Dounan Shi

Wallpapers for the Week

Dounan Shi — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 03:37:53 +0000

Bright Ideas

Bird on a Branch

Caution

Homer Apple

San Francisco

Looking for a Business Model?

Dounan Shi — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 08:30:04 +0000

Stop!

That is, if you are a computer scientist with a cool idea. If you have an idea for a technology that people will use (make sure people will actually use it!), then there is no need to waste your time finding a great business model. Instead, focus on building the technology while you are still pumped about your idea.

Trying to figure out how you will make money before having a working technology is a good way to lose motivation on a project. In addition, there is a good chance that your technology will need to be applied in ways you never thought of and you will need to constantly adapt to what your market/users/customers want.

So if you have a cool idea, don’t get distracted by all the business stuff – just hack away and worry about monetizing it later.

Listen to Podcasts!

Dounan Shi — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 07:43:07 +0000

Staying on top of current events, technology, etc. can be tough. There are many good newspapers, magazines, online articles, and blogs that keep you up to date, but what if you don’t have the time to read through everything, or are just too lazy to read (like me)? The answer…podcasting.

Whether you are walking to class, commuting to work, or even resting, podcasts offer a great alternative to music and help keep you on top of all of your interests.

Here are the podcasts I currently subscribe to, (if you have any recommendations please let me know!):

Business, Economics, Finance, Politics

Entrepreneur

Stanford Entrepreneurship Corner (wish Berkeley had one of these)
Venture Voice
TalkCrunch
Dishy Mix

Tech

Technology Review (text to speech instead of real people, but you get used to it)

Random

TED Talks (a lot of amazing and inspirational stuff here)

Next time you pick up your MP3 player, you could be listening to Stan Christensen speak about negotiating your career (Stanford ecorner) instead of Womanizer.

First blog post EVER

Dounan Shi — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 18:56:31 +0000

Hmmm. Hi.

After seeing my buddy Sushant Shankar’s amazing blog I have decided to start my own. How exciting. The only problem…I don’t really know how to write. Hopefully blogging will give me the experience I need to improve not only my writing, but my ability to express my thoughts in words. My girlfriend always asks me what I’m thinking, and each time I reply, “… .” Well, now I can just say, “Read my blog.” But seriously, I hope that blogging will help me get in touch with myself and motivate me to stay on top of current events in the world.