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Great thoughts from this week
From Valleywag:
“Overstock.com usually charges $2.95 per order for shipping. However, when they drop the shipping price to $1, the average order size skyrockets. Why does saving two dollars on a $400 bookcase make people more likely to buy? Everyone loves a bargain, while no one loves math.”
Gee if that’s the case then why not go with free shipping on all products?
Calacanis has the “answer” on Facebook:
“If Facebook becomes a public company you can be sure that they will make there decision on how open to be based on one test: what’s in the best interest of their shareholders. In fact, they have a legal obligation to do so. Now, sometimes the interests of users and business are aligned, but not always. In fact, we all know that business nirvana is a monopoly -1 (i.e. a monopoly that doesn’t look like one).
Microsoft has had a “monopoly -1″ for decades. As a result they were able to crush Lotus 1-2-3 and WordPerfect and replace those “open platform” applications with their own. Apple was going to change everything and release us from oppression (remember the 1984 commercial?), but they went on to lock down the iPhone to the level of absurdity (i.e. bricking people’s iPhone).
So, should you trust Facebook with your business? Should build your entire business inside of Facebook–or even around Facebook?
Answer: You should trust no one with your business success. You should build your business around the most open platform in the world: the open Internet.”
The “answer” is one of the best pieces of advice I’ve seen in a long time. Â
Here’s another great one on Facebook from Calacanis:
“At the Social Graphing conference on Tuesday our industry went in full-blown madness. A panel filled with Facebook fans (and some investors) got so worked up they claimed–among other things–that:
- a) Facebook was worth $100 billion dollars
- b) Facebook would crush Google
- c) Facebook would crush MySpace
- d) Facebook application platform is as important an innovation as the graphical user interface
- e) The top Facebook applications were worth $500M
No, I’m not making any of that up. Those were the claims, and as Mike Arrington of TechCrunch correctly pointed out, this is the kind of madness that got us in trouble the last time around (i.e. 1999).”
“…the last respectable bigotry in the United States.” From Craig Chamberlain:
“You would think that Mitt Romney would be the perfect candidate for the GOP. He is pro life(though he’s a convert on that issue) he fought gay marriage when the supreme court of Massachusetts decreed that it was constitutional, he was able to get himself elected in the most liberal of states and was actually able to govern like a republican. Heck, he even looks like a president. There’s just one problem, he’s Mormon. Anti- Mormonism is the last respectable bigotry in the United States. Would anyone have an objection to him if he were a Lutheran?”
Like I’ve said before, I don’t really support Mitt Romney but that “last respectable bigotry” line really nailed it on the head.
The worst thing about Macs:
“…the thing I hate most about using a Mac are the Apple fans. The old song and dance about the Steve Jobs worshipping, sycophantic, “thank you sir may I have another”, nature of the Cult of Apple is true. And while it certainly does not represent all Mac users, there are enough bad apples (pardon the pun) to spoil the bunch.”
It gets better. Keep reading here.
Ezra Taft Benson on Iraq…urrr…Vietnam:
“The key to a solution of the problems in
IraqVietnam is an understanding that we have no business being there in the first place — at least not under the present conditions or authority. Nevertheless, we are there and we are involved, so what do we do now? Since we shouldn’t be there in the first place, we should now concentrate on doing whatever is necessary to bring our boys home.” (strike through obviously added)
A big “thanks” to Connor on digging up that quote from An Enemy Hath Done This - a book I read over 15 years ago and need to pick up again.
Steve Spencer posted this on my blog several months back:
“But I wanted to throw in something that I have always found to be important, and that is the idea of not just knowing the truth, but acting true to yourself. So many people overextend themselves these days. I find however, that having your finances in order allows you to work where you want, and how you want. You never need to act out of character or your comfort zone, because your life is in order enough that you could do something else if you chose to.”
That’s something I’ve been thinking a lot about lately. I’m glad I went back through some old posts and found that gem. Thanks, Steve! Â
Are we who we blog? Here’s a great anonymous comment from a friend:
“I hope you’ll agree that our online personalities reflect only a portion of our true personalities, and so judging a person by his/her blog, and assuming that their in-person conversations are the same is probably always erroneous.”
Great point!
Have a nice weekend…
I absolutely loved this post.
First of all, that’s a golden Benson quote. That was a man who told it like it was.
The Craig Chamberlain quote was great as well. Imagine if the headlines in the mainstream media read “Can a Jew be President”? Everyone (including the media themselves) would be absolutely outraged.
Third, it’s good to see people like Calcanis praising open standards. There are too many “Walled Gardens” in the world. They’re bad for customers and, therefore, bad for business. I love open source because it puts you at nobody’s mercy.
Lastly, Steve’s quote on having your finances in order is too true. Money can either buy you a bunch of crap, or personal freedom. Hopefully we chose the latter.
Each of your comments really struck a chord with me. Thanks for the good post.
Left by Jordy on 10/11/2007@Jordy
Thanks!
Left by Chris Knudsen on 10/12/2007I have deleted several comments on this post that lead to a bad misunderstanding between friends. I misunderstood a point that Brock was trying to make and took personal offense. Brock never meant it that way
From Brock:
“As I have read over my comments, I can see why my comments seem like a personal attack on you because I used the word “you†and “your.†I meant to write it in a general/non-specific way for any blogger (including me). If I were to write it again (with my original intentions included), it would read something like this:
“I believe that a blog is a very accurate depiction of the owner/writer†and “When the blogger is face-to-face, the blogger fears the repercussions/consequences of his/her opinions and actions which, in turn, forces him/her to act in a way that is more publicly acceptable†and so on.”
Knowing Brock I should have known that was his intention because he’s not the kind of guy who seeks to offend someone. As a matter of fact, Brock is one of the greatest guys I know. I really should have emailed him and asked him to clarify before I posted the comment and then replied all offended.
So with that I hope that Brock will accept my apologies as well.
Live and learn. Forgive and be forgiven. Then move on. All is well.
Chris
Left by Chris Knudsen on 10/13/2007Another excellent roundup! These snippets make up some of my favorite blog reading.
Left by Jason Alba on 10/15/2007