A VC - Latest Comments in 30 Thoughts At 30,000 feet

Re: 30 Thoughts At 30,000 feet

Akshay125 — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 06:53:11 -0000

In practical terms, Jaiku’s mobile application allows users to broadcast not only their whereabouts, but how the phone is being used, even what kind of music it is playing.
The information opens up a world of new mobile services for regular users, beyond the world of early adopters familiar with Jaiku.

Re: 30 Thoughts At 30,000 feet

Douglas Karr — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 14:02:23 -0000

re: 26) When I'm in Facebook, I feel as though they are trying to keep me in Facebook. It feels like AOL all over again. I love the flexibility and freedom that the web offers from a creativity standpoint. Facebook has its own look and feel that everyone conforms to. I just don't have fun there.

Re: 30 Thoughts At 30,000 feet

fredwilson — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 09:32:01 -0000

Thanks. Its all about commenting via reply to email on my bberry

Fred

Re: 30 Thoughts At 30,000 feet

David G — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 22:50:20 -0000

You're right :-)

"I wonder if I’ll be blogging about Facebook in 2008"

I think the answer to that lies in how good the fb team is at maintaining focus on the "social utility" play i.e. avoiding the temptation to become a publisher or take control of the e-commerce opportunities on the platform. Myspace couldn't stay away from the short-term gains of controlling and owning their content and so, they missed the platform opportunity. This is what google's been good at - content may be king but optimize utility in a global, neutral way and you don't need (your own) content (ala del.icio.us.)

PS. I dig how you've got involved in your comments since adding disqus - didn't think you could improve on this blog but you have!

Re: 30 Thoughts At 30,000 feet

David Niederman — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 13:04:01 -0000

fred had I known you were coming to Portland I would have inundated you with restaurant recommendations. In response to your Lauren Hill question, my sense is she is focusing on her children rather than career.

Re: 30 Thoughts At 30,000 feet

fredwilson — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 22:51:01 -0000

A meaningful percentage of the amount given is going to the event itself,
not to the cause

Re: 30 Thoughts At 30,000 feet

Alexis — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 20:50:00 -0000

I'm surprised to hear anyone say that they'd give to more causes if they didn't feel they had to go to a function. I don't have much to give, but even if I did, I pick my causes and give them my money and that's it for me. What makes it different for you?

Re: 30 Thoughts At 30,000 feet

Rob D — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 13:20:32 -0000

Agree, tech savvy is critical. You need to feel it in your heart, not just your head. (heard that recently at a conference) BUT leadership and management experience is critical. Maybe not in the early days, but as the startup scales the politics start. That's when the real managers/leaders show their value.

Re: 30 Thoughts At 30,000 feet

Joe Bly — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 17:01:00 -0000

In random thought #22 you reference Facebook vs. MySpace and I am just wondering if you are saying that Facebook is beating out MySpace with their advanced technology. Last I checked, according to this months research, Facebook dropped over 3MM unique visitors while MySpace continued its growth. I know that unique visitors is not everything and there will be ebbs and flows, but I can't get over the fact that people seem to ignore the stats when talking about the social networking landscape.

Re: 30 Thoughts At 30,000 feet

haha — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 14:05:08 -0000

#9: you want to play with his gadgets. <insert beavis="" and="" butthead="" laugh="" here="">

Re: 30 Thoughts At 30,000 feet

Geoff — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 07:05:24 -0000

"a road trip to London in November" caught my eye. I live in Cambridge UK it would be great to meet up with you and show you the sights.

Re: 30 Thoughts At 30,000 feet

fredwilson — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 00:50:01 -0000

The new track feature allows people to follow words (as proxy for thoughts) as well as people

I think twitter will get even better when that becomes a common practice

Fred

Re: 30 Thoughts At 30,000 feet

fredwilson — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 00:49:02 -0000

I struggle with #22 which is why I posed it as a question

There are no formulas in the vc business and the right answer for one company is not the right answer for another

But I am leaning toward tech savvy as a requirement for ceos. Maybe not coder level tech savvy but more than I have for sure

Fred

Re: 30 Thoughts At 30,000 feet

fredwilson — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 00:48:01 -0000

We put the vc money into sina back in 1999. My one and only china deal. I have a hard time buying public stock in companies we owned privately. Not sure why

Fred

Re: 30 Thoughts At 30,000 feet

fredwilson — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 00:48:01 -0000

Yup. So true

Re: 30 Thoughts At 30,000 feet

Dan Buell — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 21:04:30 -0000

I've probably got less than 20 under my belt and most are horrible. I use to drive from Tucson to Orange County every week and I tried without luck to make the time productive and a learning experience but I started swerving all over the road because they put me to sleep. That's what makes these books different. Jim Dale (the narrator) is amazing!

