Feature Friday: Save To Foursquare
I am a big fan of bookmarking. I mean that in the largest sense. When I find something I want to read, watch, do, etc, I like to save it somewhere that I can find it when I need it.
When it comes to restaurants I want to go to, I like to use Foursquare's Save button. Here's how it works:
Let's say you are reading that Montmartre’s French Fries Are New York’s Best and you think "I have to try them".
You click the save to Foursquare button in your browser and this happens:
The default is that you will save that place to your "to do list"
But if you happen to have a list called "best french fries in NYC" like I do, then you can change the drop down and save it there
If you like reading about places to go out but don't have a good way to save them (to your phone and web), give the Save To Foursquare button a try.
Full disclosure: USV has an investment in Foursquare, The Gotham Gal and I have an investment in Montmartre, and I love french fries.
Comments (Archived):
I’m giving 4sq a go again, as prompted by Albert W recently. Always loved its design. The GPS seems to have improved dramatically – at last!Just wish I went places nowadays, lol…
in the film Dune there’s a dialog(ue) line about ‘travelling without moving’. that’s the web, and it’s disconcerting and i think a little demeaning of humanities heritage and spirit. it’s unsatisfactory – not quite the way it ought to be.
Interesting. Indeed. Never read it – I should do do by sounds of it. So much to read. So much, so much…
is this memory substitution, and is it changing brain function?
i am sure it is. google search is probably the biggest of this sort of impact.
twenty first century neurological health time bomb.
Not necessarily. The economist Daniel Kahneman wrote that our emotions affect our memories.Since Google Search does not now and will not factor in emotions, then there will always be a need for our natural memory.I asked Amit Singhal of Google myself whether the Star Trek computer they’re building will “have a heart and understand our emotions” and he said, “No. Look at the most it will be able to answer logical, fact-based questions.”Google has said that the Star Trek computer is their future for search.He thought I was a journalist and it was a “deep question.” Actually I’m working on emotion-based technologies.
emotion-based technologies – what sort of thing?
Something around this:* http://betashop.com/post/47…
Helper robots?
Ray Kurzweil of Google calls them “cybernetic friends”:* http://www.forbes.com/sites…Apparently, they will become so nanobot they’ll be injectable into our bloodstreams and carried to our brains.
see recent pop sci articles suggesting that we are communities of friendly germs
Thanks, Laurie. Yes, we’re cultures, alright! :*).
+100 (and for the record I think it’s still one of the hardest things to build well – but also that’s what makes it fun to build) :-)As an aside and yet another shameless plug, gawk.it also has tagging features now specifically for making it easier to refind or share specific things…
people used to remember a lot of phone numbers …
I’ve never been great at memorizing unimportant things – it’s just how my brain is structured – I remember / see patterns / holistic things best – and so tools like this are useful.
When r u starting a “USV India” fund ? Never expected a VC to invest in a restaurant 🙂
not happening
All the smart guys don’t come to India 🙂 Whats ur reason?
get a visa and start in NYC. apparently everyone wants to.http://www.avc.com/a_vc/201…
Yorkshire’s nice, also. And we have Old York.
there are direct flights from New Jersey to East Midlands Airport. what more could a vc want for?
Absolutely – and this is my ‘office’ just down the road…http://www.ysp.co.uk/And we are just 2hrs from that there London on the train. Easy-peasy. India or Yorkshire? You decide 😉
http://www.ysp.co.uk/is that shiny sphere an Anish Kapoor, or a clone?
http://www.ysp.co.uk/search…:-)
anish kapoor is one of the most brilliant artists I know of today. Something about his super shiny surfaces become highly contemplative of space and time.:)
The bean in Chicago. Or, Cloudgate. It’s very cool.
i like it. i don’t like his ArcelorMittal Orbit;https://en.wikipedia.org/wi…it looks good in this photo, but on a wet and windy day in November…no.
I’m thinking of visiting London for a ~week next month … before or after hitting up Paris to visit a friend.
Have everything here. Don’t have “Fred Wilson”.
kidnap or clone
There are clones already. only fund ideas, that exist. Can’t kidnap a billionare 🙂
too far to be actively engaged in the companies
Different risk model, though I’m sure based on Fred’s online investments that he’d be capable of making good calls on other business types / models.
was tryin to b “funny”.
Okie
Fred — Did you know there’s a way to do a “Drop a Pin” in iOS so the place can be bookmarked and annotated with photos and text that way?I like bookmarks too but it’s faster and more visually appealing to drop a pin.It’s something I was playing around with for my own app 18 months ago, to create wishlists of products I saw out-and-about on my travels; items I might want to gift family & friends at a later date so has scheduling on the annotated pin.
Yes and I also mean that it should be possible within the 4SQ bookmarklet to enable users to drop a pin directly onto Google Maps and annotate where they saw that amazing beer or slice of triple chocolate cake!
i am not into pinning in mapsmy kids do it, but i don’t like itmy brain works differently i guess
4SQ’s bookmarklet works just as well as a pin. It just means the bml grabs the <latlon> tags from site XYZ and then on the backend 4SQ team can populate the Google Maps pins anyway.Pins are just like landmarks by which memorise routes.There’s some research about how men and women remember locations and navigate differently. Men tend to remember by routes and turns in order (list). Women remember by pinned landmarks.Maybe there’s something about why Pinterest is popular amongst women in that, :*).
is there pinning available for android – I could use it (I get lost easily)
Foursquare will show your Saved locations pinned on a map when your are viewing that list actually.
Thanks, William. Yes there’s a list-to-pin conversion by 4SQ parsing out the <latlon> tags, picked up by the bookmarklet, and putting them as XML into Google Maps API which then popup as place markers on the maps.I mean dropping pins as a front-end user experience, straight from the bookmarker.
Bookmarking/Read Later Services: Instapaper, Pocket, Other?
Your browser of choice? I use apps like Pocket and Twitter favorites to save interesting links, but from time to time I still use the browser.Especially when those bookmarks are sycned between desktop and mobile, as is the case with Chrome, Safari and others.
My Setup: InstapaperRead Later bookmarklet in Chrome.Read Later hack in iOS Safari.Both one tap save to instapaper
What’s the iOS hack?
