Rewarding The Greenies, With $$$

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Most of the discussion around Climate Change is about offsetting the inevitable actions of humans.

For every one person not flying, there are perhaps ten who tick a box and pay $2.27 to offset the damage done (yeah, right)

Unless you are self-sufficient and organic and have no cows, all consumption endangers the future of our planet. So the obvious solution is to consume less.

We could start by banning loyalty reward schemes. NO, that would cause riots, I didn’t suggest that!

Governments are paying farmers not to do this or that, like not chopping down trees. Why can’t the same happen for ordinary people? Why can’t I be paid to not buy that handbag or watch from AliExpress?

Everything along that line of thought, I think can be gamed. Pay someone to not buy a handbag incentives them to say they were fully going to buy one.

What does work is lower-consumption alternatives in the market place, subsidised by the state.

That could be via:

A miles tax – products from further away cost more (a logistical and international trade nightmare)

Subsidies – a card that gives you cashback when you buy a lower consumption product – YES!

  • 10% cashback for buying wine in Victoria from a certified Victorian supplier
  • 20% cashback for anything with at least 50% recycled materials
  • 30% cashback on any restaurant meal with one or more serves of veggies
  • 30% cashback for the services actively being used on a phone older than 3 years
  • 50% cashback on used clothes

This is a great opportunity to launch a minimalist state-owned bank, that primarily offers savings accounts, debit cards and owner-occupied home loans. And that card they all use, is a Green Card. Only people with that card get the cashbacks.

Is this the first ever proposal that combines socialism and green in a shared every-day system?
(I should research it…)

*There is a negative to this idea. No regular government is ever going to promote less consumption. That means lower GDP (the god of economic metrics) and lower tax revenue.

So we need a “Green” party that promotes lower consumption and lower government spending – good luck making that happen.

So maybe the solution is non-government???

Anybody in theory can make this happen, but the cashbacks need a lot of funding.

It can start slowly, and build momentum. Even as small as one restaurant and the backing of a charity or corporation.

BUT WAIT! Governments are often keen on carbon credits, and these can be used here. All we need is to put a price on the things listed above. For example, buying a used pair of jeans is worth $5 versus buying new.

Permissions-Based Society

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Once upon a time, passports didn’t exist, the world was open to all (although you might have been restricted from entering castles).

With time society has become more careful about who can do what and where. Remember needing a Photo ID to rent a VHS video or get a library card?

More and more your access to some place requires permission. I need to swipe a card to take the elevator to my workplace, and swipe a fob to enter my 24/7 gym.

For almost everything useful online I need to register. Current debates about a misconstrued “freedom of speech” will likely lead to platforms that require an ID verification.

Older kids are (thankfully) being taught that when it comes to sex, permission needs to be explicit, not implied.

Key to my idea here is workplace flirting. It seems to me that it is a very subjective realm, what is OK or not. For example commenting on someone’s appearance can fit into a variety of spectrums, from mentioning the color of the clothing, to the brand (hey, I like XYX too!), to “damn girl, how did you snag that?”, to “is that a new harido, it suits you”, to “you are looking great”, to things clearly crude…

Once everyone is hooked into an Augmented Reality system, I can imagine that permissions can be assigned in the real world, just like you can choose who sees what in Facebook.

So when I glance at Brian in the typing pool, a message could pop-up saying “if you even mention my physique, HR will know in milliseconds”, or it could say “flatter me, I like to be talked about”. Clearly a scale of appropriateness is needed. Said AR system will of course record all conversations. And maybe monitor where your eyes go when looking at someone.

Clothes could come with built in permissions – the wearer wants you to stare lustfully. Or maybe your AR specs blur out things when you look at someone

AND…

Autistic people (etc, just for an example) could have it so when being served in a store, the AR glasses indicate that you would prefer not being asked if you need help.

Taxi divers can be informed that you dislike chit-chat.

Real Life Tech

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It needs a name and these days fin-tech is a thing, so I am thinking RL-Tech.

I mean taking real world hassles to a more efficient level.

  • Getting a library card
  • Getting a divorce

Actually divorce is the only good example I can think of.

Anyone who hears the word divorce instantly thinks of lawyers, court costs, animosity and takes forever.

Why doesn’t a heavily advertised business offer the opposite?

  • Low cost
  • NO court
  • Amicable
  • Quick

This is how it works – in the initial consultation you tell both parties that typically the wife gets two-thirds, and no matter how much you pay to argue it, the result doesn’t change. You waste a free consult or get a client.

For people smart enough to see how good it is, there is a quick and easy option, where you both just accept the probable outcome, and get it done ASAP for low fees.

