We're Not The Only Ones Who Ask The High School Question

So I was reading my feeds and spotted "An Outsider's Flawed View Of Silicon Valley," a post defending Silicon Valley from the negative claims in this post, "How Green Was My Valley," a post distinguishing Seattle from the Valley, controverting the claims in this NY Times article, "Seattle Taps Its Inner Silicon Valley," about how Seattle is becoming the next Silicon Valley.

The Times article rightly finds Seattle following in Silicon Valley's footsteps, with its influx of venture capital and transformation from timber and aerospace to internet, based around U-Dub and of course Microsoft and Amazon:

"A start-up ecosystem needs social networks, support businesses and a business culture that views failure as a badge of honor, not shame. All of that is in place in Seattle."

Glenn Kelman's blog takes issue with the comparison, and points out why Seattle is indubitably not Silicon Valley, and never will be, thankfully:

"My first roommate spent four years building a company in San Francisco without ever buying furniture. When his startup went bust, he packed for the trip home to Toronto the same day. Seattle is different. People live in Seattle because they love Seattle."

And, finally, if not arrogantly, Michael Arrington's blog basically proclaims Silicon Valley as the supreme center of all things internet entrepreneurship, and anyone claiming that it's better to start a tech company anywhere else is delusional. I wouldn't disagree, I guess (emphasis his):

"But the best of the best come to Silicon Valley to see if they’re as good as the legends that came before them. It’s a competitive advantage to be here. And if you aren’t willing to take advantage of every possible advantage to make your crazy startup idea work, perhaps you shouldn’t be an entrepreneur... Making lifestyle choices is fine, but don’t delude yourself into thinking those choices are anything but a tradeoff. If staring at lakes and skiing after work are important to you, don’t pretend to be surprised when your startup doesn’t cut it."

They're all well-written, and you can read them and maybe gain insight on what it takes to be a technology hub, but I want to focus on one thing Kelman says in promoting Seattle (emphasis mine):

"In reality, most places don’t even want to try to be like the Valley. Seattle has become unrecognizably wealthier in the past decade, yet is oddly unhappy about it. Many Seattleites wish we were still a modest boreal town rather than a Microsoft-Amazon megapolis. The question I am most often asked here is where I went to high school — twenty years ago — not what I’m doing next."

See? We're not the only ones.