Startups, life, learning and happiness: 6 things I do to be consistently happy
Now that it’s almost two years since I first had the idea for Buffer, and with the year and a half before that which I worked on my previous startup, I’ve started to notice a few patterns amongst the ups and downs that come with building a startup.
One of the most important things I’ve…
My goal has always been to make new things. This was true growing up, I loved to play with gadgets and take apart things to figure out how they worked. I soon realized I really enjoyed “hacking” in the good sense of the word. My entry into the world of invention was actually fairly conventional – I studied electronic engineering and then completed my doctorate in power electronics. My first job was in the development lab at Mitsubishi Electronics, where I worked on a range of interesting projects. These included increasing the efficiency of electricity grids, developing high-speed trains and a range of other topics that engineers love. However, I quickly became aware of the fact that we were only working to improve existing items. This of course was important work in itself and a practical endeavor, but I felt that I wanted to do more to help bring innovations into the world. At the same time, the Internet age was just beginning. As a result, I started to focus closely on digital technology and arrived at the following question: Why did the virtual worlds and virtual reality of the 80s and 90s, which had started so promisingly, never really take hold and accelerate technical development? Why had these approaches only found niche uses, such as in automotive development?
Numerous renowned psychologists have looked at this question, and largely share the same conclusion: As real people, we are not comfortable in purely virtual worlds where we cannot touch, feel, taste or smell. We have developed our senses over millions of years and think in fact through our bodies. Increasingly, neuroscientific discoveries show that the separation between mind and body is an illusion. My conclusion from this was that we had to make virtual worlds sensory so that they could actually be experienced by people. Only by doing this will we ensure that virtual reality genuinely aids technical development and helps improve people’s lives around the world. Basically, this is what my work in the “mixed reality lab” is all about.
When I started working in mixed reality, I initially looked at developing mobile augmented reality. We developed computer games where the boundaries between the real and virtual worlds were blurred. This included projecting a virtual object, such as a virtual flower in a real vase. I wrote a series of scientific papers on how this could be achieved, which were very well received in the academic world. However, I didn’t really get a clear idea of the effect we might have on society until we presented “Human Pacman”. “Human Pacman” is a video game that is played at the point where the virtual and physical worlds meet: Players become the actual pacman character, play in the city streets by collecting virtual cookies, and run away from ghosts who are their friends.
This might just sound like fun, but the concept has a very serious background. Increasing numbers of children spend day after day glued to their computer. Of course, you may ask why they need a “Human Pacman” to get them outside. Why can’t they simply go out and kick a ball around? This may be a valid point, but it means nothing if children don’t do it. We can’t turn back the clock. Kids love computer entertainment, so we must ensure this has a physical, interactive edge if we want our children to do more exercise. This doesn’t just apply to kids either – it is equally valid for the elderly. In fact, it applies to both groups together. To address this issue, we invented “Age Invaders”, a mixed reality game based on “Space Invaders”. The twist here was that grandparents used laser beams with fast lasers, while the children’s were slower, and in addition, the children should follow fast dance steps. The children thus had to move quickly to dodge lasers from the grandparents, while the older players had much longer; the interaction between generations was fantastic to see. Through studies in Singapore, we also established that we could introduce older people to computer technology through games like this, and they enjoyed playing with the younger generations. First they play, then they surf the ‘Net, then they use computers to simplify their everyday lives. We saw this as a particularly positive side effect of our games.
The games brought my lab’s research international recognition, and for that I am of course very grateful. However, I wanted to explore further the potential of digital entertainment and communication. As I mentioned, for a few years I have been driven by the question of how we can turn Internet communications into encounters that feel genuine. This might sound a bit funny at first. We can already chat and Skype with video, and send endless e-mails; and that’s all great. Yet people still constantly fly around the world, putting a great strain on the environment, in order to meet personally. Why is this? The reason is the same as that behind the limited success of virtual worlds. Rational communication only accounts for 30 to 40 percent of all our communications, while the rest is conveyed via body language, gestures, touch, smell, situation, etc. Chatting to a friend over dinner has an entirely different quality to an MSN chat. In the mixed reality lab, we are looking for ways to make Internet communications feel more genuine through the use of non-verbal elements.
We have started with touch, or more precisely, hugging. A prototype has been developed for a system that we call the “Huggy Pajama”. Through this, parents who are away travelling can embrace their children at home in bed, provided they are wearing the special sleep suit with controllable air chambers. It feels incredibly realistic. Please don’t misunderstand the aim of our work. We are also aware that the world has more pressing needs than a remote hugging system. What we’re carrying out here, however, is research into improving remote communications. Our strategy is to come up with crazy things, in the hope that they will at some point lead to important practical applications.
