The pervasive global spying that the NSA was found to be doing goes beyond what Americans and people around the world thought reasonable. Edward Snowden, the whistle blower who revealed the details of how this spying operation works should be praised for raising awareness and hopefully pardoned. If you have time to spend on this matter I recommend watching this video by privacy platform Tor co-founder Jake Applebaum who, theatrics aside, explains what Snowden exposed in great detail.

But now that we know a lot about exactly how the NSA spies, we also know that if we use OpenPGP and tools like Tails we can not be spied upon. So far I see a lot of people complaining about the NSA but few adopting OpenPGP. It is easy to install in your Mac or PC for example. And there are Chrome and Firefox extensions for it that allow you to use encryption on Web mail. Whatever people may say about encryption, encryption works and not even the NSA can crack it. Encryption does for your communications what Bitcoin does for your money.  It makes sure it stays your own. So if we want privacy, we can have it.

Faced with this reality today at work I decided to ask that we use OpenPGP as an option at the company that I manage Fon.  Fon is the largest WiFi network in the world and as such a key component of world connectivity.   I did this because we work with telco partners around the world, many of which are very concerned about the NSA and US spying in general. Spying has been around forever but what Snowden revealed is how easy it is for the US to tap into the core of the global Internet, and to keep records of all global communications by forcing US companies to collaborate. OpenPGP is something we are implementing so telco partners can, if they want to, have encrypted safe communications with us at Fon.

The image of the USA as a trusted ally was at an all time high with Clinton, but was greatly hurt by the post 911 overreaction of Bush invading Iraq in search of non-existent weapons of mass destruction. Afterwards his policies vis a vis torture, kidnapping of suspects to Guantanamo, use of drones, targeted killings of suspects, air bombing of villages of suspected terrorists, made the rest of the world see a side of the USA they did not like. And this deteriorating image was followed by Obama’s expansion of pervasive spying and the revelations of exactly how this was being done. Also by an even greater use of targeted assassinations and drones. The real backlash inside and outside the USA started when Bradley Manning (now Chelsea) made people aware of abuses in the way the State Department and the US military worked. Especially as these irregularities were published via Wikileaks by top media in the USA, mainly by the New York Times, and around the globe in print and  videos like this one.  And then with Ed Snowden’s revelations we became aware of how exactly we were being spied upon every time we went online.

What happened to the USA can be compared to what happened in a smaller scale with Google and its sky high “do no evil” standard. When you set yourself as being especially good and trustworthy, in the case of the USA as the global champion of human rights, you are held to a higher standard. And just like Google first left China because of spying but then was found collaborating with global spying via the NSA, the US government by its military tactics, torture, drone assassinations and pervasive spying also fell rapidly from grace. And while it is clear to me that most people at Google would prefer a different status quo, it is the US government that needs to change its practices in order for Google and other internet companies to “do no evil”. Fon also must comply with policies we many times don’t like in order to offer WiFi around the world.  Yes, safety is important but so are civil liberties and a right to privacy.

If we had learned that China and Russia had an NSA equivalent which did similar spying, we would have not been taken by surprise. But when in the land of the free every citizen is spied upon, the disappointment is huge. Indeed I believe that history books will look at the post 911 era we live in as they now see McCarthysm. Something to be ashamed of.  As things stand, what I see around in many parts of the USA and the world is a simple request. Can you please give us back the America we use to love?

(Photo source: NYPost)

Think of all the features that iPhone had when it launched that made it revolutionary.  Make a list.  Now think of all the features that Android brought on top of those. Help me make a list because other than open source I can’t think of any.  The key ones, glass keyboard, icons, a tactile zoom in zoom out interface, the mere concept of an app, all came with the iPhone.  Indeed probably the biggest innovation of Android was to make an iPhone like smartphone affordable.

Now, can you imagine a product that would be as different from the iPhone was to a Nokia or a BlackBerry in 2008? The one that comes to my mind is a computer whose only interface is the spoken word, a computer that you talk to, and it talks back to you. No screen whatsoever. A computer that is like another person.  When you talk to a friend there is no screen. Only a dialog. Maybe a change in tone of voice, and a few facial expressions as you listen and see the other person. But if a person, for example, wants to describe something to you that you have never seen, say a new animal, all she has is her voice, her choice of words, to describe it to you. So would this computer.

I wonder if we could build a computer like that. Like Google Glass but without Glass. Just voice in, voice out. Something much cheaper and smaller to make than an iPhone, no screen, smaller battery, a gadget that you could wear like a band or necklace. A wearable connected life companion. And if you worry about sounding like an idiot talking to yourself with this don’t worry, people will think you are on the phone. And you won’t need dorky glasses.

