Jessica Livingston (Y Combinator): “The Sound of Silence”

Not so long ago I heard very unique information about Silicon Valley. She explained something that had interested me for years.

But I can not say what it was.
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Too many flaws in the exchange of opinions, which may be misinterpreted on the Internet. It is dangerous even to share facts if they do not coincide with what people want to believe.

In recent years, many are worried about the "fake news." And this is really a problem, but there is another: truthful things that are not spoken of.

Some of the most useful things that I learned about startups in recent years also apply to things that I will never share publicly. Not because ideas are contradictory in themselves, but because anyone can distort them in such a way that they will start to seem contradictory if they were sufficiently motivated. And when this happens, I immediately begin to regret that I said something. This is very distracting. I have two small children and hundreds of startups to follow. I do not have time for people who are trying to misunderstand me.

Not surprisingly, successful organizations and individuals are the most interesting targets for this kind of intentional misinterpretation. They have the power that makes them interesting and makes the others jealous of them; I teach project creators that they should all be prepared for this as their start-ups grow.

In my blog, I wrote a post with the headline " Pitfalls in the middle stage of a startup implementation, " in which I said:

“You cannot prevent one day being targeted. This is an automatic consequence of success. Therefore, the best thing you can do is react correctly when people attack you. To some extent you must be humble to let people lie about you. ”

The problem is that the most successful people in the industry, as a rule, possess valuable information about the industry. Therefore, you lose a lot when they are silent. And yet, if they do not spread this information, it makes the powerful even stronger. This means that useful information remains among insiders, such as me, for example.

Another flaw in the public exchange of ideas is that we are losing the dialogue that they would begin. Before the advent of Twitter and before the media became addicted to views, Paul Graham published an essay entitled “What You Can't Talk About , ” where he wrote:

“The problem with keeping your thoughts secret is that you lose the benefits of the discussion. Discussing one idea leads to more ideas. Therefore, the best plan, if possible, is to have several friends whom you can trust and with whom you can talk openly. ”

Thirteen years later, it became my standard plan. Too many shortcomings in being distracted by someone else's opinion of my opinion. [1] I'm not afraid to express my opinion. I just think: "Why?".

It's great that technology has given more people a voice on the Internet. But this does not necessarily mean a reduction in differences in the exchange of ideas, because some voices drown out others.

How do we solve the problem? I do not know, but I hope that the solution exists. I hope that we are now in stage 1.0 for social media, and that technology will eventually lead us to the second phase, in which we can speak more openly. [2]

I am very frightened by the prospect that the most knowledgeable people in their fields will think: “This is what I need to comment on. No, what's the point? Too many flaws. ”

This is what is happening now, and we do not even know how much is happening; because how is it possible to measure the sound of silence?

Notes

[1] One of my favorite parts is “What you can’t say” :

Darwin himself was cautious in discussing the significance of his theory. He wanted to spend time thinking about biology, rather than arguing with people who accused him of atheism.

[2] I hope that on Facebook we will be able to communicate more openly than anywhere. And, perhaps, this is a hint about the direction in which social networks version 2.0 should move.

More about Jessica Livingston

• Chat with Jessica Livingston: Tips for startups from partner Y Combinator
• Jessica Livingston on how a startup does not die
• Paul Graham's Blog: Talk About Jessica Livingston
• How I fell in love with the startup world

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#philtech (technology + philanthropy) is an open, publicly described technology that aligns the standard of living of as many people as possible by creating transparent platforms for interaction and access to data and knowledge. And satisfying the principles of filteha:

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