ohio

I spent most of the evening discussing politics and watching the news at a friend's house.  I had to get home to get the kids to bed so I hear the announcement that Barack Obama is our president elect while sitting in my family room by myself.  But not really by myself.  Thanks to twitter I am receiving updates from colleagues and friends including one who is at Grant Park for the public Obama celebration.  "@justinmassa #grantpark largest, most diverse crowd I have ever been a part of". 

And really, I grinned through the announcement.  I grinned because we had done it.  I am proud of the work I did to assist Senator Obama, from the big items to the little items.  A colleague emailed me after Ohio went to Obama and said "thanks for all your work in Ohio".   As a volunteer, I feel part of the "we" and thanks to social media I always felt very aware of various efforts and communicated with some of them.  The connectedness met me at many turns.

Dang, I was exhausted.  But it was completely worth it.  2.Ohio was a super success.  Over 200 in attendance.  Positive comments all around.  And we pulled it off completely with volunteers.  Amazing.  We, the volunteers, wanted to see Columbus hold an intellectual discussion around tech innovation and our current presidential election.  We wanted it so we made it happen.   

When I sent the thank you to the speakers - Reid Hoffman, Judy Estrin, Mike Nelson and our honored guest Craig Newmark -  I told them they had energized the local tech community.  Energized us to a) not only pay attention to tech policy but to engage in tech policy discussions and b) provided us very specific ideas on how Columbus can elevate our tech industry.  

Excitement is building around 2.Ohio, taking place tomorrow evening (Friday, October 10). 

Quotes:

Judy Estrin, author of Closing the Innovation Gap:Reigniting the Spark of Creativity in a Global Economy and former CTO of Cisco:

"The future of our economy and our quality of life will depend on our ability to create a culture that supports and promotes our ability to innovate. The nation faces major challenges - energy independence and climate change, national security and healthcare – each of which can provide opportunities – if we give innovation the attention it deserves," says Judy Estrin, entrepreneur and Author, Closing the Innovation Gap. "We need national leadership that has the vision, courage, and commitment to foster the right environment for innovation through wise funding, smart policy and the ability to inspire the nation and bring out the innovator in each of us.  Obama exemplifies this type of leadership."

Angela Siefer, Lumifi VP of Business Development: “Some tech jobs may be going overseas but tech innovation is very much American grown.  It can and does happen in any U.S. state and with encouragement will happen more frequently.  I love my state.  Obama's technology platform will elevate non-Silicon Valley regions like ours. There is no reason why a tremendous amount of homegrown innovation cannot happen here.  When I am asked why Hoffman and Estrin are coming to Ohio I always respond ‘Because we are a battleground state.  And because we asked."

After a month of working on it, we're finally ready to shout from our battleground state rooftops...

Mark your calendar for October 10, 2008 at the Hilton Polaris! A star-studded lineup of technology innovators is coming toColumbus to discuss not only the future of Web 2.0, but also how the upcoming election may greatly affect what they do and how they do it. This event is free but registration is requested.  We do promise advanced registrants preferred seating so I encourage you to register today!  Come hear what these innovators see as the next big thing, and why they believe Barack Obama’s technology policy plan is the right plan to help them get it done.

What: 2.Ohio, a special event bringing together two of today’s biggest Web 2.0 innovators with Ohio’s technology community.

Reid Hoffman (founder of LinkedIn) and Judy Estrin (author of Closing the Innovation Gap: Reigniting the Spark of Creativity in a Global Economy and former CTO of Cisco) have committed to speaking at a 2.0 technology event in Columbus in support of Senator Obama.  Oh yes.  This is mighty exciting.

October 10, 2008 @ 6:00 p.m.
Polaris Hilton
Columbus Ohio 

Free and open to the public

Online Registration  (for preferred seating)

I love my state.  I love the livability.  I love the beauty.  I love the people.  But if I want to attend an interesting tech related event, where do I go?  To one of the coasts.  DC.  Boston.  San Francicso. 
NYC.

And what one often finds at those events is a good number of folks who have flown in from other places.  Folks who recognize the value of working in a location where the cost of living is reasonable and who know how to use online tools to communicate and collaborate with their colleagues around the country (and around the world).  Technology innovation can take place in anyone’s garage ☺ or anyone’s home office regardless of where they live.