DRESDEN, Germany — Europe has long secretly admired Silicon Valley. So when a local European politician wants to emphasize how innovative his region really is, it is common to somehow relate it to the Valley.
One example is “Silicon Saxony,” in eastern Germany, with the regional capital Dresden. It’s far from being the only European region dreaming of California, though. When a large German company opened its new headquarters in Munich earlier this year, many felt obliged to applaud the “Silicon Valley spirit” one could allegedly feel. What was so remarkable about it?
Although that comparison mostly emphasizes how much Europeans still feel they lag behind the United States in innovating, Munich may indeed come closer than most other cities on the continent,
.. The share of college graduates among the total workforce is only about half of the E.U. average in most German regions.
.. Germany has long prided itself for offering an alternative path for high school graduates besides university. Many companies offer apprenticeships, which are practical and are paid courses for a set amount of time.
‘In the Eye of a Tornado’: Views on Innovation from China
[Xiaomi uses flash sales to gage demand for their product. Consumers get a ticket for the right to purchase their phone. Xiaomi then goes to Shenzhen and gets a bulk rate.]
.. No matter how one views Xiaomi — and there are many ways to view it, for better or worse — one thing is clear: It, and other such companies (like WeChat and Alibaba), indicate a broader trend around innovation coming from China.
Companies and countries that were once positioned as copycats or followers are becoming leaders, and in unexpected, non-obvious ways. For example, through scale, distribution, logistics, infrastructure, O2O, a different kind of ecommerce, mobile marketing, even design… But of a very different kind than iconic examples like, say, SpaceX. Or Apple, which arguably could damage the U.S. if single-mindedly regarded as “our official most innovative company”.
Or so argue the guests on this podcast, which include a16z partner Connie Chan and author/long-time observer of internet and social media culture Clay Shirky, who is currently based at NYU Shanghai, wrote the popular book Here Comes Everybody, and most recently authored Little Rice on “smartphones, Xiaomi, and the Chinese Dream”.
What, Congressman Steve King Asks, Have Nonwhites Done for Civilization?
“If you’re really optimistic, you can say this was the last time that old white people would command the Republican Party’s attention, its platform, its public face,” Charles P. Pierce, a writer at large at Esquire magazine, said during the panel discussion.
.. In response, Mr. King said: “This whole ‘old white people’ business does get a little tired, Charlie. I’d ask you to go back through history and figure out where are these contributions that have been made by these other categories of people that you are talking about? Where did any other subgroup of people contribute more to civilization?”
“Than white people?” Mr. Hayes asked.
Mr. King responded: “Than Western civilization itself that’s rooted in Western Europe, Eastern Europe and the United States of America, and every place where the footprint of Christianity settled the world. That’s all of Western civilization.”
.. Rep. Steve King shouldn’t be allowed to use any inventions created by people who are not white. No elevators, no microphones, no pacemakers.
a16z Podcast: Software Programs the World
There is $10 trillion sitting in government bonds getting negative yield. There’s a big opportunity to put that money to work doing productive things. The world has never been so ripe for innovation that would really be quite easy to finance. (28 min)
How can we have silicon valley without doing any of your recommendations?
How will this decision be viewed by others throughout the whole company? (38 min)
Businesses will treat you more seriously if you charge more.