"Creating Cloud Infrastructures Anywhere" with Sam Nagar, CEO & Founder of Pixeom
This Meeting’s Highlights
Program: Creating Cloud Infrastructures AnywhereSpeaker: Sam Nagar, CEO & Founder of PixeomMeeting for the week of July 11 to July 17, 2016
Is this your first time to visit us? If so, welcome to our meeting!Each Monday our week’s meeting is posted early in the morning, U.S. Pacific Time. These meetings are designed so that you can read and watch what we post anytime during the week. The entire meeting takes about 45 minutes to complete, with the video conference recording of the program being the bulk of the time.Note that you can easily read this meeting with your favorite device, so feel free to take our meeting on the go with you; read it while on public transit, waiting in line for coffee, or even at the park! Please also make sure to complete the attendance form at the bottom and leave a comment. Enjoy!
Welcome to the Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley!
Message from President Mitty
Hello and welcome! My name is Mitty Chang, and I am the president of this Rotary Club!Members, I'm incredibly excited about some new opportunities that have just been approved!
But first -- to our guests, WELCOME! Guests, we're excited that you have each come to visit our online meeting. Our programs team works hard to make sure that all of our weekly meetings are interesting, inspiring, and leave you more full (spiritually, mentally, intellectually, emotionally) than when you began the meeting.Members, I am so very excited to announce two new developments for your membership:The first one is that now pay your dues monthly (USD$28/month) rather than biannually. This creates much more flexibility for members or prospective members who may be deterred by the USD$150 for every 6 months that we were charging for.The second development is that we have created a new internal grants program called Leadership Development Grants. This is where your membership dues dollars are coming right back to serve you. Every Rotary Year (July 1 to June 30), our members can now request up to USD$150 per year to be reimbursed to cover leadership development events such as Rotary District Conference and Rotary International Convention. We want our members (you) to be more active, and we're willing to reinvest dollars into that intention.It's my belief that both of these new initiatives will help drive more value to the membership, but also improve interaction with our club members. Read more about both in the Members Reminders section of this meeting. And please feel to reach out to me directly if you have any questions. president@siliconvalleyrotary.com
For our members and guests who live in the San Francisco bay area, I strongly encourage you to come out to one of our upcoming events -- like the club potluck happening this week on Saturday, July 16! We would love to see you in person! For our members and guests who live further away and can't make it to one of our in-person events, look out for one of our online hangout sessions!
Thank you for being here, I you enjoyed our meeting!
Yours in service,
Mitty Chang,
President
Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley
president@siliconvalleyrotary.com
Power of Images
We believe in that saying a photo is worth a thousand words. Great images can inspire people and can conjure a wide range of emotions. This week we feature a piece of art that simply blew us away in the detail and the sheer talent required in the artwork. Featured by Instagram, this is a photo by artist and sculptor Salavat Fidai.
About this photo: Pencil tips, pumpkin seeds and grains of rice — with the precision of a surgeon, Salavat Fidai (@salavat.fidai) creates miniature masterpieces out of tiny, fragile materials. “Two years ago, I left my high-paying management position in law to become a freelance artist. I reclaimed my life at 41,” says Salavat, who lives in Ufa, Russia. He now dedicates his energy to his family and his carved pencils project, popular all over the world. “It’s like meditating,” says Salavat of his artistic process. “I’m both extremely focused and relaxed. I switch off from the world, and my whole universe contracts to the size of a needle hole. It feels like I’m transcending to another reality.”
This just goes to show how much imagination and talent there is in the world. Nice work, Salavat!
Laughing Out Loud
We believe that laughing a little every day keeps you healthier. Every week we try to share with you something that will make you smile! This week's jokes are about a new mobile app game that recently launched in parts of the world including the United States: Pokemon Go.
Pokémon Go is an augmented reality game in which users can hunt and catch Pokémon in real time and in the real world. The game provides a map (sourced from Google) that is linked to your phone's GPS and camera -- meaning you could find a Charmander or a Pikachu in your backyard. It notifies you if there's a Pokémon on your map, allowing you to travel to it and try to catch it by swiping a Pokéball on your phone screen. It ends up looking something like this on your smartphone when you are out and about:As one of the most basic requirements of finding Pokemon in Pokemon Go is to go out and explore the world, this has led to a very sudden and heavy increase of people walking around on your mobile phones hunting for Pokemon.Here's a video that explains how people playing Pokemon Go look like to the rest of the world:But Pokemon Go does have its advantages. For perhaps one of the first times in history, a major video game company can now legitimately claim that it has created a video game that is successfully getting people to go outside.This tweet on Twitter summarizes it in perspective:
It took Michelle Obama 8 years to convince people to run outside and be active.