The hack is best explained here. http://lorenzocaum.com/blog…
Instapaper is a productivity tool for me. It’s great.
*shameless plug* … if you’re trying Pocket (amazing)/ Instapaper – give Fireplug a try.www.getfireplug.com : chrome extension + iOS app.think of Foursquare for news & knowledge. gain achievements. set articles as #MustReads. Discover content from other SME’s.If you’re an iPhone-kinda-guy, check the Featured News apps. Give Fireplug a spin. I’d love your thoughts.
Plugs are never shameless. Giving it a whirl on iOS
Fred, it sounds to me like you should consider cutting back on French Fries! I just had my annual physical yesterday and my doctor said “the better it tastes, the worse it is for you.”
Agree on french fries and both great and bad.Good stuff can taste good as well though. The idea that hyper healthy, especially healthy greens need to taste bad, is just not true. Hint–that is why we started http://www.lulitonix.com. The market seems to agree so far.
Nice site, next time I am in NYC, I will try and stop at one of the places that carry the tonics
Thanks….Basically a storefront with a ton of nutritional info. Been interesting to watch a fast growing Instagram community start growing around this.
Healthy food tastes awesome. Its the unhealthy stuff that is nasty. A lot depends on how your palate is trained though.
A lot depends on intent as well.We are learning big time on this one. The cold pressed green juice market is huge. The majority of pressed juices tastes like medicine but are really good for you in a pure state. What is done is that they add tons of fruit sugars, boost up the calories and the sweetness and obviate the health value.Blending let’s you avoid this big time. Calories very very low, taste can be found as you blend ingredients. More work to make…but it shows.
There is a commercial lulitonix type product that is sold at whole foods (name escapes me) and I literally would have to compare the nutritional labels on the rear to see the varying degrees of positive things vs. sugar content. In the end I stopped buying the product it was just to sweet.
you’re referring to suja? http://www.sujajuice.com/i tried that once. $9 per bottle (!!!!). i wasn’t really a fan, i’ve had better juices for less.
For an increasing number of folk just the notion of having ‘food’ is a luxury. Let alone heating, etc.
that is true, though healthy food is often not more expensive than unhealthy food. it depends on how you calculate it, but i think a strong argument can be made that healthy food is actually cheaper, at least if we simplify healthy vs unhealthy to mean non-GMO vs GMO.but the point of people not having food is huge. i think the best to combat poverty and prevent its spread is to work on systems that improve access to food.
For vegetables and fruit, joining a csa helps. Some even allow you to use SNAP (mine does!)
“best to combat poverty and prevent its spread is to work on systems that improve access to food.”Birth control is a good start to combating poverty. Even in this country there are people having way more kids than they can afford to have given their income and how they want to be able to live. Plus there are people (I’m watching for the lighting bolt here btw to strike me for saying this) that are middle class and decide to have 5 kids and then get jealous of people with 2 or 3 kids that can afford some luxuries that they don’t have because of that.
Kids are a huge drain on the wallet– especially when you pay for their education as well as the kids that aren’t yours.
Only a huge drain on the wallet if you don’t game the system per my reply to the kid above.
andy – why would you not want other people’s kids to be educated? forget other people for a moment – even the original libertarian text (on liberty – john stuart mill) puts kids in a special category in need of protection by the state…..
I do want them educated, just not by the State
your statement is completely false. if anything people aren’t having enough kids. there is a demographics crisis creating all sorts of problems everywhere, most notably in japan whose population is declining in absolute terms, whose social security and healthcare expenses are rising, while the tax base and exports are declining. there is no shortage of anything and there is more than enough of everything. the only problem is distribution.
“if anything people aren’t having enough kids.”Good point! In this country if you earn say $40k a year and have 7 kids you can get the government to pay for a whole bunch of things because you are poor. And your kids will have no problem going to college for free because income wise it’s obvious you need help. Of course your kids will go on most likely to be positive contributors to society despite the fact that they grew up in some crappy neighborhood with crappy schools.Sorry I missed that – my mistake.By the way are you married? Have you had kids? Have you had to send them to college and or pay for all the other things that you have to do for kids?
your analysis is overly simplistic, based entirely on your own anecdotes and emotional biases, all utterly void of any connection to scientific research.no i don’t have kids, though if i did, i’m not stupid enough to send them to college. i’m aware having a family is expensive, though being fond of educating myself, i’m also aware as to why that is — and what happens when life forms stop reproducing at a sufficient rate.
Otoh my “overly simplistic analysis” “the gut” has worked for me as a survival skill over time.By the way check out the picture of the “brave” woman that confronted the attacker in the UK knife attack of the soldier. They are calling her a hero and praising what she did:http://www.guardian.co.uk/u…I haven’t done any scientific research on that either but I’d call her actions stupid. And by everyone patting her on the back it will only encourage more people to come within a few feet of someone holding a cleaver who just murdered someone and put themselves at risk (I haven’t done any research on that either).
i know you are opposed to education and thinking and operate entirely on your emotions and opinions. that is why you will invariably come to the completely wrong conclusion on any social issue that extends beyond yourself. the gut can see the personal, the micro; but education and thought is required to see the big picture.
LE!My four kids even on a bad day are worth a lot more to me than anything I could afford by having fewer of them. I live in an area were most of my neighbors have fewer kids and a lot more money. None are richer.And no I wasn’t the down-voter.
I have no problem with people having any amount of kids as long as they can afford them and those kids don’t become a drain on everyone else. Fred can have 100 kids. Bloomberg can have 1000.As you said “None are richer.”. That’s a choice you have made and if you are ok with it that’s fine. The issue is when you take something that is your personal benefit and it becomes potentially a detriment to others.As far as your neighbors having “a lot more money” while that maybe the case you really never know what someone’s total financial picture is since you only have access to outward signs of wealth. You also don’t know if they have a family to fall back on etc. that allows them to spend more and take more risks.So wealth appearance can be a false positive. The people that I am referring to are ones where by all measures they appear to be living from paycheck to paycheck and have no assets.
