Chris Maury's Blog

The Rise of the Subcultural Economy

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 15:19:15 -0800

This is a response to Venkatesh Rao’s post Peak attention and the colonization of subcultures. It’s a great article, a long read that I recommend everyone take a look at.

The TLDR of the post is that the Internet has connected subcultures to such an extent that in the near future we’ll see a corporate takeover of even the smallest cultural entity.

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I don’t entirely disagree with Mr. Rao; I do see a near future where the smallest interaction between groups of people will be exploited for some form of profit. But, where he sees this capitalistic force coming from the next evolution of Bieber Corp, I find it much more likely to see it come from members of the subculture themselves.

No matter how much data you have about the future direction of a subculture, only a member of that subculture can convince them to move. People hate astroturfing.

We can already see subcultural trends being monetized by members on services like Etsy and Kickstarter. These tools have allowed subcultures to focus the demand that has been generated inside a subcultural community by enterprising members.

The future is much more likely to bring about a flowering of creativity from diverse subcultures, than a centralized control of subcultural desires.

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If we are to see a corporate domestication of subcultural converstaion, it is going to be a degree removed from directly participating. The problem isn’t in creating the cultural items, but rather in the fact that those items have a lifespan, often far longer than the amount of time it is used by a given cultural group. Skateboarding moved from surfer bums, to skater punks, and eventually to urban centers. The context required to stimulate demand in anyone of those groups makes it very difficult to operate in another.

Rather, I think what we will see is more of an investment model, where saavy investors (either institutional or crowd sourced) fund subcultural members to create their own cultural artifacts. This outcome would be greatly facilitated by the passage of either of the crowdfunding bills currently in congress.

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The Internet has enabled the blossoming of diverse communities all around the world, and n the coming years, like Mr. Rao said, we will see a vast commercialisation of this space. A commercialization that I hope will be more organic than corporate.

If you want to beat hollywood...

Sun, 22 Jan 2012 21:14:00 -0800

Shocking that I would be writing about hollywood in the wake of SOPA?PIPA. AMIRIGHT?

No, but seriously. If the world is to defeat the monolithic behemoth that is Hollywood, who spends so much money on lobbying, more than the marketing budget of Fuck Buddies Two: Birth Control, they are going to have to do something drastic.

Paul Graham says its not about content, but if you’ve been to the movies lately, or looked at a movie trailer, you know that it absolutely is about content. What was the last movie you saw in theaters? Was it actually worth the money? Probably not.

Television is worse. The most popular shows are stereotypes of geeky intellectuals or worse, Two and a Half men.

If we are to liberate american culture from Hollywood we are going to have to create the tools that allows independent film makers to release quality content. There are already some companies who are helping, but there are other needs to be met.

Here is a breif drunken overview:

1. Distrify.com

Distriy allows filmakers to distribute films simply and easily. All Distrify does is creat a video plug-in that allows publishers to embed trailers, rentals or purchases into any site on the internet. It’ amazing. You can look at Gary Hurstwit’s Urbanized as an example. So cool.

2. Network of filmakers, actors, etc.

I don’t know of any websites that connect directors with actors and make up artists, but I’m sure they exist. There has to be a network outside of LA to connect all the people necessary to make a film. It’s not that hard.

3. Screen testing.

Hollywood is all about the mass market. They don’t want to offend the soccer moms or the bible belt. If indy film makers of the internet want to be able to create content that attracts large audiences and by extension large ad buys, they have to create content that “tests well”. In order to do that, there has to be a cheap way of testing content with focus groups. Let’s create a service that allows filmmakers to get feedback on individual scenes to help them throw the editing process.

4. Community theatre

Movie theaters make all their money off of popcorn and Coke. I know because my first job was at a concession stand at Tinseltown 17. Hurray! Filling seats during the week is difficult, and a biopic about Edgar Allen Poe staring John Cusack isn’t going to help. If there was a service that allowed the local movie goers to vote on which films, hollywood of indy, that were to be screened, it would help create new sources of content as well as boost attendance at theaters. Win win.

Anyway, if we are to create content alternatives to Paul Blart and King of Queens, the internet has to create services which bring down the cost of content creation for film makers. It’s going to happen. Let’s hope its just sooner rather than later. I for one am not looking forward to Battleship or any of the other “franchises” which pass for engaging moviemaking…

My iPhone’s HDR overlaid a protest sign over city hall...

