NEOSA "Connecting Business and Technology"

New place to "hang your hat" in downtown Cleveland

2005-04-30T18:12:00.000-04:00

It had to happen. As coffee houses, hotels and savvy business owners increasingly make wi-fi available to customers and visitors, somebody had to realize the potential in creating a comfortable, highly functional place people could come and conduct business when they're away from the office.

A smart group of Northeast Ohio entrepreneurs has done just that. Read all about it this new hotspot: The Business Center . . .

But wait. While while you're at it, I was invited recently to begin publishing a blog for the hot new group in town called Capitalist Cleveland. So I'm going to send you there to read my latest entry about The Business Center:

Check out Barbara Payne's blog on Capitalist Cleveland.

Northeast Ohio Software Companies Featured

2005-03-01T08:55:00.000-05:00

Chris Seper is doing a week-long series in the Plain Dealer about the state of local software in Northeast Ohio. Go here to follow the series:

http://www.cleveland.com/tech

The first article appeared Sunday. It was a general overview and featured NEOSA prominently. I even got a call from someone who had read the article, then found this blog.

The rest of the articles will feature specific companies:

SUNDAY: Finding staff and money are the big hurdles.

TUESDAY: BrandMuscle Inc.

WEDNESDAY: TMW Systems Inc.

THURSDAY: PreEmptive Solutions Inc.

FRIDAY: Datatrak International Inc.

SATURDAY: Flashline Inc.

NOITR Meeting March 3, 2005

2005-02-28T13:16:00.000-05:00

On Thursday March 3rd, the U.S. Secret Service, Cleveland Electronic Crimes Task Force will host the Spring Northern Ohio Information Technology Roundtable Meeting (NOITR).

The subject is a discussion regarding current trends in the areas of direct and indirect network attacks. Presentations will cover online auction frauds and scams, eastern European hacking, ATM fraud, bank fraud, virus, mal-ware and spy-ware development. We will have three industry experts from around the country speaking on their respective topics.

Speakers:
Mr. Jack Christin, Esq. - eBay (Online auctions) Mr. Keith Peer - CEO/President of Central Command Inc. (Virus Trends) Mr. Jake Jacobson - Mitre Corporation (Eastern European Hacking)

Looks interesting - great speakers.

Go here for meeting details. NEOSA is a member of the Roundtable, as are many NEOSA member companies.

Blogging Session Recap

2005-01-21T21:40:00.000-05:00

Great blogging session the other day! The weather was terrible -- yet nearly 50 people showed up for it. (I barely made it myself, the drive from Medina to downtown Cleveland took so long given the road conditions.)

Each of the panelists was able to offer unique insights about business blogging. Some of the highlights were:

RSS makes reading blogs convenient, because you can read many of them in one place. But RSS is not ready to replace email yet, because you still need to prompt people to visit your blog.

Blogs are excellent for establishing high search engine position, because they tend to get a lot of incoming links.

Write about something for which you have passion. Passion for your subject matter always shows through.

Top ways to promote a blog include linkage to/from other blogs, notifying the mainstream media about important posts, and syndicating content by having your content appear on other blogs and sites.

Don't miss the map showing how the Northeast Ohio blogs are networked -- very illuminating.

You can find additional references to the session on Brewed Fresh Daily, Tinbasher, Chat Room LIVE, Small Business CEO, Blog for Business, and Small Business Trends.

January 19, 2005: Blogging for Profit

2005-01-18T20:47:00.000-05:00

This place is dusty with cobwebs! Time to throw open the windows, air it out, and keep it up to date!

OK, so let's start getting it up to date with this notice:

On January 19, 2005 I will be moderating an event in Cleveland, Ohio: "Blogs and RSS: Profiting From the New Personal Publishing Tools."

"In this session, a panel of experienced bloggers shares their secrets for how businesses get real results -- with measurable ROI -- using blogs as part of their marketing strategies. Includes discussions about using blogs to market products, advertising on blogs, using RSS (news feeds), repurposing blog content for email newsletters, using blogs to obtain high search engine rankings, and using blogs for business networking among your target audience. You'll also receive a map of the network of Northeast Ohio blogs -- who links to whom -- and how the network can be used as a marketing vehicle."

I'll be moderating a terrific panel, including these Northeast Ohio bloggers:

George Nemeth - brewedfreshdaily.com

Eric Olsen - blogcritics.org

Barbara Payne - blogforbusiness.com and biomednews.org

Steve Rucinski - smbceo.com and smbtrendwire.com

I'm thrilled to announce we also managed to snag Denise Polverine, Editor in Chief of Cleveland.com. Denise and Cleveland.com are pioneering some truly innovative territory with blogs. Cleveland.com is an Advance Internet site, and it just goes to show what having a famous blogging president at the corporate helm can foster.

We're going to do something else that I haven't seen done at blogging sessions, but which I highly recommend. Valdis Krebs will be preparing one of his fascinating network maps showing how Northeast Ohio blogs are connected with one another. It's something that Valdis, George Nemeth and I have talked about doing for a while now, and I am glad it is finally coming about. If the map does what I think it will, it's going to illustrate how powerful blogs are as networking tools.

I hope to see you there.

UPDATE JANUARY 14, 2005: I am also grinning because Chris Seper will be attending! Chris is the technology reporter for the Cleveland Plain Dealer and writes a vibrant must-read blog called Chat Room Live (see our PowerBlog Review), which happens to reside over at Cleveland.com.

"Future Forum" Event November 11, 2004

2004-10-22T09:28:00.000-04:00

NEOSA, the Center for Regional Economic Issues (REI), and The SBC Foundation present the Future Forum, focusing on healthcare and technology.

If you haven't been to a NEOSA/REI Future Forum, they are very interesting and interactive (audience is encouraged to ask questions). They focus on the impact of new and disruptive technologies and trends, and what they mean for the future.

The upcoming program will be moderated by Dr. Michael Schwartz, president of Cleveland State University, with the following panelists:

David Beach, Executive Director, EcoCityCleveland

Dr. Stan Gerson, Director, Ireland Cancer Center

Dr. Lawrence Krauss, Chairman, Department of Physics, CWRU

Tom Zenty, President and CEO, University Hospitals Healthcare System

Date and Time: November 11, 2004, 4 to 7 p.m.

Place: Myers University Club, 3813 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland

Cost: $25.

Registration: http://www.neosa.org/events/list.asp?Event_Id=104

Presentation on RFID

2004-10-06T11:03:00.000-04:00

On Thursday, October 7, 2004 I will be giving a presentation on RFID (radio frequency identification) to a group of University of Akron students. The group is called SITE -- Students for Information Technology and eBusiness.

I've posted the RFID presentation here for anyone who may be interested.

