The Geography of the Internet Industry: Venture Capital, Dot-coms, and Local Knowledge (Information Age Series) [Paperback]

Matthew Zook (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 9, 2005 | ISBN-10: 0631233326 | ISBN-13: 978-0631233329 | Edition: 1

This groundbreaking book analyses the geography of the commercial Internet industry. It presents the first accurate map of Internet domains in the world, by country, by region, by city, and for the United States, by neighborhood.

• Demonstrates the extraordinary spatial concentration of the Internetindustry.
  
• Explains the geographic features of the high tech venture capital behind the Internet economy.
  
• Demonstrates how venture capitalists' abilities to create and use tacit knowledge contributes to the clustering of the internet industry
  
• Draws on in-depth interviews and field work in San Francisco Bay Area and New York City.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“This book is a welcome addition to the burgeoning literature on the geography of the information society ... The parallels drawn to related booms and busts of earlier eras demonstrate that the novelty of the ‘new’ economy is as mythical as the ‘end’ of geography in the information age.” Eric Sheppard, University of Minnesota

"Traces the Internet industry from its beginnings … the best picture yet of the Internet boom of the 1990s, its decline in 2000 and 2001, and its stability and slower growth since.” Edward J. Malecki, The Ohio State University

“An authoritative and engaging account of contemporary urban-regional economic development in the information age, that has real explanatory power much like Jean Gottmann’s Megalopolis had in the 1960s. The Geography of the Internet Industry deserves a place on the reading lists of anyone serious about understanding the recent past of the Internet.” Martin Dodge, University College London

“I urge everyone who has a chance to read this book because it is fluent and well constructed, especially given that it is based on a thesis. Unlike most theses, the joins do not show, and this makes for an exciting journey through its pages.”
Michael Batty
University College London

From the Back Cover

This groundbreaking book analyses the geography of the commercial Internet industry during the dot-com boom. It presents the first accurate map of Internet domains in the world, by country, by region, by city, and for the United States, by neighborhood. Contrary to the predictions of some futurologists, the book demonstrates the extraordinary spatial concentration of the industry and the continued relevance of geography to patterns of economic development in the twenty-first century.

Based on in-depth interviews and field work in two key areas – San Francisco Bay Area and New York City – Matthew Zook provides a lucid and theoretically-informed argument supported by appropriate evidence. His book will be of interest to all those concerned about inequalities arising or being perpetuated through unequal access to technology and the factors driving regional economic development.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 216 pages
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell; 1 edition (May 9, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0631233326
• ISBN-13: 978-0631233329
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,348,348 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars geography still important, August 13, 2005

By 

W Boudville (Terra, Sol 3) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Geography of the Internet Industry: Venture Capital, Dot-coms, and Local Knowledge (Information Age Series) (Hardcover)

Zook demonstrates that physical geography continues to be a paramount factor in where a startup is located. His study is from the dot com era, and shows the striking correlation and clumping of US startups. Silicon Valley dominates, unsurprisingly. But then there are also major clusters in Seattle, New York, Austin, Los Angeles and Boston.

The book shows the prediliction of people in any industry to aggregate, even, or perhaps especially, when there is intense competition between companies in that industry. Ultimately, the clumping benefits the industry, by permitting an easier transfer of ideas and people. So that successful ideas and companies can grow.

5.0 out of 5 stars The Internet is somewhere!, October 4, 2005

By 

Sid "Not Vicious" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Geography of the Internet Industry: Venture Capital, Dot-coms, and Local Knowledge (Information Age Series) (Paperback)

I decided to buy/read this book after reading the review. Interesting read for anyone who sees the Internet as everywhere....

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