But okay, I have to thank them because they are worth it. A shit load of people who gave me advice, made and broke stuff or at least tried to get things moving. I could make a list but it’s a long list and I would want to forget anyone. I know who did. And that what matters.

So, thank you, guys.

For those who didn’t know about TheWriteID, here below you find the scope in brief and how Frank & I thought we found all elements independently existing from each other.

TheWriteID is a work in progress, both as a technical solution and as a commercial offer. It aims to be the identity layer on top of the internet with the sole and only goal to regain control over one’s online and digital identity by extracting it from current networks & services. The best part of TheWriteID is that the data is encrypted locally so we can’t read out the identity data itself, unless a user decides to share it. We aim to make true identity manageable and re-usable for other networks and services, by introducing variable personas.

In essence, we wonder how we can evolve from an internet of connected devices to a truly internet of connected people? TheWriteID aims to get us from the era of connected contexts to one where users are free to handle their identity and all its slight variations with who they want/like/decide.

Digital identity, as it could have been: www.TheWriteID.com.

If you feel like doing something with it – go ahead!
Keep me posted. I’ll be your first ambassador.

At Radio Roeland I’ve made several radio programs there but the most successful was the one called MiXtriX in which we tried to build a platform for young deejays to present and promote themselves. The radio gigs got extended with some live events that got break-even but in the end we never succeeded in turning it in a non-for-profit organization. We did however had some massive talent to be heard for the first time on which we are proud: Wiebe (aka DJ Tonic – later part of Starski & Tonic and today part of The Subs) played an awesome drum ‘n bass set and mixed it with the Smurfs. I’m still laughing out loud when I replay that set in my head.

When ‘studying/partying’ at RITS, the senior radio students got the opportunity thrown at them to restart a whole radio station, the infamous FM Bssl (later FM Brussel). I was so hands-on that i spend much of my time lying there all day in the sofa’s helping people wherever I could. Just for one reason, when someone didn’t show up, I could replace him/her and do something creative. I’ve did some cool recurrent programs, but the one that catapulted me in a new world and decided to stop me from doing radio was “call a famous person”. Applying the “Six degrees of seperation” principle to a random telephone number we dialed we hoped to speak to a famous person at the end of the program. It soon became my favorite show to do as it was an exciting program to present. Small talk and 3 questions, building up tension, etc. We kept it as a replacement program and only did it 4 times. We’ve had radio presentator Tomas De Soete, movie director Nic Balthazar, sports journalist Frank Raes, and the Mr Belgium at that time. I still believe this radio show program has huge potential and boy, did we had fun in doing so.

Sometimes, I call myself a school dropout. But in fact, that’s not true. I had some difficulties with myself, authority, and I was far to eager to let others decide what I could and could not do. I never been a theoretical learner, but when by being pragmatic, I absorbed everything and learned fast. Plus I got easily distracted by woman, beauty and experimental music. One of the things I’m really proud of is the score of a short film, Michiel and I made for a fellow student at the RITS. I can’t remember her name (Julia something) but I still remember we worked days and nights on it and she got a special mention (on her already great movie) for the music. But then again, I sucked at being a musician (i’ve played saxophone for 5 yrs and stopped because I felt I could never become the new Maceo Parker, I was a lousy deejay,…).

Another example of how I’ve been distracted easily; When studying, we were invited to participate in an extra-muros activity to produce a theatre play of Samuel Becket in a television studio – “Quad I + II”. Ow boy, for three weeks, I slept in that studio. I got playing with the mixing table, learned how to work with the light controlling software and concepted and executed a psychedelic lightning spectacle and 4point surround sound soundscape twice in a live performance. However I did crash after that, the passion and intensity to create is something you can’t resist if it’s in you… Sometimes it’s a deliberate choice, sometimes it’s been offered on a plate and at other times I created the opportunity myself.

I did everything I could to be accepted as a holiday worker when 4FM, a radio station who’s ambition it was to go national on the FM band. It’s now known as JoeFM and (finally) rapidly growing but when I was there, I initiated an IRC channel and convinced some presentators to use it. I’ve met one of my best friends in that very chatroom who I just last weekend asked to be godfather of my unborn (and second) child. It was a great time for experimentation. And it was due to the “call a famous person” radio show, I got offered a job at JIMtv which hadn’t launched yet and catapulted me in years of television making.

I know I have been fortunate but I believe opportunities are up for grabs. You just have to do a lot to make them visible. And than you have to grab them and do the best you can. They’ll open new ones.

I don’t mind not having finished my studies. I know my mom does. But I’m happy with what I’ve done so far and more importantly, with the way I’ve done things. As always, I’m curious about the next thing I will try. I wonder when next opportunity will come along. And I wonder if I will have it offered to me or if I will have created it myself instead.

Governmental innovation supporting instances lack vision and understanding of what true innovation is. Innovation is rather hard and difficult to evaluate. I don’t get their metrics as they don’t get my concept. From experience I can already ask, without knowing these people very well, nor personally, nor professionally, do they have clue?

