Silicon Valley DIY ideology fuses anti-corporate distrust with personal agency

Evidence

Reality hackers, nuts, flakes, entrepreneurs, trippers, conmen, students, artists, mad engineers—Californians with the naïve belief that a) There is a Better Way and b) I Can Do It Myself. To put it in a clear gelatin capsule for you, I’d say that (a) and (b) are the two beliefs that underlie every single entry in the “Mondo 2000 User’s Guide.” The way that Big Business or The Pig does things is obviously not the best way; it’s intrusive, kludgy, unkind, and not at all what you really want … Now, thanks to high-tech and the breakdown of society, you’re free to turn your back on the way “they” do it, whatever it might be, and do it yourself. — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, 127

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines the two core beliefs (There is a Better Way; I Can Do It Myself) that anchor the entire California hacker worldview.
• XREF: Connects to Castells and the broader history of the Californian ideology / counterculture-technology nexus in internet studies. — connects to: Silicon Valley’s ideology fuses technological determinism with libertarian individualism. — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity,…, 118; Silicon Valley’s workplace utopia narrative concealed toxic corporate cultures — W. David Marx, Blank Space: A Cultural History of the…, 504; Web 2.0 ideology fuses Silicon Valley capitalism with countercultural activism while embracing capitalism — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity,…, 55 (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• Web 2.0 ideology fuses Silicon Valley capitalism with countercultural activism while embracing capitalism #corroborates (0.80) — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, 55
• Silicon Valley’s workplace utopia narrative concealed toxic corporate cultures #complicates (0.75) — W. David Marx, Blank Space, 504
• Web 2.0 ideology diluted hacker radicalism through Silicon Valley orthodoxy. #corroborates (0.75)
• Silicon Valley’s self-image elevates entrepreneurship as society’s universal problem-solving model #expands (0.72) — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, 713