I think it is more complicated than that.Among my favorite snack foods are frozen asparagus still frozen* and double chocolate cookies.One is really healthy and one isn’t. Doesn’t mean moderation for both isn’t necessary.*Yes, I love frozen asparagus still frozen. I like the taste of asparagus, and the freezing makes it more creamy tasting while also being more crisp.
Yup. Healthy, Wholesome & freshly made.
I work out once a week. Hyper intense weight lifting for 30 minutes. I lost 25 lbs, lowered my cholesterol, and now eat just about anything I want and don’t gain weight. Citywidesuperslow.com where I live. All the aerobic stuff doesn’t build muscle mass-so you can’t burn calories at rest. Difference between having a lawn mower engine powering your body or a diesel.
Exactly. Goes to my point about eating things in moderation & being conditioned to burn it.
This comment comes so far down the thread from the originating comment that it seems like you are referring to kids. Funny.
so depressing Dave
Don’t be that guy
It’s funny how you bash people for saying what’s on their mind, and then go off and make a whole post bashing him further (indirectly) – and posting what’s on your mind. Hypocrite much?
freedom includes the right to diss.
Of course, though it still makes him hypocritical since he too is expressing freely.
What! Anything in moderation & of quality is OK. It’s better to have a little bite of something that tastes great & be satisfied than to crave it for days & have more of it later.
That’s overall bad advice from your doctor.Fresh, local and organic food tastes delicious without needing to add anything to it. The problem is most produce available to most people in America now is non-fresh, non-local, non-organic.
Would also add that my experience with people and eating is that they make the mistake (with exercise) of thinking it has to be all or nothing. My attitude is always to simply try to go to the gray area (which has always worked for me).So for example instead of general tso’s chicken you get general tso’s tofu. Instead of a cheddar omelette you get a cheddar omelette whites. Any attempt to try and cut everything out will simply end in failure unless you’ve (key point here) done it gradually over time “titrate the dose”. So maybe once you get used to the whites you then slowly (repeat slowly) wean yourself from the cheddar or something like that.People learning to enjoy organic is also an example of what I call “flipping the reward system”. That is you get a positive out of not doing something as opposed to doing something.At a certain point once you are used to eating a certain way eating the wrong thing just doesn’t feel right or good to you at all. You actually feel bad. But it’s a process better done slow than fast from my observation.
Flipping the reward system. I like that – the value you get out of it, instead of the actual reward signals from the food itself, or benefits of it (exercise, food, otherwise).
And what do you think of Foursquare?
I was one of its detractors when it launched. It seemed like a un-monetisable peeing-to-mark-territory app. Wow, though. What a difference a few years makes – I’m increasingly impressed with Foursquare. The last few updates have introduced functions that are *genius*. I’ve used features to discover startups in other continents, something I never would have anticipated.Consider me an evangelical convert.
I still feel there should be a life/learning/business variant of what 4sq is trying to do. Hard to explain, but…
Actually 4Square is easier to explain than the core value of Disqus to a lot of bloggers. People may not get 4Square in action but they get it in intent.Most choose Disqus (and I’m probably the prime motivator behind every wine blog in the world that uses it) because it just works. The juicy big picture and the core brand community message is mostly under the radar.
Interesting. If I read you correctly, and I certainly feel this compromises it, 4sq lacks a conversational/community spirit?
Most mobile realities are neither conversational nor communal, but focused and informational.Is there really a mobile based ‘community’ out there? Instagram is the one that jumps to mind.
Any idea what foursquare penetration is like in the backlands of europe (Switzerland) last time I tried i the next nearest location was in another country ! So I figured – pass.-
Delicious functionality
Fred, have you seen @saveforlater_me? http://www.saveforlater.meSFL is the easiest way to save and retrieve the things you want to remember.
I like your disclosure statement…..especially the disclosure about French fries…..I come from public accounting – when in doubt – disclose it!
The review is not that encouraging … too narrow, too loud and only two-stars.If I were an investor I would be worried…apart from worrying about the ‘fatty french fries’.
It’s a Feature Friday post. A feature is something pretty specific, and would fit into the category inherent to being narrow..
I am talking about Bloomberg’s review on the restaurant and not FourSquare.P.S. Did you read the review?
Didn’t realize that. No I didn’t. My mistake.
” and I love french fries.”
Pommes Frites is my favorite place to get french fries in NYC with mango chutney as the dipping sauce
Yeah. That place is greatAdding it to my list now!
Will save that list to my lists. And fast for a week before I come to New York.
A standard!
I need this, except knowing me, this is a great way to get me fat 🙂 at least I’ll be happy and fat.But I think this would be great to integrate with food sites.
it’s a bell curve i’m afraid.
this also has been a bad week for exercising. :0Oh well, there is always next week :)(though reality is my weight pretty much stays the same and I tend to eat more healthy than average)
“I love french fries”With that one little line, you can be sure that 90% of the comments here will have nothing to do with the subject, as a hoard of palate-prudes are on their way to save you from yourself.Oh, for lunch I’m having wings and 2 beers…and tonight I’m going to have a Medium-rare steak, a baked potato with butter, bread with butter, asparagus and bourbon on the rocks.
palate prude??????What is a palate prude, and what does that have to do with the fact that eating too many french fries is bad for you?
People who just can’t help but share their fear and contempt of “bad” foods (and chain-restaurants) with others, despite the fact that no one gives a shit what they think.One in particular comes to mind….
So why do you post? Applying your logic to yourself, no one gives a shit what you think either – and everything you say is just bashing and hateful, whereas the people you’re bashing actually have the intent of trying to be helpful, and increase awareness / education.
Did you like his reaction when his plan to get rid of Crown Vic taxi’s got slapped down as well?
didn’t see
I saw Bloomberg and his security there in the club, so I went over and said, ‘Tell me what is going on with the Taxi of Tomorrow?’” He turns to me, and said, ‘Come January 1st, when I am out of office, I am going to destroy your f–king industry.’http://www.huffingtonpost.c…Imagine how much unhappiness someone has to have to react in that manner when losing.
i generally agree with your stance on doing wtf you want to do, though i have a mild support for palate prudeness because of how deeply fundamental to the social experience food is. i have found myself eating food i would rather not eat out of social necessity. in such instances, i wish the world was more into my brand of palate prudeness, so that i could socialize without compromising my dietary preferences.
