29 Things that Inspired me in 2009

I thought I’d do a new kind of list for myself this year, and share it with anyone who was interested:  A list of things that inspired me.

One of the things I love about the tech community, and about my job, is the sheer number of ideas, entrepreneurs, technologies, and investors I come into contact with on a regular basis.  Almost all of them have something inspired about them, or worth learning from; in aggregate, they are awesome.  It’s also been a big year for me on the personal front.

So here are a few things (big, small, and somewhat random) that inspired me to be a better person, work harder on the important things, or help do my share to pull things in the right direction.  In no particular order:

1. Being a techstars mentor.  There’s nothing as rewarding as seeing ideas become reality, and the opportunity to help that along a little.  Seeing this scale as a model is exciting too.
2. The Twitter ecosystem. In particular, the innovation from companies like Bit.ly, CoTweet, Wildfire, and Brizzly, and the way Twitter is encouraging that.
3. Facebook connect.  Changing the game for publishers very much in the way I’d hoped MyBlogLog would, and making the internet better for people.  The future needs to be more open, but FB connect is helping a lot of people get convinced about the power of the social web.
4. Kiva.  I had the good fortune to spend some time this year with the founders and in the offices of Kiva.  In addition to distributed microfinance being an inspired idea well executed as a product, they are really managing their growth with a thoughtful and strong hand on the tiller, and demanding excellence in their organization.
5. iPhone apps.  This is what I always wanted the internet to be when it grew up, and it’s amazing how quickly this has mainstreamed.  Despite the legitimate issues with their closed ecosystem (see #3 also), this is due largely to apple’s execution.
6. Intelligentsia coffee.  I was skeptical of a newcomer to my well-caffeinated, eastside LA neighborhood, but the focus on quality coffee, roasting, preparation, and staff immediately ranked them head and shoulders above anyone else.  It’s a great example of passion and focus in a startup — just doing One Thing Well.
7. Kinnernet, & the Isreali web community.  Yossi Vardi’s invitation to participate in Israel’s equivalent of Barcamp meets Burning Man seemed like a lark, and it did have its share of mentos fountains and robots, but I’m glad I went — there is a terrific tech community being built in Israel and supporters around the world, and some of the most fearless entrepreneurs I’ve met are working there.
8. Jerusalem.  It’s impossible to summarize the unexpected and moving experience of visiting the nexus of so much cultural history, extreme orthodoxy, and conflict, but I highly recommend putting it on your life list.
9. Getting married.  Another good thing for your life list .  Getting married was by far the highlight of the year for me, and a great excuse to convince a large number of friends and family to come celebrate together.  I’ve enjoyed getting closer to Amy’s tightly knit family — and her grandmother Gogi shared some very spirited (and hopefully useful) words of wisdom after decades of marriage.
10. My Uncle Steve, who passed away this year, and who will be missed and remembered for his irreplaceable personality and involvement in our family.
11. The stream.  The general adoption of the real-time, social “river of news” approach is important and has only just begun.  JS-Kit and GetGlue are two companies that I’m really enjoying right now who are engaging with it.
12. Tim O’Reilly.  While I always find his “do things worth doing” approach inspiring, I’m particularly glad to see it applied to Government 2.0, and the community response to this.
13. Gourmet food trucks.  I live in LA, home of the twittering Kogi bbq truck — and within a handful of months, dozens of gastro-hyphenate and gourmet busses, trucks and stands, ranging from architectural ice cream to french bistro fare.  These are the foodie equivalent of cheap web software and SaaS-based startups, and it’s awesome to see just as much innovation and passion coming out of it.  (Check out findlafoodtrucks.com)
14. The Bon Iver sunrise show at the Hollywood Forever cemetery.  While the show this terrific band did at the Wiltern was arguably better, they had an Idea — that having an all-night party in a cemetery, and playing an outdoor show of their stirring music at sunrise, following chanting monks, would be interesting and fun and worth the red tape — and they Made It Happen.
15. The FCC.  For doing what they are doing.
16. The Flaming Lips, who, I got to see at the Greek Theater.  For continuing to do what they do.
17. Glen Hansard.  I stumbled with some newfound friends into a private, music industry showcase show in Boulder.  Not only was he cool, he turned in a political statement about payola in the record industry — biting the hand that feeds rather while promoting his new record.  We need more artists like this — plus he’s great.
18. The Kindle.   Awesome and transformative, and only getting better.  I probably read more books this year than in the previous two combined.  Still – open it and make it social, please.
19. Cory Booker.  A grad school classmate who’s now the Mayor of Newark and taking an inspiring and iconoclastic approach to what can be done to change things for the better.  Cory adopted social media this year with results that are nothing short of amazing.  In a world of tech evangelists, vapid celebrities, and self-described social media consultants, he’s one of the few who deserve the follower base (1,000,000+!) and RT’s.
20. Matt Logelin & David Beach.  Two friends of mine who’ve shown incredible courage in the face of personal adversity and used social media to talk about their difficulties.  There are so many more — #drewscancer and the pablove movement come to mind — but these gentlemen put a personal face on what it means to be brave, exposed, and inspirational (whether intentionally or not) in a world of oversharing.
21. The GTD community. David Allen’s GTD summit was refreshingly free of gurudom and dilettantes, and replete with people who believe that productivity tools aren’t fashion accessories but rather tools for doing things right.
22. Austin musicians.  I took at least three trips to Austin this year and made a point of seeing good, live music on each.  At SXSW, I even dragged a few folks with me, and was able to hire two great bands (Jesse Dayton, Dave Insley & the Careless Smokers) for my wedding.
23. Indie 103.  An attempt to un-clearchannel the LA airwaves and a bit of a throwback business model, Indie gave up the ghost this year, but having punk-rock dj’s on prime frequencies was fun while it lasted.  Once we have internet in our cars, it won’t matter anyway ’cause we’ll all be listening to Pandora.
24. Barack Obama’s inauguration.  His words then, and the collective optimism we had in them, were as inspiring as any political event my generation has experienced.  I’m still hoping he will do more to live up to the vision.
25. Andrew Wyeth, who died this year.  Sometimes dismissed as a lightweight, Wyeth was an iconoclast and an experimental, expressive, honest painter who didn’t give a shit what anyone else thought.  In my view, he was one of America’s true great artists.
26. Unclasses.  I love this idea, and the general idea that amateurs and hobbyists have a lot to teach us and the desire to share.  I hope it spreads.  Speaking of sharing, let’s add Neighborgoods too (friend me if you join).
27. Wikipedia, Creative Commons, OpenID, OpenSocial, and all of the other emerging open web repositories, formats, and ip frameworks that are making it possible to do good things and make incremental contributions to the greater good of the web commons.
28. Friends.  I have so many friends pursuing their passions, big ideas, and family dreams right now.  I’m amazed by what people do every day.
29. Kickstarter.  Go check it out, and fund something that inspires you.