Tim O'Reilly Interview | The Tim Ferriss Show (Podcast)

A children's television show, with its early seasons partly written in the house where Tim Ferriss was recording, connecting to the Cookie Monster analogy.

A magazine started by Dale Dougherty focusing on the maker movement, evolving from earlier online publishing interests.

The podcast hosted by Tim Ferriss, dedicated to deconstructing world-class performers and extracting their habits and tactics.

A character from Sesame Street, used by Tim O'Reilly as an analogy for his business philosophy of always 'going for the cookie' by pursuing interesting work.

Frank Herbert's seminal science fiction novel, which greatly influenced Tim O'Reilly and is recommended for its deep truths transmitted through fiction.

A film about the founding of Facebook, cited for a quote reflecting the modern vanity of wealth: 'A million dollars isn't cool. A billion dollars is cool.'

A poet and translator known for his interpretations of Rumi's poetry, highly regarded by Tim O'Reilly.

Co-author of 'Information Rules' with Hal Varian, present at a dinner discussing Hal Varian's observation.

A friend of Tim Ferriss who influenced him to try Peloton, noting his consistent use of the product.

Author of 'The Innovator's Dilemma,' also noted for his work on 'The Capitalist's Dilemma,' which questions current economic measurement practices.

A popular Peloton instructor, mentioned as Kevin Rose's favorite.

An Indian philosopher, yoga guru, poet, and nationalist, whose work on spiritual growth was integrated into George Simon's model of consciousness.

The student who wrote ViolaWWW, the first graphical web browser, and created a point-and-click demo for O'Reilly's Internet catalog, which became a product.

Co-author of 'The Second Machine Age,' who had dinner with Tim O'Reilly and Hal Varian.

An English novelist whom Tim O'Reilly admires for his focus on character and moral quandaries over plot, also comparing his work to current economic critiques.

An individual at Grail, a company working on an early detection test for cancer, presented as an example of someone pursuing valuable work beyond mere financial gain.

An American modernist poet, cited by O'Reilly as a favorite for his insights into reality as a 'fiction we create for each other'.

A friend of Tim Ferriss and a polymath, mentioned as someone who highly recommended Tim O'Reilly as a podcast guest.

A Peloton instructor known for high-intensity training sessions.

Founder and CEO of O'Reilly Media Inc., known as a trend spotter and 'Oracle of Silicon Valley', who has been instrumental in shaping the computer industry.

The author of the 'Dune' series, whose work and life deeply shaped Tim O'Reilly, serving as a 'father figure' and source of inspiration.

An English novelist, particularly mentioned for her book 'Pride and Prejudice,' which O'Reilly found deeply insightful into the human soul.

Former CEO of Google, discussed in relation to Google's 'Don't Be Evil' slogan, which O'Reilly argues is not measurable.

Former CEO of Microsoft, mentioned in a quote from Walt Mossberg about Microsoft's perceived greed.

An Irish poet, whose collected poems O'Reilly read as a junior in high school, teaching him how to read poetry and appreciate impactful pieces.

Co-founder of Intel and author of Moore's Law, mentioned as an industry titan who generated significant value without making the extreme fortunes seen today.

A Polish-American independent scholar who developed the field of general semantics, known for his 'structural differential' diagram illustrating the process of abstraction from reality to language.

The former director of activism from the Sierra Club hired by O'Reilly, who pioneered 'marketing as activism' for the internet and developed early influencer marketing techniques.

A Hungarian-born American businessman, engineer, and author who served as the third CEO of Intel Corporation, mentioned as an industry titan.

Founder of SpaceX and Tesla, cited as a prime example of someone using capital to solve incredibly hard problems to make the world better, with wealth as a byproduct, not the primary goal.

British artist and writer, whose book 'Trilby' is mentioned for introducing characters like Svengali and exploring Victorian mesmerism.

The inventor of the World Wide Web, to whom Dale Dougherty introduced Tim O'Reilly.

Tim O'Reilly's wife and co-founder of Code for America, who also served as Deputy CTO under Obama and helped establish the United States Digital Service.

A friend of Tim Ferriss and author of 'Vagabonding,' who suggested starter books for poetry.

A key person at O'Reilly Media for many years who discovered the World Wide Web for the company and later started Make magazine and Maker Faire.

A dedicated libertarian free-marketer, author of 'It's a Wonderful Loaf,' who champions Adam Smith's ideas about self-interest leading to economic goodness.

