Internet Advertising Pioneer: Kevin O’Connor, Founder of DoubleClick and FindTheBest (Part 7)

Sramana: We have seen several bubbles in our industry. First the dot com, second Web 2.0, and now the app craze. Investors made very irrational decisions in each of these bubbles. When will they learn? Why don’t people ever learn?

Kevin O’Connor: There are probably a couple of reasons why. I am fairly skeptical of technology even though I love it. People want to believe it is the panacea for all problems. The masses think every new technology will change the world and solve our problems. You and I are skeptical. Fortunes are made in bubbles if you can time it right.

Sramana: Where do you see the most exciting things today in the technology industry?

Kevin O’Connor: I think vertical search is huge. These are data-driven sites. I still think it is a new industry. There is so much data out there. I think vertical search is very much in its infancy.

Sramana: In 2007 I coined an equation for Web 3.0, which is context, content, commerce and community plus vertical search plus personalization. That is still not happening. One of the really interesting instances is Blue Nile. They do a very nice job of combining all of those vectors. By and large, I do not see that rich, integrated user experience.

Kevin O’Connor: You should check out what we are doing. I split sites into community and utility. Companies like us, Google and Kayak are not community sites, they are utility sites.

Sramana: The community is also important. Whose judgment am I depending on? I would like a constrained, controlled community whose taste I concur with.

Kevin O’Connor: Then we completely agree. What we wrestle with is how to balance what the community does not take over. How do you handle the person who gives biased information? That is a good formula.

Sramana: What is your opinion of online education?

Kevin O’Connor: I think it is going to revolutionize the world. I think it has the biggest potential in technology but is also faced with the biggest inertia to hold it back.

Sramana: What do you think about free coursework like edX? A professor at Sloan pointed out that when you destroy the business model of an industry, the entire industry can struggle to survive.

Kevin O’Connor: That is just life. I don’t think education should be free. My dad beat into me that there is no such thing as a free lunch. I don’t think there is a positive ROI on our college industry, either. That industry deserves to be remade, and it needs to be remade. I do think the big schools will do everything they can to protect their brands.

Sramana: The democratization of education excites me. The culture that exists on the Internet that everything needs to be free worries me. There is a huge free-rider sentiment that runs through society right now that irritates the hell out of me.

Kevin O’Connor: I am a libertarian. I believe in capitalism, and I am amazed at the free stuff that is happening.

Sramana: Thank you for taking the time to share your story.

This segment is part 7 in the series : Internet Advertising Pioneer: Kevin O'Connor, Founder of DoubleClick and FindTheBest
1 2 3 4 5 6 7