@Schwartzesque The ghost writer has clients he loves writing for, but sometimes will fire clients — he doesn’t want this second job to take up too much space.
He says he doesn’t want to feel pressure to produce, or for it to interfere with his own company.
@Schwartzesque So why are these VCs willing to pay so much? To understand that, the ghost writer says you have to understand the evolution of Silicon Valley and how startups get funded.
@Schwartzesque Ghostwriting wasn't something this ghost writer knew anything about. He was just building relationships and using those relationships in his day job.
@Schwartzesque As a ghostwriter, he never logs in to a client's Twitter account. The ghost writer uses a software tool where he drafts tweets, the client sees them, and the client can then choose to send them if and when they want.
@Schwartzesque The ghost writer prides himself on not sticking his foot in his mouth.
There is a set of topics that no matter what is said about them, it leads to people being angry in the replies. And VCs will often choose to engage in those third-rail topics.
@Schwartzesque The ghost writer says taking risks can lead to greater attentional rewards, but the precise level of risk he will take depends on the client.
It's a question of what brand they're trying to build.
@Schwartzesque Most VCs who are playing the content game employ a bunch of writers. The ghost writer says he knows people who make almost seven figures doing this.
He also says he’s not there yet. But he definitely makes more at this than at his day job.
@Schwartzesque The ghost writer says it's important to him that he does all of the ghostwriting work himself, as a side hustle. Otherwise it would feel as if he were stealing from his day job.
He has dozens of employees, and owes them his full attention.
If only the rest of the world shared Zuckerberg's excitement. Last year Meta spent $10 billion developing the metaverse, but it has little to show for it, Lopez writes.
Rogers wanted to hear what these shows have to say about the VC mindset.
They're designed to let tech investors and founders control their own narratives, but they also promise a kind of education — in investing, in entrepreneurship, in business.
Rogers says that he did learn a bunch of stuff he is unlikely ever to have the opportunity to operationalize, like how to structure a marketing division, or how to think about assembling an investment portfolio as a VC.
🚀 Tech titans are pulling back on more experimental projects and "moonshot" ideas — or assigning them to the graveyard entirely — amid a gloomy economic climate. ⬇️
🌕 @Microsoft has scaled back the ambitions of its moonshots division, @facebook has shrunk its experimental products group, and @Google has slashed projects that don't align with its CEO's broader mission to pursue artificial intelligence.
📊 Leaders blame market uncertainties — but insiders also point to a new era of Big Tech that marks a shift away from risk-taking founders and toward Wall Street-appeasing pragmatism.
Over the years, big tech and social media have often stumped Congress.
Many tech leaders, tech-policy experts, and lawmakers themselves argue that the increasingly advanced ages of lawmakers is partly to blame for its inadequate efforts to regulate. ⬇️ businessinsider.com/techs-beef-run…
As communications and technology grow more complex, Congress has been slow to craft policy that addresses urgent public concerns including data privacy, digital disinformation, net neutrality, and cryptocurrency. businessinsider.com/techs-beef-run…
Making laws that can affect technology can be complicated, confusing even the most tech-savvy people. The tech sector has grown increasingly concerned about legislators’ lack of understanding when it comes to the industry’s needs. businessinsider.com/techs-beef-run…
In July, Insider exclusively reported that Elon Musk, 51, had twins in November with Shivon Zilis, a 36-year-old executive at his brain-computer-interface company, Neuralink.
The Tesla founder has another set of twins, Vivian and Griffin, 18, and triplets, Kai, Saxon, and Damian, 16, from his first marriage, to the author Justine Musk.