Comments on: It’s Swingin’ Again in South Park http://www.spideysenses.com/2006/04/19/south-park-has-risen-again/ Ted Rheingold's web journal Tue, 06 Jan 2009 10:48:28 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7 hourly 1 By: Paul Tullis http://www.spideysenses.com/2006/04/19/south-park-has-risen-again/comment-page-1/#comment-120716 Paul Tullis Tue, 21 Aug 2007 19:03:53 +0000 http://www.spideysenses.com/2006/04/19/south-park-has-risen-again/#comment-120716 I worked in the building at the corner of 2nd and South Park from 1993 until we moved a couple years later, then at 77 Federal, sharing offices with Alernet, in 1996 and 97. I thought when I started out at Might-- Wired was upstairs, boing boing was still a print magazine and shared offices on our floor, with the big window on the street that split, 100ft. to the west, to form the park-- that the coolest thing ever about South Park was that Jack London had lived there. Maybe it still is. Anyway we had endless joyous lunchtimes lying on the grass; later, the cliche became that if you saw people from 2 different companies talking on a bench in South Park, they were starting a third. I moved from SF in July 98. When I returned in autumn 99 the room at 544 2nd St. was an Aveda Skin Care salon. I worked in the building at the corner of 2nd and South Park from 1993 until we moved a couple years later, then at 77 Federal, sharing offices with Alernet, in 1996 and 97. I thought when I started out at Might– Wired was upstairs, boing boing was still a print magazine and shared offices on our floor, with the big window on the street that split, 100ft. to the west, to form the park– that the coolest thing ever about South Park was that Jack London had lived there. Maybe it still is. Anyway we had endless joyous lunchtimes lying on the grass; later, the cliche became that if you saw people from 2 different companies talking on a bench in South Park, they were starting a third.

I moved from SF in July 98. When I returned in autumn 99 the room at 544 2nd St. was an Aveda Skin Care salon.

]]> By: ted http://www.spideysenses.com/2006/04/19/south-park-has-risen-again/comment-page-1/#comment-355 ted Fri, 21 Apr 2006 23:15:20 +0000 http://www.spideysenses.com/2006/04/19/south-park-has-risen-again/#comment-355 Wonderful. Eric and the lovely Nikki chose to be married right in the middle of South Park! No wonder I'll always seek the positive South Park has to offer! <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/tags/ericandnikki/"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/30/51104684_096b5c9823.jpg?v=0" ></a> Wonderful. Eric and the lovely Nikki chose to be married right in the middle of South Park! No wonder I’ll always seek the positive South Park has to offer!

]]> By: Eric Rodenbeck http://www.spideysenses.com/2006/04/19/south-park-has-risen-again/comment-page-1/#comment-354 Eric Rodenbeck Fri, 21 Apr 2006 21:43:34 +0000 http://www.spideysenses.com/2006/04/19/south-park-has-risen-again/#comment-354 One of my favorites: <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/bmindful/51097562/in/photostream/" rel="nofollow"><img src=http://static.flickr.com/24/51097562_60208de2c5.jpg?v=0 /></a> One of my favorites:

]]> By: ted http://www.spideysenses.com/2006/04/19/south-park-has-risen-again/comment-page-1/#comment-353 ted Thu, 20 Apr 2006 20:14:30 +0000 http://www.spideysenses.com/2006/04/19/south-park-has-risen-again/#comment-353 Great take Chris. Thinkly spreading passionate talent really takes the heart out of it. I remember saying at my job in 2000 a couple too many times ... "I can't wait until this bubble is over and I can work again with people who really care about what we are making." Let's see how long we can keep this boom just that ;> Great take Chris. Thinkly spreading passionate talent really takes the heart out of it. I remember saying at my job in 2000 a couple too many times … “I can’t wait until this bubble is over and I can work again with people who really care about what we are making.”

Let’s see how long we can keep this boom just that ;>

]]> By: Chris Heuer http://www.spideysenses.com/2006/04/19/south-park-has-risen-again/comment-page-1/#comment-351 Chris Heuer Thu, 20 Apr 2006 19:55:02 +0000 http://www.spideysenses.com/2006/04/19/south-park-has-risen-again/#comment-351 I went over to Ruby Red for their Cereal Bar on Monday and could not find parking in the neighborhood at 915am - firs ttime that has happened in the 2 years since I have lived in the city. Ended up over on 2nd Street. I felt the vibe, and I agree - its back and its in full swing. What interests me most from your post is "The passionate were displaced by the greedies." Once again, the passion is at the core of the latest revival, call it social media, web 2.0 or 'macaroni'. There are many great companies around filled with passionate people who believe they can change the world and/or create something that will really help someone. There are many reasons as to why the shit hit the fan last time, but one of the biggest I found was the thinly spread attention of the best talent. This is something I am already seeing with many of the people I meet - the openness of last summer has been replaced with more 'stealth mode' startups and more traditional business concerns. During the last boom, rather than people coming together and concentrating on solving big problems, the dream of fast cash and big celebrity status played to people's egos and everyone had their own startup. Most companies ended up with a handful of really great people and a busload of mediocrity. While there are many things that I hope turn out differently now, this is my biggest desire - that smart people find a way to work together towards shared goals - that smart people look beyond their egos and look to the greater good. I want to make it big and build a small fortune as much as the next guy - I just think it will work better if I am able to do it with some other smart folks instead of going it alone. As I keep saying, in the knowledge economy, the ability of people to get along, to respect one another and to collaborate effectively is the largest creator of value. Companies that do that right will be the winners. I went over to Ruby Red for their Cereal Bar on Monday and could not find parking in the neighborhood at 915am - firs ttime that has happened in the 2 years since I have lived in the city. Ended up over on 2nd Street. I felt the vibe, and I agree - its back and its in full swing.

What interests me most from your post is “The passionate were displaced by the greedies.” Once again, the passion is at the core of the latest revival, call it social media, web 2.0 or ‘macaroni’. There are many great companies around filled with passionate people who believe they can change the world and/or create something that will really help someone. There are many reasons as to why the shit hit the fan last time, but one of the biggest I found was the thinly spread attention of the best talent. This is something I am already seeing with many of the people I meet - the openness of last summer has been replaced with more ’stealth mode’ startups and more traditional business concerns.

During the last boom, rather than people coming together and concentrating on solving big problems, the dream of fast cash and big celebrity status played to people’s egos and everyone had their own startup. Most companies ended up with a handful of really great people and a busload of mediocrity. While there are many things that I hope turn out differently now, this is my biggest desire - that smart people find a way to work together towards shared goals - that smart people look beyond their egos and look to the greater good.

I want to make it big and build a small fortune as much as the next guy - I just think it will work better if I am able to do it with some other smart folks instead of going it alone. As I keep saying, in the knowledge economy, the ability of people to get along, to respect one another and to collaborate effectively is the largest creator of value. Companies that do that right will be the winners.

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