TechFold - Bold tech & web commentary

You Have the Choice

The granddaddies of the tech blogosphere are lamenting both the pressure of their success, and that of the whole 2.0 scene - both Michael A. and the Scobleizer have disillusioned navel-gazing posts up this AM, wishing for the simple, post-dot-com-boom days of 2001 and 2002 when Web2.0 was a valley cafe phenomenon and the bust had cleansed the valley of much of the Type-A ambitious personalities that make the current boom feel corrosive.

To Michael and Robert, I’d offer simple advice: Success (or failure) are what you make it; each day you live is a choice.

1. Don’t be afraid to let go: I wouldn’t want to be in Michael’s shoes, having the power of life or death over startups, and getting despondent phonecalls from people desperate for coverage. Talk about pressure. Its not a fair position to be put in by startups, and I can’t imagine dealing with those calls - but it goes with the territory when you reach a certain size. So - they (Michael, Robert) have a choice: embrace the challenge, and look to traditional and innovative ways to manage these relationships, or walk away: there is no shame in saying “this is no longer for me” and moving on to something new. I envy the professionals in music, acting, and sports that know when they’ve had enough and exit the mainstream: its classy and respectable.
2. Find the Next Cafe Scene: Web2.0 is not the terminal endpoint for the technology world, the web-tech is only one facet anyway. The next iteration is brewing right now in a cafe somewhere, or a University lecture hall, or a computer-strewn basement. Is it the “semantic web?” Is it some type of biotech? Is it GMO crops? Or some type of new economics, like micro-lending, that can change the world? If you want a break from the mainstream, find the fringe again and be there.
3. Change It: Robert and Michael have the collective power to influence the valley environment; if its pernicious and poisoned, perhaps they should be asking again how to bring it back? You’re both awash in choices: finances, influence, relationships, and audiences - how can you use all of that to either change the valley environment back to “friendly,” or create your own friendly microclimate in the next silicon valley? Can you “wag the dog” so to speak?
4. Embrace It: Frantic Industries points out that the valley is a little pocket universe all to itself, which doesn’t extend very far beyond its walls. Remember this fact: the garbage that you may be exposed to there, however disheartening it may be, is only the tiniest slice of the wider internet and technology world. Any community that you are a part of will have its ups and downs as it grows and changes over time; the most dedicated members of that community will maintain their poise through-out and enrichen it the whole way through, taking the good with the bad, and paying attention to the best. OMC suggests that the real 2.0 movement is bypassing the valley craziness anyway.

There’s a good parallel in music: Whenever a new genre gets “hot” - Rock & Roll, Hip Hop, Techno, whatever, there are the pioneers that founded it, and then the whole crazy scene that follows with glam, bling, money, whatever. There are pioneers that choose to walk away - that’s cool (Cat Stevens?). There are pioneers that just keep doing their thing without worrying about the scene - that’s cool too (Bob Dylan?). There are also those that get caught up in it and go nuts (Elvis?) - that’s cool too, if that’s what you want (hopefully without a lame, self-destructive finish).

So - at the end of the day, Robert and Michael, however dreary your poisitions may feel, you’ve got nothing but great options to choose from - so chin up, and make the most of it.

Share This

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!