Silicon Valley: Living In Your RSS Reader
For many new entrants to the Valley there is not much time for introspection – it can quickly become a whirlwind of coffee catchups, all nighters, conferences and the launch party circuit.
In a rare introspective moment Pete Cashmore, a newbie San Franciscan (don’t eva call it SF or San Fran), shares his views after two months over at Mashable.
This sums up the experience:
Where else can you almost get run over by a horn-tooting UStream founder, or drop by coffee shops where half the clientele not only know what Friendfeed is, but actually use it? Where else – bizarrely – do people stop you in the street to talk about Web 2.0?
And yet that’s both the opportunity and the threat. Parties here are much like living in your RSS reader…a buzzword-laden hubbub; a wall of noise that demands an adequate filter. That real-world filter, perspective, is in short supply.
Yes, the echo chamber effect can become deafening if you do not have the right filters in place. It all comes down to being selective in your approach to getting stuff done and developing an absolute focus filter.
Asking the question, “Will this experience impact my personal/business journey positively” is one clear way to cut through the noise that comes with living inside your RSS reader.
June 3rd, 2008 at 3:01 am
This post was very timely as I was about to cut Valleywag out of my RSS reader (or at least move it into the background) after running a similar, “..is this a positive experience” filter over it.
I also like the concept of “thermal noise”, and try to consider Stephen Coveys, circle of concern and circle of influence, which some would consider is dated today but I still feel is very relevant.
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June 6th, 2008 at 11:38 pm
[...] on from my post about Silicon Valley being like living in your RSS reader, in which I argued that the noise can [...]