All Segments
Balaji Srinivasan on the Cloud Continent
3 segments available
"You can think of the internet as giving rise to a new continent. You're spending a majority of the time on the cloud continent, but you're not thinking of yourself as a cloud person... yet." On the a16z Podcast, Balaji Srinivasan explains how a shift in thinking about our digital lives and where we spend a large part of the day makes it easier to understand how something like a Network State can be created. Full Episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rWIsc34N9Y Follow Balaji on Twitter: https://twitter.com/balajis Stay Updated * Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z * Find us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z * Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/ * Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithio Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
Segments Timeline
Welcome to the Cloud Continent
Balaji Srinivasan introduces the concept of the internet as a new 'Cloud Continent,' likening it to a modern-day Atlantis where people spend a significant portion of their waking hours. He highlights the shift in our daily lives, emphasizing that many individuals now spend up to 14 hours a day engaged with screens, marking a dramatic change from the early 1990s.
"you can think of the intranet as basically like giving rise to a new continent okay imagine in Atlantis that just arose out of the middle of the ocean and people were just taking commuter flights ther..."
The Migration to Digital Realms
Srinivasan discusses the vast migration of billions of people to the Cloud Continent, comparing it to historical migrations like the discovery of the Americas. He notes that half of the world's population now spends a significant portion of their lives online, illustrating the profound impact of the internet on our daily existence.
"Atlantis This Cloud continent right so just to extend the metaphor we're taking these commuter planes up to the cloud continent 14 hours a day and coming back and we're only spending two hours of her ..."
Identity in the Cloud
In this segment, Balaji Srinivasan explores the identity crisis faced by individuals living in the Cloud Continent. He draws parallels between early settlers in the Americas and modern internet users, who spend most of their time online but do not yet identify as 'cloud people.' This shift in self-perception is crucial for understanding our digital lives.
"discovery of the Americas for the Europeans right yes of course there were people in the Americas before the Europeans got there uh I talked about this in the book actually that like if you go and loo..."