SandersAK

I think it's fair that most effective organizations do the same things. One thing that stands out there is the lack of rigid hierarchy in decision making. If you want to start making PB&Js to help out you can, you don't need to register, get orientation etc.

I also think that Occupy Sandy is building a repeatable and scalable output - that is relief effort for a disaster. They iterate constantly on their ability to gather, parse, and disseminate donation goods and manpower.

ps - it would be a real bummer if someone spent the whole night worrying about sick family in those hospitals that are being evac'd and missed out on the chance to apply.

I think you're missing the point.

It's important to not only empathize with things you could believe personally might happen to you, but also to the millions of others who you might know.

Maybe someone has updated their YC several times. But they also haven't heard from a family member in 24 hours in Manhattan.

I don't need proof that we knew the storm was coming, I'm just asking you to put yourself in other people's shoes and anticipate that maybe things are bigger and more out of control than we think.

i guess you're not the one being evacuated from a flooding or burning building. nor are you someone who has loved ones anywhere in lower manhattan.

you make it seem like natural disasters are easy to predict down to the precise movements and effects for eacn individual.

i'd love to see that app or service you're making, sounds really powerful. dare i say clairvoyant?

I like this.

I think most of the innovations and value you see here are for the consumer which are still real values and, i think, real important, but I agree that there's an amazing amount of innovation to be had underneath or behind the scenes in a lot of industries... particularly transit / travel

sweet! we're desperate for UX thoughts and feedback - definitely the piece we're most keen to polish for the first update :)

Awesome!

For now you can just sign up on the homepage (http://www.backspac.es) and we'll let you know when we're good to go. Should be any day hopefully!

happy to chat more on the emails, twitter etc, cheers!

that's definitely fair. i guess we could have said it's more the initial hook of instagram that we're open sourcing :)

i'm one of the founders at backspac.es and i was curious what people thought of the story format that's produced. feedback is most welcome :)

woops, didn't see the reply button for some reason, but yes you can, see this screencast: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYWTMEbrqWk&feature=plcp

hey there, co-founder at backspac.es here. happy to answer any questions you have!

You actually can do all of the things you want to do.

The only thing that is stopping you is the risk / uncertainty of changing your situation.

One thing I've come to believe is that there is never enough time for anything. And so you have to make time.

If you're serious about adjusting your life to fit more outdoor or social interactions, there are part-time jobs and activities that can fulfill that. And there are plenty of contract jobs to fill up 20hrs a week, probably even several part-time contracts.

if you talk about it, it's a show, but if you move about it then it's a go - Shabazz Palaces.

so true!

SO, here's what to do - start the straight razor club and compete.

They'll corner the market disposable razor market ($2 billion) and you can have the non-disposable market ($30 million). src: http://www.stuff.co.nz/sunday-star-times/features/2329747/Wh...

I remember when Nokia released the N770 Internet Tablet. I was so excited for that is the beginning of some magical unified internet future that would be extremely mobile and extremely powerful.

And it's clear that some in Nokia saw where the convergence was heading. But as the N770 became the N800, you could tell that there were power rifts and in-house fighting about whether or not they should just push the concept into the phone.

Ultimately, as many people have noted, a mixture of arrogance, caution, and faith in Symbian kept a great Nokia internet phone from really happening.

Then the iPhone came out, and that was that.

I distinctly remember the Maemo forums where people were defending the N800 and how it was so much better. There was a particular thread where people brought up all the bits and bobs that Maemo did that iOS could not. It reminded me of my friends who were trying to convince me that MiniDisks were better than MP3s.

And that's when I sold my tablet.

I'm just never sure which Google+ I'm supposed to use - my work email, my other work email, my personal email, the email associated with my social networks?

The biggest barrier for me is the inability to login in with whatever I want and then hook in whatever networks I want.

Portland wasn't always a safe haven for cyclists :)

And even now, on the sonorous hums and curves of Sandy Blvd, you may find yourself cycling next to several 'mudded' pickups, and called things that are hateful and confusing.

You can put the hipster in Oregon, but you can't take the redneck out.

Any major news publication that aligns with the vertical of your product or service is relevant to you.

PR for tech companies is cheap / free advertising.

It's not that TechCrunch is still relevant or not - because we're not really discussing the quality of their journalism or what they represent. We're talking about the staying power they have for a readership that's interested in tech.

