Dismïsthiš
AI-powered rock and roll, major business journals, Web3 gatherings, and much more, I'm up to a lot these days and it's looking pretty good.
Embracing the Void
Curiosity is a fundamental driving force in our lives, both personal and professional. It's the engine that fuels exploration, spurs innovation, and nudges us to step out of our comfort zones. It underpins the quest for understanding, the thirst for knowledge, and the pursuit of a more nuanced and broader view of the world around us.
My journey across numerous platforms and diverse products has underscored the value of curiosity. Adopting an open-minded, agnostic approach to product critiques, I strive to understand their real-world functionality and how they fit within their respective ecosystems. I'm driven by the desire to try new things, grasp idiosyncrasies, and understand specific use cases. This is a particular application of my approach to life in general - probing, questioning, and seeking to comprehend the unfamiliar.
However, this quest is not without its challenges or its fair share of failures. Success is a difficult target to hit, particularly when we are stepping into uncharted territories. In the realm of trial and error, failure is not only common but also a valuable teacher. It's an unpleasant yet indispensable experience that teaches us to avoid certain pitfalls and hone our strategies.
In witnessing numerous failures - many of which have been my own - I've noted that it's rare for anyone to intentionally set out to fail. Yet, when failure does happen, the sting of it often provides a powerful lesson and a strong deterrent against repeating the same mistake. While failure might be a tough pill to swallow, it's a catalyst for growth, improvement, and eventually, success.
This journey of curiosity, exploration, and learning from failures extends well beyond the professional sphere. It's a scientific and somewhat philosophical way to navigate life as a whole. It's about self-awareness, questioning our own existence, and understanding our preferences. It's about striving to be level-headed, balanced, and open to new experiences.
So, what does this existential exploration yield? It equips us with a toolset to navigate the different levels of human organization, whether it's in business, technology, or our personal interactions. It enables us to discern preferable approaches to situations, to understand when we might be overestimating our abilities, and to learn when to step back, recalibrate, and reassess our strategies. Or, said in a more human manner, it tells us when to chill out.
Embracing curiosity and learning from failures is a powerful paradigm for growth. It's about understanding that success is not solely about the intended function, but also about the use, the accessibility, and the simplicity of an approach. It's about pursuing a path that is not just functionally viable but also user-friendly, intuitive, and inviting.
I’m not one to shy away from curiosity or fear the possibility of failure. Hell, often enough I’m out there getting knocked around by it. But that’s not only a great way to amass valuable experience in life through the lessons learned from failures, but also a way to enjoy it.
Or, at least, once you get used to the aches and pains, anyway.
Newsworthy
JP Vinyl: AI-powered Japanese Vinyl Subscription Boxes
This is a fun project. I’ve got access to all sorts of resources for vinyl across Japan, from record stores, to concert halls, to abandoned houses, and much more. And guess what? There’s some demand for the sounds of modern Japan, but huge demand for the 80’s & 90’s.
So I built a platform entirely using AI resources such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Bard, Midjourney, and DALL-E in order to best promote the product I and only so many others can get their hands on easily to those chomping at the bit.
Will it work? Got a few so far, let’s see where this goes.
I’m Featured in Nikkei
The Nikkei is basically Japan’s Wall Street Journal - dry, unfunny, and rather conservative articles on money - and so we’re of course very pleased that a rough and tumble, good-cop-bad-cop, definitely not traditional Japanese company like ours got picked up by the likes of them!
*Note* I left Akiya & Inaka in September 2023, and no longer have any affiliation with them, though I am still active in rural real estate and lifestyles.
I’m Also Back on National TV!
I mean, it’s Japanese media, so even if it’s not the Nikkei, its still gonna be pretty damn conservative, by decree of the Government of Japan which says, “don’t you fuckin’ look at me!”
But, thank the stars, this one was also a blast to shoot, though I swear every time they take out the truly golden moments. This time they decided to omit me crawling under the property to inspect the foundation.
Passport: Roppongi
We hosted 10 people in a thatched roof hut next to a river to discuss Web3 in Japan last month, and so this month we’re doubling that and adding AI to the mix in Roppongi.
There’s a lot of real big, real loose, real honestly kinda vapid events in the IT space, and especially Web3 and AI, so my co-booker and I decided to go a more private route. Is that bougie? Maybe. Is it effective at getting communications across and securing action? Absofuckinglutely.