5 ms·

While Zuckerberg is busy buying vanity smartphone photo-filters for a billion bucks, Elon Musk is busy putting America back in space. Impact. Matters.

by mukaiji 15y ago

schraeds 15y ago
How many years after starting PayPal did Elon start space exploration efforts? While I agree with the sentiment of your post, and I am apprehensive Zuckerberg ever strives for NASA or equivalent level accomplishment, I think it's way to early in his life to judge/assume.
deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
flyt 15y ago
Zuckerberg has accrued over 20 billion dollars of value. He's 27. Elon started out by starting a company "to let people pay to sell junk on eBay" and he did alright. Give Mark some time before rushing to judge.
- cft 15y ago
  First, Elon started zip2.com, which "enabled companies to post content on the Internet, such as maps and directory listings"- it was sold in 1999. The X.com (which later became PayPal) is a payment processing engine behind all kinds of things, including companies doing very productive stuff, not just selling junk on ebay. Note that unlike Facebook.com, PayPal.com is never blocked at workplaces, since it's not a productivity killer. I think Mark will re-implement Hollywood in SF Bay Area, but will not do anything as productive as SpaceX or Tesla Motors. If anything, it shows that monetary value is not 100% rationally assigned by the current sociopolitical system.
  - potatolicious 15y ago
    What a needlessly narrow-minded and judgmental post. For better or for worse, Facebook has completely changed the way we socialize, both online and off. We now have means to share and consume information about our acquaintances and friends that we never had before - and based on simple observation we know that people are eating this up. The demand for Zuckerberg's product is massive. Impact? Being the man who invented Facebook isn't impactful? We can spend all day spinning this - I can claim that the Dragon is a billionaire's toy, an elitist device which burns boatloads of cash each launch while others suffer through poverty, illness, and death. But I won't, because that'd be stupid, because the value of any such venture is inherently many-faceted and difficult to ascertain. By your logic anybody who isn't actively curing cancer and malaria is just wasting his/her time.
    - mkramlich 15y ago
      > We now have means to share and consume information about our acquaintances and friends that we never had before Being someone that was alive long before Facebook got big I can assure you this statement is wrong. Tons of ways to do that before Facebook came along, including other social websites (MySpace, LiveJournal, FriendFeed, etc.), web forums, Usenet forums, BBSes, etc. Yes Facebook was a little prettier and did something a little nicer with their UI and their demographic marketing than many alternatives. But they did not give us anything new we didn't have before. I still think it's pretty lame and not impressed with it. The biggest thing I'm impressed with is their ability to keep it relatively fast and responsive under huge traffic load. The rest is straight-forward CRUD profiles, web chat and image uploads. So everything they provided was and is a free, easily cloneable commodity in terms of functionality. I think they just happened to win the "network effect" lottery among the non-digerati, and got lucky with timing. Again: I have major respect for Facebook architects/engineers for keeping that thing fast and up under such high and growing traffic. But the features? Meh. > Impact? Being the man who invented Facebook isn't impactful? I think calling that "invention" really strains the meaning of that word. Writing it, maybe. Inventing the light bulb, inventing a helicopter, now that's invention. Making a CRUD profile & chat website did not then and does not now require invention. Lots of coding, sure. Figuring out how to keep it simple and non ugly, useful, sure. Keeping it cool early by only allowing Harvard kids, then other Ivy League kids, then other colleges, etc. But is that invention? No. Creation? Yes.
      - potatolicious 15y ago
        > "Being someone that was alive long before Facebook got big I can assure you this statement is wrong." Funny, you seem to know a lot about the experiences of myself and my friends - all of whom predate Facebook by a pretty wide margin. This reminds me of the age-old and tired argument that Apple wasn't first to the smartphone game, as if that somehow robs their accomplishment of any weight. LJ never transcended being a niche online community, FriendFeed is a footnote, Friendster was well-known but not widely used... The only social network that had any real claim to popularity in your list is MySpace, and it was steamrolled by Facebook so quickly I'm sure their heads are still spinning. Likewise, Nokia was first - but does it matter? "Smartphone" didn't enter the common vernacular until the iPhone. The fact that similar functionality (available with much poorer relative usability) existed prior to the game-changing product is supposed to prove... what? Remember "No wireless. Less space than a Nomad. Lame."? The execution of an idea is as important (no, more important) than the idea itself, and is worthy of recognition. Similarly, Henry Ford didn't invent the automobile, but he certainly was the one who brought it to the masses - and that is well worth recognition and respect. So yeah, you're right, niche proto-social-networks existed prior to Facebook. So what? Facebook was the first mass-market social network that had any significant traction, and it remains the king of the hill. It has changed the way people interact, even if it wasn't the first to come up with the idea of it. What's with the blithe dismissals of Facebook and Zuck-hate? This isn't a zero-sum game - there is plenty of space for Musk and Zuckerberg to both do their thing, and impact the things they will.
- vaksel 15y ago
  Musk started Space X at 30...and I seriously doubt Zuckerberg will be doing anything on that level in the next 3 years.
  - stcredzero 15y ago
    I hope Mark and a few other billionaires invest a billion or two in SpaceX and Tesla in a few years.
    - burgerbrain 15y ago
      I don't think there is anything really stopping them from merely investing like that right now. Sure, starting up that sort of thing yourself is probably something you should wait to do until after you've made good on your prior obligations, but how time consuming could writing a check be?
te_chris 15y ago
I don't see the point in this comment, or why it's getting so upvoted. We 1st worlders still live within market economies where people can build what they like and rise and fall at the peril of the consumer. Both of them have done this brilliantly so I ask, why so mad? Tbh your comment just reminds me of the people on music boards who spend all their time arguing that music died after Led Zep....
mkramlich 15y ago
Indeed if I had millions/billions to invest I'd rather throw it at Elon. Not only would I have a reasonable level of expectation of seeing an ROI, however long it might take, but also I could expect to see social return. Something that truly moves the human race forward. There are tons of teams that could make Instagram, Groupon, OMGPOP or Pinterest, etc. Very few that could do SpaceX. Bet on talent. Especially rarer talent with a track record.
starpilot 15y ago
Also, 95% of HN readers are doing work much closer to Zuckerberg's than to that at SpaceX.
- mkramlich 15y ago
  Or doing work closer to the zip2/X/PayPal phase of Elon's career. (We should all hope.)
- kamaal 15y ago
  Not a very accurate comparison. The question is not, what would you do to make a living. The question is what would you do in your time if you had enough money not to go out and make a living. Many of us do what we do, because we need a monthly pay check to feed us, pay our bills and send our kids to school. If you had 20 billion dollars, what would be your bigger priorities. Building and maintaining a Php site(which is important too, because that is what got the 20 billion dollars) or Space Travel?
  - rfrey 15y ago
    The question is not, what would you do to make a living. The question is what would you do in your time if you had enough money not to go out and make a living. I think this is completely wrong. The question is exactly the same if you're deciding what to do with your career or what to do with your fortune. Action is difficult, fantasizing about what you'd do if you were rich is easy.
- krschultz 15y ago
  Sweet, I'm finally in the 5% of something.
mburns 15y ago
Elon Musk has only invested $200Million of his money into SpaceX. Pretty impressive results.
eps 15y ago
Do you really think Musk is doing it for America?

