Fwd: future of transportation

-------- Forwarded Message --------

Subject:	future of transportation
Date:	Sun, 28 Jun 2015 10:35:14 -0700
From:	Peter Diamandis <peter@diamandis.com>
Reply-To:	peter@diamandis.com
To:	STeve <stevescott@techacq.com>

Four revolutions in transportation are taking place this decade.

This blog is a look at how they will shape your life, your business and our world.

In 2011, Peter Thiel famously said, "We wanted flying cars, instead we got 140 characters…"

Guess what? The flying car is coming, and so is a heck of a lot more.

In this blog, I want to explore the latest developments in:

1. Autonomous Vehicles
2. Telepresence Robots & Virtual Worlds
3. Hyperloop
4. Point-to-Point Aerial Transport

Each of these will change where we live, work and interact.

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Autonomous Vehicles

Autonomous cars are coming and coming fast. Every major car company has autonomous cars under development. By 2035 it's expected there will be more than 54 million autonomous cars on the road, and this will change everything.

Saved Lives: There are 1.2 million people killed every year in car accidents. Autonomous cars don't drive drunk, don't text, don't have Alzheimer's and don't fall asleep at the wheel.

Reclaiming Land: You can fit eight times more autonomous cars on our roads, making their land use more efficient. In Los Angeles it's estimated that more than half of the land in the city belongs to the cars in the form of garages, driveways, roads, and parking lots.

Saved Energy: Today we give close to 25 percent of all of our energy to personal transportation, and 25 percent of our greenhouse gases are going to the car.

Saved Money: Get rid of needing to own a car, paying for insurance and parking, trade out 4,000-lb. cars for lighter electric cars that don't crash, and you can expect to save 90% on your local automotive transportation bill.

Best of all, you can call any kind of car you need, when you need it. Need a nap? Order a car with a bed. Want to party? Order one with a fully-stocked bar. Need a business meeting? Up drives a conference room on wheels.

Telepresence Robotics & Virtual Worlds

In the U.S. alone, business travel spending will top $310 billion in 2015 (Global Business Travel Association), or about 490.4 million business trips.

The idea of having to schlep your "meat body" from one location to another for a meeting will soon be old-school.

Instead you'll plug into a virtual world, or use a Beam robot to connect virtually. Already billions of dollars are being spent by Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Sony, HTC and Suitable Technologies are already spending billions of dollars to develop the hardware and perfect the experience.

Beyond the advantage of saving serious cash and time flying from LA to NY, meeting someone "in person" will ultimately be a disadvantage. When I'm speaking to you over a virtual link or telepresence robot, I can watch your pupillary dilation, have my system pull up and recall facts about our last conversation and enrich my interaction with you in countless ways.

In the next decade, you will attend conferences, meetings, interviews, keynotes and maybe even dates by telepresence and virtual worlds. Just the advantage of avoiding a full cavity search courtesy of airport TSA makes it worth it.

For me, I have 15 Beam robots between my offices at XPRIZE (Los Angeles), Singularity University (Mountain View), Human Longevity Inc. (San Diego), and Planetary Resources (Seattle). In a single day, I'll routinely hop between four cities with a click of a button.

Hyperloop

A few years ago, California proposed (and passed) a $69 billion high-speed rail between Los Angeles and San Francisco.

In response, Elon Musk (founder of Tesla, SpaceX) published a paper on a conceptual transportation system called the Hyperloop that was, "a cross between a Concorde, a railgun, and an air hockey table," and that could be built at 10% of the cost of the high-speed rail.

Guess what -- Hyperloop is now in design and under construction. When it works, it will be able to transport people and cargo between cities at speeds faster than a commercial airliner (over 700 mph) with record energy efficiencies.

Hyperloop, which Musk dubs "the fifth mode," would be as fast as a plane, cheaper than a train and continuously available in any weather while emitting no carbon from the tailpipe.

If people could get from LA to San Francisco in less than 30 minutes, L.A. to Las Vegas in 20 minutes, or New York to Philly in 10, cities become metro stops and borders evaporate, along with housing price imbalances and overcrowding.

A brilliant team of engineers is hard at work at Hyperloop Technologies, a company founded by investor Shervin Pishevar and former SpaceX Engineer Brogan Bambrogan.