An American novelist, whose work is mentioned as a way to delve into the 'world of psychedelia and that era of the 70s'.

An American-born British poet, whose poem 'East Coker' is highly recommended by Tim O'Reilly.

The editor who wrote a last-minute chapter on the World Wide Web for 'The Whole Internet User's Guide and Catalog'.

Chief Economist at Google and author of a microeconomics textbook, known for his observation that the future can be understood by observing what rich people do today.

An American author, discovered by O'Reilly as a 'time machine' into the mythology of the Old West through his forgotten bestsellers.

A fictional Chinese-American detective character, whose novels are enjoyed by Tim O'Reilly as a 'time machine' into past societal views and descriptions of places.

Co-author of 'The Second Machine Age,' who had dinner with Tim O'Reilly and Hal Varian.

A Scottish economist and philosopher, whose ideas about self-interest and economic goodness are discussed in relation to libertarian free-market views.

A famous tech journalist, quoted for his observation that Microsoft could have been much more liked if they had 'dialed back the greed by only 5%'.

The author (possibly misremembered by Tim O'Reilly as 'Joseph James or old Biggers') who wrote Charlie Chan novels.

American novelist, author of 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest,' mentioned for his book 'The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test,' as an example of a 'time machine' into the psychedelic era.

Tim O'Reilly's partner in a venture firm who pioneered 'Indie VC,' a movement focused on building real businesses funded by customers rather than just venture capital.

An American author and financial journalist, whose book 'Liar's Poker' is cited as a future 'time machine' into the financial economy's chaotic period.

Launched by O'Reilly in 1993, it was the first commercial website and portal to be supported by advertising (initially 'yellow page' directory ads, later banner ads).

A standard for defining generalized markup languages, used by O'Reilly Media before XML for online publishing.

An innovative platform for improving the hiring process by finding suitable candidates for employers, with over 80% of jobs returning a qualified candidate within 24 hours.

A government website that experienced a major failure in 2013 due to poor implementation and testing, highlighting issues in policy execution and technology procurement.

A web browser mentioned in the context of the VA's application testing, where the software combination used for testing did not match what users had, leading to failures.

A markup language developed by O'Reilly Media for representing technical books for online publishing.

The first graphical web browser, discovered by Dale Dougherty and used to create a point-and-click catalog of early internet sites.

Software mentioned in the context of the VA's application testing, where the software combination used for testing did not match what users had, leading to failures.

A windowing system Tim O'Reilly's company published books about, and from which they learned about the value of open standards and reference implementations in software.

An online publishing platform where Tim O'Reilly has written a piece on how to distinguish fake news from real news, recommended by Tim Ferriss.

A company founded by Tim O'Reilly that delivers online learning, publishes books, runs conferences, and promotes the sharing of knowledge among innovators.

A technology company where Hal Varian served as Chief Economist, highlighting its economic power derived from innovations like the ad auction and its platform's 'fitness function' of relevance.

A social media platform whose 'engagement' fitness function is critically examined, particularly in relation to the spread of fake news and polarization.

A ride-sharing company whose business model is dissected in Tim O'Reilly's book, viewed as potentially extractive in contrast to competitors and impacting the future of self-driving cars.

Mentioned with other tech titans from the past, indicating founders who made less money than current tech billionaires while driving industry innovation, (referred to as 'Peola and Packard', a play on Hewlett-Packard).

An indoor cycling bike company that brings live studio classes into your home, offering on-demand classes and performance tracking. Mentioned as a product Tim Ferriss uses and enjoys.

The online service provider that acquired Global Network Navigator (GNN) in 1995.

A company O'Reilly is an investor in, which images the Earth's surface daily using satellites called 'doves,' signaling peaceful intent, a source of optimism for O'Reilly.

A ride-sharing company, contrasted with Uber for creating more value for its ecosystem of drivers, and noted for gaining on Uber in the market.

A technology company whose platform model (taking too much value) is used as an example of why ecosystems fail or are deserted, leading to the rise of other platforms.

A social media platform, mentioned alongside Facebook, for competing with its developer ecosystem and creating a less favorable environment.

A country mentioned as an example of a failed state with economic problems, illustrating the consequences of an inequitable economic system where a few do well but the majority suffer.

A country mentioned as an example of a failed state where a few do well but the majority suffer, illustrating the consequences of an inequitable economic system.

A book by Pascal Mercier, mentioned for a line that profoundly impacted Tim O'Reilly about the unlived potential within people.

