Thoughts on Tech and Press relations, as told through Spider-Man (mostly). #blog
1. How Tech founders see themselves:
1. How Tech founders see themselves:
2. How the Press sees Tech:
3. How the Press sees itself:
4. What the Press thinks its job is with Tech:
5. How Tech sees the Press:
6. Both sides cast themselves as the hero, both sides tend to see themselves as the victim. But there are unique things about silicon valley's relationship with the press that are different than the relationship with Wall Street, DC, or Hollywood.
7. The hard thing is that each startup DOES start out as Peter Parker, thousands of them a year. Their companies, their ideas, their momentum is fragile and very easily disrupted.
8. But then somewhere along the way in an instant a startup Peter Parker is suddenly a super-powered Spider-Man. It happens SO quickly that both internally and externally people can be unsure if/when it has happened. And then it happens again, and again with other startups.
9. There's this deeply petty & disturbing feeling when the press craps all over an early stage startup, or the frivolous nature of some early ideas, or of Silicon Valley itself, which is all about perpetual renewal. Even with millions raised these startups can be so fragile.
10. And that feels particularly important when this industry is already facing calcification. It's already becoming the establishment and we have to fight that. If we all get cynical and skeptical, all we will get is cynical and skeptical founders.
11. Because the last thing we really want is little pieces of finely thought through incrementalism that are perfectly fine for making somebody a buck and won't get judged too harshly, but are just too fucking boring to write about anyway. We need risk to allow ideas to flow.
12. On the flip side, at some point you are Uber, or Facebook, and it's time to realize your power, and exercise it carefully. To be responsible for your impact on society, for the culture you have created.
13. But for the press it can be -really- fuzzy when a startup is a Peter Parker or a Spider-Man. Hell, it can be really hard for everyone, just ask the folks trying to price unicorns.
14. For the press, it's just as important that you build up as you take down, it's actually the only way this whole thing will work! If you find a bad actor, find the next generation of startups that is a good actor too, because it's the nature of this town for that to happen.
15. And for founders and investors, we need to remember..