I’ve been to bars that don’t serve bourbon…”I feel your pain”
I get the same drink everywhere. One restaurant in particular (in NJ) I know is diluting the drinks (it’s a chain). I’ve complained to the manager and have gotten a free meal and all sorts of things. They literally know me as “the guy with a problem with X”.Anyway I’ve tried and tried to the point where my wife didn’t even want to go to that place anymore because I complain all the time. (Remember what’s his name and Michelle Pfefier in “Scarface”? Oh yeah the Robert Loggia character that’s who I mean. It’s like I like to go there whatever).Anyway, God heard my calls and now I have a way to end the pain:http://www.app.com/article/…
Justice! I can’t imagine someone trying to pull that shit here
I’m debating how to handle this.It’s like I want to take a dead fish, wrap it in the news article, and drop it on their doorstep to warn them before I take action. I’m fair like that.
California is the place you ought to be.
you do realize the law never passed and that you could still buy as much soda as you want (just not in large cups.)
Dude, you are being a buzz kill.
Chick, you can skip my posts if you’d prefer.
It would be inhuman of me to ignore your thinly veiled cries for help 😉
lotta work to do here….I’d pass on this project 🙂
Ha! Never say that to a liberal – it’s like catnip.
Better get started. wings, beers and audit-inducing statements begin in 51 minutes….
+1. Huge laugh this morning.I am a palate prude…strictly and solely for myself. 🙂
Your diet ignores everything that has come out of the STEM literature over the past 25 years. You may say so what its my body. Problem with that argument is that your health insurance premiums are not based on your diet but on the diet of the community at large. So in a way your healthcare is being subsidized by those who eat healthy?
He doesn’t care about all others – just himself or select few in his direct life.
I care enough about others enough so as not to enslave them to my schemes….good enough?
No, because your supposed “non-action” still causes people to be affected by your actions. We’re not disconnected from each other.
I understand your insatiable desire to control those around you… I just refuse to participate. I’m sure that’s frustrating.Maybe you can get a whole group of like-minded people together to voluntarily live life as slaves to each other?I certainly wouldn’t intervene. Good luck!
It’s management of the whole, not control. The current systems that existed prior to any of us being born, and are perpetuated by those same systems, are the problem and need adjustment.What is frustrating is you never engage to respond directly to what I am saying – maybe because you can’t grasp it – or maybe because it would mean conceding to my thinking patterns, which are contrary to yours – causing you cognitive dissonance; If you wanted you could go seek out why you have that thinking through counseling (increasing self-awareness), and find out of what childhood role modelling you were exposed to that shaped your thinking and shaped your biases — but you’ll just attack me for suggesting you need a shrink.And luckily it is always the thinking of the whole, the majority, who are those who put others in power to change things towards the better for them – them being a part of the whole.Your argument tactics are distasteful, too, BTW – I am sure you know that – and that is frustrating too, e.g. belittling statements, etc..Re: Live life as “slaves” to each other — You realize if everyone is in the service of everyone else, then everyone is taken care of – and extremely well?Hilarious.
[email protected] anytime you would like to have an in-depth conversation on the evil and destructive nature of collectivism.
it’s hopeless…..i’ve actually heard an argument that libertarianism/individualism is a genetic defect, and that apparently most libertarian-ish people are INTJs on the myers-briggs psych test. i am an INTJ…..
Me too. Actually somewhere in here Myers suggested I go to a shrink to see what from my childhood could have made me so _______Guess I’m gonna be first on the list for some “re-education” camps once utopia sets in.
Really interesting as I am in an between INTJ and ENTJ and also very libertarian. There definitely must be something to that.
What hubris.Keep up with me physically for one week, review my bloodwork and insurance premiums, talk to my doctor… and then tell me I’m freeloading health-wise, deal?Let me guess…you’d use no such language about someone purchasing health-insurance for the first time after their cancer is discovered.p.s. You make a compelling argument against government-run healthcare. It ultimately leads to a community claim over the individual body…as you have started to do today.
I have counter offer. Opt out all your health care coverage for heart disease, stroke, dementia, type two diabetes, etc. Deal?
Everybody is superman until that first health crisis hits. That is a very crowded stage that you are on.
I didn’t claim to be superman, and agree that a healh-crisis is always potentially a day away. That’s why I buy health insurance for myself and my family.You claimed I was a freeloader (prior to editing your post) based purely on what I said I’m eating today.So how about this…. anyone that can’t do 50 pushups, 20 pullups and run 3 miles in 20 minutes is being subsidized by those who can.
Here, at least in principle, i agree with you. That you still seem to be sidestepping my point
Your point is that our choices effect more than just ourselves, therefore those others who are effected should feel no shame in attempting to influence (coerce?) those choices…correct?My solution is simple: Get rid of any laws requiring that insurance participants be pooled together. Insure people based on their individual risk. That way, no one is subsidizing anyone else, and no individual or group has any authority over the self-impacting decisions of another individual. Very similar to other, less politicized types of insurance.Cool?
Let me fill you in on a little secret. Not even the richest among us could afford to insure him or herself If you factored in the collective subsidization that takes place in pharmaceuticals and medical equipment.
I’m fine with eliminating any laws or regulations that force that subsidization as well.
Again this is what everybody thinks, until they or their families need medical care. Did you and your wife give birth to children in the hospital? Were they Immunized? Have you been to the pharmacy?
Yes. Yes. Yes. Also had a dead guy’s ligament put into my knee last year.
Anyway you slice it that’s a taxpayer subsidy.
I’m a taxpayer and a consumer of these services. I’m fine with getting rid of those subsidies. I don’t know how I could be any more clear. I do not want you or anyone else to have coercive or direct control over my body.
Have you used the hospital for the birth of your children?
the medical industry is far too regulated, even prior to obamacare. if you stripped away all the tons and tons of needless regulations, you would have drastically reduced healthcare costs. largely related to this is that you would have a medical industry that focuses more on nutrition, psychological therapy like yoga/art/music, and less of a focus on solving everything through prescriptions.
Have fun with the increased crime rate, your increased costs for policing, your individual stress and its health effects on you and your family … and everything else that follows that line of individualistic thinking.
