Podcast appearances and mentions of eugene wei

Ray (Jiayi) Cao is the global head of product strategy and operations for monetization product at TikTok. Prior to TikTok, Ray spent six years at Google helping scale Google Shopping globally. In our conversation, we discuss:• TikTok's internal culture and core values• How TikTok's product team operates• How working at TikTok is different from working at Google• How TikTok rolls out to new markets• TikTok's core principle of “context, not control”• How their sales and product teams work together• Lessons (and mistakes) from building TikTok's early go-to-market team• The importance of hiring for quality rather than quantity• Insights on being successful on TikTok as a creator, a business, and an advertiser—Brought to you by:• WorkOS—The modern API for auth & user identity• Eppo—Run reliable, impactful experiments• OneSchema—Import CSV data 10x faster—Find the transcript for this episode and all past episodes at: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/episodes/. Today's transcript will be live by 8 a.m. PT.—Where to find Ray Cao:• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jiayiraycao/—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Ray's background(04:55) Cultural differences between Google and TikTok(08:24) Fine-tuning the algorithm for different markets(12:15) Examples of fine-tuning the algorithm(15:11) Core principles and values of TikTok(19:34) Hiring at TikTok(21:38) Embracing the “always day one” mentality(25:09) Collaboration between teams(28:38) Amazon's cultural influence(31:14) Setting up the product organization for speed and innovation(35:38) Building the go-to-market team(40:18) What makes people successful at TikTok(43:02) Thoughts on putting in long hours(44:40) OKRs and planning at TikTok(49:12) Tips for how to be successful on TikTok(53:49) Tips for advertising on TikTok(01:04:03) Getting started with TikTok Ads(01:08:42) Common mistakes to avoid with TikTok advertising(01:09:44) Ray's favorite TikTok account(01:10:54) Where to find Ray—Referenced:• TikTok: https://tiktok.com/• Google Shopping: https://shopping.google.com/• Eugene Wei's blog: https://www.eugenewei.com/• TikTok and the Sorting Hat: https://www.eugenewei.com/blog/2020/8/3/tiktok-and-the-sorting-hat• How Netflix builds a culture of excellence | Elizabeth Stone (CTO): https://www.lennyspodcast.com/how-netflix-builds-a-culture-of-excellence-elizabeth-stone-cto/• Inside OpenAI | Logan Kilpatrick (head of developer relations): https://www.lennyspodcast.com/inside-openai-logan-kilpatrick-head-of-developer-relations/• Brian Chesky's new playbook: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/brian-cheskys-new-playbook/• Lead with Context not Control: https://www.svpg.com/lead-with-context-not-control/• Shuba on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tiktokbrownchick• Duolingo on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@duolingo• Duolingo leagues: https://duolingo.fandom.com/wiki/League• CapCut: https://www.capcut.com/• Amanda Talijan (silent baby item reviews) on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@amanda_talijan/video/7321700482018233642—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe

Many of our listeners are familiar with Li Jin, an investor and co-founder of Variant Fund and is one of our favorite thinkers on crypto and the creator economy. Li is also joined by Eugene Wei. He's a web2 product visionary. Listeners may be familiar with some of his incredible blog posts such as, “Status as a Service”, “Invisible Asymptotes”, “Why Information Grows” and more.  In today's episode, these two gigabrains, one from web2 social, one from web3 crypto, talk about the future of status as a service, psychological ownership, and the future ties between social and crypto.  ------ ✨ DEBRIEF | Ryan & David unpacking the episode: https://www.bankless.com/debrief-li-jin-eugene-wei  -----

We're celebrating 10 episodes with this bonus pod featuring Tony Colvin, Senior Growth Marketing Manager at Albertsons as we explore where influencer belongs at big brands. We'll also be touching on this week's headlines – is TikTok's new Creative Challenge good for brands? Is it good for creators? And TikTok is planning to launch an online retail store in the U.S. as soon as next month, putting it in direct competition with e-commerce platforms like Amazon, Shein, and Temu. Will this change the way US retail brands treat TikTok? 

Eugene Wei is a tech analyst and product veteran, with time spent inside Meta, Amazon, and Hulu. He joins Big Technology Podcast for a discussion of social media's longevity, considering how the decay of mainstay platforms changes the incentives to participate. Tune in for a in-depth discussion of social media's longterm trajectory, examining the TikTok algorithm, Threads, Twitter under Musk, and the puzzling persistence of Facebook. In the second half, listen to an engaging lightening round, where Wei comments on the state of his former employers and his longtime friendship with Amazon CEO Andy Jassy.

Writer and technologist Eugene Wei joins Dan, Erik and Antonio to talk about Twitter, Threads, and his views on remote work. We reference Eugene's writing a lot on the podcast and mentioned his recent piece, How to Blow Up a Timeline in last week's MoZ episode with Mike Solana (see links below). Listeners, if you're looking for an ERP platform, check out our sponsor, NetSuite: netsuite.com/zen Moment of Zen is part of the Turpentine podcast network. Learn more: turpentine.co RECOMMENDED PODCAST: The HR industry is at a crossroads. What will it take to construct the next generation of incredible businesses – and where can people leaders have the most business impact? Hosts Nolan Church and Kelli Dragovich have been through it all, the highs and the lows – IPOs, layoffs, executive turnover, board meetings, culture changes, and more. With a lineup of industry vets and experts, Nolan and Kelli break down the nitty-gritty details, trade offs, and dynamics of constructing high performing companies. Through unfiltered conversations that can only happen between seasoned practitioners, Kelli and Nolan dive deep into the kind of leadership-level strategy that often happens behind closed doors. Check out the first episode with the architect of Netflix's culture deck Patty McCord. https://link.chtbl.com/hrheretics LINKS REFERENCED: Eugene Wei, How to Blow Up a Timeline https://www.eugenewei.com/blog/2023/7/6/how-to-blow-up-a-timeline American Prometheus https://www.amazon.com/American-Prometheus-Triumph-Tragedy-Oppenheimer/dp/0375726268 TIMESTAMPS: (00:00) Episode preview (01:03) Algorithm switch at Twitter (07:10) What Eugene would do as Twitter's CEO (11:30) Signal to noise ratio in social media (22:00) Threads (37:35) Sponsor: NetSuite (38:50) LinkedIn (47:00) Improving Twitter: Ranked follower feed, restoring aristocracy, reversing war on Substack (1:10:00) Incumbents vs upstarts in social media (01:14:40) Graph portability (01:20:00) Centralization vs Decentralization of the space (01:25:00) UI analysis of Twitter vs. Discord vs. Slack vs Threads (01:30:00) Impact of Slack and minimizing meetings on the workplace (01:35:00) The downstream costs of remote work (01:49:30) Why tech is the worst industry to model out the effects of remote work (01:51:00) Office layout and productivity TWITTER: @eugenewei (Eugene) @dwr (Dan) @eriktorenberg (Erik) @antoniogm (Antonio) @moz_podcast SPONSOR: NetSuite provides financial software for all your business needs. More than thirty-six thousand companies have already upgraded to NetSuite, gaining visibility and control over their financials, inventory, HR, eCommerce, and more. If you're looking for an ERP platform ✅ NetSuite: http://netsuite.com/zen and defer payments of a FULL NetSuite implementation for six months.

We're one week into the Threads era. How long is that going to last? What does it mean for Twitter, really? And what do Threads and continued chaos at Twitter say about the future of social media? That's maybe a lot to talk tackle, but we're going to do it anyway. NYT tech reporter Mike Isaac (@mikeisaac) joins Vox's Peter Kafka to get us up to speed on Mark Zuckerberg's effort to depants Elon Musk — it seems to be going pretty well, for the moment. And we'll try to answer one big question: Why exactly does Zuckerberg want a Twitter clone, anyway? Then veteran tech exec and big thinker Eugene Wei (@eugenewei) joins to talk about what Musk got wrong at Twitter, why Meta is building its own Twitter using cues from Instagram and TikTok, and life in the algorithm age. Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode More to explore: Subscribe for free to Recode Media, Peter Kafka, one of the media industry's most acclaimed reporters, talks to business titans, journalists, comedians, and more to get their take on today's media landscape. About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fan favorite Mike Solana, Editor in Chief of Pirate Wires, joins Erik, Dan, and Antonio this week to discuss Meta's Threads, status, and the future of social media. We're proudly sponsored by Vanta. Get $1000 off Vanta with https://www.vanta.com/zen Moment of Zen is a part of the Turpentine podcast network. To learn more about talent and partnerships: www.turpentine.co RECOMMENDED PODCAST: The HR industry is at a crossroads. What will it take to construct the next generation of incredible businesses – and where can people leaders have the most business impact? Hosts Nolan Church and Kelli Dragovich have been through it all, the highs and the lows – IPOs, layoffs, executive turnover, board meetings, culture changes, and more. With a lineup of industry vets and experts, Nolan and Kelli break down the nitty-gritty details, trade offs, and dynamics of constructing high performing companies. Through unfiltered conversations that can only happen between seasoned practitioners, Kelli and Nolan dive deep into the kind of leadership-level strategy that often happens behind closed doors. Check out the first episode with the architect of Netflix's culture deck Patty McCord. https://link.chtbl.com/hrheretics TIMESTAMPS: (00:00) Episode preview (01:20) Threads vs Twitter (08:30) Who's using Threads? (14:40) Threads evolving into something else (21:13) Threads' growth (23:30) Elon and Substack (29:45) Ads on Twitter/Facebook (33:45) Fragmentation (36:05) Journalists (37:10) Telepath (38:00) Twitter since 2016 (39:00) What the next election will feel like online (42:00) Future of social media (45:00) Whose status was affected (50:50) Distribution on Twitter vs Threads (53:22) Politics on social media (57:45) “Thetaverse” (01:00:03) What  Elon should do now? (01:04:34) How Zuckerberg's image has changed (01:07:20) Final predictions LINKS: Zuckerberg Wages War https://www.piratewires.com/p/pirate-wires-twitters-final-boss (https://www.piratewires.com/p/pirate-wires-twitters-final-boss) How to Blow Up A Timeline by Eugene Wei https://www.eugenewei.com/blog/2023/7/6/how-to-blow-up-a-timeline (https://www.eugenewei.com/blog/2023/7/6/how-to-blow-up-a-timeline) TWITTER: @micsolana (Mike) @MOZ_Podcast @eriktorenberg (Erik) @antoniogm (Antonio) @dwr (Dan) SPONSOR: VANTA | NETSUITE Are you building a business? If you're looking for SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR or HIPAA compliance, head to Vanta. Achieving compliance can actually unlock major growth for your company and build customer loyalty. Vanta automates up to 90% of Compliance work, getting you audit-ready in weeks instead of months and saving 85% of associated costs. Moment of Zen listeners get $1000 off at https://www.vanta.com/zen NetSuite provides financial software for all your business needs. More than thirty-six thousand companies have already upgraded to NetSuite, gaining visibility and control over their financials, inventory, HR, eCommerce, and more. If you're looking for an ERP platform ✅ NetSuite: http://netsuite.com/zen and defer payments of a FULL NetSuite implementation for six months.

