A letter from Om. Issue #13/2023 

Hi! I am Om & this is my letter where I share what’s on my mind, my latest writings, articles worth reading from around the web, my recommendations & some of my photography. 

In this issue, I address: 

• What I am up to? 
• My New Essay
• Some of my recent writings. 
• 5 articles worth reading. 
• Goodbye, Abigail. 
• My Recommendation
• My recent photography

What I am up to? 

It has been awfully silent around here for a simple reason: I was away for almost three weeks on a photography trip and was mostly offline. I first traveled by boat in Greenland and later ventured into the highlands of Iceland. Then I went to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, to see the glory of Autumn. And when I got back, well, the virus got me.

While these trips were educational and interesting, they didn’t yield any remarkable photos. However, they clarified something essential for me, thanks to my time spent offline. First, no technology or business is so vital that you can’t live without it. In fact, most of it is just a stage-managed theater of marketing. The second thing I re-learned by going offline is that you can’t have an opinion about everything. Indeed, it’s impossible to have an opinion on every matter, so you shouldn’t feel the need to voice your thoughts on everything. Leigh Reyes, a fellow fountain pen enthusiast, and a creative writer, put it best when she wrote:

“It’s okay to be puzzled, disheartened, confused, uncertain. It’s okay to learn, question, and observe without pressuring yourself to have an opinion At This Very Minute. It’s okay to do all of this away from the social internet. It’s okay to still be finding the way in your heart to what you believe.”

My New Essay

Social is dead. Get over it. 

For the first two decades of the new century, the “web” was organized around people and social connections. What appeared to be a social utopia has now transformed into an algorithm-driven profit machine. The social web has transitioned into social media and thrives on engagement triggers. Algorithms prioritize influential sources, extreme ideas, and amplify false beliefs through pseudo-social approval. It’s no surprise that the web is flooded with noise, spam, and bots, diminishing its enjoyability and sociability. We find ourselves in a fog of misinformation. What we may not want to admit is that the Social Web is taking its last breath, and we’re entering a new phase of social decoupling. Read

Some of my recent writings

• What would Steve Jobs have thought of our industry now? How I wish he were around to guide us through the next significant technological shift—the transition to the era of hyper-personalized computing, where human influence on interactions is minimal in a world awash with data, information, and uncertainty.
• Apple’s events are now scripted and lack the emotional resonance they once had. They feel more like glorified infomercials.
• How I use ChatGPT and other AI tools to boost my productivity.
• A game is more than a game. It is about memories and friendship. And it was a game of cricket that finally allowed me to emotionally acknowledge the passing of a friend.

5 Articles Worth Reading

• Apocalypse-Proof: As someone who has written about telecom and broadband for as long as I have, I know and appreciate the special telecom hubs or telecom hotels. New York and San Francisco are dotted with these giant windowless buildings that help the Internet hum. But they are also perfect fodder for paranoia and conspiracy thrillers. This is one of the best pieces I have read. It is about 33 Thomas Street in New York, and I really wish I had written about that.
• The economic case of generative AI and foundation models. The economic case of generative AI and foundation models. If you can look past the VC self-interest, then this is a really useful article to get context about our ongoing software shifts. (Here is a non-VC take on what is being labeled as AI.) 
• How long can the Nvidia GPU boom last? Good question. 
• The only iPhone 15 review you need to read. And yes, it is all about the camera(s). 
• The Chemical Code: Just as the genetic code is transforming biology and medicine, a chemical genome is going to transform materials and everything else.

Goodbye, Abigail. 

Abigail Johnson was a very special public relations professional whom I met a long time ago. I will always remember her fondly; she helped me appreciate the nuances of technology, media, and even my own role in the terra firma of the Silicon Valley ecosystem. Of course, I can’t recall the first company we discussed — I believe it was a telecom company — when I was at Red Herring. Almost 23 years later, the few interactions that I’ve had with Abigail remain cherished memories. I wish I had more time to spend with her. Her everlasting gift to me was an introduction to Chris Michel, who has become such a close friend. She had a knack for connecting people and understanding what really mattered. RIP, Abigail. 

My Recommendation: 

Harley & Katy is a wonderful documentary about Australian figure skaters Harley Windsor and Ekaterina Alexandrovskaya on Netflix. It’s very good, and the music soundtrack is a big part of it. Composer Rose Siebel is about to release it as her new album, and it is worth checking out. 

My Photography

• I have fallen in love with the new 5x zoom lens on the iPhone 15 ProMax. It is just so good. Just take a look at these photos. 
• With good light, even the most mundane of scenes look magical, as I found out on a drive back from Jackson Hole.
• San Francisco mornings in September are a symphony of gradients. 

October 16, 2023. San Francisco