4 ms·

Rooted in doesn't mean intrinsically limited to. Apple and Google are also rooted in the Valley in the sense that their original users were here. But anything

by pg 13y ago

Rooted in doesn't mean intrinsically limited to. Apple and Google are also rooted in the Valley in the sense that their original users were here. But anything sufficiently good becomes ubiquitous. And incidentally, Instacart may well be such a thing. The effect it's had on my life is almost entirely a function of having small children rather than being part of the startup world.

lelandbatey 13y ago
Having typed my previous comment on my phone, I think I'd like to expand on what I was feeling: When I read HN, I think of it as a place for news that appeals to the mind of a "hacker". That's the "box" that it inhabits in my mind. When I see posts like this one though, I'm reminded that there's a very large bias towards things going on in a relatively small area or set of areas (SF, NYC, Boston, Austin, maybe Seattle). I think my feelings on seeing this post are just facing the reality of these natural biases. Also, I'd like to say that these biases aren't a bad thing. It's natural when lots of people with the same interests live in just a few places. But it does exist, and it gives me a bit of a mental jolt when I run across them. ----- Also, I agree with the sentiment that "anything sufficiently good will become ubiquitous." I've live(d) in the Seattle area all my life, and services like Amazon Fresh are wonderful for more than just people living the startup lifestyle.
ChuckMcM 13y ago
I don't think this concept is appreciated enough. Sure, the valley is a microcosm of people who are both willing to adopt early and willing to invest in some lifestyle changes in order to use clever technology. However, as pg points out, to know if something is good you have to have someone volunteer to use it. While people in the Bay Area may use something nobody else does, the number of things they won't use that a larger portion of the population will is a small number. So when Steve and Steve were pushing their "friendly" computer at the Computer Club it was to a group of people would would spend $1,000 on something they didn't have an immediate use for, but they found uses for it, and from those uses inspired other people to see uses for it. I've got a Zaurus Wizard, a Psion handheld, an HP Pocket Computer, a Palm Pilot, a Handspring, a Newton Message Pad, REX organizer, and an iPad. A lot of people have the iPad but much fewer have any of the other gizmos that led up to it.

by pg 13y ago

lelandbatey 13y ago

Having typed my previous comment on my phone, I think I'd like to expand on what I was feeling: When I read HN, I think of it as a place for news that appeals to the mind of a "hacker". That's the "box" that it inhabits in my mind. When I see posts like this one though, I'm reminded that there's a very large bias towards things going on in a relatively small area or set of areas (SF, NYC, Boston, Austin, maybe Seattle). I think my feelings on seeing this post are just facing the reality of these natural biases. Also, I'd like to say that these biases aren't a bad thing. It's natural when lots of people with the same interests live in just a few places. But it does exist, and it gives me a bit of a mental jolt when I run across them. ----- Also, I agree with the sentiment that "anything sufficiently good will become ubiquitous." I've live(d) in the Seattle area all my life, and services like Amazon Fresh are wonderful for more than just people living the startup lifestyle.

ChuckMcM 13y ago

I don't think this concept is appreciated enough. Sure, the valley is a microcosm of people who are both willing to adopt early and willing to invest in some lifestyle changes in order to use clever technology. However, as pg points out, to know if something is good you have to have someone volunteer to use it. While people in the Bay Area may use something nobody else does, the number of things they won't use that a larger portion of the population will is a small number. So when Steve and Steve were pushing their "friendly" computer at the Computer Club it was to a group of people would would spend $1,000 on something they didn't have an immediate use for, but they found uses for it, and from those uses inspired other people to see uses for it. I've got a Zaurus Wizard, a Psion handheld, an HP Pocket Computer, a Palm Pilot, a Handspring, a Newton Message Pad, REX organizer, and an iPad. A lot of people have the iPad but much fewer have any of the other gizmos that led up to it.