#51: Momma We Made It (?)
Coloring Crypto is taking a 6 week break, returning in October 2018.
Our episode with Mom is getting mad love.
First off, let’s get Molly Wood of Marketplace on the podcast. Text me if you’ve got any fellow connections from Berkeley. 808.250.4825
Coming of age in the 1980s, my Mom worked a full time career. I had no idea how rare and brave that was. Our family even made it onto KING TV news with my brother and I cast as “latch key kids”. Picking me up from soccer practice, or whenever riding in her car, we’d be listening to NPR. While I didn’t know it at the time, my mom was indelibly progressive. At 12 years old, I was certain racism and sexism would be a distant memory by the time I hit my 20s or 30s. That was 1984.
My Mom’s politics and values have always been aligned with mine, but that seemed to change after the 2008 Wall Street collapse and especially in 2016 when populism lost to corporatism.
I fell out of a life long love with NPR when NPR Politics condescendingly giggled at Trump and his supporters, after dismissing Bernie.
I don’t know about you, but when I hear an NPR political episode broadcast a theme about, say — economic inequality — and then I hear that necessary disclosure of sponsorship: that the Koch Brothers are a primary source of funding, I get a little disoriented.
Our guest today on Episode 51 of Coloring Crypto, as we gestate ourselves and take a break, is my mom, in what I think is one of the most honest conversations on how we survive this confusion in politics, culture and media by getting vulnerable with our relationship to crypto.
F*#! Yeah Bonnie
And yes, by “Crypto” I am including all of CRYPTOGRAPHY, not just cryptoCURRENCY.
When I titled our podcast “Coloring Crypto”, sure I do want to make tons of money, but I am committed and far more passionate about the greater vision of what the blockchain can do to solve our problems.
And here we go, my mom calls bullshit.
Listen Here to Episode 51 of Coloring Crypto where Gabe Colors’ Mom and he get raw:
Today, polarization feels more charged than we have known, shifting definitions seem endless and it’s hard to stand on a consistent foundation. As ideologies are crumbling, identities are confusing, community is lacking, and expression can be depressing in this summer of 2018, Crypto’s Great Gestation is perhaps one metaphorical mirror for useful insight.
Coloring Crypto’s Great Gestation Series:
There has been a voice missing in the crypto community, we all know this, it’s in the media and it’s conventional wisdom: women are underrepresented. It’s almost cliche it’s so true. When 99 of the 100 speakers at the Miami crypto conference were women last year, I intentionally sought to invite women as guests on the Coloring Crypto podcast.
Crypto, like all of tech, is dominated by white and asian men.
She asked the questions I wanted to know
I referenced Michelle Tsng’s post, cleverly titled 200+ Thought Leaders in Crypto and Blockchain (she only listed women), to invite guests. Rachel Cook of Seeds was our guest for episode 20, and, not to cast shade, but my 22 year old white male intern published the episode with the title “Women in Crypto”. The email exchange with Rachel was awkward.
She helped, literally, by re-titling the episode:
“How Crypto Can Transcend the Patriarchy”
Mom critiqued not just gender and sexism but the entire blockchain with simple questions, challenging our self directed validation of how we are going to fix the world somehow.
To learn Bitcoin takes up so much time — so this podcast helped me.
Gender diversity is a real issue but so is race. And so is economic inequality.
If I was to “man-splain”, I’d count the number of women and minorities, and I would identify that as my KPI, my Key Performance Indicator, the lean startup metric that I can count over time to decide which of two things are happening: are we improving or not? Improvement meaning more diversity.
Momma don’t mansplain.
Mom goes for the outcome. This is the episode that asks if the Emperor has clothes.
Your Mom Rules
There has to be a reason I got so much direct positive feedback from important, talented women I respect on this particular episode.
Mom flipped the entire script, it’s not just about how diverse are those plugged in and benefiting from the blockchain, it’s about what can the blockchain do for all of us, things like decentralizing success and improving access equality.
This is the episode that asks if the Emperor has clothes. Where is the adoption?
