Technotopia by John Biggs

John Biggs

New York, New York

I live in Brooklyn, NY and write about technology, security, gadgets, gear, wristwatches, and the Internet. After spending four years as an IT programmer, I switched gears and became a full-time journalist.

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About the author

My work has appeared in the New York Times, Laptop, PC Upgrade, Surge, Gizmodo, Men’s Health, InSync, Linux Journal, Popular Science, Sync, The Stir and I’ve written Black Hat: Misfits, Criminals, and Scammers in the Internet Age and Bloggers Boot Camp. I also speak and consult. I have forthcoming books about Marie Antoinette’s watch as well as a YA fiction book, Mytro.

I am currently East Coast Editor of TechCrunch.com and I run the BWL family of blogs, SlushPile.net and WristWatchReview.com. I also record the HourTime Podcast with Ariel Adams.

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Technotopia

It's Getting Better All The Time

We've all been expecting a techno dystopia, a world shattered by climate change and deadened by social media. But what if the reverse is true?

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	7 publishers interested
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I'm John Biggs and I've been a professional cynic for the past decade. I saw where technology was headed and I was upset, not amazed. But something is changing and I want to tell you about it.

"Yearly reminder: unless you're over 60, you weren't promised flying cars. You were promised an oppressive cyberpunk dystopia. Here you go," wrote Kyle Marquis in February 2015. For most of my life Marquis' words rang true. I saw the future as a slide into darkness, all Blade Runner and dirty bombs. But we are living in an era of unprecedented access to information and increasingly improved access to the resources needed to build a better world. All is not peaches and cream - yet - but I argue it will get there.

This book is an examination of everything, from Bitcoin to VR, that will change our lives for the better. I will interview thinkers, makers, and doers and I'll speak to people from all walks of life. I want to tell a story in which we thrive instead of just survive.

The Plan

I intend to meet and interview the people doing the most good in the tech world - and some of the folks who might not be doing the most good. I intend to explore health, environment, and social interaction and bring in research from around the world on how technology is impacting us. I will write it in a conversational style - this isn't a boring term paper - and I'll treat it like my treatise on our better tomorrow.

Why do I want to this? Because I owe it to my family and to promise them that things are going to be OK. I think things will become drastically different over the next decade and the next century but I disagree that the future is a downward slope. Entropy exists but the human will is stronger.

We are living in an era of unimagined prosperity and peace. Despite the news media's tendency to lead with blood, we exist in a world where children today will live longer and happier lives than their parents. I may be wrong but I hope I'm not. Why paint a dystopian picture of the future when we can take a utopian photograph of the world around us right now and extrapolate out?

Why Me?

I ran Gizmodo and CrunchGear and I'm currently the CEO of a Bitcoin company and East Coast Editor of TechCrunch. I have adopted new technologies with reckless abandon and I've seen just about every gadget pass before me over the past fifteen years. I know what is happening in the world and I can explain it.

I'm a tech writer and I've seen just about every cool thing in tech pass through my transom. I'm ready to weigh in on exactly how everything fits together and I'm ready to try this medium for publication. If funded I'll write and produce the book in ebook and paperback form and if you back me I'll send you a copy.

I love to write and this has been a dream project for me for a while. I'm the guy who can tell this story and I'm worried mainstream publishers don't want optimism when it comes to books about the future.

Let's put that optimism back into the tech world.

Why You?

You're sick of naysayers. I know you are. You're sick of people telling you that things are awful and getting worse. I'm a paid cynic and I, myself, hate knee-jerk reactions to technology that suggest that everything from social media to robotics spells our doom. I don't believe that and neither do you.

But I can temper this optimism with facts and you like that. You, like me, want the world to keep going after we're gone and we want to exist for the amazing things to come. We don't want jet-packs but we'd settle for green cars, robotic telepresence, and a new closeness to the world around us.

I also want your input. I want to hear the good things you've learned over the years. I also want to hear your criticisms. I will create a forum for that as we begin writing together.

But Tech Is Destroying Us!

It isn't. It's making our lives better. You and I are in a conversation right now, mediated by your screen. I am telling you about something I want to write and you can tell me how to write it and you can support me or leave me hanging. I hope you'll join me and help disabuse the notion that it's all going to heck in a hand basket. It isn't. I truly believe that.

Join me and lets do this together.

