tom willerer . com

"I’m not a big believer in ideas,” says Panagiotis Ipeirotis, a professor at the Stern School of..."

Mon, 12 Sep 2011 08:54:58 -0700

““I’m not a big believer in ideas,” says Panagiotis Ipeirotis, a professor at the Stern School of Business at New York University who’s also a programmer. “I believe in execution much more than the idea.””

- The Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerbergs of Tomorrow — New York Magazine

"In a world in which Apple is the most valuable corporation, and companies like Dropbox earn..."

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 09:58:07 -0700

“In a world in which Apple is the most valuable corporation, and companies like Dropbox earn super-premium multiples, my conclusion is that the most powerful way to build economic value is by developing products that a) deliver an outstanding user experience, b) convince people to pay a premium, and c) generate massive usage.”

- Adventures in Capitalism: The Lesson of Dropbox: Usage = Value

"The kind of naming policy that Facebook and Google Plus have is actually a radical departure from..."

Fri, 05 Aug 2011 20:04:50 -0700

“The kind of naming policy that Facebook and Google Plus have is actually a radical departure from the way identity and speech interact in the real world. They attach identity more strongly to every act of online speech than almost any real world situation does.”

- Why Facebook and Google’s Concept of ‘Real Names’ Is Revolutionary - Alexis Madrigal - Technology - The Atlantic

Apple Now Has More Cash Than the U.S. Government - Derek Thompson - Business - The Atlantic

Fri, 29 Jul 2011 10:20:28 -0700

Apple Now Has More Cash Than the U.S. Government - Derek Thompson - Business - The Atlantic

"Cashmere hoodies are all the rage on Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park, Calif., home to many big-name..."

Wed, 06 Jul 2011 09:10:32 -0700

“Cashmere hoodies are all the rage on Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park, Calif., home to many big-name venture-capital firms, according to venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, who recently brought on former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers as a special adviser. Mr. Andreessen says “the challenge for now is to get Larry to wear a hoodie.””

- The Perk Bubble Is Growing as Tech Booms Again - WSJ.com

"As many of the Hacker News commenters pointed out, the line between what should be public versus..."

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 09:57:03 -0700

“As many of the Hacker News commenters pointed out, the line between what should be public versus private is the kicker here. People don’t get angry when Google uses its homepage logo to celebrate a holiday (in fact Google also put the same reminder on its homepage, to lesser complaint) because they consider the homepage a public space. HN commenter djcapelis explained, “It’s the difference between someone coming up to you on the bus and asking you if you’ve called your father and a poster on the side of the bus asking if you’ve called your father. When you put your message in someone’s personal space, you don’t get to just say ‘eh, it’s probably only a small fraction’ because you’re specifically communicating with specific people.””

- ‘Reminder: Call Dad’ Is Another Notch In Google’s Belt Of Social Fail

"Collaboration is the elixir of the status-quo crowd."

Sun, 15 May 2011 15:10:37 -0700

“Collaboration is the elixir of the status-quo crowd.”

- The Failure of American Schools - Magazine - The Atlantic

"[People] who lose the guarantee of privacy also eventually lose the capacity for making..."

Thu, 05 May 2011 09:43:27 -0700

““[People] who lose the guarantee of privacy also eventually lose the capacity for making friends,” Elaine Scarry reminds us once more. I argue here for an even greater danger: people who lose the want for privacy may eventually lose the capacity for making friends.”

- Zachary Stockill: The Want for Privacy: Facebook’s Assault on Friendship

Tim Burton, via the Atlantic.

Sun, 17 Apr 2011 18:37:10 -0700

Tim Burton, via the Atlantic.

"Android, as well as Chrome and Chrome OS for that matter, are not “products” in the classic business..."

Sun, 03 Apr 2011 20:59:57 -0700

“Android, as well as Chrome and Chrome OS for that matter, are not “products” in the classic business sense. They have no plan to become their own “economic castles.” Rather they are very expensive and very aggressive “moats,” funded by the height and magnitude of Google’s castle. Google’s aim is defensive not offensive. They are not trying to make a profit on Android or Chrome. They want to take any layer that lives between themselves and the consumer and make it free (or even less than free).”

- The Freight Train That Is Android « abovethecrowd.com

"One might think that constant exposure to new information at least makes us more creative. Here..."

