Amazon may end up choosing Arlington, Va., for its second headquarters if a spike in internal company internet traffic on an old article touting the city’s successes is any indicator.
ARLnow.com, a local news site outside of Washington, D.C., published a piece Tuesday detailing how it recently realized that a specific post from December was experiencing an unusually high amount of views. In fact, the article, titled “County Wins Top Environmental Award from U.S. Green Building Council,” was one of the most-visited stories of the week, according to ARLnow.com.
Using its Google Analytics, the digital media outlet saw that the traffic was coming from Amazon, and no other page on its site was being viewed even close to the same amount by people at the company.
After originally flaunting a $5 billion investment during its initial announcement that it would be building its next massive headquarters — known as HQ2 — in a select city, Amazon earlier in the year whittled down its search. Among the 20 finalists were Washington D.C. and Northern Virginia, respectively.
Many, especially those on the left end of the spectrum, who once saw Silicon Valley as the darlings of the American economy, are critical of Amazon and its HQ2 search process, arguing it’s an ugly display of cities whoring themselves out to a private company. (RELATED: There’s A Newfound Hatred Of Silicon Valley)
On the other hand, some commended the strategy, saying it can be a net benefit for both Amazon and the bidding cities.
Nevertheless, there are plenty of reasons to think that Washington D.C., or Northern Virginia, or some combination of both, will ultimately be chosen.
Amazon Founder Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post, and often frequents the publication’s eponymous home city. Bezos’ travels to the area and overall company involvement in Washington, D.C. may have to increase further as big tech companies based on the West Coast are being thrusted into the political arena.
Furthermore, a very new study conducted by Hamilton Place Strategies just named Washington D.C. the most likely place to land Amazon’s HQ2.
Also, Kyle Garman, a senior vice president for SAP, a multinational software giant, wrote a post explaining how there are at least 10 empirical reasons to believe Amazon will choose America’s capital, citing aforementioned facts like Bezos’ residence and newspaper being in the city. He also references the “strategic talent base,” “the intersection of technology and government,” “business friendliness,” and the transit and travel availabilities and opportunities that the “transportation hub” affords.
Amazon did not respond to The Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment in time of publication.
Send tips to eric@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
Freedom of Speech Isn’t Free
The Daily Caller News Foundation is working hard to balance out the biased American media. For as little as $3, you can help us. Make a one-time donation to support the quality, independent journalism of TheDCNF. We’re not dependent on commercial or political support and we do not accept any government funding.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.