Brewed Fresh Daily

What is the one thing Cleveland needs to shed if it's going to attract more entrepreneurs and young knowledge workers?

If you know me, you know ideas don't come to me one at a time. I think in bullet points. So here's a few things that Cleveland needs to stop doing right away:

• We've got to stop wearing suits and ties to every damn meeting
• We've got to stop refusing to set foot on a city sidewalk (Playhouse Square's garage walkway, Cleveland Clinic's overhead bridges, suburban malls)
• We've got to stop staying home every night watching reruns of the Drew Carey show rather than checking out the town
• We've got to stop finding out what the boss thinks before stating an opinion identical to his
• We've got to stop creating little dynasties (political, economic social) rather than working together in collaboration
• We've got to stop ignoring Cleveland's bounty of world class arts and culture right under its nose
• We've got to stop banishing our annual graduates from the 23 colleges and universities in the region, rather than offering them internships, mentorships and work study programs
• We've got to stop worrying about what everyone else thinks of Cleveland
• We've got to stop thinking that big league sports is the only culture worth supporting
• We've got to stop pretending that the problems of the City of Cleveland aren't the problem of Solon, Strongsville, Bay Village and Beachwood.
• We've got to stop treating gays and lesbians like they come from another planet
• We've got to stop ignoring the lake and the river
• We've got to stop allowing the city center to become a ghost town
• We've got to stop being afraid to cross the river
• We've got to stop being afraid

You're already cool, Cleveland, you just need to convince yourself of that fact.

How would you bring together various forces and institutions in the community to elevate Cleveland's cool quotient?

No one that's actually cool goes around trying to elevate their own cool quotient.

One project I'm working on now brings together disparate institutions here in Cleveland. Its called "One Week in the Life of University Circle," and it's a collaboration between students at three universities. During one week in September, they will capture on digital media what goes on behind the scenes at hospitals, museums, businesses, transportation services, security departments, observatories, garbage bins, dance halls, and in public spaces. Then they will process the digital work, turn it into twenty-six separate projects, and present digital video, CD-ROMs, virtual reality caves, interactive DVDs, high tech performances, GPS devices, virtual museums, web sites, dances, films and sculptures during Holiday CircleFest in December.

Actually, the goal of this project is to demonstrate how partnerships between different institutions can be useful in creating something that no single entity could do, regardless of how wonderful they are. And to demonstrate the opportunities of having a world class digital media center in the region. Another goal is to demonstrate how digital media technology can be used to document, communicate, and virtually express the human condition and to show how cutting edge digital media can enlighten, educate, entertain and engage.

This is more than about "cool," although it is undoubtedly one of the coolest projects Cleveland has been involved in recently. It's about assuming and understanding that we are cool, and what we can do with that.