Technology

Reasons To Employ Geeks: Avoiding Weedlord Bonerhitler

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OK, imagine you decide to livestream a petition from the internet, printing out the various people who support your position.  Supposedly.

If you tell your average Geek (or hell any internet-savvy person) they will tell you this is a dumb publicity stunt that will be trolled with stupid names.

The Republican Congressional Committee did not think about this, and thus you got signers like Weedlord Bonerhitler, which may be the most trolltastic name I’ve seen yet.

So another reminder of why people need you, my fellow geeks.  You would have been able to explain in a few seconds why this was a terrible idea.

– Steven Savage
Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach for professional and potentially professional geeks, fans, and otaku. He can be reached at https://www.stevensavage.com/

 

In Silicon Valley, The Line Between Humor And Reality Is Thin

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That App Was a Joke . . .  now it’s not.

I work in Silicon Valley, and trust me there’s a lot of weird stuff here.  That’s part of the charm.  We get fish curry tacos, monuments to water towers, and people who make apps that were originally jokes – like those mentioned in this article.  Yeah, you laugh at iPoo . . .

There’s many ways to look at this phenomena, but I’d actually like to add a different point of view – the insane stuff that becomes all to real is a good thing:

It reminds us that there is a market for almost anything.

It’s a demonstration of how fast something can be developed.

It’s a reminder that you CAN make it with a seemingly crazy idea.

It’s a reminder there’s still a lot of VC sloshing around.

It’s a celebration of the pure crazy that we can produce – and that means even if some of this crazy is, well, stupid, we can make the good kind too.

So let’s not decry iPoo, or the infamous Wesley Crusher sex novel, or any of this other stuff too easily.  Let’s remember right now that we have the tools, technology, and often cash to go completely bugnutz in our technology, media, and more.

Now that you remember that, let’s go make it happen, because if someone can seriously discuss Tacocopter . . . .

– Steven Savage
Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach for professional and potentially professional geeks, fans, and otaku. He can be reached at https://www.stevensavage.com/

 

Facebook Fallout, Alarmism, and You

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Yeah, you probably saw that Paul Graham of Y Combinator is predicting dismal times for startups.  That is, until you read the content, and realize he’s simply noting that Facebook’s IPO decline could be bad for some startups and mean they have to focus differently.

Of course his rather rational statements (based indeed, on limited knowledge) are making headlines without being actually, well, discussed.

So first of all, I’d say it’s not a question of people being leery of startups, but more being more cautious with their VC.  Fine.  They should be and have been.  This is a given and was probably going to happen anyway – I’d rather it happen after an IPO drop then some huge, insane, bubble.

Secondly, yes, startups shouldn’t do stupid stuff with money.  That’s a really good thing to bring up, and it’s been said for about 13 years.  Many have listened.

No, the Facebook IPO is not the doom of Silicon Valley, or your career, or anything else.  Graham is making the point that caution is a watchword.  That’s it.

Me, I say “good.”

– Steven Savage