Getty Images; Jenny Chang-Rodriguez/BI
Silicon Valley is filthy with divorced-dad energy.
Not necessarily the people, though I'm sure there's plenty of that, but the most powerful companies in the Valley are collectively giving off a sweaty vibe that reeks of desperation. These once proud tech giants are turning to flashy trinkets and cheap thrills rather than doing the hard work and introspection necessary to actually build the future.
Let's be clear, the tech industry was never cool cool. Starting sometime around 2000, Silicon Valley's ability to deliver new products that actually improved our lives gave it a new cultural cache — at least for a time, the industry was like the cool, interesting person that people wanted to be with, who listened and built things that people actually wanted. Things came easily, and tech's valuations skyrocketed as companies "disrupted" incumbent businesses.