2006 5
Silicon Valley vs Silicon Alley
Published by MartinVarsavsky.net in General with No Comments
I am in NYC right now. Today I met with my friend Jack Hidary and we had a conversation as to why NYC, a city that is so successful in so many fields, has failed to produce dominant technology companies. Silicon Alley never really took off while Silicon Valley continues to dominate the American and global Internet. My answer? Mobility. In America people just move to where the jobs are. If we went through the ranks of the most successful technology companies in the Valley we would probably find a lot of uprooted New Yorkers contributing to their success. In Europe however, people tend to stay where they grew up. As a result there are less clusters and all industries are more scattered.
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Jon on February 6, 2006 ·
I think true internet nerds aren’t drawn to the trendiness on one hand, nor the suit-wearing on the other hand, that New York offers. The west has always been where people go with ideas in the US.
Jon
Paul Reigersmants on February 7, 2006 ·
Does it mean that you are moving out from Silicon Bendas?
Ralf Haller on February 8, 2006 ·
Having lived and worked in Europe and many years in the Silicon Valley as well (don’t know the Silicon Alley though) I might have some answers to your question why Silicon Valley is so successful and others are not.
Some of it is mentioned on our own blog site: http://www.nice-ventures.com/blog (search for Silicon Valley)
It takes many things to make it happen and there is no such place -at least I have not found any- that brings it together as the Valley does it. I like of course if Fon stays in Europe (Spain) since we need such companies and spirit here as well!
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gerhard on February 5, 2006 ·
“As a result there are less clusters and all industries are more scattered” –
Well, do you really think that this is a disadvantage? Why clustering, when this is not neccessary? We have internet working together, and video confrences and skype and in teh future fon.com.
Did you also ever think in social implications of mobility? What about disrupting social relations? What about building houses? I personally dont like spending my live in a caravan.
🙂
gerhard