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 11:13:16 -0800

My iPhone’s HDR overlaid a protest sign over city hall during the SOPA protest with Craig Newmark and the head of Hackers and Founders. Oh, MC Hammer also had a cameo.

Being a Star Wars fan has jumped the shark

Sun, 15 Jan 2012 22:23:40 -0800

It pains me to say it, but it’s true. Quoting Star Wars is no longer the secret hand shake between geeks that it once was.

Star Wars references have become so pervasive that they have lost all meaning.

Where once a witty “these aren’t the droids you’re looking for” showed that someone shared the same interests as you, and wasn’t afraid to share them in public; now the offhand reference only shows that you haven’t been living under a rock for the last 10 years, and you know what the internet is.

I’m not yearning for some idyllic past where nerds could feel accepted just by quoting movie lines to their close friends, or know a poser for their failure to know the proper shibboleth.

Rather, Star Wars serves as an example of how we build community and create bonds through shared experiences. When that shared experience loses its exclusivity, the community it represents breaks down.

The ways in which Star Wars is being used today, are so far removed from the original sentiment, that it is almost comical.

So next time you see someone wearing a Star Wars t-shirt, don’t expect to be able to bond over your hatred of Jar-Jar, or debate whether or not the Rebels committed Genocide against private contractors when the blew up the second death star.

A much more better phrasing of what I am trying to say can be found in Patton Oswalt’s essay on the death of Otaku.

My Newest app: ClinicalTrialsHQ.com

Sun, 08 Jan 2012 22:01:58 -0800

I’ve been working on a new project, ClinicalTrialshq.com. It’s still a work in progress, but It’s coming along.

ClinicalTrialsHQ allows patients to search over the National Institute of Healths database of open clinical trials across the world. Additionally, patients can provide their email and receive notifications when new trials become available for a given condition.

The idea for the application came from a personal need. I was diagnosed with a disease that has no cure, and only a few treatments in clinical trials. A few Google searches later led me to clinicaltrials.gov. An open database of clinical trials geared towards researchers and practitioners. I wanted to build something that patients could use more comfortably.

There is stil a lot of work left to do. I have to finish the front-end, and the search is not nearly as good or fast as it could be. I should have it finished in the next few days.

The code is available at github.com/cmaury/clinicaltrialshq.

Let me know what you think.

Airbnb + Springstar: A new model for international expansion

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 13:07:30 -0700

Last week we saw AirBnB announce a partnership with Springstar, a relatively unknown incubator (at least in the US) to help with international expansion. I happened to be in Berlin with BASES and EBS visiting Springstar when they made the announcement (crazy, right?).

Here are two insights I gleaned from the trip:

First of all Springstar is not an incubator; at least, not like the ones here in the US.

Secondly, this type of partnership is the first of many we will be seeing in the near future.

Springstar is not an Incubator

If Silicon Valley is about Innovation, Europe is about copycats. And, while we may scoff at their lack of fresh ideas, they aren’t in the business of new ideas. They are in the business of building companies.

The investment environment in Europe is not the same as it is here. Investors are much more risk averse. This has, then, changes the focus of VCs and so-called incubators. Rather than focusing on discovering new business models, they instead focus on executing and scaling proven models.

Calling Springstar an incubator is somewhat of a misnomer. They are better termed holding companies who have internalized all of the core functions of running a tech company: Search engine marketing, Management, development. They have done their utmost to minimize execution risk.

Leaders in international expansion

By focusing on execution instead of innovation firms like Springstar and Rocket Internet are spending resources on opening markets, not iterating on product design, thus creating a comparative advantage in setting up shops in multiple countries.

They’ve been to Sao Paulo, New Delhi, and Dubai. They know how to set up office spaces, how to hired local talent, and how to market effectively. They have experience with the idiosyncrasies of the local markets and are familiar with the regulatory environments.

These European incubators are minimizing execution risk and are very attractive options for any US company looking to tackle the international market. Expect AirBnB to be just the first of many to take this route in the future.

Discussion

Do you think the European model incubator could work in the US?

how do I download your Google reader extension for chrome? My computer can't recognize what to open it with?

