Posts Tagged Vida
Hello!
Posted by Vida in Because Life Prevails. Always. on May 14th, 2009
I have a strong need to connect and communicate with you. About who I am and more importantly about who YOU are.
About our collective future, our place in the world and about these exciting times.
I spend a lot of time thinking about “Human Potential” and a new realm of untapped possibilities.
I long for a stronger sense of self and a restored sense of community for myself, our youth and the world at large. All my work is concentrated in this arena. It entails cutting edge Web technologies, community development and entrepreneurship.
A new world is emerging before us and from within. Our scientists, artists and “open source” engineers are all working towards a more horizontal and conscious world as we speak.
So, stay with me here. Let us connect, communicate and collaborate around our new ideas and new initiatives. Stay and communicate because what we do today, will determine much and because this century is the most significant time period in the history of mankind.
I look forward to talking to you soon and often.
Much Love;
Vida Mas
No Time Like This Time
Posted by Vida in Because Life Prevails. Always. on November 10th, 2008
On these pages, I hope to share my thoughts with you about some of our real-life social and economic issues and why I think Web technologies can play a significant role in solving most of them. I would also like to discuss with you why I think this is not happening just yet, and why it may never happen if you and I do not play our role during this very important time frame.
I would like to share my ideas with you and start a conversation that leads us to a new collaborative space. Ideas that have consumed and inspired me for more than a decade; all of which have arisen out of necessity as a small business owner, as a Mom, as a Baby Boomer, as an ordinary citizen and as a simple human being.
But more importantly, I want to hear your ideas and your thoughts.
There is a widening gap, an unintentional gap, between those who drive these technologies and the population at large. It is possible to bridge this gap and create more connected, sustainable communities, where more and more people can participate and prosper. The time for this is now and this is your show as much as anybody else’s.
The Miracle of “Open Source” – Land of the free and the unknown
Posted by Vida in Because Life Prevails. Always. on April 13th, 2008
There is a place, a space where “code” leads to freedom and brotherhood. Tap into it and your life will not be the same again. A place so unknown to the rest of us, it’s not even funny.
Years ago, I watched the birth and expansion of “Open Source”, a software source code distribution model. It moved me, intrigued me and made me intensely curious, however it remained mysterious like a distant melody. Then one day, due to necessity, I started talking to some of those incredible “Geeks” online, asking questions, delving into codes and the magic grabbed me.
Representing a culture of its own, the “Open Source” model shows us a whole new way of creation and distribution. It’s an ecosystem that gets richer, better and more sustainable as more people collaborate and participate at their own pace with their own available resources. It’s a true symbiotic relationship between the “part” and the “whole”. Remember that beautiful story of “Stone Soup”?
This one is no fairy tale though. It is happening as we speak and it has been happening for more than a decade around anything that could be created and distributed digitally. Our fantastic “Geeks” are years and years ahead of us working hard at tearing down the walls. In so doing, they hope to bring the magic to the rest of us. I will be talking about this much more extensively.
Open Source is a magnificent model for bottom-up, grassroots participation and collaboration. It allows for gradual, minimal as well as massive participation all at the same time with equitable returns for all participants. It works well where scarcity of resources are more pronounced and in local communities where distribution of non-digital goods are accomplished with more ease. It is simply magic!
Regardless of how Utopian or far fetched this may sound, it is merely a matter of time that a paradigm shift as significant as this will occur in our local communities.
Remember Leonard Cohen? ” There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.”
E-commerce and Economic Democracy; are these two related?
Posted by Vida in Because Life Prevails. Always. on April 10th, 2008
Long ago, there was a time when markets were conversations.
“For thousands of years, we knew exactly what markets were: conversations between people who sought out others who shared the same interests. Buyers had as much to say as sellers. Market leaders were men and women whose hands were worn by the work they did. Their work was their life, and their brands were the names they were known by: Miller, Weaver, Hunter, Skinner, Farmer, Brewer, Fisher, Shoemaker, Smith.” (Cluetrain Manifesto)
Life expanded through perpetual flow of relationships within units and communities. “One to One” relationships were the building blocks.
Then came the “Industrial Age” with its shipping possibilities. We went beyond boarders, and the conversation was lost. It was lost in translation, and in vast impersonal infrastructures. It was the beginning of mass production, assembly lines and mass markets pushing mass consumption. It was the beginning of a “One to Many” model resulting in polarization and isolation. We called it “Commerce”, and the notion of “One to One Markets” was slowly forgotten.
Then came the “Information Age” with its digital capabilities. We pushed the goods and services farther, faster and more efficiently and we called it E-commerce. It promoted linear, vertical, hierarchical thinking and rewarded the ones with the tools. Economic Democracy became as foreign as “One to One First Markets”.
It’s not over yet. Now comes the “Conversation and Participation Age”, where “One to One” is back and in style again, and tools become widely accessible. Watch for a day when peer to peer E-commerce brings the magic of personal interactions and transactions to us. It is here already and it will not go away as long as you continue to engage in the conversation.
I will be writing more about this as it presents the fundamental core of my work. Stay with me here.
“BOOMERS” – Just do the math, Baby.
Posted by Vida in Because Life Prevails. Always. on April 7th, 2008
They never liked to be underestimated and they still don’t. There are almost 80 millions of them in the U.S. alone, with the oldest ones born in 1946 and the youngest in 1964. They are called the “Baby Boomers”. They represent a $2.1 Trillion market cap and are determined to change the face of retirement. They are not leaving the work force anytime soon.
Boomers and older entrepreneurs now account for 54 percent of self-employed workers with a growth rate of 29 percent. Seeking self satisfaction and financial independence, they work hard and plan to be a big part of the future. Their choice of staying active and choosing self employment can have a profound impact on the economy, both from the perspective of new job creation and decreased tax burden on the labor force. Web technologies can enable them as they strive for independence and self-sufficiency.
But, this generation works differently and plays differently. Outside of banking, email and other simple applications, web services remain underutilized by them. This is not due to lack of advanced or sophisticated technologies, rather due to a lack of direct collaboration between Boomers and an industry that is driven and run by young developers. This is a gap that can be bridged with little effort.
Imagine tapping into this vast, underserved market while enabling these Boomers as they continue to fuel the economy and live a more productive life.
Imagine the impact of their success on local economies and health systems in tangible and intangible ways.
Is it worth acknowledging the “Boom”?