Marketoonist.com

Firstly, I discussed the project which I was funding already myself with IBBT. They rejected it. They don’t say they did, but when people tell me they want to support us only if we have proven it could work where the scholarship we applied for was just intended therefor, it did ring an alarm bell. How ever could an iStart funding – given to research the market potential of your business or to build a working prototype – be given to someone when the argumentation of rejection was that it should already have a working prototype, it should be secure, have a userbase and lastly, but probably most important fit into one of there existing research tracks.

I don’t think that got anything to do with innovation, but more with applied science. How would you fit real innovation in a box? I reject the thinking that everything should fit in a box or in their case, in a research track. Off course break-through innovation often comes from highly intelligent academics. But I believe the real drivers of what’s happening nowadays in the online world is driven by geeks, nerds and other people who whole-heartedly try to solve real life problems. Accidental innovation or innovation by trial and error, are mostly not backed by studies or research tracks that take 2 year.

If you haven’t got a clue whether your idea is innovation, it probably isn’t… Give trial and error money to people to fail and to fail fast. I believe there will be more outcomes that are viable than with these dreadful research tracks. Innovation will prosper when handled like that. Not when thought to dead…

My second attempt to raise some money was crowd funding. The noblest of all funding, I believe. Although I followed all the rules to set up the best possible crowd funding campaign on indiegogo, I found out that we were too early to get funded by people. People don’t invest in a vision, only in tangible things with a clear benefit for themselves. I could have attempted to raise money for world peace and got more money raised…
Honestly, I’m pretty happy I didn’t raise more than this 100 USD. If you break down what is left… A mere 40 EUR… That’s not much right?

I still don’t give up in finding some government funding. But it’ll be my last time I try this. For our new attempt, we get help from innovatiecentrum who helps us in writing the perfect case for IWT. We have to make the case ourselves but we are in a constant feedback loop so we get his tips and tricks to make it ‘as expected’. What strikes me is that we need to invest time to explain what we are not, why others fail, etc. The focus asked for is clearly on the other initiatives. Not on ourselves. I found that a bit strange. And in fact that’s what I’m encountering up to date. The focus is in writing the business plan for our innovation is in fact only halve of what they find of interest. The other halve is in addressing an audience by knowing and evaluating the existing.

To me, it’s a bit like aiming to be the best and cleverest in class. I am not that guy. And I don’t want to become that guy but I think I have developed my creative thinking skills through the years. I’m always looking for solutions. It’s not that I don’t see problems but I rather develop the opportunity that comes with it. I do question why something doesn’t work. But my focus is on how we can make something work. Even though that means tearing it down completely and building it from scratch whilst looking at it from a different angle.

That’s not so different in perception perhaps, but to me that is fundamental. Innovation is more than writing a business plan. It just making things happen. It can be completely new or it can be a clever combination of (un-)proven things.

We don’t have a culture in which entrepreneurship or innovation is fostered. We learned to focus on the problems and only take the short term in account. At school, we learned that we needed to improve our weak points. I am a strong defender of exploring and exploiting ones strengths, rather than to lift our other, least developed competences to an average level. People should be stimulated or pushed to excel in what they are passionate about. When I was young, I tried a lot of sports. Whatever sport I was involved in, my level never excelled. I was average to good except for skiing. But my parents didn’t let me. I even had to play handball – the one sport I really dislike because there is no technicity in it.

I start to believe that these instances who have innovation money to share, are looking for qualities that make the weak average. I think the portfolio of projects and businesses supported by these instances speak for themselves. I understand that the instances that ‘own’ this innovation money are mostly government supported and therefore need an academic approach. But I don’t like it. I know this is not the way innovation should get stimulated.

So although I don’t like writing a business plan, I’m back on it… And I’m a fast learner so the money should come our way soon.

I left the team for holidays almost 8 months ago and – much against my own advice – I never got back in charge of the team. I’ve send them a quick but meaningful and motivational “So Long, Suckers!” speech e-mail which I know they appreciated.

Two of my favorite hires, one because of potential, the other because of talent just left the company one week from each other recently. And I got a little goodbye e-mail which moved me tremendously. I never saw myself as a boss but I tried to be the best boss for each and everyone in the team. Now I know for sure it was the right thing to do:

Hey Mr. T,

This is the last e-mail that you will be receiving from me from this address. I just want to thank you for being such an awesome and sometimes, an assh*le boss. I learned so much from you. Thank you for believing in my skills and challenging me to always do good work. You weren’t the perfect boss but you are the most awesome one for me! You were brutally honest and strict when needed but you were very generous in praises when we did great work.

I will never forget the time that you told me that my designs weren’t so European. Well, I am not European. My designs are so X, now. hehe! You helped me in slowly discovering my potentials and for that, I am truly grateful. Thank you for changing a piece of me. ; )

I wish you everything that is good and amazing. It was a pleasure working with you.

Let me borrow the words that you borrowed from the great Homer Simpson…”So long sucker!”

