4 ms·

Indeed. He's going on about how modern silicon valley, and to be honest much of the rest of the world, is geared around the short term. How start-ups are now li

by MalcUK 16y ago

Indeed. He's going on about how modern silicon valley, and to be honest much of the rest of the world, is geared around the short term. How start-ups are now light and fluffy, with a focus on making the world worse - by getting their users addicted, in their millions, to menial activities. I have been thinking about this recently, should the start-ups - which rely heavily on user addiction - be treated as gambling outlets, and therefore be regulated and watched closely? It would at least discourage that form of start-up.

jacquesm 16y ago
> should the start-ups - which rely heavily on user addiction - be treated as gambling outlets, and therefore be regulated and watched closely? No, definitely not. You might as well outlaw television for entertainment and the writing of fiction and poetry. Everybody gets to decide how they spend their time, that's an individuals freedom, and every company gets to decide what product they want to make. In the past companies have worked hard to give us more productivity and therefore more leisure time. New companies have stepped up that capitalize on that leisure time. The times when people had to be productive (in the developed part of the world, that is) every waking hour is fortunately behind us, and bringing it back by force is not a solution. For ever addict there are 100's or even 1000's of 'normal' users of those same services, you can't penalize everybody because of an inability for self-control in a minority of the population. "Facebook" or "Wow" or any other so called addictive product is only as addictive as you let it be.
rblion 16y ago
I see what you're trying to say. In Buddhism, a lama assumes responsibility over his followers. The followers have a responsbility to hold the lama in check from becoming an egomaniac. Startup CEOs should assume a similar responsibility over their users. If the entrepreneur really cared about the people, not the money, he/she wouldn't have a problem. If you watch how previous generations built their wealth, most of them did it by providing value and service for a fair price. Most of today's startups care about what's the new gold rush and how to get the most out. What really matters is how do you create the most value for society. If you do that, you will live a fuller life and people will respect you. Money usually follows if you stick to your principles.
- MalcUK 16y ago
  Yep. Though, I think there are excellent start-ups out there, who are innovating for the long term - but those aren't the start-ups that attract the easy money, publicity and hype. At least not at the moment.

by MalcUK 16y ago

jacquesm 16y ago

> should the start-ups - which rely heavily on user addiction - be treated as gambling outlets, and therefore be regulated and watched closely? No, definitely not. You might as well outlaw television for entertainment and the writing of fiction and poetry. Everybody gets to decide how they spend their time, that's an individuals freedom, and every company gets to decide what product they want to make. In the past companies have worked hard to give us more productivity and therefore more leisure time. New companies have stepped up that capitalize on that leisure time. The times when people had to be productive (in the developed part of the world, that is) every waking hour is fortunately behind us, and bringing it back by force is not a solution. For ever addict there are 100's or even 1000's of 'normal' users of those same services, you can't penalize everybody because of an inability for self-control in a minority of the population. "Facebook" or "Wow" or any other so called addictive product is only as addictive as you let it be.

rblion 16y ago

I see what you're trying to say. In Buddhism, a lama assumes responsibility over his followers. The followers have a responsbility to hold the lama in check from becoming an egomaniac. Startup CEOs should assume a similar responsibility over their users. If the entrepreneur really cared about the people, not the money, he/she wouldn't have a problem. If you watch how previous generations built their wealth, most of them did it by providing value and service for a fair price. Most of today's startups care about what's the new gold rush and how to get the most out. What really matters is how do you create the most value for society. If you do that, you will live a fuller life and people will respect you. Money usually follows if you stick to your principles.

MalcUK 16y ago
Yep. Though, I think there are excellent start-ups out there, who are innovating for the long term - but those aren't the start-ups that attract the easy money, publicity and hype. At least not at the moment.