Tech scene meritocracy claims mask the need for preexisting elite networks

Evidence

Success in the technology scene is thus at least partially dependent on the ability to access a preexisting social network. Melissa Gira Grant, activist and former Valleywag blogger, describes the difference between people integral to this network and those outside of it: those outside “have no perspective or scale. They have this thing that they heard somewhere in some marketing article in like, Fast Company, that everybody you talk to is important and then they don’t really know how to weigh the human reality in front of them against these tips that they got for how to succeed, which I see all the time.” At the time, the trendiness of Web 2.0 was attracting outsiders to the tech scene hoping to share in its wealth (the previously mentioned term “Web 2.0 carpetbaggers” fits here, because it implied outsiders rushing to San Francisco with no “authentic” interest in tech besides the possibility of getting rich quick). But social connections and knowledge of the scene functioned as gatekeeping mechanisms to maintain boundaries between scene insiders and outsiders. That is, while people already in the tech scene viewed it as open to all and easy to access, they themselves were often dismissive of outsiders, who often described the scene as a “high school.” The insiders’ claims of meritocracy, then, were undermined by the fact that in order to succeed, newcomers had to have already accessed preexisting, elite networks. — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, 204

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to broader ‘myth of meritocracy’ literature (e.g., Lauren Rivera’s work on hiring and social networks, and Bourdieu’s social capital). — connects to: Tech meritocracy discourse masks a narrow demographic and behavioral mold — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity,…, 46; Elite tech status requires acceptance by a small closed inner network — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity,…, 202; Tech’s meritocracy rhetoric contradicts its actual demographics and practices — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity,…, 645 (+8 more)
• SEED: Essay angle: how self-professed ‘open and meritocratic’ communities (tech scenes, startups) quietly gatekeep through unspoken network requirements — the ‘carpetbagger’ label as a status-maintenance device.

Broader Connections

• Tech’s meritocracy rhetoric contradicts its actual demographics and practices #corroborates (0.90) — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, 645
• Tech industry success depends on personal connections, not merit alone #corroborates (0.88) — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, 665
• Middle-to-upper-class wealth filters who can build tech elite connections #expands (0.85) — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, 672
• The meritocracy myth masks structural inequality and justifies tech wealth #expands (0.82) — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, 673
• Espousing meritocracy while reinforcing sexist talk perpetuates low women’s participation in tech #exemplifies (0.72) — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, 693