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Why did the metaverse die? Because Silicon Valley doesn’t understand the concept of fun
(www.fastcompany.com)
this post was submitted on 15 Oct 2023
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Technology
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As a developer who loves to tinker with web stuff, I feel most of the tech scene and Silicon Valley are full of people who went into development just for the money. I almost see it every day.
Yes, it wasn't always the case. I was in the Silicon Valley in the 2000's and it was full of techies who really believed in the open web, and even Google was a proponent of open standards.
A few years later it seems like the tech matured enough that being technically savvy was no longer necessary to be a successful founder. Slowly it stopped being about technical innovations and became about raising money, product marketing, A/B testing, etc.
Selling dreams to VCs has long been the game, but VCs started getting dumber and greedier as all the low hanging opportunities were used up. So tech startups had to make sillier and sillier claims and business plans to keep raking in VC dough.
Subscriptions have been big VC keywords for the last 7-8 years, as data harvesting started to be monopolized by a few big owners. Ads are trying to make a comeback as subscription fatigue sets in, which is why blockers are being targeted lately.
I’m not looking forward to the next method of extracting wealth from the masses in trade for VC investment. Probably another form of slavery or subjugation they haven’t found a way to hide yet.
This is the cycle of co-option that takes place with any career that becomes profitable.
A lot of people don't realize that computers and programming in general were seen as "women's work" or "nerd shit" until especially the dotcom boom, and career women and nerds (of all genders) were displaced in favor of MBA-bros who the VCs and CEOs didn't disdain (not by being forced out, but by not being given the jobs and funding; the "paper ceiling" is often used for this).
Machine learning and crypto were also relegated to being "nerd shit" in their nascent years, and now look who populates those particular spaces: non-technical MBA-bros and snake oil salesmen trying to cash in on the hype (and building on the uncompensated work of others... in machine learning's case, quite literally so).
I feel the same way. They’re in it to become a unicorn and get a big exit. They don’t care about making good software, just profitable software. The vibe in Silicon Valley stopped being hackers and became bankers.
Silicon Valley has become a vehicle to secure VC funding. They've forgotten that is just step 2.
I didn’t go into tech for the money, but after several years of grinding I’m definitely at the point where I’m only still in it for the money. I don’t even want to think about computers outside of work anymore.
Sounds like you are just not in the role or company that appreciates you. I've had a similar experience at the beginning, but I kept looking until I found a company that did, so I hope one day you do as well.