Embarrassing performance from trade show company

2004-09-29T21:48:00.000-04:00

Too many of the ninety-one paying exhibitors at today's Business and Technology Expo today were disappointed--severely disappointed--at the number of attendees. Amazing to find that individuals were actually there soliciting for the exhibitors to attend the Akron Business Conference next month! How enterprising of them...and how different from the promotion done for the Convention Center show.

We'd like to ask the readers of this blog how many of you heard about this "Office Max Business & Technology Expo" show? If you did, how did you hear? If you heard, but decided not to attend, please tell us why. If you did not hear but would have liked to, please let us know that, too.

Not enough time to make a formal feedback form, but if you have a minute, please email your responses to a ReallyGoodFreelanceWriter.com.

Thanks!

New service! Writing solutions when you just need A LITTLE help!

2004-09-29T06:17:00.000-04:00

We are very proud to introduce a new service to the tech and business community in Northeast Ohio.

We're unveiling the service today at the Midwest Business & Technology Expo being held today and tomorrow at the Cleveland Convention Center. The service offers fast, professional solutions for those annoying, irritating, puzzling writing glitches you run into when you're writing that great marketing piece, executive presentation, speech or other critical communication.

Top-quality solutions in little, affordable bytes... What a concept. It's called:
WriteBytes4You (c)

Check it out. And stop wracking your brain over those small but important writing challenges!

Last NEOSA Networking Event for 2004 - The I-77 Link

2004-09-23T14:57:00.000-04:00

NEOSA will host the last Networking Event of 2004 at the Winking Lizard Tavern In Independence on October 21st. This will be an opportunity for the cities linked by I-77 to come together, get networked and build business connections. The event is open to the entire business community, not just NEOSA members, and is FREE to attend. There is plenty of free parking. We hope you'll join us on the THIRD Thursday in October at the Winking Lizard.

Announcing: Local blogs introduce free subscriptions

2004-09-18T07:22:00.000-04:00

Seeking feedback from subscribers to this blog!

Despite our greenhorn status as techies we've actually managed to create the ability to subscribe to two blogs that you may find of interest. One is Blog for Business and it's all about blogging and business and covers topics like customer service, leadership, etc. Owners of small and medium-size businesses will also find a special rating for many of the posts as to how relevant the topic is for them. It's called the Small- to Midsize Business Index (SMBI).

And while I'm at it, I'll also announce the founding of another blog called BioMedNews.org. This one is labeled "a daily look at bioscience developments that impact business, higher education, government and economic development." Since bioscience is such an incredibly hot area of business development around the world these days, you may find business ideas of interest--even if you're not intrigued by the fascinating notes and observations about what's going on in medical science today.

If you take a look at either of these blogs, please email your comments to the publisher. We're always looking to improve.

Seminar on .Net Security

2004-08-24T09:52:00.000-04:00

On Thursday, August 26th at 6:00 PM, Software Answers (a NEOSA member) will be presenting a free "Closer Look" technology seminar on "Developing Secure .NET Applications" at its facility in Fairlawn (I-77 & SR-18).

The event is no charge, but seating is limited and you must register in advance. Register here.

Holonics Presentation

2004-08-20T10:34:00.000-04:00

At our January 2004 meeting, Jim Barlow, President of Western Reserve Controls, gave a great presentation on holonics. For any of you who missed it, the presentation is posted over at the Western Reserve Controls website.

The August 16th edition of Crain's Cleveland Business features an article on holonics (requires subscription) and how it could help revitalize Northeast Ohio manufacturing. Jim Barlow is quoted extensively, as is our own Dennis Adamkiewicz. For those who don't have a Crain's subscription, here is a short snippet from the article:

High-tech ministers such as Jim Barlow, president of Western Reserve Controls Inc., and Dennis Adamkiewicz, chief operating officer of Quantum Electronic Development, along with others, are working to capture the interest and money needed to put years of research into application.

If implemented, holonic controls would be the first major change in automation in 40 years. Developers liken it to a change as big as the switch from mainframe computers to the Internet.

So, just what are holonic controls? Simply put, the controls are a production concept. They are placed in computers to communicate intelligently with other devices involved in the manufacturing process so that production can be managed automatically. Holonic controls allow the efficient operation of complex production while decreasing its costs.

New FeedBurner Newsfeed

2004-08-13T12:31:00.001-04:00

I had a request to create a newsfeed (RSS feed) for this blog that was something other than the ATOM format. Apparently some newsreaders don't accommodate ATOM.

I finally was able to do it with an awesome service over at FeedBurner.

To use the new RSS feed format, right click on the FeedBurner chicklet, and copy shortcut and paste into your newsreader program:

The FeedBurner chicklet also will have a permanent home over on the right sidebar under "Weblog Information."

Also, I've created the following FeedBurner Headline Animator (also apears on the right sidebar) which shows the 5 most recent headlines from this site. If you want to include the headlines on your site, feel free. The easiest way is to copy the image and paste it wherever you want it:

FeedBurner is a neat service and has lots of other useful features, including some "hacks" for developers who want to personalize their feeds and their blogs.

"Doing Business with the Government" August 19

2004-08-09T09:32:00.000-04:00

We are back from our summer hiatus and raring to get going again!

NEOSA is off to a great start with a wonderful line-up of events. In the greater Akron area our first event of the season will be "Doing Business with the Government: an Abbreviated Who, What and How of Government Procurement."

If your company has ever considered selling technology products, software and/or services to the government, but isn't sure where to start, then don't miss this. Our speaker is Keith Tarbett, head of the Kent Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC).

When: Thursday, August 19, 2004
Where: Kent State University School of Business
Time: Registration 7:30 AM; Program 8:00 - 10:00 AM

Register here.

NEOSA & COSE Merger Approved

2004-08-05T22:34:00.000-04:00

The merger between COSE and NEOSA is now official. It was ratified by a membership vote at the August 4th Memeber meeting.

This opens up a whole new chapter for NEOSA. NEOSA will now have access to greater member benefits than ever before. And COSE members will now have access to technology expertise that they greatly need.

With the merger, NEOSA will become one of the larger regional technology organizations in the U.S.

For Jim's PowerPoint presentation delivered at the meeting, click here.

More on applying for grants

2004-07-24T11:17:00.000-04:00

So sorry to have missed hearing Dennis Adamkiewicz on how to get your SBIR grant. Thanks, Anita, for posting the slide show.

Besides the importance of networking (you know, the old "it ain't what you know, it's who you know"), be sure that you get your grant application written in such a way that the people who read it will know the human side of why your idea is good. No matter how well educated you are, you're still a human being. And that means--even if we don't like to admit it--we're all a mass of feelings.

