So Burning Man’s Larry Harvey passes away. He was 70 years old. But what does this Burning Man concert promoter has to do with IT service and technology? More than we think. Because relations between Silicon Valley and Black Rock City is closer than we think.
Burning Man started in San Francisco started in 1986. So before it became a concert, it became a movement of tech innovation. Then, in the early 1990s, they moved to Black Rock City, Nevada. Harvey helped facilitate that move. He did this because he wanted to escape distractions. That way, radical ideas could flow. Even today, tech leaders attend burning man every year. These include small business starters to executives from Google, Facebook and Tesla. In 2004, to create a thinking person’s environment, Harvey came up with ten rules of Burning Man.? Notice how many times he mentions the word ‘radical’ in those rules.
Now, around 70,000 attend Burning Man every year. Furthermore, some of tech’s biggest advancements has ties to this festival. They conducted some of the first self-driving car tests here. The LED tech heads light sculptures there. Last year, they used the Apple ARKit to map LED leaves. You also had the Google SkyBox Imaging satellites. They showed off their new aerial imagery. So here’s another cool thing about Burning Man. No money is allowed, and Harvey saw to it no money was allowed. This forced people to be not only self-reliant, but equal to each other.? Here, the tech billionaire was no better than the struggling tech employee.
This breaks down a lot of barriers and pride, and it causes many IT support ideas to flourish. Before I read about Burning Man’s Larry Harvey passing away, I had crazy notions about Burning Man. I thought it was some modern day combination of Woodstock and Hedonism II. I thought it was some party place where all things debauchery went. But now I know that’s not what Harvey’s legacy intends to happen. Harvey meant for burning man to be a community of freedom and ideas, not an endless spring break party. Have you ever attended Burning Man? If so, then what are some of your memories?
So one of the biggest issues Silicon Valley has is wealth inequality. On one hand, you have tech billionaires eating good. But on the other hand, even people making $100,000 a year struggle to eat and pay rent. However, one company fights that. Survey Monkey starts a Silicon Valley movement.
So Survey Monkey is a $2 billion company that provides online surveys. Like many tech companies, they hire third-party contractors. Generally, tech companies give third-party contacts perks, like free food and tech toys. But among most of these workers, there is a feeling of second-class citizenship. Then you have issues like affordable housing. However, unlike most tech companies, Survey Monkey took a poll with their contract workers. They found out their perks aren’t enough. So they did something about it.
Starting in January 2018, Survey Monkey gave contractors more benefits, like health, and paid time off. They offered free public transit to and from work. Also, they offered paid sick time if a family member is ill. This generality is paying off. Though they don’t pay a 401k plan, they have advisers to help all their employees obtain one. This may not sound like much, but it’s making a world of difference. One contractor even said nobody invests in them anymore to this extent. Another was so grateful she had tears in her eyes as they gave her these benefits.
It comes at a time when the IT service world over there seems to be financially coming apart. Remember when I said making $100,000 a year barely pays the bills? Well, try making $19,000 a year in Silicon Valley. Or try being a white collar worker making $55,000 a year. Now $55,000 might go a long way in some parts of America, but not where the average one bedroom apartment costs over $2,800 a month. People and whole businesses are leaving that area because of this inequality. I hate to say it, but greater Boston isn’t much better. Yes, our area is becoming a tech hub. But near our computer service shop, rent cost have doubled in just the last 15 years. Will Survey Monday start a Silicon Valley movement?
So Amazon’s e-commerce app is only available in a few countries. We’re talking USA, most EU countries, Australia and Singapore. But that’s about to change. Because Amazon e-commerce globalizes.
So here’s what’s happening. A new feature lets 100 other countries buy from Amazon. They can now do so with mobile apps. They’re also showing off the app to nations that don’t feel Amazon’s presence as much. They can do this through an international shipping system. Let’s say you’re in one of these nations. Yes, Amazon will ship to your address, but it will also add up shipping, taxes, and global taxes for you.
But is it worth it? Depends on who you ask. I read an article from one person in Thailand. Thanks to shipping costs and taxes, products from Amazon will be 75% higher. Then add the extra time it will take. So that person will probably say no. But you know there are people who will embrace this change. Just because it’s Amazon, and just because it’s an American company, many around the world will flock to it. However, we can expect the silent treatment. And we got it. Amazon leaders aren’t telling us how many countries this service is in, or where it’s going to. The most we know is ‘100 different nations’ will get this new service.
