Why Silicon Valley Is the Next Detroit

I couldn't disagree more. If there is one thing that Silicon Valley has proven, it is its ability to reinvent itself. Detroit had the auto industry (I use the past tense intentionally), and for all we've seen that's the end of it.

Silicon Valley's history truly starts in gold rush days. From gold rush to military defense to the computer revolution to the .com bubble to web 2.0 to whatever era we're in now.

The reason places die is because they're resistant to change. Silicon Valley causes and represents that change.

Technology as an industry is different from verticals such as cars, books, etc. This quote by Mark Andreessen in an interview with Charlie rose sums it up well:

"The core idea we have, the core theory we have, is that the fundamental output of a technology company is innovation and that's very different than a lot of businesses, right? The fundamental output of a car company is cars. Or the fundamental output of a bank is loans. The fundamental output of a tech company is innovation, so, the value of what you've actually built so far, and are shipping today is a small percentage of the value of what you're going to ship in the future if you're good at innovation." Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/marc-andreessen-on-charlie-ro...

If you believe that Silicon Valley is good at innovation, and not just software, or hardware, or social networks, then by definition, it will continue to be the hotbed of economic activity as specific verticals die out or get disrupted.

Now there's a shocking-blogpost-title-with-little-to-add.

TL;DR from the article: The Valley's business model is spreading. And I don't think anyone will disagree.

But comparing to Detroit? Nope, sorry. When I can buy a house in Palo Alto for less than your average developer salary, let me know.

The Valley won't have the same "rustiness", it just won't be as special anymore. And that's a good thing.

I grew up in Detroit. In college I worked in a General Motors factory. Now I live in Silicon Valley and work in the software in industry.

There is just no comparison between the two regions.

That GM factory defined dysfunction. Drugs and alcohol on the factory floor. Distrust. Theft. Sabotage. Vandalism. Hookers.

I've never seen anything like that in Silicon Valley. I don't think the workforce could be more dedicated, and Silicon Valley people are generally enthusiastic about inventing the next thing.

So IMHO that writer just doesn't know what he's talking about. Other regions have their strengths, for sure. But Silicon Valley isn't going away.

Please. It's in California. It'll spring back as something else if this thing fails. Doesn't matter what, you just want to be there.

(Said as a Californian now living in Boston—you have to leave to know)

This article doesn't even want to make the argument that is in the title. It's winking at the reader the whole time saying "Not Really".

I grew up around Detroit and there's a big difference between a city that has some tough times and a city that basically falls apart because of it. Detroit's industry fell apart, and then a hundred other factors (like race riots) led to the city no longer being a nice place to live. Even if Silicon Valley's tech industry were to fall apart, a lot would have to happen for it to start looking anything like Detroit.

Total link bait...