A book by Clay Christensen, mentioned by O'Reilly in the context of questioning current economic measurements.

A novel by Zane Grey, loved by Tim O'Reilly for its reinvention of the Old West mythology, prompting his interest in old bestsellers.

A book by Tim Ferriss, mentioned as reaching its tipping point at the Web 2.0 conference.

A book published by O'Reilly Media in 1992, which included a catalog of internet sites and a last-minute chapter on the World Wide Web.

A paper (potentially a book) by Clay Christensen, which focuses on the issue of measuring the wrong things in the economy.

A fantasy book by Austin Tappan Wright, described as a 'rich cornucopia of wisdom' guiding towards a slower, more valued life, and a favorite of Tim O'Reilly.

A book co-written by Hal Varian and Karl Shapiro, mentioned in the discussion about economic tools for understanding the future.

A book by Rolf Potts, carried by Tim Ferriss around the world for 18 months, which later led to poetry recommendations.

A novel by Anthony Trollope about railroad bubbles in the 1860s, paralleling modern financial crises, highlighting fiction's ability to offer deep historical insight.

An ancient Chinese text, a fundamental text for philosophical Taoism, referenced for its wisdom on listening to inner 'yes' and 'no' as a guide.

Tim O'Reilly's book exploring the future implications of AI, the on-demand economy, and other technologies, emphasizing human agency in shaping these changes.

A poem by T.S. Eliot, one of Tim O'Reilly's favorites, described as 'unbelievably good' and dealing with themes of death and rebirth.

An early ebook created by Dale Dougherty in HyperCard format in 1987, based on a book by Tim O'Reilly.

A novel by George du Maurier known for featuring the character Svengali and exploring mesmerism, providing a 'time machine' view into Victorian society.

A book by Michael Lewis about Wall Street in the 1980s, seen as a future 'time machine' into a period where the financial economy went 'crazily wrong'.

A novel by Jane Austen that deeply captivated Tim O'Reilly as a teenager, praised for its insights into the human soul.

A book by Andy McAfee and Erik Brynjolfsson, discussing the impact of technology on the economy, and its authors were present at a dinner with Hal Varian.

A non-fiction book by Tom Wolfe about the counter-culture events of the 1960s, mentioned by O'Reilly as a 'time machine' into the psychedelic era.

A proto-feminist novel by Anthony Trollope, demonstrating moral struggles of women making unconventional choices in marriage in the Victorian era.

A concept defined by Tim O'Reilly at the Web 2.0 Summit in 2004, representing the resurgence of the web and a new industry model based on big data, collective intelligence, and the Internet as a platform.

A field of technology that Tim O'Reilly has turned his attention to, exploring its implications for the on-demand economy, work, and the future of business.

A term agreed upon at a meeting organized by Tim O'Reilly in 1998, defining a new model for software development and understanding its business importance.

A genetic disease characterized by abnormal retention of copper in the body, which Tim O'Reilly's neurologist father specialized in, leading to Tim's participation in a study involving radioactive copper isotopes.

A concept promoted by Bryce Roberts, focusing on building sustainable businesses primarily funded by customers rather than relying solely on venture capital, contrasting with Silicon Valley's 'actor' mindset.

A theory of 'animal magnetism' often associated with hypnotism, discussed as a popular 'rage' in Victorian society as depicted in 'Trilby'.

Google's former corporate motto, which Tim O'Reilly criticizes as not being measurable, in contrast to his own slogan 'Create More Value Than You Capture'.

A California proposition passed to reduce certain low-level offenses, but whose implementation was poorly executed, leading to a small fraction of eligible people clearing their records.

A company working to develop an early detection test for cancer, used as an example of an organization pursuing a hard, impactful problem rather than just financial gain.

A mock tarot deck from the 1970s, cited for a blank card with the caption 'Always remember this,' embodying the idea of listening to silence and allowing new thoughts.

Public Broadcasting Service, mentioned in the context of Mr. Rogers' early congressional testimony for its funding.

An organization set up under the Obama administration, with Jen Pahlka's help, to address technology problems in government, such as those at the VA.

A non-profit organization co-founded by Tim's wife, Jen Pahlka, focused on improving government services through technology and addressing systemic issues like expunging low-level offenses.

An environmental organization from which Brian Erwin, who taught Tim O'Reilly about activism and marketing, was hired.

A radioactive isotope of copper with a half-life of a few weeks, used in a study for Wilson's Disease, in which Tim O'Reilly participated as a control subject.