I can’t really explain how little stress I have. It’s just not something I pay attention to.I guess we could take a look at crime-rates in “progressive” areas vs “conservative” areas of the U.S. if you’d like….but you might not want to.
Clearly other people being “given things” stresses you.Look at crime-rates in progression vs conversative areas? You’re spitting out any argument that at the top looks like it has relevancy – which it doesn’t. That’s just a stupid. Progressives move into downtown core areas, higher density populated areas — and they actually deal and work on problems, whereas conservatives keep to themselves, like the status quo because it’s comfortable – and perhaps could extend that to don’t like sharing.
OK then, I’m happy to review any evidence you have that proves YOUR assertion that populations with stronger individualist policies have a higher crime rate than populations that embrace collectivist policies. Apparently it’s unfair to actually look at the crime-rates of those populations, so I’m interested in your methodology.
I didn’t make the assertion either way that crime rate is higher in either group.
Then why do I need to prepare for more crime in my individualistic society?
I’ve said this so many times before — because people who are sick and don’t have access to help will become desperate, and they will find / steal / take the resources they need from others. Do you not understand that? Why can’t you absorb that into your understanding?
You’re assuming static wealth, which is typically the false premise of most liberal thinking. People in individualistic societies tend to create significantly more wealth… because, you know, they aren’t creating it for their collective master.
take a look at the global crime rate — more commonly referred to as war. war can only exist in the context of big government. those who support big government invariably support contracts enforced by centralized violence instead of voluntary agreements.
What was that Zappa saying about government being the entertainment dept of the military complex?Something like that…
yup — unfortunately far too true…..
There are lots of countries with big government that don’t conduct wars.
You’ll notice those countries tend to be very small. Big government is not an idea that scales well, as history suggests.
isn’t that mathematically impossible – don’t you need the risk pool as a way to measure your individual risk in the first place?
Sure and companies can do that mathematically and competitively once gov’t stops mandating the pool rules.
how from a mathematical perspective?The first insurance fund was relatively general ( paying out in the advent of the death of a minister in the church of scotland to their widows and orphans.) It made a profit quickly. I don’t get the feeling that if it got more exclusive, the insurance fund would perform well.Basic portfolio theory suggests taking on everyone if your an insrance company
Of course… You just don’t take them on at the same price. It would work exactly like almost every other type of insurance, including life insurance.The younger and healthier you are, the less you pay for protection. No artificial groupings mandated by the State
He side-steps everything contrary to his own statements, or takes a very shallow view at best.
i have to call this beef a draw. i side with rich on the nutrition matters, and the statement that we are all superman/woman — right up until the moment we’re not. but socialized medicine is a problem and i don’t think extending it even further to the nutritional choices of others, however poor and misguided they may be, is advantageous for society.
Why does the person have cancer? Pollutants in our environment? Part genetics, sure – though everything else can have an impact too – including stress levels in a person.
I don’t know. It’s terrible and not completely avoidable. That’s why they should purchase insurance prior to getting it.
So if everyone should have insurance, and through economies of scale making cost per unit / coverage overall cheaper, why not cover everyone through tax?
Not everyone should have insurance.Each person individually should make that risk/reward determination based on their own financial situation, health expectations and probabilities, and cost of insurance.Why should LeBron James be forced to pay millions for health insurance he doesn’t need?Forcing everyone to participate via tax might be the least efficient possibility. I mean… The IRS alone has 90k paychecks to write!
You don’t take logic into account when you reply … LeBron James wouldn’t need to put millions into insurance if everyone was paying into it — hence, economies of scale …
Funny, because between Obamacare, Medicare and Medicaid, he IS forced to put millions into health insurance that he does not need (and they still don’t have enough funding).
You have never bought group healthcare.I have. I just renewed my companies Blue Cross Blue Shield policy yesterday. I have been buying group health insurance for twenty years.You want to talk about who subsidizes who? Lets go down that road.If I hire somebody that I know has had Hodgkins, my rate is going to go up, because when they fill out their pre-existing and past conditions as a requirement to go on my policy my experience rate is going to go up. I hired him anyway. He almost didn’t apply because he knew that I knew his past condition from a past company.You don’t want to subsidize them do you? And you don’t. But lets keep going down that road. Let’s say your kids have a medical condition like Type 1 diabetes or Duchane’s, I have friends that are in that position. Think its easy to change jobs?
That’s based on the U.S. current system, in Canada it’s much different – and in many other countries, too – and we’re doing fine.
Its what I have to work with, and I can tell you Obama Care isn’t going to make it better, its going to make it worse.
I don’t know how Obama Care is structured and if it’s similar to Canadian or other systems, so not sure it can be compared.
Don’t worry… we’re still finding out what’s in it down here. “Intentions” were good though…so what could go wrong?
From my understanding ObamaCare that’s currently in place isn’t what was envisioned first, and therefore was influenced / changed by for-profit business interests – so you can place your blame, anger, and distaste on them …
Actually, I’ll place my blame, anger and distaste on the people that voted and signed it into law. That’s a little more….logical.
No it’s not more logical – that’s laziness on your part and not making people accountable.If someone pays someone else to do something, is it only the person who does it who’s responsible or accountable?In the case of a crime, paying someone to murder someone else – it in fact is a crime, and both would be charged with a crime.Your logic is so narrow, self-serving to make it sound like you have arguments that make sense and win. It’s pathetic.
Summary of your stance: Liberal politicians allowed themselves to be bribed or coerced by for-profit organizations to pass bad law. Zero conservative politicians participated, evidenced by the fact that zero voted for the bill.Do I have that right?
Andy – I don’t think you are addressing the real point. Surely the important thing is not whether this or that politician from this or that party did or didn’t vote one way or another on this specific bill, but rather that our entire system is so corrupted by huge amounts of money promoting the interests of their paymasters that it is virtually impossible for anything to get through congress on remotely rational grounds. Lobbying of this kind is a profound distortion of any popular will. A recent example is the attempts at fun reform where, irrespective of where you may fall on the issue, it is surely crazy that views held by a sizeable majority of the population are ignored by bought and paid for politicians acting within an institutional structure that makes it easy for determined minorities to block proposals.You may presently be enraged about craven liberals and others may be enraged about obstructionist conservative fanatics, but surely all of us should be concerned about how easy it is to make any kind of informed debate impossible and unworkable ‘compromises’ the norm.
