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If you want to understand Silicon Valley, watch Silicon Valley

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191–200 of 490 posts

Re: If you want to understand Silicon Valley, watch Silicon Valley

#191
post #5

I love the running joke that the main characters work on fake technobabble, but the background companies (particularly the TechCrunch episode) are babbling about stuff that sounds fake but is real tech. “Making the world a better place through Paxos distributed consensus!”

Then you would love that netflix season of arrested developement.

Re: If you want to understand Silicon Valley, watch Silicon Valley

#192
post #149
post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He also programmed for a time, so he had some background for Office Space and maybe Silicon Valley. But then he made KOTH so it’s not like he’s limited either.

He’s come a long way from Beavis and Butthead!

B&B would have been a reflection of the kids he knew in high school, the same way SV was about his time as a programmer.

Similar story to Peter Jackson who started with Bad Taste.

Re: If you want to understand Silicon Valley, watch Silicon Valley

#193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not to mention Idiocracy, which is pretty much coming true even as we speak.

https://xkcd.com/603/

"More harm has been done by those worrying about social decline than social decline itself." [Citation Needed]

Re: If you want to understand Silicon Valley, watch Silicon Valley

#194
post #135
post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A couple years ago I found myself at a user conference party for the funded SaaS company I worked for. The concert was complete with open cocktail bar, Cirque du Soleil aerial performers, and (you guessed it), Flo-Rida. For a while I couldn't decide if it was life imitating art, or a tongue-in-cheek nod to the stereotype we were seen as. But it wasn't the latter, the founder/president wasn't that self-aware.

Flo-rida has just been smart about capitalizing on that easy valley money. I’ve been to several parties where he performs and gotten on stage with him during Dreamforce.

maybe easy money but I'm sure he's all about the networking and trying to get into oppertunities to invest in.

Re: If you want to understand Silicon Valley, watch Silicon Valley

#195

I find it hits a bit close to home, so much so as to ruin the comedy sometimes... it’d be funny if it weren’t so true, which is depressing. Still watch it, and love it though. And super impressed that a Hollywood production finally understood Northern California. That never happens (see: The Social Network, Hackers, every Steve Jobs movie, etc.)

I would highly suggest checking out Halt and Catch Fire. It's a period piece, but I think it captures the spirit of Northern California. The first 2 seasons are in Texas before they jump ship to San Francisco.

Re: If you want to understand Silicon Valley, watch Silicon Valley

#196
post #5

I love the running joke that the main characters work on fake technobabble, but the background companies (particularly the TechCrunch episode) are babbling about stuff that sounds fake but is real tech. “Making the world a better place through Paxos distributed consensus!”

Then you would love that netflix season of arrested developement.

Which one?

Re: If you want to understand Silicon Valley, watch Silicon Valley

#197
post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow this is hilarious, but are the KK crew actually dumb? I don't think so. Where do you think Silicon Valley sits on this graph? Is Silicon Valley is a show for smart people about smart and dumb people?

I think Silicon Valley needs its own Venn diagram of "self aware" and "not self aware". That said, I can't think of any shows that adopt the Silicon Valley mindset hook, line and sinker. There was an awful Bravo reality show a few years ago though. That said, Silicon Valley probably belongs on both sides of the Venn diagram. Lots of people enjoying the show without realising they are the joke.

Do 3D Venn diagrams exist?

Re: If you want to understand Silicon Valley, watch Silicon Valley

#198
post #52
post #28

I always describe Silicon Valley (the show) as being solidly in the Uncanny Valley ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncanny_valley ). It's humorous and absurd, but at the same time so close to reality it's unsettling.

A couple years ago I found myself at a user conference party for the funded SaaS company I worked for. The concert was complete with open cocktail bar, Cirque du Soleil aerial performers, and (you guessed it), Flo-Rida. For a while I couldn't decide if it was life imitating art, or a tongue-in-cheek nod to the stereotype we were seen as. But it wasn't the latter, the founder/president wasn't that self-aware.

Flo-Rida performed at NIPS. The top academic ML conference.

I can't imagine who thought that the community of some of the world's biggest nerds wanted to listen to Flo-Rida !?

Re: If you want to understand Silicon Valley, watch Silicon Valley

#200
post #3

It's quite amazing how good a job Silicon Valley does considering how badly wrong it could go (I'm looking at you Big Bang Theory). I'm sure there are quite a few industries that could have similar comedies about them from people who really know what the industry is like. W1A is another great example.

As someone who fits almost all of the boxes for people Big Bang Theory has made fun of, I still enjoy the series immensely, as I have since it started. Sometimes I wonder if it just hits too close to the truth for some people, or if on the opposite end, they are too detached from the sort of people it characterizes and hence don't see where it draws from. Silicon Valley is a very different show, but definitely on sol…

BBT laughs AT nerds, reinforcing stereotypes in non-nerds and reassuring the mainstream about its superiority.

SV laughs WITH nerds, satirising the excesses of a culture that is presented as filthy rich and dominant beyond belief. It also deals with the actual wet dreams of the culture in a fairly realistic way.

Think about the material that a dim bully could get from BBT (tons), versus what he could get from SV (very little). That’s all the difference.

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