nick on Nostr: There’s a phenomenon I’ve noticed since getting involved professionally with ...

There’s a phenomenon I’ve noticed since getting involved professionally with Bitcoin, and I suspect it happens in other industries as well. I have a pet hypothesis is it drives most tech fads.

I like to think of it as the “VC information super highway.” Of course VCs are looking for the latest thing to invest in, and talk to a lot of people. Eventually you find ideas that make the rounds of these VC charged networks.

What I’ve noticed about most of the ideas that come to me this way:

- they’re already being done, and copied
- they’re an indicator of what is in vogue among VCs, and could likely be a fad / bubble
- if you’re acting on this information alone, you’re likely not doing it right

What’s “it”? It’s looking at what you have, what’s out there, and what you can do and charting a path forward that best harnesses your strengths and opportunities.

Said another way, if you’re always doing what’s already out there, you will be by definition, perpetually behind. No idea is born in a vacuum, but if you’re not generating original thought within your own context, you are doing yourself a disservice. What might be working for one person, or company may very well not be what will work for you.

It’s cool to hear what people are doing, but it was a mistake to make 3D TVs, double down on IoT, have a VR play, have an AI play.

It sounds contrarian, but there is a lot of value in sticking to what you know deeply and your own principles. Doing what everyone else is doing is generally a losing or fleeting proposition.