I'm proud to be a founding board member along with Shervin, Brogan, Joe Lonsdale (Founder, Palantir & Formation 8), Jim Messina (Pres. Obama's Reelection Campaign Manager), and David Sacks (PayPal, Yammer).

Point-to-Point Aerial Transport

As alluded to above, some version of the flying car is coming. This is being enabled by the intersection of three converging technologies: high energy density batteries, autonomous navigation powered by differential GPS and lightweight, high strength lightweight materials.

The XPRIZE Foundation is working on a multimillion dollar Transporter XPRIZE to inspire progress in this arena.

Various designs are under development by a number of companies focused on the creation of personal transportation machines with vertical takeoff, vertical landing capability – think of human-carrying electric quadcopters. Something you can step into and tell it, "Please take me to downtown L.A." that then lifts you up, and flies you at 500 feet to your destination.

One company, Zee Aero, is rumored to be funded by Google. This flying car can take off and land vertically using a plethora of small electric motors turning four-bladed propellers and is narrow enough to fit into a standard shopping center parking space.

Another design, E-Volo's Volocopter, is an electric two-passenger, 18-rotor vehicle.

I call these "flying cars" or "human carrying multi-copters" point-to-point transport. They are a mix between a personal jet pack and your own autonomous, electric helicopter-on-demand. For crowded cities, they are a godsend. But for places like Africa which has no passable roads (especially during rainy season), these future Transporters are equivalent of Africa skipping the copper-line phone system and going straight to wireless.

Join Me

The future of transportation is an exciting one – and a faster, cheaper, safer, cleaner, and more fun one.

This is the sort of conversation we discuss at my 250-person executive mastermind group called Abundance 360. The program is highly selective and we're almost full, looking for a few last CEOs and entrepreneurs who want to change the world. You can apply here.

Share this email with your friends, especially if they are interested in any of the areas outlined above.

Best,
Peter

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P.S. Every weekend I send out a "Tech Blog" like this one. If you want to sign up, go to PeterDiamandis.com and sign up for this and my Abundance blogs.

P.P.S. Please forward this to your best clients, colleagues and friends — especially those who could use some encouragement as they pursue big, bold dreams.

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PHD Ventures , 800 Corporate Pointe, Culver City CA 90230

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Fwd: are people in silicon valley just smarter?

-------- Forwarded Message --------

Subject:	are people in silicon valley just smarter?
Date:	Sun, 14 Jun 2015 10:27:19 -0700
From:	Peter Diamandis <peter@diamandis.com>
Reply-To:	peter@diamandis.com
To:	STeve <stevescott@techacq.com>

Why is Silicon Valley better at innovating than most of the world?

Why are the number of successful startups so high there?

Where is the next Mecca of tech-startup success going to emerge?

This blog is about where and why innovation happens, and where it's going next.

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It Started in a Coffee Shop

In the 18th century, coffeehouses had an enormous impact on Enlightenment culture.

As Steven Johnson says in his book Where Good Ideas Come From, "It's no accident that the Age of Reason accompanies the rise of caffeinated beverages."

The coffeehouse became the hub for information sharing.

Suddenly commoners could interact with the royals, meet, mingle and share ideas.

In his book London Coffee Houses, Bryant Lillywhite explains it this way:

"The London coffee-houses provided a gathering place where, for a penny admission charge, any man who was reasonably dressed could smoke his long, clay pipe, sip a dish of coffee, read the newsletters of the day, or enter into conversation with other patrons.

"At the period when journalism was in its infancy and the postal system was unorganized and irregular, the coffeehouse provided a centre of communication for news and information . . . Naturally, this dissemination of news led to the dissemination of ideas, and the coffee-house served as a forum for their discussion."

Beyond the Coffee Shop

Today, researchers have recognized that the coffee-shop phenomenon is actually just a mirror of what occurs when people move from sparse rural areas to jam-packed cities.

As people begin living atop one another, so too do their ideas. And, as Matt Ridley aptly describes, innovation happens when these crowded ideas "have sex."

Geoffrey West, a physicist from Santa Fe Institute, found that when a city's population doubles, there is a 15 percent increase in income, wealth and innovation. (He measured innovation by counting the number of new patents.)