No joke, this is one of my favorite episodes we've ever done. Eugene Wei was an early employee at Hulu, so we get some details on that company for the first time, and he also worked at Flipboard and Oculus, so we get some important context especially on the future of VR and the like. But the most fascinating stories you'll hear will be about Amazon, where Eugene was the first analyst in the strategic planning department. As you'll hear, Eugene had a unique perspective on Amazon's early strategy and business structure, almost a historically unique perspective... he could see month to month, how Amazon was built, what Amazon was trying to do, and why. This is such an amazing perspective on such an important company.Sponsors:Grammarly.com/goHillsdale.edu/rideSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Sriram Krishnan is a GP at a16z Crypto and a defector from Web2 to Web3. Formerly a Product Lead at Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat, Sriram has seen basically everything there is to see in the world of Web2, and especially Web2 social. He also hosts a podcast with his wife covering tech and internet creators, so he knows a thing or two about the world of creators, internet social platforms, and crypto.  ------ ✨ DEBRIEF | Unpacking the episode:  https://www.bankless.com/debrief-sriram-krishnan    ------ What's broken about Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook? And how can it be fixed? Can it be fixed? Sriram has many profound ideas.  Growing up in a small town in India with little opportunity, Sriram used the internet to change the course of his life. Now he worries that these same opportunities won't be available for the next generation. He believes Web3 is the only way to keep the internet full of opportunity for the next generations. In today's episode, we cover why Sriram defected from Web2 to Web3, why Twitter can topple world governments but can't sell ads effectively, why every social media network has to start with status, how crypto and AI intersect, and much more.  ------ Topics Covered 0:00 Intro 7:14 Eliezer Yudkowsky 8:19 Sriram's Thoughts on A.I. 11:35 Sriram's Background & North Star 16:10 The Early Internet Explained  19:54 The Permissionless of the Internet Today 22:18 What Are API Keys? 25:55 Towers vs. Townsquares 28:24 TikTok Hearings & Web2 Solutions  36:13 Twitter  43:25 New Age of Twitter  49:29 Web3 Social Tour 1:02:46 Overcoming Web2 Network Effects  1:20:20 How to Crypto-Pill Elon  1:22:38 Web2 Pausing Web3 Adoption  1:26:32 Future of Creators 1:30:25 Web3 & Creators  1:35:06 Crypto & AI  1:40:33 Sriram's Closing Arguments 1:42:22 Closing & Disclaimers  ------ Resources: Sriram & His Wife's Podcast https://www.youtube.com/@AarthiAndSriram/videos  https://www.aarthiandsriram.com/  Sriram's Twitter https://twitter.com/sriramk  Eugene Wei's Status-as-a-Service  https://www.eugenewei.com/blog/2019/2/19/status-as-a-service  ----- Not financial or tax advice. This channel is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. This video is not tax advice. Talk to your accountant. Do your own research. Disclosure. From time-to-time I may add links in this newsletter to products I use. I may receive commission if you make a purchase through one of these links. Additionally, the Bankless writers hold crypto assets. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures 

Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Darren Aronofsky sits down with Eugene Wei to discuss his journey as a filmmaker and how advancing technology plays a role in the industry. Recorded March 2, 2023 at the Upfront Summit.

Brought to you by Vanta—Automate compliance. Simplify security | Dovetail—Bring your customer into every decision | LMNT—Zero-sugar hydration—Aarthi Ramamurthy and Sriram Krishnan are founders, angel investors, and product leaders who host the podcast Aarthi and Sriram's Good Time Show. They have both held leadership roles at major technology companies including Meta, Twitter, Snap, Microsoft, and Netflix. In today's episode, we dive into how and why to build your personal brand, how to deal with impostor syndrome, and stories from Aarthi's time at Clubhouse and Sriram's time working with Zuck. Aarthi and Sriram share their lessons from past failures, their experience building communities, and their techno-optimism, and Sriram offers his hot take on the Jobs to Be Done framework.Find the full transcript at: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/hot-takes-and-techno-optimism-from-techs-top-power-couple-sriram-and-aarthi/#transcriptWhere to find Sriram Krishnan and Aarthi Ramamurthy:• Aarthi's Twitter: https://twitter.com/aarthir• Sriram's Twitter: https://twitter.com/sriramk• Good Time Show Twitter: https://twitter.com/aarthisrirampod• Good Time Show website: https://www.aarthiandsriram.com/Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/Referenced:• Naval Ravikant on Twitter: https://twitter.com/naval• Marc Andreessen on Twitter: https://twitter.com/pmarca• Clubhouse: https://www.clubhouse.com/• Eugene Wei's Status as a Service: https://www.eugenewei.com/blog/2019/2/19/status-as-a-service• Kylie Jenner on Snapchat: https://www.snapchat.com/add/kyliejenner• The Rock on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therock/• Cristiano Ronaldo on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cristiano• Charli D'Amelio on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@charlidamelio• Addison Rae on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@addisonre• The founder of TikTok's speech: https://ludlow.notion.site/Alex-Zhu-TikTok-4631f80fdcc4423a845e145e807d8e2b• Naval's network tweet: https://twitter.com/naval/status/847134295600746496?lang=en• Y Combinator: https://www.ycombinator.com/• How Duolingo reignited user growth: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-duolingo-reignited-user-growth• Hunter Walk on impostor syndrome: https://hunterwalk.com/2023/03/01/imposter-syndrome-is-definitely-misnamed-might-be-a-condition-of-privilege-has-a-fascinating-history/• On Reviews: https://boz.com/articles/reviews• Jobs to Be Done framework: https://jobs-to-be-done.com/jobs-to-be-done-a-framework-for-customer-needs-c883cbf61c90• First-principles thinking: https://fs.blog/first-principles/In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Sriram and Aarthi's backgrounds(04:16) How Sriram and Aarthi got Elon Musk on their podcast(08:47) Reflections on Clubhouse and other social networks(14:14) Why Aarthi and Sriram are optimistic about tech(25:53) Why you should put yourself out there and build your personal brand(27:09) Why you should build a network with authentic relationships, and how to do it(28:56) Sriram's curated communities(31:20) What you need to get right when starting a community(38:35) Why everyone who wants to should create content(44:22) Why you shouldn't try to project expertise when you're still learning(47:54) Dealing with impostor syndrome, and why you should lean into your strengths(54:01) Transitioning to a role of authority(57:30) What Sriram learned about effective management from Mark Zuckerberg(1:01:20) The biggest failure Aarthi had, and why you shouldn't fall for fads(1:02:08) Sriram's lesson from building mobile(1:09:21) Why Sriram hates the Jobs to Be Done framework(1:18:06) Advice for immigrantsProduction and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe

The 2012 Letter. Jeff articulates how being customer centric enables Amazon to be internally driven in its innovations and not chasing after competitors. It's a great letter that pairs very well with Eugene Wei's essay about Invisible Asymptotes. Wei is Amazon alum who uses the example of expensive and slow shipping as an example of how there are unseen forces that prevent the growth of your product. Thanks to all of you Jeff's Letters is now in the top 30% of podcasts worldwide! Please say hello and drop me an email at jeffsletterspodcast@gmail.com

Dan Romero (@dwr) of Farcaster joins Erik on this episode. Takeaways:- Dan says that his first love was information. He loved RSS and the goal with Farcaster is to improve RSS enough so that it can compete with Twitter.- He aims to grow Farcaster large enough so that developers can innovate using their API and data permissionlessly.- Any developer can build whatever they want on Farcaster — features are not limited to what the core team wants to see built.- Eugene Wei's Status as a Service theory is correct in Dan's opinion.- They doubled down on the client and having a polished UX at Farcaster. Dan says that the platform is only as good as the number of people using it. The client helps grow the user base.- Dan believes in first principles thinking when it comes to product decisions. He strongly believes that the average user is not going to spend money to take action on a social network.- According to Tim Wu's The Master Switch, all major communication technologies typically start out decentralized and become more centralized over time because centralization has tended to provide a superior consumer experience.Thanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform.Check us out on the web at www.villageglobal.vc or get in touch with us on Twitter @villageglobal.Want to get updates from us? Subscribe to get a peek inside the Village. We'll send you reading recommendations, exclusive event invites, and commentary on the latest happenings in Silicon Valley. www.villageglobal.vc/signup

What does the success of TikTok's algorithmically-driven product tell us about the future of creators and the creator economy, product design, and innovation within video?In this cross-over archive episode from our tech news podcast, 16 Minutes on the News, we go deep into the what, why, and how of TikTok's algorithm, which lies at the heart of the product and drives its "creativity network effects." The conversation features Eugene Wei (former head of product at Hulu, Flipboard, and video at Oculus), in conversation with host Sonal Choksi. This episode originally aired in September 2020, when there was talk of U.S. ownership/partnership for the American version of TikTok, which is from Chinese company ByteDance. 

