Procrastination ensured that I am only now recording my thoughts about ”The Cult of the Amateur: how today’s internet is killing our culture” but better late than never and coincidentally topical given one of the themes for  this year’s ‘Silicon Valley Comes to Oxford’ – Schumpeter’s Creative Destruction. ‘Cult of the Amateur’ is a punchy 2007 book by journalistic commentator, Andrew Keen;  it essentially represented the first bucket of cold water enthusiastically poured over the euphoria which once engulfed the world of on line social media and social networking (the recession represented the second bucket of ice cold water!)

The book was a welcome antidote to the fevered hype surrounding the very Silicon Valley invention – user generated content, it challenged the democratisation of the on line media platforms which had spurred the crowds to storm the palace gates. It criticized the unwashed masses – the ‘amateur’ musicians, journalists, literary authors and film makers, globally broadcasting their work using web technologies (to swamp the internet.)

‘…when ignorance meets egoism meets bad taste meets mob rule?’

Also explored is the web’s creative destruction of the advertising models supporting newspapers and magazines;  lamenting the deceleration of the newspaper industry, Keen blames Craigslist and quotes Adam Smith. Regarding, the digital piracy-led annihilation of the music industry, Keen’s polemic or rant (depending on your perspective…) means that he forgets the giant steps of the 20th century’s music industry - the cultural revolutions of jazz, blues, soul, rock, heavy metal, punk, hip hop, house, techno - genres which challenged the middle-of-the-road anti-innovation record label bosses:

‘Say good-bye to today’s experts and cultural gatekeepers – our reporters, news anchors, editors, music companies, and Hollywood movie studios.’

Andrew rightly criticizes the unadulterated praise heaped on the ‘wisdom of crowds’ concept famously epitomised by Wikipedia, and in a later 2008 discussion at the Oxford Internet Institute he interestingly suggests that universities act as gatekeepers for on line encyclopaedic resources.

You are probably wondering about the relevance of this 2007 book in 2010 and here goes:

- Today, the AOL acquired-Bebo once the healthy posterchild of the UK web 2.0 landscape, optimistically purchased for $850M/£550 with post tax profits of £2.6M, is now due for a sell-off or closure after startling yoy financial losses of £1M and declines in traffic

-  The News International acquired-Myspace is struggling against the tide. Its original CEO and founder duo are no longer with Myspace and the subsequently appointed CEO has moved on…meanwhile another Rupert Murdoch-owned  media vehicle, Timesonline.com announced the introduction of paywalls for June 2010.

- Friends Reunited was subsequently sold for £25M after being purchased for £175M

- And Facebook is regularly embroiled in news stories around societal breakdown and crime

The good news is that the professional social network, LinkedIn is doing better than ever in the face of a job market downturn

The bad news is the overall absence of innovative and commercially workable business models beyond subscription paywalls for on line social media and social networks.

And, the newspaper and music industries are still in a state of flux – cheering thoughts.

www.siliconvalleyoxford.com

Key Theme: 10 Years

Reflecting on the last 10 years, and looking forwards to the next 10 years of innovations in technology, business models, investing and the business environment, Silicon Valley Comes to Oxford 2010 shall explore the disruptive technologies and business innovations of the past 10 years, reflecting on the demise of old industries, old economic models and old perspectives.

Sub-theme 1: Schumpeter’s Creative Destruction

The advancement of the Internet is arguably the greatest computer science innovation. Its overwhelmingly pervasive power has led to the disruption of established knowledge and cultural industries, sectors which represent the core of our very existence in terms of recording, reporting, reflecting and questioning our society and its culture.

Sub-theme 2: Could Silicon Valley exist anywhere in the world?

The tenth anniversary provides an opportunity to ask whether Silicon Valley could evolve into a generic term or metaphor for an entrepreneurial cluster anywhere in the world. What is the secret of Silicon Valley? Why has Europe never managed to create an equivalent (note that Oxfordshire is recognised as one of the most successful entrepreneurial ecosystems in Europe.) At SVCO 08, investor, Saul Klein questioned whether the richness of European history, its architecture and long established institutions present an impediment. Contrast with Silicon Valley and Tel Aviv. How does national culture, history, geography and policies impact or fuel the formation of entrepreneurial clusters? Is the next Silicon Valley likely to be in Shanghai or the already burgeoning Hyderabad or Bangalore?

Based on earlier work focusing on technology spin-outs in the Oxfordshire region she currently contributes to filling this identified gap through a study which analyses spin-out activity in Oxfordshire and London based institutions since 1965. Highlighting that data collection is problematic, often due to underreporting, she comes to the conclusion that the London region is similar to Oxfordshire in terms of spin-off numbers. However, Oxfordshire spin-outs employ more people and turnover is far higher (£1bn +). This raises important questions regarding the implications such long-term studies might have on government policies for the development of business ecologies. Does the London region provide an adequately supportive and networked environment to nurture university-related companies? It also remains to be seen what long-term effects business schools and other business support schemes have on the entrepreneurial “spirit” and the development of a particular region.

For further information please consult:
H. Lawton-Smith, K. Ho, Measuring the performance of Oxford University, Oxford Brookes University and the government laboratories’ spin-off companies in: Research Policy 35 (2006), pp.1554-1568

For Helen Lawton-Smith’s homepage, please click here.