May 2013
“So, how does one define and identify this “one thing”? What exactly is a...”
– How VCs think: Is your startup a feature, a product or a business? - The Next Web (via dcancel)
Rafer sez: I face a different version of this misunderstanding frequently. The historical differences between B2B and B2C is a derivative of product and feature dichotomy above.
Lumatic’s revenue...
1 tag
“Here’s a current example of the challenge we face,” he writes in the book’s...”
– Jaron Lanier: The Internet destroyed the middle class - Salon.com
I like Jaron Lanier a lot, but this illustration as some sort of evidence of the internet hollowing out the middle class is, forgive me for saying so, idiotic. A child could figure out where those jobs went.
1) Instagram SHOWS the...
“the guy in the cockpit has to fly the plane, not the passengers.”
– JLM in the comments to:
A VC: Great Entrepreneurs Will Listen To You But Will Follow Their Own Instincts (via fred-wilson)
April 2013
annelehan:
I hate hipsters. Their smug faces, vegan diet, tiny feet & sawdust bedding. No wait. Hamsters. I hate hamsters.
“For a country like America that defines itself by its enemies, that must have...”
– World’s. Dumbest. Enemies. | Notes & Errata by Mark Morford | an SFGate.com blog
“I don’t blame the platform. They have to constantly adapt their strategy...”
– My Best Mistake: Building in Someone Else’s Yard | LinkedIn
Would You Tweet This Article if It Earned You... →
wonheechang:
If it’s on the internet is must be real! A lovely write-up of my startup by the delightful Caro Winter. <3 <3 <3 <3 <3
“It’s a safe bet that the wealthy median American consumer of the 2020s, 2030s,...”
– Why We Shouldn’t Worry About The (Alleged) Decline Of The Music Industry - Forbes (via futuristgerd)
A couple days at downtownproject.com
I’m flying back to SF from my first voluntary trip to Vegas in at least ten years. From what I saw of downtownproject.com, I will probably go again this year — maybe more than once.
I’m a city and city redevelopment nut (hence Lumatic). What Tony Hsieh and his teams are doing is pretty incredible. I’ve mainly been exposed to factory towns trying to reinvent themselves....
Lumatic City Maps: City Maps now has real-time... →
omniar:
The bus you need to be on is sitting in traffic. You are at the bus stop, stuck waiting in the cold. Your frustration is rising. Sound familiar? Schedules are helpful, but you want to know when that bus will REALLY arrive.
We are excited to announce that City Maps v3.6 has real-time transit…
iPhone 6 →
marco:
Regardless of how big of an improvement the next iPhone is, Apple should just call it the iPhone 6 and give the finger to anyone who questions whether the name fits.
Rafer sez: My concern is that current management is not interested in flipping anyone off for any reason, even when both parties deserve that interaction. #googlemaps
“We systematically overestimate the value of access to information and...”
– Clay Shirky via SwissMiss’s SWSW Keynote (via bijan)
Rafer sez: e.g. Kurzweil.
"Android Before Android" →
parislemon:
Jo Best of ZDNet looks at Nokia’s Windows Phone and remaining Symbian devices versus the low-end Series 40 and Series 30 devices:
After all, unlike the smartphone segment, there are still battles to be fought and won for Nokia in the mid and low-end. Nokia’s Windows Phone and Symbian ranges may have an average selling price of €186, bringing in €1.2bn in sales, it’s still small fry...
Allen Stern, blogging pioneer, passes away →
parislemon:
RIP Allen Stern.
“Why not just build a phone?
I’ve always been very clear that I don’t think...”
– Mark Zuckerberg on Facebook Home, Money, and the Future of Communication | Wired Magazine | Wired.com
Good insight
(via sawickipedia)
Rafer sez: Yeah, but Zuck, we think your explicit self interest outweighs your need to give it to us straight.
“But Mr. Liu, the chief technical officer at Shanghai’s airport authority, jokes...”
– Airports in China Hew to an Unswerving Flight Path - NYTimes.com (via sawickipedia)
“Historically, the ability to short-sell a commodity has never been a requirement...”
– Bitcoin’s Rise: What If It Is Not A Bubble? - Statspotting!
Rafer sez: But is a requirement for a currency.
“The anus [is] this amazing thing that nobody appreciates. Here’s this ring of...”
– Why “Asshole” Is High Praise and Other Anatomy Lessons With Mary Roach
Over some beers and grilled cheese, we talked to author Mary Roach about indelicate things such as rectal smuggling (three phones at a time!?!), fake poop, and chewing diets. Intrigued? Disgusted? Check out her new book, Gulp!...
A VC: Content Marketing Simplified →
sawickipedia:
To quote @FredWilson (from the post linked):
In many ways I see this as the future of online marketing. Instead of paying tens of millions of dollars a year (or more) creating banner ads and paying to run them on pages filled with someone else’s content, marketers can create their own web and mobile presences and use the most efficient form of advertising, pay per click...
IMF signals push to scrap energy subsidies →
emergentfutures:
The world could solve a large part of its fiscal problems by scrapping $1.9tn* in energy subsidies, the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday.
The fund’s call suggests higher fuel prices could become a central condition of IMF help in the future, with subsidies proving a sticking point in its talks with countries such as Egypt, Pakistan and Ukraine.
Full Story:...
“The replacement of the car is probably out there,” Cohen adds. “We just don’t...”
– What the Steamship and the Landline Can Tell Us About the Decline of the Private Car - Emily Badger - The Atlantic Cities
Rafer sez: Only if China surpasses us in resource sharing software IMO.
“It’s not as if we all wake up one morning and decide we’re going to get rid of...”
– What the Steamship and the Landline Can Tell Us About the Decline of the Private Car - Emily Badger - The Atlantic Cities
Rafer sez: A lot of us actually did just that with our landlines (1997 here), but that’s the same crowd that already knows that cars are past their peak.
“The Internet is a big fan of the worst-possible-thing. Many people thought...”
– Paul Ford
Bitcoin May Be the Global Economy’s Last Safe Haven - Businessweek
(via fred-wilson)
“Even 1 gallon of water, at 8.33 pounds per, can cost tens of thousands of...”
– Who Has the Right to Mine an Asteroid? - Popular Mechanics
March 2013