I’m really quite happy that it is extremely difficult to get anything through congress.
The problem is that it is not so much that it is difficult to to get anything through congress as that it is difficult to get anything good through congress.The whole process could have been designed by an evil genius to ensure that only the most complex, broken compromises will prevail.
It’s not difficult if you have money / profits to spend, which the big industrial complexes have.
Coerced and bribed? Proof of that please?It’s more likely is the other side bullied and leveraged whatever else in order to have changes happen they wanted — why else would they change from what they originally wanted and believed would be most helpful?FYI – Just doing a quick search shows you pull whatever shit out of your ass whether true or not to back up your claims – http://theweek.com/article/… — sounds good on the surface to the 3 people who upvoted you, until a quick Google search immediately says contrary to the validity of half of your reply.
You’re the one saying that for – profit organizations influenced the legislation heavily.Only liberals voted for it. Not one conservative went along with it. Zero.How can that law possibly be the fault of anyone else? If ONE liberal senator opposes it that Christmas Eve… It would not have passed.And in your view it’s the “fault of the other side” that it’s such shitty law?Amazing.
“for – profit organizations influenced the legislation heavily.” — it was whoever leveraged changes to happen who were influenced by for-profit organizations, you’re ignoring conservatives as options in that group — I wonder why that is … hmmm…….That link I just put up is at least a conservative who voted for it.You didn’t even fucking listen or take into account anything I said in your response to me – you’re going in circles. You’re a waste of time interacting with. You clearly don’t have the ability to learn new thinking – I wouldn’t even be so kind to call it stubbornness.
Dude, John Roberts is on the Supreme Court.You really have no clue what you’re talking about. Holy shit.Not one conservative voted to make Obamacare a law.
people have no idea how bad obamacare is in almost all regards. it is an employment disaster in an already weak employment market.
Lots of people that sign backs of paychecks not fronts of paychecks have no idea.
As someone that does sign front of checks the Affordable Care Act = NOT! Just received this nice little note in the mail last week from my insurer.
See my note below. Email me. Lets compare letters.
What the hell here is mine. Demanding to know how much me and each employee makes.
thanks for taking the time to share that, very interesting!
How does that compare to places say like in Canada?
Backs of paychecks vs. fronts of paychecks… what a great line.
it’s the most onerous tax on the working poor that could ever have been imagined. absolutely stupid and will have us all begging for a nation-wide gov’t healthcare plan – which I never imagined I would beg for. sorry, this has nothing to do with french fries, but I could not help myself.
Truer words never spoken. There will be moderate Democrats calling for repeal within 12-18 months.
Turns out that health insurance is something I know a great deal about. my younger sister is a type one diabetic. She is paying close to $1800 a month for her insurance. The distinction here is that this is a childhood disease the genetic disease one left chance to randomness
Wondering if it’s possible to setup legal entities and simply shift the people with higher risk to a plan which is administered by the different legal entity. One end of the insurance horse doesn’t know what the other is doing necessarily.For example, Phil 2 LLC has 10 employees and it hires the high risk employee then the rates go up for 10 not for 30 employed by Phil 1 LLC. [1]Forgetting for a second that it’s not legit I would think there would be a way to create this to have a leg to stand on and to avoid any potential stick that the insurance companies could throw.I remember back in the 70’s Nixon had wage controls and you couldn’t give people raises. So my dad said “no problem we will just give them a new job” and get by that restriction. (Most likely he didn’t even do that he probably just figured nothing would happen or something like that I don’t recall exactly.)[1] Back when we used to get audited for workman’s comp the big question was whether people worked machines (dangerous) or worked in the office. The rates differed. So we did the most with trying to get people some office work in order to change the % and save on the workman’s comp rates.
Nope. Send me an email at philipsugar at the google service and I will send you the letter Blue Cross Blue Shield sent me and then make a new comment.
An interesting question is to what extent Bloombergism (e.g., banning large sodas) is motivated by class snobbery versus concerns about public health. Wealthy elites look down on smoking and fast food, so they’re in favor of taxing and regulating them. Meanwhile, there’s a meningitis outbreak among promiscuous gays in New York. Is Bloomberg going to crack down on gay sex clubs? Anyone going to advocate raising health insurance premiums on gay men?
You nailed my point. Once you start down that road you better be willing to go to the end.
I think it boils down to a hunger for more power……this hinger is of course ultimately insatiable.
dinner: flank steak, roasted vegetables, a syrah from the Russian River Valley, homemade limoncello.
dig
Homemade limoncello? Now I’m jaleous.You have Italian in your family or nice friends?
how do you make homemade limoncello?
http://www.huffingtonpost.c…;)
I’ll have the same please, and I’ll top you dijon mustard on the side.
I wish I liked that, I really do.
I’ve always felt that at least one of the reasons people binge eat is because of the ridicule they get in public from how they eat. Commenting on someone’s eating habits is a knee jerk reaction that says “I draw the line elsewhere” as opposed to “I am perfect in how I eat”.My dad never drank at all growing up (not a jewish thing generally the liquor practically didn’t exist in our house). In retrospect though it may have been a really good idea if he actually did because the thought of that bourbon while driving home as well as how it would have taken the edge off him so he wouldn’t have been so nasty would have been have improved the atmosphere.My personal pet peeve is people who use sugar substitutes (like aspartame) to avoid literally 15 calories in a sugar packet.
You’re so right. People who hide their “sins” get really, really excessive with their sins in private. That’s why I don’t trust anyone whose vices I don’t know.
So true. I was staying at the Wyndam now Hilton Annotole in Dallas. Came in late wanted to get a burger and a beer at the bar.Closed…..WTF? They served me and my cohort a burger and had us sit over in the corner table of the closed bar. General Manager came over and gave us each a beer in a Coke cup. Huh???Big Christian convention. I said wow this must really hurt your profitability which I know is how he gets paid. He said nope mini-bar and adult movies in the rooms are off the charts which is why I’ll gladly give you free beer.