But it doesn’t stop us in IT service from speculation. Look at their international streaming services. At the time of this link, the streaming services weren’t available in China. But that could change. They’re pushing hard to push Echo and prime. Across our Boston computer service shop, there is a Whole Foods. A whole segment of the store is dedicated to selling Amazon’s devices and software. Aha, now it’s making more sence. Amazon e-commerce globalizes as it attracts int’l customers. Is this why? So they can push there streaming services globally as well?
In the 1990s, the Internet boom changed everything. But now, in the late 2010s, it seems to be at a crossroads. I say this because this technology gave us so much jobs, innovation, and ease. Now, it’s giving us fear, scandal, cyber crime, and if you ask some people, borderline apocalypse. Look at the AI/robot technology movement. At one time, people looked at the Internet as finally, a level playing field for prosperity. Anyone who wanted to get rich, or add income, could just start an online business. However now, it looks like all of online industry and computer manufacturing are dominated by a handful of mega corporations. There was a time when tech seemed like an escape from harsh realities. But now, big brother technology follows us everywhere, whether we want it to or not, adding more gray hair, ulcers and stress.
Don’t get me wrong. I love 21st century technology and modern IT service. It kept me employed for nearly 15 years. I love the fact that I…no…we can do things that we couldn’t do with it even 10 years ago. But just like a parent with a misbehaving child…who and what I love is also who and what I chastise. Many say, “Companies like Facebook and Amazon are too big to fail. So they’re too big to care.”. I understand that concern, but they better care. If Mark Zuckerberg didn’t care before, you can bet he’s caring now. Imagine your company’s dirty laundry being aired out for all America and rest of the world to see. That is what is happening to Facebook now. President Trump is already calling Amazon out. These two stories alone should be warnings to us all. How do we fix big tech? Can we?
So let’s go back to 2014. Yes, a lot of things happened on the IT support and computer repair front. But one event was Facebook acquiring What’s App for $22 billion. Brian Acton founded What’s App. But now, Brian Acton tweets ‘Delete Facebook’.
However, there is more to the story. Because there is the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Many media reports say this London research firm got over 50 million Facebooks accounts. They got them without permission or approval from any of the Facebook users. Also, to this day, many still blame the fake news on Facebook for Donald Trump’s election win back in November 2016.
So yesterday, Brian Acton tweeted this to the whole world: It’s time. #deleteFacebook#. Acton is now a data and privacy rights advocate. In fact, Acton left team Facebook in 2017 to start his own non-profit. He named it Signal. It is an alternative to What’s App and it ensures better privacy when sending messages. Acton believes Signal’s purpose is to build technology that doesn’t sell, give, or compromise personal data. Acton isn’t the only one who is turning on Facebook right now. In recent days, their stock prices plummeted. It’s making some ground today, but we’ll see. However, another former Facebook leader said they created a monster, and now that monster is messing up society. That was basically his drift.? Some other former employees publicly regret even working for Facebook.
But let’s get back to Brian Acton. Why is he saying and doing this? I don’t know. I tried to look for motive. Maybe he really does believe Facebook is playing with people’s freedoms and privacy and personal data. If that’s the case, then he would have a valid point. Is he concerned about Cambridge Analytica? Because frankly, so am I. Is he still ticked about 2016’s election? Or is he still upset about be being bought out?
So, ever hear of Andrew Yang? He is a IT service venture capitalist. In fact, he founded Venture of America. Furthermore, he wrote books like ‘The War of Normal People”. In this book, he talks about America’s jobs going away. They’re not going to other countries, but to non-human entities. Andrew Yang wants to save us from robots.
That’s why he’s running for President of the United States in 2020. He just put his name in for the Democrat Party’s nomination that year. But he has radical ideas, maybe too radical for many. I talked about the problem of wealth inequality, especially in tech hubs like Silicon Valley. So to combat this, Yang proposes Universal Basic Income. This includes a ‘freedom dividend’. As I understand it, this would income from the tax’s revenue of tech’s big four. I’m talking mega tech companies like Amazon, which Yang calls out. Some of that revenue would go from these companies to ordinary citizens. Andrew Yang even wants a new digital social currency. Then, he would use this currency to help with social issues, like caring for the elderly and disadvantaged.
I also want to talk about his concern with AI and robotics. He address this kind of technology and how it’s taking human jobs. He also says AI is a huge threat, erasing millions of jobs at a time. Even at our Boston computer service shop, I hear the concern. He believes his new digital currency can help ease the AI threat. Let me say this now. This is not an endorsement for Andrew Yang. I’m just telling you he’s running in 2020, and this is his platform. Whether you choose him or not, that’s your choice. But there are some things I like about him, and some things about him that disturb me. I respect he addresses the problem of AI technology. But his Universal Basic Income and digital currency sounds a little Big Brother Orwellian to me. Would you vote for Andrew Yang?
