My View on Software and the Google PC
There are a few things that nobody will change my mind on. And how I see software is one of them. When I say software, I am talking about desktop software and online "software" (web applications).
- All software should be free
- In some situations this is not possible for big companies like Sun, Microsoft, and Oracle to sustain their profitibility if this rule was standard. The only thing I have to say to companies with these models: the Future is coming, and it's not going to be nice to you.
- I believe in open systems, especially when the user is generating the content. Data is data, and shouldn't be bound by any program, operating system, or website.
- When there is private information that is stored, that data should be handled diferrently. SSN and Credit Card #'s are not included in my definition of free data -- it is too easy for someone to hack that and do something malicious.
- Business models should look like this:
- Advertisements
- Advertisements
- Advertisements
- ;)
- Security, security, security. This is an engineer's #1 responsibility, everything else in an application falls below that as far as importance.
- In education, ALL SOFTWARE SHOULD BE FREE. No questions asked.
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Those is one more thing that I have been thinking a lot about lately... Here is my prediction:
In the future, nobody is going to need to have hard drives inside their laptops/desktops. Everyone is going to have access to their own computer using Remote Desktop. Google is going to be the first company to test this out, since they are probably in the best position to try something like this. This is what computing will look like:
First off, nobody will have or need a Microsoft operating system. All the operating system on "home" computers will simply be modems that handle speeds of 100mbps, or whatever speed you want. So you will turn on your computer, and about 5 seconds after startup you will sign into your Google PC. You can access your Google PC from anywhere in the world; the only thing you will need is an internet connection, and in 15 years [insert time prediction], the entire world will be one big wireless network. Once you've signed into Google PC, it will load up your personal desktop. It will look exactly like your current computer does, except that it will be running on the Google OS (which will just be the current OS on their servers, but customized for useability and mass adoption). On the Google OS, you can do everything you currently do on Windows XP or a Mac (or even Linux). You can install new applications, and everything is, YOU GUESSED IT, 100% free and supported by advertisers. Speaking of great free applications, the MS Office killer, OpenOffice.org, is amazing. I already am highly recommending this application suite to everyone after using it for 3 days.
Why is this going to happen ? Because it needs to happen if everyone is going to be able to have a computer in their hands. With this new way of life, "desktop" computers, and "laptops" (all they would be is modems with a graphics card and a display) would be dirt cheap so that everyone could afford one. This, IMO, is the only way that Bill Gate's dream of getting a PC to every person in the world, will be achieved. It's the most cost effective way, and it makes the most sense once we have the infrastructure to support it (i.e., faster connections). And who wins out of all of this ?
Google and the Customer.
Sidenote: I'm going to Google on Thursday! I'm so excited, I would have never dreamt that this would happen a year ago... Ah, nothing as rewarding as the benefits of hard work ;)
Customer Service
I entitle this post "Customer Service" because I have learned a lot about how to treat your "customers" in the last few weeks. I've found that the best way to learn how to treat your customers is just by watching my grandparents. Yeah, who woulda thought? I spend the night at their house almost every week when I'm down in Mountain View, so I see them quite a bit. There have been a few things that I have learned:
#1) Cold Mornings
I was freezing one morning so I [jokingly] said I felt like I woke up on the top of a ski resort because it was so damn cold. The next time I was there, I woke up and apparently they had hired the guys that supply oil to heat hell or something; I was burning -- It was great!!
#2) Jalapeno Bagel
Every morning when I wake up, they make me breakfast. One morning I mentioned how much the Jalapeno bagels at Noah's Bagels RULE (they really do). So I woke up the other morning and a Jalapeno bagel from Noah's Bagels magically appeared on my plate. At first I didn't believe it, so I looked again. Yeah, it really was a Jalapeno bagel from Noah's. This is really great service... I think I'll stay at this place again! :D
#3) DSL
They were stuck in the stone ages for... ever... So they've finally gotten DSL after I suggested it would be easier to get work done if they paid an extra $5 a month for a connection that is 2,000,000,000,000 times faster. :p
So how does any of this apply to customer service? Well, your customers are your business; you are only as strong as your "weakest" customer (people tend to tell more people how much they hate a certain product rather than one they would recommend). For my grandparents, they want happy grandkids. Grandkids make a suggestion, grandparents figure out how to please them (too bad parents aren't like that).
This completely applies to founding a startup. For the past few months, I have been asking tons of people to give me suggestions on how to make *********** better (will announce this in the next few months). And guess what? It's paid off. I could have never built a product to where it is today, there have been tons of people that have helped me make it better. They say 1 can take an army of 10, and 2 an army of 100. What about 3? 4? 5? When you involve your end user (the customer) in the building/evolution of a product, you are almost sure to have a better product that will appeal to more people. Which means: sells more, sells faster, has more potential to be...
