David Crowley was a good man and a great Cincinnatian. Back when I was more involved politically, I saw him I believe at three different debates, and met him at one of those debates. He always made sense, always seemed pleasant, and avoided the “fire and brimstone” type campaigning that is often so common.
Also, Mr. Crowley, I apologise for the time I mistakenly called you Patrick Crowley (NKY politics reporter) on an old Cincinnati Dealer parody article. Your comment set me straight.
The Ignite concept is coming to Cincinnati, finally. Not to be confused with the excellent grant program, IgniteCincinnati is:
A night of presentations with a twist. 14 presenters each get 5 minutes to talk about their subject. 20 slides that auto advance after 15 seconds. It is quick, fun, smart and fills the Know Theater. Our next one is January 20th.
To qualify this, I should say that these type of short-format talks have been going on in the area for a while now time under different names. Whether you call it Ignite, Pecha Kucha Night, Open Mic night, lightning talks, jolt talks – the events are always fun… AND educational!
I love these events. I try to make them whenever they occur, and hope to see you there on the 20th.
The Center of Innovation program at the College of Applied Science at UC aims to show seniors that their choices for employment upon graduation is not limited to Fifth Third, Kroger’s, and Great American Insurance (not that there’s anything wrong with those fine companies). The program also aims to show them that, in a region full of marketing, design, and business talent, there is serious need for young technology talent with an entrepreneurial bent. For those who might want to take the plunge, the program also outlines business skills and resources they’ll need to complement their technology skills.
This is a great thing, and kudos and support goes to Andy Erickson and Dr. Hazem Said for their work so far.
This past Tuesday I gave a short talk to students in the Innovation Seminar series in CAS at UC about what' it’s like to work in a startup from a coder’s point of view. I talked about transitioning from a cubicle farm job to a startup environment, the nature and pace of working in a startup, and the tons and tons of learning that is inevitable.
You won’t get a lot from these slides without the narrative, but I post all my talks here so I thought I’d post this one.
Cross-posted on my programming blog.
I had a good time at Cincinnati Social Media's Open Mic night. Unfortunately, I only caught snippets here and there of the talks. The audio in the venue was poor in general, and the people in the back of the room were interesting to talk to, so I spent a good deal of time doing that instead. Apologies to the organizers. But it was the first event of its kind around here and I think the next one will be better. I think it should be in an auditorium-like setting as opposed to a bar, so that the audience is more captive. I know, why don't I organize it, right?
One speech in particular caught my eye: Beyond Free Agent Nation by Brian Lecount. In it, he discusses the slow transformation of the American workforce. Some 18-month old data that he quoted stated:
It was a great talk and pointed out the many challenges of this newfound trend. For example, many who make the leap to independence underestimate how much time is spent on administrative work.
And then there is coworking, a trend that is sweeping the nation. According to Wikipedia:
Coworking is an emerging trend for a new pattern for working. Typically work-at-home professionals or independent contractors or people who travel frequently end up working in relative isolation. Coworking is the social gathering of a group of people, who are still working independently, but who share values and who are interested in the synergy that can happen from working with talented people in the same space.
Brian had some strong opinions about coworking, in particular, how it was missing real business development. Community is great and all, but how much value is that network really building?
In any case, if you haven't heard, I am involved in a coworking movement that has started in Cincinnati. Go to the site and take the survey. Coworking spaces are popping up all over the country. In some cities, it's simply about renting desks, and that's okay. But in other cities, it is having a real transformative effect on these cities in how people with ideas get together and make their cities better. Hopefully, in Cincinnati, it will become the latter.
Registration is open for InOneWeekend 2009.
FRI BRAINSTORM SAT BUILD SUN LAUNCH
InOneWeekend is an innovation and entrepreneurship organization that hosts participant-driven weekend events that create and launch viable start-ups in a single weekend. Our low-commitment, low-cost, high-return, highly awesome events allow like-minded, diversely experienced individuals to create an elevating experience and quite possibly the next big thing.
I participated in InOneWeekend last year and can say that no matter what the outcome of the work, the experience itself was extraordinary. Not only was the weekend-long coding quite fun, I learned a great deal from all the non-programmers - marketers, designers, business planners, attorneys - that were crammed into the same space. There is only space for 100 participants, so sign up today!
InOneWeekend 2009 - 100 people create a start-up in a weekend
I was disgusted by the Enquirer's response to the laying off of 101 employees, including the entire staff of CiNWeekly. If you haven't read it yet, go read it now, and then come back while I highlight the salient points.
Done? Here is the salient point: Advertisers, we are still worth spending money on. Buy ads from us!
I understand everyone has to make a living. But this is a bit of salt in the wound. I expected the post to be apologetic. But there was no apology. I expected sympathy. No sympathy towards its former employees or their families was mentioned. Not even a little regret. Here is what I read:
Naysayers have predicted our demise many times over those years, but today The Enquirer reaches 64 percent of local adults every week, or 803,800.
Look at our reach, buy ads from us!
Enquirer Media does not have an audience problem. Nearly two-thirds of the market will read our newspaper this week. It’s the economy.
Look at our reach, buy ads from us!
And, we’re more than a newspaper. Enquirer Media reaches 83 percent of the adults in its core market every week with one of our products. Moreover, it reaches those people nearly five times.
Look at our reach, buy ads from us!
We work for our advertisers. The newspaper and digital initiatives continue to provide the same strong results for our advertisers. We help them understand and employ today’s technology to grow their business and reach their goals.
Look at our reach, buy ads from us!
We have talented, flexible employees. And we still have, by far, the largest local footprint in terms of content gathering, print and online audience, promotional capability and sales capability.
Look at our reach, buy ads from us!
There was some other statements made, but that was all I read.