Mon, 28 Mar 2011 11:43:46 -0700

“One might think that constant exposure to new information at least makes us more creative. Here again, the opposite seems to be true. Teresa Amabile and her colleagues at the Harvard Business School evaluated the daily work patterns of more than 9,000 individuals working on projects that required creativity and innovation. They found that the likelihood of creative thinking is higher when people focus on one activity for a significant part of the day and collaborate with just one other person. Conversely, when people have highly fragmented days—with many activities, meetings, and discussions in groups—their creative thinking decreases significantly.”

- https://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Recovering_from_information_overload_2735

"A small system that falls down under load is a huge success"

Sun, 27 Mar 2011 21:49:02 -0700

“A small system that falls down under load is a huge success”

- http://www.google.com/gwt/x?source=reader&u=http%3A%2F%2Fslacy.com%2Fblog%2F2011%2F03%2Fwhat-larry-page-really-needs-to-do-to-return-google-to-its-startup-roots%2F

"Rule #5: Maintain flexible persistence. Very often entrepreneurs are given conflicting advice: “Be..."

Wed, 23 Mar 2011 08:45:20 -0700

“Rule #5: Maintain flexible persistence.
Very often entrepreneurs are given conflicting advice: “Be persistent! Stay committed to your vision!” or “Pivot on key data! Know when to change!” The challenge is to follow them both, but know which advice is most appropriate for which situation. You must know how to maintain flexible persistence.”

- Ten Entrepreneurship Rules for Building Massive Companies « Greylock VC

"We live by the myth that the best way to get more work done is to work longer hours.” Schwartz..."

Wed, 16 Mar 2011 09:06:26 -0700

““We live by the myth that the best way to get more work done is to work longer hours.” Schwartz cites research suggesting that we should work in periods of no greater than 90 minutes before seeking rest.”

- SXSW 2011: The internet is over | Technology | The Guardian

"Like it or not, one of the reasons that people appreciate the Web is their ability to maintain some..."

Fri, 11 Mar 2011 11:52:05 -0800

“Like it or not, one of the reasons that people appreciate the Web is their ability to maintain some degree of anonymity. Not everyone wants to subscribe to Facebook’s high school hegemony. I hope media outlets keep that in mind.”

- peHUB » Disqus to Facebook: “We Aren’t Shaking In Our Boots”

"Now imagine that instead of buying the Apple PowerBook in 1997, you decided to spend $5,700 on Apple..."

Thu, 10 Mar 2011 17:04:45 -0800

“Now imagine that instead of buying the Apple PowerBook in 1997, you decided to spend $5,700 on Apple stock. You would have done a little better. Indeed, today your Apple stock would be worth $330,563. Probably makes you think twice buying about that laptop.”

- If You Bought Apple Stock Instead of Products - NYTimes.com

"There is a very pervasive product-centric thinking,” he said. “There needs to be more of a..."

Wed, 09 Mar 2011 06:57:24 -0800

““There is a very pervasive product-centric thinking,” he said. “There needs to be more of a business-model-centric approach.” Osterwalder isn’t saying that you shouldn’t have a product or obsess about making it awesome. What he is saying is that as a startup, it behooves you to be aware of business model options, even if the answers aren’t obvious right away.”

- What Is Twitter’s Problem? No, It’s Not the Product: Tech News and Analysis «

"This “invisible algorithmic editing of the web,” as Pariser describes it, “moves us to a world where..."

Fri, 04 Mar 2011 11:41:50 -0800

“This “invisible algorithmic editing of the web,” as Pariser describes it, “moves us to a world where the Internet shows us what it thinks we need to see, but not what we should see.” Beyond Facebook, Pariser notes the huge diversity of search results his friends find on Google about topics like Egypt, where one friend sees news about recent protests and Lara Logan, while another sees results about travel and vacations.”

- Is the Personalization of the Web Making Us Dumber?

"in America the worst effects of the property crisis are probably over. The banks with the biggest..."

Fri, 04 Mar 2011 11:39:05 -0800

“in America the worst effects of the property crisis are probably over. The banks with the biggest exposures to dud commercial assets are smaller lenders, and the government is willing to provide support to residential markets. But prices are likely to keep falling this year, so economic recovery will lack one of its usual booster rockets.”

- A special report on property: Between a rock and a living space | The Economist

"More than 80 percent of the televisions, computer products and cell phones that reached the end of..."

Sun, 27 Feb 2011 16:13:31 -0800

“More than 80 percent of the televisions, computer products and cell phones that reached the end of their life in 2007 were disposed of, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, with most of them getting tossed into landfills. Only 18 percent of the 2.25 million tons of electronic products were recycled.”

- EcoATM Kiosks Turn Old Cell Phones and iPods Into Cash - Nicholas Jackson - Technology - The Atlantic