Silicon Valley is Non Replicable

Could you reproduce Silicon Valley elsewhere, or is there something unique about it?

It wouldn't be surprising if it were hard to reproduce in other countries, because you couldn't reproduce it in most of the US either. What does it take to make a silicon valley even here?

What it takes is the right people. If you could get the right ten thousand people to move from Silicon Valley to Buffalo, Buffalo would become Silicon Valley.

That's a striking departure from the past. Up till a couple decades ago, geography was destiny for cities. All great cities were located on waterways, because cities made money by trade, and water was the only economical way to ship.

Full essay at Paul Graham's blog

FanNation Worth $60 Million?

Mashable was the first to cover the launch of FanNation, an upcoming sports social network that debuted in September. I also covered the news that Sports Illustrated has partnered with the impressive high school sports network Takkle. Now the Sports Business Journal (behind a paywall) is reporting that Sports Illustrated/Time Inc has a “deal in principle” to get a 40% stake in FanNation for $25 million - that would mean the sports social network is valued at a staggering $60 million already.

Full story