Stop tech-driven problem-solving
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Stop tech-driven problem-solving
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Re: Stop tech-driven problem-solving
#2The author makes several important points, but I'm not sure he fully understands the mechanics of the market. As a founder, I don't necessarily have to think about solving a problem or making money. I just need to gather enough users. Once I go past a certain threshold, I can sell the company (with the users being the main value), and this is what many of my friends are trying to do. Of course at the heart of the app/service there is some benefit to the user, but few people have the illusion they're solving some world problems - they just want to find a smart way to earn substantial money while doing what they know and like to do.
Re: Stop tech-driven problem-solving
#3I think the title of the article does not accurately reflect the author's thesis, which is more like "trending tech may not be the best solution to your problem". I agree that riding the hype train instead of using established "mundane" tools is probably a bad idea for most problems, but exploring existing tech that might help you also qualifies as "tech-driven problem-solving" IMHO
Re: Stop tech-driven problem-solving
#4I think the title of the article does not accurately reflect the author's thesis, which is more like "trending tech may not be the best solution to your problem". I agree that riding the hype train instead of using established "mundane" tools is probably a bad idea for most problems, but exploring existing tech that might help you also qualifies as "tech-driven problem-solving" IMHO
I've worked at a large financial services company and a large medical billing company who both thought they could use big data and machine learning to monetize customers(!) data. Niether had expertise with either. One muddled through with local talent, the other brought in a ph.d ML guy. Both spent millions and got nothing in return. Anecedotal, but representative I believe.
Re: Stop tech-driven problem-solving
#5The author makes several important points, but I'm not sure he fully understands the mechanics of the market. As a founder, I don't necessarily have to think about solving a problem or making money. I just need to gather enough users. Once I go past a certain threshold, I can sell the company (with the users being the main value), and this is what many of my friends are trying to do. Of course at the heart of the app…
Most people I know that started business, cared about their company, not about turning the company into a product to sell.
Re: Stop tech-driven problem-solving
#6Also known as "fad", "buzzword" or "solution looking for a problem". The blockchain and big data are good examples. Some past examples are the internet of things and the semantic web.
Re: Stop tech-driven problem-solving
#7The author makes several important points, but I'm not sure he fully understands the mechanics of the market. As a founder, I don't necessarily have to think about solving a problem or making money. I just need to gather enough users. Once I go past a certain threshold, I can sell the company (with the users being the main value), and this is what many of my friends are trying to do. Of course at the heart of the app…
> As a founder, I don't necessarily have to think about solving a problem or making money. I just need to gather enough users. Once I go past a certain threshold, I can sell the company (with the users being the main value), and this is what many of my friends are trying to do.
The valley sickness in a nutshell.
Re: Stop tech-driven problem-solving
#8[deleted]
Re: Stop tech-driven problem-solving
#9I think the title of the article does not accurately reflect the author's thesis, which is more like "trending tech may not be the best solution to your problem". I agree that riding the hype train instead of using established "mundane" tools is probably a bad idea for most problems, but exploring existing tech that might help you also qualifies as "tech-driven problem-solving" IMHO
I've worked at a large financial services company and a large medical billing company who both thought they could use big data and machine learning to monetize customers(!) data. Niether had expertise with either. One muddled through with local talent, the other brought in a ph.d ML guy. Both spent millions and got nothing in return. Anecedotal, but representative I believe.
EDIT: Completely agree with your comment, and I've had similar anecdotal experiences.
1st rule of Big Data Club
Decide what knowledge you want to get — Then explore how you can generate information that can support this give you this knowledge, and finally you can begin to exploit the data you have at your disposal to generate this information.
The trick is not to generate lots of data, but to know how to extract information from it. Big Data™ Tools can assist in exploiting the data you have, to generate new more meaningful data, but that doesn't make it information, it's just more data.
Note that I distinguish between knowledge, information, and data.
Re: Stop tech-driven problem-solving
#10I think the title of the article does not accurately reflect the author's thesis, which is more like "trending tech may not be the best solution to your problem". I agree that riding the hype train instead of using established "mundane" tools is probably a bad idea for most problems, but exploring existing tech that might help you also qualifies as "tech-driven problem-solving" IMHO
I've worked at a large financial services company and a large medical billing company who both thought they could use big data and machine learning to monetize customers(!) data. Niether had expertise with either. One muddled through with local talent, the other brought in a ph.d ML guy. Both spent millions and got nothing in return. Anecedotal, but representative I believe.
I don't know how big those companies are, but they may qualify for big data if they have millions of users or enormous datasets to analyze. The question is, what's the advantage compared to other methods? Is being "left behind" a valid concern for the company's business or is it just a teenager's version of "left behind"?