Molly WhiteFeb 7, 2024

Review: In "Read Write Own", the Andreessen Horowitz general partner and web3 superfan Chris Dixon lays out an unconvincing argument that blockchains are what it will take to fix the web.

https://www.citationneeded.news/review-read-write-own-by-chris-dixon/

#web3 #blockchain #cryptocurrency #crypto #AndreessenHorowitz #CitationNeeded

Review: Chris Dixon's Read Write Own

Prominent crypto venture capitalist Chris Dixon provides an unconvincing bible for blockchain solutionists.

Citation Needed
Show threadMolly WhiteFeb 7, 2024

Enjoying posting this to Mastodon, which I have been informed by Chris Dixon is a failure.

He's real mad Mastodon won't use a blockchain, btw.

Show threadMolly White
Feb 7, 2024 at 9:38pmWeb
Show threadMolly WhiteFeb 7, 2024

It's worth noting that Andreessen Horowitz is running a huge marketing blitz around this book.

This isn't just Chris Dixon misreading the room and publishing his book two years too late — they're trying to drum up the next story to sell people on crypto.

Show thread(Vita)soy BoyFeb 7, 2024
@molly0xfff lmao
Show threadKensanFeb 7, 2024
@molly0xfff Pivoting back from A.I. to Crypto already?
Show threadWordererFeb 7, 2024
@molly0xfff "Forget those old scams so we can sell you these new scams."
Show threadAaron  Feb 7, 2024
@molly0xfff @vmstan Fixed it!
Show threadDrew BreunigFeb 7, 2024
@molly0xfff I would suggest this is the answer to the question you pose at the end: the audience for this book is the next sucker, for unloading their stakes.
Show threadPax Ahimsa GethenFeb 7, 2024

@molly0xfff

Do you think they'll run an ad during the Super Bowl? (semi-serious question)

And will they hire Larry David to star in it? (Unserious question)

Show threadPax Ahimsa GethenFeb 7, 2024

@molly0xfff

Context for those unaware:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/larry-david-ftx-super-bowl-commercial-curb-your-enthusiasm/

Larry David addresses controversial FTX 2022 Super Bowl commercial: "Like an idiot, I did it"

The commercial was part of a $20 million ad campaign promoting FTX that enlisted athletes and celebrities such as Larry David, Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen.

CBS News
Show threadcakemixFeb 7, 2024
@molly0xfff Blockchain cured the rash on my Dixon, though.
Show threadpeter sibleyFeb 7, 2024
@molly0xfff i was surprised the number of press hits he seems to be getting .
Show threadTHIS ACCOUNT HAS MOVEDFeb 7, 2024
@molly0xfff flim flam gonna flim flam
Show threadChester Wisniewski 🇨🇦Feb 7, 2024
@molly0xfff They won't stop until they have all of the money.
Show threadDanFeb 7, 2024

@molly0xfff obligatory Mitch Hedberg paraphrase…

The ad told me to forget what I knew about crypto. So I did. And then they tried to sell me crypto and I had no idea what the hell they were talking about.

Show threadDigital Mark λ ☕️ 🌮 🚀 🌗Feb 7, 2024
@molly0xfff So nice of him to print his exploit-other-VCs slide deck as a book. I hope they all do another round of tulip mania and burn everything they have to the ground.
Show threadIanFeb 7, 2024
@molly0xfff When has telling people to "forget what they know about X" not been a red flag? Isn't that literally what every snake oil salesman starts their "gather round" speech with?
Show threadElias MårtensonFeb 8, 2024

@soviut @molly0xfff I think the people who knows enough about them to even be able to forget it are most definitely not the people they're targeting. 🙂

There is a parallel here to "forget what you know about science, this is why the earth is flat".

In a scam you want your marks to either be uninformed, but it's better if they also think they are informed.

Show threadLeoparddrengenFeb 7, 2024
@molly0xfff The first rule of crypto is to forget all you know about crypto
Show threadjz.tuskFeb 7, 2024

@molly0xfff

They dropped an ad for it into a game I play. I really had a hard time believing I was seeing "From a16z" there.

