Fair enough. But the software eats the world essay did change the world. Maybe he was lucky, but I still think he managed to position himself in order to be heard with that essay.

Maybe I am naive.

How do you think it changed the world? I don’t think that was an especially prescient thing to say/write at that time. The idea that software was poised to continue to grow in 2011 was pretty obvious to most people. It is true that some companies were undervalued and many VCs and other folks were scarred from the dotcom bust.

But if you go back and read it, you might notice that a lot of the companies and software he discussed and predictions along with them failed to be true or lasting.

I think mostly it was a good catchphrase.

It coined a catchy phrase but the essay just described a change that was happening, I don't think it effected any change itself.

You should look into the person Marc hired to research and validate that for him (basically write it) Ro Venkatesh. His essays are quite titilating. And you can immediately see it was Ro's idea not Marc's.