So in that regards, yeah definitely - TechCrunch still drives tons of page views and click-through's so anytime you get an article there, it can't hurt!

I pretty much walk or bike everywhere in Brooklyn.

When I go home to Oregon, we're constantly in the car. "Getting a coffee" consists of getting in a car, driving for 5 minutes, grabbing a to-go cup at Starbucks and driving back home... I can't really do it anymore.

apples, meet oranges!

This is pretty interesting. It's kinda like high stakes online poker where you take luck out of the equation by playing thousands and thousands of hands.

Basically, you're going to have a run of bad cards (companies) and a run of good ones. But if your decisions are consistent, and adjust to migrate towards successes, you'll end up ahead no matter what... assuming you're moving in that direction.

It's really not spray and pray, just as high stakes poker doesn't really have anything to do with luck.

they've had some great exits (Backtype for one) and are in on some great companies like Twilio, Fitocracy, Sendgrid, Wildfire, and TaskRabbit.

Honestly, 10 have already exited, and they have at least half a dozen impressive companies in the pipe.

Are these companies AirBnB or Dropbox? Probably not, though Twilio is legit.

no worries, just let us know when you're ever state side. I used to live in Paris, France so I know how scary the idea of relocating to a new place is.

Good luck man, I really wish you all the best!

thanks! we've gotten a few really good applicants and hosted some passerbys including some YC alums :)

EDIT: "our" startup

We've always got room at the lodge: http://gdkr.ma/LodgingSociety

Seriously, we're always welcoming hackers to come hang with us in NY.

We put you up, give you plenty of your own time to work on what you want, and ask for a part time contribution to our startup.

Hit me up if that interests you,

Adrian

I think this is really tough on users. But it's also indicative of Rose's power and pull with a large user base. I think people will forgive him and sign up to his next new thing because he's a smart dude and has a great team.

For better or worse, this is kindof a blip on the cosmic radar, even in the tech world.

I dunno how I'd react if I was an investor - I guess you invest in a guy like that because you're long on him, and in that case, the failures don't matter as long as your equity carries over.

I'm confused. I just put in a pre-order for three of these via Newark. Has that changed?

hackers, suits... not sure what these mean.

I work with people who have complimentary skills. Yes, some excel at some things more than others, but we're all people focused on a common goal.

Seems myopic to reduce people down to stereotypes.

Lots of founders have been great "hackers" and ok "suits" and also lots of founders who have been ok "hackers" and great "suits."

I came back to the US after living in Paris, France and have had nothing but amazing support from the NY tech community.

I work out of General Assembly, and have found the network to be really supportive. In general, I think the community is smaller than in SF (from what I'm told) but seems actually pretty tight knit. People are willing to help you get to where you need to go, to be sure.

The fact that things like Kickstarter and Skillshare were founded in NY attest at least some to the idea of community based collaboration and support.

Definitely couldn't have asked for a better start for our project Good Karma than in NY.

Offices in Manhattan are expensive - i'd look at shared workspaces that others have mentioned. Actually, everything in Manhattan is expensive. Brooklyn is a lot more affordable, though increasingly hot spots like Williamsburg, Greenpoint etc., are becoming just as expensive.

You should DEFINITELY check out the Startup Visa project that's being backed by big names like Brad Feld, Dave Mcclure etc. if you're looking at visa issues.

NY is fun. There's no other place in the world where people are passionately putting everything on the line to realize their dreams, failing, and trying to do it all over again the next day. It's energy incarnate.

I heard Gabe talk at Games For Change in NYC this year, the dude is really really smart.

I don't look at it as money vs quality. I see it more as, more quality more money. So start with quality.

The only way to make money is if people play your games. The perceived value of your games is higher, and the amount of interest is higher when you make good games.

One thing Valve has, probably more than any other game company (besides possibly Zynga) is a ton of data on gamer behavior across all their titles.

They've looked really hard at how players interact on some of their AAA titles like Team Fortress 2 and Left 4 Dead, and more recently on Portal 2. They know how people play, and what they're willing to spend on.

Seriously, they are running EEG brainwave scans and pupil dilation tests on gamers during play testing to understand how their games are effecting their players. That level of customer understanding makes it pretty easy to know where and how to turn the money machine on.