Ever since arriving here, Ben and I have been amazed by the type of things we see and learn from day to day. Having worked in several large cities before- Philadelphia, London, and Boston - San Francisco is like nowhere else I’ve ever experienced. The difference is in the thinking, foreign to these former centers of ‘innovation’, where big business and static products stamp out the new; radical ideas are fostered and encouraged here in Silicon Valley. The foresight of the people in this area has been driving the evolution of the internet for years now, and I am getting to see for the first time just how incredible it really is.

Having worked for a tech consultant firm in Boston, I was exposed to several different areas of tech – but this exposure was next to nothing like the inundation of technologies and startup ideas I have heard about in my month in San Francisco.  Outside of Philadelphia, working for a pharmaceutical marketing company was an entirely different experience, with barely a trip outside of my cubicle. No social events were on my agenda, no launch parties for new pharmaceutical companies or drug lines. The tech industry is filled with an energy that is simply not a part of any other industry. London was perhaps the most difficult, watching person after person walk by with their head down, uninspired and void of any gusto, almost like an army of clones marching around up and down Victoria Street.

The subway systems are also a good representation of their respective cities. Boston, clinging to an outdated and rickety system, is unreliable at best. On the Tube in London, perpetually late and over-crowded trains are bursting with people covered in blank stares, lacking any form of inspiration or zeal. The BART of San Francisco is the exact opposite – filled with all kinds of new and different energies no big city in the world can offer. The newest of gadgets, brainstorming of new ideas, eclectic mixes of people – all aboard each and every train. Efficient and on time, the BART is home to more than a few ideas that have changed the face of technology.

For over five years, I’ve read and used CNet forums. They are the most comprehensive site on the internet when it comes to product reviews and downloadable software, one of the first reliable user-generated content sites I can remember. Their office? A block away. Never in a million years did I think I would be working down the street from their office, just a few hundred feet away from people who existed to me only in cyberspace before. For the first time, it dawned on me how rooted the tech ‘movement’ is here, and how that affects the mindset of the people. Here, ideas are supported and followed through with until they are perfected. And then – the launch. An unpredictable, exciting and learning experience for everyone (speaking of which, I’m attended the Firefox 3 launch party last Friday).

The environment at Rapleaf, which seems more and more like a microcosm of the tech industry here, is drastically more diverse than the traditional places I mentioned. Everyone here has come from such a unique path that it’s hard to think that we’re all working towards the same goal. It only adds to the dynamic atmosphere that is San Francisco. Both the pace and the workload of Rapleaf far outstrip anything mature companies have to offer. I used to sit around on Friday afternoons and wait for 4:30PM to roll around. Now, working till 8PM on a Friday seems early. Long weeks are followed religiously by ‘networking’ events that can last well past 3AM. How entrepreneurial.

It is an exciting time to be working here in San Francisco – feelings of innovation seem to permeate every aspect of the city. And definitely inspirational to be around.