Business Brainstorms
💡 Business Brainstorms 💡- My favorite ideas of the week
#1 💡 This is an extremely interesting playbook: use an expensive model to generate high quality...
11 months ago
#1 💡 This is an extremely interesting playbook: use an expensive model to generate high quality training data. Then use this data to fine tune a much cheaper model you can run at scale. Also seems like there’s plenty of opportunity to build consulting/service businesses around...
Rest of World -...
China is betting on battery swaps to tackle EV chargers shortage
Rarely seen globally, there are already thousands of battery swap stations across China.
9 months ago
Rarely seen globally, there are already thousands of battery swap stations across China.
Tom Blomfield
Customer churn can kill your startup
Startups are about growth, and of all the different possible metrics, startups often focus on user...
over a year ago
Startups are about growth, and of all the different possible metrics, startups often focus on user growth - if people aren’t using your new product or service in greater and greater numbers, it’s a good sign that you’re not on the right track. And, as long as your business-model...
cdixon.org RSS Feed
Why does it matter that Twitter is supplanting RSS?
The other day I claimed that Twitter is supplanting RSS, and that long term that’s a bad thing....
over a year ago
The other day I claimed that Twitter is supplanting RSS, and that long term that’s a bad thing. Andrew Weissman had a very reasonable…
Rest of World -...
African universities are failing to prepare tech graduates for jobs in AI
Dozens of new AI training startups are filling the gap, offering online courses, hackathons, and job...
8 months ago
Dozens of new AI training startups are filling the gap, offering online courses, hackathons, and job placement help.
Rest of World -...
Why Africa’s tech talent makes it an attractive investment destination
Joseph Nsengimana of the Mastercard Foundation says global companies are starting to recognize the...
5 months ago
Joseph Nsengimana of the Mastercard Foundation says global companies are starting to recognize the value of Africa’s talent.
Rest of World -...
OpenAI is making a risky bet on live translation
The company has a stunning demo — but can the product live up to the hype?
7 months ago
The company has a stunning demo — but can the product live up to the hype?
Rest of World -...
This Hajj VR simulator helps Muslims prepare for the holy pilgrimage
The pilgrimage can be hard to navigate for first-timers, so Pakistan’s Labbaik VR offers a chance to...
3 months ago
The pilgrimage can be hard to navigate for first-timers, so Pakistan’s Labbaik VR offers a chance to virtually preview holy sites.
Rest of World -...
Argentina’s OnlyFans stars are becoming coaches for a new generation of performers
Lessons include tips to attract customers with provocative poses and seductive words, and how to...
6 months ago
Lessons include tips to attract customers with provocative poses and seductive words, and how to withdraw money from the platform.
Paul Graham: Essays
Chapter 2 of Ansi Common Lisp
a year ago
tomcritchlow.com
The roadmap is not the territory
Most of my consulting work connects to “marketing strategy” in some way - clients come wanting to...
a year ago
Most of my consulting work connects to “marketing strategy” in some way - clients come wanting to talk about growing their business. But the funny thing about growth and marketing is that each component is like a thread that, once pulled, unravels the whole spool.
Rest of World -...
Visa and Mastercard are pouring money into Africa
From a startup accelerator to funding startups and even investing in telecom companies, the two U.S....
9 months ago
From a startup accelerator to funding startups and even investing in telecom companies, the two U.S. giants are steadily increasing their presence on the continent.
Rest of World -...
TikTok users are chasing easy money by reposting viral videos from China
The practice goes against TikTok's policies, but "gurus," and "mentors" are exploiting the trend...
a year ago
The practice goes against TikTok's policies, but "gurus," and "mentors" are exploiting the trend with pricey training.
Rest of World -...
The music streaming app for those who can’t pay for downloads
Ad-driven Trebel has scooped up 13 million users across Latin America who don't want to pay for...
a year ago
Ad-driven Trebel has scooped up 13 million users across Latin America who don't want to pay for YouTube or Spotify.
David Perell
The Paradox of Abundance
Information abundance, like all markets of abundance, is bad for the average person but great for a...
over a year ago
Information abundance, like all markets of abundance, is bad for the average person but great for a small number of people. Abundance is a paradox. Environments of abundance are bad for the median consumer but extremely good for a small number of conscious ones. Average consumers...
Unpacked
Instagram limits political content, and Google's consumer play with Gemini
Last week, Meta announced that they will not proactively recommend political content across their...
10 months ago
Last week, Meta announced that they will not proactively recommend political content across their recommendation surfaces including Reels and Threads. We dive into criticism Meta has gotten in the past, what led Meta to this decision, the increasingly dispersed media landscape...
Varun's Notes
Don't Major in Computer Science
Or put less provocatively: college students should probably explore more than they currently do
over a year ago
Or put less provocatively: college students should probably explore more than they currently do
tomcritchlow.com
Manifesting My Dream Clients & Projects for 2024
New year, new me, new clients am I right?
11 months ago
New year, new me, new clients am I right?
Noahpinion
At least five interesting things for the middle of your week (#12)
The college shakeout, China vs. its developing neighbors, Chinese zombie companies, more fun YIMBY...
a year ago
The college shakeout, China vs. its developing neighbors, Chinese zombie companies, more fun YIMBY stuff, and the victory of the Melting Pot
Nothing Human
Marl Meetups
it is a truth universally acknowledged: a man with a mailing list must organize a meetup
a year ago
it is a truth universally acknowledged: a man with a mailing list must organize a meetup
cdixon.org RSS Feed
Pivoting into a new corporate structure
This hasn’t happened to me, but I keep hearing stories about situations like the following: 1)...
over a year ago
This hasn’t happened to me, but I keep hearing stories about situations like the following: 1) startup raises a seed financing round while…
Nadia Asparouhova
Not voting as a form of protest
Sometime at the end of last year, I wondered about what it would look like to have a mass-organized...
over a year ago
Sometime at the end of last year, I wondered about what it would look like to have a mass-organized abstention campaign. My interest in this topic was mostly casual, but in a moment of enthusiasm, I shared these thoughts on a mailing list with a bunch of creative...
Rest of World -...
South Indian temples are embracing digital donations with QR codes
Hindu temples are now accepting cashless payments for offerings, VIP tickets for festivals, and...
3 months ago
Hindu temples are now accepting cashless payments for offerings, VIP tickets for festivals, and special prayer ceremonies.
Tech + Economics +...
Red state politics are too much of a headache for tech.
Is the Texas boom town of Austin losing its luster?
During the COVID-19 pandemic, investors...
a year ago
Is the Texas boom town of Austin losing its luster?
During the COVID-19 pandemic, investors and startup founders alike
flocked to the Texas capital, attracted to the lower cost of living,
“hip” lifestyle and business-friendly environment (i.e. no state income
...
Data Boutique
Tracking How Bad The Situation At Farfetch Really Is
A case study for web data
10 months ago
A case study for web data
Aaron's Essays
Fundraising isn't predictable
I recently had a conversation with a founder who'd just finished a number of unsatisfying...
over a year ago
I recently had a conversation with a founder who'd just finished a number of unsatisfying conversations with investors. The founder's company was growing well, had crossed $1mm ARR, but still couldn't raise money. According to conventional wisdom, that should have been enough to...
Steve Blank
A Simple Map for Innovation at Scale
An edited version of this article previously appeared in the Boston Consulting Group’s strategy...
over a year ago
An edited version of this article previously appeared in the Boston Consulting Group’s strategy think tank website. I spent last week at a global Fortune 50 company offsite watching them grapple with disruption. This 100+-year-old company has seven major product divisions, each...
SatPost by Trung...
The Science and History of the iPhone Screen
In 2007, one conversation convinced Steve Jobs to pick Corning and Gorilla Glass for the iPhone.
a year ago
In 2007, one conversation convinced Steve Jobs to pick Corning and Gorilla Glass for the iPhone.
Rest of World -...
The most popular payment app in the Philippines has a side bet: online gambling
The GCash app is ubiquitous in the Philippines, and is being blamed for rising gambling addiction in...
2 months ago
The GCash app is ubiquitous in the Philippines, and is being blamed for rising gambling addiction in the country, particularly among women.
Rest of World -...
The war in Gaza is reshaping moderation rules
A new wave of appeals to Meta’s Oversight Board could have far-reaching consequences.
a year ago
A new wave of appeals to Meta’s Oversight Board could have far-reaching consequences.
Platformer
Six questions about Google Bard
The company's new large language model has arrived. Now what?
a year ago
The company's new large language model has arrived. Now what?
Platformer
Bluesky's big moment
A new Twitter clone is surging in popularity. Could it have legs?
a year ago
A new Twitter clone is surging in popularity. Could it have legs?
Noahpinion
The free world teeters on the edge of a knife
If Trump is elected, there will be no liberal great powers left in the world.
2 months ago
If Trump is elected, there will be no liberal great powers left in the world.
Platformer
Google goes to court
On the eve of a major antitrust trial — and its 25th birthday — the company is bracing for a fight
a year ago
On the eve of a major antitrust trial — and its 25th birthday — the company is bracing for a fight
Rest of World -...
What comes after big data?
A new push to carve data collection out of the humanitarian tech stack.
10 months ago
A new push to carve data collection out of the humanitarian tech stack.
