Long-time readers are well-acquainted with the many good works I have done for the people of Earth. I have given them ProphetCharts, MarketMatrix, Prophet.net, a couple dozen books, SocialTrade, the Slope of Hope, SlopeCharts, and my beloved progeny. Closer observation yields more contributions on my part in the realm of fashion, particularly with respect to mime shirts, sweater vests, and a closet full of Ecco shoes only (no other brand will do).
Yet I have never been fashionable enough to conjure up surely one of the silliest startup ideas with, bar none, the worst name of all time: Fashism. I only know of this site because I read about its demise yesterday. Evidently Ashton Kutcher (who, for reasons wholly alien to me, is heralded as some kind of tech-savant investing genius) put $1 million into this dog.
Even more incredibly, just as readers of Slope of Hope are called “Slopers”, followers of the above-mentioned site were addressed as……….and I’m not making this up……..fashists. I daresay the ubiquitous ignorance of the American public (particularly those drawn to such a site) safely shields them from the knowledge of the inhumane atrocities foisted upon countless millions of people who were tortured, raped, and gassed to death, but why bother with a little historical baggage when you can come up with a cute name?
(Note to self: open up a new mini-market to compete with 7-11 called Gestop & Go)
In any case, the entire business model of the site was as follows (don’t worry, it’ll only take you a moment):
That’s it. That’s seriously it. SocialTrade has about fifty times as much functionality, and this piece of crap got a million dollars in funding. I could, however, see its appeal………
We’re back in late 1999, people, but articles like this are absolutely crammed with “but it’s different this time.” so don’t sweat it. Everyone learned their lessons from 2000 and 2007, and it won’t happen again. Honest.
