mark61
06-11-05, 17:01
Om te beginnen dan. Zou het echt zo'n fantastische man zijn?
www.omidyar.net
The Eight Million Dollar Man
Can eBay founder Pierre Omidyar save the world—or at least start a second online revolution—with his new Web site?
By Najeeb Hasan
IT CAN BE difficult to find out what a man worth $8 billion is up to.
Pierre Omidyar, at last count, is worth $8 billion. And, indeed, he doesn't seem to want to talk to the press about what he's up to. Omidyar has said he plans to give away his entire fortune. The guy seems to be all about do-gooding in the most epic sense. And yet what he's doing with his new Web community may be even more revolutionary—what he's up to with omidyar.net could change the entire way we think about how someone can go about making the world a better place. As the founder of eBay, one of the Internet's biggest success stories and a cornerstone of Silicon Valley high tech, Omidyar's stature in the business world rivals that of Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin. You'd think everyone would want to know exactly what he's doing with his fortune—and why.
And yet, when one of the wealthiest men in the world provided a window into his philanthrophy and his philosophy with omidyar.net, virtually no major media outlets even mentioned it. If they had taken a look, they would have found a fascinating new breed of public forum that seems to build on some of the same principles of social contract that made eBay a multi-billion-dollar success—and just might revolutionize the American social net.
The Mystery Do-Gooder
According to a recent study by the Chronicle of Philanthropy, the 37-year-old Omidyar, along with his wife, Pam, is already near the top of the list of most generous American donors at almost $200 million, below Bill and Melinda Gates ($3.4 billion) but above Oprah ($50 million). His plan to give away his entire fortune over time will likely put him at the top of that list.
(...)
It's not that Omidyar is any more chatty about the Web site to the press. His staff also keep their lips sealed about the subject. Thomas Kriese, one of the administrators of the Web site, replied to an interview request via email: "Thanks for the offer of coffee, but I'd ask that you contact Michelle Goguen [Omidyar's public relations representative] regarding press about omidyar.net." Goguen subsequently revealed that neither she, nor any of Omidyar's staff, was interested in making any comments about the venture.
(...)
However, an email from an Omidyar representative attempts to shed some light on this unexpected wall of silence from a man whose stated intent is to be one of the biggest charitable donors of all time, and offers a clue as to where the answers can be found:
"As I've mentioned, our preference is to collaborate out in the open with a broad community rather than participate in one-to-one interviews. There's a great Japanese adage I'm fond of: 'None of us is as smart as all of us.' It's a good summation of our approach ... including interacting with the media. You might even find that many of your questions have already been asked and answered somewhere else on the site. If so, the community will undoubtedly quickly point you to the answers. Because everything there is within the public domain, it's also, by default, on the record."
Opening Up Online
(...)
Judging from the Web site, Omidyar's interests seem straight-forward: He doesn't want to create something new. His strategy is to invest in what's already there. The Omidyar Network doesn't accept unsolicited proposals or business plans; instead the network actively seeks out investments, which come by a wide-ranging variety of routes. Top-down, they are not.
(...)
"There's nothing wrong with earning a ton of money," says Elahian. "What you do with the money is questionable. If I have a billion dollars, and I make a donation of a million dollars, that didn't hurt me much. Giving really matters if it starts to put you in an uncomfortable position, whether you have no money in your pocket or whether you have a billion. If it's tough, then it's meaningful. And so, to Pierre, more power to him. I hope he makes more money."
http://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/04.06.05/omidyar-0514.html
www.omidyar.net
The Eight Million Dollar Man
Can eBay founder Pierre Omidyar save the world—or at least start a second online revolution—with his new Web site?
By Najeeb Hasan
IT CAN BE difficult to find out what a man worth $8 billion is up to.
Pierre Omidyar, at last count, is worth $8 billion. And, indeed, he doesn't seem to want to talk to the press about what he's up to. Omidyar has said he plans to give away his entire fortune. The guy seems to be all about do-gooding in the most epic sense. And yet what he's doing with his new Web community may be even more revolutionary—what he's up to with omidyar.net could change the entire way we think about how someone can go about making the world a better place. As the founder of eBay, one of the Internet's biggest success stories and a cornerstone of Silicon Valley high tech, Omidyar's stature in the business world rivals that of Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin. You'd think everyone would want to know exactly what he's doing with his fortune—and why.
And yet, when one of the wealthiest men in the world provided a window into his philanthrophy and his philosophy with omidyar.net, virtually no major media outlets even mentioned it. If they had taken a look, they would have found a fascinating new breed of public forum that seems to build on some of the same principles of social contract that made eBay a multi-billion-dollar success—and just might revolutionize the American social net.
The Mystery Do-Gooder
According to a recent study by the Chronicle of Philanthropy, the 37-year-old Omidyar, along with his wife, Pam, is already near the top of the list of most generous American donors at almost $200 million, below Bill and Melinda Gates ($3.4 billion) but above Oprah ($50 million). His plan to give away his entire fortune over time will likely put him at the top of that list.
(...)
It's not that Omidyar is any more chatty about the Web site to the press. His staff also keep their lips sealed about the subject. Thomas Kriese, one of the administrators of the Web site, replied to an interview request via email: "Thanks for the offer of coffee, but I'd ask that you contact Michelle Goguen [Omidyar's public relations representative] regarding press about omidyar.net." Goguen subsequently revealed that neither she, nor any of Omidyar's staff, was interested in making any comments about the venture.
(...)
However, an email from an Omidyar representative attempts to shed some light on this unexpected wall of silence from a man whose stated intent is to be one of the biggest charitable donors of all time, and offers a clue as to where the answers can be found:
"As I've mentioned, our preference is to collaborate out in the open with a broad community rather than participate in one-to-one interviews. There's a great Japanese adage I'm fond of: 'None of us is as smart as all of us.' It's a good summation of our approach ... including interacting with the media. You might even find that many of your questions have already been asked and answered somewhere else on the site. If so, the community will undoubtedly quickly point you to the answers. Because everything there is within the public domain, it's also, by default, on the record."
Opening Up Online
(...)
Judging from the Web site, Omidyar's interests seem straight-forward: He doesn't want to create something new. His strategy is to invest in what's already there. The Omidyar Network doesn't accept unsolicited proposals or business plans; instead the network actively seeks out investments, which come by a wide-ranging variety of routes. Top-down, they are not.
(...)
"There's nothing wrong with earning a ton of money," says Elahian. "What you do with the money is questionable. If I have a billion dollars, and I make a donation of a million dollars, that didn't hurt me much. Giving really matters if it starts to put you in an uncomfortable position, whether you have no money in your pocket or whether you have a billion. If it's tough, then it's meaningful. And so, to Pierre, more power to him. I hope he makes more money."
http://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/04.06.05/omidyar-0514.html