Platformer
Why Substack is at a crossroads
Some thoughts on platforms and Nazis
12 months ago
Some thoughts on platforms and Nazis
Noahpinion
How tariffs on China could help the world
Looking for the silver lining in a messy policy.
4 months ago
Looking for the silver lining in a messy policy.
Rest of World -...
Chinese EV upstarts to battle Japanese heavyweights for Thailand’s pickup truck market
Toyota and Isuzu have long dominated Thailand’s pickup truck market. As they prepare to launch EV...
5 months ago
Toyota and Isuzu have long dominated Thailand’s pickup truck market. As they prepare to launch EV trucks, they face competition from Chinese firms.
Internal Tech Emails
Travis Kalanick on Google
A meeting with Larry could calm this down if it's not true but he has been avoiding any meeting with...
a year ago
A meeting with Larry could calm this down if it's not true but he has been avoiding any meeting with me since last fall.
42!
The case of WOPR and the lost code...
I got an email earlier this week from a guy reaching out after he read a post of mine on a gaming...
over a year ago
I got an email earlier this week from a guy reaching out after he read a post of mine on a gaming forum that was posted over two decades ago!
I couldn't for the life of me remember what I had said, but he reiterated that it was about a simulation that I wrote in BASIC that was...
cdixon.org RSS Feed
Crypto Tokens: A Breakthrough in Open Network Design
It is a wonderful accident of history that the internet and web were created as open platforms that...
over a year ago
It is a wonderful accident of history that the internet and web were created as open platforms that anyone — users, developers…
SatPost by Trung...
9 Creative Lessons From Virgil Abloh
Insights from the late designer who went from studying architecture, working with Kanye, founding...
3 months ago
Insights from the late designer who went from studying architecture, working with Kanye, founding Off-White and leading menswear at Louis Vuitton.
Stephen Diehl
Sunsetting "What I Wish I Knew"
over a year ago
cdixon.org RSS Feed
What the smartest people do on the weekend is what everyone else will do during the week in ten...
Many breakthrough technologies were hatched by hobbyists in garages and dorm rooms. Prominent...
over a year ago
Many breakthrough technologies were hatched by hobbyists in garages and dorm rooms. Prominent examples include the PC, the web, blogs, and…
Paul Graham: Essays
Chapter 2 of Ansi Common Lisp
a year ago
cdixon.org RSS Feed
Recruiting programmers to your startup
Here are some things I’ve learned over the years about recruiting programmers* to startups. This is...
over a year ago
Here are some things I’ve learned over the years about recruiting programmers* to startups. This is a big topic: many of the points I make…
SatPost by Trung...
Jensen Huang, Dario Amodei and Manufacturing Intelligence at Scale
PLUS: SpaceX's Starship miracle, Taco Bell's franchise model.
2 months ago
PLUS: SpaceX's Starship miracle, Taco Bell's franchise model.
Noahpinion
In which I rebut Nate Silver on the economy and Matt Yglesias on nuclear
Bloggers love to argue.
2 months ago
Noahpinion
What drove Asian and Hispanic voters to the right in 2024
A guest post by Dhaaruni Sreenivas.
a month ago
A guest post by Dhaaruni Sreenivas.
Blog posts of...
Why i am leaving my own company.
Fortunately I was able to tell this already to many people in person. But a quick public blog post...
over a year ago
Fortunately I was able to tell this already to many people in person. But a quick public blog post might help to clarify and simpl...
Rest of World -...
Apple’s reluctant shift toward India
Apple apparently sees India as a destination to assemble and sell its iPhones. But CEO Tim Cook...
a year ago
Apple apparently sees India as a destination to assemble and sell its iPhones. But CEO Tim Cook hasn’t made any big promises yet.
Platformer
Inside Discord’s reform movement for banned users
Most platforms ban their trolls forever. Discord wants to rehabilitate them
a year ago
Most platforms ban their trolls forever. Discord wants to rehabilitate them
Unpacked
Uber Ads: Accelerating the path to profitability
What makes advertising attractive is that it's a 100% margin product that can subsidize the lower...
a year ago
What makes advertising attractive is that it's a 100% margin product that can subsidize the lower margin core business.
Rest of World -...
Four predictions for 2024
It’s going to be a bumpy ride.
a year ago
It’s going to be a bumpy ride.
SatPost by Trung...
Gathering seeds
My most popular posts and tweets for 1H 2023.
a year ago
My most popular posts and tweets for 1H 2023.
Rest of World -...
Fake Russian influencers are going viral on Chinese social media
They are bolstered by growing pro-Russia, nationalist sentiment on the Chinese internet.
a year ago
They are bolstered by growing pro-Russia, nationalist sentiment on the Chinese internet.
Articles - Alex...
Thinking rationally about emotion
In advertising, using emotion is entirely logical. Creative agencies have
made this case...
4 months ago
In advertising, using emotion is entirely logical. Creative agencies have
made this case consistently. But in 2013 Les Binet and Peter Field bought
some much-needed data to the discussion. In their seminal report, The Long
and The Short of It, the duo analysed 30 years of...
Rest of World -...
How WhatsApp ate the world
WhatsApp is already the world’s most widely used messaging app. Meta wants it to be a lot more.
3 weeks ago
WhatsApp is already the world’s most widely used messaging app. Meta wants it to be a lot more.
Noahpinion
Hispanics as the new Irish
A historical analogy to help us understand the present moment.
a year ago
A historical analogy to help us understand the present moment.
Rest of World -...
Sing your way to learning a new language
Unlike apps like Duolingo, Beelinguapp focuses on storytelling and song to engage its over 5 million...
a year ago
Unlike apps like Duolingo, Beelinguapp focuses on storytelling and song to engage its over 5 million users.
Rest of World -...
What languages dominate the internet?
The one you’re reading this in, for starters.
a year ago
The one you’re reading this in, for starters.
Rest of World -...
The rise and fall of Argentina’s celebrity crypto pastor
Generación Zoe promised investors massive returns thanks to market-predicting “robots” and a...
a year ago
Generación Zoe promised investors massive returns thanks to market-predicting “robots” and a cryptocurrency backed by gold. It sounded too good to be true.
Internal Tech Emails
Elon Musk's Twitter texts
I'm not joining the board. This is a waste of time.
over a year ago
I'm not joining the board. This is a waste of time.
Platformer
Microsoft kickstarts the AI arms race
The relaunched Bing does research, writes emails, and just might hit Google where it hurts
a year ago
The relaunched Bing does research, writes emails, and just might hit Google where it hurts
Entrepreneur's Edge
Organizational Design: Balancing Technology and Operations
Understanding the Three Essential Roles for Scale
a year ago
Understanding the Three Essential Roles for Scale
Noahpinion
Turkey, you were doing so well! (repost)
An economic success story runs off the rails.
a year ago
An economic success story runs off the rails.
Paul Graham: Essays
The Trouble with the Segway
over a year ago
Steve Blank
Is a Venture Studio Right for You?
This post previously appeared in the Harvard Business Review. Three types of organizations –...
a year ago
This post previously appeared in the Harvard Business Review. Three types of organizations – Incubators, Accelerators and Venture Studios – have emerged to reduce the risk of early-stage startup failure by helping teams find product/market fit and raise initial capital. Venture...
Rest of World -...
What global investors need to know about funding Pakistani startups
Hasib Malik is the co-founder and CEO of Tiger Global-backed financial services startup CreditBook.
6 months ago
Hasib Malik is the co-founder and CEO of Tiger Global-backed financial services startup CreditBook.
Tech + Economics +...
The eternal victimhood of the right-wing mind.
The right-wing has become obsessed with what they term the 'Victimhood
Olympics.' Conservative...
a year ago
The right-wing has become obsessed with what they term the 'Victimhood
Olympics.' Conservative politicians and pundits have made a cottage
industry out of the idea that progressives indulge in a competitive display
of grievances, vying for the spotlight of sympathy and the...
Rest of World -...
Using automation to fight misinformation, starting with a menstrual health chatbot
Swapneel Mehta is the founder of the Simppl research collective, a group of students and...
6 months ago
Swapneel Mehta is the founder of the Simppl research collective, a group of students and professional programmers working on automated social media tools.
Rest of World -...
Influencers are getting young Nigerians hooked on online gambling
While sports betting is legal in Nigeria, experts say the government should have more oversight on...
a year ago
While sports betting is legal in Nigeria, experts say the government should have more oversight on the influencer culture.
Internal Tech Emails
Samsung vs. iPhone | Elon Musk's schedule
Steve Job's passing has led to a huge wave of press coverage of Apple's and iPhone's "superiority",...
over a year ago
Steve Job's passing has led to a huge wave of press coverage of Apple's and iPhone's "superiority", all created by the, "passionate, tireless, perfectionist..." The point here is that there is an unintended benefit for Apple, since the external messages by 3rd parties are all...
cdixon.org RSS Feed
Online advertising is all about purchasing intent
A while ago I dug up this quote from Business Week from 2000: But how will Google ever make money?...
over a year ago
A while ago I dug up this quote from Business Week from 2000: But how will Google ever make money? There’s the rub. The company’s adamant…
SatPost by Trung...
11 Creative Lessons from Brian Eno
The legendary composer on the creative process, importance of deadlines, problem with software in...
a year ago
The legendary composer on the creative process, importance of deadlines, problem with software in arts and what is art actually for?
essay – snarfed.org
Content negotiation considered harmful
Matilda, 1996 Content negotiation is a feature of HTTP that lets clients ask for, and servers...
a year ago
Matilda, 1996 Content negotiation is a feature of HTTP that lets clients ask for, and servers return, different content types based on the request’s Accept header. Sounds great, right? Well, no. Content negotiation is the classic example of an idea that sounds good in theory, but...