Diversity within the tech crypto power centers will undoubtedly help achieve this, but Mom states it plainly, as revolutionary as the blockchain and bitcoin claims to be, can you really argue your time is spent better dealing in cryptocurrency than addressing the pressing social and political issues of our time?
I liked your show with your mom because she asked the kind of questions that I wanted to know plus I really like how she is involved in the community and trying to make a difference.
Coloring Crypto goes on a 6 week hiatus, ushered in with this chapter close from: None other than my Mom.
I’ll leave the critique to the wave of comments coming in, some posted here, below, but in general I think the tone of this episode is a strong message to our community to get out of our blockchain bubble and think of better ways to make our case.
My Mom’s reflection is more representative of the reality out there than we like to admit.
It’s 2018 and Crypto is a microcosm of all of our shit, but worse.
References/Shownotes:
Family member who have been guests: Aunt Terrie and Brother Che, Cousin David, the return of Cousin David, and now the most recent guest, Episode 51, Bonnie Mott
Growing up seeing your sign in my bathroom: “Washington State has had an equal rights amendment” I thought racism would be gone, gender equality would exist, with bitcoin the rich got richer.. but the concept of a decentralized ledger is going to be good.
Episode 51 of Coloring Crypto
3:07 “That’s why I like Rebekah”, referencing episode 46, part 1 of the Great Gestation
3:20 “I don’t get where you would begin”
4:08 “real estate guys” MorLabs, episode 43
4:15 “sending money to third world countries” Dwala Wala, episode 31
4:40 “how does David make his money?” Cousin David, episode 8
11:35 “takes me an hour to buy a sandwich” Usman, episode 5
18:55 Difference between crypto and the blockchain: “The blockchain really is an accounting system. Bitcoin is trying to take the place of dollars.”
19:30 Munchee, episode #8, instagram for food and “they got busted by the SEC”
20:00 “I liked Squirrel” Ben Sigman, episode 44
20:30 “Island in the pacific where you carve stone wheels” Miko, episode 48, part 3 of the Great Gestation, example of decentralization.
21:30 Argument for decentralization, getting power out of the hands of the banks. Wall Street collapse in 2008.
22:20 Why we might have a revolution
26:00 “When someone sends money to their family in Ghana, how do people then use this crypto once they get it? Are they paying a bank to change it into their local currency? Do they all have to have computers?”
33:20 “Cousin David isn’t even going to vote. I want people to participate in their community. That’s why I liked Rebekah.” Cousin David episode 8 and 14, Rebekah episode 46 part 1 of the Great Gestation
36:35 Comparing Tea Party to the Occupy Wall Street movement
39:10 “What are our values? I want people to jump in and try to change the system”
40:00 George Lakoff, how we frame, “socialist democrat”
40:00 Molly Wood, of Marketplace. Make Me Smart podcast. “She and Kai Rysdall banter too much. I don’t want to hear about her dogs, come on.”
43:30 “How did the Democrats become the pro-war with Russia party?”
45:30 “Maybe I should buy some crypto to get some skin the game, but I don’t really know how.” The easiest way to buy crypto if you are just starting out is at Coinbase. You can visit Coinbase on your own, and here is my affiliate link where I will get $10 if you sign up through me.
46:00 Affiliate link for Coinbase.
47:30 Guests we have been reaching out to: Presidential candidate running on Universal Basic Income Andrew Yang, Hawaii reps Tulsi Gabbard and Kaniela Ing, California’s Gavin Newsome
What’s your thesis, what’s your question, what do you want to ask them?
I would want to discuss how new technologies might impact social policy and transparency
50:15 Mom wants 30 minute podcasts. Length of podcasts. My favorite is Bill Simmons
51:30 Question for Molly Wood: “Explore the financial system the country has, how capitalism and democracy are confused, how would she design an economic system, what would be her hopes and her dreams.”
53:30 Color Museum in San Francisco, The Color Factory
55:00 “The next time I see you I’m going to show you my calendar. You should study Monet. He would introduce you and he would expand your ideas”
The two most important things to know about color are (1). Luminosity and (2). Halation
The Impressionists got their name from this painting:
During our 6 week hiatus, we welcome your feedback. Contact me on email gabecolors at gmail or on twitter gabecolors
