Silicon Valley

History and Contemporary Description

The name Silicon Valley was coined by a journalist in 1971 to refer to the region's role in developing the silicon wafers used in the semiconductors that make possible modern computing devices. The foundations of contemporary Silicon Valley are the 1939 founding of Hewlett-Packard Company and the 1956 founding of Shockley Transistor Corporation (whose high-tech industrial antecedents precede World War I). Today's high-tech industries include software, semiconductors and equipment, innovation services (which include computer facilities management, leasing and rentals, maintenance and repair, engineering services, and research and testing services), computers and communications, defense and aerospace, bioscience, and professional services. The region's companies have been at the forefront of computer hardware and software innovation, development of the Internet, and the http://dot.com frenzy of the late 1990s. The regional high-tech economy is volatile, although that volatility has been some-what mitigated by industrial diversification. Nevertheless, cycles of growth and contraction create waves of regional immigration and emigration and an emphasis [Page 1247]on continuous learning: people constantly “reinvent” themselves for anticipated future opportunities.

Entrepreneurship is highly valued, and new companies and partnerships between existing ones proliferate. Local heroes include entrepreneurs such as William Hewlett and David Packard (of Hewlett-Packard) and Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak (of Apple Computer). Failure is less likely to be stigmatized here than in other parts of the United States, and it is often assumed to indicate the willingness to take necessary risks. Many of the region's companies keenly compete to bring products to market, and ways of assuming and mitigating the effects of risk are finely honed.

Silicon Valley's mild climate and its proximity to popular destinations such as Monterey Bay, San Francisco, the Napa-Sonoma wine country, Lake Tahoe, and Yosemite National Park contribute to the quality of life, but the requirements of jobs and work dominate daily life. The rush to innovate and compete in high-tech industries creates, for many people, a sense that time is scarce and rushing past. Education is closely linked to jobs and careers, and a well-developed educational infrastructure includes prominent research institutions, public and private universities, community colleges, and technical schools. The real and apparent shortcomings of elementary and secondary education are sources of constant public debate and criticism.

Population

Silicon Valley is a global magnet for job and fortune seekers. A third of the population is foreign born, making for a culturally and linguistically diverse community. While cultural diversity is publicly celebrated as a regional asset, linguistic barriers create obstacles to full educational and economic participation. Approximately a quarter of the residents are Hispanic, another quarter are Asian or Pacific Islander, and just over half are white. African Americans comprise about 3 percent of the population. Although some employers, job categories, and neighborhoods are associated with specific ethnic groups, residents rate the region as one that is generally tolerant of cultural differences. Such differences are publicly celebrated, and work settings typically bring together people of different ethnicities and countries of origin. Shared interests in technology and wealth production, possession of specialized technical skills, and a high regard for education and entrepreneurship crosscut the ethnic diversity. These characteristics are manifested in a fascination with high-tech devices and use of technological and corporate metaphors and language in everyday life.

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