Author Archives: Larry Downes

Larry joins panelists at Churchill Club event June 28th on “unscaling” the industrial economy

On June 28th, Larry will join General Catalyst’s Hemant Taneja and author Kevin Maney to discuss their new book, “Unscaled:  How AI and a New Generation of Upstarts Are Creating the Economy of the Future” at an event sponsored by The Churchill Club in downtown San Francisco.  As start-ups transform industries using lease-able infrastructure, consumers are benefiting.  But anxiety is also rising, as long-held assumptions about the nature of work, business, and community are also being disrupted.

https://www.churchillclub.org/upcoming-programs/the-unraveling-of-scale-2/

Debating tech regulation, this week in The Economist

All this week, Larry is participating in a spirited on-line debate for The Economist, taking the “no” side of the question “Should the tech giants be more heavily regulated?”  Taking “yes” is author Andrew Keen, whose new book, “How to Fix the Future,” Larry reviewed earlier for The Washington Post.

Voting, which has so far heavily favored the “yes” side, continues through May 6th.

Larry and John Perry Barlow on Internet Privacy and Security – in 1995

As I noted in my article last week for Forbes, my first collaboration with the late John Perry Barlow, back in 1995, was a report on the privacy and security imperatives for the then-new concept of electronic commerce.

In Barlow’s memory, and in the wake of renewed concerns about these issues in Congress and the EU, we’ve made the report, “Five Privacy and Security Imperatives for Electronic Trade,” available here.  Just click on the link above to download it.

Sadly, little has changed in the last twenty-plus years.  All five recommendations are as valid today as they were when John and I first proposed them.

New Harvard Business Review featured article on Silicon Valley’s “Second Act” crisis

We’re excited to announce that the January issue of Harvard Business Review features Larry’s research on a “second act” crisis facing even some of the most successful Internet startups.  The article is based on a study conducted in cooperation with Accenture Research, a continuation of research on the strategic implications of disruptive innovation and Big Bang Disruption.

“Finding Your Company’s Second Act” introduces the main themes of Larry’s next book, including what he calls the “Seven Habits of Highly Fragile Startups.”