Graeme Thickins on Tech

Reflections & analysis about innovation, technology, startups, investing, healthcare, and more .... with a focus on Minnesota, Land of 10,000 Lakes. Blogging continuously since 2005.

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Minnebar ’08 Rocked the Mouse, the House, the State, and the Twitterverse

May 11, 2008 / / 3 Comments

The third annual Minnebar unconference, Minnesota’s own Barcamp event, definitely was the place to be for the local Internet developer/entrepreneur community yesterday. (That was an understatement.) The t-shirt we all got, below, says it all. Minnebar08tshirt
More than 430 stormed the Coffman Union at the University of Minnesota, record attendance for the event (and likely for any Barcamp to date in the U.S.). It was pre-Twittered like mad in the days leading up, but the volume of tweets during the day itself — the real-time conversation — was nothing less than awesome. I think we even surprised ourselves. Check it out: just go to Summize and type "Minnebar" in the search window at the top. You’re looking at a lot of energy, folks! You can scroll through pages and pages of conversations — who knows how many! At one point yesterday, Minnebar was in the top four or five largest collective conversations going on in the whole, freaking Twitterverse! Pretty cool. (My own coverage is at www.Twitter.com/GraemeThickins, and four of us were also tweeting all day at www.Twitter.com/Minnov8.)

The event drew techies from not just the Twin Cities, but throughout the state, and even from places like Madison, Des Moines, and South Dakota, to name a few locales I heard in passing. And I know people as far away as Florida and Colorado who were really wishing they could be there. But, you know what?  Thanks to the magic of the Internet and this little thing we call Twitter, there were a whole lot of people on both coasts who were noticing and wishing, too. Thankscoffmanunion

Something very cool was happening on the campus of the U of MN yesterday. And everyone who was there can be damn proud. Minnesota Tech, you rock! Huuge thanks to the organizers, the awesome  sponsors (I’ve never even seen so much pizza in my life!), and to everyone that showed up — who all contributed and benefited. And, doggone if the whole world wasn’t noticing while we were at it…

I Break (Brake?) For Music…

May 9, 2008 / / 0 Comments

I don’t post music videos on this blog…often. Okay, never. But, gee whiz, a guy’s gotta take a break once in a while. Or your brain gets fried.  It’s late, and I just read something online where the guy says the Beatles are so great. That’s the second time this has popped up outta the blue on me lately — Brad Feld just up and said that on Twitter a week or so ago. And I don’t make it a habit to be reading about music. I got tech to cover! (and surfing when I get bored)

The thing is, Brad”s not even all that old, to go back that far, I mean….and he still loves ’em. I Twittered him right back with…"yeah, Brad, but can you name your top-five Beatles tunes in rapid fire?  I can: 1) In My Life, 2) Wait, 3) It Won’t Be Long … (continued in next tweet)…4) What You’re Doing to Me, 5) You Can’t Do That…oh, and my bonus number is I’m Looking Through You."  (Okay, I always carry a little cheat-sheet in my wallet so I can do that at the drop of a hat.)

And then, tonight, sitting here, I suddenly remember two more. Damn, it’s so hard to narrow it down to five, or even ten. The Beatles are the most awesome band ever…period. My favs tend to be from the earlier years, or mid-career. But two more Beatles numbers that I love, from the later years, just suddenly popped into my mind as I was sitting here on the couch with the ever-present Macbook staring back at me, TV volume turned down on something I didn’t care about, anyway. So, I click over to YouTube to hear these two awesome, awesome numbers…

The Beatles, again, absolutely flooring me, like they always did. George’s guitar, John and Paul’s lyrics and melodies, Ringo’s drums. They just live on and on and on.  I click play and…melt.

Minnebar ’08 Schedule Announced – It’s Hot!

May 7, 2008 / / 1 Comment

The program for our annual Minnesota Barcamp — Minnebar — was just released late yesterday. The event is being held Saturday, May 10, at the Coffman Union on the U of MN campus. Here’s a look at where things are so far, and note that it’s subject to change.

