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asher_gmon Web 2.0 'distracts good design'

Yeah I thought he was talking about usability which covers design but I thought he was referring to broad browser compatibility and accessibility (CAPTCHA designs for instance)

asher_gmon Web 2.0 'distracts good design'

"It's because they are 20 years old that they act differently to 40-year-olds," said Mr Nielsen.

I think he missed the mark. Design has little to do with popularity right now (think MySpace). Sure we can scale everything back so that my one finger typist dad can surf the web without learning something new. Or we can design to the next generation of users that will most assuredly use the web for the rest of their lives.

asher_gmon A Boot Camp for the Next Tech Billionaires

I had to give that a point. I guess what I'm trying to say is that there must be a deep personality flaw with someone that takes all the necessary steps and then refuses to go with it.

asher_gmon Get started, entrepreneurs. You're living in an exciting time.

and it'll be even easier with wider adoption of IPv6

asher_gmon Get started, entrepreneurs. You're living in an exciting time.

It would be a "winner" to me, not only because it played a "minor even completely useless" part to your life but because it would be interesting to even a small sliver of people online. Look at the long-tail on a site like this. You could host it easily without major snags for three hundred bucks a month. If you only play a 0.5% margin for 10 years this application could very well pay off. It's niche I understand, it doesn't have the mass appeal of the "major" players right now. But consider the vast amounts of people that are getting online each year. That niche sites user base grows proportionately. And the real kicker is that a niche site has a very narrow set of users. Making them easier to profile and easier to sell adverts too. Think of the deal you could make with TheraFlu or Tamiflu. Thats why its a winner.

If everyone waits to make the next big thing then most of us will be waiting the rest of our lives.

asher_gmon Andrew Chen: Want a Web 2.0 idea with a strong business model? Here's how to go upstream

Oh snap you got me, I never thought of that. But wait we weren't talking about search were we? No... Also the methods for upstream sales; in particular with Google are passive and common knowledge.

You are right. But Google isn't a social network; neither is Priceline. Auctioning users of a community, and auctioning users of a tool or service are two different things. There is no expectation of trust, except for privacy, when using web services such as Google, or Priceline. Whereas a user in a "web community" gains trust in a particular site. If the site uses that trust for gain, without being completely open about it then its akin to forced spam.

asher_gmon Andrew Chen: Want a Web 2.0 idea with a strong business model? Here's how to go upstream

The idea of auctioning users is a dangerous game. It reeks of an evil empire manipulation. Social networks are built on trust. The user needs to feel that their community is safe and regulated by ethics similar to their own. A few public debacles involving said user auctions could seriously damage a sites reputation and adversely effect its presence in general. It would be much safer to build in the transactional side of the operation. This wouldn't have to be a ground up operation either, partnerships that would allow a site to reface existing transactional portals would be ideal. For example take a social network of bibliophiles. This example site has a strong sticky content with syndicated book critics and authors along with established "user2user" interactivity. The site then works out a deal with amazon that allows the biblio-site access to the amazon backend for placement and fulfillment of orders for a piece of orders driven from their site. To the book loving user the process seems seamless. This way the site reduces exposure to risk due to bad public sentiment of their intentions and operating procedures.

asher_gmon A Boot Camp for the Next Tech Billionaires

I guess the issue I have with the quote is that it ignores all the other variables that can contribute to a person's decision. You are arguably correct that turning down an offer with reasonable terms would indicate a low IQ, but its also a personality litmus. I don't see how after completing the necessary steps to even get in a position where they could even entertain the idea of accepting an offer they would turn it down. Especially considering that the general structure of the offer is already a known factor before they even walk in the door. So IQ couldn't be the only determining factor, in fact it can't even really be on the plate. Verily, denying a YC offer should be a DSM-IV criterion for a major psychosis.

With a nod to ecuzzillo - They're just crazy.

asher_gmon Get started, entrepreneurs. You're living in an exciting time.

I would disagree with your sentiment. I think the sense of wonder and endless opportunities put forth by the author perfectly describes a nontechnical user of new web services. While you may say it is naive, I would say it is genuine and pure.

Consider the "Epidemic Watcher" idea. This could be easily implemented with the Google Maps API, tied to a medical news aggregator and partnered with WebMD. Now it may sound silly to watch a particularly nasty strain of the common cold march its way across the Midwest, but the idea becomes vastly more interesting when you start to plot SARS, Avian Flu, West Nile, etc.

Combine News articles and a graphical geological representation of an infections march and I think you might actually have a winner on your hands.

Although, the vast majority of the sites visitors may be hypochondriacs at least you have a good idea who to target your advertising to.