I just got out of an afternoon working session for the GPCC and Providence Foundation's Knowledge-Based Economy project. To set the mood, Richard Seline, the consultant running the sessions, played the following video. Despite the hokey music, I think it's a brilliant metaphor for working together to take our local economy to the next level. Honk!

Tomorrow I'm going to be speaking at the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce's Business EXPO 2008.

I feel honored to be included in the lineup the Chamber has put together. This year's EXPO has a ton to offer entrepreneurs and innovators, and especially those of us in the info-tech and digital media fields.

Below, I highlight some of the goodness scheduled for tomorrow, and remember - it's all "FREE with a business card". (Note this is just a small selection, check out the full two-day calendar here.)

10:30am Associate Director of MIT's Media Lab and RISD President-Select John Maeda kicks things off with his keynote - "The Future of Technology, Design and Simplicity." This will be Maeda's first public address in Rhode Island since his appointment.

Maeda's keynote alone is reason enough to attend the EXPO, but there's much more on tap - now on to the line-up dubbed "Innovation Afternoon":

Noon Online strategist David Meerman Scott will present, "The New Rules of Marketing & PR: How to use news releases, blogs, viral marketing and online media to reach buyers directly ." Last year, Scott wrote a best-selling and highly-regarded book of the same title.

1:30pm Management Consultant Jack Derby tackles "Sales Planning in a Tough Economy." Jack leads Derby Management, a top Boston-based consultancy with deep experience, expertise, and relationships in the info-tech and digital media sector. The Chamber has engaged Jack and Derby Management to lead its upcoming Entrepreneur Launch Pad, so this is a great opportunity to check them out.

3:00pm And then at 3pm it's yours truly on "Tapping RI's growing Geek community to win on the Internet." It goes without saying that this is going to rock. ;-)

4:30pm Topping off "Innovation Afternoon," is the announcement of the winners of the 2008 Rhode Island Business Plan Competition. Over $170,000 in cash and services will be awarded. Among the finalists are a couple of very promising info-tech and digital media startups: Digital Wingman and MissingPatient.com.

It's going to be a great day. I hope to see you there.

A few weeks ago, I posted about how many of us in Rhode Island's creative community were trying to create more "connectivity" between the state's many different "circles" of designers - architects, graphic designers, urban planners, industrial designers, software architects, product designers, information architects, user interface designers. These professionals have more in common than they don't. We all share an understanding of the creative process, an apprection for the value of collaboration, and, most obviously, a deep love for good design.

In that spirit, Matt Grigsby and Andy Cutler have organized what promises to be terrific event:

We're cross-pollinating social networks in a way that only Rhode Island can. The Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA), The American Institute of Architects (AIA), AIGA Rhode Island, plus the Congress for New Urbanism (CNU ), plus Providence Geeks and RI Nexus are having a casual gathering at the Wild Colonial Tavern in Providence to get acquainted... share ideas, and get have a great time.

CONCENTRIC (like circles - get it?)
May 8th, 5-11pm
The Wild Colonial Tavern
250 South Water Street
Providence, RI 02903
RSVP to party@ecolect.net

You won't want to miss this!

Brown CS Professor and prominent member of the local info-tech scene, Shriram Krishnamurthi is on the front page of Hacker News (my favorite site) as I type this. It's for his book, Programming Languages: Application and Interpretation, which is available for free here.

You can comment and vote him up here.

Kudos, Shri! 

Early next month, I will be speaking at Business EXPO 2008 - the largest Chamber sponsored business to business exposition in the nation with close to 350 exhibitors and 8,000 attendees. (Attendance at the vast majority of the EXPO's events will only cost you a business card.)

The Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce, the event's host, has put together a killer line up, of which I'm honored to be a part. Among other notables, RISD President-Select John Maeda will be making his first public address in RI with his keynote: "The Future of Technology, Design, and Simplicity." (We will be taking a closer look at the EXPO's entrepreneur & innovator-friendly speaker lineup in a future post.)

In developing my presentation, I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to address a broad swath of Rhode Island businesspeople. It seemed only natural for me to inform them of the great info-tech and digital media (ITDM) community right outside their doors, and how they could best leverage it to grow their businesses.

As crucial and exciting as national and international business are, there's something special about doing business locally, about working with one's neighbors. It's more personal, more integrated into the rest of our lives, and in many other ways, generally more rewarding. In addition, ITDM is a special case: not only is it a major industry in its own right, but it's also a primary driving force of innovation and productivity across virtually every other industry. We ITDM professionals have a lot to share with other businesspeople, and who better than with our own neighbors. In doing so we improve our communities. My hope is that increasingly before going beyond RI's borders for ITDM services, more businesses will start by looking in the own background. But first, we have to make them more aware of our presence.

So in that spirit, here's what I came up with for my presentation:

Tapping Rhode Island's growing Geek community to win on the Internet

Whatever your line of business, it's likely that the lead companies are those that are best leveraging the Internet. From ecommerce to online advertising to digital video to social networks, you know that the right online strategy can produce impressive results. But did you know that Rhode Island is home to a burgeoning info-tech and digital media (ITDM) community? In fact, the recent successes of this local sector has recently been both featured in The Boston Globe. and named one of the Providence Business News's Top Stories of 2007.

Jack Templin, independent strategy consultant, Co-Founder of Providence Geeks and Project Lead of the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation's RI Nexus initiative, will show you how to tap into this deep well of talent, experience, and expertise. We will survey the wide array of world-class Internet services that are available right outside our doors. In addition, you will learn how to best approach an Internet project, and to find, evaluate and engage with local vendors. Sponsored by RI Nexus empowered by the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation.

So the presentation isn't so much targeted at geeks, as it is about geeks. If you or anyone you know would benefit from such a talk, please let them know. I would love to see you there.

Here are the details:

Tuesday, May 6th, 3pm - 4pm
Show Floor Theater
RI Convention Center
1 Sabin Street, Providence
FREE with a business card