Mike Arrington writing about home in Silicon Valley versus Seattle, says "There is no where else in the world quite like this place."
He is right. The turnaround from the dumps from 2002 is nothing short of astounding. Social Networks, SaaS, web 2.0, widgets, gadgets everywhere. Joined by bio-fuels. And even more impressive - the local "old-farts" - Adobe, Apple, Cisco, HP, Intel, Oracle among others - continue to do fabulously.
But he is also wrong. The Valley is actually not as dominant as it was in 2001 on a global scale when it comes to innovation and creative energy across a wide range of disciplines.
A little company in Espoo, Finland has been dominant and has many times Apple's global market share when it comes to mobile devices. Fortune recently called Brazil the "Saudi Arabia of bio-fuels". When it comes to architectural ingenuity Shanghai is blazing new paths. So is Dubai throughout the cash flush Middle East. S. Korea leads the world in mobile speeds and apps. Tiny Estonia is far more wired and its citizens on average use more net applications than any other place in the world. India is pioneering a whole bunch of vertical BPO services. Singapore is attracting a number of medical and other IP intense industry. Munich continues to innovate with BMW, Siemens and more.
Oh, and did I mention Seattle, and a bunch of other places in the US?
Yes, it is good to see the Valley back. But there are many innovation hubs around the world doing just fine.
