September 2012
1 post
April 2012
1 post
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February 2012
1 post
January 2012
1 post
“When you look at those two videos [2010 vs 2012] side by side, it almost appears that the company has executed one of the most artful startup pivots ever, but that’s not the case at all. Those check-ins, points, badges and mayorships were never anything more than a ploy to get people to keep pulling out their phones and sending their location to foursquare, all while the company was building up the huge data set they needed to power recommendations and other features. Listen closely to the old video and you’ll hear a lot of the same ideas presented in the new one, like recommendations and “making your city easier to use.” There’s no mistaking that foursquare was on exactly the same path then as they are now. Sure, the badges and mayorships are a fun diversion, but the real meat of foursquare has been, and always will be, the tips and recommendations they’re able to provide. Foursquare won’t kill the gaming aspects anytime soon (if ever), but they’ll continue to take a back seat.”
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My favorite part of running this company is seeing people “get” the transformation from “game mechanics and checkins are cute” to “with 1.5bn checkins, we can change the way you experience your neighborhood”.
But if you think the gaming mechanics “will take a back seat” you’re mistaken… we’re just waiting till we have the resources to amp them back up again. Not to show our hand at all, but do you really think all those “Level 6 Coffee” badges are just for fun and games? :)
December 2011
2 posts
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Capturing More Value Than You Create →
dpstyles.tumblr.com
I didn’t get upgraded on my flight home from NYC tonight.
That’s not so unusual. I only get upgraded about 50% of the time. As I schleped it to my coach seat there was nothing too out of the ordinary save for a couple dilapidated seats with tray tables being held up by duct tape…
November 2011
3 posts
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Android May Dominate the Numbers, But iPhone Most Desired →
readwriteweb.com
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September 2011
3 posts
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August 2011
2 posts
“I have a foreboding of an America in my children’s or grandchildren’s time—when the Unites States is a service and information economy; when nearly all the key manufacturing industries have slipped away to other countries; when awesome technological powers are in the hands of a very few, and no one representing the public interest can even grasp the issues; when the people have lost the ability to set their own agendas or knowledgeably question those in authority; when, clutching our crystals and nervously consulting our horoscopes, our critical faculties in decline, unable to distinguish between what feels good and what’s true, we slide, almost without noticing, back into superstition and darkness.”
—Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World (via kevinkearney)
July 2011
1 post
June 2011
8 posts
First conversation of the day
Me to Henry: Good morning! Did you sleep well?
Henry: Yeah!
Aelen: (Interjecting) I dreamt about Monsters!!
Me to Henry: What did you dream about? Did you dream about choo-choos?
Henry: Yeah!
Aelen: (Interjecting) I dreamt about bad choo-choos!
Me to Henry: Where were the choo-choos going?
Aelen: (Interjecting) They were going up BAD CHOO-CHOO MOUNTAIN!!
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May 2011
11 posts
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April 2011
23 posts
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