In the Spirit of the Valley, It’s Silicon This and Silicon That

The sliver of land in Northern California between salt ponds and the Pacific Ocean has for many come to symbolize all that is prosperous and innovative in the world. Silicon Valley. The land of Google and Intel and Jobs. But for communities of entrepreneurs and start-up founders elsewhere, the Valley is not the only Mecca. Global start-up communities have blossomed in the last decade, and there are now more than 1,500 incubators around the world that foster the development of new tech ideas, according to Angel List, a network for start-ups and entrepreneurs. or many of these hubs of innovation, the legitimacy of their growth has been rooted in how people refer to them -- often times in reference to their California predecessor:

• Silicon Alley -- New York City
• Silicon Allee -- Berlin
• Silicon Beach -- Santa Monica (CA)
• Silicon Prairie -- Chicago
• Silicon Plateau -- Bangalore, India
• Silicon Roundabout -- London
• Silicon Wadi -- Tel Aviv