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Yesterday, I Went to the American Idol for Startups. It Made Me Want to Die.

slog.thestranger.com

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Re: Yesterday, I Went to the American Idol for Startups. It Made Me Want to Die.

#11

Post by cwilson »

dinkumthinkum wrote: post #4

Not to be that guy but it's like the author is writing a novel. What's the tl;dr here?

The author attended an "American Idol" for startups. It's hip to have a startup. The names of said startups may as well be gibberish (yet they attempt to explain the meaning behind them). Pitches consist of ridiculous buzz words and maketing speak to cover up the fact that none of these ideas are solving problems or something that people want.

tl;dr of my own reply: Have you seen that movie Idiocracy? It's like that, but startups.

Re: Yesterday, I Went to the American Idol for Startups. It Made Me Want to Die.

#12

Post by ojbyrne »

polyfractal wrote: post #5
dinkumthinkum wrote: post #4

Not to be that guy but it's like the author is writing a novel. What's the tl;dr here?

He went to Startup Riot, saw a bunch of consumer internet startups pitching their product. Complained about the names, the language used to describe the ideas ("content" vs "text", "consume" vs "read", etc) and the ideas themselves. Half of the article sounds like sour grapes, half is legit criticism.

I don't see how you get "sour grapes" out of this unless you know some backstory.

Re: Yesterday, I Went to the American Idol for Startups. It Made Me Want to Die.

#15

Post by trevelyan »

polyfractal wrote: post #3

Really enjoying the author's prose. This had me rolling: >> It’s like watching some sadist work over a baby lamb with a rusty crowbar and a broken gin bottle. The names of these startups sound like the products of an aggressive brain tumor on the frontal lobe. Crowdegy, Placeling, Kouply, QuoteRobot, Appthwack, Makegood, Onthego, Nickler, Kahal, Tanzio, Taskk. They’re all whimsical and unique in exactly the same way.

Actually, I quite like the name Appthwack.

Re: Yesterday, I Went to the American Idol for Startups. It Made Me Want to Die.

#17

Post by bradleyland »

polyfractal wrote: post #5
dinkumthinkum wrote: post #4

Not to be that guy but it's like the author is writing a novel. What's the tl;dr here?

He went to Startup Riot, saw a bunch of consumer internet startups pitching their product. Complained about the names, the language used to describe the ideas ("content" vs "text", "consume" vs "read", etc) and the ideas themselves. Half of the article sounds like sour grapes, half is legit criticism.

Eh, I don't know. I think it's wise to take a step back and listen to yourself from time to time. When you set out to do something, you start by learning, then by doing, then you recyle that process over and over. You entrench yourself with like-minded individuals, and everything starts to become second nature.

This is the exact moment that you should take a step back and read a piece like this. In the process of trying to succeed, there's a very good chance that you're going to pick up some habits from those around you. Some of those habits are good and will contribute to your progress, but many of them are just useless baggage.

When I read this piece, I thought to myself, "My god, we sound just like the Six Sigma biz-ops guys we make fun of." That's an insight I wouldn't pass up, even if it means feeling a little sting of broken pride.

Re: Yesterday, I Went to the American Idol for Startups. It Made Me Want to Die.

#18

Post by stephengillie »

polyfractal wrote: post #5
dinkumthinkum wrote: post #4

Not to be that guy but it's like the author is writing a novel. What's the tl;dr here?

He went to Startup Riot, saw a bunch of consumer internet startups pitching their product. Complained about the names, the language used to describe the ideas ("content" vs "text", "consume" vs "read", etc) and the ideas themselves. Half of the article sounds like sour grapes, half is legit criticism.

The author is somewhat disgusted at these people for paying $40-80 to spend a (nice) day inside, listening to each other's powerpoint presentations about startups with weird names which don't really solve anybody's problems.

Part of the hyperbole is normal for articles in The Stranger.

Re: Yesterday, I Went to the American Idol for Startups. It Made Me Want to Die.

#19

Post by hkmurakami »

TenJack wrote: post #8

Here's the author's bio and picture if it helps put this article in context: http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/paul-constant/Author?oid=...

>He became the 2009 I.D. Spring Roll Eating Champion after consuming 23 deep-fried spring rolls in two minutes.

Pretty impressive if I may say so.

Re: Yesterday, I Went to the American Idol for Startups. It Made Me Want to Die.

#20

Post by hkmurakami »

trevelyan wrote: post #15
polyfractal wrote: post #3

Really enjoying the author's prose. This had me rolling: >> It’s like watching some sadist work over a baby lamb with a rusty crowbar and a broken gin bottle. The names of these startups sound like the products of an aggressive brain tumor on the frontal lobe. Crowdegy, Placeling, Kouply, QuoteRobot, Appthwack, Makegood, Onthego, Nickler, Kahal, Tanzio, Taskk. They’re all whimsical and unique in exactly the same way.

Actually, I quite like the name Appthwack.

Definitely sounds like a form of brain tumor though.
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