Silicon and Civic Hall

The “Silicon Valley” exhibit at the New York Historical Society was not what I expected, I had envisioned more of a present portrayal of tech innovation. Nevertheless, I found the exhibit very informative. I learned to appreciate the communal environment technology is in. Everything is an improvement on its predecessors, there needs to be many people involved to create a great product and have a constantly relevant industry. It is partly for this reason that I believe there has been a shift in how the tech industry is funded. In the “early” days of tech you would have one large company funding innovation. Today, we see various companies of different sizes from the all powerful Google to the newest start-up. It is this increase in competition and sharing of ideas that has enabled such a boom in the tech industry.

The visit to Civic Hall has definitely swayed me to be a tech-optimist. I had no idea that there was tech firm involved in streamlining government processes. In reality anything that saves my tax dollars from being unnecessarily wasted is an amazing idea. I also really liked the idea behind making it easier to obtain government benefits. I believe that these are noble causes and serve an amazing purpose. The only thing that disheartened me in a way the funding for some of these sites. For example the benefits on was completely funded by its creators. I think this could make it a bit harder to follow through with a great idea if you don’t have the funding and are expected to present a finished product to the people that would then fund the project. Despite this I think Civic Hall is a great space to bounce of ideas and be around people who have similar goals. Like I stated previously this is essential for innovation. The work that is being done there is worthwhile and I hope it will spark a larger civic tech movement.