Gen Equity (1999)

wired.com

14 pointsjs24 comments

This article demonstrates an important point: it has always been possible to portray Silicon Valley as a self-parody. Or at least that is has for 20 years.

It's always possible to portray a domain where people have very ambitious plans in this way. I'm sure you could write a similar article about people coming to LA hoping to become famous actors, or people coming to NYC hoping to become famous artists.

Well the difference there is that people wanting to become actors or artists know it is a long shot, and that most likely they will end up waiting tables or tending bar in hopes of a big break that never comes. At least in times of bubbles, SV isn't like that - people found companies and hire people who do quite well until the bubble bursts.

It's always been possible, and it's also always been relevant. What happened after didn't exactly belie the article.

This New York Times piece on Bitcoin written right before the last mega-crash reads the same way: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/13/style/bitcoin-millionaire...

To quote Warren Buffet. When people get greedy, get scared. When people get scared, get greedy.

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