Tech status hierarchies are made visible and reinforced through public digital connections

Evidence

The tech scene is very much a publicly articulated social network, in that social media like Twitter makes it easy to see who is connected to whom. Databases like CrunchBase extend informal social connections to funding and investment, as tech insiders attempt to drum up “angel investment” for their projects from wealthy friends. — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, 202

Categorization

• DEFINE: Useful back-pocket definition of angel investment for framing tech funding vocabulary.
• XREF: connects to: Online communities reproduce status hierarchies that limit who can participate — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity,…, 173; Publicizing conference attendance signals access, connections, and insider status. — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity,…, 197; Online participation is socially and professionally compulsory within tech communities — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity,…, 639 (+9 more)

Broader Connections

• Online participation is socially and professionally compulsory within tech communities #corroborates (0.72) — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, 639