the platform. We did away with release cycles, introduced a multi-lead approach, but more importantly it introduced the hottest and most contentious idea since the platforms inception- Gutenberg.

We were treated to a live demo. It provided a fresh, awe-inspiring, view of Gutenbergs power. It wasn’t at this point that I gained a completely new appreciation for the role it will undeniably play in reshaping the WordPress business ecosystem.

How many plugins would it have taken to achieve this experience?

This is what I kept asking myself as I watched.

Today the WordPress business ecosystem is comprised of products (e.g., plugins, themes, etc..), integrators (e.g., Pro’s, Agencies, etc..) and services (e.g., hosts, security, maintenance, etc..). Tomorrow, it’ll look dramatically different in large part to what Gutenberg is doing. Are you prepared?

Gutenberg site customization…

Future of 2018 – Matt Mullenweg

As Gutenberg moves beyond the posts / pages, into the world of site customization I find myself wondering how many more thing it’ll simplify and consolidate. Specifically, how that will impact the small businesses that power today’s WordPress platform; those that have built themselves dependent on a platform’s specific design.

If it was not apparent, the platform is changing. If your product is meant to simplify some aspect of the platforms experience, your future is inevitably numbered, as it’ll likely be commoditized at the core level.

The message and direction is clear for the platform. We achieve our BHAG if we can optimize the users experience. We’re doubling down on this.

Good or Bad – Doesn’t Matter

It’s not that the plugin / theme community isn’t valued or that no one sees the platform exists because of it. But it is about hitting goals, and what the platform needs today to get to it’s BHAG is very different than what it needed when it required growth / user adoption.

If I were Matt I would be doing the same thing. It’s about combating the encroaching affects of outside closed-source platforms, the threats they pose on the larger open-web conversation, and also hitting that platforms big hairy audacious goal (BHAG) of 51% market share.

If I were the plugin / themes shops I would be rightfully concerned and upset. It’s this feeling of frustration, and possibly betrayal. As a small business, there is already limited time and resources to support the needs of acquiring new customers, let alone supporting the ones you have, and now there is new requirement that feels extremely exhausting.

The real question I would be asking myself is not whether I can support it, but rather what does it do to my product category when it becomes standardized in core? My general feeling is that the WordPress business landscape will be look dramatically different in five years. Where does your product / business sit?

This does not mean that there won’t be a plugin ecosystem in 5 years, but rather that it’ll be dramatically different than today. Tools that prove invaluable in moving the platform forward will prove market need, and this need will be productized at some level.

The impacts here will move beyond just the plugin domain, there are affects to be felt within the theme space as well. One could argue that when the site creation process is introduced how themes are leveraged will fundamentally change. When you simply the creation process, do you really still need a theme at all? If so, what does that theme really look like?

There is also the impacts to integrators, specifically the professionals that make a living on helping users establish their online entity and do it by taking a theme and configuring it. I’m talking about that process that many Pro’s take today – sell a site to a customer, buy a framework (think Genesis), read the document and configure the site for their customer. In many ways, you can argue the Do It For Me (DIFM) market exists predominantly because the Do It Yourself (DIY) space has proven to hard. What happens when that technical divide becomes smaller? We’ve always known the platforms achilles heel is 5 minutes to install, 3 weeks to configure.

There are certain things / products that deliver such intrinsic value that it transcends any platform. Security is a good example such a product. These are the areas we, you, should place your energy as a small business if you’re targeting WordPress. These are the areas that cannot be consolidated or commoditized. If you build around how something works today, you might find yourself out of a job tomorrow. This evolution is not unique to WordPress, it happened with Google, Twitter and the list goes on. The platform will always do what is in the best interest of the platform.

Just because WordPress is democratizing publishing, it doesn’t mean it is a democracy.