Minnov8

Showcasing Minnesota Technology Innovation

How Many Social Media Day Cards Did You Get?

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Yesterday (June 30th) marked the first ever Social Media Day. By no means was this a national “bank” holiday, nor a holiday proclaimed by the recognized official holiday creator…Hallmark. No, this was a day proclaimed by perhaps the purveyor of social media news, Mashable.

What pray tell is the purpose of Social Media Day? The folks at Mashable are glad you asked. It’s “A day that honors the technological and societal advancements that have allowed us to have a dialogue, to connect and to engage not only the creators of media, but perhaps more importantly, one another.”

Um…yeah. Allow me to translate; It’s a day to get your butt up from behind the monitor, your nose out of your smartphone, relax you thumbs and meet the people you tweet, poke and follow face to face.  A day to put the social in social media. Oh, and there’s booze and munchies. Of course, Mashable’s Pete Cashmore embellishes it a bit more in his welcome video. (Really…the video was meant to be played at gatherings around the world. Kinda creepy…) Perhaps he has a desire for this to be much more of a “revolution”. No matter, the intent is to get you out and about.

The local Minneapolis meet up was superbly organized by our friend and social media maestro, Mykl Roventine. Mykl is responsible for, or part of, everything social media from Social Media Breakfast, to Unsummit, to Tech Karaoke and beyond. When Mashable sent out the word to have a Minneapolis Meetup, Mykl stepped up and secured Chino Latino in Uptown, gathered up some sponsors (SMBMSP and Sterling Cross Media) and rallied the troops. Mykl tells the story in the video below.  (Forgive the sound quality..I guess the EVO 4G won’t replace my Flip cam, at least not without some sort of outboard mic.)

At 6:30pm some 50 of the 70+ who signed up began to congregate, the drink flowed and the tasty appetizers were savored. Much of the Twin Cities’ Social Media actives were in attendance and some new faces were spotted and welcomed. It was a great time. Of course, those of us who dig the social “media” are never really far from it as everyone checked-in, tweeted and posted photos throughout the evening. Yep, there was a tweet wall. However, well…there was just very little discussion of this “revolution” of which Mashable was speaking. It was just plain social.

Perhaps it’s because we, here in the Land o’ 10,000 lakes, already get the whole social part. While the concept of Social Media Day is all well and good, there are any number of meet-ups, tweet-ups, happy hours and  breakfasts of which you can attend during any given month in and around the Twin Cities. It makes me feel kind of sad for those in other cities who must look to, or be prompted by, Mashable to get together in “real life”. While no specific date for another gathering has been past down from the social media mount, you’re encouraged to once again step away from the warm glow of the screen and meet and greet your friends and followers in person at a location of your choosing. Oh…and don’t forget to check in on Foursquare.

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqjwUlIFk0E

Strong Community of Innovation In Attendance at Minnebar

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Saturday saw another Minnebar come and go at the sprawling (OK, really big) Best Buy campus. Boasting over 900 who’d signed up for the event, it appeared to the Minnov8 Gang that there were roughly 500 or so people in attendance which still made it the biggest Minnebar yet and the largest Barcamp event of its kind in North America. Ben Edwards and Luke Francl continue to raise the bar (easy pun) for these events.

Founders Ben Edwards & Luke Francl address the crowd at Minnebar

It was a good thing there was plenty of room. The session list was chocked full of a diversity of topics. What struck many of the attendees, myself included, was the challenge of deciding what session to attend…I always feel like I might miss something. That, and the inability to meet more than a handful of people who’d carved out a Saturday to attend, makes Minnebar a venue that will surely continue to grow and solidify its place as the premiere event for entrepreneurs and startups in Minnesota.

Sessions were all relatively well attended and ranged in adherence to the Barcamp-unconference expectations. Some were very engaging and some were straight ahead presentations…and those “presos” resulted in a less than stellar 40 minutes of time spent. Then again, that’s the fun, and risk, of the unconference style.

Steve Borsch w/Chief Inspector Robert Stephens

Fellow Minnov8er, Steve Borsch noted of defacto host Best Buy executive Robert Stephens, Chief Inspector of the Geek Squad, as “…passionate believer in entrepreneurship and a steadfast supporter of the Minnesota startup community. It was a delight to see him totally immersed in sessions, more than willing to talk to anyone willing to engage in conversation with him, and demonstrated Best Buy’s commitment to innovation and the entrepreneurial spirit simply by acting as a catalyst for this Minnebar.”

Our own Graeme Thickins added, “We need that — more big players who get it!  It’s heartening to know that so many people at Best Buy realize that new innovation often comes from the small companies, the startup teams, the individual developers. Robert had just gotten back from the huge Google IO event in the Valley, and wanted to talk about Google TV and all that. But he was also fired up to talk about ideas and technologies going on right here. It’s impressive that he and so many others dedicated a Saturday to talk about ways we can make tech in MN stronger.”

