If I was Reid Hoffman...

If I was Reid Hoffman, the founder of LinkedIn, I would:

1. Own the job market.  Class it up just a little bit, but own a big chunk of it.  Make several times as much money as Facebook and smile.  Especially at Social Networking conferences. 

You might say you’re already doing this, but I don’t think you’re even trying.  Do a CNBC/LinkedIn Poll and ask users if they know they can search for open jobs on LinkedIn.  50% will tell you they didn’t know.

2.  Get people to log in more frequently.  I think LinkedIn is great but it’s something you go to once a month to accept/find connections.

Perhaps the thinking was that Answers would do this.  It’s a nice try.  But people with interesting questions are rare.  And I don’t want to help people that much.

I think the best way to do this is digg-like news integration.  Show me news  for the vertical I work in.  Replace news.ycombinator.com for me.

I personally love Tech/Business news and would love to see what my professional contacts are reading.  And I’d love to have them comment on stuff I post up there.

And go ahead and leverage all those fun business development deals you’re making with CNBC, the NYTimes, and WSJ…send traffic to the best content on those sites.

3.  Improve your navigation.  It just sucks.  You look more like a NYC based company than an SF one.  Hire a UX designer from Facebook who played a pivotal role in the Profile Redesign.  They get how to optimize for content creation/how to seduce users into expressing themselves.

Today, I log into the home page and, above the fold, see nothing actionable.

(Needless to say, I do not mean to imply I’m a tenth the man Reid Hoffman is…I just like catchy titles.)

A Forgotten Distribution Model

One of the biggest concerns/questions when considering a software venture (or really any venture) is how will you get customers?

In all the hype about Facebook, Twitter, and Web 2.0, I forgot about one of my favorite methods of distribution for consumer software:  OEM bundling.

I love the idea of coming up with a subscription service, getting Dell to bundle it, giving users a 30 day trial edition, and then using either love or fear to get them to pay you.

Interestingly, as the price of computers comes down, the price of Windows isn’t.  And the cost of Windows is becoming a larger and larger percentage of the price of a computer.  (Forget Microsoft Office which costs more than 3 computers).

OEMs supposedly pay twenty-some dollars for a copy of Windows.  They make some of that back with money they get from Google, Norton, and AOL.  I once thought a day might come where Dell bundles enough trial editions in that Windows is “free”.  I thought this might be an effective, market-driven way to incent OEMs to never ship Linux computers.

Think about it!  You get a PC and are already signed up for eBay, Match.com, have $5 in PayPal, have $5 on Full Tilt Poker, and have 1 message from a secret crush!

It’s going to be interesting to see when and how the desktop OS is simply a thin client….it’s already increasingly so for me personally…

Random Economics Question That Assumes A Billion Dollars

Let’s say you have a billion dollars.  And you’re charged with taking a 3rd world country with a stagnant economy, how do you systematically bring that economy to life?  How far does that $1B go?  Where does it go furthest?  Are your changes sustainable?

Craigslist's Approach is Anathema

Craigslist thinks it’s great.  Craig Newmark loves to strut around and talk about how he’s not making money.  How they only charge users where they feel it’s “appropriate”.  And how they have a soul.

I tend to disagree.  I think Craigslist is not a good steward of their users.  I don’t think what their doing is noble or altruistic.

They’ve built a service that is just good enough.  They’ve got a relatively captive audience.  And instead of making money so they can funnel that money into innovation and making their service better (like, say, Google does), they’re happy keeping the product just good enough.  Who pays the price?  USERS.  In wasted time and missed casual encounters.  Oye!

Hire an ex-Googler (perhaps Mike Sego!) and make your search work.

All this said, Craigslist is pretty amazing.  I’d die a happy man if I had the impact CL has and will on the world.  Not to mention all the funny stories of what people have used CL for…

Where are Newspapers going?

It’s absurd that the New York Times print and online editions look identical on the front page.

I once heard Greg McAdoo (who is awesome) say that the first thing people do when new technologies emerge is: figure out how to do the old things with the new technology.  That’s precisely what’s happening here.  The NY Times and most other newspapers aren’t leveraging the new technology like they should.

Don’t even get me started with CNN.com…or any Hearst magazine website.

