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This was more or less my take. When Viaweb was built in the mid 1990's, Python was not a mainstream language, Java was new, and building web sites in C++ was approximately as efficient as it is today. The scale of the web was different in that Viaweb had a server in their office. It was also the server.

By the first batch of YC, Graham had written about Python as an example of a leading edge language that was a good way to filter for "better programmers". Not long after the first batch started, Reddit had ditched Common Lisp for it.

Anecdote is not the singular of data, but Whatsapp choosing Erlang is a more recent example of using the right tool for the right job.




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