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An Insanely Great Throwback Thursday
Saying “hello” has rarely been so profound.
In the spirit of “Throwback Thursday” and the Steve Jobs trailer that debuted yesterday, today’s blog post will take you back to the real Steve Jobs presenting the first Macintosh computer in 1984 to an audience in awe of a personal machine they and the world had never seen live before.
There are events in life when you instantly know everything’s about to change forever.
This was one of those moments.
Hovering Above
Kickstarter is modern venture capitalism in a nutshell.
“In a nutshell” could very easily be a company name on Kickstarter, which only underscores the imaginative space this website gives its aspiring businessmen and businesswomen to pursue. After searching through its digital catalog of ideas that need a preset minimum investment to formally charge its voluntary investors and proceed with producing a particular product(s), it’s evident that people have passions and consumer goods that are both logical and illogical.
And that’s fantastic.
Why?
Because only the marketplace validates or denies value. It’s up to consumers and this is where the excitement lies. People no longer have to be employed on Wall Street or understand the complexities of the stock exchange to fund start-ups. All you need is a laptop, a tablet or a smartphone and a little money. And depending on the monetary donation, there’s a corresponding reward. A person’s support could be as minimal as $5 or as large as thousands of dollars.
Fortunately, the pop culture geniuses at Hendo Hoverboards created a Kickstarter campaign last year that centered on the world’s first hoverboard in the year 2015. Movie buffs will remember that this is the year Marty McFly rode that famous hoverboard in Back to the Future Part II, which was the nostalgic effect they hoped to have on visitors to their fundraising page. It worked with viral-like popularity.
They were funded.
Stories were written about the Hendo Hoverboard in major publications, like Fortune, Smithsonian, Business Insider, the Today Show and more. The mission was to give investors of varying ages and backgrounds the thrill of a lifetime and to introduce people to its multipurpose hovering technologies being developed by Arx Pax, the company behind Hendo Hoverboards. While their primary focuses beyond the hoverboard are not yet ready for the public, their ambitions are certainly within the realm of a future reality.
Luckily, I found this Kickstarter campaign and made a modest investment that included a ride on the aforementioned hoverboard. The entire experience (from researching the company’s mission to its supremely clever marketing to the crazy awesome ride) was first-class. Beginning the morning in their office with a handshake from its co-founder Greg Henderson and discussions with their enthusiastic (and thankful) employees, my time spent in the unassuming Los Gatos, California business park last Friday was eye-opening into the exciting dynamics of a genuine tech start-up.
The marketing strategies are changing in exciting ways, the storytelling aspect of a company is becoming more prevalent and the value of viral content through social media is extending the reach of before unknown firms to individuals who may not have joined together on a business venture otherwise.
Here is the Hendo Hoverboard Kickstarter video.
Welcome to the future.
The Cadence Decision
Spoiler Alert: Content from this blog entry is from the April 8, 2015 episode of The Goldbergs
“The technology ends here!”
During the 1980s, it was easy to believe such a statement as a wide-eyed teenager. There had never been inventions for music that could be held in one’s hands: the compact disc (CD) and the CD player.
(The Goldbergs Twitter)
(Maybe literally skipping around would prevent the CD from skipping songs?)
When Barry and Erica discovered the insanely amazing technological breakthrough in the mall one afternoon, there minds were blown! Their new life objective consisted of getting the insanely expensive entertainment system powered by CD’s into their house. Unfortunately, this candle in the wind was going to be blown out pretty quickly by Murray: the rocket man of no.
Meanwhile, Adam’s quest was to avoid snuggies at all costs on his undetermined birthday while in middle school in 1980s something. Always one step ahead, Beverly already planned the best birthday for her baby boy. Did this mean a surprise appearance by a clown with balloon animals? Of course not. Beverly would never do that for her child in middle school…
A slumber party manly sleepover with Adam’s two good friends and a future best bud involved ninja throwing stars, a pipe and a warm, non-fermented beer. Following a quick swig by each rebel, along with the most devastating liquid drop ever in the Goldbergs household by Adam, the partying quartet were forced to their lonely corners. In the literal sense, this meant each of them eating at nearby (yet separate) tables at lunch.
Shockingly though, the kids’ parents proved just how alike they were to each of their children in the subsequent meeting after the party disaster. After a 20-minute swear fest and time to reflect on the true “innocence” of their kids, Beverly led the eventual coming together of the parents. The end result was a weekly therapeutic card game where they relaxed, had fun and talked about how their little snuggle monkey drove them absolutely crazy. Beverly also hoped a stack of quarters for Adam’s birthday redo at the arcade with his friends would help. A requested tummy rub later and all was forgiven (plus, did you know that “bad apples make the best pies!”). And like any great quartet, the first breakup is inevitable. They just needed to find the right rhythm (and fully fermented beer).
Speaking of the right song, Barry and Erica made a deal with their dad that if they wrote the greatest song in history, Murray would buy them the entertainment system. Sadly (and completely unforeseen), Big Tasty’s rhymes were a little stale this week. Erica’s keyboard skills suffered a similar fate. The next best thing? Steal someone else’s song! Who better than Elton John. There’s no way Murray’s heard of him…
After failing to pass off an Elton John classic as their own, Pops suggested trying to understand their dad’s perspective. This led to the ever-so-popular “me gift.” It’s when you buy someone a gift, but it’s really meant for you. It was a bold move, but Murray’s reaction to “his” new entertainment system was even bolder. He forbid their use of it and declared his hip, exclusive of the magic technology.
And nothing says hip like mispronouncing Flavor Flav.
Despite his children wildly misinterpreting his childhood (well, lack of a childhood) because he had to care for his younger brother, Murray gave Barry and Erica some Philadelphia freedom by letting them use the entertainment system. Murray realized he needed to be more concerned and proud of giving his children what he didn’t have when he was their age. This was a genuinely powerful revelation for him. In this moment, Murray turned a very tense page in a chapter of his life and flipped into the chapter where he worked to help his kids achieve their dreams for their passions without drawing back to his own shortcomings.
It was his song to his kids.
Where’s My Bike?
A starry dream realized.
Arguably one of the (if not the) best paintings in history is “Starry Night” by Dutch artist Vincent Van Gogh. The swirling images, as told with brush strokes of vivid, other-worldly colors, has mesmerized generations of art lovers and casual viewers alike. This masterpiece has an eternally transcendent quality and that’s why tributes to this famous painting resonate so powerfully.
Someone even dared to take a stroll on this world renowned classic.
“In the Dutch town of Eindhoven, artist Daan Roosegaarde has paid homage to its most famous resident, Vincent Van Gogh, by creating a glowing bike path that relies on solar-powered LED lights and interprets his classic painting Starry Night” (NPR, In a Dutch Town, A Glowing Bike Path Inspired By Van Gogh).
You can close your eyes and imagine what this wild vision would look like, or you can just click on the video below:
You can ride your bike or take a romantic stroll on this glowing masterpiece.
Either way, talk about following a path to the stars.
Jimmy's Daily Planet 