Candace Pert, a research scientist who first discovered the existence of neuropeptides--says not only are they everywhere in our bodies--they are also the seat of our emotions. Just as our DNA resides on our chromosomes, our feelings ride around embedded in the neuropeptides in all of our tissues.

People respond to their emotions. Make sure you write your grant application with that in mind. Those kinds of grants have been known to get funded even without having an "in" at a funding source.

How to Successfully Get that Grant You Need

2004-06-10T18:23:00.000-04:00

Dennis Adamkiewicz P.E., COO of Quantum Electronics Development, was our featured speaker at this morning's NEOSA-Akron meeting. He gave a street-wise, interactive talk on "Grant writing: how to successfully get that grant you need."

One of several important points he emphasized: network heavily and develop a relationship with key people in the agency you are applying to.

Dennis suggests that anyone looking for more information on getting government technology grants (SBIR and STTR) check out this comprehensive website: www.sbirworld.com.

Dennis's presentation can be viewed here: Grant me a Wish Presentation.ppt

Dennis also provided two other extremely useful presentations, courtesy of the Ohio Department of Development, which you can view here:

SBIR Presentation.ppt

Technology Brief Region 8.ppt

TechStudents.net

2004-06-09T16:10:00.000-04:00

Hey NEOSA members, if you are looking to augment your staff resources with some very affordable student talent, check out TechStudents.net.

Techstudents.net is "an electronic forum connecting skilled technology students eager to gain real world experience with businesses that are in-demand of affordable technology resources." Sounds like a good source of student interns and extra project-based help.

A Marriage Made in Heaven: NEOSA and COSE

2004-06-05T11:13:00.000-04:00

NEOSA and COSE (Council of Smaller Enterprises) are getting together! And it is great news, I think.

Craintech yesterday reported on the proposed merger of NEOSA and the Greater Cleveland Partnership. Both Boards have approved the merger, but NEOSA members have to ratify the change through a vote in August.

What will this mean to NEOSA members? A lot of good stuff:

For one thing it means that NEOSA members will automatically become COSE members, giving NEOSA members access to COSE's nationally-recognized health insurance programs and other benefits.

For another, it means that NEOSA will grow its membership base instantly by about 75%. At the same time, COSE's reach is also increased.

The merger also secures ongoing financial stability for NEOSA, which had lost a chunk of state funding last year.

One question those of you in the Akron/Canton/Medina/Kent areas may have is: does this mean NEOSA's mission becomes Cleveland-based, since it will be part of the "Greater Cleveland Partnership"?

The answer is "no." The mission remains the same: to represent the tech community throughout Northeast Ohio. For instance, COSE represents the greater Northeast Ohio region, not just the Cleveland area.

Craintech has an article (with a strange title) here:

Also, I am reproducing the full text of the press release as follows:

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

PRESS RELEASE

NEOSA is pleased to announce that as of Aug. 5, 2004, the organization will merge with the Council of Smaller Enterprises (COSE) and the Greater Cleveland Partnership (GCP). To affect this change, NEOSA will become a council of the Greater Cleveland Partnership and will operate under a special operating agreement with COSE (which is also a council of the GCP). The merger provides both long-term sustainability for NEOSA and an opportunity to better serve our members at the same time.

NEOSA' s relationship with COSE is not new. Since its formation in 1998, NEOSA has worked closely with COSE to address the technology needs of COSE members, provide access to NEOSA members to select COSE programming and to advance the technology agenda in the region.

By joining together we can do more -- providing expanded services, deeper networking opportunities and greater reach to potential customers.

NEOSA exclusively serves the tech community, while COSE has a number of tech company members but serves all area businesses. However, the organizations have much in common:

Both organizations are member-focused and member-driven.
Both organizations concentrate on growing their members' business --with directories, networking events and educational programming.
Both organizations serve as a "go to" resource for their members.
Both organizations have solid reputations within the community -- often acting as a collective voice for their constituencies.

With so many non-profit organizations working toward so many different objectives, this new relationship can take some of the confusion out of the landscape and make for easier access to these important services.

Small business owners often have a hard time keeping up on how best to use technology to increase productivity, reduce costs and build wealth. With the resources of NEOSA, COSE will be better able to serve as a resource for information on technology issues, initiatives, training and organizations throughout the region. Likewise, NEOSA members will receive access to all of COSE's resources to help them grow their companies.

Consider this relationship in terms of marrying a horizontal (functional) business development service with a vertical (industry-specific) focus -- COSE provides services to grow all businesses and NEOSA is a silo for the IT Industry. Joined, both organizations -- and more importantly, members of both organizations -- benefit.

· NEOSA can offer programming specifically tailored to IT companies to COSE's tech company constituency.

· Programs designed to introduce technology to the broader COSE business community now have a broader base of expertise on which to draw.

· Established COSE programs and services offer benefits to NEOSA companies -- helping them manage their health insurance and employee benefit needs, as well as business development issues.

The Boards of Directors of NEOSA, COSE and GCP have met and enthusiastically approved plans for the merger. NEOSA staff and Board members are excited to join with COSE.

"We sincerely believe that this merger represents both long-term sustainability for NEOSA and an outstanding opportunity to better serve our members at the same time," said Jim Cookinham, NEOSA President. "This can help us increase the scale and impact of our efforts to serve our members and to grow the IT industry in Northeast Ohio."

"With this exciting new relationship with NEOSA, COSE is better positioned to serve as a resource and access point on technology issues for our membership and continue help advance the technology agenda in the region," said Steve Millard, Chief Operating Officer of the GCP and Executive Director of COSE.

NEOSA Akron Meeting June 10

2004-06-02T23:30:00.000-04:00

Our next monthly meeting of NEOSA Akron-Canton will be Thursday, June 10. This one is going to be really interesting, so be sure not to miss it.

Dennis Adamkiewicz P.E., COO of Quantum Electronics Development, will be giving an interactive talk on "Grant writing: how to successfully get that grant you need." Dennis has a lot of experience with grant requests and will discuss the basics of grant writing for small businesses (organizations with less than 500 employees).

We are holding the meeting at Canal Place in Akron. It's a fitting location. Canal Place has the highest concentration of tech companies in one place in Akron.

Jonathan Breger and I have coordinated this meeting with Alice Hall, the Canal Place Manager. We're using this as an opportunity to spread the word about NEOSA to the Canal Place tenants. We've also invited tenants from the Akron Incubator next door.

See you there!

Thursday, June 10
7:30 AM - 9:00 AM
At Canal Place - 5th Floor Captain's Quarters
Building 10, 520 South Main Street, Akron, Ohio

Admission: FREE.

Please register in advance here.

