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YC is joining Alexis Ohanian's Without Their Permission Tour
- j2labs 13y agoI wonder if they asked for permission?
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]
- rayiner 13y agoIts amusing to me to see the tech industry continue to play the underdog card. "We don't need anyone's permission (not when we have the full backing of Wall Street, the advertising industry, and some of the most profitable corporations in the world)." You saw this with SOPA and PIPA. A "grassroots" movement, supported by a slate of tech companies, some of which are by themselves comparable in size to all of Hollywood.[1] I support the position, I support the underlying message, but I find the pretense rather silly. [1] Global Hollywood box office and DVD revenues are about $90 billion (http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/2012/how-much-does-hollywood-earn http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/2012/how-much-does-hol...). Microsoft, Amazon, and Google are listed as opposing SOPA, and are each in the $50-$80 billion range. Apple, which stayed neutral on SOPA but is usually more aligned with the content distributors than the content producers, is about twice the size of Hollywood at $170 billion.
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]
- bennyg 13y agoI understand what you're saying, because that has merit too, but the point of the book is that you don't need to wait for permission to get off your ass and build the idea you've been wanting to. It's easier now than ever before.
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]
- selmnoo 13y agoNot to mention, the debatably distasteful choice of advertising his 'Hipmunk' startup so blatantly under the pretense of supporting startups. And you're definitely not the underdog when you're a repeat-founder who's raised $20 mil in funding, and were a graduate of the most prestigious startup incubator in the valley.
- nwzpaperman 13y ago+1 He's also a grad of the school of hard-knocks...selling early hurts and can leave one chasing what could've been for a lifetime.
- ekanes 13y agoUnderdog is all context. There are scenarios where Microsoft is the underdog.
- bowlofpetunias 13y agoIt becomes less amusing when the same industry, start-ups and tech giants alike, apply the same "without their permission" attitude to governments trying to protect their citizen's civil rights. Just because you're a tech company and your opponent is a government, doesn't mean you're on the "right" side of every fight.
- pg 13y agoAlexis is not the tech industry. This is a guy doing a book tour. And as for SOPA, while some companies opposed it, the opposition to it was far more grass-roots than the support for it.
- selmnoo 13y agoIsn't this submission about Y Combinator joining him on that book tour? > We’re thrilled to announce that Y Combinator will be joining Alexis Ohanian on the road starting next week for the Without Their Permission tour. I think this is how a lot of people here will inevitably read this: The most famous startup incubator is going to be joining Alexis, a well-liked guy, Reddit cofounder, on a tour to promote his book (and by extension, the personalities of the participating parties themselves -- this is just the nature of promotion tours, you don't just raise the profile of a book, album, or movie, you're also raising the profile of the parties involved). The first three stops are Harvard, MIT, Tufts. At each stop there are successful YC alums telling budding entrepreneurs that YC is the way to go. Something I don't necessarily disagree with because I like YC, I'm just pointing out that it's perhaps a bit disingenuous to reduce what's going on here to "just Ohanian's book tour".
- kn0thing 13y agoSorry this wasn't more clear, but this is a 150+ stop booktour: http://withouttheirpermission.com/tour-dates http://withouttheirpermission.com/tour-dates It's not limited to just the stops where there'll be YC members.
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]
- rayiner 13y agoFrom YC's blog: "The tour celebrates Alexis’s recently published book, Without Their Permission, a 'blueprint and rallying cry for entrepreneurship.'" Ohanian's message is: "you don't need 'their' permission to found a tech start up." No, of course you don't. You have the full weight of "their" support. Admittedly, Ohanian isn't the tech industry, but he's hardly the only one playing the underdog card. I guess it helps with recruiting or something.
- minimax 13y agoAlexis what do you think about shifting the startup capitalization process entirely to bit coin? Like what if I don't want to take fiat money investments and I don't want my shares to be listed on fiat stock exchanges? Maybe there should be some flag on Angel list or something to indicate whether investors are sophisticated/progressive enough to do a bit coin round or understand a bit coin based cap table.
- samtp 13y agoI subsist on 100% locally mined and tumbled Bitcoins. All my bills including food, rent, and even my employees salaries are paid in Bitcoin. I am liberating them from the fiat prison camp and setting them free into the Cryptocurrency Paradise. I am Harriet Tubman 2.0 beta.
- chasing 13y agoYou eat "food?" I've been eating nothing but Bitcoins for months with no ill effects. And all of my employees are made out of Soylent.
