We’re in an entrepreneurial age, or so it seems. There are startups everywhere nowadays, thanks to the low cost to starting a company and easy financing that remains for many. There is also a cultural factor. Silicon Valley is no longer a place, but a mindset and an aspiration. It’s a symbol of striking it rich from a great idea. But is it what it seems? Longtime Silicon Valley journalist Tom Foremski senses that all is not right with the current startup boom, pointing out that many “successful” startups never really go anywhere, but instead are acquired by the giants of the Valley for their engineering resources.
Silicon Valley’s dirty little secret is that the startup boom is mostly a disguised jobs fair that directly benefits the big corporations. Occasionally, an innovative startup makes it past this stage but it has to be so bad that no one wants it — not even for its team. It’s from among those ugly ducklings that the swans of the new age emerge: Facebook, Google, Twitter, Yahoo and others — no one wanted them at first, then they couldn’t get enough of them.
Read Foremski’s full article on his site, Silicon Valley Watcher. Follow him on Twitter at @tomforemski.
-
‘Death by a thousand paper cuts’: Publishers fret over alternative ID overload hurting site performance
Publishers lack the data to know which IDs they can afford not to support and are worried a surplus of IDs can slow page-load speeds and lower sites' search rankings.
-
Member ExclusiveMedia Buying Briefing: Separating agency progress from posturing around carbon reduction and sustainability
Could it be that the media world is finally taking concrete steps toward decarbonization — or will many of the efforts underway become the butt of a joke (or worse, the focus of an upcoming John Oliver segment)?
-
How The Independent is getting brands on board to advertise against breaking news
Advertisers are skittish about breaking news, but The Independent's Blair Tapper is trying to humanize the programmatic funnel to keep them spending during a tumultuous news cycle.
-
Sponsored<strong>How marketers are responding to shoppers’ wants this holiday season</strong>
Matthew Tilley, executive director, marketing, Vericast With the holidays right around the corner, the economy may force some consumers to adjust their plans and stretch their dollars even further. While some shoppers may rein in their spending, others will still go all out despite a cloudy economic outlook. Given the current economic climate, consumers are […]
-
Overheard at Dmexco 2022
Ad tech's jamboree in Germany is back IRL after two years with dissenting voices striking a note of caution.
-
Member ExclusiveDigiday+ Research: What are publishers’ priorities heading into Q4?
Digiday asked publisher professionals what their business priorities will be in the next six months, as economic uncertainty persists and Q4 rapidly approaches.
