Details on the Lorain CCC and University of Akron partnership: LCCC, U of A team up for jobs

Questions from John:

Dan Hanson of Great Lakes Geek and other ventures brought up the Long Tail concept and made me wonder, has this been applied to health care? Is much of web marketing in health care focused on the big money procedures like heart disease while the long tail of many diseases and conditions may hold a wealth of opportunities?

eHealth

@ yesterday’s social media web association event.

Just got off the phone with Bruce Perens. He is well known as the author of “The Open Source Definition”.

Bruce is coming to make a presentation at Defrag at Lorain County Community College. He will be talking about the emerging economic paradigm of open source. His comments will touch on the emergence of open innovation and how companies — especially small companies — can leverage their intellectual property in an open source, networked world.

The emergence of the open source model has profound implications for how regional economic development takes place and the networks needed to support regional innovation.

The Emerging Economic Paradigm of Open Source

Bruce will be speaking Friday. You can register for Defrag Lorain from this page.

From Chris:

I learned about a lot of great sites, but I think the general concept I was already aware of. A lot of people where there to hear the basics, and I think they did a good job of explaining something, being comfortable with the jargon associated with web-speak. But the overall problem with the concepts is that there is no real definition of social media, or web2.0 as it is being called. The landscape for these tools and outlets is expanding at an exponential rate, and not many will be able to keep up.

So I think what I took away from the luncheon is try it. Most of this stuff is free. Be creative. If you are trying to promote yourself, your company, a product, go get a free myspace page and yell from internet rooftop. Start a blog and have a conversation about your company, or create a video promoting yourself and a proven leader and upload it to YouTube…

The Growing Impact of Social Media « AlphabetSoup

The Growing Impact of Social Media « AlphabetSoup

Tap. Tap. Is this thing on?

It is. Stop by and say hello. Or not, since comments are off.

Hearing on Predatory Lending: Cuyahoga County Treasurer

Via Tim Ferris. Interesting comments on the YouTube page.

At least in the links section on the Make a Difference blog.

The power of social media (and talkin’ about it) never ceases to amaze me. I’ve already discovered 3 new blogs from people linking to BFD who attended the WA event Monday, but the craziest thing is one of the guys who was there worked at the same company I did FIFTEEN YEARS AGO. As if that weren’t enough, he has a DESIGN blog, and works with Steve Rucinski’s Dreamriver Group. You probably are more familiar with Steve’s Small Business CEO blog. Below is Mike Sutyak’s latest post. Something to think about:

The words contained on any marketing material are important. They are the literal expression of what you’re trying to say. The explicit message.

But what does the design itself say? What’s your implicit message?

explicit vs. implicit

RE: Economic Development Marketing: Call off the Funeral, the Press Release Is Alive and Well. I hate to point out the obvious, but the article referred to here is written by someone who’s “a managing director at… a PR and business development firm”. One that probably has a bunch of flunkies who crank out PR that they turn around and charge clients a boatload for. I’d say he has a vested interest in perserving the status quo. Frankly, I hate read pressers. Usually they aren’t written in palatable language and contain way too much extraneous info. I have a hard time believing they’re “read by more people than ever before.”

But maybe I’m wrong. Your thoughts?

Got a link to the FreeConferenceCall Blog in an email from them. Seems like a good time to revisit a MTB Asterisk box. Any of my open source friends running one of these?

Yesterday I was working with a client. Since I’ve been using Gmail, which works anywhere there’s a connection to the web, I apparently missed when ATT changed all their POP/SMTP settings, which would explain why I gave up trying to get Mail.app working the other night after about 5 minutes.

My telephone service is pulling the same stuff. They’ve killed off the MyOnlyOne domain, so if you have my 4405270522@myonlyone address, you’ll have to change everything after the at sign to itelconnect.com. If I had my druthers, you’d be using my Gmail address, which is listed in the sidebar.

Notes: April 16th (Monday) is the main day most of them are coming into town. Staying downtown Radission Gateway. Will have some rental cars, but not enough to drive all 50 people around. Everyone is over 35 in group. Does not like loud, crowded places. Prefers to sit and chat. Wifi a huge bonus.

Again, I want to help prove to them that Cleveland doesn’t suck, and isn’t dead. I need ideas on where they should go and what they can do on that Monday which is a free day for everyone.

My Buddy Bill sold out their first show and added a second.

Cool Cleveland » Second show added!

Yesterday afternoon, it was John West, head of the Kent State Liquid Crystal Institute at Tuesdays@Future, the monthly CIA forum. He ran the gamut from why LCI is best in the world at what they do, that flexible LCD’s are the next huge market opportunity and how NEOhio shouldn’t get it’s hopes up on landing a major global manufacturing facility - our education system comes back to bite us again.

