Seattle has long been defined by water- rivers, lakes, and canals that cut through its steep green hills, and by the flow of the ocean tides that once anchored its economic life. The water is still there, of course, but it's the flow of information that now drives the region. The quiet, blue-collar Seattle of a generation ago has been utterly transformed, from pragmatic focus on growing its markets to a visionary focus on creating them instead. It's the revolutionary nature of this change that allowed Seattle to become the place it is today - a city where talent is the true coin of the realm and where environmental consciousness goes hand in hand with economic growth. Fishing boats still line the water's edge along the winding coast, but now dock alongside the pleasure boats and the Seattle luxury homes of today's information-age elite.