There is some truth in this article, and lots of great advice: read more, don't take shitty offers etc. But SV is changing the world, and some of other the articles listed here are, though maybe just for effect, superficial. Facebook and AirBnB have changed the world and are super valuable. Keeping in touch and creating new opportunities - Facebook has done both for me. AirBnB - I'm staying at someone's house in a small prefecture in Tokyo - this is money coming into the economy. This is change - the worldly kind. Yes there are tons of shitty ideas and shady deals in the Valley, and we should work more efficiently not just more, and dedicate more time to our families and friends. But the point is, as with free speech, that nobody knows ahead of time what will be good and what will be waste - that's the whole point of startups. My invitation to the authors who mention Facebook as a useless tool - will you close your FB account and never use it again? Didn't think so.