louisgray.com - Latest Comments in louisgray.com: A Recession's Impact: Lower Expectations Across the Board

Re: louisgray.com: A Recession's Impact: Lower Expectations Across the Board

thecreativ — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 23:52:32 -0000

Hope to be acquired by AOL, lol.

Very interesting post. Personally I think this is a great thing for start-ups, because those who shut-down would never have made it anyway. Google succeeded thanks to the competition being wiped-out by the dot com bust last time around. Google, being frugal, made it while the others didn't.

Re: louisgray.com: A Recession's Impact: Lower Expectations Across the Board

JDEbberly — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 20:41:06 -0000

Times will get real tough for a while, but we are Americans and WE SHALL WEATHER THIS CRISIS. We've been through hard economic times before and we've gritted our way through those. We'll get through this one too. We'll rediscover some of our greatest values along the way. We are Americans and We Shall Overcome this too.

Re: louisgray.com: A Recession's Impact: Lower Expectations Across the Board

ChangeForge | Ken Stewart — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 18:47:13 -0000

Louis, I think the pressure to "keep up" cannot be understated in this world, particularly in the US, where "Super-Size Me!" is a religion. Trust me, my friend, this is not unique to The Valley.

Your 10 year old car simply states to me that you are not overly focused on being part of that me-too-crowd!

Cost of living is most assuredly an issue to deal with, which is why we relocated to Greenville, SC from La Jolla (San Diego), CA. The cost of living is dramatically lower while salaries remain the same.

and, BTW - I did "hear" the smirk of the post ;-P

Rest assured, your humor was not lost on my eyes and ears, sir. As always, I enjoy your wit and insight.

Re: louisgray.com: A Recession's Impact: Lower Expectations Across the Board

Louis Gray — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 17:25:21 -0000

Ken, the idea of the chart was to smirk at the problems that are
clear. In the Valley, the pressure to "keep up" cannot be understated.
For every minivan I pass on the way to work, I see BMWs, Mercedes and
Lexus all around. My 10 year old car with 140k miles on it, featuring
a cassette deck in the dash, doesn't exactly scream early adopter, for
example.

And, being Mormon, I have seen many friends who have found the costs
of Silicon Valley to be too much, and when they start a family, many
head back to Utah. That my wife and I are not from Utah, and plan to
stay in the Bay Area, as we raise our family, at times seems to be the
exception and not the rule. That's why I teasingly put Utah as the
extreme alternative to Atherton or Woodside.

The chart may be somewhat tongue in cheek, but parts of it are real.
Only a few months ago, I was getting new startups coming out of the
woodwork asking to be covered. Now, it's a lot quieter. But that's for
another post altogether some time.

Re: louisgray.com: A Recession's Impact: Lower Expectations Across the Board

ChangeForge | Ken Stewart — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 17:15:02 -0000

This is both hilarious and way to close to home. Things are uncertain - and the worst thing about this right now is not the uncertainty of the stock market - but the uncertainty of clients, employers, and employees. Indeed, most I talk with feel it is not only time to buckle down, but time to strap in to this bump ride...