Path

Just logged in to Path for the first time in about a month. I read through everyone’s updates about when they slept and when they got up and where they were and what they were doing. It was like being stuck in the worst party ever where everyone is just talking about nonsense. I just had to get out of there and leave early. The problem is that these are friends I know and really like in real life. It’s amazing how boring social platforms can make you appear, even when they’re just so beautifully designed. Blows my mind that the designers think one of the few things at the root of their app that people would want to share with the world is when you go to bed and wake up. Seriously, that’s the drivelest of drivel.

Why I didn’t go to SXSW

I’ve been to SXSW for the past few years and spoken there a few times too. This year, I didn’t go. 

I’m a doctor. As a resident, I solved real problems. Kids were sick, hurt, and/or dying— I fixed them. They got better and returned to their normal existence. I did all of this in person in the clinic or in the hospital. It was about as meaningful as meaningful gets. 

This was 2002 to 2007. The internet and all of the problems it was solving was in full swing. I witnessed the revolution. I started my first practice as a direct result. I knew there was something interesting that could happen if you marry an old school house call practice with all these “new” forms of communication like email, skype, and SMS. They were mainstream amongst normal people. But I was a doctor using email. What I did wasn’t groundbreaking or revolutionary at all— it just made sense. The only thing groundbreaking was that I did it. That’s it. I’m no genius. I’ve just got balls. And I became part of the hype.

That being said, since then, I’ve witnessed hundreds and hundreds of people and startups trying to revolutionize health and healthcare on the internet. They’ve promised that social media will revolutionize the concept of the patient. Or quantifying yourself will make you a whole new healthier and happier person because you’ve now got endless streams of Nike Fuel data. Needless to say, 99.9% of them have failed or will fail because they can’t figure out how to make money and/or fundamentally don’t understand how people comprehend their own health. I’ll dive into the reasons why in another post. But SXSW is overrun with social media types. Social media has so little to do with healthcare, it’s almost laughable.

But the reality is the big health revolution that’s happened on the internet is liberation of health information. We can all google our symptoms and the diagnosis will be on the first page of search results 80% of the time and 95% of the time on the second page. The real health revolution has been the google search. But then what do you do with that diagnosis?

Most likely, you need a doctor to help you through it. But no internet company has successfully connected you with a doctor who can help you in person. It’s mainly due to business model issues and the cost of putting a doctor on the other end. But it’s also because you need a doctor who’s geographically close to you. And there are only a tiny fraction of companies who have nailed the business model of the hyperlocal space. Yelp, although it’s never been profitable. Foursquare, although time will tell if they’re profitable. I have high hopes for them. I’m a big fan of anything that helps me explore the world better.

Now, combine this failure in the health space with the fact that the companies all vying to be SXSW darlings don’t solve real problems. The next instagram? Correct me if I’m wrong, but how can you have the next instagram when instagram isn’t even a real business? Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for art and its relevance to a culture.

But I’m into creating real businesses that generate real revenue and solve real problems. I want to use ancient technologies like email and phones and put local doctors on the other end to solve real problems. People get sick or hurt and don’t know what to do. Ninety percent of people in my demographic do not have an accessible primary care doctor. And 30 to 40% of them have a chronic illness like asthma, anxiety, or depression. They also disproportionately injure themselves because they’re young and active. But I know that 70% of all office visits are unnecessary if you have a doctor you can call who will then do everything they can to help you solve that problem either virtually or in-person. That’s why we’ve built Sherpaa. 

Nobody has built a business like this, mostly because they’ve gotten the business model and the brand wrong and misunderstood how people interact with their own health.

But Sherpaa brings in real revenue from Day 1 and solves real problems. It’s a company that could not exist without the internet. And it’s a company that isn’t super sexy to talk about. It’s healthcare. It’s no fun at all. Nobody likes being sick or hurt. It isn’t ever going to be the next big media darling at SXSW. But, it’s a company that, when you’re either sick or hurt and don’t know what to do, becomes invaluable and the most sexy internet company you can imagine. It has nothing to do with social media. In fact, I’ve deliberately not created a twitter account or facebook page for Sherpaa. But I’ve sure as hell given out our phone number and email address to each and every person who’s a member of Sherpaa and made sure they have our number on speed dial. Sometimes you’ve got to step back, gain some perspective, get over hyped up “revolutions,” realize the problem has been solved with decades old technology, combine that old school technology in new ways, and make a real business out of a wonderful concept that solves real problems. 

