Charlie Rose

Andrewson  01/24/2011 01:42 AM Report

The deal is not all that evil, it is more annoying from my point of view, all that it means to me is that I will have to change the default search engine when I first install ubuntu. Having said that I mostly use Mint now so it may be entirely irrelevant.

http://www.nicheshark.com/

wiseman  04/08/2009 12:40 PM Report

Marc lost me after the first three minutes. Let's see 175 million "active" users and most using the service 50X/day. I doubt 175 million registrations are active. Furthermore, if active users are visiting 50X daily where do they find time to work, earn money and spend it on Facebook? Please, enough of the hyped sales pitch - it sounds like a mid-90s IPO road show.

steveokeefe  04/07/2009 05:46 PM Report

Congratulations Charlie Rose for doing such an elegant job of bringing video to the small screen. It's not easy to get this clarity, size, and clean audio to work online in a variety of browsers. You've done this very well.

Prof. Steve O'Keefe

Tulane University

veggie_lover  04/07/2009 09:54 AM Report

Marc exemplifies the typical over-confident build it and they will come attitude of dot com entrepreneurs. Their approach is to throw millions of dollars at whims and pray they catch fire. The problem is history has shown that this has a 99% failure rate.

For each successful Google or Facebook there are hundreds of failed companies that tried similar concepts. He makes it sound like these are unique ideas which were conceived independently by dot-com entrepreneurs. When in fact they are just incremental improvements to what is already out there.

Whatever happened to basic hard work and listening to your customers? I don't think he mentioned those two things anywhere in his interview. I realize he may no longer be a developer, but still shouldn't you at least get your feet wet running one ning site before investing millions in it?

Many of these 'millions' of users are people in the developing world . They have little disposable income and are not the type of people US advertisers are trying to target. I find most Google ads, irrelevant and annoying. The internet is all about niches. If I have a niche product, I will advertise it on niche websites. This one size fits all is precisely the conventional model the internet is trying to topple.

gulucka  03/02/2009 10:18 PM Report

Andreessen undoubtedly has an off the charts I.Q. but he clearly spends too much time staring at a screen writing code. Computers don't feed us or keep us warm. What really frightens me is that so many people in society are becoming slaves to this illusion of control. Are we really getting more "connected" to each other? Is life really improving for most people? Think for yourselves and stop being sheep.

jon_bondy  02/26/2009 02:01 PM Report

I was stunned when Marc claimed that he could run the original VisiCalc under Vista. The whole point behind the market's not accepting Vista was because it can NOT run many of the applications that run under XP. If Marc got this wrong, what else of what he said is suspect? Frustrating.

tsutiger  02/22/2009 10:05 AM Report

I'm jazzed. Listening to Marc sent my brain into creative overdrive. I have to check out Ning. I want to start an online community, but of what, gosh I love so many things and people. Wow! Marc is better than speed. His understanding of business coupled with his love of technology and its uses make Marc's conversation useful, informative and inspiring. Thanks for sharing. BTW, I am 60 years of age.

fredgleeck  02/22/2009 12:12 AM Report

As someone who has over 400 internet sites and makes his living selling information products online, I listen to what Marc has to say. He gave me at least 3 ideas that will have a dramatic (positive) impact on my business. As for the content of what he said, previous comments will suffice. As for the REAL LIFE usefulness of what he said, I can personally attest to that. MORE MARC PLEASE!

jakeryan  02/21/2009 05:10 PM Report

I've always had a great deal of respect for Andreessen based on what he did with the browser and the origin of the internet. After listening to this interview, I'm even more impressed with his ability to predict the future in a crisp, logical fashion. I've lived and worked in technology in Silicon Valley for the past 13 years and I can tell you that Andreessen is spot-on with respect to Valley culture, innovation, and how we look at down-turns. I hope this link is active 2 years from now because it will be fun to go back and see how Andreessen's predictions unfold; I bet pretty dang good.

ShalomFreedman  02/21/2009 03:58 PM Report

Andreesen was a lot of high- speed brilliance on many different subjects. He also had a tone of certainty which is oddly reassuring in these days of total economic uncertainty. But is he right about the Internet taking over the world? Charlie Rose put in a good corrective when he spoke about the value of face- to- face human conversation. He might also have spoken a bit about other kinds of real - life experience which are superior to Internet substitues and simulations. But on the whole it was refreshing to hear someone so hopeful, so innovative and so knowledgable.

