myShoggoth

This Is Just Getting Sad, Larry: Google’s Latest Effort to Prop Up Google+ | PandoDaily

Google continues to scorch everything it once considered sacred in the name of propping up the most successful social media site that no one I know actually uses. (Yes, other than you, Scoble.)

via pandodaily.com

This is more or less what I've been seeing: Google is sacrificing all the things that made me love them and buy into all their products. Now they're spending all of that goodwill quickly trying to get me deep into G+.

It reminds me a lot of my time at Microsoft, when that company was sacrificing good products (and potential products) in the hopes that a "Better Together" strategy would lock everyone in the world into the Windows/Office world.

I think it will have similar effects: As viable alternatives are available, people will bail, and the company will start sliding towards irrelevancy.

How Gordon Moore Invented the Talent Economy (and Changed The World) | PandoDaily

In 1957, Gordon Moore and the “Traitorous Eight” formed Fairchild Semiconductor and created the basis of what would become Silicon Valley. But despite the undisputed importance of the microchip, Fairchild’s biggest contribution might have more to do with how the company was started than what it produced.

via pandodaily.com

This is a great article that talks about the real reason Silicon Valley is different, and the fundamental thing people have to get right if they want to replicate the success or model.

A big part of that is capital's embracing of failure, and understanding that when they take bets on entrepreneurs the lessons learned from failures can be more important that from successes.

 

TAKANORI AIBA: Sculpture

via www.flickr.com

Wow. Just, wow.

Check out all of this artist's work, it is insanely detailed and awesome.

Dan Shapiro » Startup dudes: Cut the sexist crap

Last week I was speaking on what would have otherwise been a terrific panel.  It was Frank Artale from Ignition, Tom Duterme from Groupon M&A, Andy Sack from Lighter Capital & Founder’s Co-op, and me talking about funding & exiting.  The only thing that spoiled it was yet another guy in the tech scene putting forth yet another objectifying/patronizing treatment of someone with two X chromosomes.

via www.danshapiro.com

Courtesy of @bindr, a good writeup on the kind of crap that happens far too often in the startup community.

Guys - we're adults now, start acting like it. No, this isn't everyone acting this way, but those who don't need to call the few who do on it.

Berkeley for startups: Perfect or brain drain in action? | Berkeleyside

A year ago, then-UC Berkeley visiting professor and startup guru Vivek Wadhwa stood before an audience at Berkeley’s Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse and said Berkeley was a natural location for tech startups — given a few “easy fixes”.

via www.berkeleyside.com

The East Side is not as strong as it should be in terms of startups, I completely agree with @wadhwa. This is a panel to try to address it.

If you care about startups and live on the East Side, be there. I've got my ticket already.

Why French Parents Are Superior by Pamela Druckerman - WSJ.com

When my daughter was 18 months old, my husband and I decided to take her on a little summer holiday. We picked a coastal town that's a few hours by train from Paris, where we were living (I'm American, he's British), and booked a hotel room with a crib. Bean, as we call her, was our only child at this point, so forgive us for thinking: How hard could it be?

via online.wsj.com

This book sounds very interesting, both the article and video are worth checking out. It agrees with most of what we know/do, with the possible exception of letting the newborn cry at a few weeks old. That doesn't make any sense to me, seems better to wait until they are post-grub stage (3+ months) before trying to teaching patience.