Why Russian technologists aren’t cool

Uncategorized 1 Minute

Yuri Ammosov, who lives in Moscow, Russia, and works in the Russian Ministry of Economics demonstrates why Russians aren’t cool.

1. He isn’t using an iPhone.
2. He isn’t using Facebook.
3. He’s reading blogs.
4. He’s running Russian RSS-reading software.
5. He reads Engadget, B5 Media, and TechCrunch.
6. He’s running Windows Mobile.

So yesterday. So uncool.

Just kidding.

Seriously, I spent a while with Yuri today and you should watch out for him and his band of Russian entrepreneurs. They are doing very cool things and I was jealous of the feed reader and the new interface he showed me on his Windows Mobile smart phone.

Now do you understand why Google announced Open Social and Android? I sure do.

There’s a lot of Russians who are going to buy cell phones and join a social network in the next 18 months. What will THEY be running? Will they think YOU are uncool for what YOU are running?

Longer interview coming soon on ScobleShow.com.

[kyte.tv appKey=MarbachViewerEmbedded&uri=channels/6118/69612&embedId=10011454]

Published by Robert Scoble

I help entrepreneurs build their technology business' story, help with getting ready for investors, with other launch plans, and many other strategic things that can help your new startup. Call to talk: +1-425-205-1921 (text first).

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63 thoughts on “Why Russian technologists aren’t cool”

  3. pretty good, this should really make us [the silicon valley people] of what is happening outside the box.

    Among others Facebook is not used by everyone and long life to SIM card cellphones

    Like

  4. pretty good, this should really make us [the silicon valley people] of what is happening outside the box.

    Among others Facebook is not used by everyone and long life to SIM card cellphones

    Like

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  8. Scoble,

    You may have been joking when you said “so yesterday…”, but that’s the prevailing attitude among geeks.

    In the end, does it matter what anyone runs? The only people that really care are people who have something at stake like the founders of a particular company or the ad companies.

    No one else cares. People are looking for cool and free. That’s what it boils down to. If Facebook or any other of these little companies started charging a monthly or annual fee, you watch how quick they would shed users.

    Email, IM, no RSS, whatever. Whatever people use is cool for them as long as they are getting the information they think they want.

    I, for example, don’t use RSS, no iPhone, no Internet-enabled devices on my person whatsover.

    Yet, I know what is happening more than my geeky friends. I like going to each website I read, even thought I could read the feeds via RSS.

    There is something about actually VISITING the websites in question to read posts, news, etc.

    I like email. I like IM. I’m not changing until there are patently and obviously better solutions out there. RSS, Twitter, all that is not impressive to me since it does nothing really new or better.

    Like

  9. Scoble,

    You may have been joking when you said “so yesterday…”, but that’s the prevailing attitude among geeks.

    In the end, does it matter what anyone runs? The only people that really care are people who have something at stake like the founders of a particular company or the ad companies.

    No one else cares. People are looking for cool and free. That’s what it boils down to. If Facebook or any other of these little companies started charging a monthly or annual fee, you watch how quick they would shed users.

    Email, IM, no RSS, whatever. Whatever people use is cool for them as long as they are getting the information they think they want.

    I, for example, don’t use RSS, no iPhone, no Internet-enabled devices on my person whatsover.

    Yet, I know what is happening more than my geeky friends. I like going to each website I read, even thought I could read the feeds via RSS.

    There is something about actually VISITING the websites in question to read posts, news, etc.

    I like email. I like IM. I’m not changing until there are patently and obviously better solutions out there. RSS, Twitter, all that is not impressive to me since it does nothing really new or better.

    Like

  12. Nay… Russian tech is one of its kind…
    Actually… I might be going to Moscow in a year’s time.
    Maybe not.
    Russians never commercialise their tech the way IPOD does. Their techs are mainly for political use.

    Scope.

    Like

  13. Nay… Russian tech is one of its kind…
    Actually… I might be going to Moscow in a year’s time.
    Maybe not.
    Russians never commercialise their tech the way IPOD does. Their techs are mainly for political use.

    Scope.

    Like

  16. Doesn’t a lot of “internet” crime originate from Russia or former Soviet block countries? I ask because, if there is a skew there, it would be very interesting to know if the economic conditions of those countries impacted a brain drain on development of any of the aformentioned web media in favor of development towards black market products/profits? Maybe their best engineers are too busy developing phishing programs, etc.?

    Like

  17. Doesn’t a lot of “internet” crime originate from Russia or former Soviet block countries? I ask because, if there is a skew there, it would be very interesting to know if the economic conditions of those countries impacted a brain drain on development of any of the aformentioned web media in favor of development towards black market products/profits? Maybe their best engineers are too busy developing phishing programs, etc.?

    Like

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  21. (1)He isn’t using an iPhone.
    (2) He isn’t using Facebook.
    (2.5) He isn’t on Woozyfly.
    (3) He’s reading blogs.
    (4) He’s running Russian RSS-reading software.
    (5) He reads Engadget, B5 Media, and TechCrunch.
    (6) He’s running Windows Mobile.

    Like

  22. (1)He isn’t using an iPhone.
    (2) He isn’t using Facebook.
    (2.5) He isn’t on Woozyfly.
    (3) He’s reading blogs.
    (4) He’s running Russian RSS-reading software.
    (5) He reads Engadget, B5 Media, and TechCrunch.
    (6) He’s running Windows Mobile.

    Like

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  24. I don’t understand why you’re always guffawing in your interviews. There’s rarely anything funny happening. the guy being interviewed looks confused as well.

    Like

  25. I don’t understand why you’re always guffawing in your interviews. There’s rarely anything funny happening. the guy being interviewed looks confused as well.

