A whole new ball game(weblog.alexgodin.com)
weblog.alexgodin.com
A whole new ball game
http://weblog.alexgodin.com/a-whole-new-ball-game
4 comments
This isn't really a new kind of startup at all. The only thing that is changing is the scale companies like this can achieve.
Before, tech-enabled startups would have to build big tech chops in order to scale the business (i.e. amazon, tech enabled them to skip building storefronts and focus on innovating logistics), now the scaling problem has gotten much easier.
Before, tech-enabled startups would have to build big tech chops in order to scale the business (i.e. amazon, tech enabled them to skip building storefronts and focus on innovating logistics), now the scaling problem has gotten much easier.
It seems to me that the questions we're asking in the 2010s seem to be less about "how can we make a new technology" and more about "how can we use the technology we already have". We already have pretty much all the computing power we need for most tasks* at our fingertips, and the question is now what do we do with it? It's the same for other technologies. How do we use, say, social networking, or databases, or what have you in a way that people want to use and that we can profit from?
* I don't want to fall into the trap of Bill Gates saying "640K is more memory than anyone will ever need."
* I don't want to fall into the trap of Bill Gates saying "640K is more memory than anyone will ever need."
This is definitely not true. More money is spent on building and renting supercomputers every year even through the recession. There is tremendous demand out there for solving problems that would just not be possible without them. I believe Google's self driving cars collect 1 GB/sec of data.
It's just that we have a hard time imagining why we would ever need such a powerful CPU which is why you are saying this. Why would someone in 2005 ever imagine we need such a powerful computer in our pocket in 2013? What possible uses could we have for it?
It's just that we have a hard time imagining why we would ever need such a powerful CPU which is why you are saying this. Why would someone in 2005 ever imagine we need such a powerful computer in our pocket in 2013? What possible uses could we have for it?
Easy: Angry Birds!
This is how I would now explain what I've created for the cruise and travel industry. For a while I thought I was creating a tech company but it's become apparent that we're just using tech to reach an underserved audience and connect them with each other and with businesses who want to reach them in a new way. Plus, how can it be a tech company when I'm the only tech person.
My brother and I have found a new and interesting way to provide value to cruisers, travel agents and resellers and need help. Please contact me if you're interested in hearing more.
My brother and I have found a new and interesting way to provide value to cruisers, travel agents and resellers and need help. Please contact me if you're interested in hearing more.
I sure wish we had more "technology companies" making great new leaps in software, operating systems, hardware, etc. Unfortunately there aren't many examples of such companies becoming billion dollar businesses, compared to the variety of other industries that fit under the "e-commerce" umbrella. Why try to invent and sell great new software or hardware, when there are much easier opportunities in other industries, which are typically slow to adopt technology.