"the next big thing"
:)
Green Card energy drink is genius
This is the perfect energy drink right now. There's already the three big drinks monopolizing the energy drink landscape: RedBull, Monster, and Rockstar (which is the best). So why not come out with an energy drink that is 1) racist 2) controversial and 3) hilarious... Perfect timing. I just showed this drink
to a bunch of kids in my AP class, and EVERYONE wants to try it. If this thing tastes good, it could become so popular it's not even funny. Maybe even do some sponsorships, have contests of who can get over the border the fastest and give them as much Green Card Energy drink as they can consume. It will just stir up more controversy, which is a market's dream; free publicity.
I need to find out where they're selling cases of it... I'm about to open up a store, call it "Mexican Border Supply," and stock Green Card Energy drinks and fake green cards.
Hahahaha... Ok just FYI I love Mexicans, Marco's the coolest kid at school. :D
Facebook jobs
Facebook rewards its engineers with great salaries and options packages, plus numerous benefits and perks:
- Medical, dental and vision plans with no premium for employees
- 401(k) plan
- 21 vacation days per year, plus 8 company holidays and 2 floating holidays
- Complimentary catered breakfast, lunch and dinner daily
- Complimentary beverages and snacks
- Dry cleaning and laundry service onsite
- Free downtown parking permit
- Subsidized gym membership
- Catered Friday Happy Hours at the office
- $600/month housing subsidy if you live within one mile of the office
- Standard-issue 24" LCD monitors and your option of 15" Apple MacBook or IBM ThinkPad
- Worldwide notoriety by having your face on sample Facebook flyers
The best thing is the option of 15" Apple MacBook or IBM ThinkPad... That's freaking aawweessoommee. This is how I'd want my company to look like:
- Medical, dental and vision plans with no premium for employees
- 401(k) plan
- 21 vacation days per year, all of February working part time up at company lodge in Tahoe
- Season pass to Alpine Meadows
- Any ski equipment you would like
- All the food you can eat at the AM cafeteria
- Complimentary catered breakfast, lunch and dinner daily
- Complimentary beverages and snacks
- Dry cleaning and laundry service onsite
- Free downtown parking permit
- Subsidized gym membership
- Catered Friday Happy Hours at the office
- $600/month housing subsidy if you live within one mile of the office
- Standard-issue 24" LCD monitors and your option of 15" Apple MacBook or IBM ThinkPad
Hahaha... Anyways... We'll worry about that day when it comes :D
TV is on it’s way out
Every year, thousands of new products come out that serve one purpose: convenience. Right now, I am laying in bed writing on my BB after reading all the latest news on CNN.com and checking Digg. That's convenient. Convenience has one goal: to increase productivity in each of its users lives. The iPod was made so people don't have to carry around a case of CDs for their oversized CD players. PayPal was a huge hit because it eliminated sending checks in the mail to pay for eBay items that people were winning. Google is so popular because their searches are the fastest and most relevant; in the old days, people would have to go to the library and spend hours searching through books to find the data. Data consolidation is synonymous with convenience. I could go on and on with this list; cell phones, cars, laptops, Go-Gurt, microwaves, etc...
But just like there is a fine line between arrogance and brilliance, there is a fine line between convenience and laziness. This is what I would define as the divider between the two: convenience helps you achieve productivity, whereas laziness helps you achieve purposelessness. A perfect example of the fine line is the TV. You can watch the news, sports games, movies, shows, and tons of commercials on TV (depending on whether you have a TiVo or not). Watching TV is purposelessness. It has no value that it can add to anyone's life. I will make an exception for news, but even that is totally skewed based on the Network's reporters view points. Why do you think shows like Crossfire have gained so much popularity? Because they show more than one stance on a current topic. People love this, it's all about choice.
Our generation doesn't like people telling us what to do or think. Ok, ok, let's not lie, MTV and Myspace own all of us though. Let me rephrase: our generation loves to avoid the fact that somebody else is telling us what to do or think. Why do you think Eminem was so popular? Eminem proves is the perfect example for my point; he made everyone think that they were throwing the finger to authority and mainstream, when the fact was that he was the person who had complete authority over his listeners and he became mainstream because of it.
I stopped watching TV about 6 months ago, and I'll never give it another chance.
This brings me to my next point: TV is on it's way out. Not in the sense that your plasma screens are going to be obsoleted (they will be in 10 years anyways), but the entire business model is going to see a major change. I'm not sure if I'd ever jump into that market in the future, but this is what I would change.
#1- I would make all the content increase the productivity of each viewer. I don't know how this is possible with current technology, but all TVs will likely be run off of computers in the future, and there's a way right there.
#2- Get rid of commercials. And no, don't do "live" commercials either, viewers don't care enough. This is going to be a huge hit to the networks; they are going to have to find a new advertising model. This change will be great for small TV stations though, they will be able to compete with the networks because in the beginning, no one is going to be making a killing on ads.
