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This Sunday, March 7, will mark 10 years since GeekWire’s launch. Looking back, we couldn’t have picked a better decade as GeekWire’s first, given our focus on Seattle and Pacific Northwest innovation.

This was the moment that Seattle tech came into its own. We’ve covered the rise of the cloud, Amazon’s boom, Microsoft’s rebirth, the arrival of Silicon Valley engineering centers, disputes, mergers, IPOs, and the emergence of thousands of startups. And in the past year, we’ve covered Seattle as a center of the scientific and philanthropic response to a world-changing pandemic. What happens here matters everywhere. This has become our mantra.

We’ve worked hard, with a great team, and we’ve survived our share of challenges and struggles. But the reason GeekWire is still standing as a profitable media venture is this community, and all of you as readers, sources, listeners, members, sponsors, and supporters. Thank you. GeekWire has been fortunate to get to tell the world about this place for the past 10 years, and we're still at it. We can’t wait to see (and report!) what happens next.

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GeekWire co-founders Todd Bishop and John Cook.

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What happens when Amazon becomes an integral part of a community? And what does the outcome say about the tech giant's larger impact on the world?

This week we explore the double-edged sword of the company's rapidly expanding fulfillment and distribution network, through the lens of its large footprint in Southern California's Inland Empire. We also consider the future of its workforce in the buildup to a pivotal union vote in Alabama, and growing wave of robotics and automation.

Our guest is journalist Erika Hayasaki, whose piece, “Amazon’s Great Labor Awakening", in the Feb. 21 issue of the New York Times Magazine, explores the impact of the pandemic and Amazon’s unprecedented growth on its workforce through the lens of the place where she lives, Hayasaki is a freelance writer based in Southern California who teaches in the Literary Journalism Program at the University of California, Irvine

 

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This week on the show: Amazon vs. Shopify, and what the Seattle tech giant's acquisition of e-commerce startup Selz says about its larger ambitions in retail. Our guest commentator is Jason Boyce, founder & CEO, Avenue7Media, and the co-author of The Amazon Jungle: The Seller’s Survival Guide for Thriving on the World’s Most Perilous E-Commerce Marketplace. Hosted by Todd Bishop; edited by Curt Milton; theme music by Daniel L.K. Caldwell. 

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More than 25 years after Bill Gates’ first book, The Road Ahead, foretold the impact of personal computers and digital technology on our lives, the Microsoft co-founder is back with his third book, this time with a warning and a call to action for the world. 

In “How to Avoid a Climate Disaster," due out Tuesday, Gates presents an ambitious but achievable plan for saving the planet, including scientific and technological breakthroughs, and unprecedented efforts on a global scale. 

On this special episode of the GeekWire Podcast, Gates speaks with GeekWire reporter Lisa Stiffler about the book, his reasons for focusing on the climate, and even the potential for collaborating with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos on the issue.

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The Jan. 6 breach and riot at the U.S. Capitol, and the larger effort to overturn the results of the election, have brought new attention to the larger need for political reform -- fixing the bugs in the system of democracy, to use a metaphor offered by Jon DeVaan, the former Microsoft engineering leader.

DeVaan has become deeply involved in the political reform movement since retiring from Microsoft in 2013after 36 years at the company. He's on the board of Represent Us, a bipartisan organization seeking to end corruption in politics.

In recent weeks, he has served as an informal ombudsman, of sorts, to Microsoft as the company navigated a controversy over its political donations before announcing last week that it would not donate during the 2022 election cycle to members of Congress and other political leaders who who supported efforts to overturn the election.

DeVaan joins GeekWire's John Cook and Todd Bishop as the guest on this week's GeekWire Podcast, discussing the events of the past month, the path forward for political reform, and the role that tech companies and other businesses can play in the movement. Below, he shares recommended books, articles and other resources that have informed his understanding of the issues.

Jon DeVaan: It was my pleasure to speak with Todd and John about democracy reform in the podcast. I mentioned many references that are interesting to anyone who wants to learn more and get involved in the movement. I list those along with others I think are great primers on democracy reform.

Important Articles
The first is a study done at Princeton about how citizens have nearly zero impact on public policy.
The second is a Harvard Business School analysis of the “Political Industry” and its bad effect on economic competitiveness:
The Economist’s ranking of democracy (the USA’s democracy rating has been falling for over a decade): Democracy Index 2020 - Economist Intelligence Unit (eiu.com)

Important Books
Dark Money by Jane Mayer – This book outlines the political dynamics that birthed the modern conservative movement and the money strategy that bankrolled it.
How Democracies Die by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt: Why everyone should be afraid of where the USA is right now.
Conservative Parties and the Birth of Democracy by Daniel Ziblatt: Why reform of the GOP is urgently needed (or a new center right party)

Also article: Why Conservative Parties Are Central to Democracy - The Atlantic
Also podcast: Opinion | An Appalled Republican Considers the Future of the G.O.P. - The New York Times (nytimes.com)
On Democracyby Robert A Dahl – This is an academic book but is the best explanation of what democracy is (really self-government in various forms) and why it is the best form of government known so far. This is my philosophical bible on what makes good democracy reform.

Movies – Not all of us have time to read books!
Dark Money (not related to the book): A deep dive into money’s corrupting influence
Slay the Dragon: Why gerrymandering is bad and how to fight it.
Eastpointe: How ranked choice voting helps create better representation.

National groups:
RepresentUs: Champions local and state laws that make the political system work for regular people
Unite America: Champions local and state laws emphasizing independent and reform minded political leaders
FairVote: Champions ranked choice voting nationwide
IssueOne: Champions democracy reforms in Congress
ProtectDemocracy: Champions accountability and prevention of presidential power
Leadership Now Project: Building a coalition of businesses to champion reform

Groups in WA:
Fair Vote WA: Championing ranked choice voting in WA
Fix Democracy First: Champions a host of reforms
The Sightline Institute: An excellent research group working on democracy reforms and other social issues

Twitter – Follow these people and groups t

How will Amazon maintain its culture as it approaches 1.3 million employees and prepares for its founder Jeff Bezos to step down as CEO? One answer is the set of processes and principles that the company has put into place, the "Invention Machine," created by Bezos and his leadership team inside the company.

That's the assessment of Bill Carr, a former Amazon executive and the co-author of the new book, Working Backwards, with fellow Amazon veteran Colin Bryar. 

Beyond providing a blueprint for others, he predicts that Amazon's processes and principles will "enable the company to continue to thrive and innovate for decades after Jeff’s departure" as CEO. Bezos will remain involved with the company as executive chairman. On this special episode of the GeekWire Podcast, Carr discusses the new book, describes Amazon's unique approaches, and shares inside stories including the offhand remark by the late Apple CEO Steve Jobs that contributed to the creation of some of Amazon’s most important products and services.

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