Internet Architecture and Innovation
Barbara van Schewick's book, Internet Architecture and Innovation, is out and everyone who cares about the future of the Internet should click here and buy a copy. It is not an easy read, but the architecture of the Internet and the ways in which that architecture is directly responsible for the explosion of innovation over the last 15 years is not an easy topic. Thoughtful, well intentioned people find themselves on different sides of the net neutrality debate. Internet access providers have spun network neutrality as needless and overreaching government intervention into a vibrant, competitive market. On the other side,...
ContinueA Threat to Startups
We believe that Google and Verizon's proposed policy principles to preserve an open Internet came out of a good faith effort to bring some clarity to the market for Internet applications and access. But we fear that this agreement is a compromise that does not serve the next great startup enterprise well. Google, eBay, Facebook, Twitter, and Foursquare are just a few of the thousands of companies that flourished on the Internet, precisely because there were no gatekeepers and no toll takers. That market architecture is the result of the original layered architecture of the Internet. With the move from...
ContinuePolicies to Encourage Startup Innovation
We have commented a number of times in a number of ways on this blog about how technology startups can no longer afford to ignore politics. When the tech startup world was focused on core infrastructure like chips and routers, and touched a small portion of the population, we thrived in comfortable isolation from the rest of the world. Now, the most interesting innovations are happening at the applications layer and technology has jumped from a small early adopter market to the mainstream. Everything is suddenly impacted by public policy and we no longer have a choice about engaging in...
ContinueGetting Started
Hi, I'm Gary Chou and I'm thrilled to join the team as the General Manager of the Union Square Ventures Network. I'll be supporting the companies in the USV portfolio and helping to facilitate discussions and opportunities. Aside from that, I'll also be part of the investment team. I couldn't be more excited. Personally, there's the simple fact that I'm moving from San Francisco to New York City. Professionally, instead of building software and designing web apps as I've previously done at places such as Trilogy, Tribe.net and Cisco, I'll be focusing on other relevant functions and learning to look...
ContinueWork Market
We are big believers in the power of Internet marketplaces to bring efficiencies and new opportunities to people and businesses. And the market where this has the most potential of all is the labor market. So we are excited to announce our latest investment - Work Market. Work Market is exactly what it sounds like, a marketplace for employers and workers to connect to get work done. Work Market is the latest startup founded by serial entrepreneur Jeff Leventhal. Jeff has been working in this sector for the better part of twenty years and Work Market is his fourth startup....
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