Tiago Doria

1. Academic life can be cool Boston area itself is one of the most intellectual places in all of the United States. Higher education seems to be oozing in every part of the region. Harvard, MIT, Northeastern University, Babson College, Boston University. All big education brands are here. The effects of this student population on real estate and commerce are quite clear. And, definitely, academic credentials are used as a main identifier in Boston.

2. Don’t be afraid of being a career changer. It is common to meet people who had three or four careers in their life in Boston. I met people who start working as an English teacher and then became a developer and finally an engineer. Or a veterinarian that became a police officer. Lesson learned — you live only once, and it is acceptable that you have many interests that a single career life cannot accommodate.

3. Historical buildings are a reminder In Boston, there is a tendency to look backwards. It’s a no surprise in a city that was the scene of key events of the American Revolution. Numerous places of that period were preserved. The remaining American Revolution buildings subtly work as a daily reminder of values related to broad and lasting personal liberty.

4. Winter changes everything Winter is a serious thing in Boston. Never underestimates it. It seems that there are two cities — Boston in the summer and Boston in the winter. The landscape changes. The people’s mood also shifts. After experiencing winters in Boston, I learned to appreciate small things such as going to a grocery store with no snow or being more flexible to big weather changes.

I’ve been practicing meditation for a while, at least twice a week. Practicing meditation is a result of my sense of curiosity. Yes, this personality trait that always pushes me to new environments and situations. 

Once in a while I’m invited to talk about meditation. It’s always a powerful experience. You know, you learn better and faster when you try to teach a subject.

Here are a few topics that I always explore.

1) Meditation is not about religion. You don’t have to be Buddhist to meditate. Meditation is a mental exercise that can be practiced by anyone regardless of their religion. I’m Catholic, but I practice meditation in a Buddhist temple every week.

2) Meditation is not about sleeping. People sometimes make confusion. They believe that meditation is about sleeping. Actually, meditation is a mental state between sleeping and being conscious. It is about how to clear your mind (sometimes our mind is full of dust and waste, right?).

3) Meditation is like going to the gym. We go to the gym to exercise our muscles. Also, we meditate to exercise our mind. Our mind can be strengthened just like a muscle. I mean the more you practice meditation, the stronger are your mind and positive thoughts.

4) Meditation is like learning how to ride a bicycle. This a good metaphor to explain the process of learning to meditate. Great expectations are not good if you’re starting to practice meditation.

You can’t ride a bike like a professional on the first attempt. Likewise, in meditation you should go step by step.

“Pretend everyone was sent to this planet to teach you. Famous people, dead people, your neighbors, your relatives, your co-workers. This will give you a strong feeling of humility. And guess what, you will learn from people, you will appreciate them more, and they will actually appreciate you more. Because everyone loves to teach”. 

The Google social networking service Orkut, which kicked off ten years ago, has been shuttered, according to the platform’sblog on Monday. The platform will officially close on Sept. 30, allowing users to phase out of the application over a transition period.

Between now and the site’s shutdown in a few months, users have the opportunity to save their data by exporting it

Orkut was responsible for digital inclusion of many people in India and Brazil. "I want to buy a computer to access Orkut" was well said.

Anyway, It's a smart decision.

Boston fireworks - 4th of July

Policymakers shouldn’t be trying to copy Silicon Valley. Instead, they should be figuring out what domain is (or could be) specific to their region—and then removing the regulatory hurdles for that particular domain. Because we don’t want 50 Silicon Valleys; we want 50 different variations of Silicon Valley, all unique from each other and all focusing on different domains.

Marc Andreessen in an article from Politico Magazine.

In March, I wrote:

In developing countries, it is common to see governments trying to emulate the Silicon Valley as a solution to their problems of lacking entrepreneurship and innovation economy.

For them, the San Francisco Area is the only feasible reference of innovation and technology while the region should be a source of innovation among many others.

South Africa, for example, has a significant hub with challenges and values that are common in developing countries. Maybe for a developing country government is more relevant to share ideas with an African innovation hub than with the Silicon Valley.

Matt Galligan, CEO and co-founder of Circa, in Behind the App: The Story of Circa.

It is worth reading this leaked report about innovation in the New York Times. What calls my attention is the fact that the document stresses the problem of hiring talented people.

Actually, this is an issue of the entire digital industry. Nowadays digital talent is in high demand. Startups, for example, have to deal with hiring problems every day.

Recently I attended a workshop at I-Lab Harvard about hiring. And one of the main points was: avoid the references.

References are a way to avoid risks in the hiring process. But, at the same time, they create a circle: you tend to hire people who have the same mindset.

In a nutshell, people who rely too much on references tend to hire people they know and they worked well with in the past. And that is a problem because every situation is different in the digital business. Maybe what worked in the past doesn't work today.

Possibly, take more risks in the hiring process and have a diversity of background is a good way to avoid the problems of hiring talented people.

Since he started playing tunes at various MBTA stops and stations, the Keytar Bear has become somewhat of a celebrity in Boston.

The Keytar Bear is becoming famous. That's the man!