4 ms·

This article was completely unfair. Here's the last third of the Times article: "But there is another side to the Valley. One where people are building truly i

This article was completely unfair. Here's the last third of the Times article: "But there is another side to the Valley. One where people are building truly innovative companies. Where founders aren’t driven by seeing their name on tech blogs or tweeting a picture of themselves with their new investors, M.C. Hammer or Ashton Kutcher. There are truly excited inventors, designers and programmers here, some of the brightest people in the United States, who are trying to build something that will fix a problem in the world. This is why I love working in Silicon Valley. Where else in the world would people try to make a better and more efficient taxi service, thermostat or tool for revolt? Where else would they reinvent education, the Boy Scouts and even government? And there are those who are helping the economy, creating services that enable people to find new forms of income. Once you are able to navigate through the sludge of pandering and ostentation, you can see there is truly magical work taking place. Luckily for people who live outside the bubble of Silicon Valley, there is a wonderful group of creators here who believe that everything is broken and that technology, creativity and guts can actually fix it."

ChuckMcM 14y ago
I don't know about you, but that part of the article felt a bit less authentic to me. One of the things I've noticed though are that people who are driven, are quietly rich, people who just happened to be at the company at the right time can be completely bonkers. But the one thing I know for sure is that if you 'get rich', be it from the lottery or a company IPO or a relative you never knew dying and leaving it to you, how you will react is not predictable. Money changes your attitudes and if you are not careful your values, and that can lead to profound changes in people in unexpected directions.
- segmond 14y ago
  I'm sorry, but money doesn't change attitude, it magnifies character.
- larrys 14y ago
  Parent said: ""This article was completely unfair. Here's the last third of the Times article: "But there is another side to the Valley"" You said: "but that part of the article felt a bit less authentic to me" You are both right. That's know as the "to be sure" part. NYT does that as do other "responsible" media. The idea is to be circumspect and present an opposing side to be complete. So someone can't say the article is biased and people (like Arrington) can't easily take pot shots. Do a search for "nyt "to be sure"" for just the last 24 hours and you will see some examples. Here is an example from http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/ http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/ "The summary statistic that comes from this data is the gross domestic product. It has its faults, to be sure, but it is the best single figure we have to tell us how well we are doing, economically."
huhtenberg 14y ago
> Where else in the world Pretty much anywhere. It comes down to a fitting individual, of which there simply more in the SV. There's nothing magical about SV that suddenly makes an otherwise average person start designing a better thermostat.

ChuckMcM 14y ago

I don't know about you, but that part of the article felt a bit less authentic to me. One of the things I've noticed though are that people who are driven, are quietly rich, people who just happened to be at the company at the right time can be completely bonkers. But the one thing I know for sure is that if you 'get rich', be it from the lottery or a company IPO or a relative you never knew dying and leaving it to you, how you will react is not predictable. Money changes your attitudes and if you are not careful your values, and that can lead to profound changes in people in unexpected directions.

segmond 14y ago
I'm sorry, but money doesn't change attitude, it magnifies character.
larrys 14y ago
Parent said: ""This article was completely unfair. Here's the last third of the Times article: "But there is another side to the Valley"" You said: "but that part of the article felt a bit less authentic to me" You are both right. That's know as the "to be sure" part. NYT does that as do other "responsible" media. The idea is to be circumspect and present an opposing side to be complete. So someone can't say the article is biased and people (like Arrington) can't easily take pot shots. Do a search for "nyt "to be sure"" for just the last 24 hours and you will see some examples. Here is an example from http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/ http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/ "The summary statistic that comes from this data is the gross domestic product. It has its faults, to be sure, but it is the best single figure we have to tell us how well we are doing, economically."

huhtenberg 14y ago

> Where else in the world Pretty much anywhere. It comes down to a fitting individual, of which there simply more in the SV. There's nothing magical about SV that suddenly makes an otherwise average person start designing a better thermostat.