Who is Nick?

Asking all my life.

Author: Nick Kempinski

  • Canada’s World Design Rating? Tsk. Tsk.

    Oh Canada! 16th place in design? I’m sure you can do better than this.

    16th Place WRD

  • Different Songs?

    Hrmmmm – I’m not crazy, but these are pretty much the same, yes??

  • Breaking Books

    Breaking Books

    The following, I think, is a plausible story around the invention of the printing press. Media has a darker business side. Perhaps it always has and always will.

    The Gutenberg printing press was made to sell bible knock-offs. It was the ultimate as seen on TV product.

    The year was roughly 1450 and Gutenberg had a brilliant idea.

    Why have monks pray in silence hand copying a book that could take months, when this “device” could knock out hundreds in the same time and sell ’em for cheaper.

    Most of the schmucks buying these things can’t even read ’em. It’s latin! And those who can, are rich folks who want to keep their money. Who cares if the thing doesn’t have gold flaked pictures.

    It’s the deal of the century.

    But how will he pay? Easy. Borrow it.

    If Gutenberg had the gift of the gab to convince someone to pay him to learn how to polish gems, he can surely convince someone to give him money for this.

    After all, it’s like printing money!

    He found a nice shylock, sorry, “rich financier”, Johann Fust, who was kind enough to lend him 800 guilders.

    Although he had most of the machine figured out the additional equipment and tools where a bit harder to get right. By roughly 1452, he had run the clock out and it was time to pay his debts.

    Now, Gutenberg was probably crapping his pants a bit by now. You don’t owe money. You know that Shakespeare’s “pound of flesh” thing? That was a real thing!

    It was a real shame, because he had figured out the kinks, but hadn’t printed any books yet to sell.

    He shows the potential results to his financier praying not to be skinned and thrown into Debtors’ prison. Fust, decides not to break anything, gives Gutenberg a few extra guilders, and oh, one more thing, takes a cut of the score.

    In the end it works. Making the bibles is going great, but this is where the Breaking Bad like story really starts.

    Gutenberg brings in an apprentice to learn how to “cook” the books, a guy named Peter Schoeffer.

    A few years later, roughly 1455, Fust, finally makes his play. Schoeffer wasn’t as talented, but who cares. It’s letters on a page what does quality matter.

    Fust probably offers Schoeffer a whack less. But by now Gutenberg thinks he’s the Walter White of making books.

    Rather than just whacking him — he takes everything from him, legally. Partners with Schoeffer and the press keeps printing.

    It took 10 years for Gutenberg to be recognized as the inventor. He was 67. Died at 70.

    References:

    1. Johann Gutenberg — Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2004 The Gale Group Inc.
    2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Printing_press
    3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Gutenberg
    4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gutenberg_Bible

    Photo by Kyle Cleveland on Unsplash

    Originally published on a now defunct blog
    then again on Medium and Substack

  • Showcasing Canadian Beer

    I’ve got a little idea stirring in my head.

    If I could open a store, I think it would be a beer store. And like wine, it would
    have beer organized from region. And the first I would make sure is to have all
    of Canada.

    I would have no idea where to begin to do this, but it would be nice.

    But to start with – I’m at least going to start sharing what I have tried.

    Here’s to Beer.

  • How can we “trust” News again?

    Photo by Roman Kraft on Unsplash

    Recently, The Knight Foundation has jumped on board the “fake news” bandwagon to assemble a commission1 to look at the challenges faced with the News today2. They are putting up a whopping $2.5 million. Combine that with other initiatives and you’re looking at roughly $4.5 million3.

    How ’bout – if I come up with a solution, I get the money?

    Here’s my 4 part plan ( 3, with part 2 as an I & II ):

    Protect the word “News”

    There’s loads of words and symbols in organizations and companies that have meaning.

    • Corporation, Inc., LLC.
    • Trademarks ™, Registered Trademarks ®, Copyright ©, Prescriptions ℞

    You can’t willy-nilly throw them around. If you do, there could be consequences.

    “News” should be recognized as one of them.

    Legislate protections of the word. Create symbology.

    I am not a news organization. I am a blogger and pretty much anything I write about here is personal and editorial [enf_note]In public, and still subject to laws, at least in Canada[/efn_note]. I don’t pretend to be News

    Calling yourself “news” should have meaning.

    Stop the Greed Part I: No public trading

    I believe that publicly traded companies kill specific industries. The striving for a +% at any costs kills long term vision and makes companies do pretty dumb things.

    i.e. Last year company A did $2 Billion, but because of trading, it’s only if they make $2.1 Billion that they are a success. if they make $1.9 Billion, then they fail, and people start selling and loosing fail. When really, they made $1.9 Billion!!!

    Media Companies, and more specifically News organizations can’t be subject to any of that.

    Stop the Greed Part II: No buy or sell

    This blog uses Ghost, and over and above the platform and software they’ve built – the organization is non-profit, open and transparent. Additionally one of the interesting legalese they’ve embedded is that it cannot be bought or sold.