First, that’s a great story.It’s a personal hobby of mine when things like that happen to extract several ounces of flesh in return. I mean seriously you operate a hotel and knowingly close down the bar to serve a select group of people and still book rooms expecting that people will be ok with it? I would have freaked out (after being nice of course – as always). And I’m not even a drinker that much it just pisses me off. [1]Lesson learned though is that the manager was proactive which more or less takes the wind from someone’s sails. Hard after someone offers you an olive branch to do the nasty on them. It’s like a dog with their belly all splayed out.[1] I’m going to a wedding this weekend where the bride is vegetarian. So all of the food is vegetarian. Certainly her right to do that, but since we are schlepping all the way up and staying in a hotel for two nights it would be nice to recognize that not everyone wants to eat vegetarian for dinner. Meanwhile she is marrying someone of a different religion and she is ok with that and that’s actually a much larger problem than serving meat at your wedding!
Ha! Palate prude. Guilty! I just spent several days in the midwest with some of my family there and thought I was going to DIE! Although unless they are reading AVC no one would know how miserable I was. Much of my prudishness comes from having a child with a gastrointesinal disease and as a result doing a lot of reading on nutrition and in the process discovering that I am intolerant to certain foods. Certain aches and pains that I thought I just had to live with disappeared when I eliminated gluten.I’m sort of wanting your dinner for breakfast right now, except medium instead of medium rare, no bread (i.e., gluten) and bourbon neat.
You’re only a prude if you say it to try to shame others. Sounds like you’re far from it, as expected Donna!
gluten free rocks! i’m fortunate that it is not a biological necessity for me, but i tried it and have come to prefer it. i’m not sure if the theory that gluten consumption inhibits nutrient absorption is true (since there are people on both sides, as usual), but i believe it. now when i have bread i feel a bit uneasy.
i am a palate prude, but a libertarian first — and so, to each their own. i’m waiting for someone to drop the socialized healthcare argument to justify palate attacks though……EDIT: lol i just scrolled down and turns out it’s already on! hahahha
ive got a big bag of kale chips for you when you’re done with all that. 😉
never had but I’m open
nothing beats the nutritional high of fresh kale!
in was half joking, but andyswan:disqus ‘s open minded response ruined it! ;)ps. there are actually some great kale chips out there, my wife has bought them at our local king farmers market http://www.portlandfarmersm… #pimpingportlandedit : these http://www.pacifickale.com/
with you!
I make my own – soo good
thats right on!
it is super easy – coat kale with olive oil, put on salt, roast at 350 until dried out, eat :)Given the actual price of the chips, this is also the cheaper method – and great in the winter (when kale is freshest) as it warms your house.
Interesting. This with the coming of Google Maps where restaurants and so forth will pop up on the map leads to organizing drop boxes to share with others.
You’re a full service venture capitalist: “You want fries with that seed investment?”Is your list available as an RSS feed, a “Fred’s French Fries Feed” as it were?
As long as they’re sweet potato fries, I’m in.
I yam what I yam.
So yammy.
i’ll see you and up the bidding – “Fred’s Feature Friday French Fries Feed”.
If you think about it, french fries lovers are a Large Network of Engaged Users. Fred is just eating his own dog food.
parmesan truffle fries
I love this (and french fries), but so wish I could also add a note when saving something to a list. After a while it’s easy to forget why you wanted to put something on your own radar (or someone else’s for that matter).
You can, as a tip. See pic from my coffee list.
Right – but since tips are searchable on check-in I usually leave a tip only after I’ve been somewhere. When I’m adding something to a list it’s often so I would know to go there later. A note would thus have a different purpose than a tip.I’ll check out the cortado next time I’m in Toronto.
I see your point. A note is more private than public. Let me know if you’re in Toronto!
I use that feature with lists & it’s very well done – easy UX & intuitive.Fred- you didn’t mention that there’s a “re-save” feature from your friends’ Saves, similar in a way to a Tumblr re-blog. So, if I follow you & see that you saved a list, I can re-save it as my own list. That’s good for virality.But where they could take this further is in providing a bubbled-up Explore on the best Lists within Foursquare. And going one step further, allow some monetization to occur on those lists & share revenues which the author so they are incented & like on YouTube. I’m sure frying oil companies want to (natively) advertise on French fries lists, etc.
French fries lovers are a very large network of engaged users. Talk about eating your own dog food!!
Quick scan of http://gawk.it/search?forum… shows many, many posts about Foursquare with no disclosure statement.So why one now?Guessing we’ll see a Foursquare deal announcement within 4 months….
Full disclosure: stuff I build can be used for good, bad, fun, and sometimes even serious work…apparently it can also be used to surface information that comes back to potentially bite you in the ass when least expected… 🙂
wondering about that too. good eye!
Well, Marissa is on a shopping spree.
Hmmmm! That might be brilliant.
Was going to reply “girl’s got game” but then realized that she literally does — just acquired a game company.
everyone here knows we are investors in Foursquare. but that is not the case with Montmartre. so i wanted to disclose that. and while i was at it, i added a few things. seems to have spiced up the comments a bit.
spiced up….I think the trio (andy, matt and kid) totally FRIED up the comment section.
YUP, It is raining in CT this SAT am, so I saw all the total comment # from yesterday’s blog so I figured I was missing something and decided to read them from the beginning…..not sure what I got into here.
& that you liked French Fries 🙂 – good disclosure…Re: news coming from 4sq – I think you recently wrote about a debt deal they did a month or so ago…so I figure they are good for now.
This is the stuff that makes me love Foursquare. I always got why people would want to check in but didn’t find it important for myself. But I started using it because of your enthusiasm for it, and now I check in everywhere I go so that I can read people’s comments and tips.Next time I’m in the city with my hubby, I’m gonna check micro-brewery lists. Knowing *who* made the list is very important.
Really should be able to pre-authorize a beer (or fries) purchase for a friend….no notification until they check-in though.”You just checked in at [expensive fru-fru trendy place]….and Kirsten bought you a bottle of wine with this note: “I knew you guys would make it here…enjoy the Pinot we were raving about!”
I love that idea.
