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Dennis Bell’s Epic Article – The Carcross Parrot

Dennis Bell’s Epic Article – The Carcross Parrot

Reprinted here without permission, my father Dennis Bell’s 1972 article (impossible to find online in its unabridged form) which was heralded as Canadian Press’ Story of the Year in 1972, and was the source of some controversy. Dad spent a lot of time in...
Putin Meets His Toughest Foe

Putin Meets His Toughest Foe

Hello world, let me introduce you to Canada’s deputy Prime Minister, Chrystia Freeland. The daughter of a #Ukrainian immigrant, she speaks 5 languages (including Russian and Ukrainian) and has a lot of, erm, experience dealing with Soviet and Post-Soviet Russia. She...
Net Neutrality: Defending the Stupid Network

Net Neutrality: Defending the Stupid Network

For much of the 1990s and 2000s I argued against the US and Canadian federal governments taking the opportunity to exert influence in the development of the web, internet, and realtime technologies.  Recently I was invited to speak @ UBC on the topic in a debate of...
How To Pitch Your Startup

How To Pitch Your Startup

Last week I gave a quick presentation at Emily Carr University of Art + Design on how (and when) to pitch your Startup, giving many of these students their first look at the process of pitching investors in the Angel and Venture community on their next killer idea....
Why Team Athletes Make the Most Valuable Employees

Why Team Athletes Make the Most Valuable Employees

Originally published @ PROFIT. Famed UCLA Basketball Coach John Wooden once said, “Sports do not build character. They reveal it.” A considerable body of social science research has explored the positive impacts of athletics, in particular team sports, from youth into...
Why I Surround Myself with “Yes” Men (and Women)

Why I Surround Myself with “Yes” Men (and Women)

During an ill-fated teenage dalliance into acting, I took a class on improvisational comedy. For two credits per week I learned the ins and outs of building a scene, in real time, with my fellow actors. The key lesson you learn in your first improv workshop is to...
It’s Time to Retire the Term “Growth Hacker”

It’s Time to Retire the Term “Growth Hacker”

  It’s time we nipped this in the bud, people.  I’ll confess that, in writing this column, for the first time I googled the term.  I’ve heard it thrown around for at least half a decade, heard it misapplied to various marketing and software and product management...
Prediction: Trump Will Win

Prediction: Trump Will Win

Reposted from Facebook, September 7, 2016. My position on Hillary (not that you care): Lots of Americans hate her. They think she lies. This may not be justifiable, but it’s understandable, and I think it was a mistake for Democrats to select her as their...
No, I Can’t Just Build You an App

No, I Can’t Just Build You an App

Often (too often), I am approached by people who think I make apps and want me to give them a price to make theirs. Most people outside the technology industry figure that these are fairly trivial efforts, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. They’re right,...