Editing Silicon Alley (section)

== Origin ==

The term Silicon Alley was derived from the long-established Silicon Valley in California. It was originally centered in the [[Flatiron District]], in the vicinity of the [[Flatiron Building]] at [[Fifth Avenue]] near [[Broadway (Manhattan)|Broadway]] and [[23rd Street (Manhattan)|23rd Street]], straddling [[Midtown Manhattan|Midtown]] and [[Lower Manhattan]].<ref name = "Indergaard_2004_p3">{{cite book | last1 = Indergaard | first1 = Michael | name-list-style = vanc | title = Silicon Alley: The Rise and Fall of a New Media District | date = 2004 | publisher = Routledge | location = New York | isbn = 978-0-415-93571-5 | url = https://archive.org/details/siliconalley00mich | url-access = registration | page = [https://archive.org/details/siliconalley00mich/page/3 3]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://themidtowngazette.com/2013/10/startups-move-to-co-shared-offices-amid-high-real-estate-prices/|title=Startups move to co-shared offices amid high real estate prices | first = Karim | last =  Lahlou | name-list-style = vanc | publisher = The Midtown Gazette | access-date = 20 August 2014 | date = 30 June 2013}}</ref> Silicon Alley initially also used to extend to [[Dumbo, Brooklyn|Dumbo]], a neighborhood in [[Brooklyn]]. [[Columbia University]] and [[NYU]]'s leaderships were especially important in the alley's early development.<ref>{{cite web | title = NYC Start-ups: Growth of Silicon Alley | url = http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jonathan-zabusky/nyc-tech-start-up_b_3185826.html | date = 30 June 2013 | work = The Huffington Post | first = Jonathan | last = Zabusky | name-list-style = vanc }}</ref>

The term Silicon Alley may have originated in 1995 by a New York staffing recruiter, Jason Denmark, who was supporting clients in the newly dubbed technical hub in downtown Manhattan; in an effort to attract candidates who, at that time, were focusing on positions in Silicon Valley, he posted in public [[usenet]] postings of Object Technology Developers, job ads with the Silicon Alley label. "Subject: NYC - silicon ALLEY" shows up in an internet post by Jason Denmark on February 16, 1995; another Jason Denmark post on June 16, 1995, is "Subject: SILICON 'ALLEY' POSITIONS."<ref name = "flatirondistrict">{{cite news|url=https://www.builtinnyc.com/2015/10/12/where-exactly-or-was-silicon-alley|title= The Mysterious Origins of the Term Silicon Alley Revealed|date= 10 Feb 2020| work = Built In NYC| first = Fergal | last = Gallagher}}</ref>

The first publication to cover Silicon Alley was @NY, an online newsletter founded in the summer of 1995 by [[Tom Watson (journalist)|Tom Watson]] and [[Jason Chervokas]].{{citation needed|date=March 2017}} The first magazine to focus on [[venture capital]] opportunities in Silicon Alley, AlleyCat News co-founded by Anna Copeland Wheatley and Janet Stites, was launched in the fall of 1996.{{citation needed|date=March 2017}} Courtney Pulitzer branched off from her @The Scene column with @NY and created Courtney Pulitzer's Cyber Scene and her popular networking events Cocktails with Courtney. [[First Tuesday (networking forum)|First Tuesday]], co-founded by [[House of Grimaldi|Vincent Grimaldi de Puget]] and [[John Grossbart]], became the largest gathering of Silicon Alley, welcoming 500 to 1000 venture capitalists and entrepreneurs every month.{{citation needed|date=March 2017}} It was an initiative of law firm [[Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal|Sonnenschein]] and the [[Kellogg School of Management]], as well as other corporate founders, including [[Accenture]] (then Andersen Consulting), AlleyCat News and [[Merrill Lynch]]. [[Silicon Alley Reporter]] started publishing in October 1996.{{citation needed|date=March 2017}} It was founded by [[Jason Calacanis]] and was in business from 1996 to 2001. @NY, print magazines, and the attending media coverage by the larger New York press helped to popularize both the name, and the idea of New York City as a [[Dot-com company|dot-com]] center.{{citation needed|date=March 2017}}

In 1997, over 200 members and leaders of Silicon Alley joined NYC entrepreneurs, Andrew Rasiej and Cecilia Pagkalinawan to help wire [[Washington Irving High School (New York City)|Washington Irving High School]] to the Internet. This response and the Department of Education's growing need for technology integration marked the birth of [[Making Opportunities for Upgrading Schools and Education]] (MOUSE), an organization that today serves tens of thousands of underserved youth in schools in five states and over 20 countries.{{citation needed|date=March 2017}}