Mykl Roventine leading his web session

For one writer to try to indicate the highlights and lowlights would be pointless. No one person could truly appreciate all of the sessions. Minnov8er  Tim Elliot points out, “As we recounted in our podcast recorded at the event, MinneBar this year was quite varied than in past years…” He goes on to note topics like, “…web innovation, design, application development or social media.” Tim also said, “Mobile technology was a theme that ran through many of the sessions with iPhone, Android and iPad applications being featured on stage and in the audience as participants tweeted the proceedings.”

The real take away is the simple fact that the Minnesota innovation community continues to grow, it continues to draw energy from itself and those involved…and there is no sign of that letting up.

Graeme summed his experience up in one tweet, “..best evah!“

Minnesota’s MOJO

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Minnesota’s innovators require many resources to be successful and a new entity, MOJO Minnesota, has been formed to thwart what the founders see as “an innovation crisis in Minnesota” and since “entrepreneurial advances and business revolutions thrive in a culture and community of risk and innovation.”

The catalysts for MOJO Minnesota read like a “Who’s Who” of successful entrepreneurs, innovators, investors and intellectual property experts such as: Brad Lehrman; Ernest Grumbles; Kim Garretson; Mary Meehan; Tim Bachman; Rick Brimacomb; Andy Halper; Joy Lindsay; Damien Novak and Marti Nyman.

As they so engagingly point out, “Minnesota has amazing creative, technical and financial capital – yet new business launches and exits are scarce agitation is needed to – promote a culture of risk – and to – support innovation on the path from launch to exit the need for leaders Minnesota needs business revolutionaries to:

  • boost emerging business and technology models
  • spark the innovation community; and
  • promote use of risk capital
  • the path to mojo – a movement.”

The Minnov8 team met with the founders Wednesday to talk about their vision and what’s next. Here’s a snippet of that conversation where Phil Wilson asks Brad and Ernest for an overview of MOJO MN:

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_fn8H6-R74

24 Hours, a New Site and Real Fun.

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Some 36 hours after the conclusion of the event and after about 11 hours of sleep I am still amazed by the experience that is the Overnight Website Challenge.

In case you missed it, I joined fellow Minnov8er Tim Elliott’s Team, dubbed Full Court Press as a bond to the WordPress platform we used, for the 3rd annual Nerdery sponsored event. This unique gathering pairs 10 person teams of web site professionals with deserving non-profit organizations. Those non-profits, some who have no web presence, receive brand new websites valued at well over $25,000 at the end of the 24 hour period. (Check out the Minnov8 podcast that originated from the Challenge.)

You couldn’t help but be taken by the dedication of these web pros. It’s not easy to spend a relatively short period of time with a “client”, then accelerate the design and creation of a website that accomplishes the goals of the non-profit…much less spending part of it in a sleep deprived state.

This being the third year of the event the folks at The Nerdery do a great job providing what teams need including entertainment and food. The carnival-like atmosphere is definitely not what you would expect from a bunch of web site developers. From human pyramids and massages to oxygen bars and ice cream the 24 hour period was anything but sedate….  [Read More…]

Google’s High-Fiber City: Why Not Duluth?

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I can see the signs now as I tool into to town on I-35…Welcome to Duluth, Now With More Fiber!

You may not know it but the clock is clicking down to Google’s deadline, March 26th, for nominations of cities interested in being their laboratory for an “ultra high-speed fiber network”. In fact, that clock can be found at the top of the page at GoogleTwinPorts.com, just one of the assets in Duluth’s well choreographed campaign to become a high-fiber community.

According to Google, the city chosen will be built out with a fiber network that will deliver “Internet speeds more than 100 times faster than what most Americans have access to today, over 1 gigabit per second” at a “competitive price”. And it will provide that network to anywhere from 50,000 to 500,000 people in the chosen community. It’s all part of their plan “to experiment with new ways to help make Internet access better, and faster for everyone”.

Oh sure, there have been more than a few cities that have made very public pushes to be chosen for this slice of web-surfing nirvana, but none have done it with quite as much panache as our own Duluth.

They have dedicated a website, Facebook page, Twitter page, and YouTube Channel to the cause. There’s a Fiber Business Idea award being offered, web badges, a coloring contest, a pledge to sign, Google Fest on March 20th and there’s even a movie in the offing. (No details on the plot…hopefully a romantic comedy…there aren’t enough of those, ya know.)

Then there’s the celebrities…Hey Topeka, Kansas we’ll see your Mayor renaming the city to Google, KS for a month and raise you a State Senator.

The most recent addition of voices to the campaign is Minnesota State Senator Al Franken.

