
Bjork, Icelandic Singer and…Venture Capitalist? - atestu
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/23/bjork-icelandic-singer-and-venture-capitalist/?ref=technology
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gaius
That is the fun thing about Iceland and its people; everyone has 2-3 wildly
disparate jobs, and they're just as good at all of them. No-one in Iceland
thinks it's odd that a musician should also be a VC.

Tho' they have deep, deep structural problems with their economy; compared to
the Icelanders the British were _sensible_ with credit. I'd wish them luck
sorting it out but they don't need it, they'll have their act together long
before we do.

~~~
motoko
Iceland needs some serious answers to some serious problems. This is PR fluff.

Edit: I had written something much more critical before, but maybe Iceland
needs the morale boost. It's unclear to me how $800k is going to save
Iceland's economy through feminine values and environmentalism, but maybe it
could work. However, I think it's more likely that Iceland will simply be
forced to compromise and pay its debt for the next several decades selling
energy and toxic dumps to smelt aluminum. I hope that they can do so without
sacrificing their environment and culture entirely.

I already pity the scabs the heavy foreign industry will be pressuring to
emigrate to Iceland...

~~~
gaius
They're an optimistic and resourceful people. They'll be over this before we
in the UK are (as we are neither these days).

I'd love to emigrate to Iceland. They have the great policy of requiring
immigrants to take on Icelandic names, I've wasted considerable time looking
at the list and wondering what mine would be :-)

I think it's more likely they'll get loans from a coalition of Scandinavian
nations and perhaps forfeit some political/economic independence rather than
allow the predators in.

~~~
euccastro
> They have the great policy of requiring immigrants to take on Icelandic
> names

Nonsense. I've been there for 3 years, begged to be called Stebbie because it
sounded more like my name than when they try to pronounce Esteban (they always
stress the first syllable), to no avail.

Truly great place to live, though.

~~~
gaius
Are you a citizen? If so, was it straightforward?

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motoko
All that I read in this article was: Slam dunk for economic hitmen in Iceland!
Ding ding, here come the smelters!

~~~
motoko
MacGyver! Save Iceland!

Ok, what do I have?

Girl power, Gaia worship, $800k, and Bjork. You have one year to make 61
billion dollars, and you can't exploit any natural resources.

Oh God...

------
Prrometheus
>“If the money for the next aluminum smelters would go into supporting these
businesses, we would be in a much better position in Iceland in five years’
time, both economically and also just image-wise or dignity-wise,”

I won't comment on the image and dignity aspects of this statement, that's not
my specialty. However, the idea that green tech will be an economic winner is
still magical thinking, a largely unproven assumption. Most green tech is
still a money pit, and near 100% of it would be if not for massive government
subsidies. And if you're not eligible for US or European subsidies, then
you're probably not going to make money in green tech.

~~~
gaius
Reykjavik runs on geothermal power. Green tech is very real in Iceland. Of
course, it may not work so well where the geology isn't so suitable...

~~~
motoko
"Green" is subjective. Iceland is attractive to industry because \- it's
largely unpopulated \- it's on the ocean and near both Western Europe and the
Eastern US \- stable and modern government \- energy is cheap

Also, Iceland has not only geothermal potential, but hydroelectric potential.

In short, Iceland is an potential industrial wonderland ---and all powered
"green" tech, too. However, just because one isn't burning coal doesn't mean
that industry is consequence free. The problem isn't environmental as I
understand it, it's cultural. Icelanders pride themselves as an extremely
educated, egalitarian nation. They don't want their nation polluted with the
socioeconomics of heavy industry including unskilled labor, pollution, obvious
social classes, foreign industrial oligarchs, and, yes, the non-Icelandic. To
them, the heavy industry is tacky and crass, just like how McDonald's
advertising on elementary school textbooks would be to us. Both are examples
of "economical effectiveness," but neither are widely appreciated by people
who would know better to choose otherwise.

~~~
euccastro
"Green" is not only about the energy sources themselves. There are lots of
viable business opportunities that don't involve screwing with the landscape
and environment.

For example, a MMO that will soon have as many paying subscribers as Iceland
has inhabitants:

<http://www.eve-online.com>

How much heavy industry do you really need to support a country of ~300.000
inhabitants, with a culture of work, integrity, ambition and optimism,
abundance of geothermal energy sources, a healthy fishing industry and a
touristically attractive landscape?

~~~
motoko
Off-topic: have you played EVE? I've heard that it's an extremely engaging
game with a realistic game world, but that to play demands your life full time
for a year.

~~~
euccastro
I've worked in Eve. 'Realistic' is not the word I'd use (it's a science
fiction setting after all,) but it is indeed more a freeform and deep
experience than many glorified level grinds out there, and it's true that it
can absorb any amount of time if you let it.

