The New York Times has a fascinating article illustrating the power of location. Start-Ups Follow Twitter, and Become Neighbors covers reasons Internet startups are moving into the same building as Twitter. Key quote:
“Even though it’s all about tech and the Internet, the real magic of Silicon Valley comes from people being in the same space,” said Burt Herman, co-founder of Storify."
Think about this for a minute. All the companies mentioned in the article provide Internet based products and services. Their businesses hinge on people doing things virtually, where location, at least in theory, doesn't matter.
But for these firms being in the same general area (Silicon Valley) - or even the same neighborhood (SoMa) - is not enough. They are willing to pay higher location costs because of the value they gain by being same building as Twitter.
The growing role that location plays in business is but one facet of the much broader new localism trend. It is one of the most interesting, complex and important trends we follow.
New localism is covered in the Intuit 2020 Report
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