I recently moved from San Francisco to Seattle. Among my concerns were (a) weather, (b) Mexican food, and (c) the technology sector. There is a sea of clouds outside my office right now and the best Mexican food in town ("El Camion") parks behind a Safeway in Ballard. But let me tell you: Seattle has not disappointed on technology.
Even setting aside the obvious (Microsoft, Amazon, Nintendo, the Science Fiction Hall of Fame, etc.), this city is wired. Here are five of my favorite examples:
- Transportation. Seattle buses are no joke. Not only is there an app that tells you when the next bus is coming, but the express buses "talk" to the street lights so that passengers are not stuck behind a red light. I'm told they also trade jokes.
- Blogging. There are a lot of blogs here. As far as I can tell, every neighborhood has an official blogger—not unlike the way vampires divvy up territories in True Blood.
- Groceries. Ever hear of Amazon Fresh? That's because you don't live in Seattle.
- Real Estate. Online realtors have transformed how we buy or rent property. The three major real estate websites—Redfin, Zillow, and Estately—are all native to Seattle.
- Zoo. The domain name of the Woodland Park Zoo, which is blocks from my house, is zoo.org. What's up.
Now if only the FAA would permit California to Seattle taco drones. More dispatches from up North to follow.
(Photo credit: Kelly Bailey.)