Top all-time · #504
John Battelle
Personal blog · battellemedia.combusinessstartupsai
John Battelle's personal blog at battellemedia.com covers business, startups and ai. Since 2007, 115 different Hacker News readers have linked it 153 times, most often “If Software Is Eating the World, What Will Come Out the Other End?”. It is still writing: the last post was on 2026-10-30, and you can follow it by feed.
Too few sampled comments (12) to say how often HN recommends it.?
Why HN links it
HN readers link John Battelle's archive for dated commentary on Microsoft, Google and AdSense revenue, and for his explanation of Google's iPhone tracking.
- Recommended for · 2 comments
- One commenter calls an apology post an interesting read; another calls his Google iPhone tracking explanation good.
Summarised by Claude from a sample of 12 HN comments that link here. Each comment is marked recommending, critical or neutral (citing without judging); how this works.
Thoughts on the intersection of tech, business, and society.
Most-linked posts?
- If Software Is Eating the World, What Will Come Out the Other End?3 people · 3 mentions · first linked 2018-09-21
- Ballmer Throws A Chair At "F*ing Google" (2005)3 people · 3 mentions · first linked 2012-04-09
- Where's the Business Model in Chat-Based Search?2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2025-03-25
- Why Color Matters2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2011-03-24
- Is OpenAI Today's Netscape? Or Is It AOL?2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2025-12-05
- The Internet Big Five2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2011-12-08
- John Battelle: Identity and The Independent Web 2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2010-10-22
- On Facebook, Google, and Our Evolving Social Mores Online2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2010-07-11
What Hacker News says?
http://battellemedia.com/archives/2005/09/ballmer_throws_a_c...
Comment linking /archives/2005/09/ballmer_throws_a_chair_at_fing_google.php
on “SpaceX: “Close, but no cigar. This time””Submitted Am I An Outlier, Or Are Apple Products No Longer Easy To Use? as a story · 256 points
HN discussionThe README brings up a cultural reference I didn't understand. It says "Many people have received jobs from the big 4 after becoming a Rockstar" I hadn't heard of "big 4" before. I thought it might refer to tech companies, like Google, Apple, Microsoft, Oracle, etc. but couldn't figure out which 4. http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/tech-sanity-check/schmidt-c... says "Google, Apple, Amazon, and Facebook", are the big…
Comment linking /archives/2011/12/the-internet-big-five.php
on “Rockstar lib will make you a Rockstar programmer in 2 lines of code”Submitted It's Me, In an Ad, On Facebook. Is This Legal? Allowed? Who Knows? as a story · 80 points
HN discussionhttps://www.wired.com/2008/10/google-ceo-call/ Speaking to a group of magazine executives at the Google headquarters, Google CEO Eric Schmidt said yesterday that the Internet is becoming a breeding ground for false information, reports Ad age. But trusted brands help weed through the disinformation: "Brands are the solution, not the problem... Brands are how you sort out the cesspool." https://battellemedia.com/arch…
Comment linking /archives/2008/10/cesspool_brands_eric_talks_like_a_marketer
on “Why Is the Web So Monotonous? Google”Submitted Dear Apple: We miss you. as a story · 50 points
HN discussionJohn Battelle claims that the share is really 57.8% due to a 15% fee being taken out: http://battellemedia.com/archives/2010/05/68_of_85_is_really...
Comment linking /archives/2010/05/68_of_85_is_really_578
on “Google's AdSense Revenue Share”Submitted Stop It. Google Won't Buy Twitter. as a story · 28 points
HN discussion"I'm going to fucking kill Google" -- Steve Ballmer[1] "I'm here to destroy [Google]" -- Steve Jobs[2] Maybe not the coziest of cartels. [1] http://battellemedia.com/archives/2005/09/ballmer_throws_a_c... [2] http://9to5mac.com/2012/04/05/biographer-disputes-google-ceo...