Software Demographics

2004-05-29T11:25:00.000-04:00

Scott Kovatch, a java runtime engineer with Apple, says in his Cupertino, Ohio blog that he would like access to a better breakdown of IT industry demographics in Northeast Ohio:

"NEOSA tends to lump all software development together, which is fine as far as it goes. I'd like to see a breakdown of companies who develop software and hardware as their business vs. the IT consultancy shops and other service-oriented or manufacturing companies that hire computer people."

Scott makes a great point about understanding the different kinds of IT companies and IT departments in our area. The IT industry itself is maturing. As is typical for a maturing industry, it naturally breaks itself down into increasing specialization and niche focus. As the industry becomes more specialized, each kind of IT company (or IT department of a corporation) is going to be motivated by different considerations.

I know that NEOSA (Jim and I and the other folks at NEOSA) definitely recognize these kinds of differences -- we talk about them all the time. The NEOSA IT industry directory captures information about these kinds of categories.

But being relatively new volunteering with NEOSA, I have to confess to not being entirely knowledgeable about what data is publicly available and in what form. I'll have to educate myself further and then report back on this blog.

NOITR Meeting June 3

2004-05-28T10:55:00.000-04:00

On Thursday June 3rd, the U.S. Secret Service, Cleveland Electronic Crimes Task Force will host the Summer Northern Ohio Information Technology Roundtable Meeting (NOITR).

Sounds like this one is going to be really interesting:

Gregory White, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio will be talking about "The Patriot Act; Cyber-Security from the Legal Perspective."

Andrew Macpherson from the Technical Analysis Group (TAG) at Dartmouth College will be talking about "Homeland Security; What our Adversaries Know."

Moderated by Chris Thompson, formerly Editor of Craintech and now with Edward Howard Company.

Register here.

NEOSA is a member of the Roundtable, as are several NEOSA member companies.

Best of All Worlds Event Recap

2004-05-27T12:57:00.000-04:00

The Best of all Worlds event on Tuesday evening exceeded our expectations. Thanks to all who attended, spoke at the event, worked to make it happen, or sponsored it.

This was a first time event partnering with the Greater Akron Chamber using an experimental format, and we got a very positive response. We used a variation of the "speed networking" format -- the attendees moved from speaker to speaker in 15 minute intervals. This kept energy levels high.

Not only did the event serve as a showcase of the wide range of high tech and related services being created and available in Northeast Ohio, but it was also a prime opportunity to create new relationships and gain new customers.

After all, business is what these networking events are all about. This event furthered our primary mission here at NEOSA to connect business and technology (i.e, connect buyers of tech with sellers of tech).

From the emails that have been coming in, lots of business was conducted at the event, and more will be done as a result of contacts made at the event. Remember, support local business -- buy NEO.

Will tech workers jump ship?

2004-05-23T04:12:00.000-04:00

Technology people don't get injured too often at work. But there's a lesson to be learned from the more physically challenging industries. Work injury rates are down in the U.S. Some attribute this to increased spending on training, inspections, safety programs, etc. But a local company called Growth Dynamics Corporation thinks there could be another reason: the impoverished economy.

The longer your employees are on the job, the less likely they are to suffer work-related injuries, according to the article in their recent newsletter. It goes on to say that the rate of turnover in employment has been very low with the loss of jobs in the U.S. So is that the real cause?

Interesting supposition, and for tech companies the idea that people might flee when things loosen up shouldn't be swept under the rug. It's nice to see this kind of statistical logic to support the notion that it's generally a good thing for tech companies in any economy to think about what they need to do to hold on to their valuable employees. Read more on the subject here.

Join us at the "Best of All Worlds" Event - May 25th

2004-05-21T23:07:00.000-04:00

Please join us on Tuesday, May 25 for a really interesting networking event.

Called the "Best of all Worlds," it is being presented in partnership with the Greater Akron Chamber of Commerce.

This event is unique because it is bringing together several different technology sectors (polymers, biotech and IT) and the business users of technology from the Akron area to meet and network. Come and hear:

Jon Park - Westfield Bank “Online banking for your business”

Robert Steinberg - Productivity by RFID “RFID: what it will mean for business”

Christopher O'Neil – FedEx Custom Critica “Optimizing your freight”

Dr. Scott Rickert - Nanofilm “Nanotech for the future of business”

Christina Vacca - CHS Business Associates “Biosciences go-to- market"

Andrew Holland - Interactive Media Group “Keeping web content evergreen”

Dave Hennie - Cisco “Going wireless in your business”

Brad Bowers - Casnet “Managing documents in your organization”

It will be held on Tuesday, May 25, 2004 from 5:25 - 7:30 pm. Locale is the Holiday Inn Akron/Fairlawn (I-77 and Rt. 18 area).

Participating organizations include NEOBio and OH!Polymer.

Register here for this great event.

Search Engine Optimization Session

2004-05-12T23:53:00.000-04:00

Today's panel gave excellent search engine optimization tips at the NEOSA monthly meeting held at CSU. Lots of great information! And everybody who wanted one got a $50 certificate for Overture pay-per-click advertising.

Jan Limpach of Keyphrase-Marketing.com put together a list of search engine optimization resources for the NEOSA event.

Chris Seper blogged the event here. He also gave the event a score of 5.5. I'm not quite sure how he came up with that, but he says it is a "pretty good score."

Israeli High Tech Companies Coming Here?

2004-05-07T15:00:00.000-04:00

On Thursday, May 13, the President of the Israeli Chambers of Commerce will be speaking on "Emerging Business Opportunities in Israel's High Tech Industry for Ohio Companies."

The talk, presented by the Ohio-Israeli Chamber of Commerce, will take place at the Beachwood Hilton, 8:00 - 9:30 am. Hahn Loeser Parks is sponsoring the breakfast.

There is a growing movement to attract Israeli high tech companies (biomedical and IT) to locate their US operations in Ohio, including Northeast Ohio. After all, these companies want a US base of operations. Why not have it here in Ohio?

You can see the obvious potential -- more jobs in Ohio. It also offers opportunities for local companies to become distributors and resellers for the Israeli companies.

Reservations are required no later than Tuesday, May 11th. Cost for the breakfast is: $20 Chamber members/ $25 Non-members. Please RSVP with credit card number to: oicc@aol.com or by phone 216-621-6832.

$50 Overture Pay-per-Click Certificate

2004-05-05T19:14:00.000-04:00

Thanks, Paul Elliott, for working out a sweet promotion with Overture. Attendees at the upcoming May 12 Search Engine Optimization Conference will receive a $50 credit certificate for Overture clicks.

Sounds like a reason to attend, huh? Hurry, space is limited.

See post dated May 3 for more details.

Buy One, Get One Free

2004-05-05T14:03:00.000-04:00

Dave Schuellerman, a NEOSA member and CEO of the Lineo Group, is offering a great Buy One, Get One Free special.

