To interact with this page you must login. Signup

Why is so much of Silicon Valley obsessed with small ideas that don't solve a problem?

silicon valley

startups

society

understand

tynamite

Because fun ideas spread like wildfire that pass the time for people. It's those accessible time consuming ideas that you can share with friends, that are easily accessible, that make a lot of money. They work great for advertisers who want to reach a lot of people, and they allow developers to sell loads of their smartphone applications. The best part is that they are the cheapest to produce, and yet are the most attention grabbing.

Update

Joel Spolsky explains how “Internet Startups” actually work. An accurate explanation, when you think about it. He unintentionally explained the answer to this question.

It’s as easy as that. Now, different Internet Startups have different rules governing which screens the words are copied to. The “email companies” require you to type, separately, a list of which people’s screens you want your words copied to. The “twitter” internet startup company lets the recipients of the words decide whose words they want copied onto their screens, but in exchange the typers of the words are only given a very tiny box in which they can only squeeze a few words. On The Facebook, the words are copied from one screen to another by mutual agreement of both parties who have a pre-arranged agreement, that can be terminated at any time and by either party, that all of party A’s typed words can be copied onto party B’s computer screen.

https://plus.google.com/117114202722218150209/posts/KhMRNmgGniP?hl=en#117114202722218150209/posts/KhMRNmgGniP

Now which would you rather help to create, manage and control? The words or the technology behind the words?

Also, because the whole business model and point of startups, is to transfer A's typed words to person B; they don't really have to do anything else. Startups are doing, and will continue to do, their purpose of what they've been initially intended to do.