Hey, maybe the OP isn't exactly the most informed. But you can't argue that Tim O'Reilly doesn't know what the Valley is all about. And he's said some similar t

Hey, maybe the OP isn't exactly the most informed. But you can't argue that Tim O'Reilly doesn't know what the Valley is all about. And he's said some similar things. http://news.cnet.com/8301-13577_3-10045321-36.html http://news.cnet.com/8301-13577_3-10045321-36.html If I can "pivot" this discussion a little... as part of my job I've interacted a lot with Ward Cunningham, who invented wikis, helped invent Agile methodology, started people talking about design patterns, etc. This guy didn't exactly do any market research when he invented the wiki. He didn't throw up a landing page with a coming soon graphic. He didn't validate the concept with Google Ads. He didn't impress investors, or even customers. In fact it's likely that no one would have ever invested in the concept. He created something that, based on his experience and judgment, that he thought users needed. Turns out he was right. Maybe this kind of inspiration isn't productizable, which is why SV shies away from it. But is there no room for this sort of thinking? Even Google began in an academic environment, not in the business world. It seems to me that entrepreneur-thinking can get you only so far. Every really successful entrepreneur I know -- and I know a fairly high number -- has been a little bit crazy, and had ambitions far beyond monetization. Some of them ended up making a lot of money almost by accident. In our time, the hackers rebelled against the suits and are now running their own companies. A magnificent achievement. But is it going to be the final irony, that hackers are now going to think and act like suits? http://www.flickr.com/photos/caterina/158124358/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/caterina/158124358/