Minnov8

Showcasing Minnesota Technology Innovation

Archives for January 2011

Minnov8 Gang 109 – This Mobile Thingy Will Be Big!

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It’s easy to chuckle at a vintage Radio Shack ad like this one on YouTube from 1990 that touted the “Affordable, Portable, Cellular Telephone” from Radio Shack (gee…do ya think that’s a Bill Gates-like character for the boy?). What most of us don’t know is that these ‘brick’ phones, with their six inch antennas, listed for $1,200 ($1,970 in 2011 dollars) and the average cellular phone call cost was $.40/minute!

We’ve come a loooong way since 1990 and it’s likely this mobile thingy is gonna be big.  😉

Joining us on this episode of the Minnov8 Gang is Justin Grammens, co-Founder at Recursive Awesome, LLC, owner of Localtone, LLC founder of the Mobile Twin Cities User’s Group, and co-founder of Mobile March. During the “Gang Mentality” segment we’re pleased to have been joined by Lisa Foote, co-founder of  MixMobi and a pragmatic expert in the mobile space overall. She also speaks at many industry events (e.g., the upcoming Mobile March) and is a strategist with a global perspective on the mobile space.

Hosts: Steve Borsch, Tim Elliott, Graeme Thickins and Phil Wilson.
Music: Beyond the Pale is the artist & their song “Faral O’Garas” via the podsafe Music Alley.

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The Podcast

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:07:40 — 39.3MB)

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Discussed during the show:

Twin Cities Premier Mobile Event

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The Twin Cities premier mobile event, Mobile March, will be here in just a few weeks. It’s a day long event dedicated to exploring the latest in mobile technology and trends. The name Mobile March not only denotes the month in which it takes place, it also emphasizes the ongoing advancement and growth of mobile technology and the related lifestyle. If the attendance is as big as last year’s event—and is already shaping up to be more well-attended than 2010’s with even the preliminary agenda looking stronger—it will sell out very quickly. Registering now is the smart choice and you can do so here.

Founded by Justin Grammens, Phil Wilson and Linda Cummings in 2010, they point out the essence of the event on their website, “…Mobile March offers two tracks of learning; Mobile Development and Mobile Business. By offering content that appeals to mobile developers, business people, and users we also hope to facilitate a greater understanding between the constituencies that make mobile happen.  Whether you make money with mobile or just use it to stay connected, we invite you to join us for Mobile March.“

If you’re keeping track of the explosion in mobile devices (and networks like Verizon beefing up their networks with 4G) then you’ll instantly understand why this is such a timely and important event for you to attend.

When: Saturday, March 19, 2011, 8am – 4:30pm
(cocktail party begins at 4:30pm)

Where: Best Buy Headquarters Campus

Register Here

MHTA Welcomes New President and CEO

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The Dorsey Whitney law firm hosted a meet and greet to welcome incoming Minnesota High Tech Association President and CEO Margaret Anderson Kelliher. If attendees were looking for specifics on how her leadership will impact the organization in the future, they were disappointed…and probably expecting too much.  This was clearly more of a get acquainted gathering.

While chatting in the receiving line she told me that, like many stepping into a new role, the first order of business was strategic planning for the organization, something that hadn’t been seriously undertaken in quite some time.

Noting the inclusion of innovation and building for the future in President Obama’s State of the Union address, Ms Kelliher talked briefly about the MHTA’s dedication to creating high tech jobs and the association’s STEM Education Initiatives.

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pb8tLk_94tk

Minnov8 Gang 108 – Interactive Public Media

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With the fundamentals around traditional media changing dramatically—and many subscribing to the theory that public media will be the organizations that will lead investigative journalism going forward—Twin Cities Public Television (TPT) must’ve been delighted to snag someone with the skills of John Daenzer, formerly head of interactive at WCCO-TV. As the new Vice President, Interactive Media for TPT, hear what John is up to now and his thoughts on the changing nature of media and much, much more.