Chapter Outline

Cynical Me - Where I began and why cynicism in the face of advancement is futile.

Utopian History - A modern history of Utopias, from the Plato's original one to the ones promised by media and religion.

Soft Power - How modern tech is changing the way the world works.

Hot Hot Hot - How technology will help solve the global warming crisis.

Voice Of The World - This chapter will talk about how we can now take the world's temperature and how global voting may change our lives.

Anti-Surveillance State - End-to-end encryption and increased security awareness will help keep us safer than we've ever been.

No More Drug War - New methods and legislation is assuaging the grief caused by the war on drugs and new techniques are helping addicts escape.

Reality, But Better - How VR and new computer systems will change the way we live, love, and work.

New Money - A chapter about Bitcoin and future of cryotocurrencies.

This Is (Not) The End - I'll talk to people who agree with my thesis that it's getting better all the time.

This Is The End - I'll talk to folks who disagree.

The Future Is Better - Finally we'll close on the final vision for the future - interconnected, peaceful, and strangely beguiling.

Schedule

Given some ambitious writing, I can finish this by early 2016. I will hire an assistant to help build the book.

7 publishers interested Express interest

	Austin Brothers Publishing 100 copies • Partial manuscript. Austin Brothers Publishing provides all the services of a traditional publisher, working in partnership with the author, to create the book the author desires. Our strength is the ability to fill any role you might have, including ghostwriting, helping you complete a manuscript, publishing, printing, distribution, or any service you might need to complete your book. Our process is determined by your needs. If you want assistance with self-publishing we can help. Hybrid publisher Literary Fiction, Mind & Body, Mystery, Thriller, Horror & Suspense, Romantic Fiction, Science Fiction & Fantasy, YA Fiction, Biography & Memoir, Business & Money, Career & Success, Cookbooks, Food & Wine, Health, Fitness & Dieting, History, Journalism, Politics & Social Sciences, Religion & Spirituality, Science, Society & Culture, Sports & Outdoors, Travel United States
	Ballast Books 250 copies • Partial manuscript. Ballast Books is a full-service hybrid publisher that handles all aspects of book creation, design, publishing, marketing, distribution, and platform building. We help our authors sell more books, secure more keynotes, do more consulting, earn more customers, and book more media appearances. We want to work with the best of the best: Former Special Operations Forces, CEOs, big thinkers, industry-leading experts. Top-performing people with experiences worth sharing and skills that translate into a larger message and goal. We've seen particular success with military memoirs, but we've also recently hired a children's book specialist, so we run the spectrum of genres. We're a small but growing team and take pride in dedicating more time and energy to all our authors than traditional publishers. Hybrid publisher All categories , United States
	Hybrid Global Publishing 250 copies • Partial manuscript. Hybrid Global Publishing is a full service Hybrid Publishing Company dedicated to helping authors, speakers, and entrepreneurs get their message out by writing and publishing a book. We offer developmental editing, publishing, distribution, and marketing services for independent authors who are interested in speaking on stage, becoming more visible in the media, and establishing more credibility. The team has a combined 80 years of experience in publishing and has held editorial, management and marketing positions at major publishing houses, including The Free Press, Crown, Random House, and Avon. Hybrid publisher Children Fiction, Christian Fiction, Commercial Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Historical Fiction, LGBT Fiction, Literary Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Horror & Suspense, Mind & Body, Poetry, Romantic Fiction, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Women's Fiction, YA Fiction, Biography & Memoir, Business & Money, Career & Success, Children Non-Fiction, Christian Non-Fiction, Cookbooks, Food & Wine, Communication Skills, Corporate Culture, Creativity, Current Affairs, Economics, Education, Entrepreneurship & Small Business, Health, Fitness & Dieting, History, Humor & Entertainment, Illustrated Books, Journalism, LGBT Non-Fiction, Management & Leadership, Marketing & Sales, Mindfulness & Happiness, Money & Investment, Motivation & Inspiration, Nature & Environment, Parenting, Personal Growth & Self-Improvement, Philosophy, Politics & Social Sciences, Popular Science, Productivity & Time Management, Psychology, Religion & Spirituality, Sex & Relationships, Society & Culture, Technology & the Future, Travel, Science Fiction & Humour Worldwide
