Tuesday, June 23, 2009

The New Cleveland Aquarium

Last week Cleveland received a jolt of good news when it was reported in the Plain Dealer that local development group - Jacobs Investments announced a decision to build an aquarium at its PowerHouse facility in the Flats. This is an awesome announcement. I have been a huge proponent of an aquarium. On my other blog - Cool History of Cleveland - I wrote passionately about the old Cleveland Aquarium, which can still be seen while driving east on I-90 near E. 79th. It was a beautiful old structure and I hope that someone will come up with an idea for the old facility. 

Nonetheless, the Jacobs Investments group should be applauded. This is a genius idea. The facility is slated in the summer of 2010 as is expected to bring 400,000 to 500,000 visitors annually to the aquarium. I approve of the location - a big aquarium right on the banks of the Cuyahoga River. This really could be a special development. A development, I hope, that spurs further redevelopment of the Flats. I suspect my only disappointment is the rather diminutive size of the facility at a rather paltry 55,000 square feet. However, I suspect that the Jacobs Investment group has additional plans for the aquarium and the PowerHouse. We will see but in the interim the City should rally behind this critical development. 
Posted by Tech Czar at 22:26:55 | Permanent Link | Comments (1) |

Monday, June 08, 2009

Live Blogging @ Opera Cleveland

Calling all Cleveland area bloggers. You and a guest are invited to blog - live - at the final dress rehearsal of Falstaff on June 17th, from 6:15pm until the final curtain. This is a great opportunity to blog and tweet about one of Cleveland's great cultural assets from "behind the scenes." Kudos to Opera Cleveland for creating this awesome event and here's to hoping other cultural institutions begin this really cool initiative.

Make this experience yours! It is a wonderful opportunity to wander through the theatre and backstage - while a performance is in progress - and to share your unique view through your blog or Twitter account.

Listen, you do not have to be an opera aficionado to join this event. It is simply a way for Opera Cleveland to make opera more accessible through social media. And I for one thinks this is one of the coolest things ever. Let's get a ton of bloggers and Twitter afficionados in attendance.

To RSVP or for more information, please contact Lisa Hofmann at hofmann@operacleveland.org or at 216.575.0903.
Posted by Tech Czar at 11:44:29 | Permanent Link | Comments (1) |

Monday, June 01, 2009

Social Media ROI

I was minding my own when my best friend, and budding cinematographer, John Heaney met up with me at Panera in Golden Gate (I know... me in the suburbs). John's blog - Orange Envelopes - is a great source of business strategy, design thinking and social media marketing. Anyway, we were talking about the way many "old economy" executives tend to look at defined statistics for business success when the discussion about measurements of social media entered the fray. 

There is this great exuberance around social media and yet many social media "experts" fail to quantify the social media experience. Big mistake. There are ways to measure success on the social media platforms we elect to pursue. So enjoy our discussion on the Social Media ROI:

Posted by Tech Czar at 01:25:47 | Permanent Link | Comments (2) |

Thursday, May 28, 2009

TechNic - The Summer Extravaganza!

Just heard some great news that a number of local tech companies are getting together and sponsoring TechNic - a summer picnic for the IT players and participants in the Cleveland area. It is like a who's who list of Cleveland tech groups - Boundless Flight, BlueBridge Networks, Best Technology Strategy, Cleveland Java Users Group and Pradco - and they are inviting you to join them at TechNic on June 20th from 10:30am to that mythical time of "whenever." You will enjoy:
  • Food and Beverages
  • Music and Merriment 
  • Fun and Frolic (well, not too much Frolic) 
The event will be held at St. Sava's Picnic Grove (under the large pavilion) in Parma, OH (2300 West Ridgewood Drive). Musical entertainment includes the Dan Shaw Trio - playing the best jazz this side of Lake Erie - and Ted Wallingford, guitarist extaordinaire. The pavilion includes a full kitchen and modern restrooms. The picnic grounds have a sand volleyball court and a playground.

Register at www.boundlessflight.com website and click on the "Sign Up" button or call Heidi Hooper at 216.469.1163. I have no doubt this event will reach mythic legend in the coming years. And what a great way to enjoy the outdoors with some cool people in the tech industry. See you there, my friends. 
Posted by Tech Czar at 14:33:17 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Monday, May 25, 2009

Support the Social Media Venture Fund

One of the great strengths of the Social Media Club - Cleveland ("SMCC") is that the club decided early in its development to be a catalyst for the City of Cleveland and Northeast Ohio. As one of the fastest growing social media clubs in the U.S., the SMCC clearly is well positioned to become a voice not only the growing usage of social media but for entrepreneurs as well. 

Last week, in fact, the SMCC had a forum on Cleveland, OH-based social media start-ups - CorkShare, CitizenGroove, GamerTrainer and Within3. All expectations out of the event were that other start-ups were going to begin percolating in Cleveland. I am part of two start-ups (and a third being discussed) that will begin development and beta testing very soon. 

