How Tim O'Reilly Got Started:
O'Reilly had a friend who was asked to write a computer manual, but couldn't write. Tim could. In 1983, he started O'Reilly and Associates as a tech writing consulting firm.
A catastrophic slowdown in the consulting industry led them to become publishers. They took some of the manuals they were writing and sold them for $5. Bit by bit, they built up a catalog of Unix documentation and sold them to companies that needed them. They decided to start selling their books outside of tech conferences, which eventually led them to full-time publishing. They ended up selling 10K half-finished manuals at the conference and promised to send published books to buyers when they were completed.
Early career was full of accidents. Manuals at the time were not written in the 2nd person and they also did not have unorthodox covers. A friend's roommate created 7 mockups with strange animals on them and it fit!(The roomie thought that "Unix" sounded like a funny animal.)
What is a brand?
Great brands have a core. They mean something. Big ideas are like locomotives. They need to be inclusive and go where a lot of people want to go. The brand promise of a big idea is that it belongs to everyone who uses it. Brands are like starting an old car. It rolls down the hill and picks up momentum as you try to start it, then it happens. With Open Source, he made heroes out of people who had big ideas and wanted to make something great.
"I'm a maker. I'm proud!"
The Web 2.0 story was a big story that made people a part of a movement. Web 2.0 got away from what Tim intended to make of it. The name came from the idea that the web was over after the dot com bust. It was the 2nd coming of the web. It came out of his thinking on Open Source software.
Hardware was the source of value years ago. People tried to differentiate themselves by touting hardware advantages, but Microsoft was the leader because they were focused on the value of software.
Large databases with content contributed by users was the basis for Web 2.0.
eBay survived the bust because they collected information about their users in their databases. What did they do with the site when they visited. Amazon, Craigslist...these were the sites that survived because of these actions and foresight. Harnessing collective intelligence was 2.0.
"I am reasonably good at Pattern Recognition. I see individual stories or people who light up part of that future."
You build a model for the future and then look for stories that support those beliefs. This is what helps to build a great brand.
(I love this!)
"I am bad at caring about money. I am good at caring about ideas and people with good ideas."
What's your favorite startup?
"Terry Jones' Fluid Info, but that's because I am not sure it will work."
The entrepreneur who is chasing the big idea, the ones who don't care about getting rich and want to have fun are the ones who do the most interesting things.
In the mid-90s, Cisco was interested in acquiring O'Reilly Books. They said OR was always there first, but didn't ever fully exploit it.
I've made my share of millionaires and billionaires. Evan Williams (Twitter) first job was with O'Reilly.
Why do you want to work in politics?
"I am not interested in politics. I am interested in government and making it better."
I have been following government hacking for years.
media.org is full of amazing docs that push open government.
Had an idea to take a Web 2.0 conference to DC.
"Vending machine government" is putting in taxes and getting out services. It cannot work.
Government is more of a platform. Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton are the fathers of Foursquare. When he put the GPS satellites in space, it was suggested that he open it for public use. They built enormous structures and systems on these platforms and eventually released it for public use.
Healthcare is bankrupting our system. What if healthcare worked like Google with feedback? What if we had the ability to provide this feedback about our system and see what works?
Are you a Republican? Democrat? Libertarian?
I'm a Taoist. (audience laughs)
There is nothing he feels good about with our system. It is broken.
What would you do with our policies? Energy? War? The Middle East?
I have a lot of sympathy for those who have to move large groups and fix them. I would not be good at it. I wish I would see more value-driven decisions out of today's White House. I didn't agree with Reagan, but I love that he had core values. Same with Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton. They had core values that drove them. I am disappointed that Obama hasn't demonstrated this as much [as these Presidents].
Energy policy has been broken since Jimmy Carter. If we had followed the embargo, we would be in a very different place now. There are some civilization changing things in our future.
Sunset laws built into every law! This would require that they are reinvented after a certain amount of time. A short bill that expresses intent and allows people to go innovate would be a great start.
We are down to one society now. If you look at the history of progress, someone fails and someone else picks up the ball. The West can fail and China can pick up the ball, but there are risks to that.
Audience Questions (that are interesting to me)
Q: You mentioned Pattern Recognition. Would you speak about what you do to develop Pattern Rec. and what others can do?
A: It's a mix of having some broad preconceived notions. It's like having some strong, loosely organized opinions and recognizing those around you who are doing what you believe. I want people to work on stuff that matters! I cannot think of a great company who doesn't have a great vision.
codeforamerica.com
Q: Any self-respecting geek is frustrated by how medical records are processed. How do we push the IT and privacy issues related to medical records?
A: I think we are going to see a revolution in our expectations of privacy. I think what we have to do is think about why we want things to be private. Let's think about those problems. Open medical records is going to happen. If you want a job where you can really make a difference, work in Healthcare IT.
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