	Lifestyle Entrepreneurs Press 500 copies • Partial manuscript • Looking for business and entrepreneurship, personal development, and success psychology books. Lifestyle Entrepreneurs Press was founded by international best-selling author Jesse Krieger and focuses on personal development, healthy lifestyles, and entrepreneurship-focused titles. Our process starts with your nearly-finished manuscript, which we turn into a beautiful publish-ready book and launch up the best-seller charts. But it doesn't stop there, our most valuable work is in helping you use your book as a business development tool so you can build a thriving book-based business and brand. Hybrid publisher Literary Fiction, Mind & Body, Biography & Memoir, Business & Money, Career & Success, Cookbooks, Food & Wine, Communication Skills, Corporate Culture, Crafts & Hobbies, Creativity, Current Affairs, Economics, Education, Entrepreneurship & Small Business, Health, Fitness & Dieting, Journalism, Management & Leadership, Marketing & Sales, Mindfulness & Happiness, Money & Investment, Motivation & Inspiration, Nature & Environment, Parenting, Personal Growth & Self-Improvement, Philosophy, Popular Science, Productivity & Time Management, Psychology, Religion & Spirituality, Science, Sex & Relationships, Society & Culture, Sports & Outdoors, Technology & the Future, Travel Worldwide
	Morgan James 500 copies • Partial manuscript • Looking for entrepreneurship, business, self-help, and personal growth. Morgan James Publishing has revolutionized book publishing—from the author’s standpoint, earning 29 NY Times and over 100 USA Today and Wall Street Journal best sellers. We teach authors strategies to leverage their books and grow their businesses—adding value while staying out of the way. Evidenced by more Major Media best sellers than most publishers our size. Regularly ranked by Publishers Weekly as the most recognized and one of the fastest-growing publishers in the nation, Morgan James is reported to be “the future of publishing.” Hybrid publisher All categories United Kingdom, Canada
	Radius Book Group Radius Book Group is a 360°, multiplatform publisher offering unparalleled support to entrepreneurial authors. With our deep industry relationships, expert content development, and broad market reach, we’re redefining what successful publishing looks like. In addition to print and digital books, Radius Book Group has in-house audio production capabilities that can help you create, produce, and distribute premium audiobooks or podcasts. Radius can integrate the distribution and marketing of your audio projects with the book publication. Hybrid publisher Mind & Body, Art & Photography, Biography & Memoir, Business & Money, Career & Success, Christian Non-Fiction, Cookbooks, Food & Wine, Communication Skills, Corporate Culture, Creativity, Current Affairs, Economics, Education, Entrepreneurship & Small Business, Health, Fitness & Dieting, History, Humor & Entertainment, Journalism, LGBT Non-Fiction, Management & Leadership, Marketing & Sales, Mindfulness & Happiness, Money & Investment, Motivation & Inspiration, Nature & Environment, Parenting, Personal Growth & Self-Improvement, Philosophy, Politics & Social Sciences, Popular Science, Productivity & Time Management, Psychology, Reference, Religion & Spirituality, Science, Sex & Relationships, Society & Culture, Sports & Outdoors, Technology & the Future, Travel Worldwide
	Mill City Press 100 copies • Completed manuscript. Mill City Press coordinates distribution, printing, and self-publishing services for authors who are also going through a full publishing process with us for their book with one of our publishing packages which include interior formatting, ISBN assignment, bar code, distribution, etc. Service publisher Children Fiction, Literary Fiction, Mind & Body, Mystery, Thriller, Horror & Suspense, Romantic Fiction, Science Fiction & Fantasy, YA Fiction, Biography & Memoir, Business & Money, Career & Success, Cookbooks, Food & Wine, Health, Fitness & Dieting, History, Journalism, Politics & Social Sciences, Religion & Spirituality, Science, Society & Culture, Sports & Outdoors, Technology & the Future, Travel Worldwide

Update #3 - Thank You! March 20, 2015

Technotopia is funded. I'm really excited. What do I need now? I need to talk to your favorite futurists. Please email me at john@biggs.cc and …
Update #2 - Yay! 75% Yay! March 16, 2015

We just hit 75% funded and it's all downhill from here... wait, that's not right. Anyway, I'd love it if you could share this campaign …
Update #1 - We're at 54%! March 13, 2015

Hey, true believers, we're half-way to the finish line with a little less than a month left and I want to personally thank you. I …

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John Biggs

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Technotopia