Meet Olivia, aka the Answer to My Prayers

This is a very special guest post written by the newest addition to sarahlacy.com, Olivia Hine. Olivia is going to be a huge help organizing my life and the last 2/3 of the User Generated Book Tour, but she'll also be regularly blogging about her life and impressions coming to the Valley. It's helpful for all of us to have an outsider's point of view on our echo-chamber and with her background studying history and culture at University of Virginia, I know I can't wait to read her impressions! Protective mother hen that I am, I just ask Valleywag etc. to go easy on her! She's new here!

Well, hmmm…let's just say that 48 hours after my arrival, my mind is still completely boggled.

When Sarah offered me this opportunity about a month ago, my excitement was akin to spontaneously combusting into thousands of sparkles of sheer delight. I even asked her if it was too Disney to say that she had made all my dreams come true. (Did I really just admit that?) Now that the fairy dust has settled, and the romanticism of moving to my dream city of San Fran has become a reality, it is time to get down to business. And what a business it is!

For the past four years at school, I carved my niche in the History department, writing about 1920s flapper culture, American Indians, witchcraft, the Kama Sutra… all the usuals. Suffice to say, the Silicon Valley world of venture capitalism, internet start-ups and entrepreneurship was waaaaay on the opposite side of the spectrum and the country (even the cerebrum!) from what I became accustomed to.

Indeed, my only tech claim to fame is that I started attending one of the original Facebook–hosting colleges back in the fall of 2004. A popped-collared wannabe frat-star who moisturized and drank beer through a straw kindly let me know I would only be "cool" once I created a profile. He lasted about 2.5 seconds, but my relationship with Facebook flourished and led to an invested interest in social networking as a whole.

In a way, it is only fitting that I now direct my focus towards all the websites that helped derail that same focus during cram sessions and late night papers. I am a blog fiend and definitely comprehend the impact of Web 2.0 on 21st century pop culture. Yet my curiosity runs deeper. I want to understand the motivation and the innovation behind the scenes; the business gains, and the emotional losses. Thus, I am simply here to learn and gain the utmost insight into all facets of the tech world. And with Sarah guiding me through this experience, I am confident it will be quite the ride (...although Disneyland sure does have some good ones too. Maybe another tour stop in LA?)

[UPDATE: Olivia's new Twitter handle is @livandlove]