Why aren’t they stealing the best from TV?  From Digg?  From Facebook?  Where’s the convergence between user generated content and old school journalism?  Why isn’t the front page personalized to show stories I’ll like?  Why can’t I comment on a single thing I read?  AHHHHHHH!

I don't get it: Pro-Choice vs. Pro-Life?

I don’t understand why the pro-choice vs. pro-life debate rears it’s ugly head in all Presidential elections.  As a matter of law, isn’t this a resolved issue? (That’s a real question not a rhetorical one).

I don’t think people think of it as a proxy on other issues (like stem cell research AKA science).

What up, yo?

Obama's VP

I do wish Obama had picked Hillary as VP.  I wish he’d believed enough in the “this election isn’t about me, it’s about you” rhetoric to look beyond his sense of pride, his ego, and his personal feelings to allow the movement he’s started to be all that it can.*

*But perhaps Obama didn’t like Hillary on the merits…if so, then I have no strong opinion on the matter.

My Brain is Exploding

My brain is exploding with ideas, information, and worry.  I’m so utterly confused and overwhelmed that I can barely put my pants on in the morning.

Seriously.  That’s not hyperbole.  If you run into me and I’ve forgotten my pants, be compassionate.

In moments like these, when my brain drowns in fluid, I make lists.

Here’s my list of things to do this year:

1.  Travel to and learn about China.  China’s going to change a lot in 20 years, I’d love to boast 20 years ago how I saw it before all this happened.

2.  Figure out how to get into HBS.  Cause Business School is where all the cool kids hang out.

3.  Do a startup.  Startups are hard work but what else is there in life?

4.  Get a step closer to finding my platform. Tiger Woods found golf.  MJ basketball.  Steve Carell The Office.  Obama oratory.

5.  Do something I find personally meaningful and memorable.  Ideally something that lasts for a while.  Shit, this is pretty ambiguous.  And it’s already September.

DNC vs RNC

The DNC had much better signs.  And of all shapes and sizes.  Enough said.

Gaming big in China

An individual I had the pleasure of meeting today made the argument that Gaming will be huge in China because the Chinese people have very few media alternatives.  TV and movies are censored.  As are the internet and print.

I buy it!

What a different world censorship makes!

Also, gaming consoles allegedly haven’t taken root in China because of the upfront costs of such devices.  Therefore, the prevailing gaming platform in China will be the web.  The “pay to play on our servers” business model has no upfront costs (enabling broader adoption) and can generate 100’s of millions/billions in revenue!  Woohoo!

Making History Fun!

Mrs. Johnston, my AP European History teacher, only read non-fiction.  She asserted that real life history was full of so many great stories, there was no need for make-believe*.

At the time, I thought her kind of crazy.  Now, I see her point.  But I think it’s still underrealized.

History is full of compelling stories.  But those stories are locked inside textbooks or hidden in thick books.  I remain reluctant to read entire texts of non-fiction because from a 500 page book, I’d get 3 stories I’ll remember forever and share with others.

This is like biryani with lots of rice and little meat.  Mom wouldn’t be amused.

Why are books about history written this way?  Because they’re written by people who want to be scholars rather than entertainers.

I think there’s a huge market for ripping the 3 good vignettes from each history book, adding historical context, and bundling them up in a single book.  All meat, yum!

And here’s the perfect title: “High Brow Dinner Conversation for Intellectual Midgets, Volume 1”.  (Of course it would be a series!)

This hardly makes me an intellectual :(…

(The more I write on this blog, the dumber I feel on so many levels…)

* I think this is true.

Not doing a Seed Fund

I was going to do a Seed Fund.  Raise some money and turn it into more money.

Primarily because I think it would be a helluva a lot of fun.  I love meeting people with more conviction, charisma, brains, and luck than I can manage to muster.  Identifying and working with such people seems like a dream.

However, I’m not doing this.  The economics, according to my math, aren’t that good:

1.  Start with $5M of other people’s money.

2.  Invest it in early stage startups.  Do surprisingly well.  Turn that $5M into $25M in 5 years.  Take that Kleiner!

3.  Distribute 80% back to investors.  You’re personally left with $4M.

If that’s bad math, do let me know!

100 Things I love about New York City

I recently moved to New York City.  And I love it.  If you’re a friend of mine and have never been, you’re invited!

Here are 100 things I love about it (this is now and likely forever an incomplete list that never makes it to 100).

