vinyarb

like, what is legit anymore?

Before we get to the Internet of Things

Feb
26

Talking about the internet of things always makes me excited, but afraid at the same time. The possibilities it brings to make our lives better are endless, yet at the same time, those wearing black hats will always find a way to hack through things. So as devices start coming alive in our homes, it also means there are more potential loopholes and vulnerabilities people can leverage to “hack” into our homes.

But that’s for another post.

For today, let’s talk about wearables. As of today, there are 127 wearable devices out there in the market. They range from Heads Up Displays like Google Glass, to fitness tracking bands like fitbit and smartwatches like Pebble, with use-cases ranging from fitness to utilities to medical and lifestyle.

ALL of these wearables run on batteries and hence require charging. So imagine today when you get home, you’ll need to charge your laptop, tablet, mobile, glasses, wristband and watch. That’s just today. What about in 2020, when there will be an estimated 30 billion devices connected to the Internet of Things?

Before we get settled in the internet of everything, we’ll first need a charger for anything. I think this provides a really great opportunity for wireless charging pads to really get off the ground in terms of demand. I know I’ll be wanting one.

wireless charging

I will boldly proclaim that in line with innovation bringing about the internet of things, we will finally see the death of cables.

Agree?

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WhatsApp Sold

Feb
20

As with Flappy Bird, when it was announced that Facebook is going to acquire WhatsApp for USD $16B, plus a further $3B retention bonuses, I’m sure there will be a flurry of new messaging copycat apps. With names like ThatsApp, ThisApp, WhatsThat etc.

All jokes aside, before I could unroll my jaw back off the floor at the pricetag, I came across this article from Forbes with the click-baitish headline Why Selling WhatsApp to Facebook would be the biggest mistake of Jan Koum’s and Brian Acton’s Lives.

The author took the examples of the sale of YouTube and Instagram as examples of how founders had sold their businesses, only for it to grow exponentially in value some time later. In the case of YouTube, they sold it off to Google in 2006 for 1.6b, certainly not a small sum, and while YouTube is definitely a big part of Google right now and worth a whole lot more, it doesn’t mean Chad and Steve would have been able to attain the same level of success if they’d stayed the course without the massive resources of Google to back them up.

Another argument he put forth was that entrepreneurs, or anyone really, will have maybe 1 good idea their entire life. WhatsApp seems to be it for Jan and Brian, so they should hold on to it and play the long game. I say $16B is a pretty darn good price for the one good idea in your life. I would go further to say that NOT selling WhatsApp at $16b would be the biggest mistake of their lives.

In this day and age, barriers to entry for any business is getting lower. Anyone can build almost anything and bring it to market at a (more or less) global level, especially when it comes to tech. So yes, Eric Jackson, before you write such headlines, I’d like to see you reject $16 billion dollars.

Congratulations on the brilliant exit. With this acquisition, WhatsApp is now even more valuable than established brands like Campbell Soup, Harley Davidson and American Airlines!

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Just keep flapping

Feb
12

Have you heard of Flappy Bird? Of course you have. That annoyingly simple to play, yet improbable to master gameplay is really what makes it super addictive.

Tap a flying bird to keep it in the air and navigate through broken pipes. How difficult can it be? Millions have tried. Many have failed.

But what really makes this an incredible story, is the sudden rise of the app, and fall of its creator. As the game rose in popularity, all eyes fell upon creator Dong Nguyen, and he started getting comments and tweets at him, both positive and negative.

Initially, he’d reply to the feedback and tweets gamely, but as time wore on, and the media picked up on his story, he started feeling frustrated by all the media attention and the negative impact his game was having on millions of players.

The game, designed to be a simple time-waster while waiting for your commute, instead turned out to be night-stealer, its addictive nature wiping away hours on end. It was meant to bring joy to our lives, instead, we alternate between love and hate of it. That, was the reason Nguyen decided to pull the plug on the game, removing it from the Android and IOS Appstores.

When he first announced that the game would be pulled, many thought it was a prank. Afterall, according to the Verge, he was raking in $50,000 per day serving up in-game ads. Why would anyone in their right mind do something like that? Well, don’t worry. He’s not crazy. In fact, he is rather brilliant, in my mind.

You see, while the game is no longer available for download on the stores, those who’ve previously installed the game would still have access to it. And with the supply now suddenly gone, demand for the game has in fact increased, and those who’ve already downloaded the game (50 million at last count) will no doubt be playing it even more, and passing the phones around to compete with friends who don’t have it.

The ads are still running on the already installed phones, so in my opinion, Nguyen has just nailed the perfect passive income for at least the next couple of months! His $50,000 per day (probably more) continues to flow in, while he no longer has to deal with queries, comments and vitriol (real or imagined) about the game.

Here’s an exclusive interview he did with Forbes regarding his decision to remove the app.

As long as we keep flapping, he’s going to be able to keep sipping mai tais on the beach. And if you were late to the game and desperately want to flap some birds, my phone is for sale for $6,888. Call me.

You can also download a flood of copies currently on the appstores, but Flappy Bee just doesn’t have the same ring, does it?

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