Snap's Mike Su discusses with Jon Chu (film director, producer, and screenwriter) and Eugene Wei (Stanford graduate and product executive) about combatting Asian hate; how the role their identity played in their upbringings, what being Asian American means to them, and the experiences they've been through from the Hollywood and tech industry lens. Recorded March 1, 2022 at the Upfront Summit.

Listen to 20 minute VC: https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/the-twenty-minute/20vc-eugene-wei-on-status-as-K-_1nakoYwE/The essay read to you on NFX: https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/the-nfx-podcast/the-founders-list-status-as-_h9HsoiGQYc/ Reads: Status as a Service: https://www.eugenewei.com/blog/2019/2/19/status-as-a-service Graph Design: https://www.eugenewei.com/blog/2021/9/29/and-you-will-know-us-by-the-company-we-keep American Idle: https://www.eugenewei.com/blog/2021/2/15/american-idle

Eugene Wei is one of my favorite thinkers, writers, and strategists in tech today. Having spent the majority of his professional career at consumer internet companies, Eugene started his career with a 7-year stint at Amazon with a focus on product. He then joined Hulu leading the product, design, editorial, and marketing teams. Post Hulu, Eugene co-founded Erly, later acquired by Airtime, and then joined Flipboard as Head of Product. Finally, Eugene's last position was with Oculus as Head of Video. You have to check out Eugene's blog and can find his writing here. In Today's Episode with Eugene Wei You Will Learn: 1.) How Eugene made his way into the world of tech and startups with his first position at Amazon? What did Eugene do differently that made him stand out to the recruiters at Amazon? 2.) Decision-Making: Why does the process and medium by which decisions are made matter so much? How has Euegene's decision-making process changed over time? Where do many people go wrong in constructing and optimising their decision-making process? What are Eugene's biggest takeaways and lessons from Jeff Bezos and Steve Jobs on messaging? 3.) The World of Social: What does Eugene believe is the graph design problem for so many social apps today? What does Eugene believe are the best and the worst design choices social media incumbents have made? How does Eugene encourage the next generation of consumer social founders to think through design decisions? 4.) Status as a Service: What does the concept of "Status as a Service" mean to Eugene? What is the biggest misunderstanding people have with the concept? What has fundamentally changed this concept in the last 2-3 years? How does the rise of crypto and NFT's impact the notion of "status as a service"? How does Eugene believe this will look in 10 years? 5.) The World of Media: How does Eugene think through the attention economy today? Why is media and content harder than ever today? Why does Eugene believe media has now become zero-sum? What does Eugene believe will be the future business model for media? Item's Mentioned In Today's Episode with Euegene Wei Eugene's Favourite Book: The Sound and the Fury, The Visual Display of Quantitative Information

Like many of you I have a bunch of Google alerts set up on certain topics, with one of them being TikTok. I'm not even on really on TikTok, but I began tracking it a while back because all of the hype surrounding it, and then when a friend of mine told me about how his son had only been on it a couple months – doing a few videos making different things out of boxes - had over 60K followers - I got even more curious, which is why I did a conversation with him for this series not that long ago. By the way he's now over 70K followers…. But then last month I got a series of Google alerts about something I hadn't seen coming – that TikTok had surpassed YouTube in viewer time per user. And that really grabbed my attention, as I watch a bunch of YouTube videos for a variety of reasons. And with my interest growing in understanding the draw TikTok was having, my CRM Playaz co-host introduced me to, without a doubt, the most thorough and insightful series of posts on TikTok that is out on the web. And after reading them we both wanted to speak to their author, consumer and entertainment technology expert Eugene Wei, to dig in a bit more on what TikTok is doing and how they're different than the other major social networking platforms.

In this week's episode of Reformed Millennials, Broc and Joel discuss investing in some of the most common millennial vices; things like — gambling or sports betting, ubering everywhere, and buying used cars. We start with comparing Penn National versus Draftkings... how Uber and Lyft paying drivers over $40/hr to meet resurging demand is affecting their businesses, and whether the seed stage Carvana of Canada can replicate their success with used-vehicle vending machines. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or Google Podcasts.If you aren’t in the Reformed Millennials Facebook Group join us for daily updates, discussions, and deep dives into the investable trends Millennials should be paying attention to.👉 For specific investment questions or advice contact Joel @ Gold Investment Management. 📈📊Market Update💵📉Happy Wednesday, y’all.That secret weapon is JC Parets at @Allstarcharts (twitter)The S&P 500 and Dow Jones both closed at all-time highs yesterday, $4,436 and $35,264.Energy was the strongest sector, followed by materials and financials. 💪The United States Senate approved a $1 trillion infrastructure plan. The package, which contains $550 billion for roads, broadband, and utilities, has bipartisan backing.There were some high-flying moves made after hours. Check out Coinbase, Fubo, and Upstart’s earnings below. Following the major boom in crypto, many long-duration risky assets are following along. The cup spillith over. 🚀 🚀However, the messy market for everything but Google and MRNA continues. Sure, a few stock indexes in the United States have made new highs, but how many stocks in those indexes are doing that? VERY FEW.Divergences persist….This environment continues to remind me of a lot of the “Year 2” of market cycles that we’ve seen before. Take the initial thrust off the 2009 lows for example. Notice the sideways chop in Year 2 of that cycle:How about 2004 after that initial thrust in 2003?This first leg higher was sparked after the ultimate low following the tech bubble popping. Look at Year 2. Chop Chop Chop….We’ve seen it many times before. 1982… 1976…it’s hard to argue that the past year(2020) wasn’t a classic year 1 of a bull cycle. And it certainly reminds me of 2009.To me, it’s right in front of us, right in plain sight.CHOP CHOP CHOP… 🌊 Canadian Companies Mentioned 🇨🇦Zapper.fi - (Montreal) - Track all your DeFi portfolio from one place. Invest into the latest opportunities in open finance.Curbie - (Saskatoon) - The better way to buy a car. Buy online | Delivered to your door | 7-Day Test-Own💸Reformed Millennials - Post of The WeekWe’ve had a few friends of the show ask us about the PENN acquisition of Canada's Score app. Below is a bunch of thoughts and opinions from across the web on the acquisition. This move from PENN has changed my opinion on the stock. And when the CEO buys back in, so will I.I'll be watching the insider buying.Overall I think this locks in the gambling experience for PENN which they didn't quite have before.SO, PENN has acquired Score Media for $2B. This is in addition to Barstool Sports last January.What makes a great gambling experience is the community and culture of the host (think Vegas).No company has done a better job of building a cult-like culture than Dave Portnose.But is a satire sports site the best way to get someone to download an app to gamble? Probably not.Similar to cannabis - only 24 states allow sports betting today, with many of those still banning online betting. We're still in the middle innings of this category. Most Stoolies don't bet on sports, right now.SO WHY WOULD PENN BUY THEM?Barstool has started to create scripted and live shows around sports betting.They're introducing betting to the casual sports fan who knew nothing about betting, but in a way that's still funny and to the ethos of Dave and crew.As betting becomes legal, Stoolies will make their first bet with the Barstool Sportsbook.IMPORTANT NUMBERS:DraftKings' average Life Time Value of a customer is $2,500 with a Customer Acquisition Cost of $370. (think free $ to make a sign up or make your first bet)$PENN paid $136M for 36% of Barstool.Take away all the profit from merch/ads & Penn only needs 55K Stoolies to sign up to break even.WHAT ABOUT SCORE?There's a lot of passionate sports bettors out there today and most aren't Stoolies, so where do they go for their sports info?The score is the #1 app in Canada and #3 in the US for sports betting.It has 475K reviews averaging 4.8/5.It's where sports bettors live when on their phones.Now, with Penn's purchase, they'll give that audience the lowest barrier to go from information to action.It also gives Penn a huge advantage in the mobile space.Acquiring app downloads is a tough game and buying your way into an audience can work (see Facebook with Instagram).IF IN 5 YEARS SPORTS BETTING IS LEGAL ONLINE, PENN WILL HAVE THE NETWORK EFFECT TO RUN AWAY AS THE LEADER.They'll have the top of the funnel to introduce betting to casual sports via Barstool, the utility app for the habitual bettor, and the in-person Casinos.FWIW, $2B does seem steep.Doing quick math I think a fair price is closer to $1.3-1.5B, but there's a value in capturing an audience that your competitors can't in a fast-growing category.In a few years, I think we look back and see this as a steal.This acquisition changes my opinion on PENN from being a cult stock to something with legit tangible growth opportunity and competitive advantage.https://www.forbes.com/sites/willyakowicz/2021/08/05/penn-national-to-acquire-score-media-and-gaming-for-2-billion/?sh=1424ff463583Status Monkeys - From Packy McCormickfrom the link attached:Over the past few weeks, the Metaverse has gone mainstream. Matthew Ball published his 9-part series. Satya Nadella talked about the enterprise Metaverse (sounds fun!). Zuck and Co have said “metaverse” a million times over the past couple weeks. Ben Thompson wrote a piece on the Metaverse.NFTs will clearly play a role in the Metaverse. When everything is digital, proving that you own something and being able to bring it with you across the internet will be key. But this isn’t a Metaverse piece. It’s a social network piece.At one point in the Good Time Show conversation, Jarrod Dicker brought up the importance of community and status in web3 and it triggered a high kid thought: NFTs tick a lot of the boxes of a successful social network from Eugene Wei’s Status-as-a-Service.Before the full Metaverse arrives, there’s already something happening that’s bigger than jpegs. NFTs are starting to feel a lot like a new kind of social network that sits above other social networks and communities -- something of a Superverse -- and there’s no better framework to evaluate a social network than the one Wei put forth in Status-as-a-Service (StaaS).Status-as-a-Service(If you’ve read and internalized Status-as-a-Service, you can skip this section.)Eugene Wei, a former product leader at Amazon, Hulu, Flipboard, and Oculus, is one of the best tech essayists on the internet. Practically everything he writes becomes canon, and Status-as-a-Service, which he wrote in February 2019, might be his greatest contribution.The piece makes Not Boring seem short. It comes in at a whopping 19,825 words. If you haven’t read it, I highly recommend that you do so, but for now, I’ll summarize a few of the main points that are relevant to this piece.Wei begins with two principles:People are status-seeking monkeysPeople seek out the most efficient path to maximizing social capitalEven though those are uncontroversial statements, Wei argues that we don’t analyze social networks through the dimension of status or social capital. Money is easier -- there are numbers, and what gets measured gets analyzed -- but, he says (emphasis mine):Social capital is, in many ways, a leading indicator of financial capital, and so its nature bears greater scrutiny. Not only is it good investment or business practice, but analyzing social capital dynamics can help to explain all sorts of online behavior that would otherwise seem irrational.Less than 1,000 words into his piece and two full years before NFT mania, Wei unknowingly laid the groundwork for analyzing what’s happening. NFTs blur the lines between social and financial capital, and as the media has been quick to point out, buying jpegs for thousands or millions of dollars seems irrational.The mistake that those who dismiss NFTs make is the same that Wei argued people were making in analyzing social networks: missing the importance of social capital. Traditionally, people have used Metcalfe’s Law to explain the network effects powering social networks: “The value of a telecommunications network is proportional to the square of the number of connected users of the system (n^2).” The more users a social network has, according to Metcalfe’s Law, the more valuable it is to every new user.The problem was, Metcalfe’s Law didn’t perfectly explain what was happening in the real world. Metcalfe’s Law alone would predict that whichever network got big first would continue to build up an increasingly insurmountable lead by being the most valuable to each new user. But Facebook took down MySpace, and Instagram and Snapchat stole younger users’ attention from Facebook. People’s preferences aren’t captured so cleanly.🎙️Links Mentioned in the Episode 🎙️ Carvana - Ernie Garcia Disrupting the Auto Buying Experience (Podcast)Blowback Season 2 - Cuba (Podcast) Reality has a surprising amount of detail. (Essay)Making of the Southpark pandemic special. (Youtube Video)Toronto housing market cools off (Tweet)Uber surge pricing example (Tweet)🌊 Best Links of The Week🔮New York Governor Andrew Cuomo resigned today. Here’s the WSJ with the deets. 1 Trillion dollar US Infrastructure Bill passes with bipartisan support!Five Things You Didn’t Know Were in the Infrastructure BillSEC v. DeFi - the fight over crypto regulation is going to be about decentralized-finance (DeFi) lending protocols.Dark kitchens are interesting - if you only do delivery, then you don't need premium retail space, don't need to shape the kitchen around sittings at 7 and 9pm, and can serve multiple menus and brands from the same place.The Age of Constant Growth is over. What comes next? Get on the email list at www.reformedmillennials.com