Aaron88  02/21/2009 12:32 PM Report

Great Interview, as a former employee of the NYTimes, I can tell you that everything he said about the Times is absolutely true. I worked in the Information Technology dept, and can tell you of a really embarrassing moment during a conversation with the Director of IT who shall remain nameless but sites on the 12th floor. During the conversation I mention the name David Pogue, (the NYTimes technology columnist) and do you know he didn't even know who he was. How in the hell can you be the Director of Information Technology and not know who David Pogue is. I can guarantee you that every one who works in the IT Dept. at the WSJ knows who walter mossberg is. And certainty the Dir. of IT.

The problem with the time is outside of the news room, they employ too many NY Post readers.

brianmeyers  02/21/2009 09:43 AM Report

absolutely fascinating subject and interview! He had a ton of info, so I suggest a follow up so he has time to elaborate on the details. his brain is big; much bigger than mine and most of the rest of the viewers', so we need time to catch up. Charlie email him and get him back to your studio!!!

mabraham  02/21/2009 04:19 AM Report

Overall interesting conversation although very superficial.I wish Charlie would have challenged M Andreessen more often, talking fast is not a sign of maturity in my book. In particular, I would have liked spending more time on the downside of "social networking", be it the privacy issues it raises as well as the illusion of friendship without physical contact.

The other source of challenge would have been manufacturing vs software. I.e. M Andreessen mentioned Intel, Sisco, IPhone and WII as game changers, but most of the interview was about software in general & internet in particular.

tartufe  02/20/2009 08:27 PM Report

pixel park - revealing, eh what? You're 2nd and 3rd paragraphs are irreconcilable. I understand you can play bridge 'around-the-world' which indeed would be a kick - for a while anyway. Provided it remained civil. Unsnarky!

pxlpark  02/20/2009 04:38 PM Report

ps: Charlie, I couldn't agree with you more on the importance of face to face, "analog" time, and specifically your forum.

As much as I indulge in the digital, there is nothing, no thing, in the world like smelling the trees on a winters night while going for a walk, running into old friends with a glass of wine and some cheese, or riding a bike around the city with a friend.

@tartufe, I hope that some day you partake in a few rounds of online gaming with opponents from all over world. It is quite mind expanding and exhilarating to experience a multi cultural interactive gaming online. All the languages and nuances of people and places that you may not otherwise have a chance to experience. I still have oddly sentimental memories of my first digital "sunset" listening to Billie Holiday from a digital diner, in a place i could not have ever imagined, years ago in the early days of Second Life.

pxlpark  02/20/2009 03:37 PM Report

Marc, I didn't think it was possible to find someone else who talks as fast as I do when he gets on topics that one is passionate about, like these. The great part of this was that you got Charlie too start talking much faster as well. Great show, and a few great sparks for me to think about in my own projects.

I don't agree wholly that print is dead and no longer has investment opportunities (it will be shortly in the English speaking world, yes), as I too am a junky of all media- analog, digital, or carved into a advert on the subway. However like vinyl and film, I agree it is something that will not continue to be a Populist medium, and eventually it will become more of a specialty item as with vinyl/film.

I would though, like to see Marc come back and speak about the future of things, as this convo was really a catch up to what's happened in the past 5 years, and how 99.9% of corporations are just not forward thinking in any useful sort of way (Show me the money, just doesn't fly the same way here).

@REMant

I understand what you are getting at, but I think Marc falls into the innovation "by any means necessary" way of thinking, which realistically needs to deal with profit centers, corporate ideology, and capital investment. A lot of "garage" innovation can come on someone else's (corporate) nickel (and I know it certainly has). And that usually ends up supporting a slew of spin offs that will bring forth major new (and useful) ideas.

There were many companies that were incredibly useful and innovative that never made it out of the .com era, but whose ideas have been pilfered or bent quite successfully now, by Marc, Apple and others. Mostly because they could either not see the big picture, not find capital, or the capital they found sank them, as it either required unrealistic short term returns or they were given 10s of millions more then they needed, and were forced to grow/spend it overnight which caused them to expand way to soon and go bust as a result.