But, he says, coupled with the polymer cluster we’re in a great position to lead a major emerging industry - in spite of the education issue. Ready for digital signage? John splits his time as a Fellow at Nortech. The whole presentation will be up tomorrow.

Wendell regarding the Cleveland365 event:

Excuse me for pointing out that the emperor has no clothes, but a city and county that is losing population at a rate slower only than the hurricane ravaged New Orleans and Kwame Kilpatrick’s Detroit is not experiencing a renaissance. I’d say it’s more like a (to continue with the middle ages analogies) plague.

I really had no intention about posting on this topic - even after I got Cleveland365’s invite (I get a lot of email from people who think I ‘m a little heavy on the criticism), but then there was this Op/Ed, Building a hole near a clock with no hands, from Dick Feagler in today’s local fishwrap and I couldn’t contain myself. Feagler makes a good point (it’s not often that I agree with Cleveland’s favorite MSM curmudgeon) in that this city is an embarrassment to itself, much less to the visitors we seem obsessed with failing to impress upon arrival…

It appears Jill will have something to talk about with Dick.

Our plague » wenBLOG

To honor today’s Media Coffee event — What We Call The News - Funny Video Animation by JibJab

Via Steve Rubel. (Because I hate the phrase hat tip).

Click to Jay-C’s post for a link to the UrbanOhio forum regarding the event:

Just returned from tonight’s “Professionals in the City” discussion at the House of Blues downtown. Overall, not a lot of news was made at this talk. The “discussion” was dwarfed by the “networking” component, which was frustrating for the planning and civic discussion nerds like me and the guy I stood next too who knew who Ed Hauser was when he asked a question. We shared a moment; it was quite special.

For me, at least, the news was in Stark’s Warehouse District plan, which he is still is saying he’d like to get moving on next year and have 100% complete by 2011 or 2012. That’s a big goal for a guy who says his $1.5 billion development that includes 1 million square feet of residential and 2 million square feet of office space. Perhaps the biggest statement of the night was Stark’s first statement: The old guard has failed, it’s time for someone new to try…

clevelandada: Bob Stark can do no wrong (until he does something wrong)

The Long Tail: Bob Lefsetz on the power of free

Main Page - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Thanks to Tony Ramos for emailing with about it. Check out his presentations weblog here.

Lest you think I’m focusing on the negative aspect of Henry Gomez’ piece on the Cleveland365.com event, I’d point out that both John and Jason are friends of mine as well as BFD readers:

“I couldn’t hear half of it, to tell you the truth,” said 35-year-old John McGovern, of Ohio City, over the din. “Not controlling the noise was a huge mistake.”

Others marveled at Stark’s bravado.

“That,” said 28-year-old Jason Therrien of Ohio City, “was worth the price of a PBR.”

Developers rock House of Blues

If you click on any news story on Cleveland.com (here’s a random example) and look in the right-hand column under “Share this story”, you’ll see a link to “How does it work“?

Click on that link, it’s enlightening.

Be part of the audience for The E Show:

Episode 6 - Friday March 30th, 2:30PM-3:00PM
AIRS April 4th, 7PM-7:30PM
Topic : Innovation for Entrepreneurship: Places, People, and Process
with Special Guest, Dr. Stephen Brand
Lead Solutions Designer
Beta Strategy Group

…last night I’m having dinner in Boulder, Colorado with a long-time friend and two of her friends from town here. It’s the first time I’ve met this couple. Upon hearing that I’m from the Akron-Cleveland area as described by my friend, and before I have a chance to say anything, the guy says, “What the hell has happened to Cleveland?”

As it turned out the guy used to work for Key Corp. in Boulder in wealth management from the late 90’s to 2003. He continues to talk about how when he started traveling to Key HQ things seemed so promising and on the up but on his last visit 3 years ago things had “really gone downhill” and “from what I’ve read”, most recently regarding it being ground zero for the foreclosure fiasco, “that it had gotten drastically worse.”

He then continued, “It’s really too bad because Cleveland has got some wonderful cultural institutions, the art museum, the orchestra…it seems like a place with so much potential.”

All before I had a chance to say a word. Talk about feeling frustrated. Where does one start on responding to that view of Cleveland? I was learning firsthand how, “this city is an embarrassment to itself, much less to the visitors we seem obsessed with failing to impress upon arrival.”

Methinks you can do all the branding you want but if outsiders come away from a visit here with that kind of opinion, we’ll never be able to deliver on any brand promise until our underlying chronic problems start being addressed.