Which leads me to another critical issue that the SMCC has been a key proponent of: the Social Media Venture Fund ("SMVF"). The SMVF was originally conceived as an "ever-green" fund that would raise between $3.0 million and $5.0 million in Cleveland and Northeast Ohio to invest in the fledgling social media industry. The SMCC took it upon itself to apply for Third Frontier Funds from the State of Ohio. Every economic development group that the SMCC took this concept too offered key advice but little in the way of overt support. Based upon the complexity and the very short duration of time that the SMCC had to register with the State of Ohio it was decided to shelve the concept until the fall of 2009. 

That was until the SMCC, after during significant research, discovered an opportunity to request $30,000 in a grant from the Civic Innovation Lab (www.civicinnovationlab.org). These grant dollars would help support the legal fees and consulting fees necessary to successfully launch the SMVF. Today the SMCC is requesting your support for the SMVF. Please email me (mdealoia@mac.com) for a copy of the original Civic Innovation Lab proposal. But more importantly the SMCC and I are asking for you to show support of the SMVF through a twitter campaign. Please tweet about your support of the Fund by using the at-sign designation of @civiclab and the hash-tag sign of #SMVF. 

Key Tweet Nomenclature:
Civic Innovation Lab - @civiclab
Key Hash-Tag Sign - #SMVF

The SMVF would make investments of between $50,000 and $150,000 in social media based start-ups. And with the great wealth of knowledge emanating out from the SMCC - the start-ups would have access to some of the best and brightest in the social media arena. Please get involved today! Make your voice heard so that the SMCC can receive this valuable and necessary grant from the Civic Innovation Lab. The best support of the SMVF must come from the community it desires to serve. This is a critical time for the fund and, indeed, for the future of Cleveland and Northeast Ohio. Pledge your support today.
Posted by Tech Czar at 17:16:02 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Cleveland Professionals Group - Networking Event

My good friend Christopher Ernst of the Cleveland Professionals Group ("CPG") reached out to me to help publicize the CPG's fantastic June 4th networking event. The event will help benefit the American Red Cross - which is awesome! So I hope you will join Christopher and the rest of CPG gang on June 4th from 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. at the Ritz Carlton. 

Tickets in advance are $40 and are $50 the day of the event. Advanced tickets can be purchased at www.clevelandprofessionals.com. 

The CPG is dedicated to empowering professionals and executives to enhance their careers through mentoring, strategic positioning, education, unity and networking. The mission of the CPG is to build and develop a rich community of professionals in the Cleveland-area who are committed to helping one another by sharing their business expertise and knowledge.
Posted by Tech Czar at 14:04:35 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Cleveland's Social Media Start-ups

I am happy to report that I will be the MC of a great event on May 20th as I and the Cleveland Social Media Club delve into the social media start-ups that are beginning to percolate around the city. I hope you will join me on that date at 6pm at the Peter B. Lewis Building on the campus of Case Western Reserve University. Upon arrival everyone will be offered refreshments in the first floor "glass lounge" courtesy of CorkShare.com. The start-up panel will include:
  • Anthony Broad-Crawford, Within3.com
  • Jim England, CorkShare.com
  • John Heaney, LimeRibbon.com 
  • Kyle Napierkowski, CitizenGroove.com 
  • David Williams, GamerTrainer.com  
Man, you could not have put together a better panel. I am jazzed about this group! So, please join me and Cleveland Social Media Club on May 20th @ 6pm - Case Western Reserve University. Check it out here - http://clevelandsmc.ning.com. 
Posted by Tech Czar at 18:38:04 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Social Media BluePrint - The Movie

Hey, hey kids! Hope you are enjoying a most beautiful day. I am happy to announce that the presentation I was a part of at the 3rd Annual eMarketing Techniques Conference is now available on video. Check out the viewer below. 


Also, check out the PowerPoint presentation on SlideShare (http://tiny.cc/jB0s9). The entire cast of the "Social Media BluePrint" presentation would love to hear your input.
Posted by Tech Czar at 18:08:08 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Saturday, May 09, 2009

Social Media BluePrint

Happy to report that the eMarketing Techniques Conference in Cleveland, OH was a huge success. I really enjoyed meeting everyone at the conference. Also, Matt Dickman of Techno-Marketer (http://technomarketer.typepad.com/) did a great plenary session. Had a great audience for the Social Media BluePrint presentation I did with John Heaney of Orange Envelopes (http://orange-envelopes.com/blog/). Special kudos to Bill Russell of CrossFit who lead us through a special case study of how a start-up enterprise can use social media and marketing to generate revenue. 
For those of you who were not able to attend please review the Social Media Presentation at SlideShare: http://tiny.cc/3l6BR. 
Posted by Tech Czar at 17:50:07 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Friday, May 08, 2009

Cleveland's Take on Social Media

During the April meeting of the Social Media Club - Cleveland, the good people at Thunder::Tech had the great idea of getting some of the local "rock stars" and "evangelists" to talk about and define social media. (Please note a brief cameo by yours truly.) A fantastic video! Really proud of the Social Media Club - Cleveland and all they are doing. Enjoy the video.

Posted by Tech Czar at 09:55:12 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |