- Silicon Valley’s existence is, at once, an almost-improbable mash-up of contradictions and the obvious twenty-first century step of American innovation.
- The absurdity of Silicon Valley necessitates a healthy dose of skepticism, and easily makes it a target of satire.
- I lived in Palo Alto for a handful of years, and San Francisco for a stint. My memories now converge as a tableau of farce; so, here are 29 memes roasting Silicon Valley.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
In my mind’s eye, I see University Avenue in Palo Alto littered with Philz coffee cups, rogue boba pearls, and strewn hover boards. A Stanford undergraduate computer science student weeps into their MacBook as their code loops endlessly. Batman-style doors lift up; a tech exec tumbles out of his Model X car and crawls frantically to the nearest electric charging port. Two VC-bros poke their chopsticks at toro at the Palo Alto Nobu and discuss seed funding the Uber-of-vegan-soft-serve that Elon Musk will, most definitely, franchise on Mars. Mark Zuckerberg peers out from a manhole on the street while Jack Dorsey directs traffic around him and recites his tweets from 2006.
I lived in Palo Alto for a handful of years, and San Francisco for a stint. My memories now converge as a tableau of farce, like the above.
In such a historically fertile incubator – where you can succeed beyond known measure or fail spectacularly – the air is fraught. But actually being stressed is taboo, so techies throw themselves at the pseudo-spiritual in the flashiest way possible. Silicon Valley is also one of the hungriest places – for innovation, success, domination, fame – I’ve ever lived. And it’s also run by bonafide geeks.
Silicon Valley’s existence is, at once, an almost-improbable mash-up of contradictions and the obvious twenty-first century step of American innovation. Its absurdity necessitates a healthy dose of skepticism, and heavy satire.
Here are 29 memes roasting Silicon Valley.
Will Fischer contributed to the meme-harvesting you see below.
This Jeff Bezos glow-up.
Amazon CEO @JeffBezos:
1998: "I sell books."
2017: "I sell whatever I want." pic.twitter.com/TzCxnu9Yap— Khalil (@sehnaoui) July 15, 2017
This supercut of Mark Zuckerberg evangelizing Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce during his Facebook Live grill sesh.
https://twitter.com/hanreli/status/1140408822210736137?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Gotta catch 'em all, Chadwick: Venture Capitalist.
http://instagr.am/p/B0WDv1SJZOX
When AI couldn't get on Magritte's level.
AI struggling ...love this , seen on @samim twitter profile picture pic.twitter.com/up61QCYQAV
— Manos Tsakiris (@manos_tsakiris) November 29, 2017
When Pam knew.
http://instagr.am/p/B1fnbYKB05-
"Thx Elon"
http://instagr.am/p/BzGtpdFpVEZ
When even Drake knows you messed up.
http://instagr.am/p/B0ll500n9yy
When the Burners re-enter Silicon Valley.
http://instagr.am/p/B1ZtA_-JcdL
When you Juul in your Tesla driving down El Camino, it's a quick and slippery slope to Juuling 30,000 miles up in the air on your red-eye flight.
http://instagr.am/p/Bw-Rm6CAHLb
When you whip out your tech-guru Twitter persona.
https://twitter.com/CaseyNewton/status/1169313947494707200?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
"Let me chat with my team and circle back," said every Silicon Valley VC ever.
http://instagr.am/p/B0yf_OBpsg1
Snoop Dogg knows what's up with the valuation.
http://instagr.am/p/BztCvm6pkar
Silicon Valley, the bastion of white male privilege.
Cap table lookin like pic.twitter.com/pdE2n4dHh1
— The Valley Muse (@Valley_Muse) July 24, 2019
Where "going public" means ...
http://instagr.am/p/B0RRwATgyAH
Where the algorithm tests fate.
http://instagr.am/p/BzbNP2qg4Bl
Where breakups are digitized.
http://instagr.am/p/BwPsADIBEtJ
Bonus points for drinking Soylent while wearing Allbirds and carrying some light reading on successful unicorns too.
Can’t wait to strap on my North Face vest, lace up my Allbirds, pop open a frosty Soylent, and make sure everybody at the Battery sees me carrying this under my arm as I dismount my scooter. pic.twitter.com/p62CgXktqW
— Matt Weinberger (@gamoid) August 28, 2019
Where the rent is too dang high.
http://instagr.am/p/BvHjJHJhfvL
Where every opportunity is a networking opportunity.
http://instagr.am/p/B0Bhym1J-sW
Where everybody thinks they're the truffle-sniffing pig of startups.
http://instagr.am/p/B0ANXWCJJls
(But, don't even think about that company turning a profit while it's still private.)
http://instagr.am/p/BxAkzKgg3JE
#StartupLife
http://instagr.am/p/Bya25rwlVOv
My tech company has better snacks than yours ...
http://instagr.am/p/Bv4qJgpBSWJ
... but my coworkers leave a lot to be desired.
http://instagr.am/p/Bz6CBAhlfRe
In Silicon Valley, you graduate from being a nascent-coder bro donning a quirky, retro Patagonia fleece pullover to a full Coder Bro™️ wearing your startup's grey, monogrammed Patagonia vest.
http://instagr.am/p/BjvLNM5HMLs
It's the uniform.
http://instagr.am/p/BjtBCC5npB7
No, but seriously.
http://instagr.am/p/BkWVcorHkMj
Patagonia got so sick of being the staple of fintech bros that in April, Buzzfeed News reported that the company was refusing to sell its iconic power vests to some financial firms.
"Patagonia has nothing against your client or the finance industry, it's just not an area they are currently marketing through our co-brand division," a Patagonia reseller wrote to a potential client, according to Buzzfeed News. "While they have co-branded here in the past, the brand is really focused right now on only co-branding with a small collection of like-minded and brand aligned areas; outdoor sports that are relevant to the gear we design, regenerative organic farming, and environmental activism."
Does Market Street have a dress code?
http://instagr.am/p/BnsUuwSnrL_
And finally, here's an "Old Town Road" remix about Old County Road in Palo Alto.
http://instagr.am/p/B0d8OamhfHE
I got my internship on Old County Road
I'm gonna try to teach myself to code
I got my vape pen in the back
Juul pod is attached
Screen is matte black
Running Logic on my Mac
In the Apple store
You can sell your Porsche
We live in the Valley, we got Tesla right next door
Zuckerberg is always watching
Zucc is always watching
Zuckerberg is always stalking
Zucc is always stalking