Nintendo did it in 24 hours.#PokemonGo— Steve (@AgitatedStove) July 7, 2016
Weekly Inspiration: Geo Angst
Every week we bring you videos of innovation, inspiration, and entrepreneurship. This week we are spreading the word about Geo Angst.
Member Spotlight: Ferheen Abbasi
Every week we share with you a small piece of the life of one of our club members. This week's spotlight segment comes from member Ferheen Abbasi!
Ferheen, thanks for sharing! We are looking forward to seeing you in-person in the future!
Members watching and reading, President Mitty is always looking for volunteers to do a short video clip about something in their life. It can be a self introduction, what you do for business, what you do for fun, or what brings you happiness. We want to get to know you better! Make a short video (less than 3 minutes), and send it to President Mitty at president@siliconvalleyrotary.com
World of Rotary
The world of Rotary is vast -- spanning over 180 countries in the world with over 1.2 million members. Our club is only one of thousands of Rotary clubs, each one that meets in a different place and at a different time. This segment of our meeting brings to you a little bit about what is going on in the world of Rotary this week.
In last week's meeting we kicked off this new Rotary Year with a farewell letter from Immediate Past Rotary International President K.R. "Ravi" Ravindran. This week, we are featuring a story about our new Rotary International President John Germ.
Meet John Germ, the President of Rotary International worldwide.
Rotary International President John Germ is the Champion of Chattanooga!
Photo Credit: Rotary International / Alyce Henson
From the July 2016 issue of The Rotarian:
Just before John Germ dropped by, Rick Youngblood took a deep breath. “You want to match his energy,” he says, “but he makes it hard to keep up.” Youngblood is the president and CEO of Blood Assurance, a regional blood bank in Chattanooga, Tenn., that Germ helped found in 1972. After his visit with Youngblood, Germ strode between mountains of empty bottles and cans at Chattanooga’s John F. Germ Recycling Center at Orange Grove, which he designed, before he drove to a construction site and popped a cork to dedicate a Miracle League field where special needs children will play baseball – all before zipping to the airport for a flight to Chicago and a cab ride to Rotary International World Headquarters, where he takes office as president of RI this month.
Why the breakneck pace? “I don’t have hobbies,” he says. “Civic work is my recreation.”
Not long ago Germ, 77, spent a raucous evening at the Chattanooga Convention Center, enjoying jokes at his expense. “John is a very influential person,” his friend Harry Fields announced from the podium. “I can’t tell you how many people emulate him … at Halloween. I mean, he’s the epitome of tall, dark, and handsome. When it’s dark, he’s handsome!” Nobody laughed harder than the guest of honor at the celebration of his contributions, which was referred to as the “roast of John Germ.” The dinner raised more than $75,000 for Chattanooga State Community College. In closing, Fields noted Germ’s contribution to his community and the world: “100 percent of himself – and everyone else he can shake down!”
A legendary fundraiser, Germ led Rotary’s $200 Million Challenge, an effort sparked by a challenge grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Rotarians ultimately exceeded that number, raising $228.7 million to fight polio. He has already served Rotary as vice president and director, and The Rotary Foundation as vice chair and trustee. His contributions to the fight to eradicate polio led to his selection as one of 12 U.S. Rotarians honored at the White House in 2013 as a “Champion of Change” – someone who has improved communities around the world. As president, Germ chose three simple, no-nonsense words to be the theme of his year: Rotary Serving Humanity.
“Rotary has kept its light under a bushel for too long,” he says. “We need to do a better job of promoting our cause. That’s the challenge ahead, but I don’t see it as a problem. I don’t believe in problems – I believe in opportunities.”
The son of a stonemason, who built the family home with his own hands, excavating its foundation with a shovel and a wheelbarrow, Germ developed his work ethic early in life. Nothing came easily. Other schoolboys made fun of his name – “they called me ‘Bacteria’” ...
To read the rest of the story, please click here.
Our Events & Projects
We hold our meetings online, but we hold regular service projects and social events in the Silicon Valley every month! This section is updated every week with our upcoming events. We welcome guests to all of our events and service projects listed here.
Also be sure to join our Meetup Group for automatic calendar updates and to RSVP for our events! These are open to all guests as well!
All events are marked in Pacific Time and are located in the San Francisco bay area / Silicon Valley.
Upcoming Events:
THIS WEEK: Club Potluck – Sat. July 16th starting at 4 PM in Santa Clara, CA
It’s time to celebrate the passing of the torch, and do so with tons of good food! On Saturday, July 16th, we will descend on (soon-to-be Past) President Rushton’s home for food and fellowship. Additionally, we’ll be giving a big “Go get ’em!” to President-Elect Mitty, who will have taken the reins on July 1st. Please mark off some or all of 4 PM to 7 PM that evening.
REGISTER: You can let us know you’ll be there with either a note to Rushton (rushton@gmail.com) or on the Meetup page.