Cheers,

x

I believe that giving people room to grow, honest and constructive criticism make heavy work light. You give and you receive. I’m not the best Catholic (although I’ve been to catholic schools), but it’s one of the key values in life. Inspire and be brave enough to build meaningful relationships. It’s most definitely worth it. Big time.

Frank invited me. He was convinced that I needed to know the people I was going to deal with for TheWriteID first hires. I went there with an open mind and only 1 talk I wanted to see. Once arrived, I ran around the campus of ULB to see all the rooms and exhibition stands. Really cool to see stuff i understand nots about.

But I was there to see Michiel de Jong his talk about Unhosted. Since my Startupbus experience, I follow them closely because I had lunch with Jan-Christoph Borchardt, one of the guys behind this initiative and I love what they do. And I’m sure we’ll use parts of what they invented in TheWriteID

Michiels talk inspired me and made my vision for TheWriteID much more tangible: What if we could create a true internet of connected people in which not contexts rule your identity but you rule the contexts you want to use through your personal identity. I believe the internet was conceived as such but somewhere along the way, it got lost.

If you think about it, it would be awesome if we could remove the need for a browser as middle ware for access to services or content. What if you could access whatever you want directly through your identity? Compare it with an Identity Operating System for the internet. You say it’s you after which you can use whatever service you want or access the content you need.
At this moment, we can’t seem to break out of browser windows thinking… In each browser window, we need identity and/or authenticate ourselves. Kinda stupid, innit? Or is the idea too far fetched? I don’t believe it is…

Anyway, TheWriteID could be at the heart of it. It would revolutionize the internet and the way we use it. But only when you are completely in control and when you trust it enough.

I believe it’s so much more inspiring to see these geeks and nerds talking about solutions to (unexisting) problems than to hear another marketing bozo speak about the next-gen hybrid 3.0 buzzword filled bullshit thingy that will rock our world. Honestly – these guys are so much more honest and dedicated to what they do. You got to love them. As I do.

Honey, next year I plan to go and enjoy the full two-day program!

Most of the people I know see me as a smoker. They know me as a ‘roller’, with little leaflets and Tigra Tobacco. Some are surprised when I tell them I’ve stopped, some think it’s normal. But no-one really cares. It’s something I do for myself too. Otherwise it wouldn’t work. Nobody notices it spontaneously, only smokers who are looking for a smoke buddy and see I’m not lighting up anything. Perhaps I need to bleach my teeth…

I believe it’s normal not to smoke. It’s dead simple. Smokers aren’t healthy and yes smoking kills. It can ruin your life and influence the ones of those you love. I’m convinced that I’ve made the right choice with stopping. But i’m not an ex-smoker. I love smoking. And I will enjoy smoking occasionally. I love the ritual. But for now, I needed – and still- need to know I can stop smoking. It seems like it though. That’s why I can now tell you how I did it.

Certainly not by reading that stupid book, or with nicotine stickers. They can help some people for sure but for me, it all comes down to personal will. It took me months of mental preparation and one simple trick:

Don’t smoke the first sigarette.

I postponed the lighting up of each first sigarette with half an hour per day. After that I smoked just as much as I liked. I never broke my rule until after lunch. That was the hardest. But from than on, it was a walk in the park.

December 31th, 2011 I sinned big time but from than on, I stopped smoking. But I’m not an ex-smoker.

I tweeted the simple question without any context: “What should I do?” and three people returned great answers:

Kevin said:

 He’s right, without saying much more. But fun is what you make of it. Everything can be fun. I worked in a butcher shop once, it was great fun. I co-organized a videoclip film festival once, it was fabulous fun. I co-founded a telco. Oh boy, amazingly exciting times! I worked in tv and advertising, oh boy – did we have fun… And every once in a while, I work in/with startups- Brilliant!
But it was always people who made it fun. I’ve been fortunate by doing things with ambitious, passionate people all my life. They made it fun, not the work as such.

Fabian said:

 ”Go” can mean anything. It doesn’t make much sense but it’s like going to a future predicting medium. “Go” can be interpreted as ‘go home, sleep on it and continue what you’re doing’. Or ‘go, advance, do things, make it happen and don’t look back’. Or ‘go, quit what you’re doing. Do something else.’ All three interpretations were sensible options at that particular moment in time.

Last answer came from José:

Music to my ears, although I don’t really like the B52s… It is a great quote however because it holds great motivation, it shows appreciation. That is what makes work fun, these small rewarding quotes. It got nothing to do with money. But it is so important when you’re working and have a hard time.

I can continue doing things right but shouldn’t it be all about doing the right things, even though they are wrong in the perception of others? This dealing with insecurity and doubts happens on a daily basis. I think it’s human. If you’re not familiar with it, than I suppose you’re not a real person. This morning I got the best reminder in a friction’ newsletter.

Hugh’s right again. And I try to live up to this. Because it’s all about touching people is the most meaningful way by doing the right things right and being passionate about it. I will continue to do so and hope you’ll do the same. Never loose your drive.

Martin Heylen said in “God en klein pierke” yesterday: “Dreams weigh lighter when you’re young, heavier when you’re coming to age.” But keep on following those dreams. Fight for them. Make them happen.