Peter Thiel: Tech Is More Than An 'Alternate Virtual Universe'

Suzie Katz via Flickr Peter Thiel, one of our favorite billionaire, venture capitalist, and hedge fund managers, really nails the future and raison d’etre of technology, in our opinion. Recall his famous line, “We wanted flying cars, instead we got 140 characters.” Amen to that!

We like Twitter as a more efficient way to gather and distribute information – besides the tweets of what so and so had for lunch or when they’re dropping their next deuce – but think the productivity gains of Facebook are probably negative for the overall economy. That is why Thiel’s interview with Maria from Davos rings so true to us. Here’s the money quote,

I think as we look ahead in the next decade, it will be figuring out ways to integrate the computer technology with the real world. Businesses like AIRBNB, which help people rent their houses out, their apartments out to other people, it’s sort of a new very internet, virtual product. I think that’s much more promising than all these things that are just in some alternate virtual universe…it’s not clear that a business like Twitter is going to take our civilization to the next level and dramatically improve people’s living standards.

The guy’s a genius. Take the three minutes to listen.

Click here for the CNBC interview and here for a great piece in the New Yorker.

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