Non-linearity of technology adoption. [cdixon.org] Great piece about complement effects and technology adoption by Chris Dixon. I’ve learned more about business, investing, and entrepreneurship from VC bloggers than perhaps I could have from any MBA program. Okay that’s a stretch, but I heave learned a great deal from investors like Chris Dixon, Fred Wilson, and Brad Feld. And if you want to throw in the kitchen sink (as I did) check out Larry Cheng’s Global VC Blog Directory.
What would you want to tell Washington DC about startups? [Lessons Learned] Eric Ries hit the nail on the head in suggesting health care reform on his short list of entrepreneur-friendly policies. We have an option with COBRA but insurance premiums are too high, and the fear, if not the risk of losing your insurance in pursuit of a career as an entrepreneur might be too high. This is especially true if you have children or a pre-existing medical condition.
DNS, the ultimate in number portability. [BitWorking] There are many added benefits in using third party SN services and blogs (ease of use, built in community, they’re free etc…) in place of a self hosted blog, but what happens when those services die? What if your favorite service gets acquired? What do you do when your social network devolves into a kluge of messy micro-services? What if your service unilaterally cancels your account? Joe Gregorio acknowledges the fact that we rent our domain names, but consider the following statement “The nice part about owning a domain name is the utility. You don’t just get email portability, but all the services that you can hang off of a domain name are subject to the same level of redirection.” How true.
The Future of Reporting. [Due Diligence] Tim Oren makes a number of refreshingly insightful observations about the changing news reporting industry. You’ll enjoy this article. It’s also worth reading Google developing a micropayment platform and pitching newspapers: “‘Open’ need not mean free” from from Neiman Journalism Lab. The title says it all. A partnership in the making? The irony.
Music and Money. [tbray.org] A thoughtful piece covering recorded music, the concert experience, subscriptions, radio, and yes…patronage! Much like the the news reporting industry, the on-going trials and tribulations of the music recording industry are laughable. Further, record executives have been trying to figure this out for the past ten years. The industry is dead. We’ve given them enough time. It’s simple. I love music, I want to own it not rent it, I want to share it without DRM, and I want it portable. For that I will pay. While we’re on the subject it’s worth reading Anil Dash’s piece The Day the Record Industry Died. His blog reads like a good book. Enjoy.
