Startups in Silicon Valley TV show
Randi Zuckerberg says a Bravo reality show''s mission will be to humanize the tech community.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- A Bravo reality show, "Silicon Valley, " will follow five aspiring tech entrepreneurs
- TV viewers demand drama: If it can't be found, it's manufactured
- Bringing tech geeks' stories to TV and movies will require some creativity to fit the medium
- Building a company takes almost every minute of the day, leaving little time for a personal life
Editor's note: Pete Cashmore is founder and CEO of Mashable, a popular blog about tech news and digital culture. He writes regular columns about social media and tech for CNN.com.
(CNN) - The tech world has been up in arms this past week about "Silicon Valley, " an upcoming Bravo reality show documenting the lives of five aspiring entrepreneurs making their way in the world of Bay Area startups.
The problem: The tech industry isn't like that at all.
Here's how tech-company founders usually succeed in Silicon Valley: They spend endless hours in front of a computer building products people want to use. Alas, this doesn't make for interesting TV.
Hence all the Hollywood cliches. Computers on TV shows and in movies beep when a button is pressed. Characters seem able to type at a frenetic pace. Passwords can always be guessed within three attempts - and always just in time to prevent a disaster.
Pete Cashmore is the founder and CEO of Mashable.com.
These cliches once existed only in fictional shows and movies. Alas, as Silicon Valley continues to power a digital revolution that's changing the world at a rapid pace, camera crews are increasingly trying to capture startup reality and bottle it as entertainment. And they're finding it converts to film about as well as paint drying.
Mark Zuckerberg built Facebook through thousands of hours spent in front of a dimly glowing screen. His motive? He "likes to build things." And yet in 2010's "The Social Network, " the Zuckerberg onscreen is more concerned with girls, parties and getting into Harvard's most exclusive social circles.
Therein lies the second issue with bringing startups to the big or small screen: Startup founders rarely have interesting social lives. Building a company takes almost every minute of the day, leaving little time for a personal life.
TV viewers demand drama: If it can't be found, it's manufactured. The small screen loves a performer, too. A celebrity. An exhibitionist. Can you dance? Sing? Act? Even once the show is over, these outgoing stars convert well to a world of tabloids and celebrity magazines.
Startup founders, however, do not.
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The premise of HBO's half-hour comedy show Silicon Valley is this: five young men wearing the required hoodies and jeans and Steve Jobs attire (black turtlenecks with the occasional beard) launch a startup company in Silicon Valley.
Q&A
What companies are in Silicon Valley?
Thousands of high technology companies are headquartered in Silicon Valley, some of them include; Adobe Systems, Advanced Micro Devices, Agilent Technologies, Apple Inc., Yahoo, Ebay, Symantec, and 3com.