1.  The resolve of New Yorkers running around Central Park.  Forget the Empire State Building, this is New York’s true tribute to human achievement.

2.  Crappy, expensive apartments.  I spend most of the day inside my crappy, expensive apartment.  At my computer.  Yay!  But daily, sometime in the early afternoon, I realize it’s illogical to sit inside all day and pay exorbitant rent.  Immediately, I go outside and walk around for an hour.

3.  People walking fast.  I love fast walkers.  I have no where to go but I pretend.  I really don’t think others are pretending.  If someone walks slow, you’ve license to push them.

4.  Efficient markets.  For everything.  People, food, apartments, jobs, everything.  If there’s an event somewhere on Saturday, someone with a food cart knows about it and will be there to price gouge you.

5.  Small businesses everywhere.  They only take cash and always have change for a $100.  They count their money in front of you.  They know they make more money than you do and don’t let you forget it.

6.  Smell of horse manure in and around Central Park.  Admittedly, I’ve always liked this.  I’m not sure what my parents did to me as a child.  It’s especially beautiful when juxtaposed against all the artificial, concrete smells of the city.

7.  It’s hard to be a racist in New York.  There are so many people from so many places.  You can’t even tell where people are from.  You therefore can’t figure out who to hate.

8.  Beautiful people.  And lots of ‘em.  I’ve long wanted to make a coffee table full of nothing but photos of people’s faces.  You can do that without ever leaving New York.

9.  Decentralized, one man businesses.  My thinking here isn’t quite crisp.  But there is something I enjoy about these one-two man food carts or the young dudes on bike-taxis.  I really enjoy that they can have such rickety operations and make it.

10.  Big buildings.  A symbol of human power.  Gotta love ‘em.  They make the sky seem irrelevant.

What am I forgetting?

I love flying Virgin America

As most people that know me well know, I’m scared of flying. What’s “minor turbulence” to others is reason to cry for me.  My heart literally races at take off.  All flight long, I silently pray to God and make all these promises of Good I’ll do if I’m spared.

Anyhoo, most airlines say “Hold on tight, our job is to get you there in one piece.”

Everything Virgin does says “Airplane Safety is a solved problem.  Let’s get the party started!  Why aren’t you taking photos?”

This blog post is not full of good rhetoric!  Doh!

Leaving Microsoft

As I try to figure out what to do next, I can’t help but reminisice about the past.

I use to work at Microsoft.  Part of me really loved it.  Here’s the mail I sent to the team when I left on May 31, 2007.

Today is my last day at Microsoft.

I’m quite sad to leave you great people.  I’ve loved working here and I’ve learned so much from you guys.  I’ve grown much as a technologist, collaborator, and human by working amongst you all.

In life, people matter most.  I will miss each and every one of you.  Part of any good I do with the rest of my life will come from having known you all for the past year and a half.

I have this weird personality defect where I have a hard time taking pride in things I do.  For example, I wasn’t proud of myself for graduating college despite 4 years of arduous work (and, alas, not enough partying).

This product we’ve envisioned and built, I am proud of.  My face lights up when someone asks me what product I work on.  After I relay the product name, I immediately, almost hypnotically, begin rattling off the value prop (I think Todd knows black magic).  And I don’t stop until the victim concedes his need for the product (or runs away screammmmmmmmmmming).

In my immediate future, I aspire to start a software company of my own.  It’s because of what we’ve done the last year and a half that I’m inspired to do this.  It’s because I’ve seen how awesome it is to build a product from concept, grow a team, announce the product, and delight customers.  I’m grateful for this experience.

I’m hopeful many of you will keep in touch!  If you’re in the San Francisco Bay Area, come see me!

-Suli

P.S.: Enjoy RTM; you’ve earned it!  I can’t wait to buy a half dozen of these devices!

Starting a Small Seed Fund?

A friend mentioned that he was considering started a small seed-fund for tech startups.  That got me thinking: the prospect sounds pretty sexy, but does it make economic sense?

1.  What’s the average fund size at KPCB or Sequoia?  What’s the minimum they require from each investor?  How many companies do they invest in for a given fund?  What’s the average investment size?  For a given company, how many rounds do they participate in?  What are the returns on the fund as a whole?  What’s the distribution between home runs, singles, and strike outs?  These two firms are considered top tier firms, how do their returns compare to second, third tier, etc firms?

