Since when have the qualities of enthusiasm and naivety become so easily interchangeable?

I’m sure that some of what has been posted is simply brutal honesty, and the realities of this business are certain to mar what lofty expectations some may have about entering it. But, like a marriage, it isn’t enough to deter and corral me.

I have come to form an honest opinion about life. You are one of two people in this world: The person who writes about others, and the person whom others write about.

I’ll be honest, reading some of this did take me back a little, both because of the message and what appears to be a brooding opinion about such hopefulness that I displayed in my ad. In one sense, I am glad to see this at the onset, so that I know it exists. I’ve faced countless obstacles in my life, some seemingly insurmountable, but time and again I have overcome them.

Attached is my letter to my responders. Feel free to comment away.

All,

If you read about this posting on the Hacker’s Web Site, feel free to continue reading, but I would prefer to work with people closer, for convenience issues, of course. If you are still very interested in the project, be sure to contact me with any questions.

Plenty of people have expressed an interest -- many more than I thought would, so we’re off to a great start. Not everyone will be involved, though, but I have been impressed by much of the stuff I’ve seen already.

I put out the initial ad with very few details about the project, hoping that there would be people out there who still possess that entrepreneurial, heck-let’s-do-this spirit. If I’ve gotten respondents who are looking for the next great business proposition, with a low disposition for patience and computer craftsmanship and those who are only searching for a complete by-the-books partnership, you can just move on, there’s nothing for you here.

Like I told one respondent, I’m 28 years old and I’ve accomplished much more than most would in 58. I would like to take advantage of what is left of my youth to push the limits of my creativity and my ideas.

I have worked hard all my life. I got into Journalism -- and by extension marketing -- at the age of 18 and have been doing it for 10 years; going from submitting articles for free to publisher of a regional chain of newspapers. I’m the guy who exposes the scammer every week through my work and the work of my reporters.

But I am asked if I am perhaps just a little wide-eyed? Sure as hell I am. But has it paid off? Sure as hell it has.

There is a time and a place for material plans, for concrete designs and implementations -- that is the entire reason for meeting, and NDAs. So I look forward to it. No, I don’t claim to know the ins and outs of the industry, but time and history have proven that convention limits you; let’s create our own type of convention and not follow what has been done before us.

I have the detailed outlines of these plans ready, and, beyond that, am ready to tweak and chisel away at until they’re perfect. But there are significant twists to these concepts that, in my mind, at least, guarantee success.

At least the initial terms will focus on a few key areas: careful implementation, a process outlined by frugality, and an experience that we will introduce, but not tie up precious resources and man hours having to maintain.

That is not a gate being closed to external ideas.

I began this search for ‘mad men’ and that is entirely what I am searching for. I’m looking for Lennon. I’m looking for Allen. I’m looking for Lincoln, for Gore. I’m looking for Gehrig, for Domingo, for my Whitman, my Thomas, my Dylan. This will not be an individualistic project, not at all.

But I’d rather have a close-knit group of guys, a handful or less, with like-minded ideals, than a squad full of geniuses with an elitist view of the world. I’d rather have a rock band than a science lab.

I’m looking to contribute and to gain equal parts of what we’ll sow, and none will do less than anyone else, or dedicate themselves less than anyone else.

I strive for excellence. And, yes, while others may have more experience in the field of computers, what good is it without ambition and perseverance? What good is it that a person was born with the ability to cure a disease, or to pull readers to his site, if he simply unsure of where to start?

That is what I’m looking to bring here: an attention to detail and quality, an unrelenting desire to see a project through to its completion. We may end up on the cutting room floor, we may not. We may hit upon something truly great, we may not. No guarantees, except that we will do our best and give it our damnedest, are being made here.

You are entitled to your own interpretation of the world, and as such, this letter. You can choose to take it as your clarion call, or your death knell. But there is a reason you responded to my ad. Don’t forget that.

Having said that, I understand how someone could view this as naive. Having the benefit of knowing the author’s full intent, I can say that there is not an ounce of naivety in this letter.

But, if we could entertain naivety for just a second longer, I’d like to get back to my earlier comment, "Let’s change the world."

Who’s in?

- J. Zaragoza