    Like

  26. Robert:

    As an American living in Krasnodar, Russia I can tell you that the iPhone is the must have tech toy amongst young Russians today. I am going to the States next week and already 6 of my Russian friends have asked me to buy an iPhone for them.

    Regarding Facebook, it’s catching on. I had a guy living in Moscow contact me through Facebook yesterday asking questions about Krasnodar.

    The “thing” to remember about Russian technology can be captured by the US Representative’s comments last week about his visit to the Russian radar station in Azerbijian.

    He noted that while the hardware in the station may have still been vacuum tubes the end results were still very impressive.

    Bottom-line, the hardware and software in Russian is still a little bit behind the West (perhaps not for much longer considering the oil revenues with oil at $100 per barrel) but the “wetware” (i.e. brainpower) of the Russians is unmatched.

    There’s a saying which goes something like, “If you have a tough software problem. Give it to the Americans. If you have really difficult software problem, give it to the Indians. But if you have an impossible software problem, give it to the Russians.”

    TGP

    Like

  27. Robert:

    As an American living in Krasnodar, Russia I can tell you that the iPhone is the must have tech toy amongst young Russians today. I am going to the States next week and already 6 of my Russian friends have asked me to buy an iPhone for them.

    Regarding Facebook, it’s catching on. I had a guy living in Moscow contact me through Facebook yesterday asking questions about Krasnodar.

    The “thing” to remember about Russian technology can be captured by the US Representative’s comments last week about his visit to the Russian radar station in Azerbijian.

    He noted that while the hardware in the station may have still been vacuum tubes the end results were still very impressive.

    Bottom-line, the hardware and software in Russian is still a little bit behind the West (perhaps not for much longer considering the oil revenues with oil at $100 per barrel) but the “wetware” (i.e. brainpower) of the Russians is unmatched.

    There’s a saying which goes something like, “If you have a tough software problem. Give it to the Americans. If you have really difficult software problem, give it to the Indians. But if you have an impossible software problem, give it to the Russians.”

    TGP

    Like

  32. Actually, there is no OFFICIAL iPhone in Russia. Only unlocked 😉 So, huyushki, my Apple fanboys

    Like

  33. Actually, there is no OFFICIAL iPhone in Russia. Only unlocked 😉 So, huyushki, my Apple fanboys

    Like

  34. Alan Jones: Nah, he was not confused, he was drunk 😉

    BTW, some people have unlocked iPhones here. You can buy one for ~$1300, fully unlocked and with Russian virtual keyboard.

    Facebook? Yes, people who speak English use it. For others, there are like 3 or 4 social networks from major portals here.

    Like

  35. Alan Jones: Nah, he was not confused, he was drunk 😉

    BTW, some people have unlocked iPhones here. You can buy one for ~$1300, fully unlocked and with Russian virtual keyboard.

    Facebook? Yes, people who speak English use it. For others, there are like 3 or 4 social networks from major portals here.

    Like

  38. Russians have their own social networking sites, like vkontakte.ru and the mamba system, and use them with much more frequency than google

    Like

  39. Russians have their own social networking sites, like vkontakte.ru and the mamba system, and use them with much more frequency than google

    Like

  42. Dmitry: he wasn’t drunk. I really hate it when people say shit like that. You try to get on a camera when someone’s asking you stupid questions in a language that you didn’t grow up with.

    Like

  43. Dmitry: he wasn’t drunk. I really hate it when people say shit like that. You try to get on a camera when someone’s asking you stupid questions in a language that you didn’t grow up with.

    Like

  44. Robert: Re your post @ 23 at Dmitry, instead of blasting him, put him on camera. He’s in Moscow and a Russian native making software, which might be exactly what you’re looking for.

    Like

  45. Robert: Re your post @ 23 at Dmitry, instead of blasting him, put him on camera. He’s in Moscow and a Russian native making software, which might be exactly what you’re looking for.

    Like

  50. Woooooow! As a Russian, but a technologist here in US. This post and the video are some what uncomfortable to me, as it might portray the country in bad light.

    Russian Internet is moving/evolving a lot faster then US, except they don’t care so much for a share of the US online traffic, culturally the sites and communities there would make no sense or be any valuable to average US geek so naturally you would not hear about them.

    Basically, you are missing out, and you might not even know on what. But it will come out eventually.

    Like

  51. Woooooow! As a Russian, but a technologist here in US. This post and the video are some what uncomfortable to me, as it might portray the country in bad light.

    Russian Internet is moving/evolving a lot faster then US, except they don’t care so much for a share of the US online traffic, culturally the sites and communities there would make no sense or be any valuable to average US geek so naturally you would not hear about them.

    Basically, you are missing out, and you might not even know on what. But it will come out eventually.

    Like

  52. Nikita: when I get the longer interview up I think you’ll be pleased. I was a bit sensationalistic in the headline here but there’s a lot of great things happening in Russia. My point here was that Russian technologists just might be cooler than we are here in the San Francisco area.

    Like

  53. Nikita: when I get the longer interview up I think you’ll be pleased. I was a bit sensationalistic in the headline here but there’s a lot of great things happening in Russia. My point here was that Russian technologists just might be cooler than we are here in the San Francisco area.

    Like

  54. Man
    you know nothing about modern Russia
    Many young fellows in Moscow have iPhones
    Russians drive “Toyota” and “Nissan” instead of “Lada” and Volga, use Google instead of Yandex, go to Italy for vacations instead of Sochi and “na derevnyu”
    Russians like technology and activly use it

    Like

  55. Man
    you know nothing about modern Russia
    Many young fellows in Moscow have iPhones
    Russians drive “Toyota” and “Nissan” instead of “Lada” and Volga, use Google instead of Yandex, go to Italy for vacations instead of Sochi and “na derevnyu”
    Russians like technology and activly use it

    Like

Comments are closed.