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I don't know why I'm getting downvoted. That quote from the article was funny. I should preface this next statement by saying, I'm not trolling, this doesn't a

by jbail 16y ago

I don't know why I'm getting downvoted. That quote from the article was funny. I should preface this next statement by saying, I'm not trolling, this doesn't apply to the Valley in particular and this is serious food for thought: Does anyone worry that all the sharing of tips about what worked for company X and what new thing company Y is doing actually stifles innovation by creating an echo chamber of sorts? Do these tips and tricks become "rules" that keep a person's thinking inside a box? Are the innovations just re-applications of existing ideas? Not in every case, but certainly in many. Not to pick on anyone in particular, but let's look at Posterous. It's an email gateway for a blog. It's simple and elegant to use (I use it and love it), and they obviously rock at the biz/dev/marketing aspect of the business --- but is it really that innovative? How much does Posterous further the evolution of the Internet? How about Quora? Again, great site --- but it's a question and answer app. It's been done at least a dozen times before. Does Quora increase the pace at which the Internet evolves? I remember reading something from PG about music startups (paraphrased), that "the music industry is a just a vacuum to suck your VC dollars." Hence, he's not super stoked on investing in music startups. He's obviously seen his share of failed music startups and has talked to others in the Valley who also have first hand experience with failed music startups. But, is it possible that the Valley isn't thinking creatively enough about music startups? That maybe the Valley can't think creatively enough because it innovates between the lines? It's also crucial to recognize that most disruptive businesses don't start in the Valley. They move there so their VC can keep an eye on them. I don't know. I'll probably get banned from HN for thinking a little dangerously and questioning the established thinking so openly.

smokinn 16y ago
You got downvoted not because you're critical of Silicon Valley but because your comment was a useless 3-character "LOL" that adds nothing to the conversation. As soon as you explained why you thought it was laughable you got upvoted.
- jbail 16y ago
  Adding LOL next to a pretentious statement like, "the Valley is an order of magnitude closer to being self-aware" adds to the conversation that I think it's a silly statement. I didn't think more words needed to be written to get that point across. But, you're clearly in the majority, so point made. No more LOLs from me. I'll explain myself fully from now on.
royrod 16y ago
I think those are very fair questions. On the one hand I agree a lot of startups can be derivative and may not pass the "how is this making the world better" question. But at the same time, that's a much higher bar than most companies are held to... As far as Quora and Posterous as examples, I think their excellent UX do advance the world in that they help people share their thoughts and experiences better/more easily than with previous generations of those ideas.

by jbail 16y ago

smokinn 16y ago

You got downvoted not because you're critical of Silicon Valley but because your comment was a useless 3-character "LOL" that adds nothing to the conversation. As soon as you explained why you thought it was laughable you got upvoted.

jbail 16y ago
Adding LOL next to a pretentious statement like, "the Valley is an order of magnitude closer to being self-aware" adds to the conversation that I think it's a silly statement. I didn't think more words needed to be written to get that point across. But, you're clearly in the majority, so point made. No more LOLs from me. I'll explain myself fully from now on.

royrod 16y ago

I think those are very fair questions. On the one hand I agree a lot of startups can be derivative and may not pass the "how is this making the world better" question. But at the same time, that's a much higher bar than most companies are held to... As far as Quora and Posterous as examples, I think their excellent UX do advance the world in that they help people share their thoughts and experiences better/more easily than with previous generations of those ideas.