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Bread and Circuses: The State of Web App Startups

jolieodell.wordpress.com

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Re: Bread and Circuses: The State of Web App Startups

#81

Post by davidw »

zaidf wrote: post #78
dasil003 wrote: post #23

Reading this resonated with me. I knew that the responses here would pretty much rip it apart, but I'm surprised that as of right now only one of 15 comments is positive. It's pretty easy to find ways to criticize this post. It's not particularly well written, it's not inspirational, and of course you can poke holes in any kind of argument this vague. But if you don't agree, I think it's worth it to stop and be hones…

The premise of the article is that because there are so many fluff start-ups, there are so few non-fluff start-ups. Now, for the sake of debate, let's agree there are lots of fluff start-ups. But does that mean there are fewer non-fluff start-ups? I don't think so. It's a false dichotomy. Just because you have more Zynga-like companies does not mean you don't have more start-ups today than a decade ago going after ca…

The label I think you're looking for is "zero-sum thinking". That there are only a fixed number of startups to go around, and if they're all off doing web stuff, there is no room for other fields of endeavor.

Re: Bread and Circuses: The State of Web App Startups

#82

Post by alexqgb »

This is such a ridiculously ridiculous post. I'm saying that having worked on a number of media campaigns for a small but excellent medical research charity that has benefited enormously from the technical progress made in the last few years.

That benefit comes from making savvy use of everything from (now) cheap digital cameras and video editing, to carefully cultivated email lists, dedicated web-pages for outreach teams, and growing profiles on social networking sites.

All that seems like basic stuff, I know, but that's what's so amazing. Five years ago it was either much more expensive, or nonexistent. Today, it's ubiquitous (Facebook, for example, had 1% of its current base in 2005, and today I can shoot a better picture with a $5k camera than a $75k camera could capture back then).

That massive and very sudden shift has allowed organizations to do things (real, saving lives and avoiding death things) that simply wouldn't be imaginable - let alone possible just a few years ago, at least not with the limited resources they had for outreach.

So, Jolie O'Dell, if you want to see homeless people getting help, stop waiting for 'tech to do it'. Instead, just go out and talk to some homeless people. You don't need an app for that. Nor, you'll find, do they. And when you do figure out what's most likely to help, you'll probably be pleasantly surprised at how helpful all these new resources can be - provided you're creative enough to use them imaginatively.

Separately - all of you working on this 'pointless' stuff; you're awesome. And thank you. You're making vital connections. You've helped tremendously. The world is a better place because of you. Please, by all means, carry on.

Re: Bread and Circuses: The State of Web App Startups

#83

Post by jayliew »

timr wrote: post #22
replicatorblog wrote: post #15

I didn't find the reasoning in this article very sound and the heated "high school angst" quotes hurt its credibility. e.g. "These products feed and profit from our bovine adoration of mindless time-wasting." That said, to address her point, I don't understand why tech start ups would be the answer to everything, especially a complex problem like homelessness. Homelessness isn't going to be solved by some RoR hacker…

"Homelessness isn't going to be solved by some RoR hacker creating a website that matches the homeless with available space. Rather it is the challenge for social workers, mental health practitioners, etc." I think you're missing the larger point: when the best and the brightest technological minds are chasing the instant riches of social networks for dogs, they're not creating new antibiotics, energy efficient cars,…

People who are smart enough to be writing social networks are more than smart enough to be doing pharmaceutical research or inventing solar cookers for the third world

Although I have a CS degree and I absolutely love CS, I did "just ok" in my life science courses and viewed it as necessary evil to graduate. Life science is just not my thing. Just because I can write software doesn't mean I want to be in pharmacy :/

Re: Bread and Circuses: The State of Web App Startups

#84

Post by david927 »

dasil003 wrote: post #23

Reading this resonated with me. I knew that the responses here would pretty much rip it apart, but I'm surprised that as of right now only one of 15 comments is positive. It's pretty easy to find ways to criticize this post. It's not particularly well written, it's not inspirational, and of course you can poke holes in any kind of argument this vague. But if you don't agree, I think it's worth it to stop and be hones…

I think this is a great criticism of Silicon Valley, in general. It used to be filled with nerds who wanted to change the world. Now it's filled with hackers who want to get rich.

Let me quote the author again:

They’re creating "bread and circuses" ... apps that are wildly popular, infinitely entertaining, and exactly what people want.

The only problem is that they don’t really do anybody any good. They’re not doing what technology is intended to do: Solve problems.

I'm ringing the bell on Silicon Valley. It's days are not up, but they're numbered. Because it doesn't understand this, it will begin its slow descent to become part of Hollywood. And real innovation will happen elsewhere.

