The Internet was supposed to help by breaking down information barriers but the effect seems to have been extremely minimal. I can now learn almost anything instantly in Nowhere, West Virginia but that doesn't seem to matter.
It shows two things I think:
(1) The Internet has yet to replicate anything close to the "bandwidth" of in-person interaction.
(2) Capital for virtually any endeavor is geographically concentrated and the Internet does not seem to have changed that much.
To add on to your #1 - There's no desire/impetus to bridge that particular gap. It's very easy to just tell prospective employees to show up. I wonder how long rent will have to increase before prospective employees stop showing up.
It shows two things I think:
(1) The Internet has yet to replicate anything close to the "bandwidth" of in-person interaction.
(2) Capital for virtually any endeavor is geographically concentrated and the Internet does not seem to have changed that much.