Blog: Design Musings and Other Nonsense

We discuss design, business, web products and other miscellany.

Right Now is Awesome

I get excited about a lot of things, I guess that is my nature.  But, there is nothing I am more excited about than what is going on right now.  Everywhere I look, creativity is being unleashed in the most amazing ways.  New companies are cropping up all over the place.  New apps are being released every day that do all sorts of amazing things.  And, not only that, but an incredible amount of new (and inspiring) charity projects are being launched on a more and more frequent basis.

Yes, indeed, right now is awesome.  And, not only that, but I think this has is one of the most awesome times ever for people who build stuff.  Never has it been easier to build things and share them with the world.  There is a wonderful populist movement going on right now, mostly thanks to the Internet, where we have almost a cottage industry of makers of all kind.

There was a time, not too long ago, where you has to be a large corporation to release a consumer product to a large audience.  Now, people do it every day, sometimes just from their basements. No more are people ashamed that their company is just them.  In fact, this almost seems like a source of pride.  Sort of like, look what I (or we) did, all by ourselves.    All of the old rules are being questioned, and at an increasing rate it seems, we are evolving as creators.  And, the Internet is doing what it does best, disrupting incumbent industries where the power is seated with an insulated few and redistributing it to the many.

For anyone who is in the business (or wants to be in the business) of creating things, NOW is the time to go.  Right here, right now, is a paradise for anyone who makes things.  And, it only seems to be getting better.  Just look around at the trends playing out right in front of us.  From Kickstarter, to Makerbots, to the Kindle/iPad, to web app creation and promotion, to etsy, to hackathons.  Never before has it been so easy to create products (or services) and serve them to the world.

And, one of the best things about these new companies is that they are different, more evolved as well.  To me, they seem to be more human, more real.  From their social conscious, to their view of the customer as the one who gets worked for, to a more pragmatic approach of what it means to bring a group of people together to build something great.  There are lots of traditions about work that we have dragged along for way too long that have nothing to do with treating customers in an exceptional way.  From all sides, these outmoded ways of doing things are being shed, allowing for more authentic and inspiring companies to come forth.  We are getting down to what it really means for people to deal with people in a truly mutually-beneficial way, and that is exciting.

Perhaps what is most inspiring, though, is how creativity is being unleashed to solve problems in the world.  From the various clean water projects, to educational initiatives, to other humanitarian projects, the breadth of projects going on today fills be with awe.  It is almost like we have front-row seats to be able to watch global business evolve, and personally, I am loving the show.

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