>400 subscribers
>400 subscribers
Philosophy Mondays: Human-AI Collaboration
Today's Philosophy Monday is an important interlude. I want to reveal that I have not been writing the posts in this series entirely by myself. Instead I have been working with Claude, not just for the graphic illustrations, but also for the text. My method has been to write a rough draft and then ask Claude for improvement suggestions. I will expand this collaboration to other intelligences going forward, including open source models such as Llama and DeepSeek. I will also explore other moda...
Intent-based Collaboration Environments
AI Native IDEs for Code, Engineering, Science
Web3/Crypto: Why Bother?
One thing that keeps surprising me is how quite a few people see absolutely nothing redeeming in web3 (née crypto). Maybe this is their genuine belief. Maybe it is a reaction to the extreme boosterism of some proponents who present web3 as bringing about a libertarian nirvana. From early on I have tried to provide a more rounded perspective, pointing to both the good and the bad that can come from it as in my talks at the Blockstack Summits. Today, however, I want to attempt to provide a coge...
Philosophy Mondays: Human-AI Collaboration
Today's Philosophy Monday is an important interlude. I want to reveal that I have not been writing the posts in this series entirely by myself. Instead I have been working with Claude, not just for the graphic illustrations, but also for the text. My method has been to write a rough draft and then ask Claude for improvement suggestions. I will expand this collaboration to other intelligences going forward, including open source models such as Llama and DeepSeek. I will also explore other moda...
Intent-based Collaboration Environments
AI Native IDEs for Code, Engineering, Science
Web3/Crypto: Why Bother?
One thing that keeps surprising me is how quite a few people see absolutely nothing redeeming in web3 (née crypto). Maybe this is their genuine belief. Maybe it is a reaction to the extreme boosterism of some proponents who present web3 as bringing about a libertarian nirvana. From early on I have tried to provide a more rounded perspective, pointing to both the good and the bad that can come from it as in my talks at the Blockstack Summits. Today, however, I want to attempt to provide a coge...
Share Dialog
Share Dialog
I am sorry to see Amazon buy Zappos. Not because I have bought a lot of shoes at Zappos (still liked this as a title for the post though), but here are three reasons:
First, I felt that Zappos could be a real competitor to Amazon for online retail. And I love competition. It is great not just for customers but also for suppliers.
Second, Zappos was an IPO-able company based on size and apparently profitability. It takes IPOs to build confidence in the financial markets. IPOs beget IPOs. Now we have to scratch one candidate off that list.
Third, I am an Amazon shareholder and don’t think this was a smart move (as so often, the market disagrees with me as AMZN is up 5%). This reminds me of eBay buying half.com and then never really figuring out what to do about the two brands.
There is a rumor going around that Tony Hsieh did not want to sell Zappos and that this was a Sequoia Capital move. Bijan points out, it’s not so easy for an investor to sell a company unless management wants to go along. On the other hand, it may also not be easy to IPO a company if the VC doesn’t want to go along. Be that as it may, I sure would have love to see Zappos stay independent and go public.
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I am sorry to see Amazon buy Zappos. Not because I have bought a lot of shoes at Zappos (still liked this as a title for the post though), but here are three reasons:
First, I felt that Zappos could be a real competitor to Amazon for online retail. And I love competition. It is great not just for customers but also for suppliers.
Second, Zappos was an IPO-able company based on size and apparently profitability. It takes IPOs to build confidence in the financial markets. IPOs beget IPOs. Now we have to scratch one candidate off that list.
Third, I am an Amazon shareholder and don’t think this was a smart move (as so often, the market disagrees with me as AMZN is up 5%). This reminds me of eBay buying half.com and then never really figuring out what to do about the two brands.
There is a rumor going around that Tony Hsieh did not want to sell Zappos and that this was a Sequoia Capital move. Bijan points out, it’s not so easy for an investor to sell a company unless management wants to go along. On the other hand, it may also not be easy to IPO a company if the VC doesn’t want to go along. Be that as it may, I sure would have love to see Zappos stay independent and go public.
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