There’s too much groupthink in the tech ecosystem

Photo credit: Central Western Daily

I’ve been going to tech conferences in Asia for the last six years straight. Everything from Barcamp to RISE. Everything from startup pitching competitions to fireside chats to conferences.

Compared to six years ago, it’s a different world. It’s permeated the whole strata of societies. Now college students in Vietnam want to try it. Rich families in Indonesia are desperate to get into it. And even governments feel the need to get involved. In many ways, this can only be a good thing. It’s a whole new generation of people who deify innovation, prioritize growth (and therefore impact), and idolize great leaders.

But I would be lying if I didn’t say I was a little bored.

Tell me if this is your experience: you go to a tech conference or a local meetup, and your conversation revolves around these main topics:

• a startup I met is doing something new and awesome
• the valuation of a startup we know about is ridiculous
• somebody (possibly you) is going to change the world
• it’s not a conversation, you’re getting pitched
• keywords: innovative, AI, failure, regional, series A, the Valley
• and the list goes on…

It’s nice that people are getting in tune with the language of tech. But I think it’s also causing a severe state of paralysis and groupthink.

Paralysis and groupthink

Like any other industry, the tech industry is isolating itself. Events are only focused on tech. We meet only people in tech. Our friends are in tech. We go for drinks with tech folks.

It’s not surprising though. We’re such a small industry in a world that is still semi-hostile to the idea of startup. We need to stick together. But that’s also a double edged sword.

The danger here is that tech people’s thinking may get rigid. If you talk about the same trends all the time (cough ecommerce cough) than you’ll start chasing after them. Everybody starts to see the world in the same way, we all speak the same language, but nobody is thinking outside of the box. Or at least, it’s hard to.

Granted, I’m feeling the fatigue from this. But I also think there’s a fundamental problem with this. There needs to be more industry-wide interaction with “non-tech” people. Events and conferences should feature people in other fields from the heavy sciences to the movie and music industries. Instead of the CEO of some-such company, let’s hear from a top athlete and her success and trials to get to the top. Certainly, there’s lessons we all can learn in the tech industry from such a person.

And of course, I’m dramatizing for effect. But don’t you feel it too?

SxSW, Burning Man, and more…

I think the unique thing about these big tech events in Europe and the States is the diversity of acts that you see in the events. With SxSW, you have the biggest music acts in America playing next to announcements of new products. And at Burning Man, hippies, tech people, hipsters, and more, from a wide range of industries seem to mix seamlessly.

It jolts us out of our usual groupthink.