Eugene Wei is one of the best technology and media bloggers on the Internet. ​He started writing a personal blog called Remains of the Day in 2001 covering topics across technology, product development, the internet, movies and filmmaking, photography, writing, and sports. ​Most recently, Eugene was Head of Video at Oculus. Before that, he led product teams at Flipboard, Erly, Hulu, and Amazon. His work distills complicated consumer tech trends not just from a product design standpoint, but also from a user psychology perspective. His essays on Status as a Service (StaaS), Seeing Like an Algorithm, and TikTok creativity network effects serve as guiding mental models for the tech community.  ​In this call, Eugene revealed the lessons he's learned writing long-form essays while building an enthusiastic reader base willing to explore new topics and ideas with him.

Today's episode of Building Bridges is my conversation with Byrne Hobart, an investor based in Austin, Texas, and a writer at the popular newsletter The Diff.I have Eugene Wei to thank for recommending Byrne Hobart's newsletter The Diff early during the lockdown in 2020. Byrne was already on my radar somewhat, so I jumped on the occasion and immediately subscribed to the extraordinary, dense, 5-email a week product that is The Diff.I'm still enjoying it almost one year later because it spans the many different topics I'm interested in, from finance to economic development to industry deep dives to country focuses—with a few powerful recurring ideas and all the depth & breadth we should be looking for in our everyday reading. Should I mention that Byrne's has become one of the most popular paying newsletters on Substack?Before you go and explore The Diff, however, listen to the podcast

The Agenda

VCs have a crazy job description. They need to understand society, figure out what people will want tomorrow and bet on the future. Sajith Pai joins Amit Varma in episode 213 of The Seen and the Unseen to talk about his frames of looking at the world -- and what he has learnt about media, entrepreneurship and this country of ours. Also check out: 1. The Indus Valley Playbook -- Sajith Pai. 2. Understand Startups, Metrics and Valuations -- Twitter thread by Sajith Pai. 3. India2, English Tax and Building for the Next Billion Users -- Sajith Pai. 4. India1, Avocado Startups & Product-Market Fit -- Sajith Pai. 5. Indo-Anglians: The newest and fastest-growing caste in India -- Sajith Pai. 6. MERIT colleges, national track India, & privilege blindness -- Sajith Pai. 7. Deconstructing Indian Startups & VCs -- YouTube talk by Sajith Pai. 8. India’s Start-Up Ecosystem -- Episode 171 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Mohit Satyanand). 9. Indian Society: The Last 30 Years — Episode 137 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Santosh Desai). 10. An Adman Reflects on Society & the Self -- Episode 199 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Ambi Parameswaran).  11. Essays -- Paul Graham. 12. Ali Abdaal on reaching one million subscribers and staying patient for the long haul. 13. The First Assault on Our Constitution -- Episode 194 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Tripurdaman Singh).  14. The Gell-Mann Amnesia Effect. 15. Finite and Infinite Games -- James Carse. 16. It Happened in India -- Kishore Biyani. 17. TikTok and the Sorting Hat -- Eugene Wei. 18. The Art of Narrative Nonfiction (+ JBS Haldane) -- Episode 183 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Samanth Subramanian). 19. Lessons in Investing (and Life) -- Episode 208 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Deepak Shenoy). 20. The tweets by Benedict Evans and Pomp. 21. VCs should play bridge -- Alex Danco. 22. The only thing that matters -- Marc Andreessen. 23. Fixing Indian Education -- Episode 185 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Karthik Muralidharan). This episode is sponsored by The Great Courses Plus. Check out their course, Introduction to Machine Learning. For free unlimited access for a month, click here. You can now buy Seen/Unseen swag.  And do check out Amit’s online course, The Art of Clear Writing.

Writer, blogger, tech guy, film guy, Eugene Wei joins us to talk about social media, wearable speakers, VR/AR, tech implants, a love/hate relationship with Twitter and how governments are behind the curve. @eugenewei on Twitter Remains of the Day - www.eugenewei.com --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/bandcast/message

Li and Nathan talk to Eugene Wei, a former product executive who is one of the best technology bloggers online today, about the impact of technology on modern film & television, the domains that could be "the next TikTok," and why he started writing.

Sid Jha started a weekly newsletter in May 2019, while he was in college, sharing his observations on books and academic papers, unique business stories, and a few niche parts of the internet. He sent the first few editions to his close friends and over time has built a base of 3000+ subscribers. He's since met some very interesting people like David Perell and Packy Mccormick and learned a ton of lessons. These days, 30% of his articles are based on stuff shared by his readers, which is quite amazing. Ever since I interviewed Dickie Bush a few weeks back, I wanted to interview someone in the newsletter space again and Sid is one of the most interesting people I've met online. His tips on starting a newsletter and building distribution into the content are really valuable. We talked about a lot of interesting things - more in the show notes below. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Happy Sunday :) SHOW NOTES 01:40 - Introduction and College 02:48 - Sunday Snapshots and why I started writing the newsletter 04:01 - The habit of reading 05:41 - The American and Indian culture of entrepreneurship 07:07 - Entrepreneurship is an investment with unbounded upside 08:05 - Taking notes and breaking down the Starbucks loyalty system 10:48 - My process of writing and the value of consistency 12:55 - My process of crafting an edition of Sunday Snapshots newsletter 14:36 - When I realized people outside my friend circle had started reading the newsletter 17:05 - David Perell and Packy Mccormick 18:28 - Building a personal monopoly and the infinite leverage of the internet 20:15 - Accountability is underappreciated and why super-rich people are fit 21:27 - How I'm building my personal monopoly with observation-based writing on tech, history, or people 23:40 - How I'd grow a newsletter from scratch if I started today 26:31 - Building distribution into your content and why you should never write about Mark Zuckerberg 27:56 - Your Chief of staff would be an extension of your abilities and should complement you 30:30 - How I made sure my breakdowns of Lyndon B. Johnson's went viral 32:02 - Narvar and controlling the post-purchase experience of e-commerce 33:50 - LBJ book series and The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro 34:43 - My favorite newsletters - The Generalist, Femstreet, Remains if the day, Sari Azout, Eugene Wei, and Venture Desktop 36:24 - Asking users to share my content and managing scale 37:36 - I'd rather have fewer subscribers than a low email open rate 39:04 - Success according to me 39:54 - Ideas I'm playing with for the next editions of the newsletter 40:57 - Start your newsletter today, set a deadline, and commit to it I share all the articles/podcasts/books I consume during researching my guests as well as other stuff I find interesting in the newsletter (https://stealmymarketing.substack.com) You can also follow me on Twitter for similar stuff. My DMs are open (https://twitter.com/AbhishekLpd) Sunday Snapshots (https://sss.substack.com) Sid's Twitter (https://twitter.com/sidharthajha) Sid's Longform Essays (https://www.sidharthajha.com) --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/intellectual-software/message

Status can be a volatile, powerful driver of engagement. Status and one of its underlying mechanisms, scarcity must be considered by product designers in every category, as early on as possible. But it can also be a double-edged sword, as managing a network and the status dynamics within it is constantly recirculating, always shifting. For this reason, status that is more entertainment-based than utility-based can over time become precarious, as well as too restrictive for continued user growth. NFX partner James Currier sits down with Eugene Wei (Product Lead at Amazon, Hulu, Erly, Flipboard, Oculus) to draw from his original Status-as-a-Service article and expand to discuss status in entertainment, frameworks for emotional product design, video games as world leaders in defining scarcity, the future of virtual goods, and the underlying status games that drive us all -- in technology and in life.

