Not gonna lie - seeing an interaction between David Hewlett and Bill Gates on a reddit AMA pretty much made my day.
link ?
EDIT: NVM (http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1xj56q/hello_reddit_im...)
Bill Gates: AMA on Reddit
61–70 of 120 posts
Re: Bill Gates: AMA on Reddit
#62What a strange format. I'm not a regular Reddit visitor so maybe I just don't "get it" but it seems like the top level questions for Gates are pretty intelligent, all questions I'd like to ask him (well, almost all--I don't get the condom one), and the responses to those questions are mostly snide, petty, and stupid.
It's a consequence of the way comments on reddit are structured. The best top-level comment is displayed first, followed immediately by its (lower-quality) child comments, rather than the next-best top-level comment. One learns to simply read the top-level comment, read the response, then minimize it and move on. Reddit is a large community, and the average post quality reflects that.
On such an important AMA, a mod should be able to cut off some of the child comments (just hide them under the [-] button), especially on the top answer. It would be like a haircut on a tree of comments, but it would look better than ruffled.
Re: Bill Gates: AMA on Reddit
#63Im not sure why Bill Gates decided to do this a 2nd time. Just reading people's inane, nonsensical, idiotic comments makes me think there's got to be a better forum to host something like that...
Re: Bill Gates: AMA on Reddit
#64anonymouslives: "What is your best personal financial advice for people who make under $100,000 per year?", thisisbillgates: "Invest in your education.". Trying to digest this bit when dropping-off to do startups is in fashion.
Note that he didn't say "go to school". If you don't know much about startups, dropping out to do one (as Gates did) might be considered an investment in your education. So might reading widely, or taking online courses, or of course paying a lot of money to attend a 4-year university.
Re: Bill Gates: AMA on Reddit
#65You can tell it's him by the succinct and direct responses. It's a trait that's consistent across the most successful people I know.
In my opinion it's the other way around. Because they're successful, they're busy, they're proven with the tongue, they have to be succinct and direct.
Re: Bill Gates: AMA on Reddit
#66Timely, given all the bad Microsoft press yesterday stemming from Paul Thurrott's public disapproval of Windows.
Judging by the official photo of the alien suit in Gates' office, I don't think this was planned on a whim.
Re: Bill Gates: AMA on Reddit
#67Not having a Reddit account, this makes me want to create one and ask Gates if he's going to protect us from the power of the cloud . By "us" I mean "people who don't really trust the cloud".
It takes like 2 seconds to make one. You don't even have to give them an email address! :)
Make sure to use jedberg's referral code when you sign up!
Re: Bill Gates: AMA on Reddit
#68I like Bill Gates.
He seems like a kind, genuine guy who cares about people and doesn't mind making fun of himself.
Big contrast from Bezos, Jobs, Ballmer.
Re: Bill Gates: AMA on Reddit
#69http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynQ5ZhxYAss <-- in this video (linked by Gates in AMA), there's a moment in which there's a book shown, with "Dell #1 in laptops" written on the back cover. Had a good laugh, given the whole Dell speakers thing from yesterday.
Re: Bill Gates: AMA on Reddit
#70What a strange format. I'm not a regular Reddit visitor so maybe I just don't "get it" but it seems like the top level questions for Gates are pretty intelligent, all questions I'd like to ask him (well, almost all--I don't get the condom one), and the responses to those questions are mostly snide, petty, and stupid.
>> "snide, petty, and stupid" That's like the elevator pitch for Reddit comments. It really just depends on what you find humorous I guess.
I find it depends on the subreddit. It's like HN, if there's a consistent effort at civility and on-topic discussion in a particular community, then it can be ok. All of the default subreddits are a disaster for discussion, some of the smaller niche ones are ok.