As a graduate student in philosophy, David Weinberger wanted to write books about human nature. He eventually realized he could reach far more people through internet software platforms. The ability for scale to impact huge numbers of people over time made him believe it had massive potential. But as platforms grow and negative emotions like greed gain a foothold, the lowest common denominator often sets the tone.
A re-broadcast of our episode featuring the audio version of Greylock general partner Reid Hoffman's essay, "Human Nature in Vices and Virtues: An Adam Smith Approach to Building Internet Ecosystems and Communities," published on the Knight Foundation's website. Hoffman discusses how some of the most popular websites leverage some of humankind's less desirable attributes(e.g. "the 7 deadly sins"), and how entrepreneurs and investors can think about building based on virtuous traits. Essay read by Greylock marketing partner Elisa Schreiber.
You can read the essay here:
https://knightfoundation.org/human-nature-in-vices-and-virtues-an-adam-smith-approach-to-building-internet-ecosystems-and-communities/
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