Zoom lands in Microsoft’s backyard with new Bellevue office

• “Influential” move: Downtown Seattle Association President and CEO Jon Scholes said he hopes other employers follow Amazon’s lead. Read more.

Zoom lands in Seattle region: The videoconferencing giant is the latest tech company to open a satellite office in the Seattle area, planting a flag nearby enterprise software rivals Microsoft and Google. Read more.

There are lots of good reasons to prefer remote work. But team performance doesn’t seem to be one of them. Amid the debate over returning to the office, longtime Seattle tech leader Kieran Snyder analyzes the data for our latest “Ask the Expert” business advice column. 

Barnes & Noble sells “a better book” than Amazon, according to the CEO of the revived chain, which is opening new stores across the U.S. James Daunt credits an indie-minded approach and catering to customers who want to interact in physical stores. Read more.

Feeling anxious about climate change? A new group with Seattle roots called Soapbox Project is getting traction with tech workers eager to engage in positive activism. Read more.

Hot Links:

• Amazon’s move to focus on individual contributors and cut manager positions may indicate a new era of flattening in corporate structure. (CNBC)

• Washington state health officials launched a public dashboard to track weather-related health incidents — such as heat and cold exposure — using data reported by hospitals. (KUOW)