Science & Tech Quote by John Zimmerman

“Basket of well-diversified companies” is the kind of phrase that tries to make risk sound like meal prep: organized, sensible, already portioned out. Coming from an athlete, it lands as a locker-room version of portfolio theory - not flashy, not mystical, just a strategy for staying in the game when the terrain changes fast.

The intent is defensive optimism. Zimmerman wants exposure to the Internet’s upside without the fragility of pure-play Internet bets. It’s a way of saying: we believe the Internet is reshaping everything, but we don’t trust the companies whose entire identity is “the Internet” to survive the volatility, hype cycles, and inevitable wipeouts. The subtext is a quiet skepticism about narratives. In boom moments, markets reward story over substance; this framing smuggles in a preference for cash flow, moats, and businesses that can still function if the buzzword loses oxygen.

Context matters: this kind of language blooms when a technological shift is undeniable but the winners aren’t. Think late-90s/early-2000s logic, or any moment when “digital transformation” becomes a mandatory slide deck. “Playing the Internet” is telling - the Internet isn’t a sector here, it’s a condition. The smart move, Zimmerman implies, is to back the enablers and adapters: logistics firms rebuilt around e-commerce, payment rails, chipmakers, enterprise software, media companies with distribution leverage.

It works because it borrows athletic pragmatism: don’t bet the season on one rookie phenom; build depth, reduce injury risk, and let the trend lift the whole roster.