4 ms·

Explain square.

by texasbigdata 4y ago

Explain square.

ohyoutravel 4y ago
“More like somebody at the right place and time.”
- colordrops 4y ago
  For two companies? Seems like too hand wavy of an explanation.
  - texasbigdata 4y ago
    To argue against myself, and I can't cite this, Zuckerberg allegedly referred to Twitter as a clown car that drove into a diamond mine.
    - vimy 4y ago
      When / where did he say this? At one of Facebook’s weekly townhalls?
      - texasbigdata 4y ago
        I think I heard it on the This Week in Startups podcast this week (pre- takeover offer). Edit: literally first google result for Zuckerberg clown car https://www.google.com/search?q=Zuckerberg+clown+car https://www.google.com/search?q=Zuckerberg+clown+car
        vimy 4y ago
        Oh, I thought it was ungoogleable so I didn’t try. > According to "Hatching Twitter," a new book dissecting the history of the short-messaging site by the New York Times' Nick Bilton, Facebook's founder once told close friends that "[Twitter is] such a mess, it’s as if they drove a clown car into a gold mine and fell in." Although the comment is not given a specific date, the book notes that Zuckerberg made it "within the last three years." The comment was highlighted by venture capitalist Paul Kedrosky on Bloomberg TV last week. Zuckerberg took the reported jab at Twitter after he was frustrated by the startup not taking one of his acquisition offers. Al Gore had also whiffed on buying the hot startup, despite being emboldened by "copious amounts" of wine and Patron tequlia, and of course, his deep pockets. Didn’t know Facebook wanted to buy twitter. Or Al Gore for that matter.
    - lupire 4y ago
      Zuck also thinks he is the only smart person in the world.
adam_arthur 4y ago
Certainly he's somebody who took initiative. Did his personal contributions move the needle beyond getting the idea rolling? I honestly don't know, but I haven't seen any evidence of that. But I also haven't looked that hard. It seems easy to accidentally stumble upon stories of the other prominent tech founders moving the needle. But maybe it's all propaganda
enra 4y ago
Seeing and hearing Jack, I think he is good and what he likes to be more like “spiritual” leader. He can makes bets and give guidance but he doesn’t want to manage, or get to the weeds. The way he set up Square is more like individual groups working independently and he just provides the aircover for things he believes in. He pushed the Square Tidal acquisition because in a weird way it makes sense in his mind. He also pushed for bitcoin because he believes in it, instead of it being part of company strategy. Twitter needs someone who could reset the current thinking and be the product visionary but also a person make people execute on the vision. Kind of someone like Elon. Unclear if Elon’s ideas are good but at least he doesn’t tolerate bad performance.
- behnamoh 4y ago
  I do miss Steve Jobs, or mainly, his leadership style in tech. Every year with SJ was full of surprises and delightful visions coming true. In a way, people in the late 90s and early 2000s experienced the peak of the tech landscape. The smartphones revolution was just one of the visions that came true in that era. In a way, Musk is like SJ, but greedier and cockier. SJ was about products centered around humans. Musk is about humans centered around technologies.
  - wyclif 4y ago
    Greedier and cockier than Jobs? The same Jobs who wouldn't admit paternity for years? The same Jobs who wouldn't acknowledge certain teams that had worked on certain products at Apple? The same Jobs who tried to buy Dropbox by telling them they were an app, not a company? You've got to be kidding me. That is a colossally high bar for both those qualities.
    - nicky0 4y ago
      I think he said they were a feature, not a product.
      - wyclif 4y ago
        You're right, but unfortunately I can't edit it now.
7sidedmarble 4y ago
If you had his kind of golden parachute, you don't think you could see any number of product ideas through to success?

Explain square.

ohyoutravel 4y ago

“More like somebody at the right place and time.”

colordrops 4y ago
For two companies? Seems like too hand wavy of an explanation.
- texasbigdata 4y ago
  To argue against myself, and I can't cite this, Zuckerberg allegedly referred to Twitter as a clown car that drove into a diamond mine.
  - vimy 4y ago
    When / where did he say this? At one of Facebook’s weekly townhalls?
    - texasbigdata 4y ago
      I think I heard it on the This Week in Startups podcast this week (pre- takeover offer). Edit: literally first google result for Zuckerberg clown car https://www.google.com/search?q=Zuckerberg+clown+car https://www.google.com/search?q=Zuckerberg+clown+car
      - vimy 4y ago
        Oh, I thought it was ungoogleable so I didn’t try. > According to "Hatching Twitter," a new book dissecting the history of the short-messaging site by the New York Times' Nick Bilton, Facebook's founder once told close friends that "[Twitter is] such a mess, it’s as if they drove a clown car into a gold mine and fell in." Although the comment is not given a specific date, the book notes that Zuckerberg made it "within the last three years." The comment was highlighted by venture capitalist Paul Kedrosky on Bloomberg TV last week. Zuckerberg took the reported jab at Twitter after he was frustrated by the startup not taking one of his acquisition offers. Al Gore had also whiffed on buying the hot startup, despite being emboldened by "copious amounts" of wine and Patron tequlia, and of course, his deep pockets. Didn’t know Facebook wanted to buy twitter. Or Al Gore for that matter.
  - lupire 4y ago
    Zuck also thinks he is the only smart person in the world.

adam_arthur 4y ago

Certainly he's somebody who took initiative. Did his personal contributions move the needle beyond getting the idea rolling? I honestly don't know, but I haven't seen any evidence of that. But I also haven't looked that hard. It seems easy to accidentally stumble upon stories of the other prominent tech founders moving the needle. But maybe it's all propaganda

enra 4y ago

Seeing and hearing Jack, I think he is good and what he likes to be more like “spiritual” leader. He can makes bets and give guidance but he doesn’t want to manage, or get to the weeds. The way he set up Square is more like individual groups working independently and he just provides the aircover for things he believes in. He pushed the Square Tidal acquisition because in a weird way it makes sense in his mind. He also pushed for bitcoin because he believes in it, instead of it being part of company strategy. Twitter needs someone who could reset the current thinking and be the product visionary but also a person make people execute on the vision. Kind of someone like Elon. Unclear if Elon’s ideas are good but at least he doesn’t tolerate bad performance.

behnamoh 4y ago
I do miss Steve Jobs, or mainly, his leadership style in tech. Every year with SJ was full of surprises and delightful visions coming true. In a way, people in the late 90s and early 2000s experienced the peak of the tech landscape. The smartphones revolution was just one of the visions that came true in that era. In a way, Musk is like SJ, but greedier and cockier. SJ was about products centered around humans. Musk is about humans centered around technologies.
- wyclif 4y ago
  Greedier and cockier than Jobs? The same Jobs who wouldn't admit paternity for years? The same Jobs who wouldn't acknowledge certain teams that had worked on certain products at Apple? The same Jobs who tried to buy Dropbox by telling them they were an app, not a company? You've got to be kidding me. That is a colossally high bar for both those qualities.
  - nicky0 4y ago
    I think he said they were a feature, not a product.
    - wyclif 4y ago
      You're right, but unfortunately I can't edit it now.

7sidedmarble 4y ago

If you had his kind of golden parachute, you don't think you could see any number of product ideas through to success?