The Hidden Assumptions That Neuter Criticism in Silicon Valley

The contretemps of the day comes courtesy of TechCrunch, where Professor Vivek Wadhwa has published a guest post addressing a Twitter debate he had with Twitter CEO Dick Costolo (now how’s that for meta?): http://tcrn.ch/GD0570 The controversy began with a quote that Wadhwa provided to the New York Times for a story on sexism in … Continue reading The Hidden Assumptions That Neuter Criticism in Silicon Valley

Twitter is a Debate Machine

It’s impossible to argue a point on Twitter without leaving an opening for debate. It simply isn’t possible to lay out a nuanced argument that addresses the main potential objections in less than 140 characters. As a result, any tweet can be debated. In some ways, this is bad, because it further contributes to our … Continue reading Twitter is a Debate Machine

Your influence comes from your content

A final “Friday Night Writes” piece from the redoubtable Brian Reese… Brian asked: “What makes you (or anyone of influence on Twitter…aka thousands/millions of followers) follow someone or re-tweet something from someone less influence?  For example, do you look to further your own “brand-you” from a re-tweet, thereby decreasing the likelihood of re-tweeting something from … Continue reading Your influence comes from your content

The content continuum and why I’m worried about the direction of the online world

At the risk of sounding (even more) like a crotchety old man, I feel like the online world is moving in exactly the wrong direction. I would argue that there is a direct correlation between the amount of effort a creator expends and the quality and value of that creation. For example, I listen to … Continue reading The content continuum and why I’m worried about the direction of the online world

Why I’m 10X As Influential As Ashton Kutcher On Twitter*

It’s all a question of influence intensity. Of course Ashton Kutcher can influence more people than I can–he has about 2,500 times as many Twitter followers. But I have more influence over my average follower than he has over his. The average Ashton Kutcher tweet generates 12,500 clicks on Bit.ly–that’s quite a bit of influence. … Continue reading Why I’m 10X As Influential As Ashton Kutcher On Twitter*

Focus and Serendipity: You Need Both

Technology critics like Nicholas Carr often complain that the Internet is hampering our ability to think. Facebook, and even more so Twitter, exemplify this trend. Back during the ancient days of my youth, when dinosaurs roamed the planet, and shortly after fire was invented, I would communicate with my Stanford friends over the summer by … Continue reading Focus and Serendipity: You Need Both

Things I Would Have Tweeted…

…if Twitter weren’t down. Chris Yeh-ism of the day: “Revolution plays well to early adopters, but the mainstream is looking for solutions, not revolutions.” (from a comment on Oliver Young’s blog)Great insights from Gil Yehuda: Same people plus same process yields same results. To get different results, you need different people, or a different approach … Continue reading Things I Would Have Tweeted…