pauldisneyiv

Just to be clear - I meant pathetic of the individual turning down employment from Facebook.

I do not believe it to be pathetic on the part of Facebook whatsoever - in fact I love their take on the topic.

Personalization is hot even outside the social software arena...

"Does Facebook ever miss out on a new hire due to its low titles? Yes, definitely"

Anyone else find this to be terribly pathetic?

That's correct - or at least it's correct for a certain type of personality and I believe the number of people with that make-up is relatively small.

Ironically it's those very people that love finding what is new, different and very often great - the early adopters - that dislike when their discoveries hit the tipping point.

Without the early adopters the masses might never discover the greatness the world has to offer. Perhaps the reason they can't stand the critical mass is so they can discover something new. Begin the process again.

While the close of the story is the most fun - I find myself drawn to the beginning.

I haven't been to SXSW but have paid attention to the writings coming out of it over the last few years and increasingly the opinions are that "it's getting mainstream" or that "the new people are ruining it".

It reminds me of when I was in High School and everyone started listening to Nirvana. The "early adopters" were pissed when that happened...

This part of the story defines the upside of Y Combinator for me. It isn't the cash or the inevitable writeup in TechCrunch nearly as much as the guidance.

There is no anger or disappointment expressed by PG in the story - just straightforward advice on what the group needed to do.

Thank you for sharing.