Tony's personal thoughts on Technology, Food, Film, Family and more.
A few years ago my friend Emma shared this TED talk by developmental psychologist Susan Pinker in 2017. One distinction I took away was that the secret to living longer may be your social life which explains why I’m feeling the adverse effects of isolating during this COVD-19 pandemic. Take 2 1/2 minutes of your time to watch.
For the full talk head over to TED here.
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This is my first long-form blog post in quite some time – thanks for the inspiration @AlanSmithOz (my Digivizer wingman) and @VickyLau_ (wearer of many hats – link to PDF)
Last Sunday I was proud to participate in Launch 48 Sydney as a social media mentor to four promising technology startups. The energy around community building and startups in Sydney right now is running at a frenetic pace – oh to be 20 years younger I sometimes wish, as the people I am meeting who are building new businesses are only 18-25 years old! How inspiring is that? One “young’un” I met recently is only 18, and started a mobile application business from home (still living with parents) and is now generating revenue! (I can’t remember the details but when I do I will share)
I want to highlight some of the people around this event. They give back to the community. They get out and achieve. They inspire through leadership. They inspire through their actions. If you want some inspiration in your lives, chase down the following:
Vicky Lau – a volunteer organiser for #Launch48Syd and the reason I got involved. Vicky met with me (with some delicious chocolates – temptress!) and within minutes her passion, intellect, professionalism and dedication to the task at hand had me sold. I was in! Vicky is very busy yet still finds time to get out and organise a weekend hackathon. Wow!
Grant Downie – I only just met Grant on Sunday and it is through his efforts that last weekend’s Launch48 Sydney event occurred – Melbourne is this coming weekend (details here) so if you are interested in helping out get in touch with Grant. He is giving back to the community simply because he can, and he obviously cares.
Danielle Marie Fletcher – already building businesses including AscendsBranding, Danielle has created PropellHER to help women find mentors to propel their careers. Wow again!
Elizabeth Kaelin – her passion for artisan produce has brought her to YouChews which aims to “matchmake innovation with the amazing food it deserves) Now THIS is a startup close to my culinary heart!
Annie Beaulieu – leading the Adventurare team who are building a web application to help you plan your next “Rare Adventure” – this one sounds fascinating and I can’t wait to learn more.
Oliver Lee – building Hero Without a Mask, combining Happiness with Gamification – bring it on! Oliver and his team showed me an interactive mobile app prototype they had already built within 2 days, and I was impressed. Watch this space – a very interesting startup indeed.
It was also great to see other community leaders there such as Ash Donaldson – I love seeing the mentoring continue over on Twitter too – well done Ash!
Overall, I was honoured and proud to have been given the chance to meet and mentor these startups – there’s a lot of inspiration out there folks, so what are you waiting for?
Technology Aside, Most People Still Decline to Be Located
Mark Schiefelbein for The New York TimesElizabeth Aley of Nixa, Mo., uses the Shopkick app on her phone to earn reward points in return for visiting stores.
By CLAIRE CAIN MILLER and JENNA WORTHAM
Published: August 29, 2010
Internet companies have appropriated the real estate business’s mantra — it’s all about location, location, location.
Jamie Rector for The New York Times
For safety’s sake, Marsha Collier checks in on Foursquare only when she is leaving a place.
But while a home on the beach will always be an easy sell, it may be more difficult to persuade people to start using location-based Web services.
VC’s have poured US$115million into location start-ups. Are mainstream people using these networks yet? Not really, but with Facebook launching Places, the market is about to heat up. The New York Times reports….
Single Origin Gypsy Friday from Scott Drummond on Vimeo.
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