Noahpinion
Let's evaluate Kamala Harris' entire economic policy program!
Fun!!
3 months ago
Platformer
The synthetic social network is coming
Between ChatGPT’s surprisingly human voice and Meta’s AI characters, our feeds may be about to...
a year ago
Between ChatGPT’s surprisingly human voice and Meta’s AI characters, our feeds may be about to change forever
Internal Tech Emails
"Things Sam is freaking out about"
buying SNAP
a year ago
Blog posts of...
Startup Mentoring Sessions: How to be a decent, maybe even good startup mentor.
How to be the perfect startup mentor? I don’t know. But following the best practices mentioned in...
over a year ago
How to be the perfect startup mentor? I don’t know. But following the best practices mentioned in this article I got personally at...
Noahpinion
Why trying to "shape" AI innovation to protect workers is a bad idea
Instead, we should empower workers and create mechanisms for redistribution.
a year ago
Instead, we should empower workers and create mechanisms for redistribution.
David Perell
People Don’t Actually Read
People don’t read as much as they say they do. This trend is accelerating too. I’m in a friend group...
over a year ago
People don’t read as much as they say they do. This trend is accelerating too. I’m in a friend group of intellectually curious people, and just about everybody says they’re reading fewer books than they used to. But at the risk of sounding like your 5th grade English teacher,...
Rest of World -...
TikTok creators are being arrested for violating religious laws in Nigeria
Digital rights advocates say social media companies like TikTok have a responsibility to protect...
a year ago
Digital rights advocates say social media companies like TikTok have a responsibility to protect their users in these situations.
Rest of World -...
Instagram account hacked? “Ethical hackers” will get it back
Meta’s account recovery process is so complicated that people are paying experts to do it for them.
a year ago
Meta’s account recovery process is so complicated that people are paying experts to do it for them.
Aaron's Essays
I and We
Starting a company is, in large part, an act of ego. When that business is a startup, the ego...
over a year ago
Starting a company is, in large part, an act of ego. When that business is a startup, the ego component is even larger. This is a good thing.
Ego is what gives the founder the confidence to create something new. Ego powers the belief that the new thing the founder creates will...
Essays - Benedict...
The FTC versus tech M&A
The US is fundamentally rethinking its approach to regulating competition,
and M&A, and tech, and...
over a year ago
The US is fundamentally rethinking its approach to regulating competition,
and M&A, and tech, and big tech buying startups. The FTC’s attempt to block
Meta from buying Within is a test case for all of this. So, how many
interesting problems can we count?
SatPost by Trung...
5 Good Evergreen Podcasts
Baller topics include food, explorers, record labels, Vietnam War films and iconic sounds.
a year ago
Baller topics include food, explorers, record labels, Vietnam War films and iconic sounds.
Noahpinion
The positive case for Joe Biden
It's not just about being anti-Trump.
8 months ago
It's not just about being anti-Trump.
Working Theorys
Cool Self
There are a lot of theories about the meaning of life. About what we go through life searching for....
5 months ago
There are a lot of theories about the meaning of life. About what we go through life searching for. What we’re lucky if we find. Some of these theories give us answers, but many prompt us to ask more questions. Recently I’ve landed on my own theory, one rooted in a kind of common...
Essays - Benedict...
Who cares about tech regulation?
Tech regulation gets a lot of headlines, and seems like a big deal, but
most people in tech don’t...
9 months ago
Tech regulation gets a lot of headlines, and seems like a big deal, but
most people in tech don’t seem to care much. It’s boring, and years away,
but more fundamentally, it really doesn’t affect what people spend their
time working on.
cdixon.org RSS Feed
The tragedy of the anticommons
Seems very relevant to today’s music industry, and potentially relevant to the internet/software...
over a year ago
Seems very relevant to today’s music industry, and potentially relevant to the internet/software industry in the near future as patent…
Data Boutique
Stop Scraping H&M (And Other Things Live on Data Boutique)
Web Scraped Data Catalog June 2023
a year ago
Web Scraped Data Catalog June 2023
Internal Tech Emails
Mark Zuckerberg: Could Facebook move faster?
In China there is this strong culture of cloning things quickly and building lots of different...
over a year ago
In China there is this strong culture of cloning things quickly and building lots of different products instead of just focusing on one thing at a time. This allows them to plant lots of seeds, and although it yields lower quality products in the short term as they're cloning and...
Unpacked
Apple's (reluctant) App Store changes, and Semafor tries AI news
This week, we dive into two meaty topics. First, we dig into Apple’s recent App Store changes to...
10 months ago
This week, we dive into two meaty topics. First, we dig into Apple’s recent App Store changes to support third party payments in the US (sort of), and additionally support side-loading of apps (i.e. supporting non-Apple app stores) in the EU. Spoiler: Apple is pushing the limits...
Aaron's Essays
The Hindsight Game
There are all kinds of strategies for evaluating startup ideas - investors talk about having a...
a year ago
There are all kinds of strategies for evaluating startup ideas - investors talk about having a “prepared mind,” others build market maps, I like to think about toys, and we could go on. What everyone wants to do is predict the future. That’s honestly impossible. But we can...
cdixon.org RSS Feed
“The typical path of how people respond to life-changing inventions
I’ve never heard of it. I’ve heard of it but don’t understand it. I understand it, but I don’t see...
over a year ago
I’ve never heard of it. I’ve heard of it but don’t understand it. I understand it, but I don’t see how it’s useful. I see how it could be…
SatPost by Trung...
The speed of information
Putting social media coverage of Israel-Palestine into historical context.
a year ago
Putting social media coverage of Israel-Palestine into historical context.
cdixon.org RSS Feed
Platform distribution risks
When your product extends a platform’s functionality, one of the main risks you face is that the...
over a year ago
When your product extends a platform’s functionality, one of the main risks you face is that the platform could embed your product’s key…
42!
Founders - Don't just build another job for yourself
I was having pre-Christmas lunch with Paul*, one of my best friends from middle school a couple of...
over a year ago
I was having pre-Christmas lunch with Paul*, one of my best friends from middle school a couple of weeks back. However, as soon as he sat down at our table and I asked him how he was, he surprisingly announced that he would be closing his business at the end of the year.
I was...
Business Brainstorms
A/B QR, how to run a business, airport rides, high-growth Asia-Pacific companies, lessons from Keith...
Hey, this is Jakob Greenfeld, author of the Business Brainstorms newsletter - every week I write...
a year ago
Hey, this is Jakob Greenfeld, author of the Business Brainstorms newsletter - every week I write this email to share the most interesting trends, frameworks, opportunities, and ideas with you. Let's dive in! 💡 Opportunities “i want to go to a doctor that will run every single...
Dustin Curtis
Building new worlds
Earlier this summer, the New York Times published an opinion piece titled The World Is a Mess. We...
over a year ago
Earlier this summer, the New York Times published an opinion piece titled The World Is a Mess. We Need Fully Automated Luxury Communism, by Aaron Bastani:
To say the present era is one of crisis borders on cliché. We inhabit a world of low growth, low productivity and low wages,...
Varun's Notes
Where Are the Good AI Products?
On waiting for AI's Godot.
10 months ago
On waiting for AI's Godot.
Ed Zitron's Where's...
CrowdStruck
Soundtrack: EL-P - Tasmanian Pain Coaster (feat. Omar Rodriguez-Lopez & Cedric Bixler-Zavala)
When I...
5 months ago
Soundtrack: EL-P - Tasmanian Pain Coaster (feat. Omar Rodriguez-Lopez & Cedric Bixler-Zavala)
When I first began writing this newsletter, I didn't really have a goal, or a "theme," or anything that could neatly characterize what I was going to write about other than that I was
cdixon.org RSS Feed
Later-stage rounds and “setting the bar too high”
I recently had a number of conversations with CEOs of later-stage startups (generating significant...
over a year ago
I recently had a number of conversations with CEOs of later-stage startups (generating significant revenue) that went something like this…
Roberto Vitillo's...
Leader election best practices
Sometimes a single process in a system needs to have special powers, like being the only one that...
over a year ago
Sometimes a single process in a system needs to have special powers, like being the only one that can access a shared resource or assign…
Paul Graham: Essays
Five Questions about Language Design
over a year ago
Blog posts of...
Refactoring larger legacy codebases
This article is based on a comment of mine to a HackerNews question. Thought it might be useful to...
over a year ago
This article is based on a comment of mine to a HackerNews question. Thought it might be useful to explain it here a bit more in d...
Internal Tech Emails
Sundar's meeting with Tim
Tim’s overall message to Google was “I imagine us as being able to be deep deep partners; deeply...
a year ago
Tim’s overall message to Google was “I imagine us as being able to be deep deep partners; deeply connected where our services end and yours begin and sees no natural impediment to us doing more together. Knows there is a past but doesn’t feel encumbered by it and wants to figure...
cdixon.org RSS Feed
Understanding your market
Some startups become huge sensations without requiring any active marketing – YouTube, Skype, and...
over a year ago
Some startups become huge sensations without requiring any active marketing – YouTube, Skype, and Twitter come to mind. However, the vast…
Rest of World -...
