All the people out there talking about how the recession is great for technology and innovation are full of shit and I’ll tell you why. These are the people who have comfortable jobs receiving 6 figure paychecks every year. If you seriously think the recession is good for ANYTHING then you really need to wake up. People are losing their jobs, their homes, their savings, and are struggling to survive. Please don’t feed the world your bullshit about how the recession is a good thing while your secretary is getting you your latte. The stock market is crumbling, the unemployment rate is rising, the cost of living is increasing, the dollar is falling, and you’re telling me this is good for…?
Once again let’s be honest and call this what it really is, tough damn times. If you’re a new startup out there you probably won’t get funding or that loan you’ve been counting on. If you work for a startup you are probably going to want to find some real job security out there. Sure open source will benefit and blah blah blah, but at the end of the day people survive by getting a paycheck, and if you don’t have a job and you’re savings is going out the window then don’t tell me that innovation and technology are going to flourish. Somebody is going to have to work in the tech world to make all these “great things” happen right? And if that person isn’t getting paid then how the hell is everything going to be so great and innovative?
I’m not trying to be a downer, I’m trying to be a realist here. Tech stocks are getting hammered out there and it’s not because innovation is flourishing, it’s because people are scared and worried. Nobody likes getting lied to and I hate it when other people out there talk about how tech and innovation are going to rock the world when in fact we have no idea what’s going to happen. I’m not saying it’s the end of the world and I’m not saying that everything is going to be fine and dandy. I’m saying be smart and look at what’s going on in the world before you believe the junk that’s being written about how things are going to flourish, that’s just ignorance in my opinion.
I sincerely hope that all of you are doing well and that the recent economic downturn has not seriously impacted your well being.
do you think the recession is going to have a positive impact on technology and innovation? am I way off base here?
thanks for reading
Hi Jacob!
I like the passionate (infuriated?) way that you state your points, and I do agree that some articles/posts seem to be lacking some support from real facts instead of just “points of view”/opinions.
In any case, I read this article by Chris Dannen at FastCompany recently (http://www.fastcompany.com/articles/2008/09/wal…), that make somne points about “Why venture-backed tech hopefuls may be a haven amid the financial storm.”.
Although I don't agree with everything that it's written there, it does have some good points.
Best,
Leo
hey leo, i wouldn't say infuriated (well maybe 🙂 but i think it's just a sad state of affairs.
thanks for the link, chris does make a few interesting points but overall i don't see how the recession can be portrayed in an overall favorable light when it comes to technology and innovation.
thanks for reading and commenting leo!
I work with technology and even though I live in Brazil, I'm already feeling the impact of this recession in my pocket.
So, I totally understand your point and I do know that it's not easy (at all) to navigate against the “common sense”. Congratulations for that! 🙂
You're mostly right. My v.c. guy says he's the busiest he's ever been. Turns out speculative investments look more attractive in a market where Wall Street takes a 25% dive in 5 days. But…. it's hard to find new web projects these days. Everyone is pretty much shelving them. Torkington says unemployment means people will have more time for open source? That's just stupid. Most open source stuff comes from overseas where unemployment is acceptable at 10 or even 20%, and a developer can live on “the dole” plus a small project here and there. Of course there are some noticeable exceptions here in the U.S. Few statements are ever 100% true.
I personally am getting by with graphic design projects. In times like these it's good to have multiple skills.
hey james, that's true speculative investments may appear to be a bit more attractive in a down market but I think a lot of companies are doing what you said and shelving projects or ideas until they can see their finances stabilize. great point about the overseas stuff, I didn't even think about that but you are 100% right. Glad to hear that things are going well for you!
thanks for reading and commenting
Hey Jacob – while I understand your anger, I do think (and hope) that you're wrong on this one. I put my thoughts together here: http://www.simsagency.com/2008/10/can-good-can-…
But basically, saying that good can come from a recession isn't the same as saying a recession is a good thing.
