On one hand, this makes me cringe.

On the other hand, my non-tech friends tell me "this is how all you guys sound like" and I can't really disagree. We maybe aren't this obnoxious, but oftentimes when we're out at a coffee shop I can't help but think we must sound like douchebags.

What do you think?

Bonus: an outtake from the video: dl.dropbox.com

Uh, the video doesn't seem to work. Go to this link directly: bravotv.com

Here's the gizmodo writeup about it: gizmodo.com

Pfffft stupid Bravo player.

I hesitate to group evvvveryone in tech under one umbrella as there are people in technology (just like there are people everywhere) who are really, epically annoying. And/or arguably in technology for the "wrong" reasons. This feels really egregious, though.

Also, TWO with English accents? Ruh?

The producers of this show reached out to the 500 startups mentors list when I used to be on it, asking for candidates/applicants. I saw this disaster coming six months ago and have been cringing since. The trailer looks like exactly what I expected from it.

I guess this is the reality of what Silicon Valley is becoming. As offensive/silly as I may find it, that seems to be a pretty accurate picture of the personality and goal shift happening lately.

I don't care for reality tv period, and my feelings are no different for this show.

In the end, no one in the valley _really_ cares, and no one outside the valley cares period. It's just another filler tv show.

Point, Wells, but I wasn't really asking you guys how you feel about the show, I think the answer to that is pretty clear.

I'm more interested in, "does the thing they portray actually resemble what SV is like nowadays". Since you're there you might be better qualified :)

@Justin - Cringe, indeed. Also this show and "pretty accurate picture" in the same sentence makes me want to cry. REALLY? I don't find this — in New York, at least — much at all.

I wonder if it's a bit of the Newsroom-effect, too. Everyone within the industry it portrays feels like the show is totally inane (Don Quixote! The truth!), but it was actually never meant to portray it realistically in the first place. I only hope others (especially girls.....) have learned to properly suspend disbelief with reality TV by 2012 such that they realize this isn't what it's actually like on the inside.

Errr, suspend suspending disbelief? You know what I mean. *Know that it's total bullshit.*

Also, worth saying I haven't actually checked out any of these companies but I am feeling pretty confident in my judgment right off the bat... Who would ever agree to this and expect to be taken seriously afterward?

Having been here less than a year, here's my initial opinion:

Tech people in the valley break down into two major categories. You have the people building businesses, and you have the people "Doing a startup." The latter group is represented in this show (grossly skewed, mind you, to be even _more_ like the Kardashians than I think reasonably exists in SV) and the former group are the people you rarely ever hear about. They don't even get TechCrunch coverage most of the time.

When I moved here, I didn't expect a real Valley startup to be more like a small business than it is. Without going into a long rant, I've seen the other side. There's a particular company who has been trying to recruit me for months...

They're huge, and have a massive office in downtown SF. Their countertops are solid copper, they use scooters to get around, and their chef makes cake every day. On weekends, they drink booze and play trivia.... and play with LEGOs.

Five months ago, this would have been my dream job... for about a week. In reality, I'd end up doing a lot of "startup bullshit" and very little actual, fulfilling work. It would suck.

The show glamourizes this to the extreme... but it's really not a very interesting topic. Lots of fluff, I guess... plenty to base a mindless TV show off of.

The real startups of SV aren't really worth talking about... they're just a bunch of people trying to make awesome products and stay above water. End of story.

I've never been to Jersey but I'm *guessing* it's not like Jersey Shore, right? This is just a TV channel appealing to the masses. Makes me feel a bit sick, but TV is TV (and no one should watch it).

Actually this isn't the first time there's been a reality show about tech companies, there was also the series on Bloomberg TV. It was pretty bad, but not as bad as this, since (as far as I remember) they didn't film people's private lives.

Tal, any anecdotes about that?

@Cemre

"does the thing they portray actually resemble what SV is like nowadays"

Yes, increasingly so, but more SF than SV.

Bonus outtakes

Re: "nowadays" -

And so it will be, every ~10 years, ad infinitum.

I think it's definitely an exaggeration, but some traces of it are definitely in the glamour startups that Wells refers to... it's also one reason I didn't want to join a startup in SF — too many of them are in this self-absorbed bubble of high buzz that's extremely displaced from the realities of the rest of the world.

gg using definitely twice in one sentence.

Hold the phone, guys. Only one of us here has startup reality TV experience.

You may not have know this about me, but I was highly praised for my role as "Guy Coding in the Background" in the Bloomberg TV adaptation of TechStars.

The film crew was with us for months but only after watching the show did I realize how little they understood what the hell we were doing the whole time. The scenes chosen in the final edit were embarrassing. Apparently what makes for good a business / product doesn't make for good television and the end result reflected very poorly on everyone involved.

I'm actually glad this new show is coming out. It looks pretty awful and in this case some of the people may actually be morons. Should make us look better :)

Hahahaha. You win, sir. That is amazing. I actually expected yours to be a bit more normal considering Bloomberg doesn't strike me as a network in the mood for sensationalism but... I was surprised, too. Mess.

All my friends from home are sharing this on Facebook: "The Day San Francisco Died."

This is also worse because of the Bravo demographic (reality) as opposed to the Bloomberg demographic (nobody).

I think the "douchebag effect" Cemre refers to isn't about startups or technology, nor is it even about Silicon Valley culture or glamour or whatever. The douche factor stems from insularity, and reality distortion. Douches just assume that everyone in the world thinks and operates the same way as they do inside their bubble. The bubble *is* their world. Never mind that they represent a fraction of a percent of the population, or that the vast majority of people have never used Twitter...

I think Wells has it right with there being two major camps. "Startups" is an industry now, and in every industry you're going to have some "douchebags" and some people who care about what they're doing. I think for TV, these people are much more entertaining to watch try and fail.

in the last episode hermione wore a strap-on and chased people around (and there were VCs in the room). really, if you're not watching it, you should. it's pretty amazing.

Half-watched the latest one and I missed this. Must watch again

Oh dear. Why. Why why why. WHY?

I can't unsee that.

It's bad enough having to work in the same industry as/interact with people like this. There's no way I intend to let this mind pollution infect my free time.

I think you're taking it too seriously. I watch it in the same light I watched the first season of Jersey Shore. But I do respect people's entertainment choices– I haven't had a TV for 10 years so I'm fascinated by these sort of stuff.

To be honest I haven't interacted with anyone in the startup world who are as entertaining as the ones in the show. Compared to this we're pretty dull :)