604
Nat Emodi
@emodi #604
highlight.xyz
/highlight
⎄
116340 Follower 1678 Following
Great products are really, really hard to build.
Antimemetics are more inherent to crypto than any other field.
It literally runs on short memories, cycles of reinvention, and hidden dynamics that drive behavior but vanish from the narrative.
It literally runs on short memories, cycles of reinvention, and hidden dynamics that drive behavior but vanish from the narrative.
The ‘21 NFT bull market was driven in part by the ongoing crisis of meaning in society.
We projected meaning, community, identity to fill a growing void.
The memecoin trend was the antithesis, a return to the void—anti-meaning, anti-community, nihilism-as-identity.
Content coins attempt a synthesis of the two.
We projected meaning, community, identity to fill a growing void.
The memecoin trend was the antithesis, a return to the void—anti-meaning, anti-community, nihilism-as-identity.
Content coins attempt a synthesis of the two.
Unless and until we recapture the transcendent dimension of crypto — the deeply political, ideological, and spiritual beliefs that offered a unified vision for a better future — we will never escape stagnation.
There should be a term for the times when you find the solution and it’s so simple and so obvious you can’t believe it took you so long.
Autodidacts are many of the most productive people in society.
Now every high-slope dropout and late-night tinkerer has a swarm of PhD mentors to patiently teach them the high-value stuff that’s historically been locked inside brains and firms requiring massive amounts of time, money, skill, luck, and status to access.
Now every high-slope dropout and late-night tinkerer has a swarm of PhD mentors to patiently teach them the high-value stuff that’s historically been locked inside brains and firms requiring massive amounts of time, money, skill, luck, and status to access.
If you’re building something big and ambitious and can’t clearly and specifically describe who the user is that you’re building for, and the steps taken to 100% validate their needs, you should stop everything and go figure that out.
Disruption has never been more palpable than OpenAI and Anthropic racing ahead of slow, sclerotic tech giants who seem — despite every resource imaginable — unable to compete.
Who is the best, most obsessive front-end engineer you know?
People complain about the friction canceling the WSJ, but there's no more extractive, insidious product than Figma when it comes to over-charging users.
If you try to remove seats from your plan, they add seats. If you try to share a file for review, they add premium seats without telling you.
Am I missing something?
If you try to remove seats from your plan, they add seats. If you try to share a file for review, they add premium seats without telling you.
Am I missing something?
Ok! All systems go.
Big launch tomorrow.
Big launch tomorrow.
“Funds”
a) Capital
b) Network
c) Energy
d) Ingenuity
Good lens to evaluate any startup.
eg, some have ample (a) and are basically out of runway on (c) or (d)
a) Capital
b) Network
c) Energy
d) Ingenuity
Good lens to evaluate any startup.
eg, some have ample (a) and are basically out of runway on (c) or (d)
Definite optimism
Levels of understanding
Level 1: This works
Level 2: That does not work
Level 3: This works and that does not work
Level 4: This works and that does not work in these situations
Level 5: This is WHY this works and that does not work
Level 1: This works
Level 2: That does not work
Level 3: This works and that does not work
Level 4: This works and that does not work in these situations
Level 5: This is WHY this works and that does not work
Consumer apps need to focus on relief from complexity vs adding complexity.
A good (and hard) litmus for consumer crypto apps is if they offer relief from existing complexity instead of adding more.
Stablecoins, for many kinds of transfers in large parts of the world, do this.
A good (and hard) litmus for consumer crypto apps is if they offer relief from existing complexity instead of adding more.
Stablecoins, for many kinds of transfers in large parts of the world, do this.
Surprising detail is a near universal property of getting up close and personal with reality.
http://johnsalvatier.org/blog/2017/reality-has-a-surprising-amount-of-detail
http://johnsalvatier.org/blog/2017/reality-has-a-surprising-amount-of-detail
A nerd snipe is a special case of human vulnerability: getting tunnel visioned into some side quest.
In some ways, it’s like other snipes:
status – clout, prestige
FOMO – hype, trends
emotion – outrage, drama, rabbit holes
Nerds just get sniped by ideas and tech. Same circuit, different bait?
Not really. Status, fomo, and emotions come from variations of mimetic desire—people don’t just want things; they want what others want.
A nerd snipe is different. It’s not about imitating who desires something, but how they desire—nerds model curiosity itself.
The mimetic hook isn’t prestige or belonging; it’s the gravitational pull of an interesting problem, and the allure of skill and knowledge.
In some ways, it’s like other snipes:
status – clout, prestige
FOMO – hype, trends
emotion – outrage, drama, rabbit holes
Nerds just get sniped by ideas and tech. Same circuit, different bait?
Not really. Status, fomo, and emotions come from variations of mimetic desire—people don’t just want things; they want what others want.
A nerd snipe is different. It’s not about imitating who desires something, but how they desire—nerds model curiosity itself.
The mimetic hook isn’t prestige or belonging; it’s the gravitational pull of an interesting problem, and the allure of skill and knowledge.
”For too long the crypto economy was an isolated atoll, with vibrant native customs but few exports to the rest of the world.
A token for increasing leverage in trading NFTs?
An interesting practice, but probably not one that’s going to reshape global commerce.
Stablecoins, though, are an immensely important export to the rest of the world.“
via the Stripe annual letter 🔗
A token for increasing leverage in trading NFTs?
An interesting practice, but probably not one that’s going to reshape global commerce.
Stablecoins, though, are an immensely important export to the rest of the world.“
via the Stripe annual letter 🔗
A favorite recent Substack essay:
https://substack.com/home/post/p-148244657
tl;dr most of the time we learn simply to get the surface details we need to sound smart; actual learning takes much more effort, intention, and structure, and is far rarer and more valuable.
https://substack.com/home/post/p-148244657
tl;dr most of the time we learn simply to get the surface details we need to sound smart; actual learning takes much more effort, intention, and structure, and is far rarer and more valuable.
A few things coming very soon to Highlight:
• Live feed: track your on-chain network and watchlist in real-time
• Exhibitions: discover top creators + what top collectors, funds, DAOs are collecting
• Batch listings/offers: manage your collection in seconds
• Rich editorial: on 1K+ collections and 100s of artists • Competitive fees: save money
• Best-in-class creator tooling (and partnerships)
• Clean design: enjoy the experience
• Live feed: track your on-chain network and watchlist in real-time
• Exhibitions: discover top creators + what top collectors, funds, DAOs are collecting
• Batch listings/offers: manage your collection in seconds
• Rich editorial: on 1K+ collections and 100s of artists • Competitive fees: save money
• Best-in-class creator tooling (and partnerships)
• Clean design: enjoy the experience
nice content
Most modern at-scale social networks were bootstrapped from strong, existing *IRL* networks
- Facebook w Ivy League
- LinkedIn w Valley execs
- Twitter w SXSW in ATX, blogger & tech scenes in SF / NY
Strong IRL networks catalyze digital ones, and Farcaster could bootstrap further w/ IRL presence at more frontier tech events
- Facebook w Ivy League
- LinkedIn w Valley execs
- Twitter w SXSW in ATX, blogger & tech scenes in SF / NY
Strong IRL networks catalyze digital ones, and Farcaster could bootstrap further w/ IRL presence at more frontier tech events
