Last week was a wild ride for people in the U.S. and many around the world. It made me reflect on the fact that 2020 is nearly over and how much has happened this year. We didn’t get flying cars, AR contact lenses, or brain-computer interfaces, but a lot has changed—some for the worse, others for the better—and it’s time to take stock of where we’ve been and where we’re going in 2021. I believe 2021 will be even more disruptive, revolutionary, and wild than 2020. (Can you imagine that?)
As much as 2020 took away from us, it also gave us a lot of new things—including Synthesis and the community that has organically emerged around it. It’s been an honor sharing with you my musings and views on the world of technology and innovation for the last 6 months, and I hope to continue to deepen that connection in 2021 and beyond. I started Synthesis at the peak of Covid-19 in March with the desire to do something, anything to channel my frustrations productively while stuck indoors like the rest of the world—and in the process, help and connect with people in a small but easy way while there are so many other, more important things to pay attention to. I hope you’ve found Synthesis useful and have learned something, as I have, about where the world is headed. I believe it’s important to see patterns and realize that everything lives in a broader context and historical arc: that what’s happening in narrow corners of the world are connected to bigger, important trends in other areas of society globally.
So with only 4 work-weeks left in 2020, I’ll be doing 3 things the rest of the year:
Hosting virtual meetups with the Synthesis community
Redesigning Synthesis for 2021 (so no new issues in 2020!)
Focusing on things at work and home (I hope you can too!)
I’m really excited about 2021. Until then, I hope to see you during one of the virtual meetups before the holidays!
2020 Year-End Virtual Meetups:
Before the holidays, come spend an hour meeting me and others in the Synthesis community— to share insights, opportunities, and make new connections. It’ll be hosted over Zoom. Just reply to this email letting me know which one you’d like to attend!
Friday, Dec 4, 8-9am PT
Friday, Dec 4, 2-3pm PT
Friday, Dec 11, 8-9am PT
2021 IDEO Crypto Strategy Discussions:
After announcing our crypto fund a few weeks ago and sharing that we’ll be raising our second crypto fund soon, I’ve received a number of requests to learn more about our plan and how to potentially collaborate. As such, I’ll be hosting sessions before the end of the year to share our strategy—if you’re interested in learning more, just reply to this email letting me know which session you’d like to attend!
Monday, Nov 30, 9-10am PT
Wednesday, Dec 2, 9-10am PT
Friday, Dec 4, 1-2pm PT