4 karma · joined August 21, 2012
and here is the link to the comment on facebook which is still viewable, but as you will see not viewable on the post itself: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Technito/258151947609961
There is such an abundance of money floating around in the space, consumers are increasingly becoming more likely to adopt these technologies, creating an environment most likely susceptible to innovation-- but the output isn't as significant as these realities should potentially suggest.
Forget significant technological breakthroughs, such as Peter Thiel frequently refers to-- I'm even talking about already existing technologies that aren't fully being leveraged and if they were could further lead to these significant technological breakthroughs. Why isn't this the case? Why is it that even though curbs can be lined with some sort of proximity sensors I need to drive 45 minutes to blindly search for a parking spot when these sensors can ping me the nearest spot when making a query? I think of all the data from every aspects of our lives that is quantifiable and we create on a daily basis and how if this was curated then interpreted to the consumer, how much more efficient lives we could live-- why isn't this so? Why is it that that the digital world is still yet to merge with the real world? Even from a product standpoint-- I find that i'm increasingly using products where it almost seems as if the founders aren't using the product themselves. I come across way too many flawed user experiences and to be honest it is beyond frustrating to me. Last week a 20 under 20 special highlighting the Thiel Fellowship aired on CNBC, so I set my TiVo to record it not knowing it was a 2 part special-- TiVo knows this. Why would I want to watch one part and not the other? Why wouldn't a notification popup "Since you've recorded this, It's very likely you'd want to record this as well. Would you like to?" This is a minuscule example but I believe everything that i'm saying stems from not a lack of resources, not a lack of ideas-- but rather a lack of depth in their thought when conceptualizing a solution to the problem all the way through to executing.
So why is there seemingly such a lack of thought? There are many possible reasons why, many of which are likely out of my control-- but I do believe that part of this problem which I can potentially make a difference in, is a deficiency of inspiration. Inspiration is directly correlated to consumption-- so if people aren't inspired enough I feel it's not illogical to question what they are consuming. Technito is my attempt to cover startups and review user experiences in such a way, highlighting the subtle features that most oversee but really confirm the user experience of companies and founders that make you scratch your head and question. The reader, should it be an entrepreneur will be inspired to view product in a much deeper way and should it be a consumer will walk away with setting a higher standard and having greater expectations for the products they use which will ultimately trickle throughout the entire ecosystem.
Independent bloggers that aren't reliant on ad revenue, such as Fred Wilson are likely not going to be as click driven-- but the reality is the bulk of content created (especially covering startups) that most of us are then consuming aren't coming from independent bloggers, but rather tech journalists working for media companies. I'm not claiming that the only source of revenue for these sites are ad clicks-- but traffic is their currency, and they are well aware of that.
My integrity is something that I take pride in for the fact that it will always remain in tact. What I was referring to was the integrity as far as the public perception is concerned-- which any way you look at has it's best chance of fully remaining in tact if the platform isn't monetized.
I am relatively new to the HN community-- I'm probably going to post this link a couple more times with the hopes of maybe gaining some traction. Do you have any suggestions for titles/headlines that would appeal most to this community? "Open letter to Silicon Valley: A True Story" does seem a bit hostile now that I think of it (the irony)-- which was likely why you perceived it the way you did in the first place. Any suggestions? This is all just a figment of my imagination of I can't get readers!
Sometimes, I have a tendency to create my own dialect in which only I understand the context (self note: stop doing that). I am of course open to suggestion and you are spot on-- it does sound like i'm trying to sound smart (cringe) Def going to re-word that to express myself in a more straightforward manner.
This isn't a blog to enviously rebel against those that have worked and deserve the position they are in, but rather a blog to alleviate the organic ramifications that are out of their control. This isn't a blog to cover startups or ideas that aren't getting covered-- theres likely a reason why they aren't. I am not hating on people that write about technology-- this is their job and many are very good at it. But, the reality is they are working for a company that desires to increase their bottom line just like any other business-- as they should. My point is because of this, the ecosystem is click driven. Which means a much greater frequency of startups will be covered. Which means even if a startup is doing nothing new and the technology is rather unimpressive, the brand attached to it means clicks ($$) so it gets coverage.
When this is done at such a frequency, the greater the likelihood the companies that are doing dynamic things fall through the cracks-- creating a lower standard that isn't producing optimal results of what the space is capable of.
Many of the startups I cover probably will be startups i've read about else where and never even submitted anything. So, in essence this is just a filter to differentiate from startups written for clicks due to brand equity and startups that are doing dynamic things-- built upon a culture that emphatically acknowledges this standpoint. That doesn't mean A16Z startups won't get covered. That doesn't mean Y Combinator companies won't get covered. This does mean not all their portfolio startups are doing dynamic things that legitimately deserve acknowledgement.
And the only way to fully keep intact the integrity of this blog without question is to not monetize. This is a hobby for me. Startups are my passion and I like to write. I love giving product deep thought-- where are they headed with this and what can this ultimately become and what sort of impact can potentially proceed and how this will affect the ecosystem? I want to read about startups that force my mind to think about these things, kind of like your response has forced me to think deeper about this blog. And then cover them from this perspective with the intent to set a higher standard for everyone to aspire to.
That's really all i'm trying to do-- and maybe your standpoint of cynicism is a result of me not initially expressing myself properly (aka the first paragraph).