Minnov8

Showcasing Minnesota Technology Innovation

Comcast Delivers: From Broadband to Wideband

By

If you’re in need of faster broadband (and who isn’t!) then you need to know what Comcast is delivering starting today, although it may not be as wide open as you might hope.

Comcast announced it is making the leap from broadband to wideband with the launch of next-generation DOCSIS 3.0 in over 10 U.S. markets (including the Twin Cities) and doubling the speed of existing service for most customers.

This move is certain to help them stave off competition in some markets — mainly in the northeastern US covered by Verizon with their fiber service and 50mbps down, 20mbps up service — as well as position Comcast to deliver a host of new services.

As part of this new wideband deployment, Comcast will launch two new premium speed tiers to its residential and business class customers, Extreme 50 and Ultra.

…  [Read More…]

Minnesota Microblogging

By

Every day there seems to be an uptick in the number of people who are online and interested in connecting with friends, family, colleagues or others where even a digital relationship might end up as meaningful.

The continued growth of social networks is the strongest indicator of that trend, but the explosion of microblogging is another that bears watching, is worthy of your participation sooner-rather-than-later, as it’s already beginning to shift how early adopters in Minnesota are connecting with one another.

If you’re reading this blog post — whether directly on Minnov8, through an aggregated feed like the one at CentralStandardTech, or a publication we support with our content, MinnPost — you’re already familiar with blogging.

Though blogging is still one of the best ways to connect with people, inexpensively self-publish, create search engine friendly frequently updated content, or be a ‘container’ in which one can place value and position oneself as a a thought leader, good blogging requires significant time and effort in order to build and maintain an audience.

Microblogging, on the other hand, is a method to quickly publish small snippets of commentary or value — usually 140 characters or less that is somewhat like a persistent instant message, public in nature — and is therefore much easier to update when the mood strikes. Add to that the ability to make a brief comment and include a web link URL if so desired (so people can go out and read or view what you’re pointing them to on the Web) allows anyone publishing in this way to have their “followers” or audience quickly read that snippet, comment on it, forward it on, or let it stream by as other content appears from other followed microbloggers.

Minnesotans have embraced microblogging and its promise is that it will help to shift the way we all connect with one another, are alerted to items of interest, and even to collectively be engaged in running commentary like what has been exhibited during the various presidential or vice presidential debates where people were making real-time comments sent over Twitter….  [Read More…]

David Meerman Scott to Speak at ‘Social Media Breakfast’ in Twin Cities October 31

By

I’m really happy to report that I successfully convinced one of my famous-author friends to speak to our next Social Media Breakfast here in the Twin Cities. We call it “SMBMSP” for short, and this is our eighth monthly event.  David Meerman Scott, a very well-traveled and popular speaker, is the author of the top-selling book, The New Rules for Marketing and PR.  He told me back in August that he’d be coming to MInneapolis for a seminar on October 30, so I asked him if he would consider staying over another night if we could schedule one of our breakfast meetings on the 31st.  He was gracious enough to say yes, so we got some sponsors, and now we have it all scheduled.

It will be held at Deluxe Corp’s headquarters in Shoreview, MN, thanks to my friend Steve Nielsen, whose company, PartnerUp.com, was recently acquired by Deluxe. The meeting is scheduled for 8:00 to 10:30 am on Friday, October 31. Attendance is free, open to anyone interested in social media, and the first 100 attendees will receive a free copy of David’s book. (By the way, David blogs here.) To register, go to our group’s social network site at smbmsp.ning.com, click on the “Events” tab, then click on “SMB-Twin Cities 8,” and then look for the “Order Now” button. Or, just go directly to our RSVP page. The Minnov8 gang looks forward to seeing you there!  Oh — and costumes are optional…  🙂

Court Paves Way for Publicly Owned Broadband

By

I’ve been following Blandin on Broadband and the Minnesota Ultra High Speed Task Force due to the fundamental importance of this type of infrastructure for our State, for you as an entrepreneur or one interested in innovation online, and any hope we have of being competitive in the future as the internet continues to become a key component of commerce, education and global collaboration.

This press release just arrived and I thought you’d appreciate seeing it in its entirety. This was a celebrated victory primarily due to the incumbent telephony company lobbying, legal and other efforts to keep broadband in private hands.

…  [Read More…]

Science Museum Could Be Minnesota’s Tech Secret

By

The Science Museum of Minnesota held another of its Web Seminars on Tuesday, October 7th.  For many, the SMM has become a valuable resource as they seek to get up to speed, learn a new skill, or discover “what all the fuss is about” in the computer world. To others it could very well be a secret.

The SMM houses a Computer Education program that never fails to impress me. I first discovered them about two years ago when I made the decision to merge my traditional media experience with the “new” media world. They offer an incredible array of classes that cover everything from an introduction to computers (Absolutely Terrified of Computers) to network management, HTML, PHP, and a whole host of software training. I’ve found these classes to be concise and very hands on. All taught by incredibly well prepared…and patient…educators at a very reasonable rate.

Throughout the year they host seminars that take on various topics related to web development and design. The topic for this gathering: Refresh Your Pages. Presentations included Maintaining Your Website, PDF Accessibility For All, Benefits of Business Blogging, and Flash at its Finest. These free presentations were made by both SMM staff and guests and, as noted in the photo, attracted a full room of participants. I was particularly interested in the accessibility information as I often find myself short-cutting the process.

I’m always excited to see who shows up at these events. I always know a few faces from the world of tech, marketing, and project management but I also meet plenty of full and part-time designers there to pick up a tip or two. The best part; there are always new faces, people I don’t see at the many tech related gatherings I attend, who are just entering the online world. The guest presenters are also people I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting at other conferences. Getting to know all of them is always very heartening, because more people teaching and more people learning means more people participating online. And that means more opportunities for Minnesota innovation to proliferate.

