Seattle vs. Silicon Valley: does it matter?

The meme “the next silicon valley” has been trumpeted for years , used by journalists and entrepreneurs to draw attention to themselves. And it’s a common refrain  among startup founders, with their own pet arguments for why their location is better than the SF-Bay, or at least better than the other contenders.

Major articles in Inc. (Is NYC the next Silicon Valley?), MIT (Is Chicago the next Silicon Valley?), Washington Post (Tel Aviv bids to be next Silicon Valley), Forbes (Why L.A. is emerging as the next silicon valley) and others all repeat the same theme over and over again.

At last year’s roundtable with Seattle’s mayor, the leaders of the Seattle tech community lamented why the Emerald City doesn’t get the attention it deserves.

We’re working to fix that problem – and we’re going to by focusing on our story.

How do you think Seattle is different from other creative cities? Tell us what you think.