Of course RL-Tech do all the legal, the financials, the therapy (extra fee), the bankruptcy (extra fee), the tax accounting (extra fee), the child care…

Call it something catchy and descriptive, like Insta!

First mover advantage, get on it!

AR Notes

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Killer apps can lead to great broad success.

For AR, I can imagine that sticky notes could be of great use.

For example, you notice that cold air is entering your home through a gap in the window frame. You can make an AR note at that very spot, and next time you look at it, you will be reminded.

Even better, attach notes to people. Like their names. Or something you shouldn’t mention. If that note is in your face when looking at them, you should be OK

Real Unreal

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This is a serious concept.

I predict that physical art will be huge once robots take all our jobs.

That art needs a marketplace, where anyone in the world can buy it.

The business model:

If a local, physically present person buys it – zero fees – sale price goes 100% to the artist

If someone remote buys it – 30% surcharge – the platform keeps that.

The incentive of the platform is to show the item well, and promote its existence, worldwide.

C*nt Identifier via AR

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Augmented reality will almost certainly contain a camera.

So it is not inconceivable that if you decide someone is not nice, others can get that via facial recognition.

That guy raped me = his life destroyed.

This can go in so many directions, but the clear result is twofold:

Such IDing is illegal
Underground networks doing this cannot be stopped

Peak Clock / Fuzzy Time

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I think this is an original idea… I am reading a book about quantum physics and time…

We have let time dictate what we do, and when. But a few hundred years ago few people had a clock or watch, and few people needed one.

I think we are heading back that way, and I think precision timekeeping will disappear, aside from being an odd artefact useful for only a few things.

Remember when people had 90210 or Sex and the City parties, and you had to be there before it started?

With hybrid office work, I have noticed people caring less about start and finish times. Where I work, we are in the office every other day, but people staying at home on those days, occasionally, matters not. And it is not unusual for sometime to do an hour of work at home, and then commute for a 9am start. Today a colleague turned up at 4 – he was going out in the city and the office was nearby, so he popped in. This is new and accepted. The cornerstone of time x society, the 9 to 5, is disappearing.

Some things rely on time, and I can’t see that changing. For example 3x 8 hour shifts at a factory. But they will become less common, very quickly.

  • We now get to watch TV when it suits us.
  • Public transport is, in general, becoming much more frequent. In some parts of Melbourne tram timetables say “every 8 minutes” instead of specifying times.
  • With mobile phones, arriving at a destination at a precise time is no longer required, because we can send a text saying we are 20 mins away.
  • Some high schools are introducing flexible schedules
  • And we all know the start time of a party is, if given, not meaningful

What about, say, doctors appointments? Well, a utopian future has sufficient numbers of doctors to making booking unnecessary.

What about the President’s address to the citizens on an urgent matter? Pre-record it and make it available from X time, and whenever after that that suits viewers to watch it. I predict times are said to be from, and not at.

Rock concerts? Guarantee not to start before X time.

I think the loosening of time will be good for society – time currently stresses people.

Weekend Employment Agencies

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Most people work 9-5.
Employment agencies are open 9-5.

Makes it hard to go for job interviews.

Surely an agency can take the lead on this, and save people the embarrassment of work colleagues saying “nice suit, job interview at lunchtime?”

Not rocket science.

While we are at it, be that bank that is open on Saturday mornings, or until 7pm on a Thursday.

Spotify: A Better Model

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What I miss is owning an album.

To be able to say I have all their albums.

The choosing which albums to buy, the deciding.

Spotify lets you have everything, at an insanely cheap price. For half what you used to spend on a CD you get virtually all music ever made that is worth a listen, each month.

And that means that your meagre subscription gets split amongst a lot of artists, after Spotify’s cut.

If Spotify doubled the subscription cost, and doubled the royalties, most artists would still feel ripped off.

So we need a better way, perhaps one that focusses on who your favourites are?

Current albums: Each month, on the first, you get to choose up to 5 albums as your current favourites. These are the only albums you can play more than twice, as albums, in that month. You can choose less than 5 and add others during the month

Why it works? You have anticipation and preparation for the new month. You get to share and compare your choices. And it is liking owning in the old days.

Lifetime fan: For a one-off fee, dictated by the artist, you get to listen to all of their music, and all of their future music, outside of any other limits.

Why it works? Fans can get exclusive perks. And you can call yourself a real fan.

Free albums: Any artist can have their albums provided for free, without royalties. These are outside of any limits as well.

Why it works? If you are not popular, letting people listen repeatedly and share with others can help launch you. Better than few plays and a tiny income.

