Category: Silicon Valley Sightings

It’s been a long time since I’ve done this series “Silicon Valley Sightings” as well, quite frankly, I’ve been doing a lot of travel in my role as an analyst.  Yet, despite the lull in posting this series (I’m sure local food blogger Brian Stephens will be happy) I was inspired to post, as of yesterday. Thanks to bud Kenny Lauer, who was able to get us two tickets, on Airship Ventures, the only zeppelin in the United States.  We were able to partake in the ‘taster’ tour, a 30 minute effortless and quient jaunt over Silicon Valley.   Boarding this ribbed airship (blimps have no internal skeleton), we had to stagger our boarding, so the ship would be properly … Continue readingSilicon Valley Sightings: Lighter Than Air on a Zeppelin Tour

Above: I spent Saturday on San Gregario beach in Half Moon Bay, just a few minutes from the hustle and bustle of busy Silicon Valley, pics from mobile phone. While only 30 minutes from companies like Siebel, Oracle, NetSuite, and Visa in San Mateo, Half Moon bay is a world apart. A short 12 mile jaunt westbound on 92 will take you over the reservoir, which coincidently is in the shape of the fault line (an aerial view indicates it is the fault line) and over the San Mateo hills. You’ll immediately notice a temperature drop and increase in the humid, salt, air as you drive through the eucelpyous groves. In the fall, you’ll see the magic of the pumpkin … Continue readingSilicon Valley Sightings: Half Moon Bay, the Beach in the Backyard

Above, SF Chronicle perches pleasantly at Fifth and Mission in SOMA district (Google Map) One of the real pleasures I’ve had as an analyst (thanks to Tracy in our PR department) is the opportunity to meet many of the journalists and reporters in the tech industry. Yesterday, I had the privilege to meet the tech reporters Verne Kopytoff and Ellen Lee who contributes tothe Tech Chronicles blog of the SF Chronicle that are covering technology and social computing. This landmark building, near the Metreon, SF Shopping center and Moscone was an impressive building to see. Below, you’ll see the stained glass windows paying homage to the Gutenberg printing press, the letters on the ceiling in the main foyer, and the … Continue readingSilicon Valley Sightings: SF Chronicle

(Above: The Flat Iron Building [map], in New York’s Silicon Alley) I usually reserve this tag for the interesting places I see in Silicon Valley, but am traipsing around New York for a few days. I’m camping at the office of Bricabox, as a guest of CEO Nate Westheimer in a small thin incubator building with quite a few startups. We’re across the street from Madison Square Park, where there’s several social media, interactive firms in the area. Before lunch I had a briefing from James Gross of Federated Media, learning about a recent social network marketing campaign I’ll share with you later. Now I’m told that the original Silicon Alley was actually in Soho, but there’s quite a few … Continue readingSilicon Valley Sightings (Special Edition): New York’s Tech Scene

Notable landmark right in front of Pizza My Heart, a few blocks from Facebook, and a brisk walk to Jeff Clavier’s office and Social Text lies the great green silicon valley egg. The Digital DNA project is sponsored by Palo Alto’s Civic Art Gallery. This sculpture, which really is a great symbol of the birthplace of Silicon Valley (The famed HP Garage is just a few blocks away) reminds us of our humble start. When you get closer to this egg (which is now often surrounded by skaters and Stanford students) you’ll see that the egg is composed of computer boards, chips, and the occasional graffiti. If you’re visiting the bustling Palo Alto area, here’s a great walking tour, you’ll … Continue readingSilicon Valley Sightings: The Palo Alto Egg

The web industry is part of an ecosystem, and one of the major families are the press, who get high level news out to the masses. Last week, I had a meeting over at the San Jose Mercury, (map) one of Silicon Valley’s most well known technology newspapers. Every day they focus in on what’s happening in our industry, and do a great job of covering events, gathering viewpoints, and offering editorial insight from their columns in their opinions section. Check out the Good Morning Silicon valley blog for daily news. There’s still a lot of concern over the print newspaper industry as layoffs continue to occur. In most cases, the online revolution has been a big impact, but we’re … Continue readingSilicon Valley Sightings: San Jose Mercury News

A few weeks ago, I revisited The Museum of Technology in downtown San Jose, the ‘blue fruit in an orange box’ (see google street map) building sticks out amid the glass corporate buildings and grand hotels. A great landmark for a city centered in innovation. This museum boasts many interactive exhibits, a showcasing of past and previous technology, shows, and even an imax screen for those seeking an enveloping experience of sight and sound. Don’t take my word for it, find out what others say on Yelp reviews. I had a fun time exploring the exhibit talking about the internet: reviewing some history, catching up on some trivia, and learning about netiquette and abbreviations you should know. (see below) A … Continue readingSilicon Valley Sightings: The Tech Museum of Innovation

Yahoo! has a very prominent billboard on highway 80 in San Francisco, (streetview map) right before you cross over the bay bridge (close to the freeway collapse of the Loma Prieta earthquake). When I go to tech events in the city, I almost always see this sign, it’s been there for quite a few years. Reminiscent of a 60s interstate sign you’d see before getting to Las Vegas, the current special to “Resolve to LOL more” plays well to the geeks like myself. Interestingly enough, billboard pricing is much like internet advertising, both measure traffic, yes one measures cars and the other server requests. (Silicon Valley Sightings is an ongoing PhotoBlog that captures the intersection of Tech Culture in the … Continue readingSilicon Valley Sightings: The Yahoo! Billboard