Top Stories of ’21: Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, COVID, and what’s next for tech in Seattle and beyond

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Looking at GeekWire’s most-read stories for 2021, this series of headlines stands out as a symbol of the past year, not just for Amazon but for the world at large.

In short, no one knew what was going on, or what to do. In the sports world, they would call it a rebuilding year, setting the stage for something better.

My colleague John Cook puts it more succinctly in our year-end podcast: “It sucked.”

Ed Lazowska
Ed Lazowska, University of Washington computer science professor. (UW Photo)

At least, that’s the view from two cynical journalists, which is why it was refreshing to have Ed Lazowska join us again for this year-end show. A professor at the University of Washington’s Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering, Lazowska is a longtime Seattle tech leader, and an “inveterate optimist,” in his own words.

“Yeah, COVID has thrown us all kinds of loops,” he acknowledges, but then offers a few examples of a more upbeat way to look at this year’s list.

  • Amazon’s “remarkable year,” including its ability to scale up in response to COVID, the leadership transition to new CEO Andy Jassy, new leadership principles and the continued success of Amazon Web Services.
  • Microsoft continues to boom under the leadership of Satya Nadella, as Azure and cloud services fuel the company’s growth. “Microsoft is not just an incredibly capable company, but they’re the conscience of the tech industry,” under the policy leadership of President Brad Smith, Lazowska says.
  • In the meantime, biotech is gaining momentum in Seattle: “I think the interface between information technology and biotechnology is going to give us a real competitive advantage, because we’re very strong in biomedicine, and we’re very strong in computing. And there’s so much at that interface.”

That doesn’t even count the historic vaccine rollout, as reflected in this year’s top story: ‘I feel great’: Bill Gates shares photo of himself getting first dose of COVID-19 vaccine.

Even the second most-read story of the year was an upbeat, feel-good piece: Billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott marries Seattle science teacher.

Yes, there were setbacks for key players in business and tech. One that stands out on this year’s list is Zillow’s decision to close down its home-buying business, cutting 2,000 jobs in the process. Then there was Facebook’s decision to rename itself “Meta” amid a series of revelations demonstrating the company’s own knowledge of Facebook’s ill effects on society.

“But considering all the adversity,” he concludes, “this has been a pretty good year.”

Lazowska joins us to discuss those stories and many others from the past year on this episode of the GeekWire Podcast. We also look ahead to the upcoming year, and talk about a few key stories we’ll be watching.

As reported recently on GeekWire, several prominent tech leaders have been working to establish a series of UW professorships in Lazowska’s honor. Learn more about the initiative here.

Listen above, and subscribe to GeekWire in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or wherever you listen. Keep reading for the full list of top 100 stories.

Produced and edited by Curt Milton. Theme music by Daniel L.K. Caldwell.

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