(Photo credit: Tom Chitty)

Google paying $3.2bn for Nest, whose app-powered thermostats are in a few hundred thousand homes, encourages us to go on building Fon, which is in 12.4 million homes and growing fast (Google is an investor in Fon). WiFi is an essential part of home automation, shop automation and office automation. More and more unexpected objects are WiFi-enabled, things such as cameras, light bulbs, door locks, electrical outlets, presence sensors, thermometers, humidity sensors, baby monitors, and of course thermostats and fire alarms. All of those objects, as well as the new Fon routers, are all app driven, smartphone controlled. While most entrepreneurs work on apps themselves, I like to work on app driven things. This exit makes me happy for the founders of Nest as well as for Alex Hawkinson and SmartThings (I am an investor) which aims not so much to make individual home automation products but to be the platform that integrates them all together nicely and puts them in the palm of your hand nicely via your Smartphone.

(Photo credit: TechCrunch)

Couples tend to break up for the same reasons they got together. That when they get together, he says for example: she is so affectionate, so into me, she is so attentive to everything I do. And when they break up he says: she would not give me a moment to myself, she was so demanding, she was always watching me. Or she says: he is so driven, so inspiring. And when they break up she says: he is always at work, never has time for me, he is obsessed with success. Yes, these are stereotypical examples, but I do think that many couples break up not because the partner changed as they say, but because their partner stayed the same. They see the other side of the same coin, the same traits and don’t like them anymore. Instead, those who go on caring about each other see both sides of the coin and love what they have.

I find it surprising how Santa was so successful at eclipsing Jesus in his home turf: Christmas. This is not the case everywhere but very widespread.  To understand how strong the displacement has been, think of how many Christmas movies have Jesus as their main character vs all the ones that have Santa. Inadvertently replacing the protagonist made Christmas more palatable for Atheists, Jews, Buddhists, Muslims and all other non Christians to celebrate. I guess Santa broadened the market and simplified/commercialized the message: if you’ve been a good child you get a gift, end of story. This got private enterprise behind Santa and the church somehow lost terrain. It also made it possible for non Christians not to antagonize their own children and celebrate a Christmas that was not only for Christians anymore, which made non Christian children very happy.

Spain just passed a very restrictive abortion law. I am against this law.  I am mainly in favor of sex ed, using contraceptives especially condoms which prevent unwanted pregnancies and HIV infection, but should everything else fails I am in favor of abortion.

Now while I am in favor of choice I am in favor of true parental choice.  I am for the rights of women to choose to end the pregnancy.  But in the case of married or established couples, I am also in favor of fathers having a say in this decision.  In laws around the world, freedom to abort focuses exclusively on the mother.  The father has no power to stop an abortion. It is only the woman’s decision to abort or not. But in the case of married couples or established couples  (as opposed to one night stands, accidental pregnancies or casual relationships) I think this is wrong. If the husband does want the child, I am not sure that the wife alone should have the right to abort. Because when the opposite happens and the woman decides not to abort then according to most countries’ laws the father can be forced to support that child and be an active parent. And this even includes not only married or established relationships but casual or accidental relationships as well.

So as things stand now, an abortion is only a woman’s decision, but a decision not to abort forces a father to be responsible for the child. That seems unbalanced to me. Just like a father cannot force an abortion on the mother the mother should not be able to force an abortion on the father in an established relationship.  Either parent should be able to stop an abortion. This is not about the questionable rights of an early stage embryo, this is about the established rights of both parents.

I have been fortunate to meet some of the most successful entrepreneurs in the world and I would like to share an observation with you.

The most successful entrepreneurs… belong to two very different groups. The communicators and the strategists. When you meet communicators  you are in awe. Examples are Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos. Their success makes sense to you. They can articulate very well how it came about, you buy it. When a communicator presents, interacts, speaks, their strategy is clear and communicating their strategy is part of their strategy. Communicators need to rally others to succeed, they need the participation and enthusiasm of partners and consumers and they know how to get it.  Communicators are great presenters, great sales people.

But when you meet a strategist you have the opposite reaction. You listen to them and wonder how could this person be so successful.

Now the strategists did not become successful selling themselves or building alliances, nor convincing others to buy their products, they made it by making one good decision after another. They don’t make sales calls, they hire others to do that. They basically just think hard. And that process, the introspection, the deep analysis, is impossible to see in another person. The instinct to choose the right members of their team, to go to the core of complex situations, to have a powerful vision of their product, to anticipate competitors moves, that is a process that is clear to them but opaque to the world. Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Page belong to the second group. Highly intelligent, amazing analysts and builders, poor communicators.