While Zuckerberg is busy buying vanity smartphone photo-filters for a billion bucks, Elon Musk is busy putting America back in space. Impact. Matters.

by mukaiji 15y ago

While Zuckerberg is busy buying vanity smartphone photo-filters for a billion bucks, Elon Musk is busy putting America back in space. Impact. Matters.

schraeds 15y ago

How many years after starting PayPal did Elon start space exploration efforts? While I agree with the sentiment of your post, and I am apprehensive Zuckerberg ever strives for NASA or equivalent level accomplishment, I think it's way to early in his life to judge/assume.

deleted 15y ago

[deleted]

flyt 15y ago

Zuckerberg has accrued over 20 billion dollars of value. He's 27. Elon started out by starting a company "to let people pay to sell junk on eBay" and he did alright. Give Mark some time before rushing to judge.

cft 15y ago
First, Elon started zip2.com, which "enabled companies to post content on the Internet, such as maps and directory listings"- it was sold in 1999. The X.com (which later became PayPal) is a payment processing engine behind all kinds of things, including companies doing very productive stuff, not just selling junk on ebay. Note that unlike Facebook.com, PayPal.com is never blocked at workplaces, since it's not a productivity killer. I think Mark will re-implement Hollywood in SF Bay Area, but will not do anything as productive as SpaceX or Tesla Motors. If anything, it shows that monetary value is not 100% rationally assigned by the current sociopolitical system.
- potatolicious 15y ago
  What a needlessly narrow-minded and judgmental post. For better or for worse, Facebook has completely changed the way we socialize, both online and off. We now have means to share and consume information about our acquaintances and friends that we never had before - and based on simple observation we know that people are eating this up. The demand for Zuckerberg's product is massive. Impact? Being the man who invented Facebook isn't impactful? We can spend all day spinning this - I can claim that the Dragon is a billionaire's toy, an elitist device which burns boatloads of cash each launch while others suffer through poverty, illness, and death. But I won't, because that'd be stupid, because the value of any such venture is inherently many-faceted and difficult to ascertain. By your logic anybody who isn't actively curing cancer and malaria is just wasting his/her time.
  - mkramlich 15y ago
    > We now have means to share and consume information about our acquaintances and friends that we never had before Being someone that was alive long before Facebook got big I can assure you this statement is wrong. Tons of ways to do that before Facebook came along, including other social websites (MySpace, LiveJournal, FriendFeed, etc.), web forums, Usenet forums, BBSes, etc. Yes Facebook was a little prettier and did something a little nicer with their UI and their demographic marketing than many alternatives. But they did not give us anything new we didn't have before. I still think it's pretty lame and not impressed with it. The biggest thing I'm impressed with is their ability to keep it relatively fast and responsive under huge traffic load. The rest is straight-forward CRUD profiles, web chat and image uploads. So everything they provided was and is a free, easily cloneable commodity in terms of functionality. I think they just happened to win the "network effect" lottery among the non-digerati, and got lucky with timing. Again: I have major respect for Facebook architects/engineers for keeping that thing fast and up under such high and growing traffic. But the features? Meh. > Impact? Being the man who invented Facebook isn't impactful? I think calling that "invention" really strains the meaning of that word. Writing it, maybe. Inventing the light bulb, inventing a helicopter, now that's invention. Making a CRUD profile & chat website did not then and does not now require invention. Lots of coding, sure. Figuring out how to keep it simple and non ugly, useful, sure. Keeping it cool early by only allowing Harvard kids, then other Ivy League kids, then other colleges, etc. But is that invention? No. Creation? Yes.
    - potatolicious 15y ago
