Minnov8

Showcasing Minnesota Technology Innovation

Minnov8 at MinnPost

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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….  [Read More…]

Minnesota’s Internet Tech Crowd Flexes Its Muscle

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If one had any doubt about the intensity of our state’s information technology and Internet community, one only had to be anywhere inside the U’s Coffman Union on Saturday for the third annual Minnebar “unconference” (part of an international phenomenon called Barcamp). To say the joint was a-jumpin’ simply does not suffice. And numbers alone don’t tell the story (though attendance was an event record at 430). Rather, it was the intensity of energy through the entire day that could only impress one about this somewhat quiet, and definitely underrated, sector of Minnesota’s economy.

I was there for at least 12 hours of the event — yes, it went on that long, and no one was complaining — and I can surely say that even the most skeptical of attendees who sacrificed part of their spring weekend were impressed with what they experienced, and left beaming with an elevated sense of pride in the industry they’re a part of. One needs only to scan the voluminous talk that went on in real-time — thanks to the magic of Twitter, and all archived here — to see that something big was happening in the Gopher state on this rainy fishing-opener Saturday. (In fact, Minnebar was ranked during the day as one of the top-five conversations going on in the entire, global “Twitterverse.”)…  [Read More…]

Welcome to Minnov8!

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mbair_canoe.jpgMinnov8 began as an idea in late 2007 when several Minnesota geeks realized that we shared a passion and an understanding that we were living in a time of the greatest shift in communication and connection — affecting both humans and machines — than we were ever going to experience again in our lifetimes.

As we talked about what was going on in Minnesota, we realized there was something missing: although there was a tremendous amount of Internet and Web-centric development, interest, passion and excitement right here in Minnesota, there wasn’t any single, online spot to read about what was happening right here in our State.

A vision emerged of an online venue where we (and, at some point, other trusted contributors) could file reports, podcast and video interviews, screencasts and other high value content that would focus on Minnesota technology innovation and provide a news and information showcase surrounding Internet-as-a-platform, application innovation on the Web, and other technology happenings we think will be worthy of coverage.

So sit back, relax and enjoy the trip as we paddle on and provide you with stories, profiles, news and information about the Internet and Web shifts occurring and how Minnesotans are innovating in this time of accelerating change.