ShopeeFood drops non-compete clause after Rest of World reporting
Drivers for the Vietnam delivery company had used workarounds but feared detection. After Rest of...
9 months ago
Drivers for the Vietnam delivery company had used workarounds but feared detection. After Rest of World's reporting, the clause was dropped.
Rest of World -...
Bangladesh’s internet blackout immobilizes its booming tech industry
The government and internet service providers blame each other for the blackout amid massive...
5 months ago
The government and internet service providers blame each other for the blackout amid massive protests.
David Perell
Coolest Things I Learned in 2020
This is a collection of the most popular ideas I shared in 2020.
The post Coolest Things I Learned...
over a year ago
This is a collection of the most popular ideas I shared in 2020.
The post Coolest Things I Learned in 2020 appeared first on David Perell.
cdixon.org RSS Feed
How Aristotle Created the Computer
The philosophers he influenced set the stage for the technological revolution that remade our world....
over a year ago
The philosophers he influenced set the stage for the technological revolution that remade our world. Originally published by The Atlantic…
Tech + Economics +...
There is only one form of passive income worth celebrating. It’s a UBI.
The romanticised notion of passive income typically conjures up picturesque
images of digital...
a year ago
The romanticised notion of passive income typically conjures up picturesque
images of digital nomads lounging on immaculate beaches, their bank
accounts growing with the profits from their latest online course on
becoming a digital nomad.
Dividends from investments in...
cdixon.org RSS Feed
Google should open source what actually matters: their search ranking algorithm
Websites live or die based on how a small group of programmers at Google decide their sites should...
over a year ago
Websites live or die based on how a small group of programmers at Google decide their sites should rank in Google’s main search results. As…
Rest of World -...
How this mental health care app is using ChatGPT to improve its chatbot
Andrea Campos is the founder and CEO of Yana, a mental health care app and chatbot for Spanish and...
7 months ago
Andrea Campos is the founder and CEO of Yana, a mental health care app and chatbot for Spanish and English speakers.
Working Theorys
The Granny Hobby Protocol
And the hands-on, thumbs-off economy
9 months ago
And the hands-on, thumbs-off economy
cdixon.org RSS Feed
Shoehorning startups into the VC model
Tech startups go in an out of fashion. When they’re in fashion, as they are now, entrepreneurs and...
over a year ago
Tech startups go in an out of fashion. When they’re in fashion, as they are now, entrepreneurs and VCs get lots of attention. Most of this…
cdixon.org RSS Feed
Ideal first round funding terms
My last 2 posts were about things to avoid, so I thought it might be helpful to follow up with...
over a year ago
My last 2 posts were about things to avoid, so I thought it might be helpful to follow up with something more positive. Having been part of…
Ed Zitron's Where's...
The Subprime AI Crisis
None of what I write in this newsletter is about sowing doubt or "hating," but a sober evaluation of...
3 months ago
None of what I write in this newsletter is about sowing doubt or "hating," but a sober evaluation of where we are today and where we may end up on the current path. I believe that the artificial intelligence boom — which would be better described as a
AVC
Sleep
I got an Oura ring a couple of years ago and have been working on improving my sleep and sleep...
a year ago
I got an Oura ring a couple of years ago and have been working on improving my sleep and sleep habits ever since. For much of my adult life, I have been a poor sleeper. I have always been able to fall asleep quickly, but I have been plagued by two sleep issues. The first […]
Internal Tech Emails
Barry Diller: Facebook is trying to "steal" Tinder's cofounder
Their attempts to hire Sean away from us potentially indicate they believe something like Tinder...
over a year ago
Their attempts to hire Sean away from us potentially indicate they believe something like Tinder could be replicated by them. I’d like to avoid that, though I don’t know that FB itself makes it that much more likely to succeed than anyone else.
Essays - Benedict...
Metaverse! Metaverse? Metaverse!!
‘Metaverse’ is the buzzword of the moment, yet it doesn’t really exist as
more than a label on a...
over a year ago
‘Metaverse’ is the buzzword of the moment, yet it doesn’t really exist as
more than a label on a whiteboard, and many of the ideas it tries to
combine might not happen, or not like that. This might be the new
‘information highway.’ But however it works, some kind of...
David Perell
Lifting Alone
Gyms were once communal places. Nobody wore headphones. People helped each other out and talked...
over a year ago
Gyms were once communal places. Nobody wore headphones. People helped each other out and talked between sets. Today, things have changed. Everybody is plugged into their own virtual reality world where they craft their desired mood and intensity level, which definitely gives...
Rest of World -...
Uber drivers are melting amid Nigeria’s historic heat wave and record fuel prices
As temperatures soar and fuel prices triple, drivers are having to choose between their health and...
9 months ago
As temperatures soar and fuel prices triple, drivers are having to choose between their health and livelihood.
cdixon.org RSS Feed
Old VC firms: get ready to be disrupted
If the U.S. economy were a company, the VC industry would be the R&D department. The financing for...
over a year ago
If the U.S. economy were a company, the VC industry would be the R&D department. The financing for the VC industry comes from so-called LPs…
Noahpinion
Once again: Imports do not subtract from GDP
I've explained it before, and I'll keep explaining it until the world understands.
3 months ago
I've explained it before, and I'll keep explaining it until the world understands.
Ed Zitron's Where's...
Pop Culture
A week and a half ago, Goldman Sachs put out a 31-page-report (titled "Gen AI: Too Much Spend, Too...
5 months ago
A week and a half ago, Goldman Sachs put out a 31-page-report (titled "Gen AI: Too Much Spend, Too Little Benefit?”) that includes some of the most damning literature on generative AI I've ever seen. And yes, that sound you hear is the slow deflation of
Platformer
How Sundar Pichai is thinking about AI
Three takeaways about Google's approach to this moment, after an interview with Google's CEO
a year ago
Three takeaways about Google's approach to this moment, after an interview with Google's CEO
cdixon.org RSS Feed
Some thoughts on incumbents
Reposted from Oct 7, 2010 from cdixon.posterous.com By “incumbents” I mean the big companies that...
over a year ago
Reposted from Oct 7, 2010 from cdixon.posterous.com By “incumbents” I mean the big companies that are loosely competitive to your startup…
Rest of World -...
Scale AI is on a hiring spree for speakers of under-represented languages
But some languages pay a lot better than others.
a year ago
But some languages pay a lot better than others.
Rest of World -...
Turn it up: Rest of World’s 2023 global party playlist
Impress your friends by queuing up these chart-topping pop songs from the countries we cover.
a year ago
Impress your friends by queuing up these chart-topping pop songs from the countries we cover.
cdixon.org RSS Feed
Three types of acquisitions
There are three types of technology acquisitions: - Talent. When the acquirer just wants the team...
over a year ago
There are three types of technology acquisitions: - Talent. When the acquirer just wants the team (generally just engineers and sometimes…
Rest of World -...
India’s persistent, gendered digital divide
As the government moves towards gender parity, India’s glaring digital gap is an extension of all...
a year ago
As the government moves towards gender parity, India’s glaring digital gap is an extension of all the biases women contend with.
Steve Blank
Security Clearances at the Speed of Startups
Imagine you got a job offer from a company but weren’t allowed to start work – or get paid – for...
4 months ago
Imagine you got a job offer from a company but weren’t allowed to start work – or get paid – for almost a year. And if you can’t pass a security clearance your offer is rescinded. Or you get offered an internship but can’t work on the most interesting part of the project. Sounds...
Platformer
Reddit goes dark
As it moves to shut down third-party apps, the site’s self-governing ethos comes back to haunt it
a year ago
As it moves to shut down third-party apps, the site’s self-governing ethos comes back to haunt it
Tech + Economics +...
Elon Musk’s freedom from consequences is once again denied.
Elon Musk's X Corp. has hit a snag trying to block California's AB 587, a
law that aims to clean...
a year ago
Elon Musk's X Corp. has hit a snag trying to block California's AB 587, a
law that aims to clean up the online environment by requiring transparency
in content moderation.
Peter Blumberg and Malathi Nayak in Bloomberg
In an eight-page ruling Thursday, a federal...
haseeb qureshi
The Life and Death of Plasma
By Haseeb Qureshi and Ashwin Ramachandran
It was August 2017. The price of Ether was near an all...
over a year ago
By Haseeb Qureshi and Ashwin Ramachandran
It was August 2017. The price of Ether was near an all time high, the Ethereum blockchain was exploding with usage, and the chain was buckling under the ever increasing demand. Researchers and developers were frantically searching for new...
Noahpinion
At least five interesting things: Build Something, Dammit! (#56)
Power vs. abundance; Chinese espionage; U.S. manufacturing woes; the growth of good jobs; Milei's...
4 days ago
Power vs. abundance; Chinese espionage; U.S. manufacturing woes; the growth of good jobs; Milei's successes
Rest of World -...
Scan to donate: Brazil’s instant digital payment system brings relief to flood victims
As flooding battered the country, Pix became the most popular way to send and receive aid — and a...
7 months ago
As flooding battered the country, Pix became the most popular way to send and receive aid — and a target for scammers.
Business Brainstorms
💡 Business Brainstorms 💡- My favorite ideas of the week
#1 💡 Andrej Karpathy announced that he’s building an AI + education company.
5 months ago
#1 💡 Andrej Karpathy announced that he’s building an AI + education company.
