Silicon Valley and Innovation

An excellent WSJ article asks: Is Silicon Valley Funding the Wrong Stuff?

The article highlights the less than impressive nature of recent innovations coming out of Silicon Valley:

 “And you don't have to be a venture capitalist to question whether, from the perspective of net social benefits, or even just long-term return on capital, the problem of replacing instant messaging is a better investment than countless other potential businesses in the $16 trillion real economy.”

This goes to the crux of the Robert Gordon thesis on slowing technological progress.  See earlier post –

http://vivekjayakumar.blogspot.com/2014/06/tech-progress-and-long-term-economic.html