Disqus - Latest Comments for jstylman

Re: Keep The Degree Of Difficulty Down

jstylman — Sun, 29 Apr 2018 11:37:19 -0000

In my office, we have a signed that reads: "Do Less Better" - it's an aspiration that our instincts tend to violate more often than we care to admit. Along with posts like this, that visual is a great reminder to keep us in line.

Re: Revitalizing Urban Cores

jstylman — Sun, 16 Mar 2014 14:24:54 -0000

Thanks for writing this post, Fred.

This topic is one I've been fascinated with for years. For others that are interested, please do yourself a favor and read Death & Life of Great American Cities (http://amzn.to/1p0SuP7), written by the late great Jane Jacobs, one of the preeminent thinkers on Urban Studies.

I imagine Jane would be a fan of some of what's happening in places like the ones mentioned. Other elements, however - especially urban renewal - would have irked her to no end. Either way, it seems like an inflection point for cities across America. Something we should be discussing, for sure.

Re: Crowdfunding More Public School Chess

jstylman — Wed, 27 Nov 2013 17:44:27 -0000

Great cause.

I walked by the school today and they're featuring their cred proudly.

Re: The New Freedom

jstylman — Mon, 25 Nov 2013 10:59:05 -0000

"Smartphones represent freedom"

I appreciate the point that Marc - and you - are making here, but this quote is actually quite sad to me, especially in the context of the car analogy.

As a 17 yr old, I vividly remember saving to buy a car - a clunker, but still a car - and it being (perceived) freedom for me. That meant getting out of my folks house and having the ability to go anywhere I wanted. More often than not, it involved face-to-face interaction with other people. Friends, girls, etc. There were some great times, some stupid and dangerous, but most importantly, all were experiences that helped shape the man I've become.

In a culture when you walk down the street and see a good portion of the population starring at their devices, does freedom come to mind? Don't "free" people want more of that human interaction? No, not through a pixelated Google Hangout screen, but in real life. Don't they want to create, not just consume?

Fred, it's not lost on me that the implicit point of Marc's comment and your subsequent post was that a smartphone can now be a gateway to those interactions. Often, they are. Still, if we're being honest with ourselves, is that really what's happening at the macro level? Even when friends, young and old, are together in groups, look at the dynamics and a large portion of people are looking at their phones, not truly present in the moment they're in.

Given the dependency we all seem to have on our phones these days, I think a more accurate statement would be:

"Smartphones represent captivity"

Note: I recognize that I'm a total hypocrite, as I read your post this morning, and am now writing this comment, from my iPhone.

Re: Evidence On Our Smartphones

jstylman — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 12:35:37 -0000

The financial support is precisely the problem. Money in politics breeds a system where laws go to the highest bidder, not the will of the people.

Re: Background Checks

jstylman — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 13:27:05 -0000

My comment was not intended to be partisan... just pointing to satire that highlights the absurdity of this situation.

As it relates to democrats vs. republicans, my views are in-line with those of my favorite philosopher, Bill Hicks:

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

Re: Background Checks

jstylman — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 09:57:38 -0000

“The only way we Republicans can protect our democracy is by preventing a vote.”
http://www.newyorker.com/on...

Re: Why We Spend So Much Time On Policy Stuff

jstylman — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 12:12:48 -0000

Apologies Brandon, that wasn't my intent at all. It's a hot button...

I do realize we live in the United States of Entertainment and I'm totally hypocritical in a lot of ways (I love my HBO too), but it's troubling to see these as the types of issues people rallying around, when our infrastructure - physical and morally - is crumbling around us.

Re: Why We Spend So Much Time On Policy Stuff

jstylman — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 10:56:08 -0000

Yes, the cable companies & broadcast providers suck... no disagreement here.

Still, we have a government that is fighting wars around the world for for an energy source that can't be sustained... at home, institutions like healthcare and education that are profoundly broken... banksters raping our financial system with no consequence for their behavior... we're being poisoned by food, inc and big pharma, while our liberties being systematically stripped away... as long as we can watch 500+ channels, it'll all be ok.

I applaud USV taking a leadership position in their areas of expertise. I just hope it matters when all is said and done. The optimist in me says it'll (a) be a stepping stone to more systemic reform and (b) inspire others, especially young people to become activists. We'll see...

Re: Poke Experiment: Phish Concert Edition

jstylman — Sat, 29 Dec 2012 19:52:26 -0000

Why not just immerse yourself in the music?

Re: Competition, It's a Bitch

jstylman — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 10:09:55 -0000

Southern California

Re: Competition, It's a Bitch

jstylman — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 08:09:54 -0000

"Be careful of the ones who have it all. Forget about the ones who have it all."