Cash was essentially replaced by plastic decades ago. Now plastic credit cards are becoming obsolete, especially if you carry a smartphone. They are not dead quite yet, but services like Hailo and Uber are just two examples of transactions in which using a credit card is becoming unnecessary. In fact there are a number of efforts underway to eliminate their need and to have you pay for everything using your smartphone. But if credit cards disappear, unfortunately the wallet does not disappear in turn — there is still everything else that we are obliged to carry in our wallets. The truth of the matter is that we should get rid of the wallet itself: it’s uncomfortable and dangerous to carry around, especially considering how common identity theft is nowadays.

In my wallet for example I have my Spanish national ID, my US and Spanish driver’s license, my medical insurance card, my pilot’s license, my sailing license, my car registration, and a copy of my car insurance. I still need to carry all these things because at various points in my life I may be asked for each one of them. Indeed, in many countries in Europe — and I know this sounds crazy – you can actually go to jail for not having your plastic national ID on you, if asked for it by the police.

Now think of another way of doing this. Think of a website that is a repository of all these IDs, and is government-owned or certified. Why can’t I just visit a police station once, pay a fee (so the government doesn’t lose money on this), show all my documentation, have the government scan and upload everything so that all policemen and pertinent authorities can have access. Then my car insurance company, my health insurance company, the car registration agency can all notify this government repository if I stop paying, or if my insurance policy is not valid anymore.

Estonia has done the most in this direction and its citizens love the system. In 2002 they introduced the most highly-developed national ID card system in the world. The mandatory national card is a legal picture ID and also serves as the digital access card for all of Estonia’s secure e-services:

– National health insurance: Estonia has a nationwide system that integrates data from Estonia’s different healthcare providers to a create a common record for each patient. In an emergency situation, a doctor can use a patient’s ID card to read time-critical information, such as blood type, allergies, recent treatments, ongoing medication or pregnancy status.

– Medical prescriptions: At any pharmacy, all a patient needs to do is present an ID card. The pharmacist then retrieves the patient’s information from the system and fills the prescription.

– Public transport:  The ID card acts as a pre-paid public transport ticket in Tallinn and Tartu.

– Digital signatures: Public administration and businesses can freely use the digital signature system, and have applied it to a variety of web-based services.

– And even voting: In 2005, Estonia became the first country in the world to hold nation-wide elections using this method. Estonians can cast their ballots from any Internet-enabled device and connect anywhere in the world using an ID card reader.

This digitization and aggregation of information only streamlines complicated bureaucratic processes that need not be so, and at the same time makes them safer. Imagine a world in which the police has tablets or smartphones that show nice big pictures of you, in which whatever they currently do secretly with NSA-type agencies they do openly instead. If they find you without an ID they ask, “who are you?”, and once you give your name, they can see your photo and a ton of information about you. It would be so hard for anyone to impersonate you.

I find it paradoxical that while some government agencies spy on you and know all about you, others pretend to know nothing until you show them a piece of plastic that if you lose, somebody else can impersonate you with. We need to evolve from this. We need to evolve into a system in which we have no wallets and a safer world!

(See original article and more comments on LinkedIn. Photo credit: Loyal Mark)

In the USA business degrees are mostly graduate degrees.  And there is a good reason for that.  Unfortunately, this is not the case in Europe.  And this is not good for European businesses.  My advice is that if you are interested in working in business later on in life you should wait and not get an undergraduate degree in business out of high school.  Instead, for the first years of your career, it is much better to get a degree in computer science, engineering of any kind, math/physics, biology/biomedical sciences. And then get a degree in business. People who apply to work with us with undergraduate and graduate degrees in business tend to have huge gaps in basic knowledge. This lack of basic education handicaps them. They can talk about products but they don’t really understand how products work. Their shallow knowledge about the functionality of products shows when trying to design or improve them.  Probably the only exception to this is banking.  As for the rest, a wider scientific knowledge is needed.  When you study business you study the language of business, finance, accounting, marketing. But if you can build a product via your engineering skills,  biomedical skills, coding skills, and on top of that you have a good command of the business language, then you are really in business.

First learn how things work, then how to create them, then how turn them into a business. People do not succeed talking about money, they succeed talking about product. Learn the language of product before learning the language of money.

(Photo: TrillionFund.com)