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There seems to be a gaggle of people who have popped up somewhere within the intersection of entrepreneurship, online startups and lately education that seem to

There seems to be a gaggle of people who have popped up somewhere within the intersection of entrepreneurship, online startups and lately education that seem to effectively be self-help "experts" in disguise. In some ways it feels like the social networking experts have found a new outfit. The thing that feels a bit smarmy about it is how a lot of these folks pitch tech entrepreneurship to inexperienced people as some form of paradise where you just listen Seth Godin, finish codecademy, setup an iphone app and a life of abundance falls from the sky. Perhaps I have this guy wrong but I think its a trend that is pretty disingenuous. Colleges need to figure out how to compete and realign their pricing thats for sure but the learn to code, slap together an app, learn some web buzzwords and go pitch people is not exactly much of a real alternative education. Perhaps its Silicon Valley's vision but it seems to be more self serving than the traditional education industry of today.

strlen 14y ago
That's what I'm seeing too. I support Thiel's ideas in general (and have worked with and can vouch for at least one Thiel Fellow), but this case appears to be a guy dropping out of college... to promote dropping out of college. I am not saying this is actually the case, but it seems looks like this -- I don't see as much substance in what's posted on the guy's site(s). It might make sense for Thiel to limit the number of fellows who pursue the "write a self-help book" strategy (limit, however, rather than exclude) -- otherwise this becomes quite similar to MLMs, where more money is made from selling "business education tools" (books, lecture CDs) to MLM participants rather than by actually selling the product. If the said fellow is reading this: please don't view this post as an attack, merely as a suggestion on how to better tailor your message.

strlen 14y ago

That's what I'm seeing too. I support Thiel's ideas in general (and have worked with and can vouch for at least one Thiel Fellow), but this case appears to be a guy dropping out of college... to promote dropping out of college. I am not saying this is actually the case, but it seems looks like this -- I don't see as much substance in what's posted on the guy's site(s). It might make sense for Thiel to limit the number of fellows who pursue the "write a self-help book" strategy (limit, however, rather than exclude) -- otherwise this becomes quite similar to MLMs, where more money is made from selling "business education tools" (books, lecture CDs) to MLM participants rather than by actually selling the product. If the said fellow is reading this: please don't view this post as an attack, merely as a suggestion on how to better tailor your message.