- deleted_account 13y agoI would be interested in a blog post detailing the day-to-day mechanics of this.
- maerek 13y agoMore importantly, this is the first time I realized that there was a YCombinator _blog_.
- amirmc 13y agoThey used to post stuff on Posterous and when that was shut down, they moved to Posthaven (set up by one of the partners, Gary Tan, who was cofounder of Posterous). It's not really a blog as such but more a collection of press/news about portfolio companies.
- rexreed 13y agoHe's going to be at the Microsoft NERD in Cambridge, MA on Dec. 9 (open to the public): http://www.meetup.com/Boston-TechBreakfast/events/146649912/ http://www.meetup.com/Boston-TechBreakfast/events/146649912/. Not sure if YCombinator will be there, but maybe someone can invite them?
- alxndr 13y agoDoes a tour called "Without Their Permission" really need to be invited?
- ntoshev 13y agoUS only?
- kn0thing 13y agoSorry, just 3 stops in Canada: Waterloo, U Toronto, and McGill http://withouttheirpermission.com/tour-dates http://withouttheirpermission.com/tour-dates
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]
- chasing 13y ago"Without Their Permission* Tour" * As long as we're the ones doing it to them. If they're doing it to us, they need to get our permission.
- kn0thing 13y agoTrue story. Here's an excerpt from the book about just that: http://news.rapgenius.com/Alexis-ohanian-without-their-permission-how-the-21st-century-will-be-made-not-managed-excerpt-lyrics http://news.rapgenius.com/Alexis-ohanian-without-their-permi...
- FedRegister 13y agoEthics? In my science and technology? I'm sorry, I'm too busy bootstrapping my lean startup gearing up for a long runway so I can exit right before the pivot. I'm sure someone else like the EFF can figure out the ethics part. I'll just cut them a check.
- akinity 13y agoThat's some delicious satirical sociopathy. I feel you man.
- mdakin 13y ago"Look out honey, 'cause I'm using technology! Ain't got time to make no apology" -Iggy Pop There are people who work on the ethics of science and technology full time and they are awesome. If every technologist worked on ethics full time nothing would ever get done. I recommend checking out the work of the STS department of MIT though Open Courseware if you are interested in ethics. http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/science-technology-and-society/ http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/science-technology-and-society/ Also, if there is actually something unethical going on, it's best to enunciate it using straight/clear prose following the satire if you actually want to affect the external world.
- jqueryin 13y agoDoes anybody know why Alexis is skipping the Southeast? I'd love to make it and we have some very big cities, but he's not headed for this direction according to the schedule: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AroQUykhIn54dEQ4b21RbHhiRUphSEwxVVlCV3g3cUE#gid=1 https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AroQUykhIn54dEQ...
- bennyg 13y agoI also thought that was pretty lame. I tweeted at him about coming to the University of Alabama when he was asking about where to stop. If any area needs to know that disruption is not just an option, but absolutely possible, is the South.
- kn0thing 13y agoI was bummed we couldn't make it to Alabama but our logistics are already pretty crazy. 150+ stops. But plenty are in the South. http://http://withouttheirpermission.com/tour-dates http://http://withouttheirpermission.com/tour-dates
- kn0thing 13y agohttp://withouttheirpermission.com/tour-dates http://withouttheirpermission.com/tour-dates Skipping out? Georgia Tech University of Georgia University of Florida University of Central Florida UNC Duke Wake Forest Vanderbilt http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southeastern_United_States http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southeastern_United_States Did I miss some? I know we aren't hitting them all, but we are going to 77 schools (150+ stops) over 5 months, which is already unprecedented for a book tour. I wish we could go everywhere folks have asked, but there's only so much time I can take my team away from their lives and loved ones.
- jqueryin 13y agoI agree: pretty insane scheduling. I guess I was assuming you'd target the top 20 largest cities. When you passed through North Carolina, for instance, you skipped over Charlotte. It's a solid 2 and a half hours away from Raleigh, so not an easy trip for students. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_cities_by_population http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_cities_by... You could setup something at UNCC. They have an enrollment of over 26,000. http://uncc.edu http://uncc.edu
- joseakle 13y agoWhy isn´t it on Kindle? For overseas customers it´s not always ideal to have to pay for shipping.
- adamfeldman 13y agoKindle-edition listing on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Without-Their-Permission-Century-Managed-ebook/dp/B00BAXFJ16 http://www.amazon.com/Without-Their-Permission-Century-Manag...
