EOY Recap (1/3): YouTube

What I watched on YouTube in 2013

Listening to YouTube was my way of maintaining sanity as I navigated the traffic on the 101 while still in SF. Now, it’s a great way to procrastinate while staying in bed on the weekends.

Below are the videos I found the most thought-provoking in 2013:

1. Drew Faust (President of Harvard) makes an argument for the relevance of the university (28 minutes) — in age of an information abundance, how do we learn good judgement and find meaning / truth in the world? Made me cry.
2. Kevin Spacey and giving audiences what they want (5 minutes)— could not find the full version; talks about the waning distinction between a TV shows and movies; a discussion on content atomization, on-demand, etc.
3. Mike Bloomberg on why people looking to have an impact should run for mayor (25 minutes) — Bloomberg makes a case for a strong New York and city government as a place to have impact
4. Bob Shiller (Yale professor) makes an argument for finance and financial innovation (2 minutes) — brief argument on why finance matters (i.e., every good idea needs to be financed)
5. Bill Gates makes an argument for philanthropy (35 minutes) — Gates delivered the commencement at Harvard in 2007; he references the Marshall Plan as he makes a different, but no less important call to action
6. Jonah Peretti (CEO of Buzzfeed) on why Twitter and Facebook are the “railroad tracks of the internet” (2 hours, 30 minutes) — could not find a cut-down version but it’s a worthwhile listen nonetheless especially given the recent surges by Buzzfeed, Upworthy, etc.
7. Steve Johnson on where good ideas come from (18 minutes) — reinforces the notion that it isn’t one person and it is not a “lightbulb going off”
8. Josh Kopelman (First Round Capital) on why software will eat the VC industry (3 minutes) — interesting to think about; related thought is Bill Gurley’s emphasis on Benchmark being a “services” firm
9. Lance Armstrong on “what he’s on” (30 seconds) — obviously proven to be a lie, but I love this commercial and still rewatch it
10. Ray Dalio on “How the Economy Works” (30 minutes) — no explanation really needed (h/t Matt Stern)
11. How Bitcoin works (22 minutes) — need to rewatch because I am confused again, but a very helpful explanation