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 13:05:43 -0700

You should open the file from the extensions page in the chrome browser

See step 4 in this link:

http://code.google.com/chrome/extensions/getstarted.html

Here is what the Google Reader Extension looks like

Mon, 12 Sep 2011 22:06:28 -0700

Here is what the Google Reader Extension looks like

Making Google Reader Easier on the Eyes

Mon, 12 Sep 2011 22:05:21 -0700

Google Reader hurts my eyes.

It could be the fact that I’m looking at it the majority of the time that I’m awake, but I like to think its because it’s not the most readable website.

12 pt font; black on a white background. It hurts.

So, rather than cut back my Google Reader time, and spare my eyes, I made a Chrome Extension.

Inspired by Readability, the extension increases the font size, darkens the background, and brightens the font.

It’s just a few lines of CSS, but it does the trick.

If you are as addicted as I am, feel free to try it out. You can download it here.

Fair Use?

Sat, 11 Jun 2011 13:29:54 -0700

I finally found a store to sell my design! A Little expensive though… Sorry.

Follow the link below:

README

Wed, 01 Jun 2011 12:01:06 -0700

I Like to Make things.

You could say it’s what drives me.

To have an idea and see it made is a pretty solid feeling.

It’s why I made this shirt. This website. This Blog.

What’s an even better feeling is seeing someone else use what you’ve made, to see someone’s life made better by the work of your hands (One can dream, right?).

Making things isn’t easy though. Bills to pay and whatnot. So, when I see something that is really well made, I try and appreciate it. Even if I don’t necessarily relate to it.

Thinking about the way things were made can change the way you see the world. Asking yourself, why something was made the way it was can really help you to appreciate things like this and this (and see through things like, this, this, and this).

Yeah, so go out and make something, or something like that.

What if your iPod could read your mind?

Wed, 01 Jun 2011 10:01:06 -0700

IT CAN!

Well, it could.

There is a company that makes headphones with a built in EEG reader. What’s even better is they have an Software Developer Kit (SDK) for people to build applications for them.

I have an idea.

Combined with the Echonest APIs, the Mindset can be used to play music depending on your mood. Angry? The app will #mce_temp_url#play the perfect song to calm you down. Tired and need to study? It’ll play something upbeat.

The only thing between us and the future of music listening… the $200 price tag of the Mindset. A little steep for a side project…

Maybe Kickstarter can help…

This counts as fair use right? I haven’t been able to get...

Tue, 31 May 2011 21:38:48 -0700

This counts as fair use right? I haven’t been able to get anyone to carry the design. So if you would like this t-shirt, save this image and get it printed yourself. All I ask is that you take a picture of you wearing it and reply to this post with the photo.

Why I Made Answers.MD

Thu, 19 May 2011 09:34:49 -0700

From white board to launch, I’ve spent 100+ hours putting together Answers.MD. It’s been a great learning experience, but I didn’t just do it for the kicks.

I did it becuase Med students deserve our support, and here’s why.

A brief outline of what it takes to become a doctor:

Take SATs
Apply for College
4 years of Pre-Med (all those hard science classes)
Take MCATs (maybe twice)
Apply for Med School
2 years of lecture (8 hours of lecture + 6-8 hours of studying)
Take Step 1 of the Board Exams
2 years of Rotations
Take Step 2 of the Board Exams
Apply for Residency
1 year of Residency
Step 3 of the Board Exams
1-3 years more of Residency
Specialist examinations

Finally, If you passed everything and got accepted to Med School and Residency programs, You are now a Practicing Doctor. (Let’s not even get into the debt you’ve just accumulated).

The Life of an aspiring doctor is one of perpetual studying and test taking. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing considering the responsibilities a Doctor has.

For a profession that is so focused on learning and acquiring new skills, you would think there would be amazing tools to help make the life of a student a little easier.

Sadly, you’d be mistaken.

Between recycled lecture notes and $100+ textbooks, students have few resources for outside support. Wikipedia has become the defacto resource of Med Students across the country.

Answers.Md Is my attempt to make the painful process of becoming a doctor a little less excruciating. And, as a question and answer site, it may not be the best solution, but it’s a start.

Have any ideas on how to help Med Students?, or ideas on how to improve answers.md? Send me an email at help@answers.md, and let’s figure out how to make Med Students’ lives a little less hellish.

