Are porn sites really that easy to make money from? The impression I've had from here is that while there's lots of money to be made, there's also lots of competition and the business relationships you need can be difficult to obtain and keep.
We call ourselves innovators, but most of us are really just iterators
11–20 of 236 posts
Re: We call ourselves innovators, but most of us are really just iterators
#12Completely agree, great article.
There are a lot of companies working on a lot of very small problems these days. It's natural, since the economic imbalance makes it more worthwhile to solve small problems for a large number of people who have disposable money to pay for small solutions.
But there are big problems out there that we should be inspired to solve.
Let's solve the meta-problem: what's holding us back from being able to think of solutions to the bigger problems facing humanity? What's the cause of our collective myopia?
Re: We call ourselves innovators, but most of us are really just iterators
#13"Sequence, selection, & iteration."
These are the foundations of software, so how should we not be iterators?
Re: We call ourselves innovators, but most of us are really just iterators
#14I feel like the author somewhat contradicts himself when he implies the poor ghetto types will never be innovators but says the rest of us are all blinded from the "very real problems that the rest of humanity faces." If you really felt that way, wouldn't the ghetto types have a big advantage if they can get over their resource problems.
Re: We call ourselves innovators, but most of us are really just iterators
#15This is the kind of post that happens when someone gets so wrapped up in startup land that they lose all context of the "real world."
These "first world problem"-solving companies he's talking about are really just B2B companies made to help the ACTUAL, real-world problem solving companies do their jobs more easily. No customer cares about MailChimp. No consumer thinks about Twilio. They're not solving first-world problems, they're solving BUSINESS problems.
Downplay the importance of those companies all you like, but making one company's business operations better in turn allows that company to reach out and help more people.
Re: We call ourselves innovators, but most of us are really just iterators
#16I see every innovation as a conglomeration of different things one has experienced. Or in other words, iterations. This goes to the core of creativity: Creativity usually comes from combining things or ideas that are normally compartmentalized in others' minds. Have you ever noticed how most of the startup founders you know have a wide diversity of experiences to draw upon? Most of them have lived in foreign countrie…
It's true. It is very hard to draw a line through what is "innovation" vs what is "iteration." All the tiny things we build sit on top of the other tiny things built by those before us, and in the grand scheme, everything is quite small.
However, this makes me wonder if maybe we shouldn't be focused on "innovating." Maybe it's not the goal (or it shouldn't be the goal). But then, what should? What should we aspire to build or create? Should we aspire to any particular thing? Maybe we should just do what we want and ignore what others have to say?
I don't really know, and I'd love to hear what others thoughts are.
Re: We call ourselves innovators, but most of us are really just iterators
#17The author may have used the words innovator and iterator, but I think the stronger message is just we need to stop valuing useless but addictive technological feats and go for what actually make a difference.
Re: We call ourselves innovators, but most of us are really just iterators
#18> A few months ago, a startup developer friend said to me "I don't understand why poor kids, ghetto kids, don't do startups to get out of poverty." I've got just about zero tolerance left for people who don't acknowledge their privilege.
Correction: zero tolerance for a system they've spent their entire lives within that never taught them the right way to think about their position in society.
Re: We call ourselves innovators, but most of us are really just iterators
#19This is the best thing I've read on Hacker News in a long time.
Very motivating and enlightening. You took the words right from me. It definitely hits home, and should be strongly considered by many.
Re: We call ourselves innovators, but most of us are really just iterators
#20Are porn sites really that easy to make money from? The impression I've had from here is that while there's lots of money to be made, there's also lots of competition and the business relationships you need can be difficult to obtain and keep.
"business relationships"?