Noahpinion
At least five interesting things to start your week (#47)
Germany's mistakes; U.S. political parties; the VC winter; austerity; science and politics; TikTok...
4 months ago
Germany's mistakes; U.S. political parties; the VC winter; austerity; science and politics; TikTok propaganda; desalination
Platformer
Nine wild details from the new Elon Musk biography
Walter Isaacson brings new tales of Jack Dorsey, that Sergey Brin selfie, and more
a year ago
Walter Isaacson brings new tales of Jack Dorsey, that Sergey Brin selfie, and more
Stephen Diehl
Reflecting on Haskell in 2015
over a year ago
Rest of World -...
India’s election wasn’t the deepfake doomsday many feared
So far, AI-generated content has been more about trolling than information warfare.
7 months ago
So far, AI-generated content has been more about trolling than information warfare.
Paul Graham: Essays
Lisp for Web-Based Applications
over a year ago
Paul Graham: Essays
Chapter 1 of Ansi Common Lisp
a year ago
cdixon.org RSS Feed
Apple and the TV industry
The TV industry is a major segment of the consumer electronics industry and Apple is the leading...
over a year ago
The TV industry is a major segment of the consumer electronics industry and Apple is the leading consumer electronics company in the world…
David Perell
How I’ve Studied the Bible
Years ago, I realized that the Bible is the foundational book of Western civilization. If I was...
a year ago
Years ago, I realized that the Bible is the foundational book of Western civilization. If I was going to be an educated person, I needed to know what it said.
The post How I’ve Studied the Bible appeared first on David Perell.
Rest of World -...
Why Mexico’s delivery workers are ditching food for packages
As the popularity of Chinese e-commerce platforms grows, some gig workers are finding it more...
5 months ago
As the popularity of Chinese e-commerce platforms grows, some gig workers are finding it more appealing to deliver packages than food orders.
tomcritchlow.com
Clients Have a Surprising Amount of Detail
There’s a wonderful blog post called “Reality has a surprising amount of detail” which talks about...
a year ago
There’s a wonderful blog post called “Reality has a surprising amount of detail” which talks about how interesting the world is and how much depth there is to every concept. Here’s a quote about boiling water:
cdixon.org RSS Feed
Proprietary services vs open protocols
over a year ago
Business Brainstorms
💡 Business Brainstorms 💡- My favorite ideas of the week
#1 💡 It’s an easy trap to start making excuses when sales velocity is slow. It’s almost always a...
8 months ago
#1 💡 It’s an easy trap to start making excuses when sales velocity is slow. It’s almost always a symptom of a fundamental issue, not an unchangeable feature of the system. The one things missing from the growth model described here is prompts. In Brian Fogg’s model: B = MAP,...
Noahpinion
Realistically, how much damage could Trump do to the U.S. economy?
The biggest risks are all about debt and inflation.
2 months ago
The biggest risks are all about debt and inflation.
Tech + Economics +...
The worst part of tech layoffs? The corporate bullshit.
EBay to eliminate about 1,000 jobs, or 9% of full-time workforce
Jamie Iannone, eBay’s CEO,...
11 months ago
EBay to eliminate about 1,000 jobs, or 9% of full-time workforce
Jamie Iannone, eBay’s CEO, told employees in a letter published on a
corporate blog, that the company will also “scale back the number of
contracts we have within our alternate workforce over the...
cdixon.org RSS Feed
Building products from improvised user behaviors
For a long time, there were niche communities of “lo-fi” camera enthusiasts: people who shared...
over a year ago
For a long time, there were niche communities of “lo-fi” camera enthusiasts: people who shared photos taken on old cameras that had…
Noahpinion
An Age of Austerity is probably on the way
It's not the 2010s anymore.
a year ago
It's not the 2010s anymore.
cdixon.org RSS Feed
The idea maze for AI startups
An “idea maze” is a map of all the key decisions and tradeoffs that startups in a given space need...
over a year ago
An “idea maze” is a map of all the key decisions and tradeoffs that startups in a given space need to make: A good founder is capable of…
Rest of World -...
The SoftBank-backed fintech that helped Nigerians through a cash crisis is eyeing “innovative...
Olu Akanmu, co-CEO and president of OPay Nigeria, on the importance of cloud infrastructure and the...
a year ago
Olu Akanmu, co-CEO and president of OPay Nigeria, on the importance of cloud infrastructure and the company’s future plans.
Varun's Notes
Attention Traps
Can we find needles of signal in the Web's infinite haystack of noise?
a year ago
Can we find needles of signal in the Web's infinite haystack of noise?
Stephen Diehl
In Praise of 'Line Goes Up'
over a year ago
cdixon.org RSS Feed
“It is the human friction that makes the sparks”
From Jonah Lehrer, Brainstorming Doesn’t Really Work (via Stowe Boyd): Building 20 [a scene of...
over a year ago
From Jonah Lehrer, Brainstorming Doesn’t Really Work (via Stowe Boyd): Building 20 [a scene of incredible innovation at MIT] and…
Platformer
OpenAI's alignment problem
The company's board failed the institution. But did it have a point?
a year ago
The company's board failed the institution. But did it have a point?
Blog posts of...
Drafting your first investment round.
The topic of investing is omnipresent in our startup world. Sooner or later most startup founders...
over a year ago
The topic of investing is omnipresent in our startup world. Sooner or later most startup founders look for external funding. And i...
Noahpinion
Why Trump (or Harris) might fail to stand up to China
A very real possibility that more people need to be worried about.
5 months ago
A very real possibility that more people need to be worried about.
Unpacked
NVIDIA Explained: Origins, GPUs and AI stock bump | EP8
NVIDIA has seen their valuation 5x over the last 5 years and is now worth more than $2 trillion. In...
9 months ago
NVIDIA has seen their valuation 5x over the last 5 years and is now worth more than $2 trillion. In the latest episode, we dive a few layers deep into the company. We start with the origin of the company and the launch of their first GPU in 1999 which unlocked several...
Platformer
How OpenAI is building a path toward AI agents
Building a GPT-based copy editor showcases their promise — but the risks ahead are real
a year ago
Building a GPT-based copy editor showcases their promise — but the risks ahead are real
Rest of World -...
The SoftBank-backed company that lets you buy glasses over WhatsApp
The Indian eyewear company, Lenskart, is now an Asian giant.
a year ago
The Indian eyewear company, Lenskart, is now an Asian giant.
Noahpinion
At least five interesting things for your weekend (#41)
Soviet America (or not); the energy revolution; Trump's tax cuts; the Build-Nothing Country; macro...
6 months ago
Soviet America (or not); the energy revolution; Trump's tax cuts; the Build-Nothing Country; macro data mysteries
Ed Zitron's Where's...
The Other Bubble
Buried in the 8000 words I wrote last week was a worrying story — that Microsoft considered drastic...
3 months ago
Buried in the 8000 words I wrote last week was a worrying story — that Microsoft considered drastic measures to free up capacity in its US-based servers for GPUs to power the AI boom.
In an email shared with me by a source from earlier this year, Microsoft'
cdixon.org RSS Feed
Is now a good time to start a company?
Back in 2006, my co-founder at Hunch, Caterina Fake, wrote a blog post called “It’s a bad time to...
over a year ago
Back in 2006, my co-founder at Hunch, Caterina Fake, wrote a blog post called “It’s a bad time to start a company.” There were no doubt…
Ed Zitron's Where's...
Matt Stoller Explains Monopolies
The latest episode of my podcast Better Online is a conversation with Matt Stoller — America’s...
4 months ago
The latest episode of my podcast Better Online is a conversation with Matt Stoller — America’s leading voice on monopoly and antitrust matters, and a thoughtful and prolific writer. You can find Matt on Twitter here, and his newsletter here.
It was a timely conversation. At the
Rest of World -...
Can a church exist exclusively on the internet?
Inside the emerging virtual-preaching economy in internet-obsessed Kenya.
5 months ago
Inside the emerging virtual-preaching economy in internet-obsessed Kenya.
cdixon.org RSS Feed
Making industries “garage ready” for startups
One of the most important events in the history of modern computing was the advent of...
over a year ago
One of the most important events in the history of modern computing was the advent of “fabless” (“fabrication-less”) semiconductor companies…
cdixon.org RSS Feed
What jobs are users hiring your product to perform?
One of Clay Christensen’s favorite concepts is that instead of dividing your customers into segments...
over a year ago
One of Clay Christensen’s favorite concepts is that instead of dividing your customers into segments and asking which features each segment…
Business Brainstorms
💡 Business Brainstorms 💡- My favorite ideas of the week
🛳️ Cruise hustles
5 months ago
Aaron's Essays
Things that aren't progress
A few months ago, I wrote about things that look like work, but aren't. As I paid more attention to...
over a year ago
A few months ago, I wrote about things that look like work, but aren't. As I paid more attention to founders doing these things, I started thinking about why they were happening. I realized that the behaviors were largely a function of bad goal setting.
When founders choose bad...
Steve Blank
What Does Product Market Fit Sound Like? This.
I got a call from an ex-student asking me “how do you know when you found product market fit?”...
2 months ago
I got a call from an ex-student asking me “how do you know when you found product market fit?” There’s been lots of words written about it, but no actual recordings of the moment. I remembered I had saved this 90 second, 26 year-old audio file because this is when I knew we had...