Now through June 2004, Lineo will write news releases and product releases for new clients at buy-one-get-one pricing.

Sounds like a great deal from another NEOSA member! For details, email Dave at dave@lineogroup.com.

UPDATED MAY 5 Search Engine Optimization May 12

2004-05-03T15:45:00.000-04:00

Check out this upcoming panel discussion on e-marketing and search engine optimization (SEO). Colette and Jim at NEOSA have assembled a great panel:

Paul Elliott - E-Commerce Business Development Manager, Things Remembered and President, Cleveland Search Engine Optimization

David Goebel - President, Goebel Group

Frank Griffith - CEO & Founder, Griffith Holdings, Inc

Jan Limpach - President, Keyphrase-Marketing.com

Sage Lewis - President, SageRock.com

It takes place on May 12, 2004, from 7:30 - 9:30 AM at the Cleveland-area NEOSA monthly meeting.

Location: Cole Center, Cleveland State University.

Cost to Attend: NEOSA & COSE members - free; non-members - $30

Don't miss the opportunity to hear from these expert panelists! I'll be there too (I'm the moderator, which means I get to ask the questions of this fine group).

Register here.

UPDATE MAY 5: Attendees will receive a $50 certificate for Overture clicks, thanks to a deal Paul Elliott worked out! Don't miss this one.

Receive Updates by Email

2004-04-20T21:49:00.000-04:00

By popular demand (well, OK, it was just one person who asked), I have added a Bloglet email notification feature.

Look to the links on the right side -- where it says "Subscribe for Updates." Simply insert your email address and click "subscribe." You will receive an email each time this blog is updated.

Student NEOSA Chapter at John Carroll University

2004-04-20T15:04:00.000-04:00

George Nemeth has this to say about his chat with the student NEOSA chapter at John Carroll University -- it's bound to make you chuckle:

"I got the chance to talk with JCU students about life after college. I don't think they knew what hit them."

Nominations for Crain's "Who's Who in Technology"

2004-04-15T13:05:00.000-04:00

Crain's and Craintech are putting together this year's edition of "Who's Who in Technology."

Click here for details on how to submit a nomination. Deadline for nominations is April 30, 2004.

P.S., remember, you can always nominate yourself. And it would be great to have more people from Akron and Canton in this year's Who's Who list.

Reminder: Next NEOSA Akron/Canton Meeting is April 15

2004-04-14T13:56:00.000-04:00

Just a reminder than tomorrow is our next NEOSA Akron/Canton meeting. We have a few local events to update you on.

As usual the meeting will be held at Software Answers in Montrose, 7:30 am. This time we are actually going to be in the Cleveland Room.

Results of Quarterly IT Industry Survey in NEO

2004-04-12T13:28:00.000-04:00

How is the IT Industry doing in NEO?

At the end of every quarter NEOSA polls the IT Industry in NE Ohio to see how things have gone during the quarter and to get their view as to how things will go for the next 12 months.

The following are the questions that were asked and the summary of the responses we received.

1. How has your company done this quarter? 47.3 % said good or very good. 38.5 % average. 14.3 % bad or very bad.
This significant improvement started in 4th quarter 2003 and has continued into 2004.

2. How have you done compared to last quarter? 46.7 % said good or very good. 37 % average. 16.3 % bad or very bad.
Results showing very strong performance for the majority of those who responded.

3. How have you done this quarter compared to 2003? 61.6 % responded either better or much better. 22 % the same. 16.5 % worse or much worse. This shows a solid improvement when compared to 2003.

4. How do you think your business will change in the next 12 months? 72.5 % said better or much better. 17.6 % same. 9.9 % said worse.
There is continued optimism about the recovery for the next 12 months.

5. How do you see the number of people you will employ change in the next 12 months? 53.8 % said the would be hiring staff. 39.6 % saw no change and only 6.6 % planned to reduce staff. This is great news for those looking for jobs in the IT Industry in NE Ohio.

6. Who do you want to win the Presidential election? 53.2 % Bush and 46.8 % Kerry.
Don't know if this means anything but it is interesting to see business people are so closely divided.

7. Do you think the practice of "Offshore Outsourcing" has hurt or helped the US Economy? 66.7 % said hurt and 34.5 % said helped.
Nothing needs to be said.

Summary:

There continues to be great improvement in the IT Industry business in NE Ohio. The view toward the future shows strong optimism for the next 12 months as a period of growth. We continue to hear from many of our companies that sales are going up and let's hope that the "recession mentality" becomes a thing of the past and that companies start spending more on the IT tools that will help the companies become even more productive.

Is Everybody Tired or what??

2004-04-07T16:11:00.000-04:00

It seems to me that the region is tired. What do you think? I just find that everyone seems to be over worked and maybe under appreciated. I don't know if it is the war, the stockmarket, the economy or just the combination. How do we get out of this FUNK?

If you have any good ideas please let me know and we can try to have a party or something to get some energy in the region and the country. I hate to just give up and say that is just the way it is. Please send me your ideas.

Jim@NEOSA.org

Knowledge Management Cluster at NASA acknowledges people

2004-04-05T05:08:00.000-04:00

Happily, there's a new discipline out there. The practitioners may feel like they're voices crying in the wilderness, but I guarantee you it's going to catch on.

As business executives increasingly begin to recognize the value of their "human capital" (as some are fond of calling people), more tools are being developed to help measure their interactions and find ways to improve their ability to connect and collaborate--thus enriching the "knowledge capital" of the company.

I attended the first local Knowledge Management Cluster conference held at NASA last Thursday. Read my quick review here.

Looking for developers

2004-04-01T13:01:00.000-05:00

Hi people,

I'm putting the word out that my company Ayalogic is looking for developers. I'm intersted in getting feedback about tapping into the local pool besides the usual ways(moster.com, ABJ etc).

Five years plus experienced preferred with object-oriented languages and relational databases, .NET and C Sharp preferred, MySQL, ASP.net a plus.

Full time with benefits

Thank you.

Jonathan Breger
Ayalogic, Inc.
www.imvox.com
jbreger@ayalogic.com

UPDATE APRIL 8: See job posting .

NEOhio IT Salary Survey

2004-03-30T07:46:00.000-05:00

One of the questions NEOSA gets many times is, "How much should I pay my people in NE Ohio?"

Well, NEOSA may soon be able to help you answer that question. NEOSA, CRITA and Mercer, the HR professionals, have teamed up to make a salary survey available to NEOSA members. It's for a most reasonable price of $75 if you are a NEOSA member (a $150 savings).

To get the survey, first you must take it. Go here to take the survey online. Deadline is April 16.

UPDATE APRIL 14: Deadline for taking the survey has been extended to April 30.