A good example here is the electric lollipop. This allows flavors to be transferred remotely. You place an electronic plate in your mouth that activates the taste nerves, which enables, for example, a literally sweet message to be sent over the Internet. In the near future, we also hope to be able to transmit smells via the web. I understand that this might also sound a little crazy or unnecessary, but the project is being financed by the Japanese computer firm NEC and has a serious background. Studies show that 20 percent of all elderly people in Japan can go over a week without speaking to a single person. Work pulls families apart all around the world; traditional family meals are only held occasionally, if at all. My hope would be that a sensory Internet brings us closer together. Grandmothers or grandfathers can cook in their kitchen, while grandchildren sit in their own kitchen, smelling what’s being cooked and talking about the meal with them.
Once again, we don’t want people to only communicate through technology that artificially creates authenticity (however contradictory that may sound). Humans require genuine authenticity. Perhaps one day it will be possible to walk through a virtual Coliseum that looks and feels relatively real. People will still travel to Rome, however, to see the actual Coliseum. I feel a world in which people only embrace using the “Huggy Pajama” would be a nightmare. There are parents and children today who communicate with each other via MSN Messenger whilst being in the same house – which is of course fairly ridiculous, and it may even be damaging.
At the same time, we must seize the opportunities offered by new technology to improve communications. At present, we are leaving the information age and moving into the “age of experience”. The Internet has multiplied our communications, but at the same time it has separated us physically to a certain extent. Technically assisted, sensory communications offer an opportunity to bring us closer together again – during times of work, school or business meetings and trips. There are even other potential uses which initially I did not think of. I’ll give you an example: When we presented the “Huggy Pajama”, I received messages from all around the world. One e-mail came from a father in the UK whose daughter was in quarantine in a hospital. Nobody was allowed to approach her, and the “Huggy Pajama” would have been the only way that the little girl could have been embraced.
The YGL community has really helped clarify the possible social effects of inventions. I’m now 39, and in the next part of my life I will try to examine how creative technology can help underprivileged people. Geeks and “mad engineers” like me need to see this as a much more important part of their work. I am very excited as to where this path may take me.
“Third Industrial Revolution” that will change the way we work and live in the 21st century. In the coming era hundreds of millions of people will produce their own green in their homes, offices, and factories, and share it with each other using an “energy Internet,” just like we now create and share information online.
The Third Industrial Revolution infrastructure will create thousands of businesses and millions of jobs. This revolution will usher in a new economic age which will bring with it a fundamental reordering of human relationships; from hierarchical to lateral power.
Jeremy Rifkin in THINK ACT
The first law of thermodynamics states that all energy in the universe is constant, that it cannot be created or destroyed; only its form can change. The second law states
that energy can only be changed in one direction, that is, from usable to unusable, from available to unavailable, or from ordered to disordered.Entropy is the measure of the extent to which available energy in any subsystem of the universe is transformed into an unavailable form.
Accumulation of entropic debt will eventually collapse whatever economic regime is harnessing the resources.
Jeremy Rifkin in THINK ACT
I am not sure if this has been proven. Nevertheless it is possible if the root is some connection to the visual cortex either directly or indirectly through other neuron processing centers.
Now that the London Olympics is over, I was reflecting on the Olympics that just finished and comparing them to those four years ago in Beijing. Although I am generally not a follower of sports (and I personally myself at terrible at any sports), I always find the Olympics really enjoyable. This time I almost became addicted to watching the Olympics daily, and as it was Japan time for me, it meant I was going to bad only at 5am or 6am every day.
I personally remember every Olympics from Moscow. At that time I remember sitting with my dad in a small kitchen watching on a tiny black and white television. Every Olympics is somehow a reflection of the country, its society, and culture. Thus I particularly remember through the Olympics, Korea as a great celebration of new found democracy by an enthusiastic people, Spain as a greatly artistic European country, Los Angeles as a showcase of pop culture, Greece as a historic and ancient society.
For the Beijing Olympics, my first impression was when I was trying to get a visa to China a few months before the Olympics. I was living in Singapore at the time and normally it was a formality, I could receive a multiple entry visa very quickly. However suddenly getting a visa proved extremely difficult. One had to submit a lot of paper work. I was wondering why, when someone told me “Olympics”. I suddenly understood. Instead of welcoming the world to their city, the Chinese were locking down. They didn’t want anyone who was going to ruin their “party” their way. It seemed opposite of what the Olympic spirit should be. I remember there was some hope when Beijing was offered the Olympics that it would signify China opening up to the world, but I am sure many people realized around that time that was hopeless optimism. The Chinese were going to use the Olympics to stamp their power on the world.
