Sunday, March 30, 2014

11808: Old White Guys And Tech.

From The New York Post…

Hey, Marc, listen up to the ol’ guys

By Jonathan Trugman

So what is it about “Old White Men” that has Silicon Valley’s senior hoodie in a knot? I mean, I guess being old and white and a man does make you stand out in Silicon Valley, but that’s no reason for hard feelings or snide comments.

What if — despite being old, white and male — you were also brilliant and worth oh, say, $24 billion or $63 billion, making you one of the 25 richest people in the world?

Surely that would engender a healthy degree of respect, if nothing else, from the Silicon Valley crowd.

Two weeks ago, Marc Andreessen— the browser bad boy — criticized New York’s own 78-year-old Carl Icahn, who had the nerve to point out that several of eBay’s board members, including Andreessen, have way too many conflicts and self-dealings.

Last week, the cranky 42-year-old Andreessen, successful and worth $700 million himself, moved up the Forbes list to swipe at the 83-year-old Warren Buffett who has repeatedly criticized bitcoin, an Andreessen investment and obsession.

Whether you believe bitcoin is a fad, a hackers cult or even a “crypto-virtual currency,” there is no need to attack some of the best minds in the world just because they are older and see things differently from the way you do.

That said, when Buffett — who knows a thing or two about currencies — calls bitcoin a “mirage,” no one can dismiss his assessment, not even Andreessen.

So when Andreessen tees off on Buffett with, “Track record of old white men who don’t understand tech — crapping on tech they don’t understand — still at 100 percent.”

The thing is, last week the IRS declared bitcoin was not a currency but a property.

So Buffett was right.

In the meantime, bitcoin has fallen below $500, 60 percent down from its mythical January high.

With age comes wisdom. Show some respect.

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