3 ms·

Hi Silicon Valley! Thanks for visiting our nation's capitol! kisses, DC -- Seriously, this shouldn't be surprising. It's a noble effort, the work is probabl

Hi Silicon Valley! Thanks for visiting our nation's capitol! kisses, DC -- Seriously, this shouldn't be surprising. It's a noble effort, the work is probably worth the so-called "losses", but the reason the government is the government and not Silicon Valley is that in government, there are a bajillion rules to keep you from screwing up too badly. There's been a fetishization in DC of Silicon Valley techniques, but 1) it's not at all clear that the current Silicon Valley ethos really is worth replicating, and 2) the conditions aren't right here, it can't be replicated without fundamentally changing the conditions. One of the conditions is that there's oversight over everything, and there's the press. One little article in the federal section of the Post isn't going to kill off anything alone, but it will be interesting to see what happens to 18F after the presidential transition. If there isn't high level cover for it, it will be ground to dust.

dchichkov 10y ago
It is people that make the difference, not the place or techniques.
- dj-wonk 10y ago
  You've oversimplified here. People, place, and techniques are highly coupled and influence each other.
- jonstewart 10y ago
  Well, the people here in DC are rule-makers and rule-followers. So there are a lot of rules and a lot of people enforcing the rules.
MichaelBurge 10y ago
> it will be interesting to see what happens to 18F after the presidential transition. If Clinton gets in, she'll probably appoint people from Google into high government positions. Eric Schmidt has given her campaign a lot of money and technical support, and she's mentioned bringing people from Silicon Valley in during some of her rallies. Probably that means giving Eric Schmidt a high-ranking position, or Google lucrative government contracts. I don't think that Trump cares too much about Silicon Valley. He'll probably just review them as part of a routine audit of all federal agencies, and ask them to explain what it is that they do and then make a decision to keep them. I think this particular agency is not high on his list of problems.

dchichkov 10y ago

It is people that make the difference, not the place or techniques.

dj-wonk 10y ago
You've oversimplified here. People, place, and techniques are highly coupled and influence each other.
jonstewart 10y ago
Well, the people here in DC are rule-makers and rule-followers. So there are a lot of rules and a lot of people enforcing the rules.

MichaelBurge 10y ago

> it will be interesting to see what happens to 18F after the presidential transition. If Clinton gets in, she'll probably appoint people from Google into high government positions. Eric Schmidt has given her campaign a lot of money and technical support, and she's mentioned bringing people from Silicon Valley in during some of her rallies. Probably that means giving Eric Schmidt a high-ranking position, or Google lucrative government contracts. I don't think that Trump cares too much about Silicon Valley. He'll probably just review them as part of a routine audit of all federal agencies, and ask them to explain what it is that they do and then make a decision to keep them. I think this particular agency is not high on his list of problems.