At Square we’re removing the term “users” from our vocabulary, replacing it with “customers”, and the more specific “buyers”, and “sellers.” The word customer, given its history, immediately sets a high bar on the level of service we must provide, or risk losing their attention or business. Below is a letter I sent the team after that Board meeting... See more
Networks are built atop platforms. A platform enables. It helps build value. If it is open and collaborative, those users may in turn add value to the platforms.
Just as most retailers came to the realization that being online or offline was no longer an and-or proposition, the same appears to be happening with retail resale and rental.
Until recently, idea capital in tech was constrained, and mostly only accessible by startup founders. If you had an idea for improving public society that required money and talent to execute, and you didn’t do it as a startup, you either had to get the EA community to care about it, or – as the old joke goes – convince Peter Thiel to fund it.