SXSW was important back in the day when real problems were still being solved by the internet. Now that the internet has solved the vast majority of real honest to god problems we humans have, it’s floundering. And I just don’t have the time nor the interest.

Pierogi Gallery is on my block so I stopped in yesterday to see the Ward Shelley show. It’s awesome. If you’re in NYC, check it out.

I love this:

Sometimes people have different ambitions and conditions and everybody can’t, or simply don’t want to, head down to the gym or catch a spinning class at 7pm.

Nano workout addresses these problems from the complete opposite direction. Nano workouts are based on the situation you are in and suggests small short exercises using the natural conditions the situation provides. By breaking down your day to the most common situations you find yourself in and analyzing them to see how they can be optimized from a training perspective you can through Nano workouts achieve a more healthy life, no matter what your day looks like. A small amount of exercise many times becomes a lot when added up. For instance if you exercise when brushing your teeth it will add up to 24 hours during one year.

I just ordered this bike. It should get here in 3 weeks or so, just in time for Spring. It’s a Spot Brand cyclocross bike that should hold up quite nicely on the streets of NYC, but also let me ride long distances on some relatively rough terrain. And just in case I ever want to compete in some cyclocross events, I’ve got a bike to let me do that. 

And this bike is gorgeous and hand made in Colorado.

However, I’m looking for a riding partner. I need someone who lives in Williamsburg who can commit to a daily morning ride out to Prospect Park, around the loop, and back. It’s not a massive ride— only about 15 miles. But it’s a partnership to ride and spur each other on and keep each other accountable and get extremely fit. If you don’t already know, the evidence-based secret to sticking with a habit, like exercising, is having a partner.  Any takers?

I bought a new table tennis blade yesterday. I play with sandpaper, not rubber. And the wood grain was just so beautiful, I surely wanted to keep that. And along came a bright idea. Go to the long board shop and get some clear grip tape. Problem solved. 

Noah is going to lose tonight. He can rest assured.

I saw Matthew Dear at the Bowery Ballroom last night. Black City is one of my favorite records in the past few years. And the show went down as one of the top 10 best shows I’ve ever seen. He’s a performer. So, so good.

The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene performs unannounced sanitary inspections of every restaurant at least once per year.  Here’s a map of all of those restaurants and their violations. Looks like I won’t be eating at that restaurant I’ve been meaning to try.

My ever-growing living room wall.

When I find something I really like, I get excited. Really excited. I think it’s in my genes. My gramps is the same way. One of my favorite stories about him is that time he turned orange. He heard that carrots can prevent cancer. So he bought a juicer and drank a 5 pound bag of carrots every day for a few months. He lived in Arkansas. I lived in St. Louis so we didn’t get to see him for months on end. We pulled up to his driveway and he was orange— highlighter orange.

I ate these eggs this morning. I’m going to be quite secretive about where I get my eggs, because they only have a few chickens on their farm, but holy hell, they’re the best eggs I’ve ever seen and tasted. The chickens don’t eat any processed food. It’s all bugs and grasses. And there must be something magical in those bugs, because that yolk is almost red.

Falling in love with real food and having a healthy obsession with finding the healthiest and tastiest food is a wonderful hobby. Trips to the farmer’s market on Saturdays. Trying some weird new food that you can’t find at the grocery store only to find out it’s amazing (this week it was freekeh). Cooking ostrich fillets. Pea shoot salads with grilled haloumi. 

The beautiful thing is that I think our society is going through a slow revolution. Our society is getting more health conscious. Fast food restaurants are making our healthy food choices easier. Snacks are becoming low calorie, tasty, and organic. And the more people who demand them, ideally, the cheaper they will become. Just think what food choices looked like 20 years ago. It’s been a sea change for the better. 

Healthy, fresh, and tasty food is super easy to get in my neighborhood. Of course, I live in a pretty wealthy and fashionable neighborhood. But every sea change starts with those who get it and who can afford it. Now all we have to do is get some of these foods into the food deserts. In another 20 years, they’ll be there, if the past 20 years are any indication. It’s just frustratingly slow.