DISQUS

leonardocsouza · 1 year ago

Hi Jacob!

I like the passionate (infuriated?) way that you state your points, and I do agree that some articles/posts seem to be lacking some support from real facts instead of just "points of view"/opinions.

In any case, I read this article by Chris Dannen at FastCompany recently (http://www.fastcompany.com/articles/2008/09/wal...), that make somne points about "Why venture-backed tech hopefuls may be a haven amid the financial storm.".

Although I don't agree with everything that it's written there, it does have some good points.

Best,
Leo

jacobmorgan · 1 year ago

hey leo, i wouldn't say infuriated (well maybe :) but i think it's just a sad state of affairs.

thanks for the link, chris does make a few interesting points but overall i don't see how the recession can be portrayed in an overall favorable light when it comes to technology and innovation.

thanks for reading and commenting leo!

leonardocsouza · 1 year ago

I work with technology and even though I live in Brazil, I'm already feeling the impact of this recession in my pocket.

So, I totally understand your point and I do know that it's not easy (at all) to navigate against the "common sense". Congratulations for that! :)

james webb · 1 year ago

You're mostly right. My v.c. guy says he's the busiest he's ever been. Turns out speculative investments look more attractive in a market where Wall Street takes a 25% dive in 5 days. But.... it's hard to find new web projects these days. Everyone is pretty much shelving them. Torkington says unemployment means people will have more time for open source? That's just stupid. Most open source stuff comes from overseas where unemployment is acceptable at 10 or even 20%, and a developer can live on "the dole" plus a small project here and there. Of course there are some noticeable exceptions here in the U.S. Few statements are ever 100% true.

I personally am getting by with graphic design projects. In times like these it's good to have multiple skills.

jacobmorgan · 1 year ago

hey james, that's true speculative investments may appear to be a bit more attractive in a down market but I think a lot of companies are doing what you said and shelving projects or ideas until they can see their finances stabilize. great point about the overseas stuff, I didn't even think about that but you are 100% right. Glad to hear that things are going well for you!

thanks for reading and commenting

Simon Ashton · 1 year ago

Hey Jacob - while I understand your anger, I do think (and hope) that you're wrong on this one. I put my thoughts together here: http://www.simsagency.com/2008/10/can-good-can-...
But basically, saying that good can come from a recession isn't the same as saying a recession is a good thing.
This country, and the world, have been through economic hardships before, but advances in technology have helped pull them out again. I am constantly optimistic about the power of people to do amazing things.

jacobmorgan · 1 year ago

hey simon, i wasn't trying to sound down or gloomy, i was just trying to be realistic. in fact i'm actually a pretty optimistic and cheerful fellow.

i have many contacts who are struggling that are in the tech sector and what i hear from the trenches and what i read online are very contradictory.

to me, someone saying that good can from a recession doesn't mean anything because if you think about it, good can come from pretty much anything, it;s stating the obvious.

i know the recession is not a good thing (as does everyone else). i would categorize myself not as angry, but as passionate, passionate about people.

of course we have been through tough economic hardships and i know we will get through this one too, but offering advice and assistance during tough times vs telling people that innovation and technology will flourish are 2 very different things. we're talking about national/global effects here, not just silicon valley. the post from o'reily seems to work within the silicon valley world which is not representative of the rest of the tech space.

sure we will get through this and yes there can be some good that comes from it, but when stories like this make the front page of techmeme while google and apple are getting slaughtered then there's something wrong with the message that's getting sent out.

thanks again for reading and commenting simon!

Eric Pratum · 1 year ago

I used to work for an Angel investing group and as a result advised a million different start ups, many of which did not even get off the ground. . . like most really. Given my experience with them, I think you are definitely right when you talk about job security. Speculative investments can be very tantalizing during tough financial times because their premiums decrease. However, the number of potential investments also decreases due to the fact that entrepreneurs are less likely to take a chance on their dream if they fear they might not be able to get their jobs back if and when their venture fails. One company that positioned itself great and looks like it will ride this out pretty well is Tatango.

When people say that things are great, I think (or hope) that they mean that it's the right time to re-evaluate your web strategy and make an investment in the future, not that there is a ton of money flowing into technology. Of course, my Microsoft and comScore buddies all say times are great and that their companies are raking in the dough, so who knows.