Why Silicon Valley is Getting it Right

My friend Philip Rosedale, the creator of Second Life and now CEO of High Fidelity, spent some time investigating why the Bay Area in particular has become such a hub for technology and innovation.

As Rosedale explains, "I think the magic of Silicon Valley is not in fostering risk-taking, but instead in making it safe to work on risky things. There are two things happening in Silicon Valley that are qualitatively different anywhere else."

Those things are:

1. The sheer density of tech "founders per capita" is 10 times greater than the norm for other cities (see figure below).
2. There is a far greater level of information sharing between entrepreneurs.

Image: San Francisco has about twice the density of the next-highest city (Boston), and about five times the density of New York.

Rosedale goes on, "You can't walk down the street without (almost literally) running into someone else who is starting a tech company. While tech ventures are individually risky, a sufficiently large number of them close to each other makes the experience of working in startups safe for any one individual."

"I like to visualize this as a series of lily pads in a pond, occasionally submerging as their funding runs out," he explains. "If you are a frog, and there are enough other lily pads nearby, you'll do just fine."

"Beyond simply having a lot of people near you to work with, I believe that the openness and willingness to share inherent to Silicon Valley is a big driver in this effect."

Beyond the Next Coffee House

For entrepreneurial technology innovation to occur, you need two things: a densely packed population of tech-savvy entrepreneurs and a culture of freely sharing and building on ideas.

Rosedale, who is working on the key technologies to intimately and powerfully connect people using virtual worlds, points out, "If we create a virtual world, we can expect a sudden disruption as the biggest 'city' of the tech future goes 100 percent online."

Just as the coffeehouse is a pale comparison to today's high-density city, so too will today's city be a pale comparison to the coming high fidelity, virtual online innovation communities.

Imagine a near-term future where any entrepreneur, anywhere on the planet, independent of the language they speak (think instant translation), can grab their VR headset (e.g. Oculus, Hololens, Magic Leap) and immerse themselves into an extremely high resolution and low latency VR world filled with like-minded creative, insightful and experienced entrepreneurs.

But this hyperconnected world is not happening in isolation to other changes.

As I've noted in previous blogs, the number of people connected to the Internet is exploding, going from 1.8 billion in 2010 to 2.8 billion today, and as many as 5 billion by 2020.

The opportunities for collaborative thinking are growing exponentially, and since progress is cumulative, the resulting innovations are going to grow exponentially as well.

Ultimately, these virtual worlds will create massive, global virtual coffeehouses for entrepreneurs to meet, to innovate, to create businesses and solve problems.

It's for this reason (among many others) that I believe we are living during the most exciting time ever.

The tools we are developing will bring about an age of abundance, and we will be able to meet the needs of every man, woman and child on Earth.

Join Me

This is the sort of conversation we have at my 250-person executive mastermind group, Abundance 360. The program is highly selective and has ~97% of the spots filled. You can apply here.

Share this email with your friends, especially if they are interested in any of the areas outlined above.

Best,
Peter

[ Click to Tweet about this (you can edit before sending): http://ctt.ec/KWYB9 ]

P.S. Every weekend I send out a "Tech Blog" like this one. If you want to sign up, go to PeterDiamandis.com and sign up for this and my Abundance blogs.

P.P.S. Please forward this to your best clients, colleagues and friends — especially those who could use some encouragement as they pursue big, bold dreams.

If you wish to stop receiving our emails or change your subscription options, please Manage Your Subscription
PHD Ventures , 800 Corporate Pointe, Culver City CA 90230

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Fwd: lazy slobs and OPPORTUNITY (it's not what you think.)

