Speaking as a young man, I always found this counter intuitive and here is why (and this is an argument which has been called many things including cute). Wouldn't following the heard be safe? Suppose I don't really want to change the world, rather I want to enjoy myself. Now following the heard is easy, I do whatever everyone else is doing and have the advantage that I can learn from their mistakes. Now I have a large amount of data on what works and what doesn't so I can pick and choose how I wish to follow the heard. On the other hand I have this gut feeling thing which isn't really based on data and more so on... well nothing tangible really. I just feel it may pay out. Their is a high failure rate in such methods and a high frustration attached to it since like minds are rare. So is it that if I want to change the world I should not follow the herd and should follow if I want to just live?

"Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect." -- Mark Twain

tl;dr: Follow your instinct rather than the herd. Don't do something just because it's trendy. Do it because you believe it's important and will have a long-term impact to the world.

Don Knuth, original hipster.

I couldn't help thinking of Ryan Dahl while watching this.

Is Donald Knuth's approach the complete opposite of the lean startup methodology? Are too many people just trying to follow the latest trends?

Anyone can add a video to Web of Stories (see softbuilder 8 days ago | link below). It is simple and free to use. Just go to http://webofstories.com and try!

Anne Greenwood Web of Stories Ltd

Setting aside Knuth for a second, this Web of Stories project is pretty great. I hope this grows.