In September of 2000, this mobile phone, the Nokia 3310, was the top seller. No touch screen, but still an “amazing piece of technology.”
Though an amazing mobile phone, with it, we couldn’t listen to “Slim Shady,” couldn’t watch Tiger Woods’ highlights, nor could we watch Beyoncé and Destiny’s Child’s award winning video and sing-a-long: “Say My Name…Say My Name, if no one is around you say ‘Baby I love you’…If you… .” What? It’s easy to get “Caught Up.”
It’s more so about our then experiences, than the phone itself. We just didn’t have in 2000, what we have now. As this truth is now being told, we didn’t even know we needed what we have now. Padraic McFreen did.
Yesterday’s installment of “40 Days” felt so very personal. How often do leaders show vulnerability? Not rhetorical. How often?
For this author, I can only imagine what it must have felt like to have invented an entirely new industry — a new way of life — only to discover that my innovations came with a huge price tag. And to try as one might to change projected outcomes, any outcome would be the allusive “impossible.”
If you’re a new reader to “40 Days,” and just here for today’s installment, you owe it to yourself to stop here, then, read “40 Days: Powered By MiVu.”
As for you, my dear reader, let’s jump right back in where we left-off yesterday, shall we?
We’ve learned that Padraic McFreen delayed launching MiVu in 1998, and that he redesigned MiVu four times, in an attempt to lessen, if not completely remove, contributing factors that were projected to cause extreme disruptions to labor markets.
The projected rate of adoption of MiVu, would result in a steep decrease in demand for labor, making “81%” of 20th Century employment opportunities obsolete by 2040.
According to Padraic McFreen, “the initial impact of the adoption of MiVu would weaken demand for labor closest to the MiVu Internet Network initially, e.g., telecommunications service workers, truck rolls, network testing, trouble shooting and repair, software updating.”
Padraic McFreen projected nearly “67% of the total telecommunications industry workforce, fully employed in 1998, would be no longer needed, just 36 months after MiVu’s launch and adoption.”
“It took 27 months to come to terms with MiVu.”
MiVu, the culmination of Padraic McFreen’s experiences, rather than becoming his biggest triumph, had alternatively become his biggest dilemma: “change the world just so, so as to just change the world; or change the world and also the world of those changed.” This author believes that’s Genius speak for, “between a rock and a hard place.”
Padraic McFreen couldn’t launch, he wouldn’t launch. MiVu almost became that one perfect, elegant idea and body of work that might have been, if not for a McDonald’s commercial.
McDonald’s Summer/Fall Television Advertising Campaign, 3Q/4Q2000
“Love McDonald’s, but no longer will it be the leading vector for labor market entry.”
Padraic McFreen envisioned McDonald’s employees, once trained, could very easily become MiVu employees, due to the inherent simplicity of the MiVu Internet Network Management Model.
He was “reenergized!”
Padraic McFreen concluded, “by working with industry rather than competing against existing market players, and while MiVu was being adopted, he could, then, train displaced labor for future phases, MiVu Phases Two-Four, in parallel.”
“Beginning at the launch of MiVu Phase One, MiVu would lobby to foster a paradigm shift in labor markets’ management’s focus towards information technology and communications.” He was convinced this countermeasure would offset the disruption as well as increase entry level salaries for the new information technology labor force.
This was the year 2000, and Padraic McFreen is, at that time, planning for the labor changes that would be needed, not only to support MiVu, but to meet new demands created by the rapid adoption of MiVu’s intelligent networks, systems, computing devices and software.
Now that’s what he was thinking and doing in 2000, while this author was content knowing the Internet was a passing fad, and I couldn’t get home fast enough to hear the ever so comforting “You’ve Got Mail.”
AOL was so cool to me then, and it never once crossed my mind that I needed more. Who would have thought we needed a personal entertainment center of our very own? Our Genius did.
“If necessity is the Mother of great Invention, then, experience is the Grandmother of great Innovation” — Padraic McFreen
That year, Lucent Technologies’, Bell Labs’, SBC Communications’ and Apple Computer’s experience or focus was not on Internet Access Networks and Internet-based Information & Entertainment (I/E) Centers. Absolutely no I/E experience or focus amongst the four in 4Q/2000.
This author is confident, the businesses that the four have become, is a result of their respective roles in the implementation of MiVu, the 21st Century Access Network.
MiVu Touchscreen device prototype 4Q/2000 side-by-side comparison with Apple touchscreen device 4Q/2012
Let’s consider this question settled, shall we?
True to his “vision commitment statement,” which this author has learned is not a mission statement nor a strategic intention statement, Padraic McFreen immediately began conversations with Lucent Technologies, Microsoft, Time Warner, AMC Theatres, Blockbuster Video, JCPenney, ExxonMobile, Pepsi, Oprah/Harpo Studios, Activision, Sprint, Kansas City Chiefs and others.
