AUSTIN | Economic Development

[LiveattheOasis]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.kxa...ates-show/amp/

Looks like we’ve effectively passed 1 million people.

[We vs us]

Originally Posted by LiveattheOasis

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.kxa...ates-show/amp/

Looks like we’ve effectively passed 1 million people.

They estimate the whole MSA sits at 2,307,000. Similarly sized peer MSAs are Kansas City, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Las Vegas, and Sacramento per Wikipedia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...#United_States

[the Genral]

Originally Posted by LiveattheOasis

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.kxa...ates-show/amp/

Looks like we’ve effectively passed 1 million people.

Just waiting on it being official. How and who decides when it is? When it does become official, I think it will be a remarkable reference but hardly a welcome one considering our infrastructure was never designed to support that many people. I still think its a cool tag, one I never thought would be possible considering the pop was under 400K when I moved here. Still, at the end of the day, there's still waaaaaay too many people living / moving here.

[427MM]

Secret is out, Austin is amazing! Now can we just get through the objection of the Council Members who fear change to replace our outdated land use code? Would make such a huge difference in the amount of housing that gets built...

[Novacek]

Originally Posted by the Genral

Just waiting on it being official. How and who decides when it is? When it does become official, I think it will be a remarkable reference but hardly a welcome one considering our infrastructure was never designed to support that many people. I still think its a cool tag, one I never thought would be possible considering the pop was under 400K when I moved here. Still, at the end of the day, there's still waaaaaay too many people living / moving here.

It's not really the 1 Million people living in Austin that are the problem. It's the other 1 million people who _don't_ live in the city, but who use the city's infrastructure and resources (roads, public safety, etc.).
Or the people who no longer live in Austin, because they've been priced out.


Austin would be a in a better place (infrastructure wise and other) if we had reached this milestone sooner (had allowed a greater share of metro growth to occur in the city).

[We vs us]

Interesting. Tik Tok plans to hire "hundreds" in Austin, despite Trump's shut down order.

AUSTIN (KXAN) — TikTok, the popular video and social media platform owned by a Chinese company, is moving forward with hiring hundreds of new employees in Austin, despite President Donald Trump’s executive order telling the company to sell or shut down operations in the United States.

TikTok’s expansion into the Austin market began in March. Now, dozens of job openings are posted to join the platform.

Blake Chandlee, TikTok’s vice president of global business solutions and Austin resident, said the company’s plan is to stay here for “years to come.”

“We’re proud to build our presence in Austin and be a part of the thriving business and tech community locally,” Chandlee said. “The Austin community embodies the same creative and entrepreneurial spirit that defines the TikTok community, and we are going to do all we can to ensure our company’s future in Texas and the U.S.”

Background: President Trump signs executive orders to ban TikTok, WeChat in 45 days
Trump called TikTok a “national security risk,” giving TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, 45 days to sell the company to an American buyer or end business in the U.S. Microsoft has reportedly expressed interest in purchasing the company.

TikTok has denied sharing user data with the Chinese government and said data is stored in the United States and Singapore.

https://www.kxan.com/news/local/aust...-or-shut-down/

[austlar1]

Maybe I am missing something in all of this, but Trump's efforts to take down (or shake down) TikTok seem to be done with the intention of placing this company in American hands, not so much because of national security issues, but because it is a way to punish Chinese interests and possibly reward a friendly US business interest. The only flaw in this logic is that Microsoft/Bill Gates is not normally identified with Team Trump. Gates in a recent interview in Wired expressed puzzlement about the TikTok drama unfolding at Microsoft(https://www.wired.com/story/bill-gat...H7k9T-vQ4lEInY). At any rate, I think TikTok will still be around when the dust settles, and it looks like it will have a strong presence here in Austin.

[lonewolf]

Originally Posted by austlar1

Maybe I am missing something in all of this, but Trump's efforts to take down (or shake down) TikTok seem to be done with the intention of placing this company in American hands, not so much because of national security issues, but because it is a way to punish Chinese interests and possibly reward a friendly US business interest. The only flaw in this logic is that Microsoft/Bill Gates is not normally identified with Team Trump. Gates in a recent interview in Wired expressed puzzlement about the TikTok drama unfolding at Microsoft(https://www.wired.com/story/bill-gat...H7k9T-vQ4lEInY). At any rate, I think TikTok will still be around when the dust settles, and it looks like it will have a strong presence here in Austin.

you are missing something mi amigo

[austlar1]