TEL•A•VISION Launches

By

Nothing happens without a vision. Nothing gets created, built, or moved forward without a vision of an end-state or an outcome. It’s been said that we create and achieve what we focus on — whether that focus is on the positive or on something negative — and if we invest our conscious hours in focusing on positive visions, we’d be healthier and, most importantly, far more likely to realize our dreams and live a life aligned with our strengths, purpose and passions.

In this time of economic upheaval rippling across the globe, fundamental political and systemic change in the US, and a struggle to find good news or positive information amongst the hundreds of TV stations and tens of thousands of websites and publications available to us all — including our kids — the world needs to see possibility, hope, and visions of the future that accentuate and focus on the positive.

Any leader will tell you that vision is the most important first step to take before anything else happens, whether it’s a startup, a product, project or initiative, or anything else we strive to accomplish. Leaders will also tell you that the next great leaps in creativity and innovation will come from those that see the possibilities instead of downside, risk or failure, and empowering kids to see possibility, feel hope, and create, communicate and absorb a vision for their lives, for humanity and the world, promises to be incredibly profound, world-changing and an imperative for our future…

…if only there was someone with a vision about what could help our next generation create and live their own vision stories and celebrate their dreams, hopes and goals for themselves and the world.

…  [Read More…]

Richard Stallman at UofMN

By

Controversial free software advocate Richard Stallman, founder of the Free Software Foundation and the GNU project, will speak at the University of Minnesota at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 21 in Rm. 175, Willey Hall, 225 19th Ave. S., Minneapolis. The event is free and open to the public.

Stallman pioneered the concept of “copyleft,” the practice of using copyright law to remove restrictions on distributing copies and modified versions of a work for others and requiring that the same freedoms be preserved in modified versions. Stallman is the main author of the most widely used free software license, the GNU General Public License. Microsoft chairman Bill Gates and CEO Steve Ballmer have publicly criticized the GNU General Public License and some software companies have likened it to a virus that will “destroy the software industry.”

In Stallman’s talk, “The Free Software Movement and the GNU/Linux Operating System,” he will discuss the Free Software Movement, which campaigns for the freedom of computer users to cooperate and control their own computing activities. 

Stallman’s lecture is sponsored by the University of Minnesota’s Software Engineering Center. For more information, visit this page.

2008 Investor Fraud Traps

By

Whether you’re an angel investor listening to startup pitches or an innovator considering funding sources, now is a time to be extra careful with anything related to money, credit, lending or capital of any kind — especially if you’re a participant in a social or affinity network or if you’re transparent with your blog and other online participation (which give scammers lots of ammo to use to pitch you).

The Minnesota Department of Commerce just released this 2008 Investor Fraud Traps listing (in alphabetical order) and offer it as a warning:

Deficient Disclosure: The recent investigations by state securities regulators related to auction-rate securities (ARS) have reinforced that investors should remain cautious when pitched complex investment products accompanied by deficient disclosures or when advised to concentrate their investments too heavily in one investment product. It is best to avoid investment pitches that would lead you to put all of your eggs in one basket, especially if it’s a basket you don’t fully understand.

Energy Scams: The substantial increase in energy costs has made scams related to energy more prevalent. State and provincial securities regulators are seeing not only shady oil and gas investments, but also scams that promise the development of new technologies to increase the efficiency of energy consumption or to extract energy from sources previously thought too expensive to develop.

Online Affinity Fraud: In a new twist on affinity and online investment fraud, Tyler said NASAA members are concerned that unscrupulous individuals are trying to use social networking websites to lure people to meetings that may promote fraudulent or unsuitable investment products. “Social networking websites create an environment ripe for affinity fraud,” Tyler said. “Fraudsters can take advantage of the fact people freely share information with both their real and ‘virtual’ friends by posting it to their profile,” Tyler said. “Communication tools provided by some social networking websites make it easy to advertise and promote investment scams to a wide audience for free.” Investors need to do their own research before making an investment and should not simply rely on ‘expert’ advice given at a seminar or meeting.

…  [Read More…]

MIMA Summit Packs The Depot

By

As practically every man, woman, and child in the Twin Cities must know by now, the Minnesota Interactive Marketing Association (MIMA) held its annual conference Wednesday, themed “Feed“. These folks are marketers — they know how to hype, as they’ve been telling us for what seems weeks now that the event was sold out.  Prior to that, they promoted that it would sell out and the positioning was…so click and pay, friends, or you will never be able to live with yourself.

As you can see from Phil Wilson’s Unsummit post, there were those who ignored the hype and chose to do their own (free) concurrent event at a nearby pub, thank you very much. (Okay, many of them were too cheap to pay the big MIMA fee.) And the MIMA folks actually cheered them on (even from the stage the day of the two events), since they felt bad they couldn’t have accommodated more people. But the venue — the very nice Depot downtown — could literally take no more. (MIMA has vowed to find a bigger site next year though that won’t be easy — maybe the Convention Center?) This year’s attendance, I believe, was something north of 700. MIMA’s membership is now about 950, but the Summit’s attendees also included some non-members and invited speakers, of course.

So, how did the event go?  This was my first year attending (they have not given press passes to us lowly bloggers in the past), so I went courtesy of my employer, to do some serious working of the crowd.  My assessment: the hype didn’t quite meet the reality as far as the overall content, as quality conferences go. But this is an association, after all, not a professional conference producer. And don’t we all kinda forgive a certain percentage of marketing build-up most of the time?  Nonetheless, the logistics were handled quite well, and my hat’s off to the MIMA officers and their band of volunteers who pulled this thing off. (I’m sure they’ve worked out a lot of bugs over the several years they’ve sponsored this event.)…  [Read More…]