Comment linking /archives/2005/09/ballmer_throws_a_chair_at_fing_google.php
on “AOL Sells 800 Patents For $1 Billion To Microsoft”Submitted Twitter = YouTube as a story · 15 points
HN discussionSome positive articles about Color: http://battellemedia.com/archives/2011/03/why_color_matters_... http://blogs.forbes.com/bruceupbin/2011/03/23/color-a-twitte... http://networkeffect.allthingsd.com/20110323/with-41m-in-han... http://www.fastcompany.com/1742209/lala-founder-unveils-41-m...
Comment linking /archives/2011/03/why_color_matters_augmented_reality_and_nuanced_social_graphs_may_finally_may_come_of_age
on “Sequoia To Color Labs: Not Since Google Have We Seen This”Submitted Marketers Have Given Up on Context, and Our National Discourse Is Suffering as a story · 10 points
HN discussionIt's a lot more nuanced than the WSJ article made it seem. Google and other web advertisers engaged in what most would consider normal activity, but that Apple had specifically disabled in Mobile Safari. Here's a good explanation from John Battelle: http://battellemedia.com/archives/2012/02/a-sad-state-of-int...
Comment linking /archives/2012/02/a-sad-state-of-internet-affairs-the-journal-on-google-apple-and-privacy.php
on “Google Tracked iPhones, Bypassing Apple Browser Privacy Settings”Submitted Facebook: $6 Billion? Nah. [John Battelle] as a story · 9 points
HN discussionShould be complemented by a brief hystory of Steve Ballmer tantrums: http://battellemedia.com/archives/2005/09/ballmer_throws_a_c... http://www.gearfuse.com/ballmer-lashes-out-at-microsoft-empl...
Comment linking /archives/2005/09/ballmer_throws_a_chair_at_fing_google
on “A Brief History of Microsoft FUD (2006)”Submitted “We need some angry nerds” - jbat as a story · 8 points
HN discussionNot being sarcastic at all! If a website is too slow, it has a significant adverse effect on my likelihood of using it. And it's not just me - see Google's assertion that speed is "just about the most important concern of users" - http://battellemedia.com/archives/003076.php
Comment linking /archives/003076.php
on “Ask HN: Please critique my webapp”Submitted The World Is An Internet Startup Now as a story · 7 points
HN discussion- pg · 2007-07-12
By default Mosaic's background was gray, and most people didn't change it. (Using #x0000ff was reasonable for links on this gray background.) White became the default background for more sophisticated sites in 1996. The first time I saw Yahoo and Amazon they had gray (i.e. probably no) background color. http://battellemedia.com/images/1995-tm.jpg (Notice how small it is too.) We got so used to these gray web pages t…
Comment linking /images/1995-tm.jpg
on “The Web in 1994 (Video)” Submitted Idea for killer mobile app? as a story · 7 points
HN discussionAn interesting read (albeit a month old), but it didn't take that long for him to turn the full feed back on - http://battellemedia.com/archives/2013/03/ive-turned-full-fe...
Comment linking /archives/2013/03/ive-turned-full-feeds-back-on.php
on “An Apology To My RSS Readers - But I Had To Do It | John Battelle's Search Blog”Submitted Thoughts on Alibaba Bubble as a story · 6 points
HN discussionYeah, it must be killing him: http://battellemedia.com/archives/001835.php Was it really different 5 or 10 years ago though? Microsoft hasn't been a cool company for a long time. Although I guess it was very impressive for the resume, and prior to Google, that was a choice you'd have to make.
Comment linking /archives/001835.php
on “Steve Ballmer Says Google's Growth Is 'Insane'”Submitted No, In Fact, We Haven't Seen This Movie Before as a story · 6 points
HN discussionSubmitted Why Groupon Will Beat Google In Mobile & Local as a story · 6 points
HN discussionSubmitted Google. Does. Not Market. Except When It Does. as a story · 6 points
HN discussionSubmitted Is OpenAI Today's Netscape? Or Is It AOL? as a story · 5 points
HN discussionSubmitted The Sites That Never Get Built: Why Today's Internet Discourages Experimentation as a story · 5 points
HN discussionSubmitted Does the Pebble Cause a Ripple In Apple’s Waters? as a story · 5 points
HN discussionSubmitted John Battelle: Identity and The Independent Web as a story · 5 points
HN discussion