P.S. You should have seen the look of disbelief on his face when I told him that last Fall during the elections an issue to allow casino gambling was promoted as a solution to our economic/lack of jobs problem. His response, “Yeah, like that’s going to make things better.”

Fun stuff from DJ Doc:

Here’s some video of a class I’m teaching on the west side of Cleveland. I’ll have 5 sessions with these kids (once a week after school) to teach them how to scratch and perform as a DJ band. As you can hear, they are learning how to count measures and take turns scratching. Counting and playing music in relation to other musicians is an important musical lesson. Just one of the ways hip-hop can be an educational tool…

deejaydoc’s blog: Counting Measures

My friend Peter did a great job today. I hope more people tap him for panel discussions:

This morning, I participated in a panel with Plain Dealer [former] Metro Editor Jean Dubail and Meet the Bloggers/Brewed Fresh Daily catalyst George Nemeth about Newspapers and Blogging: Challenges in the Era of DIY Publishing. The forum took place at the Penton Media Building downtown to some 30 or so and was moderated by PR Newswire’s Southeast [kinda like SE Harley Davidson] Region Director Jennifer Cotton. We talked a lot about whether companies and organizations would benefit from initiating their own blogs and how PR and marketing professionals can best gear their company/org messages to both old and new media. That’s simplifying the discussion a lot, but having been working in media now professionally for 17 years, I can wholeheartedly tell you that the Internet and new media has changed the “social physics of information” and how people choose to consume that knowledge. Now you’ve got XML, RSS feeds, Google readers, social tags, metakeywords, digg, reddit, netscape, del.icio.us… it’s all a far cry from the Atari 800XL computer I started banging reviews out on so many years ago…

Joyrides for Shut-ins: What’s Cooking in the PCHQ Pajama Cubicle?

What a tool. From Stan:

Marcel Breuer’s Cleveland skyscraper met its demise today as Cuyahoga County Commissioners voted 2-1 to proceed with demolition to make way for a banal glass and steel skyscraper that lacks any discernible character, site relationship, or any utter design significance.

Next time Commissioner Hagan and Dimora run for re-election, please keep in consideration their decision to allocate millions of dollars for the demolition of a building (please note that the asbestos removal is separate and was to be done regardless) that was unique to the city…

Ya gotta wonder what it’s like to be PLJ sometimes. Timmy and Jimmy would make me crazy…

Improvised Schema: R.I.P. - Breuer’s Cleveland Skyscraper

Check it out: Advance Northeast Ohio

FYI, don’t react with a takedown if your work gets criticized. I clicked thru this post by jay-c:

The Downtown Pittsburgh Partnership posted a video on why it’s cool to work downtown. Then people responded.

See the video. It’s hilarious.

Here’s the result:

clevelandada: Pittsburgh’s got issues

Since this is in my neighborhood now:

Michael Feigenbaum would be the first to admit that Café Marika is the furthest thing from lavish. Heck, he wouldn’t even go so far as to label the place a restaurant.

“No, I wouldn’t call Café Marika a restaurant — we’re not that kind of a place,” Feigenbaum explained during a telephone call. “It is a casual coffeehouse in the European sense of the word.”

Opened last month in the artsy environs of North Collinwood, Café Marika (named after Feigenbaum’s wife) takes a multi-faceted approach to customer satisfaction. In the morning, folks amble in for coffee and pastries. Come noontime, guests munch on soups, salads, sandwiches and light entrées while checking their e-mail on laptops thanks to free wi-fi. And in the evening, assuming all goes as planned with the liquor folks in Columbus, residents can grab a stool at the bar and tip a few…

After several months, McK and I finally closed on the Landseer House and are residents of Cleveland proper. Gloria has schedule an MTB with Councilman Mike Polensek in May, and I need to find out if it’d be a good place for the interview.

The Cleveland Free Times ::: Ohio’s Premier News, Arts and Entertainment Weekly

Our vision: Oddpodz will be a brand for creatives. The word Oddpod (plural, Oddpodz) will become a noun describing a unique, creative person. Oddpod nation is community of independent doers, free-range thinkers and non-conformist change agents who make significant contributions to create a better world. Oddpodz the company will be known as a trailblazing brand that built a stronger creative class, empowered people to be unique and themselves, and to enjoy, respect and honor all that is different.

