Fred Wilson

Quotes are word for word from the source.

• Future of networks

  “Open and distributed networks are the future of social networks. They will be everywhere.”

  Our noteFred predicts the shift from closed silos to open, distributed social systems.

• Voting With Wallets

  “If I was a customer of Rhapsody, which I"m not, why would I be when Shoutcast is free?, I would leave.Why reward a company like this by giving them more money?”

  Our noteFred explains why customers should stop supporting companies that provide poor service or restrictive policies.

• Dynamic leaderboard algorithms

  “The leaderboards are based on a trending algorithm so they will change over time based on who is active and who is not.”

  Our noteExplaining how the community leaderboard ranks users based on their current activity levels.

• Reputation as currency

  “reputation and game dynamics ultimately lead to currencyhow that is executed is the trick”

  Our noteFred comments on the potential for community reputation to evolve into a form of currency.

• Reactive technology adoption

  “They did not embrace digital as something they needed to get behind quickly. They were forced to do it by competitive pressures.”

  Our noteFred discusses how radio broadcasters delayed adopting digital technology until they were threatened.

• Global revenue growth

  “i wonder if global revenues will grow faster than global based web servicesin the top thirty”

  Our noteFred reflects on whether international revenue will outpace the growth of non-US internet companies.

• Comment moderation policy

  “I never delete the comments unless they are spam or porn or hate speech (and I don't mean hating me).”

  Our noteFred describes his philosophy on maintaining an open comment section.

• Measuring user engagement

  “If you look at the traffic in terms of "visitor minutes" then there are some interesting changes.”

  Our noteFred discusses why total time spent matters more than just raw visitor counts.

• Search result relevance

  “I guess the take away is that Google is much better at delivering relevant search results compared to AOL, Yahoo, MSN, et al”

  Our noteFred compares the quality of traffic coming from different search engines.

• Performance based culture

  “He understands that the culture of lifetime employment, compensation based on time served instead of performance, and the cushiest jobs for the best people is dead wrong.”

  Our noteFred Wilson discusses Joel Klein's approach to reforming the NYC school system's organizational culture.

• Limits of closed systems

  “None of this would be possible with passwords and closed systems.”

  Our noteHe explains why open access is superior for discovery and sharing compared to password-protected sites.

• Market Value Transfer

  “It's a great time to invest in companies that will accelerate this process of decomposition and recomposition and a lot of value will be transferred in the process.”

  Our noteFred discusses the opportunity in industries undergoing structural shifts from vertical to horizontal models.

• Frictionless user value

  “It allows potential users to see the value of the service without having to download anything.”

  Our noteExplaining the benefit of using SMS as a low-barrier entry point for new users.

• The entrepreneurial spirit

  “I think he'll last as long at Sequoia as he did at Flatiron, about 2 months. Because god knows he's got 20 ideas in his mind for his next startup.”

  Our noteFred comments on Jason Calacanis joining Sequoia while being a natural entrepreneur.

• Niche conference value

  “I've come to the conclusion that the best conferences are small emerging events that focus intensely on a specific market sector.”

  Our noteFred explains why he prefers small, focused industry events over large general ones.

• Relevant learning

  “Of course, you have to be interested in that market sector.”

  Our noteFred notes that the value of a niche event depends on your personal interest in the sector.

• Content API potential

  “Once the vast databases of content that exist inside the big media companies start becoming available via APIs, we can start to do some amazing things.”

  Our noteFred discusses the future of media companies opening up their archives.

• Intelligent web evolution

  “Slowly but surely the web is becoming more intelligent.”

  Our noteFred reflects on the direction of the internet's development.

• Choosing CPM over CPC

  “I think this blog will make a lot more with CPM advertising and I think FM is the best way to do that.”

  Our noteFred discusses his strategy for increasing blog revenue through a different advertising model.

• Trust and confidentiality

  “If you don't keep your sources secret, they won't talk. And then what have we got?”

  Our noteFred Wilson discusses the importance of protecting sources to ensure the flow of information.

• Respecting principles

  “I totally respect what she is doing. I don't really care if "national security" issues are at stake.”

  Our noteHe expresses support for a journalist choosing jail over revealing a confidential source.

• Marketing as weapon

  “And marketing is a weapon that startups will need to use to get noticed in a very crowded and competitive environment. I just hope they use it smartly and well.”

  Our noteFred discusses the necessity of marketing in a competitive market despite his caution.

• Simplicity in systems

  “Maybe I am naïve about stuff like this, but I really don't understand why we can't have a one person, one vote system that works relatively simply.”

  Our noteFred Wilson discusses the unnecessary complexity of the American voting and registration system.

• Flaws of politics

  “Politics is subject to corruption, short term thinking over long term planning, and the will of vocal and powerful minorities over the silent majorities.”

  Our noteFred explains his lack of optimism regarding government solutions.

• Shift to digital consumption

  “I read the internet. I rarely read anything in the paper that i didn't read on the internet first. I never read important news in the paper that i didn't read on the internet first.”

  Our noteFred explains why he stopped reading traditional newspapers in favor of the internet.

• Change for results

  “You can't get different results by doing the same thing .”

  Our noteFred emphasizes that a reforecast requires changing actions, not just lowering targets.

• Consumer access

  “When the consumer wants the music, they'll find it online. Ideally in a legal manner. But witholding a legal copy of the music from a fan is going to force them to get it another way.”

  Our noteFred explains that withholding digital content only encourages piracy.

• Opportunity cost of capital

  “While the US is spending its money on military matters, the rest of the world, most notably China, is investing their capital in their economy, infrastructure, and growth.”

  Our noteFred compares US military spending to the economic investments being made by other global powers.

• Strategic Alliances

  “It's a big deal in many ways and showcases the classic line about "the enemy of your enemy is your friend".”

  Our noteFred Wilson was analyzing the strategic partnership between Yahoo and eBay.

• Open playing field

  “It's a wide open (and I mean OPEN) playing field where anyone can build and deploy a service without creating a lot of infrastructure to support it.”

  Our noteFred explains why the emergence of open standards like SIP creates opportunities for new businesses.