- kn0thing 13y agoAye! Thanks. Also available B&N, iBookstore, etc
- chatmasta 13y agoAre you guys just stopping at these places and hoping people come to you? Or do you have an event scheduled at each one? I'm specifically talking about Yale.
- kn0thing 13y agoEvents are scheduled at every stop: http://withouttheirpermission.com/tour-dates http://withouttheirpermission.com/tour-dates
- katm 13y agoWe have an event scheduled at each location, and we're scheduling additional office hours at a few of the stops. Shoot me an email at kat at ycombinator and I can get you more info about the event at Yale.
- wil421 13y agoNo Southeast! I guess that Georgia Tech, University of Georgia, Auburn, University of Alabama, Clemson, University of South Carolina etc. didnt give their Permission!
- kn0thing 13y agoWhat? I had a packed house at Georgia Tech: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.607940125907956.1073741829.502521506449819&type=1 https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.607940125907956.10... Are you not seeing the full schedule? http://withouttheirpermission.com/tour-dates http://withouttheirpermission.com/tour-dates
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- todazar 13y agoMake University of Toronto happen! Glad the tour didn't stop at Waterloo :)
- kn0thing 13y agoU of Toronto is happening 1/13/2014 http://withouttheirpermission.com/tour-dates http://withouttheirpermission.com/tour-dates And sorry to break it to you, but.... https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=605366512831984&set=pb.502521506449819.-2207520000.1386017275.&type=3&theater https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=605366512831984&set=... (Waterloo)
- todazar 13y agoIt said "In Progress" for UofT on the spreadsheet, but glad to hear that it's on the itinerary! Annddd, you took it the wrong way. Much love for Waterloo, I meant I'm glad you aren't _only_ stopping at Waterloo for Canada :)
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]
- agentultra 13y agoThe introduction to the book is ripe with a myopic optimism wrt. the egalitarian effects of the Internet. It doesn't touch the inequalities in the redistribution of wealth in the technology sector, the secondary effects it's having on unskilled labor and the social impact of a hyper-competitive market of over-achievers. It's a little off-putting but the author is highly successful and a philanthropist so I'm looking forward to see if he is capable of drawing any interesting conclusions by the end of it. Given the reviewers of the book however I think that curiosity has certainly bested me this time.
- seiji 13y agoThought experiment: Without the Internet, where would the recent 20,000 new IPO-based millionaires in SF/SV have come from? What else would they be doing?
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]
- Meekro 13y agoPaul Graham actually wrote an essay about this: http://paulgraham.com/inequality.html http://paulgraham.com/inequality.html I agree with pg -- eliminating inequality would almost eliminate incentives to take great risks, and would be a disaster for the economy.
- williamcotton 13y agoProve it.
- agentultra 13y agoEconomic inequality is a broad concept and only one in which I don't think the Internet is playing as positive a role as Alexis is bragging about in the introduction to this book. I know the Internet has made some people rich but it's not as flat and egalitarian a world as his optimism and unbridled enthusiasm seem to admit. However I am reserving any conclusions until I've finished reading it.
- markkat 13y agoI saw the talk at U of M. It was both insightful and entertaining. Unfortunately the Q&A was dominated by questions about Reddit. I wanted to hear your thoughts on bitcoin, but knew you'd never get through the line at the mics. Have you written about it anywhere? Ever thought of selling the book for BTC?
- kn0thing 13y agoDo you see the 'donate bitcoins' link on the sidebar of http://withouttheirpermission.com/ http://withouttheirpermission.com/? That's because after the book dropped I started getting PMs on reddit from folks who had.. err.. acquired it ... and wanted to comp me. Pretty rad. I'm an investor in coinbase.com and buttercoin.com, so I'm rather optimistic about bitcoin. I've spoken about this a bit to the media + in public: http://www.geekwire.com/2013/reddit-cofounder-alexis-ohanian-bitcoin-excited-dad-starts-talking/ http://www.geekwire.com/2013/reddit-cofounder-alexis-ohanian... http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/1p4i9z/bought_my_book_in_bitcoin_and_alexis_ohanian/ http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/1p4i9z/bought_my_bo... http://video.msnbc.msn.com/all-in-/53222831#53222831 http://video.msnbc.msn.com/all-in-/53222831#53222831
- jobmatchbox 13y agoIf you take a closer look at the bus, it says "Powered by YCombinator" right by the door.