The corporate headquarters used to be the primary measure of a city's economic clout. Saskia Sassen, while not ignoring headquarters, documented how in the age of globalization, the resurgence of the global city was driven by demand for financial and producer services, not more and bigger HQs. As she pointed out in her seminal book The Global City, "Major cities such as London, New York, and Chicago have been losing top ranked headquarters for at least three decades." Yet despite this they were coming back strong. Back in 2008, I started … [Read more...]
Archives for January 2016
When the Snow Comes Down, New Yorkers Come Out to Play
Much of the eastern US is getting slammed with a blizzard today. But in New York, snow coming down is just yet another reason to get out of the apartment and go play in the park. I went out around 3:00 today and recorded two Periscope videos that you can check out if you want. The first of them is of the cityscape starting at 68th and Columbus, walking south along Columbus and Broadway to Columbus Circle, then into Central Park. The second is a shorter look at people out and about on 72nd St. in Central Park. I had so much fun I was … [Read more...]
3 Reasons Not to Start a Blog
Last week I talked about the importance of having a personal brand - that people know you specifically in the marketplace, not just the name of the company you work for. One obvious way to get your name out, and the one that I used, is to start a blog. But I also said you should think twice before getting into the blogging game. So before you start your own blog, here are three big blogging negatives you should know about. 1. Writing a Blog Can Hurt Your Career Prospects You need to understand that for a lot of people, blogging has a … [Read more...]
Personal Brand or Corporate Brand?
Two of the most common questions I've been asked over my years of blogging are 1) What is it that you actually do? and 2) How can I do what it is you do? I mentioned that I planned to expand my topical coverage this year. One of them is going to be sharing more about what I have learned over my nine years of blogging. I came to blogging from a tech background, but had mostly done corporate "business to business" type work. While I had been an active internet junkie going back to my college days when I was all over Usenet and … [Read more...]
Mayor Byron Brown on Buffalo’s “Green Code”, Architecture, Economy, and More
I was privileged to get to record a podcast with Mayor Byron Brown while researching my article on Buffalo for City Journal this spring. Coming after a very tough 2007 Ed Glaeser article in City Journal on the city, it was very gracious of the mayor to agree to talk with me. I want to personally thank and honor him for that. If you do nothing else, listen to the section of the interview about the Buffalo Green Code. This is one of the most important developments ongoing in major American cities right now. Buffalo is completely re-writing … [Read more...]