The dampening effect of Silicon Valley on innovation

Let’s start with Rocky Agrawal’s guest post on TechCrunch:

This is an ongoing problem with new social networks. Silicon Valley celebrities dominate the conversation. A close friend is on the Google+ top 100 list; I can’t comment on one of his posts without keeping my notification indicator lit for days at a time as his large following continually responds to the post.

Although I like a lot of the content I currently see on Google+, it has limited appeal. It also has a dangerous priming effect as new entrants either look at the conversations and mimic them or decide that this isn’t their scene. It’s like peeking into a party and realizing that the people who are inside are nothing like you.

I don’t think I can disagree with any of that, but I want to expand on this outside of the remit of a new social network. Any project that has an internet component is going to come to the attention of those in the Valley, and commented on by them on their blogs and social networks.

Now take the huge magnifying effect that these handful of player have, throw in a huge amount of "follow the popular people" talking about not the new product, but the reaction of ‘X’ to the new product, and isn’t it any wonder that launching anything into this white hot heat feels like little more than a crap shoot based on the opinion of a few self appointed commentators?

I’ve noticed it time and time again, when a few people say that something is going to take over the world and people flock to it like sheep. When it’s something the Valley commentators don’t get, don’t like, or that upsets their world-view, then the herd mentality will effectively black-ball the new contender, and that’s it for their online reputation.

Old Media had nexus points in reviewers, columnists and editors, and New Media has (through human nature) come up with the same system. And no, I’m not sure there’s a solution.