Save the Date: Best of All Worlds Event - May 25th

2004-03-25T17:40:00.000-05:00

Here is an update on the "Best of All Worlds" event. This is the first of several events which we will be holding in the Akron/Canton area in partnership with other business organizations.

"Best of all Worlds" is a networking event being put on by the Greater Akron Chamber of Commerce. NEOSA is a partner organization for this event.

This event is unique because it is bringing together several different technology sectors (polymers, biotech and IT) and the business users of technology from the Akron area to meet and network.

It will feature company executives from sectors such as retail & distribution, business services, manufacturing, information technology, biotech, polymers -- all talking about key issues and trends affecting their businesses right now. They will be speaking in small, informal group settings, giving you an excellent opportunity for dialogue and to make lasting connections.

It will be held on Tuesday, May 25, 2004 from 5:25 - 7:30 pm. Locale is the Holiday Inn Akron/Fairlawn (I-77 and Rt. 18 area).

Sponsors include Bright.net and DreamRiver Group.

This event should be an excellent way for NEOSA and NEOSA members to reach out to the general business community in the Akron area. Other technology organizations partnering on this event include NEOBio and OH!Polymer.

There will be hors d'oeuvres and a cash bar. Be sure to pencil it in on your calendar for May 25th.

UPDATE April 5: Go here to register for this great event.

Futures Forum Sponsored by REI and NEOSA

2004-03-24T18:39:00.000-05:00

Excellent event today at the Futures Forum. The Futures Forum was a joint event by REI@Weatherhead and NEOSA.

Chris Seper in his Chat Room Live blog wrote a crisp summary.

I also blogged about an interesting RFID factoid that was revealed in the Forum.

UPDATE March 29: Tom Jackson, the technology reporter for Crain's, also wrote about the Futures Forum in this neat article about nanotechnology in Northeast Ohio.

UPDATE March 30: Dan Hanson blogged about the Futures Forum over at his blog, stating that he thought the speakers panel was exceptional, but was a bit depressed by the view of the future. Via Brewed Fresh Daily. I've also added Dan Hanson the Entreprenerd's weblog to the blogroll on the right sidebar.

2nd UPDATE March 30: Bill Callahan also blogged about the Futures Forum -- where the nanotechnology predictions really captured his imagination. Via Chris Seper's Chat Room Live, where Chris points out the jobs created by nanotechnology in NEOhio. I've added Bill Callahan's weblog to the blogroll on the right sidebar.

Please let me know of any other blogging or media reports so I can link to them. I've gotten some excellent feedback about collecting these post-event reports. As long as I keep getting positive feedback, I will keep posting them.

Why bother with news releases?

2004-03-22T11:17:00.000-05:00

Lots of people issue an occasional press release. But did you know there are many ways to make that medium work overtime to promote your business? In the 20-plus years I've been marketing. I came up with a pretty solid list of steps you can take. So if you're free and interested, join me at the National Association of Women Business Owners lunch on April 1.

I'll talk about the hows and whys of news releases (which used to be called press releases newspapers and magazines were the only way to publish information). This is basically what I'll cover:

• The 4 reasons you should be using news releases regularly
• The 7 elements of a good news release
• The 9 types of topics that tend to get picked up
• The 5 groups of people you must send your release to
• The 4 OTHER things you should do with it

For location etc., see the whole press release here.

Futures Forum Wednesday March 24th

2004-03-19T17:08:00.000-05:00

The Futures Forum this Wednesday, March 24, looks like it is going to be really interesting. It is a joint event between NEOSA and REI@Weatherhead. The subject is technology trends and how they play into the future of Northeast Ohio. Once again, Jim Cookinham and REI have assembled a world-class panel:

Moderated by:
Dr Luis Proenza, President, The University of Akron

Panelists:
Manuel Glynias - Founder, NetGenics, Inc
Lev Gonick - CIO, Case Western Reserve University
Scott Rickert - President, Nanofilm Ltd
John Soat - Executive Editor, InformationWeek

Sponsor:
Britton-Gallagher & Associates

We're really fortunate to have outstanding people like these here in Northeast Ohio. For instance, did you know Nanofilm was named one of the Top Ten nanotechnology products by Forbes Magazine?

The event's going to be at the Peter B. Lewis Building at Case Western. I just got off the phone a few minutes ago with Mike Gesing (Smartcoast.com) who told me he was attending and said "the building alone is worth the trip." So if you haven't seen it, this is your chance.

Register here. I'm going!

JumpStart Exchange in Akron

2004-03-16T16:13:00.000-05:00

Save the date! JumpStart, Inc. is hosting an entrepreneurial networking event on Thursday, April 29, 2004, at Jillian's Akron. The event starts at 5:30 pm.

The JumpStart Exchange will give entrepreneurs the opportunity to expose their businesses to Corporate leaders and other entrepreneurs.

I'm excited about it because you'll get a chance to "speed network." Speed networking is where you meet quickly for just a few minutes each with a succession of other businesspeople. You can meet with up to 15 people in the space of 45 minutes. It's great if you want to network quickly and efficiently.

And you will still have time left over for traditional networking.

You'll also get a chance to hear from JumpStart CEO Ray Leach and others about what JumpStart has to offer entrepreneurs in the way of funding, business support programs, etc.

UPDATE March 29: Click here for event details.

Calling All Innovative Companies -- Innovation Awards

2004-03-16T14:56:00.000-05:00

Even though the following is not NEOSA specific, I thought it might be of interest to NEOSA members.

It's nomination time for the Nortech Innovation Awards. If you are an innovator and want to be recognized, read on.

The NorTech Innovation Awards program honors individuals, companies, and nonprofit organizations in Northeast Ohio for creating, developing, and successfully implementing their ideas. The judging criteria includes:

Innovative - something home-grown, something created internally, something brand new, not an iteration but really ground-breaking.

Material Effect - sales, commitments, orders, third party approval...traction in the marketplace.

Nominations are due by April 2, 2004. The awards ceremony will be held on June 8, 2004. Visit the website for more information. Or simply download the application form.

Help a NE Ohio tech company....no money down!

2004-03-01T11:09:00.000-05:00

Hello all,

A blog is a great way to communicate---my company hopes to have something better!

My company Ayalogic is about to get our website up and running and allow a select few candidates to download and try our new communications tool called Imvox. I think BTG meembers would be excellent evaluators.

I would like to know who among BTG may be interesed in testing it. I know some of you are familiar with our product already, but if you are curious, let me know and I will e-mail you the website's link. I do not want to say much here for fear of taking up too much space on the blog and spoling your user experience.

