David Semeria › Comments

"Hi Albert. I'd love to hear your thoughts on technical debt in the context of scaling. We all know that it's an order of magnitude easier to maintain state on a single node than it is on 2+ nodes. But it's also true that a single node doesn't scale too well. What do you recommend? Start off with one node and bite the scalability bullet once you get traction, or go full out scalable from day one?" - David Semeria

"So much insight in so few words. Well-played Arnold" - David Semeria

"Well-played yourself, JLM" - David Semeria

"Hi Fred, how does this investment fit in with: Large networks of engaged users, differentiated through user experience, and defensible through network effects I'm just wondering whether I'm missing something or perhaps USV's thesis has evolved...." - David Semeria

"I've often thought about how cool it would be to meet many of the regulars here in person. I hope not to offend anyone, but top of my list are Andy Swan and JLM. If both commit to the party (and assuming we're all invited) then I commit to flying out from Milan to attend." - David Semeria

"Also, I agree that often you don't know whether a day was genuinely good or bad until much later. But I disagree when you say that machines are (or soon will be) doing many tasks humans currently do. In services I can't currently imagine a robot plumber, policeman or chef, and in manufacturing I would say the transformation of the Chinese workforce has played a much greater role than has technology. That's not to say there have not been amazing changes brought on by technology. But I see these changes more in terms of your own phrase "networks over hierarchies" (ie people displacing other people) rather than in terms of machines doing the displacing." - David Semeria

"Very wise." - David Semeria

"Excellent Albert and Rohan! By the way, how do you say "dongle" in German?" - David Semeria

"I remember when I was one of the very few in the city to own one of these: It could only store 10 songs, but I didn't care..." - David Semeria

"It's very hard to choose a favorite, but I'll go for this one: Money cannot buy happiness --- it can however rent it. Well played Car, keep on hummin'" - David Semeria

"You might very well think that, but I couldn't possibly comment. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v..." - David Semeria

"Understandably so because not all investors are cut from the same cloth. This is one of the many reasons you have a queue at your door..." - David Semeria

"Actually, the audio is crap from my end too." - David Semeria

"In Italy there is much to appreciate and much to deride. You only really get the full picture after living here for a decade." - David Semeria

"They never died JLM :) I've been busy trying to leave some trace of my existence. Some people have a made it and some have yet to. Brothers all the same - it's the attitude that counts." - David Semeria

"Fear plays a role, but so does ignorance. A few years ago I was in a meeting with a $150m European VC fund and was trying to explain why the web framework I was working on was much better than Flash. I knew the meeting was over the moment they asked "What's Flash?" That was the past, though. Already I'm seeing some much smarter people with funds to invest, and over time the ratio will only improve." - David Semeria

"If you can also name an Italian internet company off the top of your head I'll send you a bottle of Barolo" - David Semeria

"It's a real pity about the audio sync and unfortunately I can't fix it. Fred was really on top form during this talk. There was real electricity in the air when the talk finished and the refreshments began. It may sound like hyperbole, but Fred's words really gave a lot of people a lot optimism, hope even." - David Semeria

"I'm really sorry about the video quality. It works fine from here. Unfortunately it's the only version we have. Thanks for the generous comments Arnold." - David Semeria

"This is a cool idea Fred. BTW, you may want to add the video of your Milan talk over Skype. Here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v..." - David Semeria

"Quite possibly the most random comment I have ever read. I know it's not much of a prize, but it's a prize nonetheless..." - David Semeria

"Nice Carl!" - David Semeria

"Excellent Albert. The key problem with your proposal is that companies are always keen to give access to their APIs but very rarely share the underlying data. Open source projects such as Apache Mahout allow anyone to use many different types of machine learning algorithms straight out of the box. Unfortunately, none of these algorithms work without access to bucketloads of data, which brings us straight back to my initial point. The value is basically in the data, and those companies with the data are very aware of this fact." - David Semeria

"Thanks JLM. Been up to my neck (still am). I come here every day but am generally too wrapped up in my own little world to have up-to-date opinions on things. As the saying goes, "be careful what you wish for.." I wished for it and got it. My lack of commentage is the side effect." - David Semeria

"In theory it's easier for HBO to become Netflix than the other way round. Making top quality content is hard and expensive -- and HBO have years of experience in this field. But HBO don't want kill their cash cow, hence the opportunity for Netflix. The Innovator's Dilemma playing out right before our eyes... Fascinating." - David Semeria

"I've become a lurker!!" - David Semeria

"Thanks Carl. The point of LM is that apps or services should be supplied in the same way as electricity or Coca Cola: pay for what you consume. Use Photoshop full-on for a month? Pay $10. Not use it the next? Pay nothing. Easy, fair, no lock-in. I'm working on another startup now but I firmly believe the core values of LM are still valid. If I make a buck or two on Veespo, I definitely know what I'm doing next..." - David Semeria

"I agree 100% with Arnold. The US market is key for anyone with global ambitions." - David Semeria

"I also got the Jason video (chrome & linux). Thanks for the youtube link" - David Semeria

"Yes but Apple has traditionally made more money from hardware than software. This suggests hardware commoditization is not entirely inevitable. That said, Apple controls both hardware and software - which makes differentiation much easier. It's hard to see how Samsung could differentiate one without controlling the other. So yes, a Samsung OS would make strategic sense (not that I would bet on its success though)." - David Semeria