Happy Valentine’s Day: Google pushes LOVE statue-themed display
Google celebrates Valentine’s Day by using Robert Indiana’s LOVE theme, which, of course, Philadelphia has plenty to say about.
Archive for February, 2011
Event Highlights: February 14th – 20th, 2011
Happy Valentine’s Day, Philadelphia. If you’re spending tonight with a loved one, good for you. If not, read Shmitten Kitten, they always make us laugh. Regardless of how you spend your February 14th, we have a packed calendar for the rest of the week so get planning.
This week, write your valentine to Philadelphia, drink with startups and get down with PDP.
Ignite Philly 7: less tech, more cash
Danny Gerber and a volunteer make a fruit smoothie onstage using a bicycle (click for video).
The seventh edition of Ignite Philly featured a few firsts: it was the first time the event accepted sponsors, it marked the most charitable Ignite ever and it was the first time somebody made an alcoholic beverage onstage using a bike (see above).
Part of Global Ignite Week, Ignite Philly 7 gave speakers five minutes and 15 slides that lasted 20 seconds each to share an idea that is changing Philadelphia for the better. Unlike past Ignites, the latest rendition was light on technology-related talks and packed with folks trying to make Philadelphia a better place to live through urban planning, soda pop, art and saving celebrities.
During intermission, organizers Geoff DiMasi, David Clayton and others presented the South Philly Co-Op with a $1,000 check and also handed out 125 cards containing $10 of Microsoft’s money to be donated to the cause of the card holder’s choice on donorschoose.org.
As part of Global Ignite Week, multiple Ignite events were taking place across the world and each city holding an Ignite was given the $10 cards. The city with the most total money donated is placed on an international leader board and at intermission, Alex Hillman, co-founder of Independents Hall and Ignite Philly sponsor promised to throw a party if Philly tops the leader board. As of publishing, Philadelphia is ranked first.
Below we give out a few awards, including the “Oh Snap” award, best overall talk and best pipes.
Deb Crawford, Drexel Vice Provost for Research on evaluating cells a thousand times smaller than a human hair and more: Q&A
Debbie Crawford isn’t from around here.
The native of Glasgow, Scotland moved from Alexandria, VA to take the Vice Provost for Research gig at Drexel University in September and is awash in a continued University City renaissance that most Philadelphians from even five years ago wouldn’t recognize.
The engineer-by-training spent 20 years at the venerable National Science Foundation and is here to push forward Drexel’s reputation as a serious research institution.
“The tipping point for that is going from the individual cottage industry notion of research with deep expertise to a place where we are bringing the researcher across a variety of other fields to create a sum greater than the parts that can attack bigger challenges,” Crawford tells Technically Philly , her accent aglow. “So it’s taking new technologies and bringing together the creative arts and engineering or whoever else and pull them in that sandbox to have the largest impact possible.”
Now living in Center City, Crawford says she brings from NSF “an understanding of the topic barriers in these large projects.”
Below, Crawford talks about why Drexel was the right choice, the coolest research happening at the university right now and more.
Gov 2.0: San Francisco’s open data directive
Full text or pdf of San Francisco’s Open Data Executive Directive:
70 percent increase in black owned businesses in five years: Links
- 70 percent increase in black owned businesses in Philly region from 2002 to 2007 [Daily News]
- Phila. Early Stage Venture Showcase report [Philadelphia Business Journal]
- A lot on Nutter’s plate at Phila. chamber luncheon [Philadelphia Business Journal]
- Mayor Nutter announces GlaxoSmithKline will relocate to the Navy Yard [Press release] — Later a 1,000 new jobs from Urban Outfitters at the Navy Yard was also announced
- Small-Business Credit Markets, Assessed by a Loan Broker [New York Times] — Ami Kassar, formerly of Advanta, who launched MultiFunding in 2009 answers questions
- Farewell [StoopPhilly] — On Dec. 23, Matthew J. Singer launched a consumer-friendly, real estate and development blog that looked like it could fill a role left by the vacated Brownstoner. Now it’s gone again, as Singer was offered a new opportunity, he tells Technically Philly.
- For Penn, playing the role of Goliath [Philly Inc: Inquirer] — On an economic impact report from the University of Pennsylvania
- Was Eric Schmidt Wrong About the Historical Scale of the Internet? [Read Write Cloud] “RJMetrics cofounder Robert J. Moore gets to the bottom of it.” H/T Philly Tech News
- 2nd Philadelphia Type-in Photos [Geekadelphia] — Yah, typewriters
- ‘Philadelphia’s Cambridge’ [Philadelphia Business Journal] — On an initiative from the University City Science Center and other players to develop that stretch of Market Street into a noted innovation hub
- Pennsylvania’s New Lt. Governor Expects Expanded Role [KYW] Jim Cawley
- Northeast Philly college issues challenge: No Facebook for 30 days [Inquirer] — At Holy Family University
Thanks to our weekly sponsors
Technically Philly is made possible by advertisers and sponsors that are important to Philadelphia’s technology community. This week we’d like to thank:
Springboard Media – Springboard Media is a certified Apple Specialist and retailer based in Center City and now, in Exton. They’ve got a ton of accessories and a great trade-in program that can score you up to $1,500 when you’re ready to upgrade.
