Silicon Valley - Still Important To Tech Advances

mrspin writes "This week the The New York Times sparked a lively debate by publishing an article which argued that, when it comes to creating innovative technology, geography still matters — and that Silicon Valley is the place to be. It's certainly true that Silicon Valley, compared with other innovation hot-spots, has the much needed Venture Capital and the connections that enable money to flow from one new company to another. Want proof? ZDNet takes a look at LinkSViewer, a new web-based visual networking tool for exploring capital relationships in Silicon Valley." Is the success of Valley-area projects the result of a more creative environment, or is the cachet of the area (and the resulting money) the reason behind their success?

Comments

It's all about networking

[sterno]

Basically what it boils down to is that these areas benefit from the fact that there's already a bunch of people with the needed resources already there. As much as we'd like to think the Internet makes location irrelevant, the reality is that we're social creatures and we'll always have an affinity for meeting people in person. We get jobs, build companies and get investment, primarily, through the social networks we create. It's possible to do these things without social networks but it is WAY harder.

In my career since College I've worked in two cities and have worked in five companies. Of those five companies, I was hired totally cold by only one of them. In all the other cases, I knew somebody who worked for the company who I'd worked for/with in the past and was able to use that to get my foot in the door. Now take that concept and multiply it thousands of times amongst the social networks that develop in a limited geographic area with a strong focus on a particular kind of business.

So I think ultimately it's less about the cash in the valley, and more about the people there. The cash follows the people and the ideas.