The Latest From Palo Alto

I just returned from a conference at Stanford University called “Legal Frontiers in Digital Media” put on by the Media Law Resource Center. Very cutting edge stuff. Here are a few random impressions:

1. Stanford is the most beautiful campus I have ever seen.

2. If you want to triple the length of an anticipated 3 mile run, get hopelessly lost in a place you’ve never been before.

3. Gamification is very big. If you can turn a process into some sort of game, and then turn that into an app, you may be able to retire sooner than you expected.

4. There is a growing backlash against anonymous online speech, and it is getting organized. Check out withoutmyconsent.org .

5. There are some really cool or really creepy apps out there, depending on your point of view. I didn’t catch the name of this one, but if you get it, then anytime you are in proximity to anyone else with that app, they get a notification. I vote creepy for this one.

6. And given the proliferation of mobile apps, the FTC, with or without federal legislation, will be on the lookout for privacy issues.

7. It’s nice to be home, especially with the Reds on a 5 game winning streak.