ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the social patterns evolving and emerging in Silicon Valley, where life-style changes are highly developed, examines as possible precursors of the future of other, high-tech communities. The technological innovations developed in Silicon Valley then flowing to the rest of the world, social patterns evolving in Silicon Valley may be precursors of the future for other communities. Naturally, semiconductor users are attracted to locate close to semiconductor suppliers, and as a result, other microelectronic industries have congregated in Silicon Valley. Computers, one of the largest users of semiconductors, are a major Silicon Valley industry, along with computer peripherals, instrumentation, and software. People employed in Silicon Valley’s microelectronics industries produce tools that enable knowledge workers to perform their jobs. Entrepreneurial Silicon Valley represents the work ethic of the information society in the extreme: fast pace, long hours, and a high commitment to work.