      > "Being someone that was alive long before Facebook got big I can assure you this statement is wrong." Funny, you seem to know a lot about the experiences of myself and my friends - all of whom predate Facebook by a pretty wide margin. This reminds me of the age-old and tired argument that Apple wasn't first to the smartphone game, as if that somehow robs their accomplishment of any weight. LJ never transcended being a niche online community, FriendFeed is a footnote, Friendster was well-known but not widely used... The only social network that had any real claim to popularity in your list is MySpace, and it was steamrolled by Facebook so quickly I'm sure their heads are still spinning. Likewise, Nokia was first - but does it matter? "Smartphone" didn't enter the common vernacular until the iPhone. The fact that similar functionality (available with much poorer relative usability) existed prior to the game-changing product is supposed to prove... what? Remember "No wireless. Less space than a Nomad. Lame."? The execution of an idea is as important (no, more important) than the idea itself, and is worthy of recognition. Similarly, Henry Ford didn't invent the automobile, but he certainly was the one who brought it to the masses - and that is well worth recognition and respect. So yeah, you're right, niche proto-social-networks existed prior to Facebook. So what? Facebook was the first mass-market social network that had any significant traction, and it remains the king of the hill. It has changed the way people interact, even if it wasn't the first to come up with the idea of it. What's with the blithe dismissals of Facebook and Zuck-hate? This isn't a zero-sum game - there is plenty of space for Musk and Zuckerberg to both do their thing, and impact the things they will.
vaksel 15y ago
Musk started Space X at 30...and I seriously doubt Zuckerberg will be doing anything on that level in the next 3 years.
- stcredzero 15y ago
  I hope Mark and a few other billionaires invest a billion or two in SpaceX and Tesla in a few years.
  - burgerbrain 15y ago
    I don't think there is anything really stopping them from merely investing like that right now. Sure, starting up that sort of thing yourself is probably something you should wait to do until after you've made good on your prior obligations, but how time consuming could writing a check be?

te_chris 15y ago

I don't see the point in this comment, or why it's getting so upvoted. We 1st worlders still live within market economies where people can build what they like and rise and fall at the peril of the consumer. Both of them have done this brilliantly so I ask, why so mad? Tbh your comment just reminds me of the people on music boards who spend all their time arguing that music died after Led Zep....

mkramlich 15y ago

Indeed if I had millions/billions to invest I'd rather throw it at Elon. Not only would I have a reasonable level of expectation of seeing an ROI, however long it might take, but also I could expect to see social return. Something that truly moves the human race forward. There are tons of teams that could make Instagram, Groupon, OMGPOP or Pinterest, etc. Very few that could do SpaceX. Bet on talent. Especially rarer talent with a track record.

starpilot 15y ago

Also, 95% of HN readers are doing work much closer to Zuckerberg's than to that at SpaceX.

mkramlich 15y ago
Or doing work closer to the zip2/X/PayPal phase of Elon's career. (We should all hope.)
kamaal 15y ago
Not a very accurate comparison. The question is not, what would you do to make a living. The question is what would you do in your time if you had enough money not to go out and make a living. Many of us do what we do, because we need a monthly pay check to feed us, pay our bills and send our kids to school. If you had 20 billion dollars, what would be your bigger priorities. Building and maintaining a Php site(which is important too, because that is what got the 20 billion dollars) or Space Travel?
- rfrey 15y ago
  The question is not, what would you do to make a living. The question is what would you do in your time if you had enough money not to go out and make a living. I think this is completely wrong. The question is exactly the same if you're deciding what to do with your career or what to do with your fortune. Action is difficult, fantasizing about what you'd do if you were rich is easy.
krschultz 15y ago
Sweet, I'm finally in the 5% of something.

mburns 15y ago

Elon Musk has only invested $200Million of his money into SpaceX. Pretty impressive results.

eps 15y ago

Do you really think Musk is doing it for America?