-------- Forwarded Message --------

Subject:	lazy slobs and OPPORTUNITY (it's not what you think.)
Date:	Fri, 12 Jun 2015 10:23:35 -0400 (EDT)
From:	Frank Kern <news@frankkernhelpdesk.com>
To:	im1@bydf.com

Marketers who peddle "do nothing and get rich" are marketing to what's called "the lowest common denominator".   There's a "lowest common denominator" in every marketplace, even yours.   In weight loss, it's the guy who wants six pack abs by taking a pill while eating ice cream on the couch.   In dating, it's the guy who wants to date a model by reciting some canned pickup lines ...even though he's a poorly dressed slob who lives with his parents and compulsively picks his nose.   In business, it's the guy who wants a flood of customers but doesn't want to write an ad or talk to anyone (or provide actual value in exchange for the money.)   The list goes on ...   Isn't it safe to say most of your competition panders to this crowd?   Of course.    They'll buy just about anything.   Lucky for us, here's something everyone else is missing.   There's another, BETTER group out there.   It represents about 20% of your marketplace and makes up about 80% of the actual profits in most businesses.   I call this group the "EVOLVED CUSTOMER".   Now, here's the breakdown on them:   PROS: Repeat buyers. Ascend to higher purchases. Refer customers. Easy to sell once trust is established. Loyal.   CONS: Wary of marketing. Hard to earn trust.   These guys are obviously the BEST source of income and obviously, we want THEM as customers, right?   Well, here are four secrets about them:   Secret #1: These guys HATE "lowest common denominator" stuff. They find it REPULSIVE.   And one of the easiest things to do is to attract them by doing the OPPOSITE of what your competition does.   Secret #2: You can create and automate a series of marketing "machines" that attracts these customers exclusively, that creates trust by delivering value, and that creates sales.   Secret Part 3: This type of marketing is significantly less "salesy" than the "lowest common denominator" stuff your competitors are doing, and it's much easier to deploy.   Secret Part 4: By deliberately REPELLING the "lowest common denominator" customers, you accomplish two things:   A: You become magnetic to the EVOLVED CUSTOMER.   B: You achieve much more powerful BRAND POSITIONING in your marketplace.   If you'd like me to show you how to go about this, I'd be delighted. I'm holding an advanced training this week where I'll walk you through process maps, worksheets, and even NLP language patterns to help you magnetically attract your ideal customer.   No charge and you can register here :-)   Frank   P.S. If you skimmed to the bottom, here's the sort version:   1. There's a category of customer that can give yuor business a      MAJOR UPGRADE in sales and revenue.   2. Most of the people in your market (if not all) are REPELLING     these customers because of their marketing.   3. I'm holding a free training for you that shows you how to attract     these customers, how to earn their trust, and how to sell to them.       You can get all the details here :-)   I'm giving you worksheets, process maps, and even telling you EXACTLY WHAT TO SAY by showing you extremely powerful NLP language patterns.   The training is around an hour and a half and I'll be doing ON CAMERA Q&A at the end for another hour or so to answer questions :-)   More details and you can register here.   Frank P.S. The (not so fine) fine print:   It's pretty safe to say the average person who attends (or buys) ANY "sell more stuff" trainings rarely makes any money. Kind of like the way most people who buy home gyms don't get ripped. (Ahem) With that in mind, understand my results aren't even remotely typical, and that I am in NO WAY implying ANY type of result for ANYONE who attends.   I'm happy to show you what's working for me, and I certainly hope you use it and it works for you, but the only person who can get you any type of result is ...YOU.   P.P.S. Interesting thing about the (not so fine) print.   As you know, I think fine print is for sissies and you might as well get all that stuff out in the open.   Anyway, I actually tested this in a campaign recently and created two different sales pages:   PAGE A: Had "softly worded" disclaimer in the body copy as well as "normal" fine print at the bottom.   PAGE B: Had IN-YOUR-FACE and AGGRESSIVE "disclaimer" right there at the top of the sales page, in the copy, even before any benefits of the product were discussed.   Guess which one was the winner?   PAGE B. The one with the brutally open and blunt "disclaimer" lingo.   This kind of goes to prove (for the zillionth time) that you can often get great results by doing the OPPOSITE of what everyone else is doing.   So if you like that kind of stuff ...inside information on what's working ...completely devoid of hype and shenanigans ...come register for this training with me.   You'll get a lot out of it and you'll have a good time :-)   See you then.   P.P.P.S. Oh yeah, that spit test I just told you about? The traffic came from ADVERTISING.   Currently bringing in between $1.38 and $2.11 in sales for every dollar spent on traffic.   I'd love to show you how I'm doing this, so come on this training and let's get to work.   .                             Frank Kern Inc 7660-H Fay Ave PMB 307 La Jolla, California 92037 United States (858) 223-1914

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