Originally Posted by lonewolf

you are missing something mi amigo

Please illuminate me on the topic before the mods shut us down. Bill Gates also seems a bit perplexed by the TikTok shuffle. The best he can come up with is that it is "pretty bizarre" and "singly strange". Referring to the Trump proposal that the federal government take a cut of any sales proceeds, Gates (who stands to be a big beneficiary of any deal with Microsoft) calls it "doubly strange". To me it just looks like a naked shake down, almost a gangster move, by a sovereign nation. Apparently I am not the only one who sees it that way. Here are a few sample headlines. There are at least a dozen more to be found:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technolo...tech-industry/

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020...ft-tiktok-deal

https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertb.../#3d8d235330ce

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/08/...onal-security/

[lonewolf]

Originally Posted by austlar1

Please illuminate me on the topic before the mods shut us down. Bill Gates also seems a bit perplexed by the TikTok shuffle. The best he can come up with is that it is "pretty bizarre" and "singly strange". Referring to the Trump proposal that the federal government take a cut of any sales proceeds, Gates (who stands to be a big beneficiary of any deal with Microsoft) calls it "doubly strange". To me it just looks like a naked shake down, almost a gangster move, by a sovereign nation. Apparently I am not the only one who sees it that way. Here are a few sample headlines. There are at least a dozen more to be found:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technolo...tech-industry/

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020...ft-tiktok-deal

https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertb.../#3d8d235330ce

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/08/...onal-security/

I agree with you the deal with microsoft doesn't pass sniff test.

here is a place to start. there is no small amount of literature or anecdotes of people within industry leaking info about this app. this is a jumping off point https://www.reddit.com/r/videos/comm...t_get/fmuko1m/

it's not that i think tiktok is doing something our tech companies aren't (i think they all do it) it's the fact that it is literally beholden to the CCP AND it's snooping as much/moreso than all our tech companies

[The ATX]

BAE to build new North Austin campus and hire 700 which would double their local workforce to 1,400. They currently have 700 employees in East Austin.

Paywall alert:
https://www.bizjournals.com/austin/n...in-campus.html

[freerover]

Originally Posted by The ATX

BAE to build new North Austin campus and hire 700 which would double their local workforce to 1,400. They currently have 700 employees in East Austin.

Paywall alert:
https://www.bizjournals.com/austin/n...in-campus.html

I would be thrilled if they sold all the land they have in East Austin. It's about 120 acres.

[the Genral]

I've seen Tik Tok and I have to say...its a waste of brain cells.

[SproutingTowers]

https://www.whitehouse.gov/president...-posed-tiktok/

[We vs us]

That Futures Command is so much more of a big deal than I originally gave it credit for being. It’s going to drive a lot of similar business to town.

Also — Parmer’s really turning into quite a corridor.

[Maximusx1]

Originally Posted by We vs us

That Futures Command is so much more of a big deal than I originally gave it credit for being. It’s going to drive a lot of similar business to town.

Also — Parmer’s really turning into quite a corridor.

"San Antonio leaders vying for U.S. Space Command Headquarters -- 'The economic impact would be significant,' Mayor Nirenberg"

https://www.ksat.com/news/local/2020...YEUdmhZ3e9W_xM

This could have a similar effect for San Antonio and some positive job prospects for Austin as well

[smith_atx]

Originally Posted by Maximusx1

"San Antonio leaders vying for U.S. Space Command Headquarters -- 'The economic impact would be significant,' Mayor Nirenberg"

https://www.ksat.com/news/local/2020...YEUdmhZ3e9W_xM

This could have a similar effect for San Antonio and some positive job prospects for Austin as well

That'd be cool. Hopefully they get it!

[mostly_afk]

Originally Posted by We vs us

That Futures Command is so much more of a big deal than I originally gave it credit for being. It’s going to drive a lot of similar business to town.

Also — Parmer’s really turning into quite a corridor.

Yep. If I have the location correct, BAE would be next the FC Austin training center and 3M.

The current Parmer Austin brochure has some new renderings of the entertainment options around the FC Austin center. I don't have a imgur account. So, if anyone wants to grab some some screenshots from the brochure, that would be great. See pages 4 and 5.

http://flipbooks.parmeraustin.com/books/ebpw/#p=1

[We vs us]

In re: Tik Tok . . . .

Tik Tok suspends hiring in Austin after Trump's EO

https://www.bizjournals.com/austin/n...g-on-hold.html



And Oracle has decided to take a run at Tik Tok, challenging Microsoft.

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/17/orac...urce-says.html

[The ATX]

We've had a lot of good jobs news with Apple, Tesla, BAE Systems, Amazon, etc. But this is the first big negative that I know of. Smile Direct canceled their plans to build a manufacturing plant in Kyle and create 850 jobs.

ABJ Paywall Alert:
https://www.bizjournals.com/austin/n..._news_headline