Archive for the ‘Misc’ Category
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March 17th, 2009
“We are not a destination site” was the most frequently heard phrase in my conversations at the interactive parties at SXSW. But Garry Tan of Posterous said it to me early in the evening so he gets credit there. I’m happy about extreme meta-organizing tools, the organization of organization.
Baron Von Luxxury’s remix is Mark Ronson’s top pick (too)!
November 25th, 2008
The kind of candidate I’d like to have a beer with
November 4th, 2008
I can’t wait till tomorrow. It’s a few minutes past midnight on Monday, so actually early Tuesday, Nov. 4th and in one small town out East, the first votes have already come in. It feels like Christmas Eve! Tomorrow, there will be people waiting to streak in the Mission, to raise a glass at Joey and Eddie’s in North Beach, the world will be watching.
What’s been amazing to observe and appreciate over and over again over the past few months is that we can finally experience admiration for the personal and intellectual qualities of a political leader. When was the last time?! I see it in kids and in men and women of all ages and backgrounds. We have a role model, someone we’d be excited to call a friend, and yes, the kind of person I would like to have a beer with.
I also think of these times as marking the beginning of an irreversible leftward shift in American politics. There is something about the Democratic party that is starting to appeal to universal values. I think it’s because we can finally see a tangible representation, in Obama, of the ideals we’ve always believed in — honesty, humility, a challenge to any extreme imbalance of power, zero tolerance for spin, a leadership style based on restraint, grace, intelligence, compromise without weakness — it is the better face of America.
And if we think about what the information age and technology have brought about, combined with the inconvenient truth that the world’s resources are finite and as humans we have to be guardians of our planet in order to survive, then I think we are marching inexorably toward a future where 2 things will be true. First, institutions will become more democratized as the internet increases transparency and returns knowledge and power to individuals and communities, and second, our interdependence and vulnerability in the face of finite resources will force a level of compromise and cooperation that will reshape individual behaviors, community action and global alliances.
So I don’t think these will be just cyclical changes anymore – where there will be some backlash against openness, access and the empowerment of individuals and unfortunately, I don’t think there can ever be a return to a sense of abundance about the our planet’s resources. So if we can use these truths for good, and organize alongside a leader who symbolizes these values, I do think we are marching forward on a path that we cannot turn back on and it is so deeply exciting.
LAST NIGHT A DJ SAVED MY LIFE
September 13th, 2008
PUERTO VALLARTA OFF SEASON
September 6th, 2008
TRYING IS HARD AND WHY YODA SHOULD SHOVE IT
August 21st, 2008
This week in Indu’s life thanks Winston Churchill and Esther Dyson.
Esther for saying “Always make new mistakes.” And Churchill for saying what the graffiti on this phone booth in Venice, CA says.
Also the person who said “Anything worth doing is worth doing badly.”
I kind of love that and I think if you’ve tried something hard you know exactly what that means. You can’t be self conscious about looking stupid if you are taking a risk and starting a start-up is about as exposed and illogically risky as it gets.
In our hearts…
March 1st, 2008
My grandmother, Eunice Christabel D’sa, was taken from us this morning. She was surrounded by family, love and support in the comfort of her home in Bangalore, India. She is more with me in spirit today than ever before. I have to leave to get on a plane to host the Health 2.0 conference in a couple of hours. It is what she would have wanted, she was proud of this gathering and this movement. Nothing serves as a more powerful reminder of our commitment to make healthcare more human-centered than moments like this.
The year in gratitude
January 1st, 2008
This year deserves a round-up. On a personal note, it was a year for taking risk, for being surprised, for learning how to collaborate, for sticking with a vision, for not being afraid to be a beginner at something, for immersive travel, for treasuring relationships in the face of mortality and loss.
I met and got to work with a brilliant group of people at Physic Ventures. Their mission, accomplishments and plans for a sustainable and healthy world are awe-inspiring. I’m honored to have been Entrepreneur-in-Residence this past year and look forward to an ongoing collaboration in 2008.
Health 2.0, the conference and community, was born. And announced its arrival through a megaphone. We are delighted that the forum is able to inspire innovators to change healthcare and now with 2 events planned in 2008, we’re poised to support the evolution of this movement as it surely takes unexpected twists and turns. Esther Dyson’s article about the conference in the Huffington Post is on my wall, and somewhere on my desk is the front page article from the Tech section of the SF Chronicle, where we were quoted, but the absolute best thing about the conference are times like when an entrepreneur said, “I spent 16 hrs on a plane from Israel, and I had no idea there were other companies like us, trying to do things this way. It was totally worth the trip.”
And in a quieter way, a little company that we hope makes life better for doctors and patients came into the world. Starting out on paper sketches in 2005, to an executive summary exactly 1 year ago that wise friends and colleagues weighed in on, to a functioning prototype in March built by developers and designers with an average age of 20, using Google chat as our primary means of communication, to a company that will launch with a world-class team and make some waves in 2008…please meet Medly.
We moved around a lot this year. We spent a sticky summer in NYC where I studied directing and screenwriting at the School of Visual Arts.
Over the course of 10 weeks, we slept in 7 different homes or apartments, granted some of that included a trip to New Orleans and to the best kept secret in Mexico, La Isla Mujeres.
At the end of the summer, while we were still in NY, we lost two very close friends, Theresa Duncan and Jeremy Blake, in a shocking and tragic way. Enough has been written about them in blogs, in the New York Times and in Vanity Fair, so I won’t add to that, but they affect us every single day, they inspire us to stay true to leading singular, authentic and creative lives above all.
The travel continued, but for mixed reasons. I spent 2 weeks in Bangalore this October to be with my grandmother who fell ill this year. It was a time of reflection and strong emotions, but I treasured every moment with the most brilliant, articulate, witty, well-read, elegant, graceful and unforgettable 92 year-old lady in India.
I have never looked forward to a year the way I’m looking forward to 2008. If it is a better year than 2007, my cup runneth over. To health, family, creativity and the pursuit of making the world a better place. Welcome 2008!
A brand/context mismatch!
December 28th, 2007
So, I’m all for traditional brick and mortar or even Web 1.0 companies embracing the new internet ways and all, I espouse this daily on the Health 2.0 scene, but the above is just not what I want to see in my inbox, no, not at all. It might as well say the IRS is going to hunt you down, omg, lol, smiley face with wink.
Know your brand and know your place!
Dave Eggers’ response to "keeping it real" – not his phrase
November 18th, 2007
I was taken by Dave Eggers’ long and impassioned response to a Harvard student’s interview question on “how do you keep it real?”
And here’s my response to his response.
Dave Eggers’ piece resonated with me. Yes to saying yes. But if this were a live conversation, I’d want to put the following to him: what about the implicit contract an artist or entrepreneur (while still early and small) makes with his or her viewer, reader, listener, user? I think Dave doesn’t acknowledge that there is an intimacy to the relationship between an emerging artist and audience member/fan, a bond more imagined than real, full of unrequited passion and adolescent fantasy perhaps, but no less visceral to the early fan or the early adopter of a new technology for that matter.
When the artist or entrepreneur gets big, this notion of monogamy or mutual loyalty, albeit illusory, is shattered. So the young person, explorer/discoverer, president of a fan club of 3 feels an inexplicable sense of betrayal and moves on to support the next underdog. Remember “you were working as a waitress in a cocktail bar, when I met you. Now 5 years later, you’ve got the world at your feet. Success has been so easy for you. But don’t forget it’s me who put you where you are now and I can put you back down too. Don’t you want me baby?” Creepy, yes, but kind of a hard-to-ignore part of the psyche of fan-hood.
And this goes beyond the arts. Mike Arrington, tech guru, writer, investor wrote a sad post about the state of silicon valley now vs. a number of years ago, Silicon Valley could use a downturn right now.
Small is beautiful, big can be devastatingly gorgeous and infinitely renewing, but the journey between the two is by definition a relationship between creator and experiencer and therefore inherently fraught with negotiation.
Billboard across from Magic Castle