The Real Magic Comes From Being in the Same Place

The New York Times article Start-Ups Follow Twitter, and Become Neighbors covers a group of companies that have purposely rented space in Twitter's building.

The key quote from the article is:

“Even though it’s all about tech and the Internet, the real magic of Silicon Valley comes from people being in the same space,” said Burt Herman, co-founder of Storify.

If you read the article, you will see that the reasons these firms are interested in co-locating with Twitter mostly fall under the category of "accelerated serendipity."

The implications for coworking are pretty obvious. 

We cover this and the broader new localism trend in more detail over at Smallbizlabs. 

Comments

[Timberry]

Nice catch Steve, I saw that too, with perhaps a special push and a very sympathetic eye because I have a special connection to Klout.com, and I've seen a lot of other examples first hand.

But I also love the paradox: the world getting smaller, social media, virtual working, the web as a location, all of which are clear trends. If I remember right, your SmallBizLabs trend #7 is the convergence of social, mobile, and cloud computing; which I buy into completely ... and isn't this an intriguing counter example, physical presence making a big difference?

I'm just asking.

[Steve]

Tim:

I find it really, really interesting that location seems to be getting less important and more important at the same time:). It is quite a paradox.

This is one reason I am so fascinated by the broader new localism trend. It is very complex and in many ways counter intuitive.

I also think new localism is a powerful trend with lots of business and societal implications.