Photo credit: Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Our Favorite Silicon Valley Scenes
We have favorite Silicon Valley scenes as a technology search firm. In fact, we watch those scenes repeatedly because they take nerd humor to a whole new level. A few years back, I go to know Dan Lyons, the writer, producer, and author who served as a co-producer of Season Three of Silicon Valley.
Silicon Valley Producer Rose to Fame as Fake Steve Jobs
Dan rose to fame in the industry writing as Steve Jobs — as if he really were the founder of Apple — lampooning the technology icon and the greater technology industry as a whole. Because the blog was brimming with insider knowledge, and because Dan wrote anonymously, fascinated readers speculated who the blogger might be. Soon, everyone was reading the blog — I mean everyone.
The acerbic postings of “Fake Steve,” as he is known, have attracted a plugged-in readership — both the real Mr. Jobs and Bill Gates have acknowledged reading the blog”
— Brad Stone, New York Times
When Dan Outed Himself as Fake Steve Jobs, It Made the New York Times
The blog became such a big deal that when Dan finally outed himself as the real “Fake Steve” the New York Times reported the event as news. So Dan’s involvement as co-producer on Silicon Valley is just an extension of his original impulse to poke fun at what remains inherently funny about the technology industry in all its wretched excess. So, yes, we have favorite “Silicon Valley” scenes. They are our favorite scenes because they are so spot-on in the nerdiest way.
Real Silicon Valley Luminaries are Our People
Our story as executive recruiters is brimming with Silicon Valley luminaries. The Good Search regularly recruits brilliant — if not genius — engineers and executives who invent, iterate, and maintain the technologies that make our lives easier. It isn’t easy and often, it isn’t pretty. That brings us to our favorite Silicon Valley Scenes featuring the character Gilfoyle.
We Salute the Gilfoyles of the World
The technologists, the Gilfoyles of the world, keep the software, hardware, and networks that we use every day up and running. And for that, we salute them. Gilfoyle is a character on the hit HBO television series Silicon Valley. Actor Martin Starr plays Gilfoyle with nerdy precision and the requisite expletives.
In the below scene, Gilfoyle details precisely what he does.
Crushing on Gilfoyle
A writer for Vogue — yes, Vogue, the fashion magazine — has a crush on Gilfoyle, as do we. In an article entitled, Admit It: You Think Silicon Valley’s Gilfoyle Is Hot, Chelsea Hassler explains her reasoning,
“To be clear, I’m not just saying this because I’m super into the whole ‘hail Satan’ thing—and he’s very clearly into that. Gilfoyle’s indifference to the cattiness of the people around him is what makes him attractive. Or maybe it’s because he’s the only person who seems to retain some sense of self when all the madness goes down. Or maybe it’s just that he’s the sarcastic heartbeat of the show, causing the tension to drop every time he walks into frame.“
— Chelsea Hassler, Vogue
Brains + Deadpan
She goes on to list what she finds so enticing about him, from “He’s the brains of the operation” to “He defines deadpan.”‘ Here, Gilfolye hacks a smart refrigerator. Those smart devices — including smart appliances? They’re not so smart after all, not when Gilfoyle is in the house.
Silicon Valley Roots
The nerd in me relates to the nerds in the HBO series Silicon Valley. It also seems strangely familiar. I lived in Redwood City, California for 7 years — officially part of Silicon Valley. My parents built a home overlooking San Francisco Bay.
Redwood City Was My First Hometown
That is the place where I spent the early part of my childhood, a stone’s throw from where Steve Jobs grew up — both of us adoptees.
That experience sparked my interest in technology, which ultimately led to my role as CEO of The Good Search. That’s why I am obsessed with Gilfoyle. He helps me feel right at home.
