Being outside the tech bubble is hardly a desolate wasteland. Certainly many of you have friends and family outside of tech circles, and already know this. Tech is certainly a nice field filled with opportunity, more than many other professions at the moment, but there are often massive downturns in tech which make other careers suddenly seem much more compelling. Not to mention that no one asks if a 40 year old building engineer is still capable of being a building engineer.
Annual note to self: most of the world exists outside the tech bubble
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Re: Annual note to self: most of the world exists outside the tech bubble
#12I can't take this kind of piece seriously anymore. The decrying of an out of touch elite is a cliche.
This problem isn't getting any better because 1 it's a hard problem and 2 political gridlock keeps us from modernizing economic policy one way or another.
Most the people in the tech bubble I know are keenly aware of their relative advantage. They want something done about income inequality. A lack of awareness is not the problem here.
Re: Annual note to self: most of the world exists outside the tech bubble
#13I can't take this kind of piece seriously anymore. The decrying of an out of touch elite is a cliche. This problem isn't getting any better because 1 it's a hard problem and 2 political gridlock keeps us from modernizing economic policy one way or another. Most the people in the tech bubble I know are keenly aware of their relative advantage. They want something done about income inequality. A lack of awareness is no…
It feels extremely cynical to me. How can you not open your eyes? Every time I visit SF I see people who are so obviously going through hard times. It's not only the people living a pastoral fantasy sipping phosphates at the soda jerk who are worth thinking about.
Re: Annual note to self: most of the world exists outside the tech bubble
#14I can't take this kind of piece seriously anymore. The decrying of an out of touch elite is a cliche. This problem isn't getting any better because 1 it's a hard problem and 2 political gridlock keeps us from modernizing economic policy one way or another. Most the people in the tech bubble I know are keenly aware of their relative advantage. They want something done about income inequality. A lack of awareness is no…
It feels extremely cynical to me. How can you not open your eyes? Every time I visit SF I see people who are so obviously going through hard times. It's not only the people living a pastoral fantasy sipping phosphates at the soda jerk who are worth thinking about.
Edit: I see that I didn't understand your comment actually, I agree. Privation is a rural/urban problem.
I'm not sure you read my entire comment. As I said toward the bottom, income inequality is a serious concern to me. I'm from a rural community and the individual struggles I see there are very upsetting.
But most people I talk to in tech are not in a bubble. They are aware of how hard it must be for people and want solutions.
The problem is we have two roughly equally sized political factions with mutually exclusive ideas on how to solve it that are pretty hostile to compromise.
Re: Annual note to self: most of the world exists outside the tech bubble
#15> Most people aren’t in tech or law or teaching in universities; they fall solidly in what is called working-class. They work as electricians, carpenters, plumbers, in hospitals, restaurants, as clerks, office managers, farmers, etc. I'm surprised that he's surprised by this. Even in SV you can have a reality check, if you just deign to strike up a conversation with the cooks and the bus drivers and the janitors who…
The author doesn't express surprise at this. The quotation and surrounding text are just a dispassionate description, probably intended for people (unlike the author) who rarely if ever step outside the sv bubble.
Which part made you think this was an "epiphany" fit the author?
Re: Annual note to self: most of the world exists outside the tech bubble
#16> Most people aren’t in tech or law or teaching in universities; they fall solidly in what is called working-class. They work as electricians, carpenters, plumbers, in hospitals, restaurants, as clerks, office managers, farmers, etc. I'm surprised that he's surprised by this. Even in SV you can have a reality check, if you just deign to strike up a conversation with the cooks and the bus drivers and the janitors who…
He's not surprised. The point is that SV culture is designed around intentionally obfuscating people who aren't in tech or law or academia behind apps and services.
Yes, obviously, those people live and work in parts of SV, just like anywhere else. But SV is built around not having to see or interact them as human beings who have lives and problems outside of the narrowly scoped tasks people in the bubble hired them to perform. Thus the entire bubble metaphor that was the point of the article.
Re: Annual note to self: most of the world exists outside the tech bubble
#17He should rename this to "Working outside the millionaire bubble". Plenty of people in tech feel the squeeze too. What it comes down to is that a lot of people with money have lost touch with the rest.
Oh but dont worry - tens of thousands of tech millionaires will be heading up to burning man to show just how in touch with humanity they are.
/s-ish
Re: Annual note to self: most of the world exists outside the tech bubble
#18He should rename this to "Working outside the millionaire bubble". Plenty of people in tech feel the squeeze too. What it comes down to is that a lot of people with money have lost touch with the rest.
> He should rename this to "Working outside the millionaire bubble".
Calling it a tech bubble or even a millionaire bubble is bordering on offensive.
Sure I'm probably in a tech bubble and I'm probably in a millionaire bubble, but I'm not in Steve Blank's billionaire bubble. Compared to Steve Blank, I'm hurting financially.
> What it comes down to is that a lot of people with money have lost touch with the rest.
Have people with money ever been in touch with the rest?
Re: Annual note to self: most of the world exists outside the tech bubble
#19Re: Annual note to self: most of the world exists outside the tech bubble
#20No need to leave SF to escape the tech bubble and encounter those being left behind. Look closer.
Agreed.