In episode 334, Matthew Brennan returned to discuss his new book "Attention Factory: The Story of Tik Tok & China's ByteDance". Matthew began with the inspiration and the key themes behind the first English book specifically focused on ByteDance, observing the rise of the company. He discuss the backstory of Zhang Yiming, founder of ByteDance and how he learned from his past experiences to build Toutiao first before embarking on Douyin that eventually led to Tik Tok. Last but not least, Matthew debunked the common misconceptions on Tik Tok and ByteDance, explained how their business models work and offered a glimpse to the challenges ahead for the company in the near future. Here are the interesting show notes and links to the discussion: Matthew Brennan, Co-founder of China Channel and author of “ (chinachannel.co, @mbrennanchina , Linkedin, Wechat:Yowdy-CQ) As the highest recurring guest on the podcast, it’s great to welcome you back. First question: what have you been up to since our last conversation? “Attention Factory - The Story of Tik Tok and China’s ByteDance” by Matthew Brennan What is the inspiration behind writing this book? What are the key themes for this book? Who are the major audiences that you want to target in this book? Tik Tok and ByteDance are often characterized by Western commentators and media as a threat to Facebook, Twitter and even to the US government itself. What are the key misconceptions about Tik Tok and ByteDance?  Probably this is the first book which dives in depth into the background of Zhang Yiming, the founder of Bytedance, and the surprise is that he used to work for China’s twitter clone, Fanfou (started by Wang Xing, now founder and CEO of Meituan-Dianping) and was shut down by the authorities. Can you elaborate more on his background and his stint as a CEO with another startup called 99Fang before coming to ByteDance? What has 99Fang taught Zhang Yiming in the process? After he resigned from 99Fang, he started ByteDance and it was not with Tik Tok that he started his foray. He did Toutiao, can you talk about the design concepts and what Toutiao taught the ByteDance team? One can think of the success of Tik Tok in three stages: Douyin in China, acquisition of Musical.ly and then expanding globally across the decade of 2010 to 2020. Let’s start with Douyin first, how did the app cross the chasm to drive users? Tencent has tried to challenge Douyin on the homeground with Weishi, what did they get wrong and why have they failed to challenge Tik Tok?  What are the key business models for Tik Tok and Douyin from ByteDance? How does the app bring revenues to the company? How are the apps localized or globalized to ensure a better user experience?  There are different ways to look at Tik Tok. One interesting insight was from Eugene Wei’s recent article “Tik Tok and the Sorting Hat”, where Tik Tok does not need the social graph but rather rely on the recommendation engine algorithm to push the interests of the user, which makes Tik Tok a more direct competitor to Youtube. What are your thoughts on how one should think of Tik Tok as a mobile app or social network or video network? Probably, we should talk about what happened to Tik Tok in the US this year. They have hired Kevin Mayer, former head of Disney+ and then Donald Trump threatened to shut them down, and first there was supposed to be an acquisition from Microsoft, but ended up with Oracle and Walmart clinching a partnership deal. Can you share your thoughts on what happened and where this is likely to go before & after the US elections? What are the key challenges you see for ByteDance in the coming year? Closing Do you have any recommendations that have recently inspired you? Where can our audience find you and your new book “Attention Factory”? Podcast Information: RSS Feed Apple Podcasts Himalaya Spotify Libsyn Google Play Overcast FM SoundCloud Luminary Twitter Facebook Video Facebook Page Linkedin Stitcher Castbox RadioPublic Acast PodBean ListenNotes TuneIn The show is hosted and produced by Carol Yin (@CarolYujiaYin) and originally created by Bernard Leong (@bernardleong, Linkedin). Sound credits for the intro music: Taro Iwashiro, "The Beginning" from Red Cliff Soundtrack. analyseasia · Attention Factory: The Story of Tik Tok & China’s ByteDance with Matthew Brennan

Eugene Wei and Sonal Chokshi explain plainly how and why TikTok is an evolutionary (and algorithmic) step beyond the social graph.Eugene's original essay, TikTok and the Sorting HatSubscribe to 16 Minutes News by a16z (podcast)

This is The Founders' List - audio versions of essays from technology’s most important leaders, selected by the founder community. A Must Listen for all Founders - audio version of Eugene Wei’s hugely popular essay on the role of status in product development. Eugene was a product leader at Amazon, Hulu, Flipboard, and Oculus. Read the full article here - https://www.eugenewei.com/blog/2019/2/19/status-as-a-service

With the U.S. tech partnership for TikTok being finalized, what happens if source code is excluded (and more specifically, the For You Page algorithm), given China’s revised export controls? But more broadly -- well beyond the specifics and politics of this deal -- what does the success of TikTok tell us about “creativity network effects”, where every additional creator makes the rest of the community more creative? How did "seeing like an algorithm" and the new age of algorithm-friendly product design enable the short video-sharing platform to grab massive marketshare in cultures and markets never experienced firsthand by the engineers and designers in China, beating out other dominant players and apps in the United States?In this episode of 16 Minutes -- our show where we discuss what's in the news, tease apart what's hype/ what's real, and  where we are on the long arc of innovation  with specific tech trends with top experts -- Eugene Wei (former head of product at Hulu, Flipboard, and video at Oculus) joins us. We also touch on the future of entertainment, education, and the power and future of video.full transcript here: https://a16z.com/2020/09/18/16mins-tiktok-seeing-like-an-algorithm-friendly-design-creativity-network-effects-video/---This content is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. You should consult your own advisers as to those matters. References to any securities or digital assets are for illustrative purposes only, and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services. Furthermore, this content is not directed at nor intended for use by any investors or prospective investors, and may not under any circumstances be relied upon when making a decision to invest in any fund managed by a16z. (An offering to invest in an a16z fund will be made only by the private placement memorandum, subscription agreement, and other relevant documentation of any such fund and should be read in their entirety.) Any investments or portfolio companies mentioned, referred to, or described are not representative of all investments in vehicles managed by a16z, and there can be no assurance that the investments will be profitable or that other investments made in the future will have similar characteristics or results. A list of investments made by funds managed by Andreessen Horowitz (excluding investments for which the issuer has not provided permission for a16z to disclose publicly as well as unannounced investments in publicly traded digital assets) is available at https://a16z.com/investments/.Charts and graphs provided within are for informational purposes solely and should not be relied upon when making any investment decision. Past performance is not indicative of future results. The content speaks only as of the date indicated. Any projections, estimates, forecasts, targets, prospects, and/or opinions expressed in these materials are subject to change without notice and may differ or be contrary to opinions expressed by others. Please see https://a16z.com/disclosures for additional important information.

In one of our special "2x" episodes of 16 Minutes (32ish minutes;) -- our show where we quickly cover the headlines and tech trends, offering analysis, frameworks, explainers, and more -- we cover the algorithm that powers TikTok, the short video-sharing platform that grabbed massive marketshare in cultures and markets never experienced firsthand by the engineers and designers in China, beating out other apps in the United States. Now, with talk of U.S. ownership/partnership for TikTok, what happens if the algorithm isn't included in the deal? And what can we learn from the "creativity network effects" flywheel of TikTok; for "algorithm friendly" product design; and more broadly, about the future of video?The news: Given the U.S. government calling for TikTok's business to be sold to U.S. owners last month, and several bidders coming in since, the latest news was that Oracle Corporation and Bytedance are hammering out an agreement for the former to be TikTok's "trusted tech partner" in the U.S. This could include (as reported by Axios) their exclusive ability to oversee all tech operations for TikTok in the U.S., including access and control of U.S. user data; ability to review source code and all updates to software for security vulnerabilities; and separate boards and entities for ensuring compliance with CFIUS/ U.S. policies (and for allowing ownership stakes for Oracle, with Walmart). The deal hasn't been approved yet [as of September 18, 2020].The episode: But since this show is focused on where we are on the long arc of innovation, and what's hype/ what's real when it comes to tech trends & the news, where does the source code (and more specifically, the "For You Page" algorithm) -- which may or may not be included in the deal due to China's revised export controls -- come in? Yet it's not just about if TikTok is really TikTok without it, or whether "the algorithm" and machine learning training data can be recreated... the real question is: How does the "creativity network effects" flywheel work between video creation and distribution -- from origination to mutation to dissemination? It boils down to the idea of "algorithm friendly design", observes Eugene Wei, who has written a series of deep dives on TikTok, and formerly led product at Hulu, Flipboard, and video at Oculus, among other things. So what does TikTok, regardless of deal outcome, suggest about the future of product development, and more broadly, the future of video? All this and more in this 2x+ long explainer episode of 16 Minutes. image: Eliza Petersen---This content is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. You should consult your own advisers as to those matters. References to any securities or digital assets are for illustrative purposes only, and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services. Furthermore, this content is not directed at nor intended for use by any investors or prospective investors, and may not under any circumstances be relied upon when making a decision to invest in any fund managed by a16z. (An offering to invest in an a16z fund will be made only by the private placement memorandum, subscription agreement, and other relevant documentation of any such fund and should be read in their entirety.) Any investments or portfolio companies mentioned, referred to, or described are not representative of all investments in vehicles managed by a16z, and there can be no assurance that the investments will be profitable or that other investments made in the future will have similar characteristics or results. A list of investments made by funds managed by Andreessen Horowitz (excluding investments for which the issuer has not provided permission for a16z to disclose publicly as well as unannounced investments in publicly traded digital assets) is available at https://a16z.com/investments/.Charts and graphs provided within are for informational purposes solely and should not be relied upon when making any investment decision. Past performance is not indicative of future results. The content speaks only as of the date indicated. Any projections, estimates, forecasts, targets, prospects, and/or opinions expressed in these materials are subject to change without notice and may differ or be contrary to opinions expressed by others. Please see https://a16z.com/disclosures for additional important information.

