John Battelle
Entrepreneur, journalist, professor, and author. Founder of Wired, Federated Media, and NewCo.
Discussion
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John Battelle
@johnbattelle · Founder NewCo
Hey Product Hunt folk! My name is John Battelle, Founder and CEO of NewCo. Over the years I've pretty much focused on one thing: The story of technology and its impact on society. Along the way I've written a book, started six companies, taught at Berkeley, given the commencement address at my elementary school (and my University!), lived mostly in the SF Bay Area, and raised a family. I love this industry, and it f*cking drives me crazy too. Ask me anything!
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Erik Torenberg
@eriktorenberg · Former Product Hunt
Hey John. Welcome :)
1) Why did you start NewCo and what are you hoping to accomplish? We can't wait to participate :)
2) The adblocker debate - where do you stand on it and how do you explain it to the layman/woman?
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John Battelle
@johnbattelle · Founder NewCo
@eriktorenberg NewCo is really about a huge, sweeping narrative in the culture of business, and the business of culture. As with nearly everything I've started or been part of starting, it's a company that has a big story at its core. Like Wired, it's emergence is due to large societal shifts (for Wired, it was the realization that technology was going to change just about everything in society). For NewCo, it's about creating a new culture of business - we're shifting away from mass consumption-based capitalism - the primary model for the past 50 years - and into a more conscious, soulful approach to business. Profit was the central driver in the old model, but in what's emerging, profit is table stakes. We can and we must expect more from our companies.
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John Battelle
@johnbattelle · Founder NewCo
@eriktorenberg I've been deeply involved in this discussion as you might expect. I am the Chair of an adtech company (sovrn) and wrestled with this issue on the IAB board some five years ago. I think the eruption of ad blocking as a major story (thanks to Apple) reflects a healthy movement toward a saner approach to the social contract between publisher, advertiser, and audience. Ideally it will drive a leaner, more thoughtful ecosystem around value exchange between all parties. I'll be posting on it soon.
Erik Torenberg
@eriktorenberg · Former Product Hunt
@johnbattelle @eriktorenberg where is the big controversy in this right now?
Benjamin Mock
@benjaminmock
I'm going to ask a @tferriss question which I think shows quite much of a persons habits and character:
What does your morning routine look like? How do you structure your first 60-90 minutes each day?
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John Battelle
@johnbattelle · Founder NewCo
@benjaminmock Yeah, I'm not much of a routine guy, I am afraid. Too much travel. However, I do have a few things that are critical in the morning, no matter where I am. First, I check in. Did I get enough sleep? Do I have time to workout or practice (yoga)? If not, I usually reschedule my day so I can take care of myself. That is primary. I can't be a good father, husband, CEO, or anything else if I don't have time for that.
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John Battelle
@johnbattelle · Founder NewCo
@benjaminmock Second, I have a greens drink. It centers me - more of a ritual than anything else. And then a Blue Bottle drip coffee. And then, it's a half hour of email, and if it's a good day, some writing. Then into the office.
Melissa Joy Kong
@melissajoykong · Content, Product Hunt
Who is the most impressive person you've ever met?
What do you think that person can teach the rest of us about living highly impactful lives?
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John Battelle
@johnbattelle · Founder NewCo
@melissajoykong Wow. I've been lucky to meet and interact with a lot of amazing folks. This is a really hard question. Probably Elon Musk. I remember asking him on stage how on earth he managed to actually *do* what most of us just talked about doing during pot-fueled riff sessions at college. He kind of chuckled and said something about not sleeping a lot.
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John Battelle
@johnbattelle · Founder NewCo
@melissajoykong Thinking over this, I might also argue it was Bill Clinton. Right after all the blue dress drama. He was so damn focused, on point, smart, lucid, powerful. He utterly charmed my wife (who wasn't in the mood to be charmed by him as you might expect).
Erik Torenberg
@eriktorenberg · Former Product Hunt
What does the playbook look like for expanding to a new NewCo city?
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John Battelle
@johnbattelle · Founder NewCo
@eriktorenberg The key in each city is the local partner - they have the connections, the network, the knowledge. We run the NewCos in the Bay Area, NY and LA, places where we have strong networks. For other cities, we partner, they are our lifeblood.
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John Battelle
@johnbattelle · Founder NewCo
@eriktorenberg Just about every city is a NewCo city, I think. Cities are the "tangled banks" where connections between people are made, they are the places we create our largest problems, and the places where we solve those problems. NewCos are not just tech companies, they are in every category across every part of the world. Retail, manufacturing, healthcare, energy, you name it, new kinds of companies are solving interesting problems in new ways.
Ben Tossell
@bentossell · Community Lead, Product Hunt
@johnbattelle What would you do with 1 Billion dollars?
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John Battelle
@johnbattelle · Founder NewCo
@bentossell I'd invest in companies I thought could change the world in a positive way. And I'd probably start a foundation with a new approach to philanthropy. Wealth is a huge responsibility, I think.
Erik Torenberg
@eriktorenberg · Former Product Hunt
@johnbattelle @bentossell what would that approach to philanthropy be?
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John Battelle
@johnbattelle · Founder NewCo
@eriktorenberg @bentossell Not sure, would have to really study it. I know others have done the same - from Gates to Omidyar to Theil...and with mixed results. But what an honor to be able to think about such a topic.
Emily Hodgins
@ems_hodge · Community and Marketing, Product Hunt
Hi John! Thanks for joining us today 😄What has been your proudest moment to date in your career?
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John Battelle
@johnbattelle · Founder NewCo
Hey @Emily, thanks for the question. Proudest moment? Launch, it's usually the launch! When Wired came back off the presses, and I held it in my hands. When we ran the first ads on blogs - cleared by the author of the site - at Federated Media. When we launched the first integration of brands on Twitter in 2008. When we pulled off the first NewCo in SF!
Ryan Hoover
@rrhoover · Founder, Product Hunt
John! Welcome. I recently caught a summary of @karaswisher's interview with Buzzfeed's @peretti where he shared some interesting data on where their traffic is coming from. TL;DR: only 23% is directly to their site and the rest is distributed across other platforms, most notably Facebook, Snapchat, and YouTube.
As @startupljackson referred to in a recent tweet, is this the future of media? How do you see media and traditional publishing changing in 5 years?
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John Battelle
@johnbattelle · Founder NewCo
@rrhoover yes, platforms are the new reality for all publishers. The Washington Post just announced all of its articles will be published on Facebook Instant for example. In the NewCo media model (we're launching a publishing platform in 2016), we plan on being platform agnostic. However, it's critical that you maintain a solid home base on the open web. You never want to be entirely beholden to a platform's whims.
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John Battelle
@johnbattelle · Founder NewCo
@rrhoover In five years, I think the open web will be back, stronger than ever, and the platforms will have far more dependable business models for publishers. Right now, the ground rules of how you do business with them are not well established.
Lalo
@lalo
What are your thoughts regarding search engines being more transparent with the results they deliver? Specially with the power that comes by tailoring search results to influence people like shown in this article http://www.dailydot.com/politics... Are we expected to see more regulation regarding search engines?
Melissa Joy Kong
@melissajoykong · Content, Product Hunt
Building a media company is thought by many to be a financially challenging (if not unsustainable) task. You've started a few pretty big ones :-) What are your thoughts on the viability of content-first businesses?
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John Battelle
@johnbattelle · Founder NewCo
@melissajoykong Media companies are insane to do. Just about as crazy as an on demand startup or any other! Most fail. You have to be passionate about it, to the point of ignoring the obvious obstacles. You have to be convinced the story you are telling is one that must be heard.