Weekend Musings

Wow, what a week! This was one of the most action-packed weeks I’ve had all year and now I find myself in the Bay Area just a day after getting home from Santa Barbara. I haven’t had much sleep this week but I’ve had some incredible experiences. We are getting ready for a wedding in San Francisco so I only have a couple minutes to write this post, so here it goes!

  • Steve Jobs steps down as Apple CEO – I have been reflecting a lot about Steve Job’s announcement. I’ve been a die-hard Mac user since the 80’s, when I was 12 years old I was in the Berkeley Macintosh Users Group and it feel like every year Apple plays an even bigger role in my life. From my first computer, to my favorite phone, to the way in which we watch TV, Apple has absolutely changed my life…and it couldn’t have happened without a visionary like Steve Jobs. I’ll be doing a full post about Steve Jobs and Apple but I wanted this to be at the top of the list as this has been in my mind a lot over the last few days.
  • Silicon Beach – that’s what the Startup community is starting to call LA, and I like it. Los Angeles has always been thought of as the place people come to with dreams of making it big in the music or film industry. While we still have plenty of inspired musicians, actors, producers, writers, there’s a growing startup community in Los Angeles, and it’s picking-up steam. At the core of the Startup Community is CoLoft which has done an amazing job of creating a really community and world for Startups in LA. It’s pretty exciting, this is really the beginning of what I think will become a major startup community and we’re a part of it!
  • Weather – I’ve also been reflecting on the weather this week. I have to say, we’re spoiled in Southern California, while many parts of the US get hammered by rain, floods, and a hurricane it’s sunny and warm in LA and Santa Barbara. I hope that everyone stays safe on the East Coast, it’s scary to think of a hurricane hitting NYC and my thoughts and prayers go out with everyone being impacted. It is a bit weird to watch the news and see pouring rain, look on Facebook and see people complaining about rain and then go for a jog on the beach in shorts and a t-shirt, I’ve lived all over the US and have to say Southern California is a pretty special place!
  • Is the Technology Gap Closing? – I think it’s finally happening in the US, a technology gap is a closing, some technology is really starting to become ubiquitous. My Dad now has an iPad, uses and iPhone, as does my aunt who a year ago wrote down phone numbers in a physical book. At my Dad’s house we can watch our normal shows on Netflix through his Roku. Rewind a few years ago and he used a regular phone, a normal laptop, and watched regular TV. There is no doubt that streaming is changing everything and let’s face it, if you don’t have a smartphone – you will. Just five years ago having a smart phone usually meant you were a computer geek or a business person in need of constant connection to email. Now having a smartphone really is standard. This is bringing a new audience to the Internet and new behaviors and ways to access information. Just for the record…most phones do have a .COM button 🙂
  • Life – this is a really intense period in my life. Big things are coming-together, my move to put more focus on less brands and more money into .COM is paying-off. Next week I’ll have another press release coming-out about DomainTheft.org, Xelot is launching in under a month, and we’re negotiating some of the biggest direct ad deals ever for some of my other brands. On top of all this we’re planning a wedding, getting ready for a cruise to Grand Cayman, and truly enjoying life. Some people think that if you’re busy that you must be working all the time, I can’t remember the last time I worked, I do what I love – if you don’t like what you do, quit, life is too short to waste your time working…

Okay, that’s it for me, as usual it looks like I failed to keep this post short and sweet. I don’t know what it is about Saturday, I just wake-up feeling reflective. Have a great weekend everyone and for those of you on the East Coast, please be careful and stay safe!

Morgan Linton

Morgan Linton