Padraic McFreen wasted no time in engaging market players and you do not need this author to point out the companies that have gone away, been acquired and downsized or flourished.
Of this short list, nearly 50% have been negatively impacted since the rise of the then nonexistent Internet Industry created by the MiVu 21st Century Access Network.
“Today’s Lucent should be the ‘tip of the sword,’ not its scabbard”
As an aside here, Lucent Technologies, the conduit between MiVu and the telecommunications industry, did not enjoy the growth this author would have expected from the Bell Labs powered telecommunications network equipment company.
Since disclosing MiVu to industry, Lucent Technologies has suffered severe losses and been acquired twice. With each acquisition, Lucent Technologies and its acquirer, continue to suffer losses — even catastrophic market missteps are now commonplace. Needless to say, Padraic McFreen is “sorely disappointed” by the performance of Lucent Technologies (part of today’s Nokia).
One reliable source told this author under strict confidentiality, that insiders refer to the Lucent Technologies and Bell Labs innovation dry spell as “Where’s MiVu.” Whenever a team finds itself faced with a difficult question, they quickly ask “Where’s MiVu on this subject?”
This author did not go into the details of why they’re so preoccupied with MiVu, but checked to see if AT&T had any preoccupation today with MiVu. What did I find, an AT&T/DirectTV trademark application for MiView.
It’s hard to get me to a speechless state, but wow! What’s been going on right under our noses dear reader?
Those companies that embraced the MiVu 21st Century Access Network, began to flourish and new companies entered the market. An industry had been created by a Black tech startup in Kansas.
The rub, my dear reader, with the speed in which Lucent Technologies, Bell Labs, SBC Communications and Apple Computers all integrated MiVu Phase One into their respective businesses, they didn’t leave much of an opportunity to consider the societal impacts. What was the collective objective? Beat MiVu with MiVu’s own MiVu Phase One.
Blinded by competitive rage, these players never once thought about who brought them to the dance — the last mile — us.
Who won the MiVu Race for MiVu Phase One? Well, there are no MiVu billion dollar campuses in Silicon Valley, Seattle nor Kansas. On the shoulders of a giant, four failed or failing companies in 2000, are today’s global behemoths, Goliaths, titans.
Again, no need to point out what’s missing from these speed racers, new innovation. “None. Nada. Zilch.”
According to Padraic McFreen, though touted as innovation, “5G is not innovation, it’s a marketing campaign that only a handful of people understand or care about.”
He further stated, “driverless cars do not need 5G to function, they’re operational now with Amazon, X-The Moonshot Factory and others.”
Though MiVu Phase One is severely obsolete, “it can be retrained to manage such human safety tasks as well as others exclusively — without disrupting shareholder value.”
In his opinion, “the MiVu made global behemoths should discard 5G and redistribute and repurpose the chips. There’s far more important human issues to solve than facial recognition and surveillance.”
One human issue is employment opportunities. As we’ve learned, Padraic McFreen delayed MiVu due to its projected labor market impacts, then, launched after developing a plan to train entry level information technology and communications resources in hopes of offsetting losses. From this authors perspective, this approach was very noble.
The rapid integration and implementation by Lucent Technologies and others, did in fact include the entry level information technology and communications employment training opportunities for job replacement, but the results of those efforts have paled in comparison to the losses created.
Their speed prevented Padraic McFreen from implementing training on a meaningful level during MiVu Phase One. Today, the sector suffering from the greatest shortage of skilled labor is information technology and communications.
If you’re thinking what I am thinking, my dear reader, the very network and device I am using right this moment, is costing me my tomorrow. The more we use this technology today, the more technology “Big Tech” ships out. And the more technology “Big Tech” ships out, the weaker the labor market becomes.
The weaker the labor market becomes, the greater the likelihood of “Big Tech” gobbling, gobbling and gobbling up major employers to reduce pressure on the market — all the while we continue to purchase upgrade after upgrade after upgrade — until we’re all “Big Tech” employees.
On the bright side, “Big Tech” employees get free “tech.”
I sat down for a final discussion with Padraic McFreen this week, and here’s how the discussion went:
Author — Padraic McFreen thank you again for taking the time away from your schedule to sit with me one final time. I have all the details needed to write an interesting book that my readers will enjoy. Are you interested in exploring other media after the book is published?
Padraic McFreen — You’re very welcome. It has been my pleasure working with you and learning more about this process. I am encouraged by the fact that five of your initial installments have already been published and a book opportunity is in the works. A movie or mini-series would be interesting, but only if I get to select the actor who plays Padraic McFreen.
