A Chicago icon is in danger as Prairie Avenue Books, a huge architectural specialty bookshop, is on the verge of closing. Among its problems: people are coming in to browse then buying for cheaper on the internet. I've been to Prairie Avenue (which is actually on Wabash Ave.) and it is definitely worth a trip. The atmosphere is more library than bookshop, which I guess is part of the problem. This story powerfully illustrates the force of the changing economy and some of the lesser known effects of the internet and globalization. We hear a … [Read more...]
Archives for July 2009
Indy: Good Economic Development – Internet Marketing Cluster
This is the last in my two-part mini-series on good economic development in Indianapolis. As I said, there's a reason that Indy is the fastest growing large metro area in the Midwest and is one of the best performing economically. It's not all just good luck. This one focuses on Indy's internet marketing cluster. This is a group of nearly 70 companies locally that are focused on the marketing space, totaling over 1,000 employees. This includes companies that are both profitable and rapidly growing such as Exact Target (which recently raised … [Read more...]