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Please give us some examples of companies you feel have "real impact on the economy and humanity"...? Edit: Also, successful companies that started out with th

by beambot 11y ago

Please give us some examples of companies you feel have "real impact on the economy and humanity"...? Edit: Also, successful companies that started out with those ambitions?

eliteraspberrie 11y ago
To single one out, the Full Belly Project is a great example. Their Universal Nut Sheller has had a real, measurable impact on economies. In general terms, several industries have had a real, measurable impact on economies. The scooter, the diesel truck, the steel hulled boat, the washing machine, the cell phone... There are many successful companies in these industries that have a real impact on humanity and make a profit too. I find it astonishing that you couldn't think of examples of businesses that have had a bigger impact on humanity than Twitter and Facebook.
- beambot 11y ago
  > I find it astonishing that you couldn't think of examples of businesses that have had a bigger impact on humanity than Twitter and Facebook. I never said I couldn't think of businesses with more (current) impact than Twitter and Facebook! I think my work history amply illustrates that (Google[x], Google Life Sciences, etc). I was simply saying: A lot of really great, impactful businesses started off with more-modest beginnings; chiding existing upstarts for not being sufficiently ambitious borders on hubris.
Detrus 11y ago
Real impact is "low" and the market will reflect that after the hype settles. There wasn't much to pour money into at the start of this tech bubble/cycle so FaceTwitter got a lot more. Every other business that doesn't aim to be some small boutique has growth and impact in the back of their minds, or got the idea after a taste of success. And by far the biggest impact in computing has been from NLS-Mother of All Demos and Xerox PARC Smalltalk, who were aiming for exactly that. Measured in the trillions. Each individual startup's hyped up billion dollar share of this pie is small. As it should be, since they handle narrow subsets of functionality and can't even work seamlessly with each other. And most users can't deal with all the different UIs.
- beambot 11y ago
  Engelbart's "Mother of All Demos" had a huge impact on the world, but was an epic failure for his business. Xerox never capitalized on his innovation... so by that measure (since I asked you to name companies), it was a failure. ;)
  - Detrus 11y ago
    Yes financial reward and power wasn't properly distributed in these cases. But economic impact is not just about their individual success. It's economic.

by beambot 11y ago

Please give us some examples of companies you feel have "real impact on the economy and humanity"...? Edit: Also, successful companies that started out with those ambitions?

eliteraspberrie 11y ago

To single one out, the Full Belly Project is a great example. Their Universal Nut Sheller has had a real, measurable impact on economies. In general terms, several industries have had a real, measurable impact on economies. The scooter, the diesel truck, the steel hulled boat, the washing machine, the cell phone... There are many successful companies in these industries that have a real impact on humanity and make a profit too. I find it astonishing that you couldn't think of examples of businesses that have had a bigger impact on humanity than Twitter and Facebook.

beambot 11y ago
> I find it astonishing that you couldn't think of examples of businesses that have had a bigger impact on humanity than Twitter and Facebook. I never said I couldn't think of businesses with more (current) impact than Twitter and Facebook! I think my work history amply illustrates that (Google[x], Google Life Sciences, etc). I was simply saying: A lot of really great, impactful businesses started off with more-modest beginnings; chiding existing upstarts for not being sufficiently ambitious borders on hubris.

Detrus 11y ago

Real impact is "low" and the market will reflect that after the hype settles. There wasn't much to pour money into at the start of this tech bubble/cycle so FaceTwitter got a lot more. Every other business that doesn't aim to be some small boutique has growth and impact in the back of their minds, or got the idea after a taste of success. And by far the biggest impact in computing has been from NLS-Mother of All Demos and Xerox PARC Smalltalk, who were aiming for exactly that. Measured in the trillions. Each individual startup's hyped up billion dollar share of this pie is small. As it should be, since they handle narrow subsets of functionality and can't even work seamlessly with each other. And most users can't deal with all the different UIs.

beambot 11y ago
Engelbart's "Mother of All Demos" had a huge impact on the world, but was an epic failure for his business. Xerox never capitalized on his innovation... so by that measure (since I asked you to name companies), it was a failure. ;)
- Detrus 11y ago
  Yes financial reward and power wasn't properly distributed in these cases. But economic impact is not just about their individual success. It's economic.