2.  Kevin Hartz, Keith Rabois, & Jawed Karim do something called Youniversity Ventures.  These guys are experienced, brilliant, connected, and quite aggressive.  I read somewhere they invest in series A/angel rounds and “mark up” in future rounds.  I’ve no idea what that means but it sounded like they invest at one valuation, helping the entreprenuer/company make progress, raise another round, and cash part of their money out…Is that what they do?  Is that a viable business model?

3.  Paul Graham and co do Y Combinator.   I’ve heard people say that Y Combinator “breaks even”.  Is that true or do they make a lot of money?  Why don’t they make even more money?

4.  What size would a seed-fund need to be?  $5MM?  $10MM?  How hard would it be to raise this money?  What sort of return could such a fund deliver?  And in what time frame?

Hopefully, I’ll be digging in and finding answers to these questions soon!

Conflagartion of Innocence

I've always been a fan of bold claims. They're simple, they're absolute, they're fiery/inspirational/the fabric of legends. I recently made the following claim "I'm not 17 anymore. I'm more amazed now by a deed done than an idea conceived. A product delivered than a phrase turned.".

I've come to believe this wholeheartedly. But the interesting piece is why.

It's not that I've accomplished so much and look back at my litany of accomplishments and say, "hell yeah, rockstar--you're kicking some ass". When I see software sitting in a box at Frye's, I never think about all the driven devs behind it--those who toiled months to make Windows boot 5 seconds faster.

Rather, this about-face is born from confronting reality. Reality is clear, unequivocal, omnipresent, and often instransigent. And yet, all this time, I didn't see it!

I see now the dichotomy between thinking something and doing it. Action is not a natural extension of thought! Let me repeat, thinking something doesn't mean you're making that something happen. The subconcious is good but it's not that good.

I've never been lazy; I've never been one to dream small. But dreaming big is fuckin hard.

I'm a big fan of taking all the nuances of my life and graphing them on a cartesan plane. Time the X axis and fun/success/joy/happiness the Y. To date, there is no inflection point. No point where I break out; no point where the trajectory puts me on a course to conquer the world :). I've never felt the sense of urgency to find/force/muster an inflection point that I do now.

Let me be clear--I am not frustrated or saddened by this discovery. Rather, it gives me new appreciation for the megalomaniacs of this world...

The "Intelligent" Information Age

news.google.com is sort of cool. The folks at google aggregate all the news that's fit to print in one place. The information is categorized; I can glance at the Madonna headlines (what compels me to glance?) right after devouring the nitty gritty business/technology details. The sources are international (how does the Bombay Times know my UPS deliveryman's name?). The look and feel of the webpage is consistent and gorgeous.

But my love for the site stops there. I want more.

I want to read only the best articles. What do I mean by best? Well for business articles, I mean the ones with the most numbers, the one that details how this event impacts other stocks in the industry. For articles about Madonna, I mean the one with the most pictures. For articles about Linday Lohan, I mean the shortest. For articles about the villian next door, I want to read the local article written by the reporter who first spoke with the chatty, snooping all these years neighbors.

I want the site to juxtapose Bill O'Reily's unsubstantiated rightest drivel with an article written by some equally brazen leftest. That way I can attempt to work through the hyperboles to arrive at some semblance of the truth.

I think this is possible with computers. Ok, I honestly believe anything is possible with computers (I don't care what Turing says. And don't try to use your DFA's and mathematical conjecture to sway the Truth.) I think this is possible with computers today!

Here's how:
Heuristics! (I'm beginning to think Computer Science is the study of heuristics!) One heuristic would be amount of information (numbers, quotes, pictures, links) the article contains. Another might be how long readers view the article and whether or not they look for more articles on the same event. The reader's affinity for the author would be yet another.

What are your impressions of news.google.com? Do you get as upset when you read articles that are too short, too long, too anything?

Any other ideas for how computers can do this? Are there other, better heuristics you can think of?

Brave New World

Hi, I'm Suleman. This is my personal blog. Herein, I'll talk about technology, business, real estate, my hobbies and misadventures, and occasionally politics. I hope you enjoy it! Above all, I'll try to sound smart. I'm hoping to earn epithets like "visionary" and "industrialist" from this soapbox. Job offers and marriage proposals would just be icing on the cake....

I use to write a wee bit in high school. Writing was fun and forced me to think.