sscheper

I completely agree with you. The only thing that keeps me blogging every other day is that it sharpens my mind. It requires me to think, create and get thoughts onto paper. It's almost like a daily meditation.

My wife does the same thing with politics :)

This aint Mac vs. PC -- both incubators kick ass and get capital in the hands of entrepreneurs. This is a good thing.

All (and particularly unalone) --

Thanks for the very insightful information. I really appreciate the assistance with this. I'll be sure to check out the reads and, most importantly, view/analyze every site I now come across.

They can spin this any way the want, at the end of the day, they're trying to do one thing:

find programmers dumb enough to work for free.

Yea -- I found Tech Crunches news very alarming and against the grain. I was at Twitter's office last Friday and their coo told us four times that they were excited to be growing, and to "check out their job board."

Additionally, Biz Stone was hosting the daily, catered lunch at Twitter and the team was having a blast. They were building rapport and looked pumped for the future. They also mentioned they'll be moving into a new office soon. A bigger one.

Why would they give off this vibe, hire 15+ more positions, and then turn around to sell off to google. Twitter is in it for the long run.

I'm glad Jason stuck to his guns and didn't back down. He's right.

Thanks for the help everyone -- I'll be using the local Barnes and noble to browse through your recommended books :)

Thanks a lot, pclark. I really appreciate the input :)

In the past week I've been handed two cool looking business cards. One, from a guy that hasn't produced results; one from a guy that has. It's obvious who I'll choose to do business with.

The soft/branding stuff gets on my nerves. Way too overhyped..

got it -- lol... I guess my humor sucks online... perhaps offline, too.

I think this is one of the cases where the guys are so into technology/design, they're constantly changing it because they have nothing better to do.

By AI, do you mean Asians and Indians?

In the Silicon Valley, yes.

I'm not laughing at you; I'm laughing with you ;)

I'm definitely open to an alternate figure -- I just feel Kaufman is reputable to trust.

To answer your question, half a million yearly (465,000)*(12)=5,580,000

LOL

From Kauffman Index: http://www.kauffman.org/Details.aspx?id=898

"May 23, 2007 – While the rate of entrepreneurial activity has remained remarkably consistent over the past decade with nearly 465,000 people creating new businesses on average each month, subtle year-to-year shifts in the gender, demographic, geographic and ethnic make-up are changing the public face of the American entrepreneur. This is according to a national assessment of entrepreneurial activity by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation."

(465,000)*(12)

The only downsides I see are from the venture capital perspective. I view microlending as being a form of investment that can actually work--that people will actually pump money into. I see this as an upside for microlending; however it's a bad thing for our economy and venture capital because it's an indication that we're lending to others, but not allowed to EASILY invest without being accredited.

You're half right on that. I probably should use the word "unbelievable." It's either a good thing or bad thing. We can freely give to others in third world countries; however, current SEC Reg D rules that we cannot invest in companies that are struggling down the street. We must be accredited.

While it's good, it can also be viewed as a bad thing.

I'm a huge fan of Jott over RTM... I can't understand what's so great about RTM ;-)

Regarding hirind "quants," I think it's a hit or miss. Quant's are good for throwing numbers through a spreadsheet all day (literally); however, the great ones see the big picture in what they're doing. Most don't.

You may want to look for more, "right-brain thinkers."

http://broadstuff.com/archives/1234-Is-the-Master-of-Fine-Ar...