Author — Who would you like to play you in the movie or mini-series?
Padraic McFreen — Don Cheadle, since he’s from Kansas City and MiVu was founded in the Kansas City Area.
Author — Don Cheadle. He was excellent in Ironman. I like your choice. Speaking of super heroes, as you know we received a comment from a reader that stated, and I’ll paraphrase, “Padraic McFreen is a real life Lucius Fox and a super hero series should feature him.” What do you think about that comment? Any parallels?
Padraic McFreen — When you first mentioned the comment, I didn’t actually know who Lucius Fox was at the time. I, did later learn, that his character has been depicted as Black, technically astute and financially secure. He’s known for creating the tech that enables the fictional super hero “Batman” to do the entertaining things that “Batman” does in the franchise. I do have hundreds of innovations, gadgets and devices as well as hundreds yet to develop fully. My work with MiVu could parallel crime fighting, but my thrust is more enabling society by solving for the impossible.
Author — Let’s get to the reason why we are here today. You have some real concerns about MiVu Phase One — aside from market player behavior — and you have a message for the remaining Fortune 500 and my readers. What’s on your mind?
Padraic McFreen — Thank you for setting me up so nicely. As you have discussed from your learnings during our time together, I designed MiVu using a four layer network scheme. MiVu Phase One is designed using my designs inspired by the radio station in Kansas City and my goal to keep the network as simple as possible for some of the reasons you will discuss in you writings.
Keeping the I/E network simple was intentional, because information technology and the Internet had a fantastically negative reputation and very little interest due in part to the complexity of computing. MiVu Phase One was designed to change the profile of the entry level workforce.
I wanted an employee from McDonald’s to be able to leave McDonald’s today, then, start work with MiVu tomorrow. I also wanted my customers, Internet Service Providers, to interact with MiVu as quickly as possible, so I designed all of the complexities of the technology to run out of sight of the network managers and the network’s customers.
The ideas of a touch screen and Application Tiles were born from this need.
The MiVu thin client that you’ve included in your writings is the original prototype that I designed for Lucent and Bell Labs to learn from.
You will see a high degree of similarity between the Apple iPhone and MiVu’s thin client. As you will likely share with your readers, the iPhone is modeled from MiVu’s device prototype all the way down to the touch screen.
I do realize all of these companies had fallen on tough times and as you know all too well, performance for Wall Street is serious business. So, I do not hold any animosity towards them. None at all. We should work together going forward.
More important than reconciliation, is the fact that MiVu Phase One is showing up as Cloud Computing, and all manner of business is being conducted across various flavors of MiVu Phase One.
As I know you’re reading my comments here, AT&T, Nokia, Apple, Verizon, T-Mobile and your thousands of employees, agents, resellers, and contractors, MiVu Phase One is for I/E exclusively. Rather than continue with 5G, we must get Smarter with MiVu Phase Two.
Author — It appears you’re holding back details about MiVu Phase One that my readers would like to learn about. Are you holding back?
Padraic McFreen — Yes.
Author — Yes?
Padraic McFreen — Yes.
Author — Okay, let’s spend a few minutes discussing MiVu Phase Two. Are we ready for Phase Two?
Padraic McFreen — I believe we are as consumers. The year 2020 is behind us, but it illuminated a number of key issues: information technology professionals have been working the day-to-day and not thinking about what’s next. Leadership within Fortune 500 companies are likely to believe their information technology leadership is thinking about and preparing for what’s next, but they’re playing traffic cop for the day-to-day, hoping leadership at the big technology companies are doing the heavy thinking and preparing, when they’re not.
Who’s running the show? Who’s thinking about what’s next? Truth be told, no one.
When you didn’t earn it and jumped on the project after the ideation phase was completed, after the design phase was completed, and all that’s left for you to do is implement, it’s business as usual.
During the implementation phase we largely build the network, build the chips, build the devices, shake hands, lobby for and win exclusivity and wait for end-users and customers to ring your cash register. No heavy lifting outside of implementation. Each new device, feature or function, is more of the same, implementation.
Unlike in 2000, when end-user’s needs were not known by the end-user, MiVu Phase One was designed based upon my experiences and services designed around what I needed. Today’s end-user has technically outgrown and matured well passed MiVu Phase One and has demands MiVu Phase One was not designed to fulfill.
Author — You promised to pick five Fortune 500 companies that you like, but do not have a contract with at this time, and tell us what you like about them and how today’s MiVu, the company, will help them prepare for MiVu®, Phase Two, the network™.
Padraic McFreen — Due to the hour, let’s pick up right here in your next installment. Fair enough?
Author — Fair enough.