I won’t discuss about the actual sports in Beijing and London. In the sports aspect both Olympics were excellent, with many brilliant performances by athletes, and excellent facilities. Finally the athletes are the stars. However I must saw, from a viewer perspective it was much more exciting to see the historic sights of London in events such as the marathon.
The opening and closing ceremonies really are the showcase from the socio-political perspective. Here is where we can compare the spirit and philosophy of the two Olympics. In Beijing sure, the opening was spectacular. The fireworks were incredible and the performance of the 2008 drummers playing in synchronicity was mesmerizing and spectacular. However upon consideration, what did we see here? We saw faceless drummers (who were almost all military recruits) all playing exactly to the same beat. It was the drumming of an iron fist. This scene exemplifies the society and politics in China. Conform to the leaders commands. The individual is subsumed and controller by the aims of the political leaders.
We had the other scene in Beijing of the very cute girl who was singing the song of another girl who was not deemed cute enough. Again this shows that individual authenticity is of no concern in China. You will bend to the leaders demands.
In contrast let us examine the London Olympic opening. Individual faces were seen in focus throughout the ceremony. You can compare the video of both ceremonies and the London Olympics was much more personal. We saw the British people playing individual roles. The tongue in cheek humor was a great reflection of British society. They are mature enough that they can laugh at themselves. The scene that the actual queen played with “James Bond” and flying out of a helicopter was delightful. Can you imagine any of the top Chinese leaders letting themselves be portrayed so “disrespectfully”? We also had the humorous scene with Rowan Atkinson playing with the London orchestra. This was truly funny. It was no demand to prove anything, it was just fun.
In both the opening and closing ceremony we had an incredible show of youth culture and individual’s creativity. In the opening ceremony we had punk rockers. In the closing ceremony we had children singing John Lennon’s “Imagine”. We had George Michael singing “Freedom” with huge letters in lights spelling “Freedom” in the stadium. Have a look again at the lyrics of Imagine:
Imagine there’s no countries
It isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people living life in peaceYou, you may say
I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one
I hope some day you’ll join us
And the world will be as one
The fact that these songs are played when the whole world is looking shows the spirit of London. A celebration of a mature, civil, democratic society. A party where all are welcome. Rebels are not only allowed but are on center stage. Can you imagine “We will rock you” being played in front of the Chinese leaders, as it was in London?
Beijing Olympics was a showcase of raw power and steel. It was the kind of party where you party their way, or no way. I am sure London could do the same drumming and fireworks if they really wanted to, but the point is, they don’t need to show such hard line power. The comparison to Beijing is not really London. It is really the Berlin Olympics in 1936. That was another example of Olympics being used to show raw power and steel. An event in which there was only one way to party, and that was the absolute leaders way.
I congratulate London for their fine Olympics, and more importantly for showing us that the 21st century is not necessarily going to be in the model of the totalitarianism state-capitalistic style. We hope and pray for freedom and the rights of individuals all over the world.
If success is a catalyst for failure because it leads to the “undisciplined pursuit of more,” then one simple antidote is the disciplined pursuit of less.
Conducting a life audit. All human systems tilt towards messiness. In the same way that our desks get cluttered without us ever trying to make them cluttered, so our lives get cluttered as well-intended ideas from the past pile up. Most of these efforts didn’t come with an expiration date. Once adopted, they live on in perpetuity. Figure out which ideas from the past are important and pursue those. Throw out the rest.
Phase 1: When we really have clarity of purpose, it leads to success. Phase 2: When we have success, it leads to more options and opportunities. Phase 3: When we have increased options and opportunities, it leads to diffused efforts. Phase 4: Diffused efforts undermine the very clarity that led to our success in the first place.
Journal Paper on Kawaii/Cute interactive media
Kawaii/Cute interactive media Universal Access in the Information Society August 2012, Volume 11, Issue 3, pp 295-309
Abstract Cuteness in interactive systems is a relatively new development yet has its roots in the aesthetics of many historical and cultural elements. Symbols of cuteness abound in nature as in the creatures of neotenous proportions: drawing in the care and concern of the parent and the care from a protector. We provide an in-depth look at the role of cuteness in interactive systems beginning with a history. We particularly focus on the Japanese culture of Kawaii, which has made large impact around the world, especially in entertainment, fashion, and animation. We then take the approach of defining cuteness in contemporary popular perception. User studies are presented offering an in-depth understanding of key perceptual elements, which are identified as cute. This knowledge provides for the possibility to create a cute filter that can transform inputs and automatically create more cute outputs. This paper also provides an insight into the next generation of interactive systems that bring happiness and comfort to users of all ages and cultures through the soft power of cute.