Todd writes:

It’s a dry, numbers-driven report, so let’s refresh: People vote with their feet and abandon where they live because of crime; high taxes; poor schools; and, in some cases, lack of open space. It would be nice to think that Cuyahoga County and the City of Cleveland, or Hamilton County and the City of Cincinnati, are doing something about these problems. Whatever they are doing, if anything, is not enough…

BizzyBlog » ‘Voting with Feet’ Continues in Cuyahoga and Hamilton Counties

And from what I gather, no one got an answer to Bill’s questions:

So, the region has gone from high-tech job decline to high-tech worker shortage in fourteen months?

I hope some reporter — or maybe some enterprising citizen journalist — at today’s big Advance Northeast Ohio rollout will ask someone (Bob Briggs? Dorothy Baunach?) to explain to all us trusting civilians how this miracle happened, and why people with graduate degrees aren’t flocking here to fill all the new job openings.

“We’ve done a terrible job of marketing ourselves as a booming tech region,” Shah said.

Well, that’s one possible explanation.

P.S. Yes, I noticed that the definition of “high-tech” in today’s PD story is somewhat slippery. Are “nurses, radiation technologists, pharmacists and physical therapists” now high technology occupations? Not in the Nortech/CSU report, according to Table B2.

Callahan’s Cleveland Diary » Blog Archive » Which of these things is not like the other?

Please click thru and check out Scott’s entire post on yesterday’s FFEF event:

Beyond the change in focus, there is also a change in demographic. Gone is the great hoi poloi of the Voices Town Hall Meeting. No painter capturing the scene. No digitally-enable democracy. And, sadly, no rappers. This event was for the movers and — hopefully indicated by my invite — a few shakers. The audience was overwhelmingly in business attire. Among other things, this made the journalists (and the blogger) easier to pick out.

The commitment to regionalism was evident, though somewhat focused on the biggest counties. First off, meeting in Akron is in itself a symbolic nod toward regionalism. Last week I attended a more typical “regional” meeting in Cleveland (for something entirely different) in which I was the only representative from outside the Cleveland region. Even for Clevelanders, Akron represents a sort of not-West-Side/not-East-Side neutral ground. And apparently the folks from up north found their way down the dirt roads to Knight Center Holler without any problems.

The presenters came from Cuyahoga, Summit and Lorain Counties. I saw a pretty strong Youngstown contingent. But not a lot of serious talk about how to bring into the effort the less densely-populated counties or those on the perifery of what we are calling Northeast Ohio.

At this stage, discussion of K-12 education is minimal…

Pho’s Akron Pages: Initial Impressions of the Advance Northeast Ohio Launch

I read this post over several times, but couldn’t find just the right excerpt, so just click thru and read it.

Collisions Under Lake Erie: Frustrations with Amtrak (in Cleveland, OH)

Gloria is presenting for MTB at Cleveland Collectivo. Out of 150 or so ideas, we made it down to (I think) 14 presenters. Wish her (us) luck.

I’ve trashed a pair of shoes during the renovation. Maybe I’ll get a pair of these:

I got my order from Toms Shoes yesterday. They are as comfortable as they say. I didn’t believe it. But the best part is that my purchase bought a pair of shoes for a shoeless kid as well. All Toms Shoes purchases do that. If you decide to get some, you can use the discount code 1PAIR4FEET at the checkout to get a fiver off the price. Basically free shipping…

Thanks for sharing, Adam.

Organic/Mechanic Permalink » Schtuff

One of the most intense Meet.The.Bloggers* moments for me took place during our conversation last week with Mike Roberts, when he recounts the Kent State Shootings. If you can only listen to a little bit, please start listening towards the end of Part 3, and then Part 4.

That said, please try to listen to the whole thing. I doubt you’ll hear a better MTB (though I think we do a heckuva job with everyone. but I’m biased).

Meet the Bloggers » Veteran Journalist Michael Roberts.

We heard from Joyce Brabner. The 7PM show of My Buddy Bill is sold out, so they’ve added a second show @ 10PM.

Comments: None (yet).

What’s similar between these three cool events this week: the MythBusters using science to discredit urban myths, an Easter Bunny benefit in Lakewood, and an April Fool’s concert by the Paragon Brass Faculty Quintet that imitates Barney Oldfield in the classic film, “Race for Life.” Give up? You’ll have to listen to Max’s Cool Cleveland Kids Podcast by clicking here.

Comments: None (yet).

Just for kicks, think of another community besides Northeast Ohio. Now of course, they won’t have things like University Circle, or the Rock Hall, or Playhouse Square, or the West Side Market (let alone all four), but stick with us. Now, we’ll tell you about three events this weekend that span the range of coolness, that other towns just can’t touch. To find out, listen to this week’s podcast by clicking here.

Comments: None (yet).