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I think the Internet will strengthen the trend, rather than weaken it. People outside of a specific innovation cluster can take part in it through the internet

I think the Internet will strengthen the trend, rather than weaken it. People outside of a specific innovation cluster can take part in it through the internet. People that live in that cluster can participate through the Internet and in person. That's a big advantage that will only become more pronounced over time. Face to face is so much higher bandwidth that important parts of it will never be reproduced online. Why do you think YC requires you to be in person?

rglullis 18y ago
Actually, I think that will be more important is the ability of people to come and go. It's the velocity of social interaction between talented people that it's important, not the amount of aggregated "human talent capital". YC requires people to be in person, but only during the 3 month period. That is the time it takes to make all the social interactions that are needed for that stage. If Internet access, smart people and population density were important to innovation, Tokyo would give birth to the majority of tech startups and cultural achievements. It doesn't.
- pchristensen 18y ago
  Population density and personal interaction are important to innovation, but only certain kinds of innovation are highly profitable. SV has a big edge there because it has the highest density of people with the resources (mental, financial, relationship, etc) to produce tech startups. Ditto for film in LA, fashion in Milan, finance in NYC, etc.
  - h34t 18y ago
    I agree, and I'd say these differences between cities fall under the label of 'culture'. Population density and personal interaction are necessary but insufficient. I taught SAT prep in China for a couple of months. If population density and personal interaction were all that are required for innovation, my students would have been creative geniuses. Instead, the results of cultural patterns such as fear/obedience/submission to authority dominated my impressions of all but a few.

rglullis 18y ago

Actually, I think that will be more important is the ability of people to come and go. It's the velocity of social interaction between talented people that it's important, not the amount of aggregated "human talent capital". YC requires people to be in person, but only during the 3 month period. That is the time it takes to make all the social interactions that are needed for that stage. If Internet access, smart people and population density were important to innovation, Tokyo would give birth to the majority of tech startups and cultural achievements. It doesn't.

pchristensen 18y ago
Population density and personal interaction are important to innovation, but only certain kinds of innovation are highly profitable. SV has a big edge there because it has the highest density of people with the resources (mental, financial, relationship, etc) to produce tech startups. Ditto for film in LA, fashion in Milan, finance in NYC, etc.
- h34t 18y ago
  I agree, and I'd say these differences between cities fall under the label of 'culture'. Population density and personal interaction are necessary but insufficient. I taught SAT prep in China for a couple of months. If population density and personal interaction were all that are required for innovation, my students would have been creative geniuses. Instead, the results of cultural patterns such as fear/obedience/submission to authority dominated my impressions of all but a few.