    That doesn’t mean people don’t get paid well. That doesn’t mean it can’t grow to be a massive organization.

    It just means Ghost will remain Ghost. If it fails, and I’m hopeful it won’t, if a new organization takes the mantel, it still won’t be Ghost.

    Perhaps clauses like these, similar to various corporate clauses, is what would define these new News organizations.

    A Journalistic Bar

    Lawyers have a very interesting structure, I think could be looked at.

    The first hurtle is to be called to the bar. Here in Canada you get called up once you pass law school. In the States, there’s more nuance, but ultimately pass the Bar exam, and join the bar association, your in. You could skip to the end without school, but good luck.

    After that there are several incentives to keep you going. Money through ownership and billable hours. Status through high profile cases. Satisfaction saving people ( on either side ). Career growth by becoming a judge and moving up the circuits. There are several more, but the diversity of motivation is my point.

    • Post graduate education
    • Certified Peer Group
    • Diverse Motivation

    Combine ’em all

    If you were to combine all of these you would have a structure to nurture, grow, educate and incentivise journalists to stay true to their ethics and convictions. And sure, just like lawyers there are some who may stray a tad from the ethical line – there is still a watchdog “bar” making sure they don’t step out too far.

    Then after indoctrinated into the Journalistic scribe, you end up in a system that helps you nurture the future without the compromise or desire to sway the ethics or push/tow the line you other media properties are, so that hopefully you could sell and make the big bucks.

    Dear Knight Foundation:
    Please make the cheque out to Nicholas Kempinski

    This post was originally published on one of my old blogs. I backdated this to the original publish date.

    Footnotes

    1. Knight Foundation Announces Major Trust, Media and Democracy Initiative to Build a Stronger Future for Jounalism
    2. Pew Research: 2. Trust and accuracy 
    3. With $4.5 million, Knight is launching a new commission — and funding more new projects — to address declining public trust in media

  • Connecting continents

    Photo by Marjan Blan | @marjanblan on Unsplash

    There’s something humbling that as we advance in technology, we still need big fat cables under the ocean.

    Recently, Facebook & Microsoft dropped their’s, though it won’t be running till early 2018

    Last year, Google & NEC turned on theirs.

    Gatekeepers to the pipeline

    If you don’t like Google, Facebook & Microsoft and still need to get your digital signal hard-lined to Europe, fear not – I was amazed at the size of the List of international submarine communications cables

    Is hardware making a comeback

    With physical devices like honking cables under the ocean; balloons and drones connecting wifi hubs; Alexa, google home, apple home; anything Elon Musk does – are we getting back to the hardware1?

    This post was originally published on one of my old blogs. I backdated this to the original publish date.

    Footnotes

    1. With the increase in orality, is there an increase in physicality?

  • Going Ghost Again

    Ethernick.com is now running off
    linode.

    Thought it was a good time to expand and play. Not many hosts are offering something
    relatively cheap to run node. I’ve been antsy to see how Ghost is doing
    in a real world context.

    As of now, my previous medium hosted publication,
    The aether, has been moved onto ghost.

  • Will my invention change the way we poop?

    Will my invention change the way we poop?

    And other important questions that aren’t being asked.

    Photo by Julien Maculan on Unsplash

    There is no question the iPhone changed every owner’s washroom regiment. We don’t need that pile of readers digests anymore.

    But did anyone see that happening?

    Probably not, no one can see it all. But did anyone think about the interaction like that?

    As the Internet of Things (IoT) advances and we put the internet in things like blinds and make new crazy things that never existed before, who is stopping to ask, or to teach to ask, what are the ecological ramifications?

    I’m sure they are asking what are some of the ramifications, after all every VC pitch needs to know “why” and even the risks. But I’m not 100% sure we’re looking at the whole picture of risks.

    Typer in Spelling Bee
    • Spelling Bee contestants are typing as the spell. Their brains are being hardwired to know the alphebet in 2 dimensions.
    • Kids are touching every glass like surface wondering why the pictures aren’t moving.
    • We are now talking to our computers like people: “Siri”, “OK Google”, “Hey Alexa”

    What else is being rewired?

    How we interact with our technology shapes us. Sure the technology itself is cool – but I honestly don’t know who’s really thinking about our future generations and how they will be shapped by these things.

    This post was originally published on one of my old blogs. I backdated this to the original publish date.

  • Class through media choices

    What if the future of class is media choices?

    • Those who can put the phone away.
    • Those who choose podcasts over video streams.
    • Those who still read long form articles.
    • Those who produce vs those that consume.

  • Sputnik Moments

    Two things I like about this article.

    One – Sputnik Moments

    In recent months, China has quietly given the United States a series
    of new Sputnik Moments

    Although a tad fear mongering, still very very cool phrase

    Two – Quantum Communications

    China successfully tested the world’s first quantum satellite
    communication – relying on the physics of quantum entanglement to send and
    receive provably secure messages.

    I beg your pardon? What did it just say? Quantum Satellite Communication