Sam Liebeskind

We’re the providers of information and we want to be the distributors. But Google now wants to be the distributor.

We find that people in the U.S. who are surrounded by prompts and reminders to participate in generosity-related activities are more likely to participate in them .

With technologies that can now facilitate discussion and decision-making among groups both big and small, we must ask if we can build new kinds of intermediating digital spaces, ones that provide perspective, attention, and action on shared rather than personal problems, while at the same time accommodating discussion and deliberation at local as... See more

Software projects can be thought of as having two distinct stages: figuring out what to build (build the right product), and building it (building the product right). The first stage is dominated by product discovery, and the second stage is all about execution

If this essay was one sentence, it would be: I befriend people easily because I run around the world believing that we are all more or less the same. Meeting someone new feels like a puzzle of empathy– a game of commonality. I ask myself: if I had their background, their values, their limitations and longings, what would I think? What would I want?... See more

Infrastructural goods are strategic because of the manner in which these three properties interact. Without monopolistic tendencies, the market could correct with competition. Without the variety in downstream uses, the power of infrastructure would be narrow (and users in a narrow domain can more easily coordinate countervailing power). And... See more

In Facebook’s quest to “make the world more open and connected,” it succeeded in empowering individuals, but accidentally eroded the very notion of an authority – not just the notion of an objective truth, but the notion that any established institution could help us to understand truth. We underestimated bad actors, and the ways people would game... See more

A brand is always answering two questions. The first one internally facing: What do we believe? The second, externally: How do we behave? You must remain authentic to yourself, your core values, and what you stand for. If you’re not, people will sniff you out. But your brand must maintain cultural congruence — remaining relevant to the times,... See more