Commentary: What we lose when coffeeshops around workplaces close for good

If the tech community is letting hubs such as the Creamery and Red Rock die, maybe VCs just want fancier coffee these days. But I fear a deeper problem may be emerging.Silicon Valley thrust social media and video conferencing on an unsuspecting world and in the past six months we have never been more grateful.

Now, the opportunities for serendipity — so vital for nourishing the community — seem to be diminishing, in no small part due to the rapid shift to remote working that the tech industry has embraced: Facebook, Twitter and others have all said they will allow people to work from anywhere after the pandemic recedes.Talk of a mass exodus from San Francisco feels overdone. The city’s overheated housing market could see rents plunge 25 per cent and still feel expensive.

Yet moves towards long-term remote working point to a less romantic future than upping sticks to Lake Tahoe: techies stuck in their tiny apartments, staring at Zoom all day simply to avoid the two-hour commute. Some of the most influential tech companies today are not based in the Valley: TikTok is Chinese, with its US base in Los Angeles. Shopify, the ecommerce platform that inspired several start-up ideas in the latest Y Combinator batch, is in Ottawa, Canada.The most important new internet markets — such as India, Indonesia and Nigeria — are far beyond the horizon of closeted US West Coasters.

Singapore Latest News, Singapore Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Nokia takes a hit as Samsung secures Verizon 5G dealFinnish telecom firm Nokia has suffered a setback after a source close to the matter confirmed it had lost out to Samsung Electronics on a part ...
Source: ChannelNewsAsia - 🏆 6. / 66 Read more »

Commentary: Are EPL broadcasting rights just too expensive for television now?Terminating its broadcasting contract with PPTV in China appears to have lose-lose prospects for the Premier League and its clubs, says John Duerden.
Source: ChannelNewsAsia - 🏆 6. / 66 Read more »

Commentary: Does COVID-19 spell the end of long-haul budget airline flights?Long haul low-cost has revolutionised air travel in recent years but profits were elusive and COVID-19 poses huge challenges, says Brendan Sobie.
Source: ChannelNewsAsia - 🏆 6. / 66 Read more »

Commentary: COVID-19 is worsening the middle income trapGovernments of middle-income countries cannot afford a 'whatever it takes' response, and will do whatever they can - which still won't be enough, ...
Source: ChannelNewsAsia - 🏆 6. / 66 Read more »

Commentary: That uneasy feeling about Japan's frontrunner for prime ministerYoshihide Suga will ensure the continuity of Shinzo Abe's policies, but the question remains if his will be a de facto Abe administration, says an ...
Source: ChannelNewsAsia - 🏆 6. / 66 Read more »