I’d have to argue with one point here:

Part of the goal of these industry organizations should be about breaking down communication barriers, and encouraging connections within the business community. That’s how Silicon Valley businesses grow better, faster, and win. And business isn’t the only one that needs to be doing this on an ongoing basis – universities have to be constantly making connections to smooth the transition of technology from the lab to market.

The Vancouver Board of Trade and the Computer History Museum are two different entities, with entirely different goals and members.

I think a more appropriate comparision would be the Vancouver Linux User’s Group, where they have had speakers like Richard Stallman, Tim O’Reilly, and other computer industry celebs.

Even look at something like the Vancouver Enterprise Forum: $35 for an event as a non-member? Give me a break!

In response to Roland Tanglao’s comment:

I think the genius of Silicon Valley is that the people are actually there; not that there are cheap networking events. We have some cool people here in BC but not nearly the depth or breadth that they do in Silicon Valley. The question is how to get there from here and I don’t have the answer.

While I certainly agree that BC lack of population density is part of the problem, I don’t think it’s the only problem. The success of Silicon Valley appears to be the product of both population density and interaction of the people within that population. You encourage this cross-pollination by getting lots of people in your industry together regularly.

There are plenty of smart geeks in Vancouver. I know them. Unfortunately, I’ve had to meet them one at a time. Gather big heaping bowlfuls of these people in one place, and then you’ll really see some interesting things happen and the pace of change in BC accelerate.

High barriers to participation – such as overly costly event fees or annual membership fees – are a sure way to kill the enthusiasm of members of the community for getting involved.

I haven’t participated in enough of the “public events, speeches, and meet-ups” down here; how many resumes get slung? I can’t imagine it being like it was at that forum back in Vancouver. A horde like I saw on that day would bring any non-job-seeking productivity to a screeching halt. (I shamefully admit I was part of that horde. And I didn’t get a single call from all that resume-flinging. Most of them were probably going straight into the trash).

The easy solution to keep the job-hunters out is to set a nice big admission fee. You’ve pointed out the downsides to that.

So here’s the question. My assertion is that free events in Vancouver get swamped by job-seekers while free events in the Bay Area do not. Is the explanation to this: (a) in the numbers, in that Vancouver has a higher tech unemployment rate; (b) cultural, in that Bay Area job seekers somehow don’t disrupt free events out of politeness, savoir-faire, or whatever; or (c), my assertion is all wrong and I’m out to lunch?

There are free forums in Vancouver, including those hosed by the IEEE and the LUG. Almost all events hosed by these societies are open and free to the public. It is not that these and like forums attenuate geekiness, quite the opposite. I find these forums, where the topic discussed is more narrow than a random networking event, still provide a great networking medium. The nature of such a forum also adequately snubs resume spammers. Any fee larger than required to recuperate costs is the wrong way to go.

There is something else missing and I believe it has a lot to do with the attitudes and goals of the local community. It may also be that only a small percentage of people view technological innovation as a passion and not a 9-5 job. Silicon valley has so many people in the tech industry that even if only 0.5% are “ultra-orthodox geeks” they can still gather and be productive — the critical mass you mention in part 1 of your treatise.

I think you’re right to a limited degree re. barriers to participation. To show it’s not just geeks – the Vancouver Symphony would rather play to a 1/4 house than reduce the price of tickets 15 minutes before performance time. I think the attitude that supports that behaviour is common.