I feel like the people deciding what (research and technology) to fund in the EU generally have very poor taste in their selections. I assume that they are non-technical as they often seem to choose the projects that make the most ambitious claims about social impact and EU values, but have very little to none technical merit.

Stuff like Rust, that could be a real technological advantage for the EU, is not funded, but weird blockchain semantic web foo is https://www.ngi.eu/

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A...

The relevant part:

> Article 5

> Confidentiality of the communications

> 3. Member States shall ensure that the storing of information, or the gaining of access to information already stored, in the terminal equipment of a subscriber or user is only allowed on condition that the subscriber or user concerned has given his or her consent, having been provided with clear and comprehensive information, in accordance with Directive 95/46/EC, inter alia, about the purposes of the processing. This shall not prevent any technical storage or access for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network, or as strictly necessary in order for the provider of an information society service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user to provide the service.

If you want to argue that companies have a legal alternative to showing you cookie banners, then by all means do so. But don’t say there’s no law because there clearly is. This is a misleading and inflammatory headline.

Edit: Yes, I read the article. To draw a distinction between “must obtain consent” and “must show UI that obtains consent” is of no value unless you want to write an article with a shocking headline.

The upside: From an investing perspective, the more regulations the EU comes up with, the more US software companies are a safe bet.

The downside: Europe missed the internet and now will miss AI. How will that affect quality of life here?

Is nobody in the EU bringing up the question why every single European citizen is dependent on US hardware, US software and US services? How we got here and where this will lead to, when software will not only be our "bicycle of the mind" but literally the car that drives us around, the nurse that cares for our health and the craftsman that builds our home?

Please don't ask what my business is. I rather share true numbers, but don't link to my product. I see no upside in being super transparent about the financials in a non-anonymous way (although I enjoy transparency from others ;)).

What I think makes my product successful (and I keep this short, because luck plays an important role. Most startup stories suffer from survivorship and hindsight bias):

- It serves a niche and does so very well, better than all others. I have clearly defined my niche, although it took me years to exactly pinpoint it. There's a tendency to want to grab a "bigger audience". Since I make more money than I ever imagined, there is no need to grow bigger or reach a wider audience. This would also make the product less focused on the specific niche.

- Start working on something, release a prototype after 2-6 weeks. Don't invest months or years in something without users.

- For me, marketing = SEO. I never really got into social media. But I have to admit that nowadays, my SEO rankings dropped a bit and people talk about my product in Facebook groups.

- If there are two books I'd recommend: "Rework" by Basecamp. It helps you to focus on a minimal set of features and think about what's truly important. Couple this with "This is Marketing" from Seth Godin, where he explains how traditional marketing is dead and how it's important to find a niche. Don't read more books, interviews or whatever. Get into a "starter mindset" by reading and then do.

- The subscription model helps you to stay afloat. People will pay for a product they use every day (and thus, derive value from every day). If your product is not used every day, but only once per month or so, expect way lower revenue.