I was talking with toonerstan and I wondered whether we could take the discussion about Philly and the new technology in a slightly different direction.   One way to understand how and why Silicon Valley and Route 128 in Boston etc succeed is to examine the startup as a business model: what they are, how they succeed and fail, and how they can generate both jobs and buzz for a city.  Toonerstan pointed me to one of the best books about startups, The Art of the Start, by Guy Kawasaki.  I highly recommend the book, as well as his website http://www.guykawasaki.com/ and blog, but  if you’re short on time, there is also a video,  http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3755718939216161559.  Let me know what you think about his ideas.

Toonerlisa