No City Has A Lock On Innovation(avc.com)
avc.com
No City Has A Lock On Innovation
http://www.avc.com/a_vc/2011/08/no-city-has-a-lock-on-innovation.html
4 comments
[deleted]
"The entire world is now a rival to Silicon Valley ... We will see Apples and Facebooks get built in China, India, Brazil, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and plenty of other places ... Until recently, "technology" was largely about "moving electrons on wires." Now, "technology" is about building all kinds of interesting applications on top of the Internet."
Hah! I know that people who work in 'web' are often myopic, but this takes it to a new level. "Technology" is not just "about building all kinds of interesting application on top of the internet". Technology is also about generating and distributing power, performing surgeries, curing diseases, designing engines, designing space ships and space suits, and thousands of other things that are not web application development. Even Silicon Valley is not completely about the web, it being one of the smaller areas of investment relative to energy and biotech.
That is not to say that the 'web' and a technology sector is not of unique importance however. If I were to offer any advice to the mayor, I would say that we should take a very important lesson from that world, which is that engineering and design should go hand in hand. It is not enough just to innovate by engineering muscle – the way new technologies are packaged and embedded in culture needs to be 'engineered' as well.
Hah! I know that people who work in 'web' are often myopic, but this takes it to a new level. "Technology" is not just "about building all kinds of interesting application on top of the internet". Technology is also about generating and distributing power, performing surgeries, curing diseases, designing engines, designing space ships and space suits, and thousands of other things that are not web application development. Even Silicon Valley is not completely about the web, it being one of the smaller areas of investment relative to energy and biotech.
That is not to say that the 'web' and a technology sector is not of unique importance however. If I were to offer any advice to the mayor, I would say that we should take a very important lesson from that world, which is that engineering and design should go hand in hand. It is not enough just to innovate by engineering muscle – the way new technologies are packaged and embedded in culture needs to be 'engineered' as well.
Does Wilson invest in people he hasn't met? What fraction of his investments are outside of his typical travel zone?
Yes, the entire world is a rival to SV, but that's not new. The relevant question is always what resources are available and how much they cost. Certain resources are very inexpensive in SV and very expensive elsewhere. (The same is true of NYC, but wrt different resources.)
Yes, the entire world is a rival to SV, but that's not new. The relevant question is always what resources are available and how much they cost. Certain resources are very inexpensive in SV and very expensive elsewhere. (The same is true of NYC, but wrt different resources.)
The first part is true, but not the second. Boston was a big rival to Silicon Valley before the Internet, and since the rise of the Internet has actually fallen further behind.