Unpacked
IRS Direct Tax Filing: the end of Intuit's lobbying
Thirty-eight years since the launch of e-filing, the IRS will pilot its own tax filing system ending...
a year ago
Thirty-eight years since the launch of e-filing, the IRS will pilot its own tax filing system ending two decades of Intuit's regulatory capture of the tax software market
Stephen Diehl
The Non-Innovation of Cryptocurrency
over a year ago
SatPost by Trung...
YouTube: The Learning Machine
Can YouTube have a similar impact on education as the printing press did? Yes, and the explosion of...
8 months ago
Can YouTube have a similar impact on education as the printing press did? Yes, and the explosion of sports footage on the platform helps to explain why.
Rest of World -...
Shein and MercadoLibre are fighting over vendors in Brazil’s largest garment market
After the pandemic pushed Brazilian manufacturers and store owners to digitize their businesses,...
8 months ago
After the pandemic pushed Brazilian manufacturers and store owners to digitize their businesses, e-commerce platforms began pulling out all the stops to lure vendors.
Noahpinion
At least five interesting things for your weekend (#46)
Morning in America; Trump's bad vibes; Japan's chip industry; Biden and abundance; native-born...
4 months ago
Morning in America; Trump's bad vibes; Japan's chip industry; Biden and abundance; native-born employment; redistribution; transit costs
essay – snarfed.org
Sleep is so weird
Ian Dyball Our bodies are designed such that we need to lose consciousness, entirely, for a full...
11 months ago
Ian Dyball Our bodies are designed such that we need to lose consciousness, entirely, for a full third of every day. This is evidently necessary for some kind of regular brain maintenance, maybe forming long term memories, who knows what else. If we don’t sleep, we quickly become...
cdixon.org RSS Feed
a16z
VCs are experts at analyzing industries and identifying new opportunities, which is why it’s odd...
over a year ago
VCs are experts at analyzing industries and identifying new opportunities, which is why it’s odd that the VC industry itself has so…
haseeb qureshi
DeFi in Eth2: Cities, suburbs, and farms
Ethereum today is incredibly congested—it’s even more congested now than it was during the height of...
over a year ago
Ethereum today is incredibly congested—it’s even more congested now than it was during the height of the ICO bubble.
This is impressive, but also worrying! Ethereum 2.0 is still a ways away, but the tiny island of Ethereum 1.0 is already populated to the point of...
Paul Graham: Essays
Is There Such a Thing as Good Taste?
over a year ago
Rest of World -...
The AI job interviewer will see you now
AI interview services say they’re eliminating bias — but not everyone agrees.
5 months ago
AI interview services say they’re eliminating bias — but not everyone agrees.
Rest of World -...
The deepfake election nightmare hasn’t happened. Singapore still wants to ban them
Following South Korea’s lead, Singapore intends to ban deepfakes ahead of upcoming elections,...
4 months ago
Following South Korea’s lead, Singapore intends to ban deepfakes ahead of upcoming elections, despite concerns of curbing freedom of speech.
cdixon.org RSS Feed
Is it a tech bubble?
Every week a “we are in a tech bubble” article seems to come out in a major newspaper or blog....
over a year ago
Every week a “we are in a tech bubble” article seems to come out in a major newspaper or blog. People who argue we aren’t in a bubble are…
Rest of World -...
Mexico’s $100-billion auto parts industry is reinventing itself for the EV era
Behind the excitement around electrification, Mexican manufacturers are figuring out what their own...
a year ago
Behind the excitement around electrification, Mexican manufacturers are figuring out what their own transition will look like.
Working Theorys
Full-Stack Something | Theory No. 17
I've realized that one thing I really enjoy about writing is that I can do it all myself. Usually...
a year ago
I've realized that one thing I really enjoy about writing is that I can do it all myself. Usually people tell you this isn't a good mentality to have — the desire to be self-sufficient. But I disagree. Whether it's writing, building products, etc. — I think it's good to be...
Rest of World -...
PETA is building robot elephants for Hindu temples
For centuries, elephants have been captured to live in temples. Animal rights groups say replacing...
3 months ago
For centuries, elephants have been captured to live in temples. Animal rights groups say replacing them with robots will minimize animal cruelty and risks to humans.
Paul Graham: Essays
This Year We Can End the Death Penalty in California
over a year ago
Rest of World -...
Fake news verification tools fail the test during elections in India
Rest of World tested 11 leading WhatsApp-based chatbots that promise to help Indian voters identify...
7 months ago
Rest of World tested 11 leading WhatsApp-based chatbots that promise to help Indian voters identify misinformation. There were long delays and inconsistencies in responses even for content that can easily be identified as AI-generated and fake.
AVC
How This Ends (Part Three)
The venture capital sector has been in a sustained downturn for almost eighteen months. How does...
a year ago
The venture capital sector has been in a sustained downturn for almost eighteen months. How does this downturn end? Well, it may have already ended, but let’s see about that. We will know for sure in a few quarters. The NASDAQ peaked at roughly 16,000 in November 2021. By June...
Rest of World -...
23 Rest of World stories that defined 2023
This year, Rest of World published around 500 articles from more than 50 countries. Here are our...
a year ago
This year, Rest of World published around 500 articles from more than 50 countries. Here are our favorites.
Blog posts of...
Managing Remote Teams - A Crash Course
Hey folks, I haven’t been blogging for quite some time, so everything is a bit rusty for me, but i...
over a year ago
Hey folks, I haven’t been blogging for quite some time, so everything is a bit rusty for me, but i thought this article might be u...
Noahpinion
Yes, Americans are much richer than Japanese people
GDP is not a perfect guide to wealth, but it's pretty darn good.
a week ago
GDP is not a perfect guide to wealth, but it's pretty darn good.
Rest of World -...
A step counter, but for your prayers
At least 20 apps exist to help Muslims track their dhikrs, a form of Islamic worship in which people...
3 months ago
At least 20 apps exist to help Muslims track their dhikrs, a form of Islamic worship in which people repeat prayers and holy phrases.
Aaron's Essays
Fooled by experts
Experts are generally right until they're wrong. Unfortunately, it's very easy to get fooled into...
over a year ago
Experts are generally right until they're wrong. Unfortunately, it's very easy to get fooled into thinking that experts are always right. This is because they are...experts. They are authoritative and knowledgeable. This is especially true when it comes to trying new things in...
Articles - Alex...
The age of average (encore)
The shift to music streaming has led to songs getting shorter, music
getting less melodically...
9 months ago
The shift to music streaming has led to songs getting shorter, music
getting less melodically diverse and lyrics getting more repetitive. Or to
put it another way, just as our visual culture has become more homogeneous,
so too has the music that accompanies it. Let’s run...
Noahpinion
Secrets of Japanese urbanism (part 2)
A review of "Emergent Tokyo", by Jorge Almazan and Studiolab
9 months ago
A review of "Emergent Tokyo", by Jorge Almazan and Studiolab
Rest of World -...
Pakistani YouTubers are exposing the dangers of illegal migration to Europe
Political instability, economic crisis, natural disasters, and the promise of a better life abroad...
a year ago
Political instability, economic crisis, natural disasters, and the promise of a better life abroad compel Pakistanis to risk everything.
cdixon.org RSS Feed
Information is the (other) currency of venture capital
Many seasoned entrepreneurs have had the following experience. A VC eagerly wants to meet with you....
over a year ago
Many seasoned entrepreneurs have had the following experience. A VC eagerly wants to meet with you. You have what seems like a very good…
Paul Graham: Essays
How to Convince Investors
over a year ago
Aaron's Essays
Investors and their incentives
It is incredibly important to understand the incentives of investors when you are raising money....
over a year ago
It is incredibly important to understand the incentives of investors when you are raising money. This used to be fairly easy - you raised money from Venture Capitalists who wanted to see a big return on their investment. The best of these investors were incredibly focused on...
David Perell
What Networks Whisper
Every city changes you. San Francisco tells you to be powerful, LA tells you to be famous, Boston...
over a year ago
Every city changes you. San Francisco tells you to be powerful, LA tells you to be famous, Boston tells you to be smarter, and New York tells you to be richer. In the words of Paul Graham, “every city whispers something.” So when you choose to live in a city, you’re also...
cdixon.org RSS Feed
It’s hard to believe today, but 10 years ago Wikipedia was widely considered a doomed experiment…
Today, Wikipedia is widely considered an invaluable resource. There are occasional errors and...
over a year ago
Today, Wikipedia is widely considered an invaluable resource. There are occasional errors and controversies, but for the most part it…
Working Theorys
In Defense of 'Tarpit Ideas'
In the startup world, there’s a term called “tarpit ideas.” These ideas look enticing at first. They...
6 months ago
In the startup world, there’s a term called “tarpit ideas.” These ideas look enticing at first. They have universal surface appeal, but they end up being huge drains on time and resources, and ultimately, they fail. The common trope is that young, first-time founders pursue...
Platformer
The Biden administration turns its attention toward AI
The Commerce Department asks for public comment. Here are three problems it should consider
a year ago
The Commerce Department asks for public comment. Here are three problems it should consider
Working Theorys
30 and Retirable
P.S. It’s not just about being retirable, but being more retirable than your neighbor.
4 months ago
P.S. It’s not just about being retirable, but being more retirable than your neighbor.
Rest of World -...
