31–40 of 56 posts
So it really depends on whether or not I see it.
The quote in his signature is very prescient: "It's easier to invent the future than to predict it." -- Alan Kay
"The best way to predict the future is to invent it."
The add seems very reasonable (in the startup mentality kind of way): "Well-capitalized start-up seeks extremely talented C/C++/Unix developers to help pioneer commerce on the Internet. " -- Good. I want to work with only other top notch developers. "You must have experience designing and building large and complex (yet maintainable) systems, and you should be able to do so in about one-third the time that most compe…
1) Yeah, it's a reasonable ad - but that's my point. Almost all ads are "reasonable". You never see an ad saying "Startup looking for mediocre developers." Nothing about this one really resonates. 2) "if I wasn't in school, and if I was around the area of seatles". If I knew this was going to be Amazon, I would MOVE to Seattle and take a leave of absence from school.
Not true. Auctomatic had a job ad for a long time looking for a so-so developer. I answered it right away but was distracted from learning smalltalk at the time.
Here it is: http://blog.auctomatic.com/?p=4 . It's hilarious.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
1) Yeah, it's a reasonable ad - but that's my point. Almost all ads are "reasonable". You never see an ad saying "Startup looking for mediocre developers." Nothing about this one really resonates. 2) "if I wasn't in school, and if I was around the area of seatles". If I knew this was going to be Amazon, I would MOVE to Seattle and take a leave of absence from school.
> You never see an ad saying "Startup looking for mediocre developers." Nothing about this one really resonates. Not true. Auctomatic had a job ad for a long time looking for a so-so developer. I answered it right away but was distracted from learning smalltalk at the time. Here it is: http://blog.auctomatic.com/?p=4 . It's hilarious.
Probably not. Clearly, he has unrealistic expectations of success. Who would buy things on the internet?
Probably not (much to my regret). The only distinguishing factor is Bezos' name, and that is obvious only in retrospect. I see too many ads like this everyday for any one to stand out. Anyway, I'm going to console myself by saying I would've replied and seen them in person, and immediately realized they were onto something huge, blah blah blah
If anything the ad could discourage some because, not knowing any better, it may have looked like Bezos was one of those people who thinks you can make a late project finish sooner by working sweatshop hours (3x more hours to finish in 1/3 the time). Everyone asks for "communication skills" and everyone says they're the best and that their shit doesn't stink, too.
Note that it doesn't say work 3x longer. I measure time in hours not days, so finishing something 3x faster doesn't mean 120hour weeks, it means finishing something in 13 hours instead of 40.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
in '94/'95 i remember my friends telling me about ebay in gym class. doh, i wish i would have seen the potential of selling your stuff to strangers.
Must have been late 1995 (if not 1996) given eBay's start date.
(click on "Show quoted text") http://tinyurl.com/52gdhr