Flu
I’m back after a two week lay off with ‘flu.
I don’t think I’ve had my temperature taken since I was half the age I am now, but having a small child means that you acquire useful tidbits, such as a sticky thermometer.
Just because it was there, Becky decided to test whether I merely had “man flu”. Luckily for me 103 quickly lit up. Well not so lucky really because I felt crap. But at least I was able to prove it!
Anyway, I’m now down to what feels like a plain old cold and am back at the unenviable task of team selection.
March 11th, 2007 at 11:08 pm
Dear sir,
I would prefer this to be a private e-mail, but there is no apparent way of contacting you (or indeed anybody) through e-mail on this site. So I am forced to leave my comment as a public reply on your blog.
Anyway, I read about your initiative elsewhere on the web, and found it interesting. I have started a number of technology companies, hold a few patents, and currently do consulting in web innovation where I have successfully helped companies create new businessmodels for the Internet. So I thought this would be an interesting opportunity. Unfortunately I was rather disappointed.
You seem to have missed a few things. Yes people give away ideas freely on the web - but only under certain conditions. Open-source, Linux, and Slashdot are excellent examples of intelligent people freely sharing thoughts, but they get something in return - namely recognition among peers and the knowledge that their insights will be appreciated among a community that they trust, and have probably been a part of for a while. To my knowledge nobody with the insight I presume you are looking for will give it away without getting anything in return. Furthermore you are in this context restrained by the fact that you are associated with the economist - the defender of capitalism. And all you can and will give away is a 6 month subscription to the economist, and this flies in the face of the net-savvy crowd that you are trying to engage. You are basically taking them for fools, and expecting them to come up with great ideas for you without giving anything in return. I am sure, judging by the comments left in the blog, that you have become aware of the fact that you are not getting the positive response you expected.
The idea is great, but the execution is sub-par, and I can with some certainty already at this point tell you that the only ideas you will get are either obvious or from crackpots. People that do this for a living, myself included, do not give away our services for free. Neither do the really insightful individuals you are looking for.
I am sorry to be such a bore and leave this as a public comment, but as noted above: There is no other way to contact you, which is a pretty major mistake for an outfit trying to be open and welcoming to new thoughts.
Yours Sincerely,
Max Kim Tobiasen
March 12th, 2007 at 11:30 am
Thanks for your comment. We are contactable. On my profile I list my email address. I concede that we are not easy to contact though.
https://projectredstripe.com/blog/2007/02/01/redstripe-introductions-stewart-robinson/
Thanks
Stew