Nicole Brewer: How I joined the Philadelphia technology community

This is a guest post by Nicole Brewer, a reporter for CBS 3 and CW Philly, as part of our Guest Contributor Week. Want to have an op-ed or feature you’ve written to appear on TP, now or in the future? Drop us a line.

To be honest, I entered Philly’s tech scene by accident.

From a young age, I enjoyed technology as a hobby, and as an aspiring journalist, I relished in the advent of social media. However, I never imagined it would define my career or revolutionize the broadcasting industry quite the way it has.

To that end, it was simply a matter of timing. With the success of its newly re-launched website in 2005, CBS3 had seen its website grow year-over-year in both traffic and engagement metrics. But, the company was eager to stay ahead of the digital curve and willing to try something new.

Fresh off my first freelance gig at the Consumer Electronics Show, I was too.

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Does the VC industry need document standards?: Guest Post

This is a guest post by Christopher McDemus of MCD Law Partners a law firm specializing in startups and technology businesses, as part of our Guest Contributor Week. Want to have an op-ed or feature you’ve written to appear on TP, now or in the future? Drop us a line.

Disclosure: MCD Law Partners was a sponsor of our last Switch tech demo event.

The topic of standardized angel or venture financing documents is is an old topic, for sure.  Most recently, Brad Feld weighed in on this issue back in March 2010 by valiantly offering to take on the task of drafting standardized financing documents, but following a post by his partner Jason Mendelson (along with probably millions of emails from the disparate groups wanting to help), Brad decided to set aside the idea.

I am not sure how much another opinion adds to this discussion, but it’s a topic I still view worthy of debate as I think it will re-surface again and again in the future.

People in the start-up community have long called for a set of standard financing documents – a set of financing documents whose structure and substance were widely viewed as acceptable to both the entrepreneur as well as the financier (e.g., angel, super-angel, early stage venture fund) and that fulfilled each side’s legal/business needs.  Why standardize financing documents versus any other corporate set of documents?

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Hispanic community’s distance from the web will affect voting Nov. 2: Guest Post

Hispanic voters and their use of the web will both have an impact on Tuesday's election, says Tek Lado magazine Editor Liz Spikol.

This is a guest post by Liz Spikol, Editor of bilingual Tek Lado magazine, as part of our Guest Contributor Week. Want to have an op-ed or feature you’ve written to appear on TP, now or in the future? Drop us a line.

One way you can tell it’s election time: Latinos are in the news.

President Obama is reaching out, first by highlighting Latino kids at the White House’s first science fair, and then—one day later—revealing a broad plan to encourage educational achievement among Latino children. He’s also suggested, in ways big and small, that voting on Nov. 2nd should be a priority for the Hispanic community.

He’s not wrong to push for those votes, particularly in such a hotly contested battle.

CBS News reports that in some states, the battles may be decided by Latinos —and Latinos tend to vote Democratic. The country’s fastest growing minority has a lot of power, and Obama knows it.
Right now about 19 million Latinos nationally are eligible to vote.

There are implications on both sides of the aisle for Latinos, and to understand where each party stands can be of significant value when pulling a lever behind that flimsy blue curtain.

Understanding that those 19 million voters don’t necessarily vote in lockstep, how Latinos get their information about each party — on the web or through mobile devices — can be just as crucial to that understanding.

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Guest Post: A Councilman on paperless government savings

This is a guest post by Bill Green, City of Philadelphia Councilman-at-Large, as part of our Guest Contributor Week. Want to have an op-ed or feature you’ve written to appear on TP, now or in the future? Drop us a line.

Like many cities, Philadelphia has faced staggering fiscal challenges in recent years. As fixed expenses continue to increase while tax revenues stagnate, the City has been forced to find ways to close record budget deficits without further burdening taxpayers or slashing core public services. Balancing the City budget, however, is not simply a choice between cutting services or increasing taxes. Improved management of scarce resources and a focus on improving productivity through technology must also be essential parts of our budget-balancing strategy going forward.

For example, a serious commitment to “paperless government” could save the City hundreds of millions of dollars per year, freeing up additional resources to support key, citizen-level services.

At the most simple level, “paperless government” involves minimizing the use of paper in City government. Because every dollar spent on paper can be linked to $13-31 in secondary costs (storage, printing, postage, etc.), the savings from reducing paper use are amplified many times over.

More broadly, “paperless government” lets City employees shift their focus from pushing paperwork to more substantive work serving citizens, resulting in better use of City resources, fewer mistakes, and faster services. This effort is underway in some departments: the Pension Board has halved its application processing time, increased counseling session efficiency, and significantly reduced its staffing needs by using imaging technology. Replicating this type of initiative across City government will enable us to reduce costs, increase efficiency, and improve service quality.

I envision a “Paperless Government” that:

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Want to rep Philly? Better have some manners.

This is a guest post by Chris DiFonzo, CEO of OpenDesks as part of Guest Contributor Week. Want to have an op-ed or feature you’ve written to appear on TP? Drop us a line.

It’s true, many of the etiquette books around these days don’t hold up in the business world.  Still, those professional etiquette workshops “the man” made me take had value.  Shake, even if someone is visibly sick?  Yes.  Lift your glass when being toasted?  Nope.  Arrive late for calls and meetings?  Obvious.

Then what gives?  Lateness, lack of follow up, and lack of formality are prolific today, even among enterprise consultants, salespeople, managers, and executives.  The worst thing about perpetually more casual behavior in business is it’s a death spiral.  Business culture is organic, not static, and our daily interactions either raise the bar or push it down.

Entrepreneurs, freelancers, and creative independents, this is as opportunity to differentiate ourselves.  I’m calling myself out and asking you to join me.  Let’s set the example by bringing back (a little) decorum.

Three basics to get us going:

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Guest Contributor Week: An open call for op-ed pieces

We’ve long held the opinion that if we’re going to cover this community right, we’d need your support.

Now, we’re adding a second act to an actionable call for that very cause.

In August, we called for folks to submit coverage of events that we can’t make. As a staff of three, there’s just too much going on to do it all. And we hope that we begin to see more submissions on the city’s weekly technology happenings.

Today, we’re announcing that we’re accepting opinion pieces from our audience, with the hopes that issues that we’re unable to cover can be better brought to the forefront. We further believe that these submissions can inspire more in-depth coverage as we continue to expand our editorial perspective with the help of the community.

To kick it off, we’ve solicited a few folks in the community to write some initial contributions, which will be published throughout the week, hoping it will help provide a scope of what we would like to see and to encourage others to participate in the dialogue.

Our decision to accept these submissions is inspired by many of the off-the-record conversations we have with leaders in Philadelphia. We’ve spoken enthusiastically to the frustrated or inspired. But much of the time, because we’re a news organization founded in fact and not opinion, we’ve been unable to air important commentary.

Pieces should be from 150 to 500 words in length and should include a relevant photo and a headshot of the author if possible. We’re looking for distinct opinions or points of view that have relevance to our community and our coverage and we will be closely reviewing pieces that appear to be advertisements for companies and individuals.

Submissions will be vetted and edited by Technically Philly staff, but we’ll work closely with contributors to ensure the message is published as intended. To submit a piece, please email info@technicallyphilly.com, and we’ll be with you as soon as possible.

Thanks in advance for helping Philadelphia’s technology community shine.