Githacking is a concept I made for Stanford ACM hackathon May...

Thu, 12 May 2011 19:30:24 -0700

Githacking is a concept I made for Stanford ACM hackathon May ‘11. It is a community based approach to creating full-featured applications and not just code libraries. It is not related to githacking.com, I just used the name to help describe the concept.

My 1 minute pitch for Answers.MD at Founder’s Soup -...

Fri, 08 Apr 2011 09:49:16 -0700

[Flash 10 is required to watch video.]

My 1 minute pitch for Answers.MD at Founder’s Soup - Stanford.

Answers.MD is officially launched!

Mon, 04 Apr 2011 10:00:06 -0700

After 2 months of hard work and tons of procrastination Answers.MD is finally making its debut. It’s an amazing feeling to finally put something in front of users.

I feel kinda like a chef who’s spent hours slaving over a hot stove to make a delicious dinner for a group of close friends. Finally serving the food, waiting to see if their faces melt in ecstasy or cringe in disgust, spitting the food back out on the plate; it’s pretty nerve wracking.

For better or worse, I don’t have to look the user in the eye. I just get to see how many page views I get on Google Analytics.

Answers.MD is a question and answer service made specifically for Medical Students. For a group of people that spend 4 straight years studying for one exam after another, just to go through the admissions process all over again for Residency School, there just aren’t enough tools tailored to their unique needs.

Answers.MD is a first attempt to make their lives just a little easier.

What does launch mean? Well, I’ve created a twitter account @AnswersMD, and I’ve put it in front of the hard working med students at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia.

Here’s to launching a product, no matter how epically it may fail.

A screenshot of the Answers.MD Beta.

Wed, 30 Mar 2011 10:00:06 -0700

A screenshot of the Answers.MD Beta.

How to Form an LLC in 5 easy steps

Tue, 29 Mar 2011 22:03:54 -0700

: Image via Wikipedia

This is a repost from my old blog, saving it for posterity.

Alan wrote a post on setting up an LLC for Abroadcare.com and why we chose Delaware. Here I’m going to lay out the actual steps we took in registering, so that if you ever need to incorporate you can do it much more easily than we did. It took quite a while to understand all the steps involved, but once we figured it out, its really not that bad.

There are plenty of reasons on why you should form an LLC. See here. Once you decide to incorporate, here are the steps you need to follow:
1. Obtain a registered Agent: Annual fee of $120Any company which incorporates must have a registered agent in the state of incorporation. If you are incorporating in your own state than you can be your own agent and save yourself the yearly fee. However, Delaware doesn’t really have the start up scene that most people are looking for, so chances are you are going to need to hire a Registered Agent.

We decided to go with National Registered Agents, Inc, which gives you a personal representative and an online account management system. They also seemed much less scamy than many of the other services we looked at.

2. Submitting your Certificate of Formation: one time fee of $90The actual letter of incorporation is very simple and seemingly a pointless formality. The accompanying cover letter (also required) is closer to a tax form than it is to a cover letter.

You can find the cover letter here and the form here.

Once completed you can mail these forms to:
Division of Corporations
John G. Townsend Building
401 Federal Street Suite 4
Dover, DE 19901

or fax them to:
302-739-3812

You may need a Certificate of Status or a Certificate of Good Standing in order to open a business account with your bank. I would suggest finding an alternative banking solution, but if not, this form can be requested at the time of filing for an additional fee of $50.

3. Annual Taxes: $250The state of Delaware charges this franchise fee yearly and is due no later than June 1st.

4. Applying for a Federal Tax ID number: Free
Unlike getting a driver’s License, obtaining the birth certificate for your company is quick, easy, and can be done online. Apply here.

5. Thats it! You’re done!

So the total cost of incorporating your online business in Delaware is $210 for the first year and $370 for every year after that. Not too shabby.

Filing on your own, while involving a few steps, is relatively painless (once you know where to look). There are services which will take care of everything for you, but they charge a little more. We didn’t find one less than $300. So, if you are looking to save money, filing on your own is the way to go. You can expect to wait up to two months for your paperwork to be mailed back to you (we are still waiting on ours) but you can pay a little extra and have them expedited.

Hope this helps!

Video

Mon, 07 Jun 2010 09:52:51 -0700