This country, and the world, have been through economic hardships before, but advances in technology have helped pull them out again. I am constantly optimistic about the power of people to do amazing things.
hey simon, i wasn't trying to sound down or gloomy, i was just trying to be realistic. in fact i'm actually a pretty optimistic and cheerful fellow.
i have many contacts who are struggling that are in the tech sector and what i hear from the trenches and what i read online are very contradictory.
to me, someone saying that good can from a recession doesn't mean anything because if you think about it, good can come from pretty much anything, it;s stating the obvious.
i know the recession is not a good thing (as does everyone else). i would categorize myself not as angry, but as passionate, passionate about people.
of course we have been through tough economic hardships and i know we will get through this one too, but offering advice and assistance during tough times vs telling people that innovation and technology will flourish are 2 very different things. we're talking about national/global effects here, not just silicon valley. the post from o'reily seems to work within the silicon valley world which is not representative of the rest of the tech space.
sure we will get through this and yes there can be some good that comes from it, but when stories like this make the front page of techmeme while google and apple are getting slaughtered then there's something wrong with the message that's getting sent out.
thanks again for reading and commenting simon!
I used to work for an Angel investing group and as a result advised a million different start ups, many of which did not even get off the ground. . . like most really. Given my experience with them, I think you are definitely right when you talk about job security. Speculative investments can be very tantalizing during tough financial times because their premiums decrease. However, the number of potential investments also decreases due to the fact that entrepreneurs are less likely to take a chance on their dream if they fear they might not be able to get their jobs back if and when their venture fails. One company that positioned itself great and looks like it will ride this out pretty well is Tatango.
When people say that things are great, I think (or hope) that they mean that it's the right time to re-evaluate your web strategy and make an investment in the future, not that there is a ton of money flowing into technology. Of course, my Microsoft and comScore buddies all say times are great and that their companies are raking in the dough, so who knows.
hey james, that's true speculative investments may appear to be a bit more attractive in a down market but I think a lot of companies are doing what you said and shelving projects or ideas until they can see their finances stabilize. great point about the overseas stuff, I didn't even think about that but you are 100% right. Glad to hear that things are going well for you!
thanks for reading and commenting
Hey Jacob – while I understand your anger, I do think (and hope) that you're wrong on this one. I put my thoughts together here: http://www.simsagency.com/2008/10/can-good-can-…
But basically, saying that good can come from a recession isn't the same as saying a recession is a good thing.
This country, and the world, have been through economic hardships before, but advances in technology have helped pull them out again. I am constantly optimistic about the power of people to do amazing things.
hey simon, i wasn't trying to sound down or gloomy, i was just trying to be realistic. in fact i'm actually a pretty optimistic and cheerful fellow.
i have many contacts who are struggling that are in the tech sector and what i hear from the trenches and what i read online are very contradictory.
to me, someone saying that good can from a recession doesn't mean anything because if you think about it, good can come from pretty much anything, it;s stating the obvious.
i know the recession is not a good thing (as does everyone else). i would categorize myself not as angry, but as passionate, passionate about people.
of course we have been through tough economic hardships and i know we will get through this one too, but offering advice and assistance during tough times vs telling people that innovation and technology will flourish are 2 very different things. we're talking about national/global effects here, not just silicon valley. the post from o'reily seems to work within the silicon valley world which is not representative of the rest of the tech space.
sure we will get through this and yes there can be some good that comes from it, but when stories like this make the front page of techmeme while google and apple are getting slaughtered then there's something wrong with the message that's getting sent out.
thanks again for reading and commenting simon!
I used to work for an Angel investing group and as a result advised a million different start ups, many of which did not even get off the ground. . . like most really. Given my experience with them, I think you are definitely right when you talk about job security. Speculative investments can be very tantalizing during tough financial times because their premiums decrease. However, the number of potential investments also decreases due to the fact that entrepreneurs are less likely to take a chance on their dream if they fear they might not be able to get their jobs back if and when their venture fails. One company that positioned itself great and looks like it will ride this out pretty well is Tatango.
When people say that things are great, I think (or hope) that they mean that it's the right time to re-evaluate your web strategy and make an investment in the future, not that there is a ton of money flowing into technology. Of course, my Microsoft and comScore buddies all say times are great and that their companies are raking in the dough, so who knows.
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Wow!!! What a smack across the face! And do note that I am not disagreeing with you in one bit. My job right now is to marry what you are saying (which is true) with what the economists are saying… aluta continua!!!