Re: Bread and Circuses: The State of Web App Startups

#85

Post by Empact »

patrickgzill wrote: post #21
replicatorblog wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I work in medical and regulatory compliance isn't that big a burden. The simplest way to reduce health care costs in the US would be reducing obesity which tends to cause the most expensive diseases (Diabetes, Heart Disease, Stroke).

No offense, but I find that a little hard to believe. Every doctor's office I have ever visited in the last 10 years had more admin staff than nurses and doctors. That is, for each doctor there were perhaps 1.5 admin people doing paperwork. While they are cheaper than doctors, that is a still a large expense (figure $60K per person as a minimum, thus $90K per doctor per year in additional expense). However I do agree…

Yeah, but I'd argue the solution isn't to nice up the regulatory system, but to step outside of it. Clinics like Qliance in Seattle provide direct primary care (cash only, no insurance) largely because it's much nicer for both the doctor and the patient, because you can circumvent the bureaucratic nonsense and admin busywork.

http://qliance.com/

The founder, Dr. Garrison Bliss, does a great job summarizing his approach in this talk: http://www.tvw.org/media/mediaplayer.cfm?EvId=2008030136C&#3...

Re: Bread and Circuses: The State of Web App Startups

#86

Post by loewenskind »

waterlesscloud wrote: post #29

This is shallow thinking. Facebook and the various other social apps do in fact address serious societal problems and needs. There's been a trend for several decades of people in modern society growing further apart. It's been lamented at great length in numerous studies and publications. It's a natural consequence of the other choices our societies are making, becoming more mobile in both work and home. People move…

For me, Facebook has shown me not to feel bad about losing track of people. I have most of them on Facebook now and no matter what I say no one even responds.

Re: Bread and Circuses: The State of Web App Startups

#87

Post by zaidf »

davidw wrote: post #81
zaidf wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The premise of the article is that because there are so many fluff start-ups, there are so few non-fluff start-ups. Now, for the sake of debate, let's agree there are lots of fluff start-ups. But does that mean there are fewer non-fluff start-ups? I don't think so. It's a false dichotomy. Just because you have more Zynga-like companies does not mean you don't have more start-ups today than a decade ago going after ca…

The label I think you're looking for is "zero-sum thinking". That there are only a fixed number of startups to go around, and if they're all off doing web stuff, there is no room for other fields of endeavor.

and if they're all off doing web stuff

Obviously not the case.

The fixed number could be going up for both. At once, there could be more web start-ups and so-called serious start-ups than previous years.

Re: Bread and Circuses: The State of Web App Startups

#88

Post by davidw »

zaidf wrote: post #87
davidw wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The label I think you're looking for is "zero-sum thinking". That there are only a fixed number of startups to go around, and if they're all off doing web stuff, there is no room for other fields of endeavor.

and if they're all off doing web stuff Obviously not the case. The fixed number could be going up for both. At once, there could be more web start-ups and so-called serious start-ups than previous years.

> Obviously not the case.

I agree, I was just stating what "zero-sum thinking is".

Re: Bread and Circuses: The State of Web App Startups

#89

Post by rythie »

timr wrote: post #22
replicatorblog wrote: post #15

I didn't find the reasoning in this article very sound and the heated "high school angst" quotes hurt its credibility. e.g. "These products feed and profit from our bovine adoration of mindless time-wasting." That said, to address her point, I don't understand why tech start ups would be the answer to everything, especially a complex problem like homelessness. Homelessness isn't going to be solved by some RoR hacker…

"Homelessness isn't going to be solved by some RoR hacker creating a website that matches the homeless with available space. Rather it is the challenge for social workers, mental health practitioners, etc." I think you're missing the larger point: when the best and the brightest technological minds are chasing the instant riches of social networks for dogs, they're not creating new antibiotics, energy efficient cars,…

There are plenty of super bright people who've got their PHDs and are working for organizations doing the above things.

It's just that people don't typically do startups in those areas, because you need massive investment to even get started, let alone succeed. Tesla for example has had $783 million in investment http://www.crunchbase.com/company/tesla-motors

Re: Bread and Circuses: The State of Web App Startups

#90

Post by rythie »

waterlesscloud wrote: post #29

This is shallow thinking. Facebook and the various other social apps do in fact address serious societal problems and needs. There's been a trend for several decades of people in modern society growing further apart. It's been lamented at great length in numerous studies and publications. It's a natural consequence of the other choices our societies are making, becoming more mobile in both work and home. People move…

Also social networks are helping people raise money for charities (sponsored runs etc.) by connecting to their friends easier.
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