Julian Lehr (@lehrjulian) of Stripe joins Erik on this episode. He is the author of the blog post Signalling as a Service.- The background of the post and why he wrote it.- Signalling as a framework and his breakdown of the component parts.- Why there is very little luxury software.- How this intersects with Eugene Wei’s idea of status as a service.- How monetization and signal amplification works in digital products.- His requests for startups in the area.- The next topics that he’s thinking about in the space.- His thoughts on reputation and financial capital.Thanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform. Check us out on the web at villageglobal.vc or get in touch with us on Twitter @villageglobal.

Julian Lehr (@lehrjulian) of Stripe joins Erik on this episode. He is the author of the blog post Signalling as a Service.- The background of the post and why he wrote it.- Signalling as a framework and his breakdown of the component parts.- Why there is very little luxury software.- How this intersects with Eugene Wei’s idea of status as a service.- How monetization and signal amplification works in digital products.- His requests for startups in the area.- The next topics that he’s thinking about in the space.- His thoughts on reputation and financial capital.Thanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform. Check us out on the web at villageglobal.vc or get in touch with us on Twitter @villageglobal.

Episode 72 of Tech Buzz China features product expert Eugene Wei in conversation with our co-host Rui Ma on the timely topic of TikTok and the mechanics of what makes the app so successful. Tune in to learn why Rui calls TikTok an “algorithmic entertainment platform” and why Eugene terms TikTok’s algorithm the “Sorting Hat.” You’ll also learn why the app was well situated in coming out of China, and what the future ownership and trajectory of TikTok in the U.S. might be. This is a special episode for Tech Buzz — so tune in! We recorded today’s program on the heels of President Trump’s executive order banning “any transactions” with TikTok or its parent company, ByteDance, by any U.S. resident. Though Tech Buzz usually covers Chinese tech companies in China — for example, our popular episode on ByteDance’s overall rise does just that — this headline was too significant for us to pass without a comment. After all, TikTok is the first non-utility app and consumer internet product made by a Chinese company that has really hit it big globally. Not to mention, Rui is currently working on an e-book on ByteDance! You can get updates on it by subscribing to our newsletter, at techbuzzchina.com. As always, past transcripts and other content are also viewable at pandaily.com and supchina.com. If you enjoy our work, please do let us know by leaving us an iTunes review, and by tweeting at us at @techbuzzchina. We also read your emails, at rui@techbuzzchina.com and ying@techbuzzchina.com. Thank you to our growing community for your always valuable feedback! We are grateful for our talented producers, Caiwei Chen and Kaiser Kuo.

Whimsical ideas for 2020 - Part 1 https://sriramk.com/2020-ideas-part-one hereheresriram@sriramk.com@sriramkstoleMatthew BallEugene Weisriram@sriramk.com

Amazon and Hulu veteran Eugene Wei has a really smart take on how status determines our use - and the success - of social networks like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. He talks to Peter Kafka about why we’re all status monkeys on social media, how young influencers use it differently than the rest of us, and how our mental models of these networks are changing. Also: his thoughts on working in the Amazon bubble, and the failed HQ2 in New York.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this introductory episode, Jim tries to duck responsibility for naming the podcast and then weaves off into millenial career advice based on a Quora question he answered. Finally (finally), Jim ends the podcast by reading aloud from a tweetstorm by Eugene Wei on Status as a service (Saas). Eugene's tweetstorm and article can be found here https://twitter.com/eugenewei/status/1100882295970394112. Thank you for listening. Jim

Support these videos: http://pgbovine.net/support.htmhttp://pgbovine.net/PG-Podcast-47-Yang-Hong-returns.htmOn Social Capital:- [Status as a Service (StaaS)](https://www.eugenewei.com/blog/2019/2/19/status-as-a-service) by Eugene Wei- [market for lemons tweet](https://twitter.com/wolfejosh/status/980546522919112704)- [Bowling Alone](http://bowlingalone.com/)On Funding Gaps (for non-unicorn businesses, SMBs):- [Indie VC](https://www.indie.vc/)- [Tiny Seed](https://tinyseed.com/)- [Wefunder](https://wefunder.com)- [Alibaba and the Future of Business](https://hbr.org/2018/09/alibaba-and-the-future-of-business) On Funding Gaps (for people and projects):- [CDFIs](https://www.cdfifund.gov/Pages/default.aspx)- [Lambda School](http://lambdaschool.com)- [Recurse Center: $10,000 Fellowships for women working on open source programming projects, research, and art](https://www.recurse.com/blog/145-fellowships-for-women-working-on-open-source-programming-projects-research-and-art)- [The Awesome Foundation](https://www.awesomefoundation.org/en)- [Pioneer: A home for the ambitious outsiders of the world](https://pioneer.app)- [AI Grant](https://aigrant.org)On Renaissance Concepts ("apprenticeship", "patronage", "interdisciplinary salons"):- [Gumroad helps creators do more of what they love](https://gumroad.com/)- [Fellowship.ai](https://fellowship.ai/)- [AI fellowships](https://github.com/dangkhoasdc/awesome-ai-residency)- [Suffering for Your Art? Maybe You Need a Patron](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/17/fashion/what-is-a-patron.html) (New York Times)- [MIT College of Computing](http://news.mit.edu/2019/founders-new-college-computing-human-element-reif-schwarzman-0301)- [House On Fire: The Fight To Eradicate Smallpox](https://www.amazon.com/House-Fire-Eradicate-Smallpox-California/dp/0520274474) (William Foege helps eradicate smallpox globally through massive coordination of interdisciplinary groups)- [Birth of a Theorem](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NS3174O/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1) (Cedric Villani wins the Fields Medal for being interdisciplinary in math x physics)- [TCM wins the Nobel Prize](https://qz.com/india/517202/how-traditional-chinese-medicine-finally-won-its-nobel-prize/) (Youyou Tu wins the Nobel in Medicine by combining traditional chinese medicine and western scientific methodology)Other:- [PG Vlog #173 - Knowledge is Hyperlocal](http://pgbovine.net/PG-Vlog-173-knowledge-is-hyperlocal.htm)- [PG Vlog #277 - suburbs beyond high school](http://pgbovine.net/PG-Vlog-277-suburbs-beyond-high-school.htm)- [PG Podcast - Episode 36 - Yang Hong on alternative work lifestyles](http://pgbovine.net/PG-Podcast-36-Yang-Hong.htm)Recorded: 2019-03-05

My guest this week, Eugene Wei, has one of the most interesting backgrounds of anyone I’ve had on the podcast. He worked at Amazon early in its life, was the head of product at Hulu and Flipboard, and head of video and Oculus.   Our conversation is about the intersection of technology, media, culture. We discuss Eugene’s concept of invisible asymptotes: why growth slows down (for both companies and people) and how some can burst through. I’d list more of the topics, but we covered so much that you should just listen.   Finally, I’ll say that after spending a day with Eugene (including a wildly interesting dinner with Eugene, past podcast guest Sam Hinkie, and future podcast guest Kevin Kwok) that he is the type of uniquely interesting and kind person I am always searching for and one that I wish I could bet on somehow. If you know more people like this, reach out and suggest them for this podcast. Now, enjoy our conversation.   For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast. Sign up for the book club, where you’ll get a full investor curriculum and then 3-4 suggestions every month at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub. Follow Patrick on Twitter at @patrick_oshag   Show Notes 1:38 - (First Question) – Idea of cuisine and empire             1:52 – Cuisine and Empire: Cooking in World History 4:20 – Key takeaways from the Defiant Ones Documentary 8;25 – Being convinced to buy a sports coat 11:10 – The concept of invisible asymptote 17:43 – How the medium shapes the messaging and the impact of cameras everywhere on society             17:48– Invisible asymptotes             17:56 –  Selfies as a second language 22:57 – Proof of work in building a social network 32:51 – Magnification of inequalities in digital networks             34:01 – The Lessons of History 36:47 – His thoughts on the media industry’s impact on society as a whole 39:42 – His time at Hulu 44:48 – Places where video could replace text 47:30 – The need for media for any business looking to grow             49:35 – Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business 53:08 – Personal asymptotes 57:19 -  Habit building and goal setting 1:00:29 – Travel recommendations 1:03:24 – Movie recommendations 1:08:16 – Product recommendations and what makes them indispensable             1:10:44 – Creation: Life and How to Make It 1:13:23 – Thoughts on the art of conversation             1:14:59 – The Most Human Human: What Artificial Intelligence Teaches Us About Being Alive 1:18:30 – Kindest thing anyone has done for Eugene   Learn More For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast.  Sign up for the book club, where you’ll get a full investor curriculum and then 3-4 suggestions every month at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub Follow Patrick on twitter at @patrick_oshag

