6 ms·

There are a few gems in there that I'd like to see more of (etacts for instance), but overall I'm dismayed by the sheer volume of SV navel-gazing produced twitt

There are a few gems in there that I'd like to see more of (etacts for instance), but overall I'm dismayed by the sheer volume of SV navel-gazing produced twitter junk. I'd love to see more ideas around PG's list of things he'd like to fund being presented instead of yet another "social collaboration because what else is there?" startup.

dadkins 17y ago
Yes, indeed. Spot the buzzword: We make social games. a social data request and fulfillment system adding social data leveraging social media identify active social networkers Infoharmoni visualizes the real-time social web social sports (and soon pop culture) betting applications
- fallintothis 17y ago
  I was giggling at Gamador's summary. We make social games. We launch faster, iterate faster, and use metrics better. "Use metrics better"? I guess that one wasn't crafted with consumers in mind.
  - patio11 17y ago
    If it makes you feel better, you can pretend they said "We make the games our customers want to play rather than the games we think they should want to play." Because that is what they said.
    - fallintothis 17y ago
      Because that is what they said. In so many words. I trust their second sentence is relevant and makes more sense to investors, but I imagined it being their slogan. "Gamador: We launch faster, iterate faster, and use metrics better" just sounds humorous (hence the giggling). To me, as a Joe-average user, it sounds more like That Guy from Futurama than "we make a lot of really addicting games".
      - lacker 17y ago
        Heck, if it made you giggle, maybe we should use it as our slogan.
  - pg 17y ago
    I guess that one wasn't crafted with consumers in mind. That is exactly right. These descriptions were written for investors.
- abstractbill 17y ago
  Quoting JWZ: "How will this software get my users laid" should be on the minds of anyone writing social software (and these days, almost all software is social software). They're not using "social" as a buzzword indicating a passing fad. They're using it because, as JWZ points out, that's part of what software is today.
  - axod 17y ago
    Software has been 'social' for 10-15 years at least though. We just didn't call it 'social' until the last couple of years. I think that's why it's an irritating buzzword. It suggests there's something new and revolutionary, when it's actually just more of the same.
- danicgross 17y ago
  1985: we make personal computers. 2010: we make social applications. get on the train or get off it. social, realtime, location etc. are the new technologies of this generation.
samd 17y ago
Maybe the pressure of having to present something tangible with only 3 months of ramen noodles makes people reach for the low-hanging fruit.
pg 17y ago
You know nothing more about most of these startups than a few sentences written for investors. That you dismiss them so summarily and so nastily says more about you than them. Why don't you just wait and see how they do?
- run4yourlives 17y ago
  I'll admit re-reading my comment it is a little harsh and has an insulting tone, which wasn't my intent. I'm more disappointed; I don't really feel twitter and like applications really add any value in the long term. Their sphere of influence barely extends outside of a very vocal and visible extended SV community. I respect and value both YC and all your applicants. Everything I've seen highlights the enormous amount of intelligence, creativity, and 'shutzpah' that you all have. Because of that, I find it very disturbing that a lot of your collective effort goes into problems that are 1) barely issues for 90% of computer users and 2) are insular to SV and the particularities of that community. There are a whole host of areas where YC and those it funds can make huge inroads. I just find it disappointing that I see one or two offerings to 80% of the market while the majority of funded focus on the 20% - albeit a very investor friendly 20%, perhaps making my disappointed grow - that an insular community has dictated to be the "trend". ADDED: I'm your typical customer. It's views like mine you should be listening to, not discarding. If I say "Meh, no value add" your response should not be "You simply don't understand how wonderful we are". That's a failure in your message delivery.
  - webwright 17y ago
    How valuable in the long term do you think a classified mailing list for San Francisco is to the world? Or an online bookstore? Or a social network for a school? Yet Craigslist, Amazon, and Facebook morphed into amazing things. YC companies do things that are tractable and fundable within 3 months, which is the first test. Then, with some focused success, they grow/expand. At this point, it takes some vision to imagine what these companies COULD be in 7-8 years (which is the average time to liquidity for venture investments).
    - 17y ago

dadkins 17y ago

Yes, indeed. Spot the buzzword: We make social games. a social data request and fulfillment system adding social data leveraging social media identify active social networkers Infoharmoni visualizes the real-time social web social sports (and soon pop culture) betting applications

fallintothis 17y ago
I was giggling at Gamador's summary. We make social games. We launch faster, iterate faster, and use metrics better. "Use metrics better"? I guess that one wasn't crafted with consumers in mind.
- patio11 17y ago
  If it makes you feel better, you can pretend they said "We make the games our customers want to play rather than the games we think they should want to play." Because that is what they said.
  - fallintothis 17y ago
    Because that is what they said. In so many words. I trust their second sentence is relevant and makes more sense to investors, but I imagined it being their slogan. "Gamador: We launch faster, iterate faster, and use metrics better" just sounds humorous (hence the giggling). To me, as a Joe-average user, it sounds more like That Guy from Futurama than "we make a lot of really addicting games".
    - lacker 17y ago
      Heck, if it made you giggle, maybe we should use it as our slogan.
- pg 17y ago
  I guess that one wasn't crafted with consumers in mind. That is exactly right. These descriptions were written for investors.
abstractbill 17y ago
Quoting JWZ: "How will this software get my users laid" should be on the minds of anyone writing social software (and these days, almost all software is social software). They're not using "social" as a buzzword indicating a passing fad. They're using it because, as JWZ points out, that's part of what software is today.
- axod 17y ago
  Software has been 'social' for 10-15 years at least though. We just didn't call it 'social' until the last couple of years. I think that's why it's an irritating buzzword. It suggests there's something new and revolutionary, when it's actually just more of the same.
danicgross 17y ago
1985: we make personal computers. 2010: we make social applications. get on the train or get off it. social, realtime, location etc. are the new technologies of this generation.

samd 17y ago

Maybe the pressure of having to present something tangible with only 3 months of ramen noodles makes people reach for the low-hanging fruit.

pg 17y ago

You know nothing more about most of these startups than a few sentences written for investors. That you dismiss them so summarily and so nastily says more about you than them. Why don't you just wait and see how they do?

run4yourlives 17y ago
I'll admit re-reading my comment it is a little harsh and has an insulting tone, which wasn't my intent. I'm more disappointed; I don't really feel twitter and like applications really add any value in the long term. Their sphere of influence barely extends outside of a very vocal and visible extended SV community. I respect and value both YC and all your applicants. Everything I've seen highlights the enormous amount of intelligence, creativity, and 'shutzpah' that you all have. Because of that, I find it very disturbing that a lot of your collective effort goes into problems that are 1) barely issues for 90% of computer users and 2) are insular to SV and the particularities of that community. There are a whole host of areas where YC and those it funds can make huge inroads. I just find it disappointing that I see one or two offerings to 80% of the market while the majority of funded focus on the 20% - albeit a very investor friendly 20%, perhaps making my disappointed grow - that an insular community has dictated to be the "trend". ADDED: I'm your typical customer. It's views like mine you should be listening to, not discarding. If I say "Meh, no value add" your response should not be "You simply don't understand how wonderful we are". That's a failure in your message delivery.
- webwright 17y ago
  How valuable in the long term do you think a classified mailing list for San Francisco is to the world? Or an online bookstore? Or a social network for a school? Yet Craigslist, Amazon, and Facebook morphed into amazing things. YC companies do things that are tractable and fundable within 3 months, which is the first test. Then, with some focused success, they grow/expand. At this point, it takes some vision to imagine what these companies COULD be in 7-8 years (which is the average time to liquidity for venture investments).
  - 17y ago