Creating a Humanist Blockchain Future

Photo credit: http://one-europe.net/law-of-humanity Logo credit: John Lindmark

Overview

Hello!

I’m happy to announce Season 1 for my podcast, Creating a Humanist Blockchain Future. I’m going release daily interviews with experts, scoped by system level. If you’re interested in systems/frameworks generally, I think you’ll enjoy the show! Here are the 4 system scopes and some confirmed interviewees for each:

  • Series A: Macro Systems—We’ll learn about trends in our macro philosophical/technological future to answer the question “Where are we headed?” Confirmed interviews: Albert Wenger, Raine Revere, Trent McConaghy, and Brayton Williams
  • Series B: Human Systems—We’ll learn about Lean/Agile frameworks and mental models to answer the question “How can you prioritize and communicate more effectively?” Confirmed interviews: Zach Nies
  • Series C: Software Systems—We’ll learn about programming architectures, design patterns, and cryptoeconomics to answer the question “What systems are we building in code?” Confirmed interviews: Luis Cuende, Mike Goldin, and everyone at Devcon3
  • Series D: Systems for Fun!—We’ll learn about other systems like games, language, and art to answer the question “What other systems can we study?” No confirmed interviews yet, but Magic: the Gathering designers and 中文 are on the horizon :).

In addition to these interviews, I’m committing to the decentralization of power in two ways:

  • Podcast Diversity Pledge—I will interview at least 33% females on my show. It feels weird to not make this 50/50, but it’s actually reasonable given that the high estimate for women in blockchain is 17%.
  • Self-imposed Tax Pledge—After I can support my basic needs at $1,500/month (through Patreon, see below), I begin allocating at least 25% of my income to effective altruist charities. After money no longer affects happiness ($3,750/month), I will allocate 50% of my income to charity.

My Patreon

I’m using a multi-page Patreon structure to make this more clear. Here’s how it works:

  • I have 5 different Patreon pages. One for my “macro vision” (here) and four for the specific podcast series (Series A: Macro Systems, Series B: Human Systems, Series C: Software Systems, Series D: Systems for Fun).
  • If you like my macro vision or like most of my podcast content, I recommend you support the “general” page on a monthly basis.
  • If you like a specific series (among the 4) or would like me to interview more people in a given content area, I recommend you support one of those pages on a per-episode basis.

Here’s a quick 3min video where I explain the above:

Asks

  • Support!—Curious? Or know someone who might be? I’d love your support on Patreon! This is my only job! I currently make $500/month, but need $1,500/month to support my basic needs. You could be my hero!
  • Mentorship—I’m looking for mentors (and people who are just interested in helping!), specifically around podcasting/freelancing and focus/accountability. I ask questions for a living, so hopefully I’d ask you good questions :)
  • Interviews—Are you interested in being on the show? Or can you think of someone else who might be?
  • Devcon3—Will you be at Devcon3? I’ll be there as a member of the press and would love to chat. Also, I just confirmed my press pass and need housing. Please reach out if you have an additional bed!
  • Consulting—I also do Lean/Agile/OrgDev/Communication consulting, especially in blockchain. Interested in consulting or know someone who might be?

For all of the above, please reach me at: rhyslindmark [at] gmail [dot] com. Thanks!

Patreon Copy-Paste

Still haven’t clicked on my Patreon? I’ve copied it here for you :)

1. Podcast Series

On my podcast, I’m interviewing experts on various kinds of systems. I aspire to be a one-man NPR but concentrated on systems, not people. Here are the four different series:

Series A: Macro Systems
In this podcast, we ask the question: “Where are we headed?” and learn about trends in our macro philosophical/technological future. You’ll like it if you’re into history, the future, philosophy, or venture capital, OR if you like Taleb, Harari, Wenger, Ravikant, Adichie, or Macaskill. Here’s an example episode: Erik Voorhees: Keynote Fireside Chat at Denver Startup Week

Series B: Human Systems
In this podcast, we ask the question: “How can you prioritize and communicate more effectively?” We’ll learn about frameworks to be more effective in your daily life. You’ll like it if you’re into lean, agile, mental models, or empathy, OR if you like Appelo, Maurya, Laloux, Ries, Blank, Alvarez, Galef, or Parrish. No example episode yet!

