Gerard's Blog

Who Says Facebook Isn’t Useful?

2010-01-13T14:46:00.001-05:00

IgniteCincinnati, Finally

2009-12-27T12:20:00.001-05:00

The Ignite concept is coming to Cincinnati, finally. Not to be confused with the excellent grant program, IgniteCincinnati is:

A night of presentations with a twist. 14 presenters each get 5 minutes to talk about their subject. 20 slides that auto advance after 15 seconds. It is quick, fun, smart and fills the Know Theater. Our next one is January 20th.

To qualify this, I should say that these type of short-format talks have been going on in the area for a while now time under different names. Whether you call it Ignite, Pecha Kucha Night, Open Mic night, lightning talks, jolt talks – the events are always fun… AND educational!

I love these events. I try to make them whenever they occur, and hope to see you there on the 20th.

Cincinnati Impresses: Center Of Innovation

2009-11-25T14:55:00.001-05:00

The Center of Innovation program at the College of Applied Science at UC aims to show seniors that their choices for employment upon graduation is not limited to Fifth Third, Kroger’s, and Great American Insurance (not that there’s anything wrong with those fine companies). The program also aims to show them that, in a region full of marketing, design, and business talent, there is serious need for young technology talent with an entrepreneurial bent. For those who might want to take the plunge, the program also outlines business skills and resources they’ll need to complement their technology skills.

This is a great thing, and kudos and support goes to Andy Erickson and Dr. Hazem Said for their work so far.

This past Tuesday I gave a short talk to students in the Innovation Seminar series in CAS at UC about what' it’s like to work in a startup from a coder’s point of view. I talked about transitioning from a cubicle farm job to a startup environment, the nature and pace of working in a startup, and the tons and tons of learning that is inevitable.

You won’t get a lot from these slides without the narrative, but I post all my talks here so I thought I’d post this one.

Cross-posted on my programming blog.

Development In A Startup

View more presentations from Gerard Sychay.

Coworking in Cincinnati

2009-08-01T13:56:00.001-04:00

I had a good time at Cincinnati Social Media's Open Mic night. Unfortunately, I only caught snippets here and there of the talks. The audio in the venue was poor in general, and the people in the back of the room were interesting to talk to, so I spent a good deal of time doing that instead. Apologies to the organizers. But it was the first event of its kind around here and I think the next one will be better. I think it should be in an auditorium-like setting as opposed to a bar, so that the audience is more captive. I know, why don't I organize it, right?

One speech in particular caught my eye: Beyond Free Agent Nation by Brian Lecount. In it, he discusses the slow transformation of the American workforce. Some 18-month old data that he quoted stated:

8.3 million independent contractors comprise 16% of American workforce.
74 million 1099's were sent out (2008?)

It was a great talk and pointed out the many challenges of this newfound trend. For example, many who make the leap to independence underestimate how much time is spent on administrative work.

And then there is coworking, a trend that is sweeping the nation. According to Wikipedia:

Coworking is an emerging trend for a new pattern for working. Typically work-at-home professionals or independent contractors or people who travel frequently end up working in relative isolation. Coworking is the social gathering of a group of people, who are still working independently, but who share values and who are interested in the synergy that can happen from working with talented people in the same space.

Brian had some strong opinions about coworking, in particular, how it was missing real business development. Community is great and all, but how much value is that network really building?

In any case, if you haven't heard, I am involved in a coworking movement that has started in Cincinnati. Go to the site and take the survey. Coworking spaces are popping up all over the country. In some cities, it's simply about renting desks, and that's okay. But in other cities, it is having a real transformative effect on these cities in how people with ideas get together and make their cities better. Hopefully, in Cincinnati, it will become the latter.

InOneWeekend Registration Open

2009-07-20T10:14:00.000-04:00

Registration is open for InOneWeekend 2009.

FRI BRAINSTORM SAT BUILD SUN LAUNCH

InOneWeekend is an innovation and entrepreneurship organization that hosts participant-driven weekend events that create and launch viable start-ups in a single weekend. Our low-commitment, low-cost, high-return, highly awesome events allow like-minded, diversely experienced individuals to create an elevating experience and quite possibly the next big thing.

I participated in InOneWeekend last year and can say that no matter what the outcome of the work, the experience itself was extraordinary. Not only was the weekend-long coding quite fun, I learned a great deal from all the non-programmers - marketers, designers, business planners, attorneys - that were crammed into the same space. There is only space for 100 participants, so sign up today!

InOneWeekend 2009 - 100 people create a start-up in a weekend

When: Friday, August 28 - Sunday, August 30
Where: Tangeman University Center at the University of Cincinnati
What: A special keynote speaker (!) will kick-off the second annual InOneWeekend with a lecture open to the public on Friday afternoon. Then the selected 100 participants will brainstorm over 300 ideas with Jeff Stamp of Bold Thinking and vote on the concept. Saturday, they will build the product and write the business plan and investor presentation. Sunday: Launch!
WAITLIST OPEN: InOneWeekend is assembling the dream team of design, technology, and business participants. To find out more and apply, visit www.inoneweekend.org and click on 'Register for upcoming events'

The Cincinnati Enquirer Show Its True Priorities

2009-07-19T19:46:00.001-04:00

I was disgusted by the Enquirer's response to the laying off of 101 employees, including the entire staff of CiNWeekly. If you haven't read it yet, go read it now, and then come back while I highlight the salient points.

Done? Here is the salient point: Advertisers, we are still worth spending money on. Buy ads from us!

I understand everyone has to make a living. But this is a bit of salt in the wound. I expected the post to be apologetic. But there was no apology. I expected sympathy. No sympathy towards its former employees or their families was mentioned. Not even a little regret. Here is what I read:

Naysayers have predicted our demise many times over those years, but today The Enquirer reaches 64 percent of local adults every week, or 803,800.