L.A. vs. Silicon Valley

Technology's perceived stepchild is getting a bit more attention these days, at least according to this article in Venture Beat.

tech in L.A. circa 2007 and 2008 was more than just empty enthusiasm. The area had MySpace going for it (and back then, it was still a strong contender among social networks). Huge entertainment companies were beginning to look toward the web more, and they were tapping local digital experts for help. A handful of thought leaders were also working on projects like Twiistup, a homebrewed startup competition. But what's going on in Los Angeles today is a far cry from what was happening there four or five years ago. The parties have died down, and angel investors and smart business minds are getting to work.

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One of those "early and successful" types is Jason Calacanis, a serial entrepreneur and investor, an old-timer who suffered through the dot-com bust and survived to build Mahalo, his Santa Monica-based startup. He tells us, "If I was in the Valley, I would be up against Twitter, Google, LinkedIn and Facebook. I think I'd lose most of those battles." But in L.A., he says, "I love the lack of competition for talent... I never lose a talent race."

Truth is, the L.A. area has a massive tech community - it's just spread out and disparate, unlike the close-knit world of Silicon Valley. Generalizing about the "tech industry" - good, bad or indifferent - is kind of a pointless exercise. Still, a piece like this does tend to generate some buzz (it's popping up on the Web), and that's probably a good thing.