How Mexico learned to stop worrying and love EVs
Despite its standing as a global auto manufacturing power, Mexico’s position as a hub for electric...
a year ago
Despite its standing as a global auto manufacturing power, Mexico’s position as a hub for electric vehicles was far from given until recently.
Business Brainstorms
Operational Minimalism, Zero shame in pulling the plug, OpenAI blog posts, ...
Welcome to another edition of Business Brainstorms - your weekly dose of invaluable insights, trends...
a year ago
Welcome to another edition of Business Brainstorms - your weekly dose of invaluable insights, trends and opportunities served up fresh from the cerebral kitchen of Jakob Greenfeld. Time to brainstorm! 💡 Opportunities “Whoever can find out how to crack the operational hurdles of...
Stephen Diehl
Exotic Programming Ideas: Part 2 (Term Rewriting)
over a year ago
Ed Zitron's Where's...
Silicon Valley's False Prophet
The tech industry has craved a messiah since the death of Steve Jobs, but in OpenAI CEO Sam Altman...
6 months ago
The tech industry has craved a messiah since the death of Steve Jobs, but in OpenAI CEO Sam Altman they’ve discovered more of a false prophet — a seedy grifter that uses his remarkable ability to impress and manipulate Silicon Valley’s elite to mask a total
Working Theorys
Companionship Content is King | Theory No. 29
Why short-form video has a ceiling & how companionship content escapes it.
11 months ago
Why short-form video has a ceiling & how companionship content escapes it.
Noahpinion
Harris needs to be Pennsylvania fracking's biggest champion
Biden already boosted fracking. Harris needs to promise more of the same.
3 months ago
Biden already boosted fracking. Harris needs to promise more of the same.
Tech + Economics +...
TikTok is revolutionizing news consumption - by eroding context.
The metamorphosis of news consumption is undeniable. TikTok, rising from
the ashes of Vine and the...
a year ago
The metamorphosis of news consumption is undeniable. TikTok, rising from
the ashes of Vine and the gradual decline of Instagram, captivated a new
generation, becoming a primary news source for many. This seismic shift
towards snackable, viral news content brings a host of...
SatPost by Trung...
Taylor Sheridan's Extreme Productivity
The prolific mind behind "Sicario" and "Yellowstone" only started his writing career at 40. The...
3 weeks ago
The prolific mind behind "Sicario" and "Yellowstone" only started his writing career at 40. The realest deadlines (a young family, a $350m ranch) have pushed him to grind at an unbelievable pace.
cdixon.org RSS Feed
The default state of a startup is failure
If you are starting a company and wondering why nothing good seems to happen unless you force it to...
over a year ago
If you are starting a company and wondering why nothing good seems to happen unless you force it to happen, that’s because the world wants…
Blog posts of...
How to use Gmail more efficiently
I usually I blog about Angellist but I have shown this “lifehack” to so many people that I thought...
over a year ago
I usually I blog about Angellist but I have shown this “lifehack” to so many people that I thought it’s worth it’s own blogpost...
Rest of World -...
China’s favorite resale app is a youth subculture hotspot
You can sell anything on it, and millions do, but it's also become a forum for fandoms and birthed a...
a year ago
You can sell anything on it, and millions do, but it's also become a forum for fandoms and birthed a unique style of confessional item listings.
cdixon.org RSS Feed
What’s not evil: ranking content fairly *and* letting public content get indexed
Please see update at bottom Most websites spend massive amounts of time and money to get any of...
over a year ago
Please see update at bottom Most websites spend massive amounts of time and money to get any of their pages index and ranked by Google’s…
SatPost by Trung...
6 thoughts on "Elon Musk" by Walter Isaacson
Including the Twitter deal, SpaceX's "Idiot Index", the manufacturing "algorithm", management style...
a year ago
Including the Twitter deal, SpaceX's "Idiot Index", the manufacturing "algorithm", management style and Big Tech beefs (Bill Gates, Larry Page, Jeff Bezos).
Rest of World -...
Mexico’s women gig workers are making a dangerous job safer
Women delivery workers are pushing for protection from gender-based violence, creating safe meeting...
a month ago
Women delivery workers are pushing for protection from gender-based violence, creating safe meeting spots and WhatsApp support groups, and fighting for legal protections.
Steve Blank
Technology, Innovation, and Great Power Competition – Wrap Up
This article first appeared in West Point’s Modern War Institute. We just had our final session of...
over a year ago
This article first appeared in West Point’s Modern War Institute. We just had our final session of our Technology, Innovation, and Great Power Competition class. Joe Felter, Raj Shah and I designed the class to give our students insights on how commercial technology (AI, machine...
Paul Graham: Essays
Chapter 1 of Ansi Common Lisp
a year ago
Rest of World -...
Desperate taxi drivers in Argentina are finally joining Uber
Amid the country’s economic turmoil, thousands of cabbies turn to the Uber Taxi function to make...
a year ago
Amid the country’s economic turmoil, thousands of cabbies turn to the Uber Taxi function to make ends meet.
Working Theorys
Explain It Like I'm One of You
Basketball podcasts, new media, and no more ELI5
8 months ago
Basketball podcasts, new media, and no more ELI5
AVC
AI Art
There has been a lot of discussion about how AIs can make art and possibly replace artists, but I...
a year ago
There has been a lot of discussion about how AIs can make art and possibly replace artists, but I think the opposite is more likely to happen. Artists have been using AI to make art for a while now and the pace has picked up a lot in recent years. I have always loved the […]
42!
My first ever app I made and sold...
I was digging through a cupboard today, when I came across the package shown below.
I was initially...
over a year ago
I was digging through a cupboard today, when I came across the package shown below.
I was initially flabbergasted that I still had a copy on hand, but that soon gave way to feelings of nostalgia that took me back 30 years (yes, that is 3 decades) to when I first created this.
It...
Business Brainstorms
Helping dementia patients, Family Heirloom as a Service, Figma for architecture, asking for what you...
Hey, this is Jakob Greenfeld, author of the Business Brainstorms newsletter - every week I write...
a year ago
Hey, this is Jakob Greenfeld, author of the Business Brainstorms newsletter - every week I write this email to share the most interesting trends, frameworks, opportunities, and ideas with you. Let's dive in! 💡 Opportunities The CEO of Mercury Immad Akhund
Rest of World -...
A changing tech landscape makes for weird birthdays online
As social media as we know it crumbles around us, birthday greetings have become the province of...
a year ago
As social media as we know it crumbles around us, birthday greetings have become the province of aunties and corporations.
Working Theorys
Rise of the Silicon Valley Small Business | Theory No. 7
In 2023, we’ll see more Silicon Valley startups that operate like small businesses. And some of them...
a year ago
In 2023, we’ll see more Silicon Valley startups that operate like small businesses. And some of them will have big outcomes. Perhaps even billion-dollar ones. I call this phenomenon the Silicon Valley small business (an SV-SB for short).
AVC
Funding Friday: Crowdfunding Restaurants Via Blackbird
It has been a long time since I did a Funding Friday here at AVC. I used to do them every Friday. We...
a year ago
It has been a long time since I did a Funding Friday here at AVC. I used to do them every Friday. We have funded a lot of bars, restaurants, coffee shops, and bakeries here over the years. Here are a few examples. L’Appartement 4F Land To Sea There is a new wrinkle in...
Rest of World -...
Kathmandu is making taxi drivers switch to EVs. Not all drivers can afford one
The Xpres-T, made by Indian carmaker Tata, is the only EV approved for use as a taxi in Nepal. It...
6 months ago
The Xpres-T, made by Indian carmaker Tata, is the only EV approved for use as a taxi in Nepal. It costs $27,000 — several years’ income.
Blog posts of...
Easy, but easy to f*ck up. 3 Rules to Setup Analytics Tools correctly.
As a consultant for analytics i see a fair share of integrations of analytics tools. One of the most...
over a year ago
As a consultant for analytics i see a fair share of integrations of analytics tools. One of the most common mistakes is how people...
Rest of World -...
Instagram helps Brazilians dodge a national sales ban on vapes
As Brazilian law clashes with Meta’s policies, illegal vapes flood social media and the streets.
2 months ago
As Brazilian law clashes with Meta’s policies, illegal vapes flood social media and the streets.
Essays - Benedict...
Ways to think about a metaverse
Your boss wants a metaverse strategy, but what would that be, and what does
metaverse even mean?...
over a year ago
Your boss wants a metaverse strategy, but what would that be, and what does
metaverse even mean? If we strip away the noise, what can we say about
this, and what can we predict?
Noahpinion
Heat pumps, heat pumps, heat pumps!!
A simple but incredibly useful machine is quietly transforming our buildings.
a year ago
A simple but incredibly useful machine is quietly transforming our buildings.
Rest of World -...
Global gig worker slang, explained
Shapar and amagundane are two types of platform workers their peers can’t stand.
a year ago
Shapar and amagundane are two types of platform workers their peers can’t stand.
Tech + Economics +...
God is a crypto bro.
CoinTelegraph:
A Colorado-based online pastor who has been charged with fraud for
...
11 months ago
CoinTelegraph:
A Colorado-based online pastor who has been charged with fraud for
selling a “worthless” cryptocurrency says he only did it because “the
Lord” told him to give his followers a “10X.”
In a strange 9-minute video — posted to INDXcoin’s...
Rest of World -...
