West Coast vs. East Coast: April Fools’ Day in Internet startup culture

http://www.cenedella.com/job-search/west-coast-vs-east-coast-april-fools-day-in-internet-startup-culture/

by cenedella • 15 years ago

2 2 15 years ago

pitdesi• 15 years ago

Interesting observation - I think there are a number of factors at play here...

In my world (Business development/partnerships), I've noticed a diff between west coast and east coast (really Bay area vs. non). The west coast guys are less interested about getting money for BD deals than the east coast guys are. I wonder if that is partially playing out here too... the west coast guys have more money so they can spend their time with pranks (note- we did one too and we're in Chicago)

Could be way overthinking it though.

Another point - I noticed that some of our peers in Chicago did April Fools jokes but they didn't take over the homepage, they were just blogposts that were likely never read.

ChuckMcM• 15 years ago

I suspect it has something to do with what is locally defined by the culture as the 'successful' person.

In the Bay area (not the 'west coast') the local culture embraces the 'millionaire nerd.' Part of the archetype for this person is they are a 'kid at heart' and may dress poorly, have star wars action figures on their mantle, and spend hours discussing the finer points of some new videogame.

In NYC (not the East Coast) the local culture embraces the successful banker. The archetype of this person is a wizard with finance who understands how to convert a concept into a 35% margin. They court 'high net worth' individuals and corporations who, to a large degree, manage their outward facing image as part of their brand. They are acutely conscious of being at the 'right' charity events, wearing the 'right' clothes, and hanging out with the 'right' people.

People who want to be successful in New York don't do April Fools pranks because it wouldn't project the serious 'brand' they want to build, people who are successful don't do them because the realize just how much they depend on their brand as part of their success and it makes no financial sense to risk that with some goofy prank.

People in the Bay Area have seen billionaires hanging out with people in clothes they bought at Sears, seeing if they can use a mentos-coke fountain to knock over a trash can. Clearly the meme for them is "I don't care how stupid this makes me look, I'm all about the fun." For them doing an April Fools prank is just another way to have fun.

If you look around at who is successful in an area and their image in the general media you can probably guess if they will have any interest in participating in an April Fools prank.

West Coast vs. East Coast: April Fools’ Day in Internet startup culture

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