Help Homeless Veterans Service – July 29th in Richmond, CA
Join us in Richmond, CA on July 29th in a little painting and hammering for the grand reopening of the center for the Veteran’s Resource Program which provides a clean, safe living environment for veterans who may be homeless, formerly incarcerated, or returning home from the military. They also provide services like employment placement and assistance with higher education. Let’s get together and swing a paintbrush or stroke a hammer (or perhaps the other way around)!
REGISTER: If you’re interested, let us know on this Meetup page, where there’s more info.
Second Harvest Food Bank Service – August 20th in San Jose, CA
On Saturday, August 20, from 9 AM to 12 PM – Come join us for a morning of sorting food at Second Harvest Food Bank! We will be at the Cypress Center in San Jose. This event will be capped at 5 people. Members who went in May said this was an event we absolutely had to do again, so here we are!
REGISTER: Members interested can RSVP with Andrew Taw (service@siliconvalleyrotary.com) or on Meetup.
Rotary Membership Seminar - August 27 in Milpitas, CA
On Saturday, August 27 from 9 AM to 12:30 PM - Members and prospective members, if growing Rotary sounds interesting to you, come join Rotary club presidents, Rotary membership chairs, and Rotarians from throughout the district for this free seminar on how to grow Rotary membership. Light breakfast is included. This event is free to attend.
REGISTER: Please register if you are planning on attending! You can register by clicking here on our Rotary District webpage.
For Our Members: Reminders & Benefits
This section is dedicated for reminders to our members and for our members to report to us what service projects they have participated in recently. Members, please note this section will CHANGE every week!
New Announcements:
Monthly Payment Option for Member Dues!
Members, we are thrilled to announce that effective at the end of this month, you will be allowed to pay your dues on a monthly payment schedule rather than biannually, should you choose to do so. The monthly price of membership for our club is USD$28 per month. Please note the biannual price is slightly lower than the monthly payment price when you total the annual cost for each. Our club leadership is very excited about this option, and as we think it makes Rotary more financially available to a much wider range of demographics.
Leadership Development Grants
Our club's board of directors has also allocated enough money to offer reimbursements for members to attend Rotary leadership development opportunities (such as the district conference or the Rotary International Convention). The reimbursement is a maximum of USD$150 per member, and can be split across multiple events. Our leadership has currently allocated USD$2,250.00 for these leadership development grants this year. The leadership has also reserved the right to adjust that total allocation up or down. If you are ready to apply for a leadership development grant, please reach out directly to President Mitty at president@siliconvalleyrotary.com and let Mitty know what event you are planning on attending. Include all the details.
Summary of Past Announcements
Dues Past Due! If you have not paid your dues yet, please note they were due June 30th. Please kindly fix this on your own. Questions? Contact our treasurer, Allen Thompson at treasurer@siliconvalleyrotary.com
Min-E Grants of up to $250 per project available for members only. Contact Andrew Taw at service@siliconvalleyrotary.com
Rotary Rewards: Members, be sure to check out the discounts Rotarians get to Disneyland, hotels, airfare, and so many other businesses. Go check offers, please go to Rotary.org, login, then go to "Rotary Rewards" page
Leadership Opportunities: We still have many committees and committee chair positions that are available for members who want to get more involved with the club leadership. Please contact President Mitty at president@siliconvalleyrotary.com
Service Survey
Member! Please share what you’ve been up to, as it allows us to get to know each other better in the process!
The Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley Service Survey
Happy Dollars
Each week we ask our members to share news with the club and toss in a few dollars to support our efforts. The primary goal for this section is to provide a fun way of getting to know each other, while giving back to a good cause.
Here are some happy dollar messages from last week's first Rotary Club meeting of the year with Kitty Hu, International Service Projects Coordinator for Interact District 5170.
From member Rushton Hurley ($5):
"Big woohoo! Looking forward to seeing folks at our potluck this coming Saturday (16th) - see the events section for details."
From member Matthew Marichiba ($15):
"Nice work establishing an e-club. I appreciate having the recorded meeting available online for times I miss my local meeting. Once comment about my first user experience with the meeting recording for July 4: It didn't quite seem like I was in the right place, and I had to back out, reload, think a little bit, and then dive in. I was expecting the page to lead with a video recording of the meeting. Maybe it's just me, but if you hear others state the same confusion, I think a clear, visible note at the top of the page could have been useful to tell me I'm in the right place, and inform me that the recorded meeting consists of both articles and video. Great work on recreating the caring feeling of fellowship online!"
From member and club officer Nate Gildart ($10):
"Brian, best to the sparrows and your children having a real-life learning experience; Mitty, great first show Mr. Prez!"
From Linda Diekman ($15):
"For the warm welcome by the Wilmette, IL Club when I visited with them!"
