ebun

Just fyi, this was originally on techcrunch: http://techcrunch.com/2010/10/17/japan-to-fix-your-economy-h...

Horrible timing.

But props to TC for treating AOL, their parent company, just like any other one and spilling the beans as soon as they could.

You can read it in more detail by checking out his blog post:

http://scobleizer.com/2010/11/12/why-google-cant-build-insta...

wordpress + launchpad theme + feedburner

I guess nobody informed AirBnB.

I agree. I thought it was interesting to see all the products in a graphical format but didn't like what was insinuated with the negative tone.

I may be mistaken, but I think he just blurred it out for the blog post. Within the company, he may actually show the details.

I can second this. I lived in the Tendernob (not as nice as Nob Hill, not as crazy as the Tenderloin) a couple of years back and paid 1290/mo for a studio.

Though a studio, it was still a decent size and I was right up the road from a grocery store, used public transportation/bike and feel that besides rent, it wasn't too pricey.

I had moved from Austin, TX and when I added everything up (accommodations, car-related expenses, etc), SF was only a little more expensive.

Can you elaborate on Africa's inhospitality?

The interesting thing is that emails come at no extra cost whereas SMS will typically cost you if you go outside of network.

I have some expat friends here (Japan) who are so used to sending SMS in the states that they continue to send them here, accumulating extra-charges left and right.

Just be weary of massive checkins around North Beach and you'll be okay

Google has a phone and an upcoming SN-type-project in the works.

Apple has a phone and attempted a music SN.

FB has only a social network.

It seems like it could be a step in the right direction for FB, even if just to be able to compete with Google Me + Android integration

I moved from Blogger to Posterous some time back. The migration is pretty simple but there was one problem: my private/unpublished posts from Blogger became private in Posterous. I had to go through and manually set them back to private.

This was before Posterous started aggressively pushing for moves from other platforms to themselves though, so that issue may have been fixed.

I wouldn't mind a similar system put in place for Google Reader next

i suspect that most hacker minds are cool with raw data but i found that the storyline made it easier to digest. if you were to ask me about the company and #s tomorrow, i'd still remember.

but maybe that's b/c the Princess Bride is one of my favorite movies.

either way, props on the creativity.

I'm in Japan and can see it. However, I also have a Google Voice number which was automatically associated with it. I suspect that may take precedence over geographic location

Skype is obviously concerned but I wonder if this is also part of a longterm "Google Me" strategy against Facebook.

Facebook already has email and chat, so one logical next step would be video chat and then calls. People already list phone numbers in their profiles and when I look at FB contacts through their mobile interface, Calling is always an option.

This is, of course, just speculation, but I wouldn't be surprised if both turn out to be true

Others have already mentioned competition but now you have a bigger player, Facebook, on the playing field.

FB has tried to make their application as simple as possible and my understanding (I'm not in the US so I can't use it) is that it basically uses your GPS to tell you the location you're in (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong). This sounds like a big part of your app.

How will you respond/differentiate yourself as a response?

"That concerns me about having private parties in private homes (pretty typical use case)"

I'd be interested in finding out how they calculated popularity in this case. How many parties and how well-attended would they have to be in order to automatically make a home a public place?

Kudos to them. This feature was just a matter of time.

In addition to the growing popularity of 4square-like services, exchanging contact info w/new people at events & places has become less "What's your number?" to "Are you on Facebook?". This feature will make that sort of interaction much easier.

The last slide says it best:

"The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary 
Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, agreed to in 1989 and now adopted 
by a majority of nations, was meant to stop the dumping of toxic waste in poor 
countries. But rules get complicated when the waste arrives as a gift."

I think it's easy for most people to basically throw our old junk on the less fortunate if we think it's helping them. In fact, it makes us feel like we're making a difference. And we are, in some cases, but this slide show was a reminder of the importance of understanding the implications of our charitable giving.

I wouldn't have deemed it trivial, but the part I quoted made it sound like the associated workload was pretty heavy.

I haven't looked into the API or what it takes to integrate it, but I assumed (bad habit, I know) it wouldn't necessarily be rocket science. Aren't most API's relatively simple to use compared to the actually building of an app?

Plus, if it causes a huge increase in users and tire-kickers, it seems an app would get more chances to show off their sexy features anyway.

"I'd wager that many startups don't implement Facebook signin because of the engineering overhead that could be spent on sexy new features."

How much time is really spent integrating FB Connect?

Or, if you prefer, you can see the breakdown of interview topics and sections here:

http://bigthink.com/jasonfried

He didn't really diss twitter, just that it was a medium that people used to talk about him

I don't doubt it, I'm just curious as to why you, or any other HNers, would find it interesting. What skills do you think would be applicable or transferable?

full disclosure: I'm in a somewhat similar situation right now

So the author moved to India after being unable to find a job, but at some point, I assume they plan to return.

What do you think about his job prospects when he returns (regardless of the work; just taking into account that he opted to spend a year or 2 abroad like this)?

Good point. Kinda like what Google does...with everything.

But what's next on their agenda? Other photo hosting sites? Youtube/Vimeo/etc for video hosting?

Hitchhike across southern Japan (Honshu mostly)

I second this rec. The author breaks down economics with common language and regular, everyday topics (no charts, graphs or formulas).