Hosts: Steve Borsch, Tim Elliott, Graeme Thickins andPhil Wilson.
Music: Bob Kirkpatrick is the artist and the song is, “Too Much Time.“
Music made possible by the podsafe Music Alley.

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The Podcast

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:03:25 — 36.8MB)

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Discussed during the show:

Upcoming Events:

Summit Showcases Senator’s Innovation Agenda

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Senator Amy Klobuchar was in Minneapolis for what was billed as an Innovation Summit at the University of Minnesota on Tuesday. According to the Senator’s office, the summit was an opportunity to share information about how the public and private sectors can team up to strengthen the economy by revitalizing American innovation and promoting products abroad.

Senator Klobuchar also used the occasion to outline what was termed as a comprehensive package of legislation she will introduce to strengthen America’s ability to innovate and compete for long-term economic growth and job creation. (As of this writing, no specifics of that package have been provided by the Senator’s office.)

In the short term, Klobuchar said, “We need to deliver a series of targeted tax breaks and regulatory reforms designed to galvanize the private sector and unleash a fresh wave of invention, entrepreneurship, and exports.”

In the long term, she added, “We need to help secure our standing in the global economy, lay the groundwork for future innovation by improving science, technology, engineering, and math education; cut red tape; and increase the ability of our businesses to attract and retain the world’s brightest scientists, engineers, and researchers.”

We look forward to hearing more specifics from the Senator and applaud her efforts to re-energize innovation nationally and can think of no better place than Minnesota from which to start.

Minnov8 Gang 107 – Is the MacAppStore Good or Bad?

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App stores are all the rage: Apple started the concept with the iPhone App Store, made sure it worked on the iPod Touch and later expanded it to include the iPad, and is now driving that concept further with the new introduction of the MacAppStore. Google has Android market, Microsoft their Windows Phone Marketplace (ironically it’s down, throwing off an “Error.aspx?diagnosticCode=B03/5LZ7” as I write this post);  Blackberry’s AppWorld; and so on.

While the Gang could discuss the “why” and “what it means for developers” at length with each other when it comes to the newest entrant in the app store shift the Mac App Store, our frequent contributor, Julio Ojeda Zapata, was kind enough to recommend and invite in this episode’s guest, Michael Wray.

Michael is the president of Mariner Software, a very impressive, two decade old Mac, PC, iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad software firm here in Minneapolis. Besides the groundbreaking Mac apps they’re known for, this company had apps early on in the iPhone App Store and five (with one pending approval as you’ll hear about on the podcast) in the Mac App Store. Listen to what Michael has to say about his experiences with this new model of software distribution.

Hosts: Steve Borsch, Tim Elliott, Graeme Thickins and Phil Wilson with Julio Ojeda Zapata.
Music: Guitar Jack is the artist and the song is, “Roadhouse.“
Music made possible by the podsafe Music Alley.

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The Podcast

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:07:00 — 38.9MB)

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Discussed during the show:

Minnedemo Screams Diverse Developer Community

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The folks at Minne* put on another solid showcase of Minnesota innovation at the latest Minnedemo on Thursday night. Ben Edwards, Luke Francl and the latest addition to the team, Adrienne Peirce, kicked off the event with the promise of  “a Minnedemo in the spring and another couple Minnedemos” this year. There was even talk of moving beyond the friendly confines of the Twin Cities and staging an event in St. Cloud. For my part, I would have loved to hear more about the goals of both Minnedemo and Minne*. While I and many familiar faces in the room know what they are, I hate to see anyone miss an opportunity to really showcase the noble efforts of the organization.

As for the presenters and demos at the event, the evening highlighted applications, services, and hardware that catered to a wide range of interests. From gamers to writers, security to slap shots the evening moved along at a brisk pace leaving plenty of time for socializing and networking out side the presentation space at the St. Thomas’ Schultz Hall.

