Wedding. Party. (Ricky Weekly #14)
This is where I share 3 things every week with my friends and anyone else interested.
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I wrote a new thing!
I published an essay this week called “The arc of social” to sum up how I’ve been thinking about “the next Facebook.” Unlike most VCs I think there are still big opportunities in consumer social, so I tried to flesh out the case. Since publishing I’ve been sent relevant articles and entrepreneurs / investors who have similar takes. The accelerated learning from feedback is my favorite part about writing essays.
A picture from my life:
I hosted a founder dating end-of-summer party. It was super fun! I hope the quality of people stays high.
I also went to a wedding and we stayed in a lodge that’s kind of like a dorm.
Thing on my mind:
I had a great time at a wedding this weekend up in Auburn, CA not only because I love the couple but also that they made the wedding about their community. There was a “hugs, not handshakes” rule and you can feel the earnestness in the couple’s desire to see their community come together to love each other. Typically all the love arrows are pointing in the direction of the couple at weddings, but at this one the arrows were pointing in all directions! Kudos to the couple.
I love weddings because there’s so much pure joy, but I always feel a little bit sad at the same time. I look at families come together and I wonder if I’d invite my family to my wedding. I hear fun stories about the bride and groom growing up, and I try to think about my growing up and all I remember are bad memories.
I also wonder about the idea of marriage. We don’t need it as an economic necessity anymore. If you think about the number of people stuck in unhappy marriages, you’d probably consider that an epidemic. The kids…I think they’ll be fine especially if we remove the stigma from single-parent or divorced households. We shouldn’t think of these households as “broken.” I’d prefer it if we dial back wedding celebrations and dial up divorce celebrations. I think figuring out that you don’t want to spend the rest of your life with someone is just as significant as figuring out that you do.
Sorry, I love weddings. I’d love to have one to host a big, loving party for my community. I didn’t mean for this to be a bummer. But this is about what’s on my mind…so there you go.
Piece of content I recommend:
h/t to Nik Baron and Oprah Winfrey for recommending this. I cried my eyes out and was really moved by the acting especially from the young actors. There are four parts followed by an interview with the real-life Exonerated Five. Make sure you watch.
h/t to Barack and Michelle for recommending this. I thought this was a pretty unbiased look at manufacturing and the tension between America vs China, labor vs capital, and humans vs machines.
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As always, you can find out what I’m thinking in more real-time on Twitter and my essays are on my website. My latest essay is called “The arc of social”