The company teaching influencers how to get rich without going viral
Hotmart is quietly turning even micro-influencers into millionaires.
a year ago
Hotmart is quietly turning even micro-influencers into millionaires.
AVC
The Annual Computer Science Fair
Ten years ago, a small group of folks in the K12 Computer Science Education community in NYC decided...
a year ago
Ten years ago, a small group of folks in the K12 Computer Science Education community in NYC decided to put on a “mock job fair” for high school students who were taking computer science classes in the NYC public schools. That was the start of an annual day of engagement and...
Working Theorys
Accountability as a Service
Hey you, did you do the thing you said you would do?
7 months ago
Hey you, did you do the thing you said you would do?
cdixon.org RSS Feed
Do you want to sell sugar water or do you want to change the world?
“Do you want to sell sugar water for the rest of your life or come with me and change the world?” –...
over a year ago
“Do you want to sell sugar water for the rest of your life or come with me and change the world?” – Steve Jobs I sometimes wish that instead…
Paul Graham: Essays
Chapter 2 of Ansi Common Lisp
a year ago
Rest of World -...
The startup founder bootstrapping his creator economy business
Douglas Kendyson, a former engineer at Flutterwave and Paystack, has built a profitable bootstrapped...
10 months ago
Douglas Kendyson, a former engineer at Flutterwave and Paystack, has built a profitable bootstrapped African startup.
Tech + Economics +...
Real estate grifters are creating unlivable conditions.
TikTok Real Estate Influencers and ‘Grifters’ Are in Deep Trouble, Short
Seller Says
Philip...
11 months ago
TikTok Real Estate Influencers and ‘Grifters’ Are in Deep Trouble, Short
Seller Says
Philip Garboden, a professor of affordable housing at the University of
Hawaii who has studied the rise of small real estate investors, said
the effects of reckless lending on...
Paul Graham: Essays
The Venture Capital Squeeze
over a year ago
Roberto Vitillo's...
I am writing a book
I have released the first chapter of Understanding Distributed Systems ! "Wait, what? Weren't you...
over a year ago
I have released the first chapter of Understanding Distributed Systems ! "Wait, what? Weren't you working on a video class?" - I hear you…
Devmoh
3 key tips for maximum impact, and the myth of the "lazy" Big Tech Engineer
On forums with startup-heavy presences, it’s a common occurrence to sing about the downfall of FAANG...
a year ago
On forums with startup-heavy presences, it’s a common occurrence to sing about the downfall of FAANG and the uselessness of Big Tech for an engineer’s career. This specific tweet went viral recently and I wanted to do a little deep dive on the underlying implications of it:
Tech + Economics +...
The elegance of endurance: what centuries-old enterprises can teach modern culture.
For 879 years, the oldest Sake brewery in Japan has thrived and survived
through massive social,...
a year ago
For 879 years, the oldest Sake brewery in Japan has thrived and survived
through massive social, technological and economic change. Most recently it
has weathered the threat of radioactive contamination from the Fukushima
Nuclear Power Plant, with its products remaining...
Rest of World -...
China’s bite-sized soap operas are peddling cheap plots for big profits
Sex scenes, revenge, and cliffhangers are jam-packed into minutes-long smartphone dramas.
a year ago
Sex scenes, revenge, and cliffhangers are jam-packed into minutes-long smartphone dramas.
Ed Zitron's Where's...
They're Looting The Internet
Last week, Meta revealed (in a motion trying to dismiss an FTC anti-monopoly lawsuit) that Instagram...
8 months ago
Last week, Meta revealed (in a motion trying to dismiss an FTC anti-monopoly lawsuit) that Instagram made an astonishing $32.4 billion in advertising revenue in 2021. That figure becomes even more shocking when you consider Google's YouTube made $28.8 billion in the same period....
Tech + Economics +...
Don’t look down on TikTok creators. Learn from them.
It’s both terrifying and fascinating to watch a generation half my age
redefine creativity on...
a year ago
It’s both terrifying and fascinating to watch a generation half my age
redefine creativity on platforms like TikTok. As a 34-year-old writer, I’ve
seen the evolution of storytelling from physical print to digital media to
the dazzling, and fast-paced world of social video....
Paul Graham: Essays
Do Things that Don't Scale
over a year ago
SatPost by Trung...
The Reading Unlock
Entrepreneurs influenced by a single read include Joe Coulombe, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Morris Chang,...
a year ago
Entrepreneurs influenced by a single read include Joe Coulombe, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Morris Chang, Sarah Blakely, Chip Wilson and Phil Knight.
Platformer
Reddit doubles down
Delaying its API changes would benefit everyone — but users have other options, too
a year ago
Delaying its API changes would benefit everyone — but users have other options, too
Tech + Economics +...
Portfolio careers are the future of work.
The traditional idea of sticking to one career path for life, once seen as the golden standard of...
a year ago
The traditional idea of sticking to one career path for life, once seen as the golden standard of work success, is slowly becoming a thing of the past. Now, we're moving towards the paradigm of the "portfolio career."
Think of a portfolio career like a patchwork quilt of jobs....
Aaron's Essays
Raise less money
Over the last few years, I’ve noticed that good companies are increasingly over-diluting themselves...
over a year ago
Over the last few years, I’ve noticed that good companies are increasingly over-diluting themselves in their seed and A rounds. Counterintuitively, dilution seems to rise along with price. One would expect the opposite correlation. Strong founders who command high prices should...
Data Boutique
How Data Boutique Works #1: Data Auctions
The data auction system explained
9 months ago
The data auction system explained
Noahpinion
At least five interesting things to start your week (#33)
TSMC Arizona back on track, drawing arrows on graphs, the downsides of inclusionary zoning, why...
8 months ago
TSMC Arizona back on track, drawing arrows on graphs, the downsides of inclusionary zoning, why people hate inflation, and interesting ideas about market power
Tech + Economics +...
The everything app has to work for everyone.
Building an "Everything" app — encompassing payments, commerce, messaging,
etc — hinges critically...
a year ago
Building an "Everything" app — encompassing payments, commerce, messaging,
etc — hinges critically on universal appeal and acceptance.
The concept is predicated on inclusivity, which means the app must cater to
a diverse user base with varying beliefs, backgrounds, and...
Steve Blank
Even the Smartest VCs Sometimes Get it Wrong – Bill Gurley and Regulated Markets
Bill Gurley was one of Silicon Valley’s smartest and most successful VCs. He recently gave a talk at...
a year ago
Bill Gurley was one of Silicon Valley’s smartest and most successful VCs. He recently gave a talk at the All-In Summit that was really two talks in one. The first part was railing against the consequences of regulatory capture on innovation and a second part, about the...
Rest of World -...
Indian tech CEO to ChatGPT’s Altman: India can dominate AI
Tech Mahindra CEO explains why he believes India has the potential for global AI supremacy.
a year ago
Tech Mahindra CEO explains why he believes India has the potential for global AI supremacy.
Noahpinion
No, you are not on Indigenous land
Pieces of territory belong to institutions, not to racial groups.
a month ago
Pieces of territory belong to institutions, not to racial groups.
Rest of World -...
Six companies making it easier for Africans to send money globally
Africa is the most expensive region to send money, but these companies are making it faster,...
a year ago
Africa is the most expensive region to send money, but these companies are making it faster, cheaper, and easier.
Tech + Economics +...
How to quit capitalism.
Let's start with something controversial: Capitalism is not an economic
system. It is a...
12 months ago
Let's start with something controversial: Capitalism is not an economic
system. It is a philosophical and ideological force that shapes our lives,
environment, and perception of humanity.
It's a behemoth that thrives on relentless growth, often at a devastating
cost....
Rest of World -...
Desperate for dollars, Argentina just gave digital nomads another advantage over locals
Foreign bank card holders now get better exchange rates than Argentines.
a year ago
Foreign bank card holders now get better exchange rates than Argentines.
Articles - Alex...
What’s the big idea?
To make a big impact, we need a big idea. In brand communications, coveting
the ‘big idea’ is...
over a year ago
To make a big impact, we need a big idea. In brand communications, coveting
the ‘big idea’ is commonplace. We look for them. Long for them. Laud them
and lionise them. And yet, despite its ubiquitous use, the ‘big idea’
remains incredibly ill-defined. This article is an...
Noahpinion
How Latin America started to beat inequality
It can be done.
8 months ago
Rest of World -...
The man leading Kenyan content moderators’ battle against Meta
Nathan Nkunzimana claims Meta and Sama fired content moderators for protesting working conditions...
a year ago
Nathan Nkunzimana claims Meta and Sama fired content moderators for protesting working conditions and demanding the right to unionize.
Rest of World -...
How translator-influencers bring banned foreign videos onto China’s internet
On social media platform Weibo, influencers curate, translate, and edit content from the outside...
a year ago
On social media platform Weibo, influencers curate, translate, and edit content from the outside world.
Rest of World -...
Venture capital’s cold war
...or how I learned to stop worrying and love decoupling.
a year ago
...or how I learned to stop worrying and love decoupling.
David Perell
Punctuation is Music
If you want to improve your writing, match your punctuation to the mood. Punctuation is to writing...
over a year ago
If you want to improve your writing, match your punctuation to the mood. Punctuation is to writing as music is to movies. In The Joker, the renowned composer Hildur Guðnadóttir used the cello in the opening scenes to create empathy with the protagonist. But then, as The Joker’s...
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