Once You're Lucky, Twice You're Good: The Rebirth of Silicon Valley and the Rise of Web 2.0
Once You're Lucky, Twice You're Good: The Rebirth of Silicon Valley and the Rise of Web 2.0
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Manufacturer: Gotham
Author: Sarah Lacy
Binding: Hardcover
Publication Date: 2008-05-15
Publisher: Gotham
Label: Gotham
Number Of Pages: 304 Features:
Editorial Review: The captivating story of the mavericks who emerged from the dotcom rubble to found the multibillion-dollar companies taking the Web into the twenty-first century
Everyone has heard the story of the Internet Bubble. Beginning with Netscape’s IPO in 1996, billions flowed into Internet startups, and companies with no revenues and shaky business plans earned sky-high valuations on Wall Street. It was the era of paper millionaires, $800 office chairs, and Super Bowl ads for dotcoms. Then in 2000 the Bubble burst, with the NASDAQ losing 75 percent of its value and hundreds of companies closing up shop. It was all written off to “irrational exuberance,” and everyone moved on.
Once You’re Lucky, Twice You’re Good is the story of the entrepreneurs who learned their lesson from the bust and in recent years have created groundbreaking new Web companies. The second iteration of the dotcoms—dubbed Web 2.0—is all about bringing people together. Social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace unite friends online; YouTube lets anyone posts videos for the world to see; Digg.com allows Internet users to vote on the most relevant news of the day; Six Apart sells software that enables bloggers to post their viewpoints online; and Slide helps people customize their virtual selves.
Business reporter Sarah Lacy brings to light the entire Web 2.0 scene: the wide-eyed but wary entrepreneurs, the hated venture capitalists, the bloggers fueling the hype, the programmers coding through the night, the twenty-something millionaires, and the Internet “fan boys” eager for all the promises to come true. Cached date: AWS Called=true You may also be interested in these products:
Too much Zuck and Ning, got boring after a while 2008-08-28 My Twitter review: Zuck is Steve Jobs 2.0, Ning sucks, Slide is boring, Digg missed the boat, and the book was a "meh".
I wanted to like this book, I really did.
Having lived in Silicon Valley from 1999-2003, I identified with the sense of what was old would be new, and that true innovation trumps luck any day.
The book was a somewhat okay account of some of the newer darling dandies of the web (Digg, Facebook) but then droned on about Marc Andreessen and Jim Clark getting lucky with Netscape, then trying (trying!) to reproduce that same magic again with limited success.
This book is okay...I felt it got boring midway through, and then rehashed a bit too much.
Could have been more... 2008-08-17 It was "okay". It mostly talked about Paypal, Facebook, Digg and alittle about Blogger > Twitter. Some stuff were pretty informative, but it was (insert nice word for fluff here) overall. I already know alot about PP and FB (who doesn't?) but I did not know that the founder of Blogger sold to Google for $10 million in stocks and cashed out for around $50 million. I also did not know that the Blogger Founder started Twitter. Makes sense I suppose. Is it worth reading? Maybe if you're not from Silicon Valley or don't know much about Web 2.0.
Some things were alittle shady - how Zuck, 20, met an important person before he moved to the Valley. How did he meet this tech person who didn't go to Harvard? There are some gaps.
Lacy seems an admirable person, but given her lack of credibility over her article on Kevin Rose in Business Week last year and her disastrous interview w/Zuck at SXSW doesn't make this a sound book based on true facts, but based on assumptions and rumors. Most of this stuff could probably be found on Wikipedia if you look up the companies and founders. Save the money or wait till I donate this book at the local library near you.
Great Book, illustrating and educating on the Web 2.0 2008-08-11 It's a great book. I enjoyed it while learning about how the old and new VC work. Really inspiring stories on how the web 2.0 got build.
Social Networking Start Ups should be required to read this book! 2008-08-10 Once your lucky, twice your good...by Sarah Lacy.... A MUST READ, for any internet start up!
I LOVE this book i am only half way through but had to share my feelings about it thus far. As an online web entrepreneur, i speak with thousands of potential "mega stars" each year and listen to ideas, dreams and plans on how to "make it", this book easily shares insights into a world most of us business types only dream of as well as gives you a glimpse into the lives of some of the internet's brightest starts. This book has ignited by passion for what I do. Thank you Sarah!
sandy rowley www.megastarmedia.com custom social networks
The best book about the people that made the social web happen 2008-08-07 Since John Battelle's "The Search," I haven't had such a good read about people that make web technologies happen. But his book was very focused on a single technology, while Sarah Lacy has chosen to deal with a whole period in Silicon Valley's history: the emergence and glory days of Web 2.0 (arguably those days are not over yet).
Sarah has a provocative style, she knows what she is talking about and she knows the folks that play the game. Her writing flows like the words in her columns, which she has been writing for nearly ten years now. In the course of the book, she carefully weaves a tale that lets the reader see where all the pieces fall: where each Web 2.0 entrepreneur (or "nontrepreneur" as she refers to Blogger's and Twitter's Evan Williams) connects with the next one and where did he get the inspiration (or the funding) from to pursue the next big thing.
Throughout the book's eleven chapters, I found myself referring back to a very useful diagram that she included in the beginning, which shows at a very top level companies and people, showing who was founder, investor and employee of which.
You do not need to be a geek to enjoy the book, but you will if you are. You certainly do not have to live in Silicon Valley to know what she is talking about, but you will get a kick out of local references if you live or work in the stretch of 101 between San Francisco and San Jose. You do not need to be a web entrepreneur to want to devour the book, but if you are, you will find yourself flipping through the pages in search of yet more interesting and passionate anecdotes from the people that made Web 2.0 what it is today.
Sarah Lacy's book is a must read for anyone using the social web today: in case you didn't realize it, that means every one of us!
2008-08-28
2008-08-11