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2i_piWVXuc&feature=player_embedded

The fact is that Mr. Franken, back in his days working with Tom Davis, was the “Duluth Answer Man” in a series of commercials for the city. Here’s a little known fact: Franken filmed these commercials just two years ago. Boy those Senate bids can age a guy. (OK, not a fact. He actually filmed them in the 80’s). In the video he even credits Google with freeing him from his duties as the Answer Man so that he could join the Senate.

Details of when Google will announce which city will be the recipient of all this fiber are still a bit sketchy. Their website only goes as far as saying “We plan to announce a target community or target communities this year.” When would the network be up and running once a community…no…once Duluth is chosen? Google gives no time frame.

Needless to say, though vague,  the Google initiative is an exciting one. Hopefully, like the FCC Broadband Plan, it will yield a low cost way to bring a bigger pipe to all of the US…not just one city. Our collective digital future, with all its applications, opportunities and business ventures, really depends on it.

In the meantime, a city on the shores of Lake Superior can dream, as well as showcase it’s innovative community…and have a lot fun doing it.

Curation Station…Sweeping the Nation?

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Ah, the web… a veritable treasure trove of knowledge, an endless stream of news and information. Actually, it’s more of a flood of facts and opinions that would make even Noah a might uncomfortable. How is the average web surfer to keep up if they want to…let alone the media marketer that must keep up because they have to?

Fear not, oh noble marketer. The folks at Uptown (Minneapolis) marketing firm Hello Viking have spawned Curation Station to provide you with a bucket to help you bail the endless deluge of web content into smaller pools. (Minnov8 colleague Tim Elliot gave me a peek at the private beta.)

As you might know, collecting the flood of online information isn’t the problem. News readers, RSS feeds, email newsletters, blog subscriptions, and bookmarking services all help you see every drop of data coming from your favorite online tributaries. The issue has always been separating the clean water from the black or grey water. (Those who have ever spent anytime emptying the water tanks of an RV know what I mean.)

According to it’s creators, “Social media have forever changed the way that brands connect with customers. In a non-stop trail of Tweets, blogs, Facebook pages, YouTube videos and Flickr sites, customers discuss products and services.” They say, “Curation Station was created by marketers for marketers to harness these conversations and share participants’ best insights and experiences.”…  [Read More…]

The FTC Talks Guides

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Engle Recently I had a chance to join local IP Attorney Ernest Grumbles for an edition of his BP/G Radio Intellectual Property Podcast. Along with his co-host Joe Bennett-Paris we had the chance to talk with Mary K. Engle, Associate Director, FTC Division of Advertising Practices about the infamous Guides for the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising as they apply to bloggers.

As we’ve talked about on past Minnov8 podcasts and as I pointed out in a post on my own blog, these guides are nothing new in the broadcast world, but seem to have a few bloggers and online marketers a bit twitchy. How do you feel about them?

It was good to have the chance to talk with Ms. Engle and get a very clear explanation of the guides straight from the source. Thanks to Ernest for allowing me to join in.

Be sure and keep Ernest’s blog and podcast on your radar. He is a great local and national resource and offers plenty of great info on IP law on a regular basis.

Look Mom, We’re On the iPad

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The multi-talented tech giant Julio Ojeda-Zapata was on hand for the debut of the iPad in San Francisco on Wednesday…then he got his hands on one. We can’t help but feel a bit giddy that he loaded up Minnov8 on the “magical” device.

See a recap of Julio’s Twitter coverage and photos here.


Startup Roundtable to Convene, Huzzah!

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Thomas Knoll is gathering the Knights of Tech Entrepreneurship for a meeting at the MN Startup Culture Roundtable, scheduled for February 5th.

Thomas, currently residing in the sunny climes of San Francisco, is familiar to most in the Minnesota tech and social media world through his time working as a web designer here. He made the move west in 2008 to work with Seesmic and has since since gone freelance, working with the likes of Swordfish.

Though this would appear to be a result of the recent discussion surrounding Paul DeBettignies’ article on less talk and more walk when it comes to our own start up community, it had it roots well before it. “I was motivated by the startup atmosphere in San Francisco and wanted to get more of that vibe back to Minnesota.” He goes on to note, “There are so many people that are working on startups here. In fact, I know two baristas that have real, viable projects going on the side.”

The timing isn’t lost on Thomas. “I originally wanted to talk culture but it morphed into a call to action in response to the current local startup discussions. Paul outlined what he would do to help and I felt I should to the same.”

The roundtable discussions will highlight the differences between here and ‘the valley’. What type of differences for example? “Here we are so secretive. We keep everything quiet, rather than share it with the community. In San Francisco you are constantly putting out ideas. So many that you hope someone will pick it up and run.”

If you plan on attending the event there is some homework. Follow the links on the Eventbrite registration page to become familiar with the discussion so far and most importantly the Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) approach Thomas is planning on including to move ideas into action.

Let the discussion…and action continue!