New Video Series Puts Silicon Valley Data Right into the Palm of Your Hand

Was brown really the new green? If Peter piper picked a peck of pockets, how many pockets were picked in Silicon Valley? How many “elephant loads” of trash do Silicon Valley residents dispose of every day?

If you’re on the search for fun, engaging dinner table convo, subscribe to the new video series that puts Silicon Valley data right into the palm of your hand. Delivered via SMS, the videos are full of factoids, fun facts, tidbits and TMIs — they might not make you ROTFL, but YNK you might just love ‘em ☺.

The Silicon Valley Institute for Regional Studies, housed at the San Jose-based nonprofit organization Joint Venture Silicon Valley, is piloting a new mobile engagement campaign that sends out brief snippet videos about Silicon Valley’s economy and community health.

The videos, hosted by me and powered by SmartStory Technologies, focus on a wide variety of interesting datasets ranging from bicycling statistics to solar installations, the rise of megacommuting, and why some Silicon Valley residents are living off ramen just to pay for their internet connection.

The information in the videos is based on data that’s available on the Institute’s public data hub, which is widely utilized by local researchers, planners and decision-makers. Much of the data is also published in the organization’s annual Silicon Valley Index, which has been tracking Silicon Valley trends since 1995.

So, put down your mouse and pick up your phone. All you have to do to subscribe is text the word ‘jointventure’ to 33933 on your mobile device. There’s no cost to participate, we won’t share your phone number with anyone and you can unsubscribe at any time (though we hope you won’t!).

Please feel free to contact me with any questions, comments or suggestions ([email protected]). I want to hear from you!

And if you still need a little convincing, click below to watch the intro video with more information about the series and how to sign up.

Rachel Massaro joined Joint Venture in 2009 to work on the Climate Prosperity Initiative, the Public Sector Climate Task Force and related projects. In April 2013 she became vice president, and also serves as the senior researcher for the Silicon Valley Institute for Regional Studies. She previously was a data analyst, researcher and field operations coordinator at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where she earned her Master of Science degree in geochemical oceanography in 2008. Rachel is a Bay Area native, born and raised in Palo Alto.