4 ms·

Ev admits he has a hard time staying focused, so it makes total sense that he built two of the biggest attention suckers of the last decade while he was suppose

Ev admits he has a hard time staying focused, so it makes total sense that he built two of the biggest attention suckers of the last decade while he was supposed to be working on something else. Makes total sense.

tonystubblebine 18y ago
I think when Ev said that he was either being self-deprecating, or judging himself against his own lofty ambitions, or both. I've worked for him and would actually characterize him as extremely focused. Blogger was close to the brink and only survived because of his dedication. I think Twitter is another example of him getting more focused over time. Maybe he's not overly engaged by mediocre opportunities, but that's a long way from saying he isn't able to focus. I just wanted to point this out in case there were any potential founders who thought their ADD was an asset.
- kragen 18y ago
  He said he lacked focus when he was talking about his career before 1997, not at present. When did you work for him?
  - tonystubblebine 18y ago
    2005-06 at Odeo.
    - kragen 18y ago
      Maybe this is kind of the point you were making, but I think it's very likely that Ev wasn't trying to claim he "lacked focus" during the Odeo epoch, with or without false humility. It sounded like he was contrasting the more recent part of his career with the earlier period in which he lacked focus, discipline, and people skills. I first met him in 2001, at Blogger's low point, so I don't know what he was like four years earlier.
      - tonystubblebine 18y ago
        You're right, he only said that the first company (pre-Pyra) was unfocused. I filled in the rest based on the comment above and on memories of people calling Odeo unfocused. I just wanted to kill any notion that Ev's successes come from being unfocused. Really, it was Ev's focus, keeping us from getting tied down by biz dev deals and refusing to settle for a middling success even when we got positive feedback, that set the groundwork for Twitter.

tonystubblebine 18y ago

I think when Ev said that he was either being self-deprecating, or judging himself against his own lofty ambitions, or both. I've worked for him and would actually characterize him as extremely focused. Blogger was close to the brink and only survived because of his dedication. I think Twitter is another example of him getting more focused over time. Maybe he's not overly engaged by mediocre opportunities, but that's a long way from saying he isn't able to focus. I just wanted to point this out in case there were any potential founders who thought their ADD was an asset.

kragen 18y ago
He said he lacked focus when he was talking about his career before 1997, not at present. When did you work for him?
- tonystubblebine 18y ago
  2005-06 at Odeo.
  - kragen 18y ago
    Maybe this is kind of the point you were making, but I think it's very likely that Ev wasn't trying to claim he "lacked focus" during the Odeo epoch, with or without false humility. It sounded like he was contrasting the more recent part of his career with the earlier period in which he lacked focus, discipline, and people skills. I first met him in 2001, at Blogger's low point, so I don't know what he was like four years earlier.
    - tonystubblebine 18y ago
      You're right, he only said that the first company (pre-Pyra) was unfocused. I filled in the rest based on the comment above and on memories of people calling Odeo unfocused. I just wanted to kill any notion that Ev's successes come from being unfocused. Really, it was Ev's focus, keeping us from getting tied down by biz dev deals and refusing to settle for a middling success even when we got positive feedback, that set the groundwork for Twitter.