#3- Deliver everything in HD. If it's not HD, it's not worth watching.
#4- Let users choose what they want to watch. This is going to be the biggest change in the current model. Right now, users are forced to watch whatever is on at that time (unless they've recorded it earlier on their TiVo).
Once the Networks understand that they're going to have to change their current model, they will freak out. But adapting to this change will determine whether or not these Networks will make it through the next few decades. Because I know one thing is certain: Verizon is laying down the new internet lines right now, and once everyone can stream HD to their TVs from their T3 connection...
IT'S OVER FOR THE NETWORKS.
Blogging is the new customer service (for big companies)
There are several companies that are infamous for their terrible customer service: Apple, Google, [all of the] Telcos, and Dell. I don't think these companies place a high value on their customer service department, because they are more worried about getting as many customers as possible as compared to keeping the customers and treating them like they deserve: like your boss. At the end of the day, your customers are essentially the ones writing your paycheck; your customers are literally the people that make or break your company. These companies I listed already have a huge market share: they've done the work to get to that place, so why should they care if they lose a customer or two due to bad service, right? Wrong.
Mark Cuban wrote about customer service in a recent post on his blog, and I completely agree with what he has to say about the CEO putting himself in the shoes of his customers. If you wouldn't use the product that you are selling, then why are you selling it? (Paul Graham talks about this too). In his post, Cuban writes
There used to be a saying that happy customers might tell one person, but unhappy customers tell 20. In the internet age, one happy customer might make a note in their blog or forward an email. An unhappy customer, starts a blog, writes about how unhappy they are, takes out an ad on search engines to let people who are looking for the product know how made they are, starts an email forwarding chain asking people to boycott the product, does a Youtube video about it and games Youtube to make it one of the top 10 most viewed videos.... You get the picture.
Yes, I sort of get the picture: when you are a small company (ESPECIALLY a web 2.0 company) having great customer service can be one of the big factors for your success. Blogging has taken customer service to a new level: it becomes personal and public. Ok this is so cliche, but I will just use Robert Scoble as the golden example. I remember a while back I had a personal vandetta vendetta against MS (I don't know why... I use their OS like 12 hours a day :p). I wrote a comment to one of Scoble's post about Microsoft, and I received an email from him asking for further thoughts from me. I felt like I had a voice, like I was somebody; even though it probably had no impact on any of Microsofts business decisions, it had a psychological effect on me. Every time I opened up my laptop thereafter, I loved it to death, and I owe it all to Robert Scoble :).
Anyways, I still haven't written a single post about anything that I really do for work. I wrote a while back that I was thinking about it: well, I'm still thinking about it. Mark Cuban uses it as his platform to vent and also to promote all of his ventures; I don't know if I can see myself doing that. But then again... Things change. I am going to the blogging seminar by SixApart on Monday, and I can't wait to hear what they have to say about corporate blogging.
One thing I will say: in the future, when I am hiring employees, I am going to have a very weird application. The only question right now that I know will be on it is this:
"Do you ski?
If yes, or even no, do you have a cabin in Tahoe that I can stay at?"
:)
Blogger Seminar with SixApart
I'm going to be attending SixApart's business blogging seminar next Monday in SF, anyone else going? Sounds like it's going to be fun, I'm looking forward to it.
An update on sdpurtill.com
After letting it sit for 8 months and promising a "new site coming soon," I've finally put something nice on the front page.
Check it out :)
Going to Stanford/Mountain View tomorrow
If you're in the area and wanna say hi or something, give me a ring -- (530) 417-0874. I'm going down tomorrow around 11 and will be leaving Saturday in the afternoon... I'm excited for one of the meetings that I have scheduled for tomorrow, I'll write about it if I'm allowed to. I'm also meeting my new business partner Michael Young, a sophomore at Stanford. Should be fun!
Anyways, if you want to get in touch, just call me.
Why Cuban is right about YouTube
Mark Cuban recently posted The Coming Dramatic Decline of YouTube, and I must say... I am in total agreement.
I think the main two reasons why YouTube is destined for failure is because 1) they don't have the infrastructure that Google does and 2) they don't have the ability to grow internally as fast as they are on the outside (they can't hire fast enough)
My first point is self explanitory: Google has much deeper pockets and hundreds of thousands of servers around the world. Google is the fastest most reliable CDN in the world (correct me if I'm wrong). Online video is in its beginning stages still, and it's going to take a while for people to realize that video quality and dl speed matters more than upload speed and amount of content.
My second point: they can't hire fast enough. They are huge. They need to sell right now to a company that knows what how to deal with such fast growth. Last time I checked, they had like 20 employees and were working above a pizza parlor. Um... Yeah. Right now, going with 37signals motto "less is more" isn't really going to help. YouTube makes enough money every month that it won't be much more overhead by hiring on 1,0000 employees to make their site better.
I hope to look at this post in about two years and see if I'm right. What do you think ?