Series C: Software Systems
In this podcast, we ask the question: “What systems are we building in code?”We’ll learn about programming architectures and design patterns. You’ll like it if you’re into blockchain, AI, or cryptoeconomics, OR if you like Szabo, Buterin, Xie, Stark, Ng, or Russell. Here’s an example episode: Simon de la Rouviere on Creation Markets

Series D: Systems for Fun!
In this podcast, we’ll ask the question: “What other systems can we study?” We’ll learn about other systems like games, language, music, and photography. You’ll like it if you’re into board games, poker, Magic the Gathering, chess, 中文, jazz music theory, or abstract art, OR if you like Rosewater, Kasparov, Chomsky, Linge, Boeree, Case, West, or Spalding.

In addition, here’s some of my recent in-person community/media work:

2. “Playing Right” and My Commitment to The Decentralization of Power

There are really two parts to my Patreon: the podcast series above andmy commitments to decentralize power. I’m doing this in two ways. First, I’m committing to interview no less than 33% women. Second, I’m self-imposing a “tax” on myself to give money to charity after I can support my basic needs. Hopefully these two initiatives can help us overcome the “imperialist white-supremacist capitalist patriarchy” (Bell Hooks). Let’s look at them!

Podcast Diversity Pledge
Right now, power is still centralized in people like me (American white straight cis males born upper class). This centralization leads to a less resilient macro system. If it’s all people like me holding power and making the decisions, we’re more likely to “miss” important perspectives that could’ve led to better outcomes (or prevented catastrophes). In addition to thinking about others we’re helping (as objects), we need to think about who is doing the help (which subjects).

To start, I’m committing to interview at least 33% women on my show.This may seem low, but it’s actually high given both my topic areas (blockchain has about 17% women) and the current status of other gender-based pledges (pledge to not be on 100% male panels). In addition to producing content, I’m going to consume content from diverse perspectives by following at least 33% women on Twitter. I’m “signaling” this by adding [66m/33f] to my Twitter profile. In the future I will expand this pledge to other forms of diversity as well (race, class, nationality, sexual orientation, political association). One final note on this: initially I had planned to devote a specific series to diversity but received feedback that it was better to be diverse across series rather than within a single series (see this Tweet on “women in X” panels).

Committing to a Self-Imposed Income Tax
The 8 richest people have as much money as the bottom 50%. This centralization is especially an issue because money is highly correlated with happiness (until $45,000/year). Bluntly put, here’s the opportunity: If we could “redistribute” money from those earning more than 45k to the 750 million people living in extreme poverty, the “amount of happiness” in the world would increase dramatically. (Clearly, it’s not quite that simple. But it’s not far away. See GiveDirectly’s impact.) Traditionally, people have redistributed their wealth retroactively. Create lots of value, get billions of dollars for that value, then make a foundation and give that money away (see The Giving Pledge). But why can’t we redistribute money back to the system as it comes in?

I’m committing to give large percentages of my income to charity, staged across three income buckets. I’m signaling this by by adding [45k50%] to my Twitter profile.

  1. For the first bucket, $0-$1500, I will be taking 100% of my income. I think of this as a “universal basic income” to cover my basic needs (1992 Honda Accord, saltines, etc.). This was inspired by Scott Santens’ Patreon pledge.
  2. For the second bucket, $1500-$4500, I will be taking 75% of this bucket’s monthly income and donating 25% to effective charities. I think of this as: “Get to a point where additional income has little effect on my happiness” (at this point I’d be making $45,000/year). This was inspired by the Giving What We Can Pledge.
  3. For the final bucket, $4500+, I will be taking 50% of this bucket’s monthly income and donating 50% to effective charities. I could see this percentage increasing as I increase my own runway.