Volpe and Koenig, P.C. — Since 1987, intellectual property boutique law firm Volpe and Koenig has provided guidance on matters relating to patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, e-commerce, technology joint ventures, non-disclosure agreements, technology acquisitions, licensing and litigation. Whatever your intellectual property law issue… Volpe and Koenig bring law to your ideas.
GOPromos Promotional Pens – GOPromos has great promotional items, like custom envelopes, for you to use with your company or for personal use. Get great products to give away!
OpenDesks – OpenDesks.com lets you monetize unused workspaces – a cubicle, a conference room, an office or a seat in the lunchroom – as long as there’s somewhere to sit and work, you can post it. Join OpenDesks.com‘s Founders Circle today for a low-cost lifetime membership.
Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce – The Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce is dedicated to promoting growth and economic development, advocating for sound public policy, and serving its members with outstanding programs and benefits. GPCC is the premier advocate of the region’s business community, representing members in 11 counties across three states with one voice.
Caffeine Fish – Caffeine Fish develops the Trainboard iPhone app and offers iPhone development consulting in the Philadelphia area.
Empowerkit MLM Software – Empowerkit roots are in Philadelphia where it started as a company. It creates websites for Franchisees through powerful software solutions.
Optimized Cable Company – OCC is a distributor of high end electronic cable products, at a much lower price than most physical storefronts. Pick up some HDMI cables for your upcoming football parties today!
Interested in joining these organizations and individuals in supporting Technically Philly? Check out our ad packages and contact our Ad Sales Manager. Can’t find something that fits? We’ll customize a package for you.
Hive76: “If we knew what we were doing, we wouldn’t be hackers, We’d be engineers”
Hive76, a community hacking space, is located at 915 Spring Garden Street. Photo by Sarah Schu
The following is a report done in partnership with Temple University’s Philadelphia Neighborhoods Program, the capstone class for the Temple Journalism Department.
The walls of the Hive76 headquarters are lined with part bins containing all types of electronic doodads from circuit boards to transistors in a kind of organized chaos that bespeaks the organization’s DIY cyberpunk attitude.
“If we knew what we were doing, we wouldn’t be hackers. We’d be engineers.”
Off in one corner of the workshop, Hive76 Quartermaster Brendan Schrader toys with a series of gutted drum machines and mixers plugged into a suitcase that has been converted into a four-speaker boombox.
“A lot of us don’t know what we’re doing,” Schrader says, while generating an organic-sounding beat on the post-apocalyptic dance machine. “If we knew what we were doing, we wouldn’t be hackers. We’d be engineers.”
Jared Valdez: Why I chose Northeast Philadelphia over San Francisco
Another in the Entrance Exam series, as part of the Why I Love Philly campaign from Young Involved Philadelphia and Indy Hall. Tell the world why you love where you live by tweeting #whyilovephilly.
Maybe we’ll see growth in the migratory pattern from San Diego to Northeast Philadelphia.
Jared Valdez (@jaredvaldez) could start a trend. He certainly sings its praises enough.
“I grew up in San Diego, where I literally only owned one pair of long pants and they were for funerals and weddings,” Valdez, 30, says, noting his casual uniform of shorts and T-shirts. He attended San Francisco State University and had to buy some more pants. Then “I relocated to Northeast Philadelphia where I need long pants a good chunk of the year.”
And though he says he’s debating between setting up shop on the Lawncrest commercial district of Rising Sun Avenue to help build it up or moving to somewhere like Mt. Airy to join an already thriving community, he, his wife and son aren’t leaving Philadelphia anytime soon.
Below, the founder of the Philadelphia Community Development Resource Center talks about settling down in the Northeast, why neighbors may be the best brain drain prevention tool and more.
Jobs shift to NJ with consolidation of Comcast, NBCU affiliates: Roundup
Every Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m. EST, find all the stories you need to know about your friendly telecommunications giant in the Comcast Roundup. Get ane-mail subscription for our Comcast news updates.
DEFINITE READS
- Exclusive: Comcast, NBCU Net Affiliate Units Merging [Multichannel News] — “Comcast and NBC Universal programming-network distribution teams are combining in NBCU’s Englewood Cliffs, N.J., base, phasing jobs out of Comcast Center in Philadelphia”
- More Devices, Netflix Mean More Traffic for Comcast [gigaom] — Doubling in average usage from 2008, consumers use between 4-6GB of data monthly, Comcast says.
- Comcast’s Next Big Battle May Be in Its Backyard [Daily Finance] — Suggests the NBC deal forces Comcast to give Comcast SportsNet up to satellite competitors like Dish Network, a point that isn’t so clear Philly Tech News suggests.
GIVE A GLANCE
- Regulators take wrong path on Comcast-NBC [Financial Times] — Arguing that essential details were ignored in approving the deal for NBC control
- Zucker: NBC tried to buy Huffington Post for 18 months, couldn’t agree on price [Poynter] — Jeff Zucker, ousted as NBC head after Comcast took over, said while still in charge, NBC tried to buy the blog that was recently purchased by Aol for $315M. H/T PTN
- Looks like no ESPN for NHL [Community Voice: Pittsburgh Post Gazette] — The Comcast deal for NBC will bring more weight and hold onto the NHL
- Margate eyes 25-year cable deal with Comcast []Shore News Today] — Gettin’ Comcast downtheshore.
- Comcast Deploys 100 Mbps High-Speed Internet to Colorado Businesses [IP communications]
