I challenged my 15 year old son to create something before the end of the summer. You may be asking yourself why? The first reason is that he needs to learn the value of earning money and paying for a new skateboard to replace the one he broke . The second reason is that I want him to begin learning how to be innovative. I want him to create a new business idea and try it out. I firmly believe he will need these skills in the “IEconomy”. The next economic era that won’t be based on low cost labor that copies products and makes them cheaper but rather on the:
- Individual who is empowered with free technology to start up a business. Including access to open source runtimes and tools, free hosting and Platform as Service environments to get their new business started. Access to the education to learn these new technologies for free in University classes offered for programming languages like Python from Google and Computer Science 101 from MIT OpenCourseWare. Has access to startup expertise and capital on IBM Global Entrepreneur and Kickstarter.com
- Internet that enables platform as a service. Enables the social connection between clients, partner channels and employees. Enables a whole new market category of products based on the internet of things. Is the delivery channel for products.
- Innovation driven by collaborating on ideas with people who have similar interests. that they can easily find at meetups, conferences and other events. By applying design thinking techniques to generate new business ideas. By developing product experiences that delight the user by analyzing the entire user experience rather than just the product. “Wanting, making or buying and then drinking a latte” versus “A coffee maker”
Bluemix is one of the key internet enabling technologies. Bluemix is the platform of service that will allow the individual to innovate and build the new products that will drive the IEconomy. It provides the commercial and open source services and application stacks that many new products are being built with. It enables you to get started and learn the technology for free. It enables you get to market quicker with business ideas and to scale if you hit it big without worrying about the IT infrastructure to power it.
I will be at the Boston Tech Jam Thursday June 12, 2014 to evangelize Bluemix and how it can help you with the IEconomy. I invite you to attend and join me to learn more about Bluemix. If you are starting up a business come and network with others who might want to join your cause. If you are interested in music enjoy the bands that are playing at the party event.
I think my son will utilize all three of these I’s this summer. Hopefully he will learn to be able to take an idea and make it a business reality. By the end of the summer, he will earn some money if it is a success. If he fails he will hopefully learn from it so that he has a greater chance of success in his future attempts in the IEconomy.
Bluemix Stirred 