If you’d like a more in-depth version of how I see the future from a philosophical perspective, please check out my 45-tweet Tweetstorm Meditations on “Meditations on Moloch”.

As of 10/18/2017, I currently have ~$3000 in my bank account, am spending $1500/month, and am making $500. So I have 3 months of runway (eep!). In general, my funds support (in this order): living expenses, others, travel, equipment.

A couple final notes on the above:

  • Both of these systems are designed to be memes that can spread through podcasting and Twitter communities.
  • Self-imposed transparency is a trend within blockchain (see Project Transparency and disclosing crypto holdings). I think it’s a great way to crowdsource diligence on your actions.
  • In addition to my Patreon income, I have a small sponsorship from Shapeshift that helps support my expenses. More on this soon!

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FAQ

(If you’re interested in any of the FAQ below, please reach me at rhyslindmark [at] gmail [dot] com.)

Can My Company Sponsor the Show?
Yes! If you would like to increase your company’s reach by supporting the podcast, there are two ways to do so.

  • You can buy sponsorship slots.
  • You can have me interview you about your ICO.
  • You can have me interview you about your book.

Can I Bring You To My Conference?
Yes! I have experience with blockchain conferences and have the depth of knowledge necessary for lean/agile or philanthropic conferences. There are three options:

  1. I can cover your conference as a member of the press.
  2. I can moderate panels at your conference.
  3. I can speak at your conference.

Do You Offer Consulting Services?
Yes! I’m a Techstars peer mentor and have worked with many individual founders/companies. I have the most personal experience with customer growth (Lean, Agile, etc.), internal team culture (communication, values, etc.), and blockchain-specific work (tokens, etc.). Prices range from $50-$300/hour. Commitment ranges from 1 hour/month to 20 hours/week.

Can I Pledge Cryptocurrency?
Yes! However, I can only accept one-time payments, not subscription pledges.
BTC: 1P1oFuf4SkurgoqKRctU4uhAsbFhR5xLAo
ETH: 0x751E84F6ded06f9f43598c772155B326190538f5
LTC: LSiqX4G5J1dvMrQVSwZ2tiG854T2GSNq8A

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If you still have questions, I’d love to talk — please email me at rhyslindmark [at] gmail [dot] com.

Thank you all again so much for your support, and excited to make this happen!

Warmth,
Rhys

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Final Notes/Disclaimers:
1. I own less than $100 of any given cryptocurrency, so my monetary incentive is not directly aligned with Bitcoin, Ethereum, etc. Over time, we may be able to create LongTermCoin and I would align my incentives with that.
2. This page is an experiment in variations on how to do a self-imposed tax. I may change my allocation percentages (to self vs. Effective Altruism) over time. In general, I will try to let my patrons know if I am changing the percentages and give them time to change their pledge amount.
3. Credit for the “many humans” picture goes to http://one-europe.net/law-of-humanity Credit for my current podcast logo goes to John Lindmark lindmarkdesign.com.

Thanks to Keith Klundt, Mike Goldin, John Desmond, Colin Wielga, Harry Lindmark, Joe Urgo, John Lindmark, Daniel Segal, Jacob Zax, Katie Powell, Jonathan Isaac, Ryan X Charles, Chris Edmonds, Ramsay Devereux, Ned Mills, Kenji Williams, Scott Levi, Brady McKenna, Peter Rodgers, Kenzie Jacobs, Jon Frechin, Nathan Schneider, and Kash Dhanda for supporting me on Patreon!

About Me: My name is Rhys Lindmark and I’m a social entrepreneur who asks questions for a living. I’m the host of a systems thinking podcast, Creating a Humanist Blockchain Future. I’m also a Lean/Agile/OrgDev consultant. Before this, I co-founded a company (Edify) that went through Techstars Boulder in 2015. Please reach out if you’d like to connect or have feedback! I’m curious about what you’re working on. You can support me on Patreon, follow me on Twitter, or connect on LinkedIn.

Disclaimer: I own less than $100 of any given cryptocurrency, so my monetary incentive is not directly aligned with Bitcoin, Ethereum, etc.