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Kevin Rose Will Join Google

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Re: Kevin Rose Will Join Google

#181

Post by untog »

ootachi wrote: post #178
untog wrote: post #176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

* It's hard to get a job as a developer these days* ...uh, where exactly? Everywhere I know of is crying out for developers. The case for outsourcing is hugely overstated- having your entire development team half the world and a seven hour time difference away is a very real issue.

In the Bay Area. Everyone claims to be crying out for developers, but they reject all the candidates they're presented with, so in practice it's hard to get a job as a developer.

I think what you mean to say is "it's hard to get a job as a developer if you're not a good candidate".

Re: Kevin Rose Will Join Google

#182

Post by jayliew »

temphn wrote: post #177
xpose2000 wrote: post #16

Sorry if this sounds harsh, and I know he has a lot of fans out there. But this guy struck gold 5 years ago with Digg. Sure, he deserves props for this. However, he's not a developer. He's an "ideas guy" as far as I can tell. As a developer, I hate these kinds of people because more often than not their ideas suck. In any case, what I am saying is that it seems like people in the industry get by based on one previous…

Kevin Rose worked his way up from being a behind the scenes IT guy to doing cameos to running the Screen Savers to founding Digg[1]. Is he a coder? No, but he's at least technical enough to find and recruit pretty good engineering talent. Moreover, he's also had strong angel investments and shown an ability to do it again with Oink (a solid product with good reviews on the App Store). As a developer, I hate these kin…

I'd go one step further: don't hate. It's a negative feeling emotion that will do yourself more harm in the long run :) Be happy for people's success. Would you want people to hate you when you succeed?

Re: Kevin Rose Will Join Google

#183

Post by mindcrime »

jayliew wrote: post #53
xpose2000 wrote: post #16

Sorry if this sounds harsh, and I know he has a lot of fans out there. But this guy struck gold 5 years ago with Digg. Sure, he deserves props for this. However, he's not a developer. He's an "ideas guy" as far as I can tell. As a developer, I hate these kinds of people because more often than not their ideas suck. In any case, what I am saying is that it seems like people in the industry get by based on one previous…

To quote pg: "A hacker who has learned what to make, and not just how to make, is extraordinarily powerful." As a developer, it is frustrating to see fellow developers place too much importance on being able to code as a necessary ingredient for startup success. As a hacker, I'd say that most hackers know how to make, but don't know what to make. That is to say, most startups from these type of hackers with the "if I…

"if I build they will come"[1] mentality end up basically degenerating into non-profits or open-source (when their intent was to become the next big for-profit company).

I get your point and mostly agree, but just want to stress that "open source" and "for profit" are not mutually exclusive. There are a handful of companies out there making a nice profit specifically by focusing on open source.

That said, clearly it (building an "open source company") should be a conscious decision, and you have to understand the subtleties that go along with it.

Re: Kevin Rose Will Join Google

#184

Post by temphn »

wavephorm wrote: post #75
revorad wrote: post #66

Hardly anyone knows the details, but the amount of jealousy and hatred that comes out on HN on these stories is shocking.

If it's jealousy and hatred, then it's not because of being jealous of success. A lot of developers work really, really hard on their startups for years bootstrapping, just scraping by, and being ignored by investors because they're not famous. And Kevin Rose comes along with a half-baked idea of posting pictures of the food you're eating to the Internet, and his "startup" that he's "really dedicated to" get's almost…

  A lot of developers work really, really hard on their 
  startups for years bootstrapping, just scraping by, and 
  being ignored by investors because they're not famous.
Their startups have no users and they are just scraping by because they are terrible at marketing, or at knowing what people want. Achieving a low cost-of-customer-acquisition is a real, quantifiable skill.

There are basically zero hot startups that have problems raising money. Getting to "hot" is the hard part, and it is not just making something, but making something people want. Good promotion is just as much of a skill as good UI design.

Re: Kevin Rose Will Join Google

#185

Post by huytoan_pc »

herval wrote: post #108
jgrahamc wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure. My view is that Rose has done a very good job of making a name for himself and translating that into personal wealth. It is not clear that that adds anything to Google and if Google thinks it does then my view of Google is diminished.

I'm sorry if the question is naive, but if he made such a great amount of personal wealth, why would he still want/need to "get a job" (regardless of company)?

Because money is not everything. Once you have reached financial security like he did, you start yearning for other things like power or a legacy. He still has a long way to go to achieve all those things. If he "retires" now, before long, the name Kevin Rose will be forgotten, because there are plenty people in this industry who have achieved his level of wealth and success.

Re: Kevin Rose Will Join Google

#187

Post by ootachi »

untog wrote: post #181
ootachi wrote: post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the Bay Area. Everyone claims to be crying out for developers, but they reject all the candidates they're presented with, so in practice it's hard to get a job as a developer.

I think what you mean to say is "it's hard to get a job as a developer if you're not a good candidate".

More like "it's hard to get a job as a developer because companies' perceptions of 'good candidates' exclude everybody".

Re: Kevin Rose Will Join Google

#189

Post by beatle »

untog wrote: post #174
beatle wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

ideas + execution. both are needed. execution is not limited to personal skills. if the "ideas guy" doesn't have the skills to implement his ideas, he can hire/partner with someone who can.

* if the "ideas guy" doesn't have the skills to implement his ideas, he can hire/partner with someone who can.* Right. A developer.

Right. He can partner with or hire one of the thousands of developers available out there.

Re: Kevin Rose Will Join Google

#190

Post by jrockway »

callmeed wrote: post #162

Oh, look ... they received an investment from Google Ventures. What a coincidence. http://www.crunchbase.com/company/milk

I detect that you bring this to our attention because it's bad in some way, but I don't get why. Google invested in his company. Now he works at Google (with 30,000 other people). Who cares? Why is this good or bad?
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