Discussion
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Nellie Bowles
@nellie_bowles · reporter for the guardian
Hello there! I'm Nellie Bowles, Silicon Valley reporter for the Guardian. I grew up in San Francisco and have spent now a good part of my young life documenting it, first for the Chronicle, then Recode, then I sold a TV show about it, and now I'm at the Guardian. This city's become a hugely influential town, a site of enormous new fortunes and massive societal changes (for the better and the worse). Ask me anything and I will answer! And give me good story ideas!
Casey Newton
@caseynewton · Silicon Valley editor, The Verge
Hi Nellie! As someone who has studied Silicon Valley teens, what would you say about how they see the world? It is much different than the over-30 crowd?
Tiffany Zhong
@tzhongg · something new! @BinaryCap @ProductHunt
@caseynewton Yeah, Nellie! Tell us 🙃
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Nellie Bowles
@nellie_bowles · reporter for the guardian
@caseynewton oh look it's my ex husband Casey Newton
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Nellie Bowles
@nellie_bowles · reporter for the guardian
@caseynewton Just kidding I stole that joke from him
Casey Newton
@caseynewton · Silicon Valley editor, The Verge
@nellie_bowles *bursts into tears*
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Nellie Bowles
@nellie_bowles · reporter for the guardian
@caseynewton As for how teens see the world, it's diverse, of course there's no one perspective. But what first so inspired me about the story was being around people who were seeing San Francisco for the first time and experiencing and reacting to all the insanity of this -- and they just want to dive in. Teens come here with much less baggage than we do (I have two cats, for example) and really want to let their lives be molded by the place, let themselves embody it. There's also an idealism and belief behind their journeys that I think often fades in jaded old hags like you and I. Then looking at the people around them, this city's fascinated with newness and youth, and there's a sense that young people are magic, that they might have some secrets you need.
Casey Newton
@caseynewton · Silicon Valley editor, The Verge
@nellie_bowles That is so, so inspiring. And I for one look forward to watching the brutal hand of capitalism slowly crush their dreams until they're all begging for internships at Zynga
Hunter Walk
@hunterwalk · Partner, Homebrew
You've written for tech native sites (Recode), traditional pubs (Guardian) and longer leads (Cal Sunday). Do you find any of the formats suit you better than others or is it a wonderful creative buffet?
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Nellie Bowles
@nellie_bowles · reporter for the guardian
@hunterwalk Hi Hunter! I've loved them all, to be honest. Creative buffet. My ideal life is to be doing a mix of fast stories/scenes/rants and deep dives. Probably for me the one thing that doesn't suit is writing alone. When I first started writing book and magazine pieces, I thought I was the kind of writer who could sit at a house in Stinson and write beautiful prose, but I'm just not. I need a newsroom with chatter and movement. I need to be able to make robot noises to annoy Danny Yadron throughout the day. That sort of thing.
Matt Mazzeo
@mazzeo · Managing Director, Lowercase Capital
Hey Nellie,
You were focused on the LA ecosystem way before most... Any thoughts on how it's evolved over last few years?
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Nellie Bowles
@nellie_bowles · reporter for the guardian
@mazzeo It's gotten huge! When I first went down there it was still pretty funny and goofy but in the last two years (because of the growth of Snapchat and others) there's a huge scene. I love it down there
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Nellie Bowles
@nellie_bowles · reporter for the guardian
@mazzeo Also Peter Pham has now fully built out his Manhattan Beach empire
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Nellie Bowles
@nellie_bowles · reporter for the guardian
Alright my friends. I love you all very much and this has been wonderful!
Ryan Hoover
@rrhoover · Founder, Product Hunt
Hi, Nellie! You've interviewed hundreds of people. Who was your favorite person to speak with and why? I'll refrain from asking you the inverse of this question. 😉
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Nellie Bowles
@nellie_bowles · reporter for the guardian
@rrhoover Ahaha I've never had a bad interview, really. Probably my favorite ever was when I was just a wee unpaid Chronicle intern. I met Judy Kaminsky who has this cluttered and beautiful vintage cookware shop called Cookin' on Divis. She wanted nothing to do with me but I just slowly won her over and did a little profile
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Nellie Bowles
@nellie_bowles · reporter for the guardian
@rrhoover Bad meaning someone I didn't like. I'm sure I've done BAD interviews
Andrew Ettinger
@andrewett · Product Marketing, Twitter (ex-PH)
Are there ever stories that you want to share, but don't because of the implications they may have?
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Nellie Bowles
@nellie_bowles · reporter for the guardian
@andrewmettinger Fewer than most, since I don't need to play ball with any one company, like it's totally ok with me and my career if company X decides to blackball me. I can't think of any big story I've not done because someone asked me not to. But of course any journalist working a beat (and San Francisco is a beat) has to balance and charm, hold back and then dig in with care and for a goal. You also have to know who you're talking to and how media savvy they are and how much you can have gloves off. When I was first working, I wrote a story about social clubs in San Francisco and interviewed the house manager of a prominent women's club -- I asked him if he'll ever let cell phones be used the club and he said stuff like "I can't stand that shit," and just generally was charming and honest. The story got him fired. I've really never forgiven myself for it. So I've learned, especially when quotes are hot, to always punch up.
Ben Tossell
@bentossell · Community Lead, Product Hunt
What would you tell your 20 year old self?
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Nellie Bowles
@nellie_bowles · reporter for the guardian
@bentossell study less, party more
Ben Tossell
@bentossell · Community Lead, Product Hunt
@nellie_bowles I did it properly then
Corley
@corleyh · COO @ Product Hunt
Hi Nellie - great to have you join us today!
You are one of those rare people that actually grew up in SF - amazing. So, what is the #1 thing that has changed that you are happy to see change and what is the #1 thing that you miss (or feel nostalgic about)? And finally, is there anything that has totally stayed the same?
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Nellie Bowles
@nellie_bowles · reporter for the guardian
@corleyh I am indeed a native! Sixth generation. In terms of in my lifespan, I personally like a lot of the changes I see -- Hayes Valley was under a freeway overpass and generally falling apart when I was a kid and is this booming hub now. Same with the Embarcadero. But my parents own their homes, so for them this is all upside, and I think I'd feel very differently if my mom had been evicted etc. I do feel nostalgic for when creatives lived in San Francisco. My dad's really into the photo scene and had a gallery for a while, and my mom's an academic, so I grew up knowing a community of people in the arts. Now not so much. Wealth can hollow a city out from the inside, in a way. And that's been depressing to see. (If you can't tell, my politics are YIMBY party all the way.)
Asis Panda
@asispanda · User Experience Designer
Hi Nellie, how do you scout new insider sources for your tech news ? Is the process similar to a covert op ?
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Nellie Bowles
@nellie_bowles · reporter for the guardian
@asispanda Not covert at all! I can't really hide much of anything nor do I really look for scoops, per se. I mostly just wander around and chat with whoever seems nice and friendly. I grew up in San Francisco, so I know the community here pretty well and stories just come naturally through life here.
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Nellie Bowles
@nellie_bowles · reporter for the guardian
@asispanda In terms of scouting, I often troll Eventbrite or Meetup groups for ideas -- events to cover but also just to get a sense of trends and interests.
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Nellie Bowles
@nellie_bowles · reporter for the guardian
@asispanda If I had to pick a "sourcing" mechanism it would be to know a bunch of VCs because they're chatty and all have their own agendas, so they often help with things
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Nellie Bowles
@nellie_bowles · reporter for the guardian
@asispanda Also drinking at the Battery. Very useful.