Some of the standouts included…

Inveni-I’ve followed the development of Aaron Weber’s discovery and recommendation engine for quite some time and it didn’t fail to impress. Entertainment (Movies, TV) is the sweet spot for Inveni right now and offers the ability to share your highly personalized Inveni picks with your network. Now if Aaron could only get Netflix to secure a better class of streaming selections…

Zipnosis-With the promise of a diagnosis in minutes for just $25, Zipnosis was perhaps the most polished demo of the evening. We’ve showcased Zipnosis and are big fans. I also found the theme of the demo, providing low-cost healthcare, interesting. Zipnosis clearly wants to move past the tech and on to the benefits….  [Read More…]

Internet Broadcasting Unit Acquired by Cox Digital Solutions

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Another of my new year’s predictions a year ago (Minnov8 Gang episode 62, January 2010) came true today, sort of, when news came out that at least a part of Internet Broadcasting (IB) has been acquired.  NY-based Cox Digital Solutions announced it acquired the IB Local Network business and advertising sales group of St. Paul-based Internet Broadcasting, in a deal I learned was effective January 1, 2011.

For those who may not be familiar with IB (it has not had a high profile locally), it describes its overall business as “building and growing digital business for local media and advertisers.” Its web site says it “partners with media outlets (TV, newspapers, cable and radio) as well as advertisers, ad agencies and media buyers to build site usage and increase revenue.”

For Cox, it’s been a busy time, as it just announced two days ago the merger of Adify (a firm it acquired in 2008) and Cox Cross Media to create Cox Digital Solutions, which it said now has more than 150 employees in 10 U.S. cities, after the IB deal, who “will deliver a unique mix of local and vertical content blended with industry-leading targeting and provide a truly differentiated offering through (the company’s) deep publisher relationships.”

In a phone interview I did today with Jeff Kimball, IB’s chief operating officer (photo from StarTribune), he reiterated that Cox just bought “an arm of our business,” and called the deal “a focusing event for us.”  He said that selling ads, with the sales staff now going to Cox, was just one of IB’s technology and revenue solutions. Although that staff previously competed with Cox, it will now help them scale that part of their business. He noted that the sale is not just about Cox gaining people, but that they’re “buying publisher relationships.”  The number of IB’s employees going to Cox is just under 50, with about 36 of those in New York City, three in Chicago, one in San Francisco, and “less than 10” here in Minnesota. It remains to be seen if Cox will relocate any of these employees. Cox Digital Solutions said it has begun the integration of the products, customers, and employees it acquired from IB to ensure a smooth transition that will deliver value to customers and partners.

The total number of employers remaining at IB is now 240, Kimball said, 160 of which are located in Minnesota at the company’s headquarters just off Shepard Road near downtown St. Paul. …  [Read More…]

Apply for the Minnesota Angel Tax Credit for 2011

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If you are raising capital for your tech startup, get certified for the Minnesota Angel Tax Credit as early as possible this year. The Angel Tax Credit is a huge incentive for investors. It helps them manage the risk associated with new ventures, and it may also indicate that your company is a safer bet than an uncertified company.

The Minnesota Angel Tax Credit is an income tax refund equal to 25% of all eligible investments. There is over $12 million per year available to investors for 2011 through 2014, but less than $2.5 million was allocated to 19 companies in 2010, so there is plenty of room for more companies and investors to participate in the Angel Tax Credit program this year.

…  [Read More…]

Minnov8 Gang 106 – What’s Up in Tech?

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Minnedemo is happening within days and the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show is going on right now with numerous major announcements. As such, the Gang is delighted to have both Ben Edwards and Luke Francl, the two behind Minnedemo, on to discuss next week’s event. A bit later in the show we were very pleased to be able to talk with Mitchell Hislop who is on the floor at CES to tell us about all the “cool and new”.

Hosts: Steve Borsch, Tim Elliott, Graeme Thickins andPhil Wilson
Music: Edwin Holt is the artist and the song is, “Red Clay Back Road Mama.”
Music made possible by the podsafe Music Alley.

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The Podcast

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:03:05 — 36.7MB)

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Discussed during the show: