Even internationally, businesses seem to set their sights higher when their city is host to a company that kicks global butt. In Helsinki, Finland, for instance, the worldwide fame of wireless communications company Nokia boosts that city's self-esteem, Linus Torvalds has observed. Torvalds is the Finnish programmer who created the Linux operating system while at the University of Helsinki. The economic success that buzz spawns can even drive population growth. Cities that have growing populations are also cities where the New Economy is thriving.
Companies look at outcomes.
If people are leaving, they want to know why. On the other hand, when cities are magnets for Net entrepreneurs, other shortcomings pale by comparison. People in Atlanta and Austin grumble about traffic jams, long commutes and smog. Still, these cities continue to generate buzz. All were recently cited in a Fortune magazine article about the next epicenter of the New Economy.