.jpg "Why Facebook borrowed $100 million for servers")
Valleywag
I've always said that if there's one thing Silicon Valley needs, it's more show tunes. Which is why I'm such a sucker for the oeuvre of Randi Jayne and Jennifer Lee, the comedic duo behind such hits as "How to Get a Guy in Silicon Valley" and "Failure Is Fun (Valleyfreude)." (Jayne, newly solo, has come out with another brilliant number, "Crackberry," which you must go watch immediately.)
But if you want to review Jayne's past works, you'll be stymied. "Valleyfreude" has gone missing. "It's a take-down," Jayne's site reads. I can't imagine that the disappearance of "Valleyfreude" anything to do with the fact that Jayne has a day job at Facebook. And that she's the sister of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. And that Facebook's getting ready for an IPO. Oh, wait. I can imagine that.
"Valleyfreude," is a brilliant piece of work, and I'm not just saying that because its lyrics prominently mention this humble gossip rag. No, I love it because it speaks a truth about Silicon Valley: People are supposed to embrace failure as part of the startup process, but in reality, they love making fun of the losers.
Speaking the truth, of course, is a dangerous activity. Especially if your company is about to go public. The SEC frowns on any truth-telling that goes on outside the formal bounds of an S-1 prospectus.
Jayne, née Zuckerberg, has actively tried to mask her identity; back in February, she declined to give her last name to NewTeeVee's Liz Gannes, who apparently didn't press the matter. (Ace reporting, Gannes!) But if it's a secret, it's an extremely poorly disguised one.
And that makes "Valleyfreude," whose lyrics mock Facebook competitor Friendster and profanely brag about how Facebook rejected a $1 billion buyout offer from Yahoo, a dangerous document for SEC regulators to see. Luckily for them, unluckily for Facebook, "Valleyfreude" has spread beyond Jayne's reach, thanks to the wonders of viral video. Here's a replay, courtesy of iFilm Valleywag:
Comments
I just wanted to point out an innacuracy in the article-that there is any entertaining user generated content on the web. thanks
Thanks a lot, Owen -- now the IFilm version is gone too. Can someone upload this thing to DailyMotion or the Pirate Bay or somewhere that doesn't care about DMCA takedown notices?
Looks like it's still here -- for now.
i know both randi and jen quite well and they're super-pissed that facebook made them take down the valleyfreud video... a fair call on facebook's part, or blatant censorship?
I know that video is the greatest thing ever, but would it have killed anyone to grab the lyrics from Randi's site and repost them? I mean really, everyone acts like video is a hammer and the rest of the intarweb is full of nails.
@Blackjack: Interestingly, she took the lyrics down, too. Anyone care to transcribe them and post them here?
Right now you have no users and you're feeling really crappy
And when I see how sad you are it sort of makes me happy
Sorry Friendster, human nature, nothing i can stop
It's Valleyfreude -- our blogs do well when companies screw up
Did you ever clap when a VC firm lost a huge investment
And ain't it fun to see pedophiles on MySpace get arrested
Didn't you feel all warm and cozy watching MVNOs go down the drain
Valleyfreude -- people taking pleasure in your pain
Watching Xanga pay a fine for conduct that's illegal
Or watching Microsoft realize it isn't iPod's equal
Sitting in a Yahoo boardroom when they offer Facebook some dough -- No!
Valleyfreude -- fuck you, Yahoo, they're goin' IPO
Office assets getting seized, bigwigs losing equity
Watching someone get the rag on GigaOm or Valleywag
Finding out that old HP's been spying on their employees
You know Carly's gonna cackle when Patricia gets the shackles
Valleyfreude, Valleyfreude, Valleyfreude, Valleyfreude
The world needs Enron and Pets.com and the newest AOL
Cause when startups see 'em they don't wanna be 'em and that makes them feel swell
They keep our blogs in business cause the people love to see catastrophe
Valleyfreude -- making our blogs a better place, making this town a better place
making the world a better place to be
Valleyfreude
produced by randi and jen
directed and filmed by skip bronkie and tracy peterson
music by curious blend
featuring analeah, anna, arul, ashlee, dakota farmboy, dave, katie, leah, misty, powers, sam, tory, wayne and the puppets
special thanks to jeff p.
Your crackberry link leads to the wrong video. Instead, I was directed to "How to get a guy in Silicon Valley." The proper link is: [www.thedotcomix.com]
@ArniePye: Thanks for the catch! Looks like the URL changed; I've updated it.
Hey, how come Arnie gets a thanks for catching the bad link, and yours truly gets bupkis for posting the lyrics?
@fedbait: Thanks!
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