Michael Vagts01. Finding NIAMO: Overview & GoalsI’ve been fortunate enough thus far in my life to call many exceptionally bright people my friends. A common theme in my conversations…20 min read·Feb 26, 2021----
Michael VagtsRequiem for an App DreamI shut down Hiark officially in May 2020. I’ve reposted here on Medium the content from our site that provided the philosophical…2 min read·Feb 10, 2021----
Michael VagtsLoop the loop (4/2019)Feedback is information that can be used to adjust our future action. We “feed” our results from one set of choices “back” into our model…3 min read·Feb 10, 2021----
Michael VagtsSoftware is Eating the Self (1/2019)Marc Andreessen, our favorite VC (n.b. A16z would never invest in Hiark, wisely), wrote a truly epic piece in 2011 that can and should be…4 min read·Feb 10, 2021----
Michael VagtsPersona Fitness (12/2018)We’ve likened the current social media offerings to digital fast food previously, and we don’t want to over-use our metaphors, but it’s…7 min read·Feb 10, 2021----
Michael VagtsTransaction Costs, Inaction, White Lies (12/2018)When there is a price associated with the transfer of something, economists trenchantly call this a “transaction cost.” Typically tied to…4 min read·Feb 10, 2021----
Michael VagtsEnds & (Influence on) Means (11/2018)One objection we frequently field when talking about our hopes for Hiark is: yes, well, this may provide access to feedback that wouldn’t…3 min read·Feb 10, 2021----
Michael VagtsMcLuhan, Media & Messages (10/2018)At Hiark, we’ve read a lot of Marshall McLuhan. We love it, and tbqh, we don’t always fully understand it. We like to believe that’s how…5 min read·Feb 10, 2021----
Michael VagtsSugar Water (9/2018)Dear Software Engineer at Major Social Media Co,6 min read·Feb 10, 2021----
Michael VagtsHiark & Hormesis (9/2018)NN Taleb spends a good portion of Anti-Fragile describing hormesis, a biphasic response (often to a toxic chemical or stressful situation)…4 min read·Feb 10, 2021----