At first I thought "wow, they've misdirected their ad budget", considering a good portion of the ads I see there are "seek help for gambling problems", but on reconsideration they might know exactly what they're doing.

Show threadMichał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦Feb 8, 2024
@molly0xfff oh boy. Here we go again.
Show threadTRNottommyFeb 8, 2024
@molly0xfff
from your description it seems nothing new was SAID about crypto so … maybe they mean literally, actually, forget
Show threadMichael BaconFeb 8, 2024
@molly0xfff Ah yes, protocol networks are a failure, which is exactly why no one uses email or HTTP anymore.
Show threadmike bayer  Feb 8, 2024
@molly0xfff wow, sad
Show threadJoe PantusoFeb 8, 2024

@molly0xfff

"If they're all dead, there's only one thing you can do: check their pockets for loose change."

Show threadHumbird0 FandomFeb 8, 2024
@molly0xfff
I mean, it can be both... You can misread the room AND try to drum up hype.
Show threadBenFeb 8, 2024
@molly0xfff all of the CEOs falling for AI hype have them thinking that those same suckers could be lured back to crypto
Show threadDaniel SchildtFeb 8, 2024
@molly0xfff A16Z is trying to salvage what they can from the crashed ships they invested. People who "buy in" to the shipwrecks are going to lose their money, one way or another.
Show threadkatzenbergerFeb 8, 2024
@molly0xfff "Forget what you know about #crypto" is not that easy for those whose knowledge comes in the form of #debt.
Show threadgioFeb 8, 2024
@molly0xfff I heard him interviewed on Hard Fork and I found his optimism on crypto and blockchain to be really out of step. I’m not sure I can take someone seriously with those opinions.
Show threadJonathan JoelsonFeb 8, 2024
@molly0xfff Is your read on Dixon himself that he’s a true believer or just a pumper?
Show threadMolly WhiteFeb 8, 2024
@jjoelson i think he's a little bit of both. i do think he believes what he's saying more than, say, andreessen, who seems to struggle to even explain the concept. he certainly knows his stuff a little better.
Show threadIvanDSMFeb 8, 2024
@molly0xfff "Tools that guarantee authenticity in a sea of deepfakes and AI-generated content"
That's a bold argument coming from someone who literally funds LLM research and quantisation efforts.
Show threadcultdevFeb 9, 2024
@molly0xfff same deal with that walter isaacson hack
Show threadFlorian Schroiff Feb 7, 2024
@molly0xfff 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Show threadMichael GlotzerFeb 7, 2024
@molly0xfff I listened to two interviews with Dixon. In neither interview did he explain a single application in which the blockchain is essential. Bizarre.
Show threadsvitvojimilioniFeb 7, 2024
@molly0xfff blockchain is complete opposite of early internet
Show threadBen SizerFeb 7, 2024
@molly0xfff Nothing quite says “democratic and egalitarian” like a system that funnels money to the people with the most powerful computers.
Show threadShadSterlingFeb 7, 2024
@molly0xfff what does he mean by “protocol networks”? Like IPv6? 5G? QUIC? BitTorrent? ActivityPub?
Show threadMolly WhiteFeb 7, 2024
@ShadSterling Footnote g: In Dixon's parlance, "protocol networks" are things like email, the web, RSS, or XMPP: open and largely free-to-use systems providing protocols on which developers can build clients and other software.
Show threadShadSterlingFeb 7, 2024
@molly0xfff I guess it’s less that he’s ignoring ActivityPub, and more that he’s measuring success by profitability (rather than usefulness)
Show threadmarcusbFeb 8, 2024
@molly0xfff 1) Horowitz is talking their book. 2) The early Internet was characterized by extremely high latency, was generally unreliable, and used a comparatively large amount of energy per bit transferred, so perhaps the blockchain comparison isn’t too far off base.
Show threadekamilFeb 8, 2024
@molly0xfff what’s a „protocol network”…? ain’t there no protocols on blockchain? 🤡
Show threadAlistair DavidsonFeb 8, 2024
@molly0xfff these people never look at how that early internet was funded! If so they'd be demanding public funding to displace advertisers