What could be better than to have been approached by the editor and publisher of MinnPost, an organization whose mission is to bring high-quality journalism for news-intense people who care about Minnesota, and asked if Minnov8 would be willing to participate weekly with one of our posts published there? Maybe bags full of $100 bills dropped on our doorstep would be better, but this is certainly at the top of the list.
Upon their launch, it was clear to me that MinnPost really was serious about their mission and I’ve been a loyal reader since they went live and recently donated as well. While scanning stories in competing publications about puppies, gossip about celebs at the Mall of America, the annual “Get Ready for Summer!” article or the provocative teaser at Digg is interesting when our minds need a cotton-candy-content fix, but more of us crave deep thought, analysis and perspective which those contributing to MinnPost deliver.
Minnov8’s vision and mission is to be the hub for showcasing Minnesota Innovation in Internet and Web Technology. We’ll achieve it through posts, videos, audio podcasts, great photos, while striving to be a must-read for anyone who wants to be connected with others holding similar interests, and are truly motivated to be exposed to the innovators and events we cover. Of course, we’ll continue to create and deliver our content with care, transparency, careful analysis and the shared technical expertise on our team — coupled with the wide-ranging, varied perspectives our individual experiences provide — which I believe philosophically aligns us with MinnPost’s approach.
Accomplishing Minnov8’s mission in a day when unconferences rule, the wisdom of the crowd truly molds and shapes discourse, and the culture of participation (PDF) means we all demand a voice and input, is top-of-mind for all of us contributing to Minnov8 (and those we’ll invite in to contribute or partner with us) and means we need to be more discerning for the readers we serve. It’s also why we’ll shortly launch features such as a community forum and yes, encourage commenting (please comment!), since you, your voice, your opinion and your input matter. MinnPost’s trust in us to filter, process and package our content in a way that’s appealing to a wider Minnesota thought leading audience is significant validation of our approach.
Today is our first MinnPost article (modified slightly from its original Minnov8 post) for the MinnPost readership and written by Minnov8 co-founder and author, Graeme Thickins.
Look for an article on MinnPost once per week going forward and we’d like to extend a public “Thank You” to editor and publisher, Joel Kramer, for inviting us to participate in the MinnPost adventure.