How to Change a Constitution

Last night I watched the Daily Show, and King Abdullah of Jordan was the guest (watch the episode here). In addition to being incredibly well spoken (Deerfield and Oxford educated) the King presented some ideas that were totally new to me.  I found myself thinking about  his assessment that the constitutional monarchies of the Middle East are doing better than the republics. His point was that a monarchy can rewrite the constitution to help transitions, while in a republic they must first toss out a government, rebuild a new one one, and then get to work re-writing the constitution. Then hold real elections. There are so many opportunities for failure in this process.

Moderate Mechanisms

In Thomas Friedman’s NYTimes op-ed “Backlash to the Backlash” he quotes Muslim journalists in the Middle East addressing the hypocritical nature of anti-Western anger. In essence, Friedman suggests that a progressive take on Islam and cultural self-reflection is the way forward. As the images of homemade “RIP Chris Stevens” signs streamed out of Benghazi the day after his murder, I found myself contemplating the role of moderates during turmoil. Moderates are pretty quiet until they have to speak or act. Many may be scared of the direction of  the Arab Spring if the extremists lead change, while also afraid to stick their own neck out (totally reasonable).

What is to keep extremists from taking complete control? What keeps the Tea Party from a majority steak in the USA? (this is not a direct comparison, relax dear reader).  Well, in the USA we have a mechanism composed of free speech, satire, and reasonable alternatives that allows for the expression and eventual (metaphorical) disarming of explosive extremist groups. I believe the Arab world is in the process of building these mechanisms. It comes from a mix of some democratic ideas, and a real belief that the people are responsible for the direction of a nation or culture. In ten years, I hope to see moderate political parties in power, including people with the intellect to balance economic situation.

Tweet Tweet

To quote my favorite band from high school, Bloc Party: “If it can be touched, then it can be turned“. This is what the Arab world is realizing. The people have control over something. That ‘something’ varies greatly from nation to nation, but there is a handhold to rise from  in every country despite very real obstacles. If the people can access the inner workings of government and see what’s happening, then the people can make change.

I don’t believe that technology can cause a popular revolution. Twitter did not cause the Arab spring. But the feeling that others are listening, that the distance between the top and the bottom can be jumped with a tweet is one of the most important products of technological connectedness. The reason Twitter caught on in the USA is exactly that same feeling; a lakers fan can have a direct connection to Kobe, and Steve Nash. Accessibility is the motor driving stardom. This same motor can propel more significant change, like the rise of accountability and transparency in government.

Finishing Up

These are my quick thoughts in response to a conversation with a friend, not well researched, and certainly not “well informed.” Perhaps it’s naive to think that improvement is inevitable, particularity with nuclear Iran looming and no real solution for the Israeli-Palistine fracas. But why not hope, and take this opportunity to reflect on the role of moderates to make change all over the world.

Day one of work was a bit of an auspicious start, if I say so myself. I got up at 8am on a Saturday for the first time not heading to an athletic event. I did some pushups (trying to build good habits) and walked down the 4 flights from my buddy’s apartment to the Chinatown street where BBC Human Planet filmed their segment on rats. I’m incredibly grateful that he’s letting me crash while he is galavanting throughout the Far East. He may be the most cleanly human male on the planet. Staying in his place is a bit like sleeping in a really comfy Apple store, if Apple stores had Frank Miller novels and a bit more Hello Kitty.

When I first got on the train I was confused as to where everyone was. Turns out not many people commute to Brooklyn at 8:30am on Saturdays. Who knew? After the last 3 days of packing, moving, and unpacking, the days of the week kind of blend together like slices of ice-cream cake melted into a big mess (did I mention it’s hot? It is). After getting off the train in BK I grabbed an iced coffee on the way to the office space, only to find the doors locked. I called my co-founder and discovered that in the rush to let his awesome puppy out this morning, he locked himself out of his apartment with all his keys inside. Including the keys to the office. Le sigh.

The lesson of the day is this: every successful step forward will be preceded by hurdles. Sometimes you can make like the DIII track runners and karate-kick them down as you sprint past (apparently you just need to *attempt* to clear hurdles in order to not be disqualified). Other times you need to take a step back, get your footing, and leap as high as you can without expectations. In a startup, it may always feel like a sprint. Spending the morning in a coffee shop is a minor obstacle, even if it feels like it’s freezing my productivity when I’m ready to blaze through my to-do list. Our burn rate is exceptionally low, but it FEELS like money is flying through the bars of our single window and evaporating into the sky (did I mention it’s hot?). The pressure to ship quickly is immense, and the desire to make it perfect can be overwhelming.

Despite the importance of speed, life is not a race. Our entrepreneurial drive will not be fulfilled or snapped by this venture. There will be opportunities in the future, and being able to recognize the bigger picture of our current hard work makes overcoming daily obstacles less difficult, or at least less stressful. There is always an upside. Today, I got to start my day with coffee and orange juice while writing this post to the sounds of the Red Hot Chili Peppers in the neighborhood coffee shop.

Not bad for my first day at the office.

I’m packing a truck with my college desk, chairs, a table, and heading to New York City. In some ways this is a long time coming. I was born in New York, and have always visited my family in the area frequently. I’ve always wanted to live in Manhattan, for the action and volume of human interaction. From another vantage point, this move is unexpected. The reason for the move, and the particular endpoint, is to be able to work on Perch full time. I’m moving to be near my co-founder because his roots are setting in (he has a dog) and the team will be happy there. A big part of this is being able to be near our current friends, and therefore happier in our work. It is also a move to make the most of our endeavor. Our potential users are all over, but our growth will be best supported by an international user base.

New York City is probably the largest hub for international transplants and travelers on the globe. This is a huge opportunity, one that we think outweighs the supremacy of Silicon Valley. Five or ten years ago this would not be true, but the growing tech scene in New York can provide the services and interaction our team needs to strive toward our potential. Places like Dogpatch Labs are there to support companies, and have a connection to traditional venture capital. Then there are spots like General Assembly, a coworking space that runs classes and talks geared toward tech entrepreneurs. These locations (and many others) provide an easy way to build skill sets and network with other people working towards similar goals.

New York may not be the technology Mecca, but perhaps it’s Jerusalem.

Why would there be a large difference between wifi usage on android vs iPhones?

Wifi is faster, uses less battery, and almost always has uncapped data limits.

This data from comscore got me thinking about differences in behavior caused by different functionality. I tried Android for over a year before switching to the iPhone 4. Both platforms have strengths and weaknesses. The differences between people using the two operating systems been advertised widely, but studied with about as much depth as a kiddy pool. This is a lesson in group differences. Mainly, they are not interesting by themselves. Differences between people are not worth noting unless the “why” question can be addressed.

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