Search and the social graph
Google has created a multibillion-dollar economy based on keywords. We use keywords to find things and advertisers use keywords to find…
Why did Skype succeed and Joost fail?
Skype and Joost are interesting companies to compare – they are about as close as you can get to one of those sociological studies that…
Does a VC’s brand matter?
Suppose you are in the enviable position of choosing between offers from multiple VC firms. How much should you weigh the brand of the VCs…
Some thoughts on SEO
“SEO” (==”Search Engine Optimization”) is a term widely used to mean “getting users to your site via organic search traffic.” I don’t like…
The importance of institutional redundancy
Every system built by a single institution has points of failure that can bring the entire system down. Even in organizations that have…
Pitch yourself, not your idea
There is a widespread myth that the most important part of building a great company is coming up with a great idea. This myth is reflected…