December 2007 Blog Posts (12)

How do we make Smaller Indiana grow...on purpose?

Perhaps we focus on things we SHOULD NOT do in order to discover the things we should.

Along those lines, I stumbled on this blog post by Joshua Porter, editor of Bokardo, who writes about social network design and strategy.

Porter as…

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Greek city-states averaged ten thousand residents, and yet, precisely because they were “cut closer to the human measure…the result was not merely a torrential outpouring of ideas and images in drama, poetry, sculpture, painting, logic, mathematics, and philosophy; but a collective life more highly energized, more heightened in its capacity for esthetic expression and rational evaluation than had ever been achieved before.

The Rome of Michelangelo had 55,000 people…the Florence of…

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I've been reading "The Wealth of Networks, How Social Production Transforms Markets and Freedom," by Yochai Benkler. He presents some intriguing ideas that fuel my interest, passion and vision for Smaller Indiana. He basically says that the networked information environment that has emerged over the past 15 years stands to cause a radical shift in our society (with many positive results), but only if…

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I am a huge fan of conservative talk radio. This is based not on the fact that I enjoy the viewpoints expressed on the stations but that it entertains me, plain and simple. I had been listening to an FM talk radio station, 93.9, religiously since I moved to Indianapolis (about 6 months). I would spend most of my driving time tuned into this talk show.



Then my world came to a crashing halt. I tuned in one afternoon, hoping to listen to the "Stop Hillary Express" of Sean Hannity, but… Continue

Seems lately the "I" word is on everyone's lips. Many experts are saying that our old systems simply aren't as productive as they once were, so we need to re-think the way we work, we need to re-imagine possibilities and we need to experiment with new INNOVATIVE strategies.

Seems to me that re-thinking might not do us any good if we don't do some UN-THINKING first. In order for new ideas to seep into our conciousness and take root, we need somehow to FORGET what has worked for us in…

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ARG: alternate reality game



“T-shirts went on sale at a 19th-century Lisbon concert hall with what looked to be a printing error: Random letters in the tour schedule on the back seemed slightly boldfaced. Then a 27-year-old Lisbon photographer named Nuno Foros realized that, strung together, the boldface letters spelled "i am trying to believe." People started typing "iamtryingtobelieve.com" into their Web browsers. That led them to a site… Continue

Smaller Indiana was inspired in part by a book called "Nexus, Small Worlds and the Groundbreaking Theory of Networks,.." by Mark Buchanan. Thought I'd share a quick excerpt here…

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Here's what I think the Smaller Indiana community can do for us:

"The ability of a nation, a community or a company to compete economically is instrumentally influenced by the inherent level of trust among its members. Trust represents an intangible form of social capital. (Trust) can be embodied in the smallest and most basic social group, the family, as well as the largest of all groups, the nation, and in all other groups in between.

Social capital differs…

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If the top searches on the Internet are for local business results, is your business coming up in the results?



Outside of your site's local search optimization, there are other things you can do. If you've not done it already, add yourself to Google Business. It's FREE and you'll show up on many search results. You'll also show up on Google's "Find Businesses Nearby" on Google Maps.



Add your Business today to Google's Local Business… Continue

Pat suggested I start a blog for Smaller Indiana. Since I have never attempted to write a blog and Doug Karr influenced me enough at the MBO conference, here is the first shot.

I have always had the dangerous habit of looking at all marketing material positioned along the sides of roads and highways. I’m surprised I haven’t been hospitalized for rear ending a semi or any other type

of compact vehicle in the road. It does have…

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Wow, a long time climbing the corporate ladder...but I did get the payoff. I now have some financial freedom from years of hard work to now start my own business... but wait... a music industry business? What am I thinking, musicians and venues are flakier than corporate america.

The difference is in the "fun" factor. I can chose how to do this with keeping my values and fun, and not have to sign up for the hassle and friction that comes with being enslaved to a job. There is still…

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When I left ExactTarget a few months ago, I had the option to buy my shares. Unfortunately, my son was starting at IUPUI, so it wasn't really an option at all. Guess I won't be retiring on this one! I only had the option to buy a couple thousand shares anyway - the taxes were about twice as much as the shares.

Scott Dorsey and Scott Bleczinski did teach me a lot about the software industry, though. They taught me that a premier sales…

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