Singles: Singles are free to listen to repeatedly, but only until they are available on an album. Then, once they are on an album, there are monthly limits, like maybe 10 plays.

Why it works? It is more like the radio used to be. Hear the single for free, buy the album.

Everything else: The same as the current Spotify model. Except you can’t listen to the same albums repeatedly. Or singles that are on albums repeatedly.

How does this work financially?

Minor artists get more plays if they choose the free option – because people will be less likely to play the major artists repeatedly.

All artists, big or small, have the ability to get a cash injection from signing up lifetime fans.

Major artists (who arguably make lots of money other ways, like tours) make less – increasing equality.

Subscribers get a more engaging experience.

Introducing Google Situ

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It began with a minor feature that few people cared about, and became a key player in the digital world. Google Situ un-tethered us from personal devices, and introduced shared devices with interchangeable users.

There are two important factors that led to Situ:

Devices and screens with the minimum acceptable functionality are getting cheaper and cheaper – for example a Chromebook. It doesn’t need to be any better than it is now, for most things it is used for. So as technology improves, it will become cheaper. Likewise any tablet version. We are starting to see such devices used as menus and ordering systems in restaurants. They will become so cheap and ubiquitous that nobody will steal them because everybody already has one or three.

Personalization of devices keeps expanding. When we turn on Netflix it asks which profile to use. That is just the beginning. Soon we will have profiles for the family car, depending on who is using it. The home Spotify stereo system will ask who is using it, so as to access their playlists. The thermostat will adjust according to who is in the house and what their preference is…

Phase 1 – the cross device Chrome experience

For some time it has been easy for a Chrome browser to use multiple profiles, and you can easily switch from one to the other. So far, that has been aimed at people wanting to, say, switch from their business persona to their personal one.

But before long, when people hire an electric car (or use a share car) and of course it has Android Auto, they will want to log in and have it knowing who is driving. And logging in will be cumbersome.

But before that, so as the competition didn’t see it coming, Google started with the browser experience. And adjusted it to suit the new hybrid work models. Millions of people are now suddenly expected to cart a laptop from work and back, because sometimes you work from home. How does that fit with after work drinks, or going to the gym before work?

Google Situ frees you from bringing your laptop with you. It is a dongle with 2FA that carries where you are at, your “situation”, with you. Plug it in to any Chromebook and carry on where you left off. So that means one Chromebook at home, and one at work. It is especially suited to hot desking and pooled computers – just grab any one from the stack at the entrance.

Going overseas? Just use any Chromebook when you arrive, no need to bring it with you. Need to work on the plane? Use the one that comes with your seat.

This will be a hit with people who work in tech and early adopters. It will be known to some degree by most of the public, but not used by them.

Phase 2 – recognizing you

Dongles are OK, but Chromebooks are notoriously short on places to plug in something, so Google will offer multiple ways of letting a device know it is you whose profile/situ they should be using. Each will need some form of bio-identification in case someone steals it. Face scans would be fine.

  • Ring
  • Wristband
  • Watch
  • Phone

All do the same job, and some people might own one of each, to use depending on the environment. Going to a rock concert or for a run, you’d probably choose a wearable. Each could have other functions, but they also have Situ functionality, which when brought up close to a Chrome screen (which before long will be a Situ screen), will adjust everything to what your needs are.

I expect such devices would be initially registered by jumping through some hoops, but otherwise, as long as they regularly bio-identify you, nothing more needs to be done. Maybe a pin code needs to be entered onto the device you are using – easy.

Phase 3 – the fun begins

Now you have something as simple as a ring to identify you… use your imagination:

  • concert or flight tickets
  • smart TV profile
  • see your playlists on a stereo at a party
  • adjust the driver’s seat of a car
  • McDonalds remembers your favorite order when you use the ordering screen
  • security access to work

The key is easiness. No need for apps, no need to carry a phone, no logging in.

Screen = monopoly

If the experience is dependent on a Situ screen, a monopoly can occur (security can be an excuse, as Apple does currently). For example, every train and plane will have a screen on the back of the seat in front of you, to login and use In Situ. It won’t have an Apple screen and a Google screen and a Microsoft screen. It will have one screen.

Now keep in mind, this is just hardware, unlike the app and browser wars of the past. You can access anyone’s product within the Chrome experience. For Netflix and Spotify it is simply knowing who you are for convenience, not changing the experience or who you pay.

But because Google is controlling an entire ecosystem, it can milk aspects of it, just as it does now.

I think this is the first time I have predicted a product, and its name 😉