4 ms·

What am I a case of?

by paul 17y ago

marshallp 17y ago
insider dealing
- paul 17y ago
  How so?
  - marshallp 17y ago
    I'm not implying that you were engaged in anything shady, but your success with friendfeed, you have to admit, was more than the sum of your technical/marketing talent, having friends in high places has to have come into it somewhere, no?
    - paul 17y ago
      Not really -- we didn't know the Facebook team all that well. Your argument would make more sense if we had sold to Google, but even then it would be false. If your point is that people can build future success on top of past success, yes obviously that is true, but there is nothing wrong with that. It means that you need to work at it for a while and not expect people to simply hand you whatever you want because of some imagined "merit". Edit (because there's not reply link for some reason): Where do you think reputation comes from? You have to start by doing something, and over time if you keep doing things that makes you more valuable.
      - marshallp 17y ago
        Well it's not exactly "Create something remarkable and people with money will find you." then. More like 'create something remarkable and have enough reputation or schmoozing ability, and be in the right geograhic area'. Even the 'remarkable' thing is not entirely true. I don't think facebook or microsoft were remarkable, for example, they just hit the right combination of luck and skill at execution. Google on the other hand, was an example of something remarkable when it first appeared.
        andreyf 17y ago
        I'm tempted to thow out the over-quoted "luck favors the prepapred mind". Yes, Microsoft lucked out when Bill Gates' mom was a boardmember of IBM, but they certainly took full advantage of it, and their many other opportunities - most of which came with having a more accurate understanding of their market than others. What might seem like luck to the inexperienced mind is usually a well executed strategy in line with a superior model. All in all, though, I think it wise to hold yourself responsible for your accomplishments - both geographic location and your circle of acquaintances is something you have significant control over.
        marshallp 17y ago
        I don't think you can attribute Bill Gates to superior understanding and execution, at 50/100 million or even 500 million, but getting to 100 billion at one point, I don't buy it. Is Bill Gates really that much smarter than the rest of us. The same can be said for most people that's over 10 million I reckon. "All in all, though, I think it wise to hold yourself responsible for your accomplishments - both geographic location and your circle of acquaintances is something you have significant control over." I agree in spirit, but the reality is different. Yes. -if you're a white/asian male -born to middle class parents -and you're parents emphasized education -and good nutrition/genes so that you grow to above average height -and that you go to a good college -and can fit in with the right crowd yes, you simply move to silicon valley/manhattan/london and fit right in. IF you're a black man from a poor single parent family in small town mississippi, or the daughter of a farmer from a village in bangladesh, things are much more difficult.
        andreyf 17y ago
        If you really want to make the big bucks, what you really need is a monopoly on the desktop operating system. But the Sherman Antitrust Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1 and 2, and Clayton Antitrust Act, 15 U.S.C. § 25, are real bitches. That's how Bill Gates made $100B. He had an opportunity to monopolize desktop OS'es and the luck/insight to bet they would one day be worth a lot, and the skills to execute on that opportunity. Yes, that kind of opportunity is very rare, but $1-100M opportunities are not. That said, I agree with everything else you said - I agree that I'd much more like to live in a world where a black person with a poor single parent in a small town in Mississippi is given the tools to take advantage of the same opportunities as a Kennedy, but we should also accept that although it's something to strive for, and something to take steps towards (affirmative action/universal education/healthcare), there are also aspects which make it impossible. Ironically, one step towards equality is the removal of the meme "I was born <this and that>, so I can never accomplish what Bill Gates did".

What am I a case of?

by paul 17y ago

What am I a case of?

marshallp 17y ago

insider dealing

paul 17y ago
How so?
- marshallp 17y ago
  I'm not implying that you were engaged in anything shady, but your success with friendfeed, you have to admit, was more than the sum of your technical/marketing talent, having friends in high places has to have come into it somewhere, no?
  - paul 17y ago
    Not really -- we didn't know the Facebook team all that well. Your argument would make more sense if we had sold to Google, but even then it would be false. If your point is that people can build future success on top of past success, yes obviously that is true, but there is nothing wrong with that. It means that you need to work at it for a while and not expect people to simply hand you whatever you want because of some imagined "merit". Edit (because there's not reply link for some reason): Where do you think reputation comes from? You have to start by doing something, and over time if you keep doing things that makes you more valuable.
    - marshallp 17y ago
      Well it's not exactly "Create something remarkable and people with money will find you." then. More like 'create something remarkable and have enough reputation or schmoozing ability, and be in the right geograhic area'. Even the 'remarkable' thing is not entirely true. I don't think facebook or microsoft were remarkable, for example, they just hit the right combination of luck and skill at execution. Google on the other hand, was an example of something remarkable when it first appeared.
      - andreyf 17y ago
        I'm tempted to thow out the over-quoted "luck favors the prepapred mind". Yes, Microsoft lucked out when Bill Gates' mom was a boardmember of IBM, but they certainly took full advantage of it, and their many other opportunities - most of which came with having a more accurate understanding of their market than others. What might seem like luck to the inexperienced mind is usually a well executed strategy in line with a superior model. All in all, though, I think it wise to hold yourself responsible for your accomplishments - both geographic location and your circle of acquaintances is something you have significant control over.
        marshallp 17y ago
        I don't think you can attribute Bill Gates to superior understanding and execution, at 50/100 million or even 500 million, but getting to 100 billion at one point, I don't buy it. Is Bill Gates really that much smarter than the rest of us. The same can be said for most people that's over 10 million I reckon. "All in all, though, I think it wise to hold yourself responsible for your accomplishments - both geographic location and your circle of acquaintances is something you have significant control over." I agree in spirit, but the reality is different. Yes. -if you're a white/asian male -born to middle class parents -and you're parents emphasized education -and good nutrition/genes so that you grow to above average height -and that you go to a good college -and can fit in with the right crowd yes, you simply move to silicon valley/manhattan/london and fit right in. IF you're a black man from a poor single parent family in small town mississippi, or the daughter of a farmer from a village in bangladesh, things are much more difficult.
        andreyf 17y ago
        If you really want to make the big bucks, what you really need is a monopoly on the desktop operating system. But the Sherman Antitrust Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1 and 2, and Clayton Antitrust Act, 15 U.S.C. § 25, are real bitches. That's how Bill Gates made $100B. He had an opportunity to monopolize desktop OS'es and the luck/insight to bet they would one day be worth a lot, and the skills to execute on that opportunity. Yes, that kind of opportunity is very rare, but $1-100M opportunities are not. That said, I agree with everything else you said - I agree that I'd much more like to live in a world where a black person with a poor single parent in a small town in Mississippi is given the tools to take advantage of the same opportunities as a Kennedy, but we should also accept that although it's something to strive for, and something to take steps towards (affirmative action/universal education/healthcare), there are also aspects which make it impossible. Ironically, one step towards equality is the removal of the meme "I was born <this and that>, so I can never accomplish what Bill Gates did".