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"Yet HN comments are vastly inferior to Reddit's when regarding anything to do with economics." I find that HN is pretty weak on economics. But it's a tech blo

"Yet HN comments are vastly inferior to Reddit's when regarding anything to do with economics." I find that HN is pretty weak on economics. But it's a tech blog, so ... And I'm not so sure that 'business ideas' are about economics. Usually, they are simply about doing things using newly available technology, in ways that are obvious in hindsight. I don't think that AirBnB conceptually is rocket science - it's the great experience they provide for everyone. It's really well put together. AirBnB done by a lesser team of people would be something you never heard of.

unixhero 10y ago
I beg to differ! https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12556160 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12556160
- jomamaxx 10y ago
  I agree there are some smart Econ things here, but when there's a tech article that wavers into Econ elements, I find it all to be lacking, generally. My point: HN folks are not thinking about market power, value chains, supply chains, forms of financing, currency markets - they're thinking about tech. At the risk of getting 100 down-votes - this is best exemplified by Bitcoin. It's a very powerful, cool technology - but almost nobody seems to grasp what it means from a financial perspective, i.e. as a currency, as a store of value etc. etc.. HN readers see it in 'techno-social' terms, i.e. 'cool tech' and 'free from big banks' 'decentralization' etc..
nickpsecurity 10y ago
"I don't think that AirBnB conceptually is rocket science " People have been doing what they're doing on individual or household level on ad hoc basis for decades. The problem persisted all the way up to AirBnB's time. There was no efficient, integrated, widely-available solution to the problem. They provided that. They exploded in growth followed by other founders looking for similar problems in unrelated markets like business trips. Several markets forming as a result. Basic concept is simple and was always there, though. Just needed someone to solve it in an economical way. :)

unixhero 10y ago

I beg to differ! https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12556160 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12556160

jomamaxx 10y ago
I agree there are some smart Econ things here, but when there's a tech article that wavers into Econ elements, I find it all to be lacking, generally. My point: HN folks are not thinking about market power, value chains, supply chains, forms of financing, currency markets - they're thinking about tech. At the risk of getting 100 down-votes - this is best exemplified by Bitcoin. It's a very powerful, cool technology - but almost nobody seems to grasp what it means from a financial perspective, i.e. as a currency, as a store of value etc. etc.. HN readers see it in 'techno-social' terms, i.e. 'cool tech' and 'free from big banks' 'decentralization' etc..

nickpsecurity 10y ago

"I don't think that AirBnB conceptually is rocket science " People have been doing what they're doing on individual or household level on ad hoc basis for decades. The problem persisted all the way up to AirBnB's time. There was no efficient, integrated, widely-available solution to the problem. They provided that. They exploded in growth followed by other founders looking for similar problems in unrelated markets like business trips. Several markets forming as a result. Basic concept is simple and was always there, though. Just needed someone to solve it in an economical way. :)