Thanks all

Jonathan

CleveBurgh

2004-02-28T19:03:00.000-05:00

It has been a number of years since I have been talking about Pittsburgh and Cleveland. How do we work more closely for the mutual benefit of both regions? I am going to work on having a meeting with Tech folks from Pittsburgh before 2004 is over. I think maybe we should do it in Poland, Ohio. It is about half way between the two communities and they have a great new library where we could hold the meeting. So I need your help to determine what we should talk about. So, please send me your ideas as to what the best topic would be for the joint meeting.

I will try to be a good blogger and post some news every few days.

February 26th Meeting Notes

2004-02-28T11:36:00.000-05:00

We had an excellent meeting of the NEOSA Akron/Canton group on Thursday, February 26th. Here are quick highlights from the meeting:

Jim Cookinham was there and gave an update on NEOSA. Among other items, he pointed out some exciting NEOSA events coming up, including "Going Global" on March 17, "Specifications for Software Projects" on March 19, and "Futures Forum" on March 24. Check the NEOSA Events Calendar for more info.

We were honored to have Ray Leach, CEO of Jumpstart, join us. He gave an overview of Jumpstart's strategy to fund and grow early-stage businesses in Northeast Ohio. He suggested that NEOSA and Jumpstart look for ways to work together wherever the respective missions intersect.

That same thought about collaborating with other groups in the region was echoed throughout the meeting. The general consensus was: a key part of NEOSA's outreach strategy in the Akron/Canton area should involve collaborating and partnering with existing organizations. Doing so will make the best and most efficient use of existing resources in the region. It will get the word out about NEOSA so that NEOSA can be a "magnet" to draw the Akron/Canton business community. The more NEOSA extends its reach, the better it can promote the IT industry and member companies.

Some organizations that we identified and agreed to explore possible deeper linkages with are: Greater Akron Chamber of Commerce; University of Akron; Kent State University; Ryze networking mixers; and, of course, Jumpstart. In separate posts I will report on two joint-sponsored events that are already in the works.

At our next meeting we will drill down and outline specific ways we could potentially work together with these and other organizations. Those ways include joint sponsorship of events, creating a speakers' bureau and/or a trainers' bureau, and leveraging state and federal grant monies, among other possiblities. In the meantime, feel free to leave your ideas here under "Comments." That way others can think about and build off your ideas.

We presented Ron with a gift card to thank him for his leadership. Ron resigned the leadership role in order to focus more time on his own business, but assured everyone he is still interested in the group and pledged his help. Ron also asked me to pass along his sincere thanks for the gift card!

We re-affirmed our regular meeting schedule: the 3rd Thursday of every month, 7:30 am. That means our next meeting will be Thursday, March 18, 7:30 am, at Software Answers. (Thank you Paul and Software Answers!)

Thanks to all who attended. Your input is very important. And oh, Buy NEO!

Two NEOSA Events on Thursday February 26

2004-02-24T17:53:00.000-05:00

Just a reminder that NEOSA Akron/Canton is holding its business meeting from 7:30 - 8:30 am this Thursday. Details in the earlier post.

Also, later in the afternoon is the regular NeTT (NEOSA Tech Thursday) networking event, with special guests from Crain's Communications. Shasta Clark is leaving town (Bye, Shasta). Jeff Stacklin is moving from tech to the financial beat. And Tom Jackson is the new technology reporter for Crains in Cleveland (Hello Tom!). It starts 5:30 pm at the Powerhouse in the Flats. Register here.

NOITR Meeting March 11

2004-02-22T09:21:00.000-05:00

On Thursday March 11th, the U.S. Secret Service, Cleveland Electronic Crimes Task Force will host the Spring Northern Ohio Information Technology Roundtable Meeting (NOITR).

The subject of the meeting will be SCADA (Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition) systems. These systems are used to control environmental systems -- such as electric, gas, water -- in businesses, manufacturing plants, public buildings, and academic institutions. The meeting will be moderated by Chris Thompson, Editor of Craintech.

Go here for meeting details. NEOSA is a member of the Roundtable, as are many NEOSA member companies.

BuyNEO, spead the word!

2004-02-19T19:55:00.000-05:00

Every NEOSA member needs to implement the rule of 250. On average each of us knows 250 people and we need to teach each of these 250 contacts all about the BuyNEO service, after all, the business that benefits might be yours. Use all your communications vehicles starting today to tell your customers about the service, spread the word.

To learn more go to www.buyneo.us.

IT joins the real world

2004-02-19T10:58:00.000-05:00

How often do you get to listen to FIVE top executives at once? Thanks to Jim Cookinham and his crew, we had that chance yesterday when DataVantage, Flashline, Tribute, KeyCorp Technology Services, and Hyland Software all sent their big guns to answer questions put to them by John Soat, senior executive editor at InformationWeek (who happens to live in Northeast Ohio).

The audience got to ask, too, and the whole atmosphere was one of comraderie and sharing. The gist of what they all said was that IT has come down from its high horse of old and is now acting on the primary lesson all successful businesses must learn: find out what your customers need

I think it was Bob Dutile of Key--the only panel member who was an end user as opposed to software maker--who said it: Gone are the days when you would buy technology just to buy it--and then look for a problem it might be able to solve. Now IT vendors have to say, how can I help you?

Thanks to NEOSA for these excellent opportunities to meet and get to know each other better.

Today's 2004 IT Trends Forum

2004-02-18T20:47:00.000-05:00

For those of you who could not attend today's 2004 Trends in Information Technology forum, it was standing-room-only. And excellent. I blogged a small slice of it over at Small Business Trends.

UPDATE: Chris Seper, technology reporter for the Plain Dealer, also blogged about the forum over at Chat Room Live in his February 18th post.

UPDATE March 6, 2004: Magnum Computers also gave a report of this event. Sorry I didn't include it earlier. I just discovered it.

My Yahoo RSS Reader

2004-02-17T15:04:00.000-05:00

OK, now that we have weblogs, how do we keep up on all this reading? Here's one way.

My Yahoo is Beta testing a new feature that should be a real time saver. You can read the headlines from all your favorite blogs right on your "My Yahoo" page.

It's another take on RSS newsreaders. What I like about My Yahoo is that you get access to all your other favorite information in one place: weather, movie listings, stock market updates, news headlines from major news outlets, and updates from your favorite weblogs.

You'll need to sign up for My Yahoo first. So go do that now and then come back to this page.

Once you have done that, click on the little "add to My Yahoo" button that I've set up on the right side of this page under the heading "Weblog Information." That will automatically add the NEOSA blog headlines to your My Yahoo page.

Remember, this is in Beta. But I've been using it for several days now with no problems.

UPDATE February 22, 2004: Well, you can tell this is still in Beta. My Yahoo is not updating the feed, i.e., the latest entries are not showing up. It seems to be a problem with all Atom format news feeds -- none of the sites with Atom feeds that I am following are updating in My Yahoo since last week. I wrote Yahoo and actually got a very substantive response giving instructions for pinging this site so Yahoo will pick up the updates. I've pinged and I've pinged -- but alas, no change. Anybody have any ideas?