The genius of the iPhone is not the device itself. It is by no means a technologically superior phone (yeah *nix rules, but that's where it stops), but packaged with iTunes and the convergence to the platform of every media outlet in the english speaking world, as well as small software developers, is something of a bonafied miracle. I have worked with various platforms of mobile phones/devices pretty extensively, and there to date has never been a package like what Jobs put forth, (though the Amazon/Kindle package has a lot of potential if they can bring more print brands and media types in). The closest thing is the gaming industry and Nintendo / XBox are getting it fairly right (well, they still miss massive cross pollination opportunities...but I digress).

As for the banking thing, with microBanks/microInvesting finally going somewhere, this is without a doubt one of the hugest opportunities to change banking as we know it forever, for the better, and will flush the wonders of our current banking system clean (and hopefully bring them and corporate america into the 21st century).

Needless to say, there will always be two camps. Those who do it for the love and craftsmanship of it, and those who do it for money. A good balance of both, equally, should make the world a pretty good place.

tartufe  02/20/2009 03:23 PM Report

Andreessen was/is contagious. He talks faster than I think. No compliment there.

He sidestepped his 'new' banks replacing the current banks with 'cloud' (my word not his) computing. Not me. The big NY based credit card banks should be taken out and shot (sans blind-fold). Predatory maggots that they are.

REMant's second paragraph is provocative in that computers themselves seem to have an unforeseen cost to them. Which reminds that was surprised that Andreessen practiced computer gaming (as invigorating?). What are thumb-challenging egames compared to the adventures of a real-life Tom Sawyer or Huck Finn? Other social costs are forgone not even realized. Admittedly resentful as I've lost my grandkids to egaming. Ah well.

Me for example. Shouldn't I admit I'm deluding myself here and go for a walk, talk to a live being - dog or otherwise?

joelazar  02/20/2009 03:07 PM Report

Too bad we could not slow down his speech speed. Otherwise I thought his observations of the past, present and expanding internet activities are revealing and stimulating. As Charlie observed that he is glad he is 26 I am glad I am 86 thinking like a 26er.....

bobfet1  02/20/2009 02:59 PM Report

This was a very energizing conversation. When there is negative news in the economy every day, talking about innovation and new technology has the great effect of reminding us what we really need to be doing in a time like this: creating new opportunities and building new things that don't have the baggage of the past.

REMant  02/20/2009 01:45 PM Report

I thought this a much less illuminating discussion than the one on newspapers last week. Andreessen seems to be a real enthusiast, which fortunately doesn't seem to extend to his understanding of financial subjects. In fact he seems to be only dumb about the Web, where he sounds much the same as the ppl at M$ and Google. IMHO most of the computer world avoids commercialism entirely, the really valuable Web use being created by voluntary part-time cooperation, as is also the case with programming. One could distinguish between rational and irrational Webs.

The question about Facebook, etc, is not whether these websites are businesses, but what is their real usefulness? There are a lot of really worthless businesses, just as there is at the moment a lot of worthless real estate. What possible good would connecting everybody on the planet be, even if it were manageable, which it is not? Questions about good are not what the majority of such entrepreneurs ask, however.

In my view the much of the way the Web has gone demonstrates beyond a doubt the anti-republican character of business, but I see an enormous number of ppl pushing back against the attempt at to "monetize" everything. I also see the web, not only not being connected, but segmenting, like most everything else. Newspapers are becoming irrelevant, not just technologically passe. And I doubt Napster could have been as much of a success as an iTunes store.

This question is really the one Montesquieu asked about the utility of small vs large republics, or rather of a republic with face-to-face relations vs a democracy spread over a lge territory and aimed at expension. Machiavelli argued for the latter, as in a back-handed way, did Mandeville, whereas Montesquieu considered it not only artificial, but totalitarian. The argument made was that republics were mired in unrealistic moral considerations and could never become brilliant and powerful. This is still the argument made against socialism. Democracies end up in service, however, the pawn of brokers, who sponge off the inability to really centralize, and most business is of this type, a fact that was recognized by philosophers as soon as there was a merchant class. A long time ago I realized that communication systems can be used either to centralize decision-making, or to allow it to be decentralized in a coordinated fashion. Hopefully the latter is what will happen.

Incidentally, while we might benefit from more electronic banking (tho there are certainly arguments against that), why bother starting new banks when we have thousands of perfectly solvent and functional local banks already?

And I see the iPhone and other such as nothing more than smaller wireless computers, tho somewhat limited in that they are more perforce service-oriented.