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Prince. Pantone. Blockchain. Brexit. 1999.
‘Brexit’ is just one of the 5 things that caught my eyes and ears this past week that I wanted to share with you.
Prince
2016 is not turning out so well for great artists. Particularly those androgynous ones. Old news now, but Prince of course died on the 21st. So of course, I found a couple of great performances.
First, an awesome solo while on stage with Winwood, Petty and Lynn while paying homage to Harrison. This is a great backstory to the performance.
And then, let’s not forget his amazing performance of Purple Rain in the pouring rain at Super Bowl XLI, with some commentary from stage management to give you some context.
Pantone
Moving along, if you know what a Pantone reference is - you are going to love this site. Absolutely Stunning. [ via Kottke ]. Trust me, even if you don’t know what a Pantone reference is - you are still going to enjoy it. Gorgeous creativity.
Blockchain
I know you have heard of Bitcoin. You might even know that the tech behind it is Blockchain. But what the hell is it? How does it work?
This is a superb article from Dominic Frisby at Aeon. It is long - but well worth a read and easy to understand. This quote just jumped from the page screen as I read it.
This all has enormous implications for the way we do business. It is possible that blockchain tech will do the work of bankers, lawyers, administrators and registrars to a much higher standard for a fraction of the price.
Brexit
… as they say in ‘Blighty’.
If you are paying attention you will know that the UK are ‘about’ (June 23rd) to vote on whether The UK should exit the EU .. or stick with it. If you know of Brexit … then you are already tracking the for and against opinions. So I am not going to reference them all here.
If you don’t know of Brexit - stop reading. Now.
But - going back to the premise that you do know what it is, and you are wondering which way to vote. Read this. If that’s too long - then let me summarize with a single quote from Simon’s article.
To vote to remain, I would be doing the same to my son that was done to me. What would I say when he was older - I took away your power and gave it, without your permission, without thought for your future to unelected bureaucrats for a bit of security, safety and better job prospects?
Ok. Off you go.
As a quick fact check, Corbyn (the ‘Bern’ of the UK) is for staying in. Fan though I am of Bern and Jeremy, J seems to be at odds with my thoughts. Boris ? He’s for out. Yup. Obama - he wants us to stay in. But we know that ‘Merica never - ever - is thinking about what is right for the ’other’ country. So call me suspicious.
Bottom line - I am with Simon. It’s the long game I am interested in and democracy that I want.
1999
According to Dave Winer, his new product that he put out on early adopter, early release, on the very day that Prince passed has always been tied to Prince. (Who knew). If you don’t know who Dave is, check this out. I don’t know him, but like him for his position on the Open Web - something that is worth fighting for, even though it might not be obvious to you as to why. As Joni once sang - you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone - and trust me - if we lose the Open Web, it will be gone, it won’t come back and we all will have lost.
That all said - I am delighted to be part of the early adopter team for 1999. You can see my early start here.
Why is it called 1999? Because the future that Prince envisioned in 1982 was also in many ways the future that I envisioned then. Ideas that are communicated. That was my thing. 1999 was the year that started going big. When it was no longer a curiosity that just a few people took part in, but an idea that would eventually move every aspect of how people with ideas communicate.
Back in 1982 I didn’t know that 1999 would be the year.
He picked the year. And thus gave me the name of my product. And as it’s coming to life, his life ends.