Linda Tangren ($15):
"Mitty, Wishing you a great year as club prez!"
Thanks to everyone who made a contribution and said their peace last week! We encourage you to submit a couple of bucks, and tell us something you're happy about this week!
Share with us something below!
Selected Six
Every week at the bottom of our meetings, there is a comments section for members and guests to tell us what they enjoyed about the meeting or to ask questions to the speaker. We select six comments every week from last week's meeting to be featured during this week's meeting.
Here are six comments selected from last week's meeting:
From guest Ferheen Abbasi (Osaka, Japan):
"Kitty, what an awesome presentation! Thanks so much for your commitment to ending human trafficking. Question - how exactly do Interacts in your district raise money? Do you get corporate sponsors as well?"
From guest Lucy Darwin:
"As a teacher of 14 - 18 year-olds in Nairobi, Kenya, I was really heartened by everything you have achieved. I taught human trafficking this year and the kids really engaged with the issues - they were amazed that there were so many slaves in the US, having assumed it most likely child labour in the cocoa plantations etc and that there were more slaves now than when slavery was abolished and that the cost of a slave was about 25% of the price! Keep up the good work and only hope next year's theme/project is a successful as the last years!"
From guest Kristofer Telfer:
"Thank you Kitty for tackling this tough subject. I am excited to see where your passion and drive will take you, good luck at UCLA! Nate- thank you for the interactive video. The story of the 47 Ronin uniting to bring honor back to themselves and their master is inspiring. Cannot wait to join this club, what an incredible resource and network of caring people."
From club officer Shags Shagrin (California):
"Great meeting, oh Mighty Mitty! And a fantastic program for kicking off the new Rotary year featuring Interact, the future of Rotary. Kitty - you are a blessing to our planet and when you are ready for a Rotary Club, keep us in mind."
From guest Judson Moore:
"This was my first eClub meeting to attend and what an amazing one it was! I loved the tour of 47 Ronin and the spotlight of the AOL voice. Oh memories... As a former Interactor, I'm very impressed with the scale of district 5170 accomplishments and Kitty's leadership. Keep up the great work!"
From guest Raquel D. Juncal:
"Who has not read or heard about the various scenarios of slavery that were built around the first civilizations that were formed and which they constituted labor for growth of empires at the expense of their freedom and their own lives? Human trafficking exists and has always existed. Reflect on the devastating and shocking consequences it brings to the health of the victims, to their emotional and psychological dimension, to their legal status, to their economic detriment, it corresponds to the entire community. Such great work, Kitty! Hope you continue carrying out more projects as a Rotaractor ;)"
Thank you everyone for attending last week's meeting!
Be sure to leave a comment at the end of this week's meeting after you watch the program below, and perhaps you'll see your comment featured next week!
The Program
Every week we bring to you a program on innovation, education, and entrepreneurship. This week we Sam Nagar, CEO and Founder of Pixeom.
Pixeom is a software platform that puts the power of Cloud infrastructure in your home or your office. Pixeom first started up in 2012 as an idea, and grew into a Kickstarter campaign for some crowdfunded startup dollars. The Kickstarter project was a hit, and raised over USD$75,o00 through the Kickstarter page alone. Pixeom now works with a variety of different telecommunications, fulfillment, and manufacturing companies including corporate giant, Samsung.Sam Nagar is a graduate of the University of Southern California, and founded Pixeom in 2012 with his sister. Since then, Sam has grown Pixeom from a small team to now over a team of 60 employees in 7 cities across the world. If you missed the live recording and want to ask the speaker a question, then please make sure to leave a comment in the comments section below!
Without further adieu, let's watch the program below:
Related Links:
A look at the original Pixeom Kickstarter page (successfully funded; ended several years ago)
Upcoming Recordings & Meetings
Ever wondered how you can join one of our live recordings to ask our speakers questions live? Well, now our recordings are available to guests as well!
Upcoming Meetings:
Week of July 18 - Karolina Demiańczuk of Spontime, a social app startup company that enables people to conveniently find places to hang out with their friends!
You’re Almost Done! One last thing: The Attendance Survey..
Thanks for reading and watching this week’s meeting. You have two last things to do before you’re done. First, we have a very short attendance survey below for you to fill out to record your attendance.
Visiting Rotarians, this is how you can get an email receipt to pass along to your club’s secretary as proof that you’ve attended our meeting if you need it for makeups.Non-Rotarian Guests, we would love to see who is dropping by our meetings! This part is optional for you though. If you think you may want to join our eClub at some point in the future, we would strongly recommend you fill out the attendance form as it will improve your chances of success for your membership application.More importantly, for all members and guests — we strongly recommend and ask that you leave a comment below in our comments area below. Tell us how you enjoyed the program. Ask this week’s speaker any questions you might have. Or just stop by and say hello and tell us where you’re from!
