Innovation Cities™ Newsletter by 2THINKNOW® Issue 003
#knowmorethanothersfromdata - Have you SUBSCRIBED yet while it is free?
Data Sets Referenced in this Newsletter
Data Points - Smartphone Users by City, ATMs (Teller Machines) By City
City indicators - Banking & Finance
Available to order from 2THINKNOW - reply for our Data Catalog (company and official email addresses only no gmail, yahoo and hotmail).
ISSUE 003 WELCOME
Hello and welcome fellow Innovators!
This is the 3rd edition of what will be a new twice monthly (20 per year) newsletter on the topic of city innovation of all kinds… Smart, Dynamic, Resilient, Climate, Eco …
Delay in release of this issue due to some unavoidable personal matters...
This issue it’s that hot new topic of Banking 567.0 (latest new paradigm) and the industries inherent startup-ification. Banking seems to be disrupted since the ATM rolled out… Here we go … and this time it IS different… If you are a Bank, FinTech Startup or City… get on board for a moon shot!
The goal of this newsletter is to cover everything you need to know essentially about city innovation and data on global cities… here and also in the LinkedIn Innovation Cities™ group (join). For the graphics and videos as soon as we make them - join the new Instagram community fam here. #HOTHOTHOT #OIOIOI
What’s our wish? It is our profound desire that this newsletter will become essential to you, and you will look forward to receiving it every couple of weeks or so, and subscribe to the Premium edition for the latest secrets (2THINKNOW have a 12 year record of being ahead of the curve).
For the first 3 months or so as we develop this newsletter, it will be FREE, and then the newsletter will be split into a FREE and a premium subscriber edition (for city subscribers and customers only).
In Premium we will be sharing what our data creates in terms of unique and special 2THINKNOW Insights to help you in your role, and instead of publishing annually the Innovation Cities™ Analysis Report. This will help you make sense of all this change (some of which will become innovation).
If you do or don’t like something, please SAY Something. Just hit reply. It’s that easy to be heard.
STARTUP - GO TO SYDNEY FOR FREE
FIRST A PERSONAL INVITE TO ALL THE STARTUPS & FOUNDERS IN OUR NETWORK TO JOIN @2THINKNOW IN SYDNEY LAUNCH FESTIVAL IN JUNE 2019
LAUNCH Festival Sydney 2019 (Version 1) Over the past 10 years, LAUNCH Festival has been one of the greatest startup conferences in Silicon Valley, hosted by Entrepreneur & Angel Investor, Jason Calacanis. Bringing together some of the most notable names in the industry, such as Reid Hoffman, Marc Benioff, Travis Kalanick, Chamath Palihapitiya, Cyan Banister, and more.
In 2018, LAUNCH Festival hosted their first overseas conference in Sydney, with over 1000 founders & startups attending. In June 2019, they'll be back for round two. Bringing more value and knowledge to the Australian startup ecosystem. Awesome sauce!
The guys and gals are offering the first 1000 tickets for FREEEEEE if you're a founder (maybe sold out soon) but the tickets are SUPER value anyway!
Be sure to grab your free ticket before they're gone: http://launchfestivalsydney.com/founderpass
(HURRY THEY JASON & THE GUYS WEREN’T SOLD OUT BUT MAY BE SOON)
Now onto … Banking and disruption Marie!
Banking Is Not Banking Marie
Why Crypto is the Star Wars Program or How I Stopped Worrying and Started to Love My Binary 1s and 0s. Will you take my 1s and 0s for a haircut?
Fractional reserve banking is the way the world runs. It seems magic, take $1 lend $10, or maybe even $30 or $100 (all depends on the boffins).
In a way one could argue the fundamentals underwriting the USD $ is that it’s almost always been honored. Power of nuclear armed states enforces contracts. That’s too long an argument here …but Google it, think about it. The force of the state is often the basis of the banking contract.
If that all seems too morose – too Dr Strangelove (Kubrick film for the non-cinephiles) – it is the reality.
Money is a means of exchange and this green paper or 1 s and 0s of money value because we (or a suitably rarefied set of us) say it does. And weapons are last resort contract enforcement for honoring contracts written in that currency. Rome’s coins were excepted because, well… Gladiators!
Hence the whole South China Sea stoush. Nobody needs your islands, but your power. Well yeah baby! The islands are both a currency and power play...
Where is this going… Well here’s the deal…
Money is what you agree it is and can enforce. Now as currencies diverge (and being FIAT or by decree currency, and now we have Crypto-Currencies like Bitcoin)… well we have been entering (again) the weaponization of currency, already a potent weapon.
If this is too deep before your morning coffee – ponder this. Banking is not what it used to be because more people started asking questions about what is or isn’t a store of value…
And some smart people in Silicon Valley and Tech figured all of the above out earlier than us all.
KEY PARADIGM - CURRENCY IS...
So currency is what we (enough people) say it is. Personally, I am not accepting shells. Coffees, yes. Oh and if you want to pay me in shares also. Bonds, yes. Bitcoin, maybe. Hidden inflation makes this worse. Get it?
Frequent Flyer Points are one of the easiest examples of alternate currencies, same with credits in video games…
So, banks are not entirely a protected species when we all figure out it’s a shell game and money is being printed by people who don’t necessarily know wtf is going on more than you. And we (or some key people) agree on alternate currencies.
Personally … I don’t always think the Federal Reserve are the adults in the room. Although Bernanke and Yellen do a good job of looking like it to all of those who are Millennial. (Side note 2 – Admit it you know Bernanke - just looks like he would tell a great dad joke right? You also know he may have enjoyed he occasional fondue.)
What is this irreverent #rant saying?
It’s saying banking is being driven for the first time in generations by new drivers. Leading to new outcomes, even though this disruption number 567 is not our first rodeo…
And the drivers are not dudes in Pin Stripes who look like Gordon Gecko. Although the Pin Stripe is back. With the Fanny Pack. The new disruptors may like pinstriped fanny packs. aka. The Jam.
PS. 2THINKNOW are running the latest Banking & Fintech Innovation MasterClass – in Melbourne in July, and Prague & European Union in August.
Reply to this email for a free Course Outline, course freebies if you attend, and a discount to either course!