Re: Fun Friday: Quotes

jstylman — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 17:17:07 -0000

"don't get high on your own supply" - Andy Weissman

Re: In Defense Of Free

jstylman — Sun, 15 Jul 2012 11:58:58 -0000

Matt: to be clear, I am not anti-free. Quite the contrary... I believe services on the web should be free wherever possible. I love the freemium model as a way to drive trial and adoption, however, I wish there was a a more prevalent alternative to advertising as a way to subsidize costs.

Having had significant exposure to the way the ad world works, I'm just not sure it's possible to scale without compromising product - content and/or experience - in some way. Google Adwords may be the one exception, though some will argue that too.

Re: In Defense Of Free

jstylman — Sun, 15 Jul 2012 10:10:56 -0000

How about the news?

Re: In Defense Of Free

jstylman — Sun, 15 Jul 2012 09:39:53 -0000

Fred,

Your post is an important one for many businesses and our culture at large.

I have been thinking about these issues for a bunch of startups I'm involved with and am personally torn from a business model perspective. More importantly though, while you lay out some great points that I strongly agree with, I'm particularly concerned with the following premise:

"Think about the Super Bowl, the World Cup, the Olympics, the Oscars, the Presidential Debates, the news coverage of important events. These things are ad supported and free for anyone to watch who has a TV and an antenna. It is good for society for these things to be available to the broadest audience."

In theory, some of these events are the fabric that keeps our Republic in tact. That said, do you really think that sponsors and corporations don't have major influence over the events listed above?

As I said, I'm conflicted, but it seems to me like having a direct economic relationship with the person that pays for your product is far healthier than letting it get subsidized by 3rd parties that have their own agenda.

Re: Death To The Use Of Death In A Title

jstylman — Wed, 09 May 2012 08:41:02 -0000

Queue the Business Insider article... Fred Wilson is a "Death" Killer

Re: A VC: Can You Build A Network On Top Of Another Network?

jstylman — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 16:19:12 -0000

I like the idea of layers here, Daryn.

Seems to me the initial wave of the web was primarily about building the infrastructure layer, powering the network to exist in the first place. The Web 2.0 era spawned services that users could join to express themselves & identify connections in their lives - to other individuals + interests.

In many ways it feels like this was a metadata layer that's enabling a new phase, where all this information floating around is now being leveraged by new services (on top of the "old ones"). This is why Fred's point about interoperability is a key one - it's helping startups create new models and grow faster and stronger than ever before, based upon the existing social framework that exists.

Re: Take my data

jstylman — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 17:28:59 -0000

This is an important topic, for sure.

I'm also ok giving up my data for cool stuff in return. The issue here, however, is not about value exchange, but rather one of disclosure. The fact that Path, or any other app, uploads people's address books may, in fact, be a feature. Not advising users in advance, however, is not just a bug, it's a disgrace. Yes, I know, many apps do this... so to be clear, I'm not putting Path in a different camp than any other group that does this without explicit user permission. Apple shouldn't be off the hook either. For a company that takes the high ground "for users" on so many issues, this should be a violation of their terms & conditions.

As for your Google comparison, it's a concerning one. Most civilians have no idea how much data Google (and Facebook, etc) are collecting, or what they're doing with it. The most poignant commentary I've seen on this topic can be found here: http://bit.ly/8eCffT

I am hopeful that the technological developments over the last decade or so have been generally good for the world, though I do fear that we may look back on this time and wonder, "what were we thinking?" or "what did we get in exchange for our liberty?".

In Nazi Germany many Jews willingly went to *work camps* because they thought they would find better conditions than the ghettos they were living in. Obviously, they were misled and it led to tragic circumstances. I'm not saying tech companies are going to commit genocide, but there is definitely a huge risk in confusing public acceptance on an issue vs. the masses being totally uninformed, even naive, on a particular topic. OK, so maybe Nazi Germany is too harsh a comparison. Let's look back at an example, from 20th century American history that fits neatly right alongside this current one: http://bit.ly/wEzhLg. I'm not saying Path or any other company has bad intentions here. It's just a slippery slope, once you head in this direction.

I've discussed this topic with a few friends in the startup world that have suggested that "I don't get it." They've gone on to say that this is a standard practice for apps. Well, maybe I'm a minority, as someone in the technology field that thinks it's important to challenge a disturbing behavior if it's becoming the norm. It's our job as a community to educate the public on their risks - and as importantly, to do the right thing. If Path, Apple and anyone else has betrayed our trust, we should all be screaming from the rooftops until the status quo changes. The more attention we can bring to issues like this, means the masses will soon realize that privacy is one of the defining issues of our time.

Sorry for the rant. I'm generally a fan of your blog and agree with you much of the time, but this one clearly struck a cord.

Re: Search vs Social

jstylman — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 09:19:17 -0000

For sure, give a shout any time.