This is a good feature and looks like an evolution of the mobile feature where you can mark places to try (I forget the feature name now). I love Instapaper for that reason. Out of curiosity, do the Foursquare guys give you regular updates on their product roadmap or is that something they just present at board meetings?That is great that you and Gotham Gal invested in a Montmartre. Tien Ho is a great chef and I always wanted to try Ma Peche when he was there. Yes, fries are great and it’s hard to go back to “regular” fries when you’ve had great frites.
I am upvoting you just because you actually commented on the initial intent of the post!
Thanks!
Just saw where french fries is ‘trending’ at A VC.
Just did a quick word count. On a post about 4sq, out of 254 comments, 46 mentions of 4sq/Foursquare, 36 mentions of fries, 10 mentions of obamacare, 5 bourbon.AVC, the phenomenon. It’s a wonder Fred doesn’t pull his hair out and yet he will be back tomorrow. I hope.(not all unique comments- several multiple mentions in some comments, this comment not included in count)
I am here now
haha… I meant with a new post.
This blog continues to soar to new heights.Maybe Goggle Analytics can make the connection between the different ‘mentions’.Mac
In New Jerseyhttp://www.ruttshut.com/That oil has been on since the 40’s
Organizing and interacting with lists is IMHO one of the most important capabilities ushered in by the web and mobile, especially in the real world. Unfortunately websites are not embedding functions like location micro data formatting or save to lists, whether its powered by Foursquare, Waze, Google Maps or some other company.I just wish there were a way to use that plugin to add an entire list off a single page instead of just a single venue.
Never have done this. Love french fries as well. At Hot Doug’s in Chicago they fry them in duck fat on the weekends. Lately, the whole Canadian poutine craze has hit the hipster crowd in Chicago. Apparently a great “after out all night” snack. Never had it yet since they don’t make enough Lipitor in the world to help me after I eat it, but I hear it’s awesome.
So this is foursquare.com from my laptopa) It shows me in the house I live inb) It shows me the lake I swim inc) It shows me the restaurant where I eat the fish that live in the lakeAs an added bonus…It says I have never been where I liveand I have never eaten in the restaurant up the roadMaybe its just me – but I don’t see the attraction.Maybe it has to do with network effects 😉
You have to use it to get value out of it.
Fred, My comment was slightly tongue in cheek, but my point is that it is as strong as the user density.I’m at O’Reilly Fluent Conf next week in SF and there I am sure it will help me find a restaurant or two, but in day to day life, “checking in” seems to only add be a task for which there is little benefit – I know where I have been rather better than any app will ever be able to explain.If I lived in a dense urban environment I am sure I would make more use of it. And certainly if in NY I will try the *chips* at Montmartre without any feeling of martyrdom !!!
Well its becoming huge internationally so I expect it will have the necessary density in any urban location in the not too distant future
Look forward to it 😉
i’m an avid user of this feature, but everything for me gets dropped into one list. would be cool if foursquare automatically tagged/created sub-lists (eg, french restaurants, cheap eats, etc). to do that manually when they have so much data feels a little insane. would also love a bulk save feature – eg, a friend forwards me a list of restaurants and i can forward the email to foursquare and have it parse & save the full list.
Freedom Fries…you love freedom fries.
I think Foursquares biggest problem is not use, it’s purpose. Location is a pretty nifty concept – though fairly complicated from a search point of view. They are already using elasticsearch, which is pretty awesome. But, I would think that it wouldn’t be “that” hard to show some interesting analytics that could be useful for your average user. I’m thinking things like, timeline trends of popularity, maybe demographics with timelines, stuff like that. As a developer, it’s not really clear what foursquare is trying to do or how it will make my life better / easier. Building on the above concept, once that is nailed, they could build a dashboard for business with some hardcore analytics on a subscription basis.I sort of view foursquare as having two potential use cases that I’m not sure are being exploited1.) I have lots of venues to go to (say, bars), which one should I go to and2.) I have a storefront that I want to make better or attract a different demographic, how can I achieve that?To me, it’s just not that interesting to know which of my friends are where and when. It is interesting to know what my choices are and how to make a more informed choice.
It has made my life much better on more than one occasion. Like Twitter, you have to start using it to get it.I recently found a tip about Penn Station that was practically life-changing (if you go to Penn Station a lot, you know what I mean). Getting in-the-moment tips on what to order or where to grab a great beer nearby — written by people I know, trust or admire — makes my life better.
I have to say that my Foursquare love is growing. When you blogged about the explore feature, some commented that they don’t want to lose serendipity and I can understand that but sometimes serendipity is a luxury I can’t afford. Twice, I had an hour or so for breakfast — no time for serendipity — in an unfamiliar location during my daughter’s track meets and found keepers on Foursquare.I’ve also landed at places because people whose tastes I trust/admire checked in there. Umami Burger at Fred Segal for one. ;)The more that Foursquare can become self-contained the better — I’ve been impressed with the addition of maps/navigation and menus. The save feature is a good one that I will need to use more often. So far, there is a place in Philly that I have to try next time I’m there thanks to @kirklove:disqus and thanks to you (Fred) I will never lack for places to meet for coffee when visiting NYC.
You made my day with this comment
Actually @kirklove:disqus places in both Cambridge and Philly.
this is probably my all-time favorite feature/fun friday post…..haahahaha…….lunar eclipse tomorrow, got people on edge
Nice feature! I’ve used Yelp’s bookmarks feature for a while, but I find it fairly underwhelming. That said, the fact that I can do non-food items in there makes it sufficient for my needs right now.
Foursquare’s a piece of crap that is irrelevant among everyone in their 20s and 30s I know. And irrelevance is a death sentence for an ad-supported consumer tech company. Why continue to keep up the charade that Foursquare matters or will even be around this time next year, at the cost of what otherwise is great credibility. I know, you’ll probably lob empty attack bombs like you did last week at another Internet startup I ready about. Shame on you Fred Wilson.If politicians can squander their political capital foolishly (Obama on Obamacare, Bill Clinton on Hillary Care, George W. Bush on Iraq War), well so too can VC investors. And you’re sadly blowing it Fred..
i appreciate your advice. thanks for sharing it.
Adding now. Thanks Alex