Today I'm at Kleiner Perkins in San Francisco's South Park neighborhood to talk to Eugene Wei and Eric Feng. Eugene Wei has worked at Oculus, Flipboard, Amazon and Hulu. He actually left Amazon in the mid-2000s to attend film school before jumping back into tech. He’s also a prolific writer on his blog, Remains of the Day. Eric Feng is co-founder of Packagd and General Partner at Kleiner Perkins. He has previously worked at Microsoft, Flipboard and Hulu, where he and Eugene worked together. Fun fact: Eugene actually married Eric! (Eugene was the officiant at his wedding). In this episode we talk about: The uniqueness of video as a medium of communication and the future of how video will be created and consumed. Eric and Eugene worked together at Hulu and they talk about the background to the recent trend of tech moving in on Hollywood's turf. Creating tighter feedback loops when you're trying to learn something new or change your behavior. Eugene tells the story of adding after-market sensors to his golf clubs that give him all kinds of information on the speed and length of his swing. He calls it a swing coach on your phone and talks about how the trend of sensors and immediate feedback could be used to improve peoples' overall health, not just their short game. As some of the most plugged-in individuals in tech these days, they also discuss some of the trends they've been seeing in the tech industry and make some predictions about what they expect to see in the future. They discuss changes in how young people communicate these days, how the Chinese tech industry is different from the West's and why they expect to see the shift to e-commerce from advertising continue. We also discuss some of their favorite products including sensors you can stick on your golf clubs to give you pro-level stats, a tech-enabled meat smoker, and a way to solve the perennial 'baby with a stuffy nose' problem. We’ll be back next week so be sure to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Breaker, Overcast, or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts. Also, big thanks to our sponsors, GE Ventures, Rally Rd, and AngelList for their support.

This is a deep dive into the mind of Eugene Wei. Erik and Eugene discuss all kinds of topics, including the unique state of ambition in Silicon Valley, “apprenticeships” for white collar jobs, Eugene’s favorite fiction books, what he would do if he was running the New York Knicks, and much more.They start by talking about the differences in extent and type of ambition between Silicon Valley and other places like New York or LA, as well as how you might spread the spirit of entrepreneurship that lives in the Valley further afield. Eugene talks about the progression of his career and what kind of advice he would have for others. He talks about the twists and turns in his career and describes what it was like going back to film school after having worked at Amazon. They talk about Eugene’s reading habits and the fact that he reads 20 non-fiction books at a time simultaneously. He also gives his recommendations on his favorite fiction books.Eugene says that Jeff Bezos had a different young executive shadow him for a period of time and explains his idea of an “apprenticeship” for white collar jobs and the value of learning by observing.They also have a round of underrated vs. overrated and Erik asks Eugene what he would do if he was running Medium, Spotify and the New York Knicks.Thanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform. Check us out on the web at villageglobal.vc or get in touch with us on Twitter @villageglobal.Venture Stories is brought to you by Village Global and is hosted by co-founder and partner, Erik Torenberg. Colin Campbell is our audio engineer and the show is produced by Brett Bolkowy.

This is a deep dive into the mind of Eugene Wei. Erik and Eugene discuss all kinds of topics, including the unique state of ambition in Silicon Valley, “apprenticeships” for white collar jobs, Eugene’s favorite fiction books, what he would do if he was running the New York Knicks, and much more.They start by talking about the differences in extent and type of ambition between Silicon Valley and other places like New York or LA, as well as how you might spread the spirit of entrepreneurship that lives in the Valley further afield. Eugene talks about the progression of his career and what kind of advice he would have for others. He talks about the twists and turns in his career and describes what it was like going back to film school after having worked at Amazon. They talk about Eugene’s reading habits and the fact that he reads 20 non-fiction books at a time simultaneously. He also gives his recommendations on his favorite fiction books.Eugene says that Jeff Bezos had a different young executive shadow him for a period of time and explains his idea of an “apprenticeship” for white collar jobs and the value of learning by observing.They also have a round of underrated vs. overrated and Erik asks Eugene what he would do if he was running Medium, Spotify and the New York Knicks.Thanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform. Check us out on the web at villageglobal.vc or get in touch with us on Twitter @villageglobal.Venture Stories is brought to you by Village Global and is hosted by co-founder and partner, Erik Torenberg. Colin Campbell is our audio engineer and the show is produced by Brett Bolkowy.

Eugene Wei, an early Amazon employee who went on to work at Hulu, Flipboard and Oculus, talks with Recode’s Peter Kafka about “Invisible asymptotes,”a post on his personal blog that went viral. In it, Wei wrote that all companies have a ceiling to their growth, but the ones that can figure out what that ceiling is can adapt and keep growing beyond it. For example, Wei’s old employer, Amazon, recognized that customers’ aversion to paying for shipping was its ceiling, and so developed Amazon Prime to keep them coming back. He explains how Twitter has historically failed to iterate similarly, why Snap’s attempt to redesign Snapchat for a broader audience backfired, and why Facebook, which is still growing internationally, is seeing its American users get less value out of the platform over time. Plus: Why Instagram is the least toxic social network, what’s holding VR back and why "Star Wars" is like a social network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join the Acquired Limited Partner program! https://kimberlite.fm/acquired/ (works best on mobile) We’re live on the scene the day following the biggest announcement in the open source software world since well, open source software: Microsoft acquiring GitHub for $7.5B in stock. How did we get here? What does it mean for software developers going forward? And most importantly, why is there a creepy half-cat / half-octopus plastered all over everything? As always, Acquired has the answers.  Carve Outs: Ben: The Idea Maze by Chris Dixon David: Invisible Asymptotes by Eugene Wei  Sponsor: Thanks to Perkins Coie, Counsel to Great Companies, for sponsoring Acquired Season 2. You can get in touch with Lee Schindler, who you heard at the beginning of this podcast, here.

No joke, this is one of my favorite episodes we've ever done. Eugene Wei was an early employee at Hulu, so we get some details on that company for the first time, and he also worked at Flipboard and Oculus, so we get some important context especially on the future of VR and the like. But the most fascinating stories you'll hear will be about Amazon, where Eugene was the first analyst in the strategic planning department. As you'll hear, Eugene had a unique perspective on Amazon's early strategy and business structure, almost a historically unique perspective... he could see month to month, how Amazon was built, what Amazon was trying to do, and why. This is such an amazing perspective on such an important company. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Eugene Wei's career cannot be described succinctly or linearly. He worked as an analyst at Amazon in the late 90s, went to film school, worked as a product manager at startups including Hulu and Flipboard and most recently was head of video for Facebook's Oculus VR. Eugene always "seeks to be a novice" and eschews traditional "career rules." I was drawn to Eugene's blog by his grasp of the written word and the fluidity of his interests, ranging from tech, sports, culture, psychology, media, and storytelling. We talk a lot about reading, writing and communicating - why it's important for product managers to read fiction and how great leaders create leverage through compression - tiny, repeatable and memorable messages. We also discuss what makes Jeff Bezos a unique leader, how to use data to become an “expert” and what he's learned by studying high performance athletes. LOOKING FOR A COACH? Need to get unstuck? Ready to take a risk? Or are you committed to self-inquiry but don’t know how to begin? Look no further than the #RadFam. We’ve curated a group of talented coaches over at bit.ly/radcoaching.

