Is Silicon Valley Reproducible?

sunil99 asks: "Paul Graham, in his latest essay, looks at the ingredients which make Silicon Valley what it is. From the essay: 'Could you reproduce Silicon Valley elsewhere, or is there something unique about it? It wouldn't be surprising if it were hard to reproduce in other countries, because you couldn't reproduce it in most of the US, either. What does it take to make [a Silicon Valley]?'. In his opinion: 'I think you only need two kinds of people to create a technology hub: rich people and nerds'. He concludes that if a city can attract these people, it can stand a chance of replicating Silicon Valley. What do you think of Paul's opinions? If you would like some changes to the current Silicon Valley, what would those be?" While the people are an important part to the Silicon Valley experience, they are only part of the requirement. What local characteristics must also be present, even if Silicon Valley is to be duplicated on a smaller scale? What draws technology companies to a specific location?

Comments

history and other problems

[barutanseijin]

However you want to define it, "Silicon Valley" is a product of history. That being the case there are a lot of things that went into producing what we now know as "Silicon Valley". In no particular order:

• The Cold War. (the impetus for much basic computer research)
• Massive investments in education from both the State of California and the US federales. (Nerds are made, not born)
• Relatively cheap land (obviously not anymore.)
• The youth rebellion of the '60s. (contributed in no small part to the popularity of mini/personal computers, *nix, free software, WozJobsMacintosh etc.)
• Communications and transportation infrastructure. (Some degree of connectivity was important, but too much makes centralisation unnecessary.)

As a general principle, what was a possibility for previous generations is a possibility for us, too. Whether it's likely or not is another question.

I think the article overemphasises economic factors at the expense of the cultural and historical. Silicon Valley is history, and history is a lot more complicated than that.

Re:First thing's first

[seanadams.com]

Actually, you hit on a good point.

Housing was not always expensive here. When Wozniak was developing the Apple I, middle-class homes were routinesly built on 10,000 square foot lots because land was so plentiful, and blue-collar jobs could confortably pay a mortgage.

In that environment, you can imagine how a young man could dedicate two or three years to desigingin something while taking insignificant personal financial risk.

Just another reason why we CAN'T have another "silicon valley" here - living expenses prohibit one from starting a full-time garage business.

I could share a funny personal story about threatening investors to leave the valley so that I could get a cheap house and work from my garage, rather than having to take their money so I could draw a salary. I've thought about this one a bit. :)