dsandrowitz

But would you recommend it, as a general path or as a pitch for DreamIt? Do you think you are better off for having done it and how might things have turned out if you had not been part of DreamIt?

I think a lot of it has to do with a sense that they need to use this title in order to gain legitimacy in the startup community. I met lots of people calling themselves entrepreneurs who have never started a business and I meet lots of people who call themselves founders of entities that don't require anything more than an organizer. It is all because saying you are a consultant or a financial analyst or a marketing coordinator is not sexy or interesting. Instead of figuring out what they want to be and working towards it, they dress themselves up with a title and act the part. I know there is this whole fake-it-til-you-make-it thing, but sometimes it is all just bullshit.

Decent points, but too simplistic an approach. The forces at play in the IT/tech job market are quite different than the rest of the labor market. And, while it might seem like the answer is to tell the rest of the country to act like techies (which has a million connotations), that is not a legit solution. We can't have a nation of coders all building their own stuff or working in companies to build stuff. Most people are not cut out to work in the industry and the methods, approaches, and mindsets that work in tech are not likely to translated successfully to other markets.

As a society, we need to have a serious conversation about what to do with the millions of undereducated and low/moderately skilled workers who are simply losing jobs to technology, business process improvement, and productivity gains. Becoming techies isn't the answer, but focusing on moving more workers towards a "creation" based style of employment might be a reasonable start. A move toward local agriculture, a rise in trades and craftsmanship instead of overseas production, a re-examination of the wages and requirements for critical service industries like primary education and healthcare...that is where I'd focus energy instead. No, we don't need 190 million coders, but we could use more teachers, more nurses, more good plumbers, more people making high quality goods domestically, and a lot more people growing food that isn't shipped halfway across the planet or covered in a bioengineered chemical soup.

Absolutely spot-on. I fall more on the non-technical side, but where I fall on the spectrum of tech skills really doesn't matter. All that counts is whether I can articulate my idea to a team (preferably by using my ancient coding skill and some ugly wireframes), work with them to make it a reality, and get shit done.

Was thinking the same thing.

Great story. I'm always looking for new ideas on how to teach these concepts to my own children and I love this approach. Now, I just need to find a good place for a vending machine...

"Out of Controller"...that is our nickname for our current Comptroller. When he drinks...holy shit is it a good time.

That article is 9 years old...that company is a completely different animal now.

I too find it annoying when company blogs do not link back to the company's own website. I read the article and wanted to learn more about Thumbtack. I don't MIND typing it in, but I should not have to...there should be an obvious link on the page.

I think there is a big difference between Bain or McKinsey and some social media consultancy started by a kid who believes that prolific tweeting is the future of marketing. Both paths might lead to varying degrees of economic vampires, but at least the freelances are trying to build their own business instead of joining the overlords.

Mmmm...delicious appetizers.

Interesting points and I think you are spot on with this assessment. I've not used Color, but been at an event where it was used. Frankly, what I saw was a mass of photos all of the same thing - various angles of the inside of a historic building. I'm not sure how it added to the event or anyone's enjoyment of it. I can see how Color could have some amazing applications, like forensic analysis of an event based on hundreds (if not thousands) of photos taken at and around the moment that something happened. Think of what would be possible if Color had existed and was in heavy use on 11/22/63.

Is it a reaction to a form of mass social dislocation? Everyone finding acceptable ways to yell and scream for attention, not because they have something useful to share, but just because they are desperate to be part of the meta-conversation.