Re: Search vs Social

jstylman — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 08:38:36 -0000

There's no question social has emerged as a primary traffic source, as search has waned a bit. Just a few years ago, 90% of all traffic started at a search engine - more often than not, Google. I do believe we're still in a transition, however, as this all evolves. A few points to consider:

- Evergreen vs. Time sensitive content: it's not surprising to me that your site leans heavily towards social, given that you publish every day, usually with timely information. People are incentivized to share because it's "breaking" and is part of a dialog taking place on and off avc.com. I imagine reference sites that are comprised of content that's a bit more static are still as reliant on search as ever. In other words, the trend towards social media being THE key traffic source may not be a full on migration for all.

- Search --> Social --> Destination: for virtually any query, the search results are stacked w social media sites (Facebook, Twitter, blogs, etc). Combine this with the fact that an overwhelming majority of users still use search engines as a navigational tool - a trend that has become even more pronounced with the ubiquity of toolbars and browser plugins. The net result is that social media sites are driving more direct traffic, but search is still nestled into a user's workflow, though it's not a given that they're the "last click" any longer. This may just be a moment in time, but it's worth noting.

- Personalized Search: search engines are evolving from a one size fits all to a far more personalized experience. While some think this is wonderful (some users, advertisers) and others are afraid of the consequences (Filter Bubble, etc), an obvious takeaway is that the emergence of the read/write web has spawned an entirely new, more personal way to discover the internet that is somewhat of a hybrid of search + social. If anyone doesn't think this is happening, just look at Google Search Plus Your World and think about the experience there. That product is also telling about where Google thinks this is headed.

We'll see how this all plays out as users get more sophisticated and the social platforms continue to become a meaningful part of people's every day lives. Very interesting consequences, regardless.

Re: Small Things

jstylman — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 11:01:55 -0000

I've been carrying a notebook in my backpocket for ~10 yrs. I save them all and every year or so thumb through to try to remember the meaningdering thoughts I had at a moment in time. For me, it's part 'This is Your Life', part anthropological adventure through my own brain. The most rewarding thing, however, is finding inspiration from myself.

Re: Mocked And Misunderstood

jstylman — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 09:17:47 -0000

Interesting theory, Fred. Seems like it's suited you well...

It definitely took people a while to "understand" Twitter - many still haven't. Kickstarter seems easier to comprehend, however, perhaps because the service is more straight forward. I think this may have been a case of incomplete reporting, since two of the services key attributes were missing from the story:

1) Focus on creative projects: Williams' comment made it seem like project owners were begging for money, which loyal users and people following the company realize, couldn't be further from the truth. It says on the homepage "A New Way to Fund & Follow Creativity" and that's what the site is about: makers (note: the segue to the people who raised money on IndieGoGo for In Vitro probably didn't help the overall perception, especially since I assume Kickstarter would not have accepted that project). I imagine people likely back projects because something about the idea/creator/narrative appealed to them on a human, artistic or even commercial level (see #2, below) and they want to help see it get completed.

2) Rewards: again, people panhandling don't typically give anything in return. I was sure the reporter was going to reply to Williams remark by suggesting that backers get something of value - besides satisfaction - in return for their contribution. The patronage model is one of the most fascinating things about Kickstarter. Some people back projects because they want to "own" the creation (Tik Tok), while others may just like to receive a token of appreciation once it's been completed. I know when I get a reward in the mail it's always incredibly satisfying because I feel like in my own little way, I was a part of the creation of something new. I suspect I'm not the only one who feels that way.

Like Twitter, this has the possibility to be bigger than "just" a website. While overlooked on NBC last night, I think these two elements are what makes Kickstarter such a fascinating new social/economic paradigm. Overall, the piece was good and will hopefully bring more awareness about Kickstarter to the masses - even there's some mocking & misunderstanding along the way.

Re: My Back Pages

jstylman — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 10:21:02 -0000

Congrats to you and USV... perfect fit.

Re: 140Love – the Ultimate Dating Service

jstylman — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 17:20:24 -0000

Hey James,

Interesting piece, as always. Since you referenced our interaction in this post, I'll make a few followup points:

- I was never interested in 140Love. The model I liked was 140Labs - create a vertical on anything (a la StockTwits) on top of Twitter. I thought that was a pretty good idea, especially two yrs ago before people were thinking along those lines.

- I never held a grudge for you not doing the round. In fact, I left you a voicemail that said "I actually appreciate the fact that you decided you didn't want to do this BEFORE you took any money from me." Part of the appeal was working with you, since I did (and still) found you to be an interesting guy. That said, I completely I respect you coming to terms with your own desires before fooling yourself and/or outside investors. Not enough entrepreneurs are as introspective as you were here.

- I did, however, want to talk to you about the fact that we went back and forth negotiating terms, which cost me several thousand dollars in legal fees. I would have appreciated the courtesy of a call back and was disappointed when I never heard from you. At some point, I have every expectation that I'll collect my legal expenses. Hopefully you won't run into me.

Hope you're well,
Josh