Hacker News: npkarnik

New comment by npkarnik in "Andreessen Horowitz Tech Site Future.com Shuts Down, Staff Leave"

npkarnik — Fri, 02 Dec 2022 15:19:58 +0000

I'm a coder in my 30s now. But when I was a coder in my 20s, FWIW almost all the wealthy (male) investors I interacted with were not degrading towards myself and my peers FWIW. And the ones that were tended to be in their 20s or early 30s.

New comment by npkarnik in "Are tech stocks now good value?"

npkarnik — Tue, 22 Nov 2022 16:58:49 +0000

No one knows how high interest rates will go. Interest rates are approximately the floor of what a very low risk return on capital looks like, especially for an average citizen. If they approach 7% and stay there as some think is possible, I would expect stocks to keep selling off, especially if public co revenues don't continue to grow rapidly as the economic "slowdown" continues (not worth arguing exactly what constitutes a recession).

New comment by npkarnik in "Ask HN: How can techies influence companies to stop implementing SMS/phone 2FA"

npkarnik — Wed, 02 Nov 2022 14:33:40 +0000

This isn't worth the effort to discuss. There isn't much point in fighting the surveillance state.

New comment by npkarnik in "Can the Visa-Mastercard duopoly be broken?"

npkarnik — Thu, 18 Aug 2022 15:24:26 +0000

Think he meant that they protect the consumer

New comment by npkarnik in "Norm Macdonald has died"

npkarnik — Tue, 14 Sep 2021 19:56:54 +0000

Yea definitely, it's a bit in his standup

New comment by npkarnik in "Ask HN: Has anyone tried to debunk the myth that Facebook is listening?"

npkarnik — Sat, 25 Nov 2017 21:49:25 +0000

100% - I'm not sure why others are so dismissive. It's not that technically difficult, and FB has a reputation for being creepy. If only I could figure out how to get random one night stands out of my "People you may know" list...

New comment by npkarnik in "Peter Thiel sells most of remaining Facebook stake"

npkarnik — Wed, 22 Nov 2017 21:41:23 +0000

I disagree that any specific advice will help an individual marketer...I think the biggest issue is that the economics of acquisition on social (factoring in internet marketing budgets and customer LTV) doesn't work well for brands that aren't already operating at significant scale. Otherwise, Teespring would be a billion dollar company by now ;)

My guess is that social marketing works ok for brands that have a strong competitive position AND healthy margins.

New comment by npkarnik in "Dropbox Professional"

npkarnik — Tue, 17 Oct 2017 19:30:27 +0000

I don't work at Dropbox, but I believe it's ignored by design. Fewer users would upgrade their storage to the paid plans.

New comment by npkarnik in "Show HN: VMPower – Shutdown/Startup/Backup/Resize VMs with a Calendar"

npkarnik — Wed, 03 May 2017 16:24:59 +0000

What % cost savings are customers seeing?

New comment by npkarnik in "Y Combinator When No One Cared"

npkarnik — Tue, 02 May 2017 17:16:19 +0000

Not really, artistic talent has historically relinquished all IP rights. Incubators are more like a tax to get involved in the VC ecosystem, if anything.

New comment by npkarnik in "A profound apology"

npkarnik — Wed, 01 Mar 2017 03:03:50 +0000

Travis is 40.

New comment by npkarnik in "Nike Open Source Software"

npkarnik — Fri, 01 Jul 2016 05:16:48 +0000

Very cool - I actually have a friend who works on that Target team. There are smart, talented, "modern" people everywhere. I wonder what the dinosaurs will look like in 10-20 years.

New comment by npkarnik in "How Hired Hackers Got “Complete Control” of Palantir"

npkarnik — Sun, 19 Jun 2016 01:27:00 +0000

This is such bad PR - probably leaked maliciously.

New comment by npkarnik in "BlueCrew (YC S15) uses tech for blue-collar temp agency"

npkarnik — Thu, 03 Mar 2016 18:57:32 +0000

I was lucky to meet these guys recently. They hire staffers as W2 workers, not 1099 contractors. They're building something that is impacting the lives of people who typically work minimum wage jobs. The talented, reliable workers on their platform make more than minimum wage, which is a testament to how Bluecrew's marketplace creates better outcomes for workers and businesses.

New comment by npkarnik in "Privilege and Inequality in Silicon Valley"

npkarnik — Sat, 23 Jan 2016 00:39:11 +0000

Your claim doesn't make sense to me. The author does not prove there isn't privilege and inequality in SV. He only shares his story of how he overcame a decidedly unprivileged background. If the expected value of my bet in a game of craps is negative and I still win, that doesn't mean the odds weren't against me.

New comment by npkarnik in "Fantasy Sports Employees Bet at Rival Sites Using Inside Information"

npkarnik — Tue, 06 Oct 2015 07:11:03 +0000

You are correct. My comment is wrong.

New comment by npkarnik in "Fantasy Sports Employees Bet at Rival Sites Using Inside Information"

npkarnik — Tue, 06 Oct 2015 00:30:30 +0000

Those are the advertised pricing for players. If you do not believe that these companies have a private, internal model to set those "prices" to maximize their returns...

New comment by npkarnik in "Fantasy Sports Employees Bet at Rival Sites Using Inside Information"

npkarnik — Tue, 06 Oct 2015 00:21:14 +0000

I used to think this exactly...but now, given how heavily the NFL, NFLPA, and individual teams have been promoting Draftkings/FanDuel, it's obvious that the business model involves paying kickbacks to all the important stakeholders in the sport.

And regarding how relatively chummy the NFL is with elected officials, don't forget that commissioner Roger Goddell's father was both a senator and representative from NY state. That's just one data point, but there are probably a lot of backroom conversations that we don't know about. I think there's too much legitimate money at stake for there to be a online poker-like, "Black Friday" type event for the daily fantasy scam.

New comment by npkarnik in "American Apparel Files for Bankruptcy"

npkarnik — Mon, 05 Oct 2015 18:47:20 +0000

Same thing with nightlife (except it's closer to 2-3 years), since the target demographics are the same, but the people going to (or used to go to) clubs/bars get older.

New comment by npkarnik in "Lyft and Uber Start Accepting Rides in Vegas"

npkarnik — Wed, 16 Sep 2015 00:26:44 +0000

About time...I have probably had more bad cab experiences in Vegas than all other cities combined.

One tip: the various Airport Shuttles from McCarran to hotels on the strip/downtown (and back) are a great deal...around $15 total for both ways.