Hype Machine

It is good that a medium can call Silicon Valley publicity what it is — hype.  In a review of 2016, Wired reports that the “hype machine sputtered.”  All the promises of forthcoming and groundbreaking technologies failed to produce a major breakthrough.  That, however, didn’t stop the drum beating and flacking.  The Valley has over-promoted itself for decades and still gets listeners in the media who write about the next big thing before it is fully developed and tested in the marketplace.  PR practitioners have been willing accomplices in this hype machine since the beginning.  It is profitable business for them, but they stretch the truth daily to please their clients, which is not good.  How many times can one proclaim the next revolution before members of the media become cynical?  It hasn’t happened yet, but articles from media like Wired are a harbinger of tougher reporting.