Minnebar08sched1

Don’t miss the panel at 12:00 noon: "State of the State: Technology in Minnesota" in the theater on the first floor. Panelists include:
• Doug Olson, who heads a Microsoft developer team in MN
• Jamie Thinglestad, Mpls-based CTO of Dow Jones Online 
• Michael Gorman, Partner at VC firm Split Rock Partners
• Robert Stephens, founder of Geek Squad (a unit of Best Buy)
• And Dan Grigsby, our infamous local rabble rouser at Unpossible.com 🙂 and original lead organizer of Minnebar/Minnedemo.
Minnebar08sched2_3
Note the "Lightning Demos" at 4:00 and 5:00 — which I think will be especially good!  These are five-minute presentations available to new or existing startups, or anyone who has a new idea or favorite topic to talk about. If you want to add yours to the list (which is not yet published), just send an email to event co-orgnanizer Luke Francl at look (at) recursion (dot) org — telling him your name, company name, and what you’ll be talking about. Minnebar08sched3_3

See you Saturday! This will be fun — how could it not be, with a frenzied crowd of some 400 of your fellow MN tech enthusiasts? 🙂

I’ll be there Twittering and shootin’ pix all over. And I’m also part of the Minnov8 team, who’ll be Twittering as well. But, trust me, there’ll be plenty of hot networking in between!

Geeks, Entrepreneurs, Designers, Angels, VCs, and Marketeers ….. Let’s Mix It Up!

May 4, 2008 / / 0 Comments

Minnebar is Saturday, May 10!  MInnesota’s all-day annual Barcamp event is not to be missed.  New venue this year (bigger and better): the gloriously redone Coffman Union at the U of MN (cool place if you haven’t checked it out yet). To sign up, just go the event site (a wiki page), hit Edit Page, and add your name and links. Minnebar(Minnebar is held once a year, while evening "Minnedemo" sessions are held in each of the other three quarters.)
Already, almost 300 of your compatriots have signed up for this year’s edition of Minnebar, and many more will be as the week progresses. It’s free! That’s right — the whole damn thing! (thanks to the sponsors) … including breakfast, lunch, reception and beers following. You even get a free event t-shirt! And you can come and go as you please, choosing just the sessions that interest you — though I would highly recommend hanging out all day for the networking, which is really the biggest benefit. You can do your own session if you and/or some colleagues have something to say (and if there’s still room). Hit the link that says MinneBarSessions, click Edit Page, and add your title and session description while you still can. In the coming days, the organizers will be cutting off new entries and publishing a full schedule with all the breakout sessions. That should then be available at the event site, or you can pick up a hard copy on your arrival. Come early — the event kicks off at 8:30 am.

Attention Startups and Angels: Note the "Lightning Talks" Session
On the MInneBarSessions page, scroll down and look for a link to apply to give a five-minute pitch.  Ideal if you’re a startup, whether just forming or further along. An entire hour is being devoted to these rapid-fire presentations. This is a great way to see what’s going on out there in our state, hear the latest business concepts and startup ideas, or get updates on the progress of local startups you may have already heard about. [This will be like the DEMO conferences I know so well. My advice: hone the message hard, and practice well!] Minnebar07crowd

This event is gonna be killer, I promise you. If you want to know what’s really goin’ on in tech in Minnesota, you have to be here. Bring lots of business cards, a camera, your laptop (we’ll have mondo wi-fi!), wear your favorite tee, and get ready to learn, share, network, gab, blog and Twitter your brains out, and meet tons of fun, like-minded people.

Hey, in my book, it definitely beats sittin’ on some cold lake fishing!  🙂

Best Surfing Video I’ve Seen in a While

May 3, 2008 / / 0 Comments

Current TV sent me this one, called "Pipeline Posse," earlier in the week. You talk about your gnarly… As I said when I Twittered this link a couple days ago: if you think surfers are crazy, this will definitely prove your point. [And if you missed that tweet, you can follow me on Twitter by just clicking at the right.] Okay, some would call them crazy, but surfers are really a special breed.  Especially the ones who frequent the ultimate wave in the world…along with the massive amounts of other guys competing for position there.  Warning to viewers: this is not for the faint of heart:

This post is part of my continuing objective to take a break from blogging about tech once in a while to pay tribute to my favorite sport. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, as they say. In that same vein, and speaking of the "extreme" side of surfing, I want to say-hey to my buddies up on Lake Superior, who give an entirely new meaning to yet another kind of gnarly. Yes, they surf on Gitchigumi — the ultimate (dangerous) freshwater wave in the world.  If you want to some see Minnesota gnarly, check out the awesome photos on the Superior Surf Club web site.  And here’s a video on spring surfing on Lake Superior, shot by surfer Brian Stabinger in April 2008, I believe featuring one of the top surfers on the Big Lake, his close buddy Bob Tema:

By the way, I want to try to get up to Duluth again this year to watch and shoot pix at the annual "Coldwater Surf Fest" at the Park Point Pavilion — it’s Saturday, June 7, 2008. If I do, I’ll for sure be blogging about it, as I did last year.

UPDATE (5/3/08):  Another great shot on Lake Superior, taken at Thunder Bay, is this one I sent to my buddy at The Surfrider Foundation, Jim Moriarty, who blogged it recently. He blogs at Oceans Waves Beaches.

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