Here is a sample: http://www.audioeditions.co...

Re: 30 Thoughts At 30,000 feet

Cindy — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 18:14:47 -0000

His music is so inspiring and his story isn't told or his music heard often enough! You should check out Lone Star 92.5, they play great great WZ as well as a variety of music such as Alternative Country, Classic Rock, and Outlaw Country to name a few. Visit www.lonestar925.com to hear it live!. I work with them and I'm an avid listener!

Re: 30 Thoughts At 30,000 feet

fredwilson — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 18:13:01 -0000

That makes sense to me and I am not opposed to shutting down 5 mins before landing but 30 mins always seems so much overkill

Fred

Re: 30 Thoughts At 30,000 feet

jackson — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 17:32:37 -0000

John Lydon and Roger Waters, just two of many notable Arsenal supporters (not fans, ok?). As long as you don't support Man U. West Ham would be better, but do your thing.

Re: 30 Thoughts At 30,000 feet

jackson — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 17:28:25 -0000

I'd have no problem flying up front, and I always comply when asked to turn off my stuff 30 minutes before landing.

I'm sure there are plenty of places to practice philanthropy without an obligation to eat a meal.

Hill or Rudy?

Depressing........

Re: 30 Thoughts At 30,000 feet

John Maloney — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 17:16:22 -0000

#25: ditto. Flip on Enjoy Every Sandwich - Dylan's Mutineer is killer and Springsteen does a terrific My Ride Is Here.

Re: 30 Thoughts At 30,000 feet

joshwa — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 17:03:42 -0000

No, it's because takeoff and landing are the most dangerous times of the flight, and in the event of an announcement/evacuation they need you to be paying attention to the directions of the flight crew. It falls into the same category as putting your tray table up and seat in the upright position.

Re: 30 Thoughts At 30,000 feet

candice — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 16:20:37 -0000

It seems every time I read a post of yours that involves twitter there's a chorus of "I don't get it!" out there.

There is nothing to "get" here. It's a thing. It can have a point, or it can have no point at all. People need to stop trying so hard to find "meaning" in everything.

The caveat really is that it's not much fun without at least a handful of people that you know or know of to follow. Follow someone in your city who posts about restaurants, or about cars, or baseball, or whatever. One guy I know here in New Orleans is following people who twitter in foreign languages as practice.

Re: 30 Thoughts At 30,000 feet

Jason Preston — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 15:23:23 -0000

I thought I'd add my voice on Harry Potter - the movies are "meh." The books are fascinating because of the way they are written.

Many "experts" claim that her writing is nothing special, but I challenge any of those experts to put a book down halfway through.

Re: 30 Thoughts At 30,000 feet

Harry DeMott — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 15:08:31 -0000

#3 As long as there is Jet Blue or enough leg room in American - the cost differential between the front and back of the bus makes it ridiculous to sit up front. Plugs make a difference - but they will become standard (see the Virgin Post) Truth of the matter is - if you invest for a living you are always looking at risk/reward price/value. How do you justify $2500 for 6 hours versus $300 for the same 6 hours. Of course if you had to do that trip on Southwest - you might think differently.

#8 It is rare to find a fully formed world coming from the mind of an author - that's what is special about Harry Potter - the completeness. Of course, no comparison to Lord of The Rings .

#11 I hate you!!!! (Just kidding ) My hope is the ridiculous demand for tickets spurs these guys back out on the road together - so I don't have to take a vacation and mortgage my house to see them.

#21 Have to believe there is a secondary market in the making here. You may not want to go have cocktails and dinner with a bunch of fellow givers - but I bet there's a market out there for people who do - sell the experience and donate those proceeds - charity wins twice.