We have the potential to solve the biggest problems of today
christophmccann.com
We have the potential to solve the biggest problems of today
1–10 of 188 posts
Re: We have the potential to solve the biggest problems of today
#2Let's build apps like Yo. They're good practice. Doing silly things that amuse oneself is a critical component of hackerdom.
Let's just not fund them.
Re: We have the potential to solve the biggest problems of today
#3Yo's popularity entirely rides two facts: (1) it's a silly app, (2) it got a million dollars. We currently know nothing about user engagement and retention. I'd be surprised if anyone uses it for more than a few weeks.
Re: We have the potential to solve the biggest problems of today
#4So, here's a better one:
"We have the potential to solve the big problems. Let's not fund apps like Yo."
Re: We have the potential to solve the biggest problems of today
#5This signal says that people are still willing to pay for effective data collection. An app like Yo simply proves that quality/purpose do not really matter for making money. If it walks like a bubble, and talks like a bubble
Re: We have the potential to solve the biggest problems of today
#6Yo's popularity entirely rides two facts: (1) it's a silly app, (2) it got a million dollars. We currently know nothing about user engagement and retention. I'd be surprised if anyone uses it for more than a few weeks.
If an app that does nothing and has a half life of 3 weeks can raise $1 million, then the industry has a problem.
Re: We have the potential to solve the biggest problems of today
#7Let's build apps like Yo. They're good practice. Doing silly things that amuse oneself is a critical component of hackerdom. Let's just not fund them.
Let's fund them, let's just not acquire them. That way they won't be funded in the future :)
Re: We have the potential to solve the biggest problems of today
#8[deleted]
Re: We have the potential to solve the biggest problems of today
#9The future is tricky to predict. A lot of things look like toys, until all of a sudden they're not.
Worth reading the counterpoint: http://avc.com/2013/04/return-and-ridicule/
"This notion also plays into Clayton Christensen's framework for disruptive innovation. Many of the most disruptive technologies started out as what Clay calls "toys". The PC is a great example of that. PCs came out of the homebrew computer movement. Geeks were building computers in their garages. And everyone thought they were nuts. But from that came the Apple Computer and the IBM PC and we were off to the races with personal computers."
Re: We have the potential to solve the biggest problems of today
#10Yo is a hack, over 100k Anroid downloads. They built their audience, now they can turn it into something usable.
Oh, and they have your social graph based on cell numbers.