LISTEN HERE: iTUNES | OVERCAST Today’s guest is Geoff Manaugh, who explores the intersection of architecture, technology, and landscapes. As a professor, he’s taught classes in both the United States and in Australia on topics such as blackouts, the future of cinema, geo-engineering, and the possibility of a San Andreas fault national park. In the episode, we talk about how the geography of Los Angeles influences bank heists, the new subterranean structures in Singapore and Hong Kong, caves, and how technology is changing architecture. This conversation will have you exploring new ideas, underground tunnels, sneaking through subway systems, and using blueprints to escape a prison. You can find Geoff online at his blog, BLDGBLOG. “All of the buildings that we interact with every day tend to be completely overlooked and treated as something that isn’t even worth discussing, and yet that’s where we spend most of our lives.” “The real world is so much more interesting than people think it is. There’s no reason to be bored — the world is cooler and more futuristic than you might think.” Links: Find Geoff online: Website Linkedin His book’s site Mentioned in the show: Heat film [8:00] Gangs of New York film [8:37] Prison Break show [19:35] Books mentioned: A Burglar’s Guide to the City [0:49] People mentioned: Geoff Manaugh Michael Mann [8:00] Show Topics 1:53 - Introduction to Geoff and discussion on how he got into the architectural field. 3:15 - Diving into anthropology, ancient civilizations, and Geoff’s interest in both ancient structures and architecture. 5:10 - Some discussion on our current architecture and some speculation on us often being surrounded by a built environment. “All of the buildings that we interact with every day tend to be completely overlooked and treated as something that isn’t even worth discussing, and yet that’s where we spend most of our lives.” 7:50 - Discussing how the infrastructure and landscape of a city influence heists and crime. How our environment is much less passive than we think, and how it actively plays a role in influencing the way that we think and what we do. 11:12 - Figuring out how police view a city, taking advantage of various get-away routes, and the grey-areas often found in get-away routes. 12:55 - How burglars think differently about underground structures. Some discussion on tunneling and its relation to different types of landscapes under a city (sandy soil, bedrock, etc). 16:03 - How advances in technology influence architecture, security in the architectural world, and land boundaries. 18:55 - Speculating how well burglars actually know the building that they’re breaking into, how to easily find out the blueprints for a place, and discussion on burglars exploiting vulnerabilities within cities. 23:32 - How Geoff managed to get in touch with several burglars and learn from them. Also, how we unconsciously act like burglars in our lives. 28:19 - The emerging aspect of digital burglary and some discussion on this, as well as a bit on cryptocurrencies and investments. Also, thoughts on the actual definition of burglary and its relation to architecture. 32:14 - Discussing graffiti artists, people riskily exploring of architecture, and a bit on how we pay for city infrastructures, but yet we aren’t allowed to visit some of them. 34:35 - Geoff explaining various subterranean structures, caves, and underground tunnels. Also, how Singapore has begun to excavate outwards beneath the ocean for storage and other uses, architects designing artificial caves, Hong Kong’s future plans with underground infrastructures, and the powerful sense of awe that we can attain from architecture. 41:54 - Further discussion on the many things that we see, but do not consciously appreciate or really notice. Also, a bit of talk on the mysterious places left behind due to architecture evolving. 43:55 - The future of cities and architecture, and what Geoff is most excited about within these fields. The huge possibilities of technology merging with architecture. Also, a bit on quarantining people, isolating people, and relating both of these to architecture. 47:52 - Discussion on the architectural way of thinking and being efficient as a writer. 49:39 - Geoff’s connection to cinema and his perspective on cinema. A bit on what he’s done for cinema as an architect, as well. 51:12 - What has surprised Geoff while working in the television industry about bringing his book into the media network. Also, Geoff’s thoughts on transferring abstract ideas into a filmable scene. Hey again, it’s David here one more time. You can support the North Star Podcast by leaving us a review on iTunes. Or you can share the podcast on Twitter or Facebook. To listen to other episodes or learn more about the North Star, you can connect with me directly at perell.com and you can always reach out on Twitter at david_perell. And if you enjoyed this episode, you’ll like the episode with Eugene Wei, a film editor who has worked in some of the worlds largest tech companies, as well as directly under Jeff Bezos. We discuss merging media with technology, company building, his lessons from Bezos, and more.

Listen Here: iTunes | Overcast Today’s guest is Eugene Wei, who's spent his career working at some of the world’s best technology companies including Amazon, Hulu, and Facebook. He joined Amazon in 1997 after graduating from Stanford and it was at Amazon that he watched Jeff Bezos turn a small little internet bookstore into “The Everything Store” that were all so familiar with. After leaving Amazon, Eugene moved to New York to become a film editor before moving to Los Angeles to become a director. That summer he joined the company that would become Hulu, leading the product, design, editorial, and marketing teams. And since then, he founded and sold a startup called Erly, and worked as the head of product for Flipboard before joining the Facebook as the head of video at Oculus. In this conversation, we talk about the spiritual significance of the second law of thermodynamics and its impact on movies, company building, and personal growth. We talk about the principles of communication and draw lessons from Jeff Bezos on how to communicate clearly and memorably. And finally, we take lessons from Eugene’s time living in Los Angeles and Silicon Valley and explore the ever-fascinating intersection of media and technology. And before we begin, you can find links to his blog, Remains of the Day, along with my favorite posts below.  Links: Find Eugene online: His blog Eugene’s most popular posts Linkedin Mentioned in the show: Amazon [0:38] Hulu [0:38] Facebook [0:38] Erly [1:10] Oculus [1:17] Eugene’s Iliad discussion [9:35] (couldn’t find this one) Eugene’s Second Law of Thermodynamics discussion [9:35] UCLA Film School [22:17] Reddit [36:57] Twitch [58:02] Tree of Life film [1:06:53] Interstellar [1:08:15]   Books mentioned: Born to Rebel [14:15]  The Complacent Class [48:55] The Rise of Superman [59:14] The Iliad [1:02:27] The Odyssey [1:02:27] The Sound and the Fury [1:06:27]   People mentioned: Jeff Bezos [1:32] Daniel Day-Lewis [16:55] Mike Tyson [47:24] Tyler Cowen [48:52] (podcast episode with Tyler) Gary Vaynerchuk [53:19] Malcolm Gladwell [1:03:07] Neil Degrasse Tyson [1:03:30] (podcast episode with Neil) William Faulkner [1:05:54] Virginia Wolf [1:05:54] Terrence Malick [1:06:51] Christopher Nolan [1:08:22] Show Topics 0:32  - Some information on the episode guest, Eugene Wei and a bit of background on his career.   1:58 - Introduction to Eugene, what life was like for him early on, and what he got into as a kid. Also, a bit on how he got into the filmmaking scene.   3:32 - Eugene on some of the biases from his parents that he faced regarding a career choice, and a bit on him convincing them to move out west and away from Chicago.   4:56 - What Stanford was like back when Eugene was growing up, how his parents felt about his choice to go there, what things he ended up exploring while there, and what he majored in.   6:55 - How learning with both sides of the brain influenced Eugene after college and how it has been useful for him in the professional context. “I think the general idea of following your interests so that you have an inherent sort of motivator for learning is just super-critical.”   7:54 - Thoughts on underestimating the advantages of a somewhat generalist education compared to an education in a specific field. How having a broad set of skills and a general education has helped him more than if he were to specialize in one field.   9:50 - Eugene on the importance of being deeply intellectually interested in his work.   10:32 - Eugene’s journey towards receiving a job with Amazon in 1997, the choices he made regarding college, and him realizing the growing wave that was the internet back then.   14:11 - Eugene discussing Born to Rebel, an influential book that he read while in high school, and how this impacted him. Also, Eugene discussing fighting the conformist nature that comes with being an older sibling, and some discussion on how the younger sibling likely has a rebellious nature.   15:40 - Further discussion on challenging the conformist nature, pushing yourself into new and challenging areas to grow, and Eugene talking about his decision to leave Amazon and go to film school. “To start over and be a student again forces you into a different frame of mind.”   17:35 - How leaving Amazon to start over and go to film school taught Eugene valuable lessons and positively impacted him.   18:28 - What the second law of thermodynamics is and how it played a role in Eugene’s journey. Some more on him pushing out of equilibrium for growth, as well.   22:01 - What Eugene did for work when he first got into filmmaking and some more thoughts on what the journey did for him. Also, a bit on his next job, which was working for the company that eventually became Hulu.   24:18 - Eugene’s thoughts about the different streaming platforms around that time that he began working for the company that eventually became Hulu.   25:45 - What Eugene learned about how the media and technology industries operate and where they intersect. Some thoughts on media and tech companies in general and thoughts on their futures, as well.   30:16 - Eugene describing the free agent model and its contrast with vertical integration. A bit more on how various media companies have changed and some of the strategies that they use. “In 2013, 18 of the top 25 films were sequels, prequels, or extensions of existing stories or popular streams.” “In box office earnings, sequels make 8 times as much as originals.”   35:10 - The self-perpetuating platforms that a majority of movies are now and a bit on how media companies look to buy story optionality to promote future stories.   37:49 - What it was like working for Amazon in 1997 and working close to Jeff Bezos. Also, what it was like watching a company like that grow and why Amazon originally started with selling books.   41:40 - What Eugene learned from Jeff Bezos himself and a bit of insight on how Jeff worked. Also, the importance of thinking based on first principles, and some guidelines necessary for developing these first principles. “To derive first principles, you need access to raw data or you'll forever be getting secondhand principles from other people.”   43:33 - Eugene further discussing developing first principles, accessing raw data necessary for developing them, and the necessity for failure.   44:58 - The unique ways that meetings are run at Amazon, why Jeff banned the usage of Powerpoint, how Powerpoint distorts people’s thinking, and some more things that Jeff did to improve various aspects of the company and its employees.   49:47 - Eugene on what you should do as a CEO once your company grows larger and more successful, and some thoughts on a few things that make successful and effective companies.   52:04 - How language is encoded in various media, the immense communicative aspects of visual media compared to literal, and some thoughts on us being visual learners. Also, how watching someone do their job is much more effective compared to reading about how to do that job.   1:02:08 - Story and narrative being a very powerful way to encode information in addition to media, and some more thoughts on visual and narrative mediums being the most effective ways to learn.   1:04:12 - The positive benefits that countries gain from gaining widespread TV for the first time and some thoughts on how TV can be beneficial to us.   1:05:49 - What Eugene’s favorite writers have in common and why they are his favorites. Also, a bit on the different style of directing by Terrence Malick. How Terrence uses the visual medium in unique ways to get closer to consciousness and what it’s actually like to perceive the world.   You can support the North Star Podcast by leaving a review on iTunes. Or you can share the podcast on Twitter or Facebook. To listen to other episodes or learn more about the North Star, you can connect with me directly at perell.com and you can always reach out on Twitter at david_perell. And if you enjoyed this episode, you’ll like the episode with Tyler Cowen, an economist at George Mason with deep interests in food, music, art, and travel.

Another episode of Hallway Chat. Bijan and Nabeel. Recorded November 16, 2017. Show notes: - iPhone X, including new apps - Musical.ly’s exit and the notion that “mobile consumer is dead” - The changes in the VC landscape, from the moral awakening to the explosion of seeds - Eugene Wei’s blog post on Amazon and analytics - Gadget gifts: Rylo, Molekule, Aura

As part of our Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB) engineering meet-up series, Eric Feng had the opportunity to host a panel of leaders of various functions at top tech companies to discuss best practices in cross group teamwork and collaboration -- Jessica Verrili, director of corporate development at Twitter; Eugene Wei, head of video at Oculus and previously head of product at Flipboard and Hulu; and Wendy Owen, product design lead for the Facebook ads platform.