UPDATE March 6, 2004: Still in Beta. Some days it works and some days...well. Yesterday all my Atom feeds in My Yahoo! appeared up to date. Today they are not.

Microsoft Patch Management

2004-02-16T16:29:00.000-05:00

Software Answers (a NEOSA member!) is holding a technical seminar on Thursday, February 19, at 6:00 pm on managing Microsoft patches. Topics include:

Magnitude of the patch management issue

Best practices for testing and rolling out patches

Tools available to automate the process

A demo on Systems Update Services (SUS)

You must reserve a spot if you want to attend this technical seminar. Send an email to Joya or call 800-638-5212 for details.

Congratulations to Anita and NEOSA Akron/Canton

2004-02-16T07:03:00.000-05:00

I am most impressed with all the work Anita has done to get this Blog started. We do not have such one in Cleveland and it appears we should consider having one.

Please do let us know what type of NEOSA events you would like to see in the Akron/Canton area. I have seen how much energy there is in this region and we want to follow up on all the good work Ron F. did to get everything going. So, please let Anita or me know what you would like to see us do.

2004 Trends in Information Technology

2004-02-14T10:01:00.000-05:00

Looks like a terrific NEOSA meeting coming up Wednesday, February 18th (this is the regular monthly meeting in the Cleveland area). The topic is 2004 trends in Information Technology. What an impressive panel of speakers:

Chaz Napoli, President, DataVantage Corp

AJ Hyland, President and CEO, Hyland Software

Charles Stack, Founder and CEO, Flashline, Inc

Tim Reynolds, President, Tribute Inc

Robert Dutile, EVP, Enterprise Architecture, KeyCorp

The event will be moderated by John Soat, Executive Editor, InformationWeek. Another added plus.

Register here to attend. I'm going.

Comments Feature Added

2004-02-12T12:31:00.000-05:00

The commenting feature has now been added to this Weblog. Feel free to comment on any of these posts -- no advance registration required. Just click on the "Comment" link under the post.

Buy NEO Site

2004-02-11T15:30:00.000-05:00

Just a reminder that the Buy NEO site is officially in business. It is an online "deal matchmaking" site for buyers of IT services and local vendors. Vendors must be members of NEOSA (but then, you already are, right?).

Student NEOSA Chapter at REI Weatherhead

2004-02-11T15:10:00.000-05:00

I know this isn't strictly Akron-related, but thought it was of interest anyway:

The Center for Regional Economic Issues (REI) at Weatherhead School of Management reports that it will sponsor a student chapter of NEOSA, as reported by the Inside REI weblog.

Did you know NEOSA has student chapters? A couple of them, including one at Kent State University. Glad to see another one.

Jim Cookinham Named to Inside Business's Power 100

2004-02-10T17:03:00.000-05:00

I know that Jim is far too modest to bring this up, so I will. Jim has been named to the Inside Business Power 100 in Northeast Ohio:

"Cookinham is the region’s strongest advocate for fostering a stable technology industry and culture, even in a post-dot-com era."

Next Meeting

2004-02-06T21:16:00.000-05:00

Our next meeting of NEOSA BTG will be held on February 26, 2004 from 7:30 to 8:30 am at Software Answers. The address is 202 Montrose West Avenue, Akron, OH 44321.

(Software Answers is located on "restaurant hill" in Montrose, in the Crown Pointe building. Enter the building through the main door, take an immediate right inside the door and follow the hall back to the cafeteria where we will be meeting. Thanks to Paul Chaffee at Software Answers for hosting us once again.)

Agenda topics include:

NEOSA Update.

Meeting schedule; planning next BizBuzz event.

Coordination with the Greater Akron Chamber.

Communicating between meetings.

Recognition/Thank You for Ron.

Holonics Presentation Last Meeting

2004-02-05T22:38:00.000-05:00

Thanks once again to Jim Barlow, President of Western Reserve Controls, who gave an intriguing presentation about holonic manufacturing at our January meeting. Holonic manufacturing holds promise for manufacturers. It can also mean new business for the IT industry.

If you weren't able to make it to the meeting, you can still check out the presentation online over at the Western Reserve Controls website.

Thanks also to Dennis Adamkiewicz, who arranged for our speaker.

Why a Weblog?

2004-02-05T20:21:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the new weblog for announcements and group communications affecting NEOSA in Medina, Summit, Stark and Portage counties. I've prepared the following Q&A explaining what this weblog is all about:

Question: OK, you're probably wondering why we need a weblog for NEOSA in this region?

Answer: A weblog will help us to stay in touch between meetings. It also helps us share information between NEOSA members -- information such as tips and sales leads. Information that can help us all build our businesses.

Question: Don't we have regular websites for that?

Answer: Yes, we certainly have websites. But websites don't always make it easy to share information informally. A weblog is nothing more than a personal publishing tool that will allow us to post text quickly and easily, without having to format pages, design graphics, and do all the other things that set the web designers apart from the rest of us. A weblog is content -- pure and simple.

Question: If I am a NEOSA member, may I post on this weblog? And if so, how do I do it?

Answer: Great! If you want to post, that's fantastic. Just send me an email (link on the right sidebar) and I will get you set up so that you can post here. You will receive an invitation from Blogger to create a login account.

Question: What will happen to the NEOSA website?

Answer: Glad you asked. The main NEOSA website will not change. Remember, this is simply a weblog, not a full website. This weblog is for informal communications among members. It does not take the place of a website -- it just adds another communications method. The main NEOSA website is an important part of presenting the face of NEOSA to the outside world. (Besides, it is better looking and has far more functionality than this weblog.)

Question: What will happen to the NEOSA BTG website?

Answer: Jacob Mathew was very gracious and got a NEOSA BTG website up and running very quickly. However, the group did not really use the website. That is a topic of discussion at our next Board meeting.

Question: Is this weblog public?

Answer: Yes, this weblog can be seen by anyone in the general public.

Posting Guidelines

2004-02-04T19:07:00.000-05:00

Here are guidelines for posting on this NEOSA group weblog:

We use this NEOSA weblog primarily for fast group communication and intellectual entertainment.

We respect and help our fellow NEOSA bloggers and members so that they may prosper as much as we do from NEOSA.

We shall not attack anyone personally or attempt to judge anyone's character.

We shall not bear false witness against our competitors or any other members or companies.

We shall respect each other's time by making all our posts to the site informed and concise (i.e., 500 words or less).

We honor the blogging tradition by complementing our posts with links to sources, if applicable.

-- Adapted from the Always-On Blogger Ten Commandments.