Rosa Parks Bus

Because I’ve been heading up the FutureMidwest social media outreach, I was invited to a private tour of The Henry Ford museum and, as Blagica so accurately described, it was far more emotional than we had ever anticipated. I had no idea each piece of the museum had such rich history!

I was shocked to see the chair Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in, sit in the same bus Rosa Parks made history in, and even understand how linens paved the way for the first computers.

Throughout the tour, we were reminded Henry Ford chose the highlight the works of the everyday person who had a passion for innovation. On the eve of FutureMidwest, this message could not have had better timing.

We are the game-changers of today–not just tomorrow. What we do and how we do it matters today. I invite you to join my fellow innovators and I as we take this reality and the collaborative spirit into FutureMidwest over the next two days.

Feeling inspired? Check out these posts now:

• Detroit, We Need to Analyze Less and Notice More (Dave Murray, FutureMidwest moderator)
• Money Ain’t a Thing if it Costs You Happiness (Nikki Stephan, FutureMidwest PR Pro)
• Applying the Right Kind of Lens (Scott Hauman, FutureMidwest speaker)

Michigan is in a state of transformation.

So Prosper is going to take a look at what that means to the workforce. This new “Workforce Transition” feature will focus on people in transition: From employee to entrepreneur, unemployed to employed, old economy to new economy. Our first edition is 25-year-old Shauna Nicholson who went from marketing wiz at a growing company to a marketing wiz for her own company.

Check out the full article on MetroModeMedia.

Since the article published this morning, I’ve gotten nothing but overwhelming support from the Detroit community and beyond–and the opportunity to meet a few new neighbors. I’m so humbled by the kind words and eagerness to help each other succeed.

Big thanks to some incredible people who helped spread the word today:

Eric Brown

Henry Balanon

Chris Xiromeritis

Damian Rintelmann

Brian Ambrozy

Mike McClure

Brian Hughes

Jamie Favreau

Charlie Wollborg

Eric Ryder

Nikki Stephan

Jen Wright

Ben Spedoske

Birmingham-Bloomfield Chamber

Adrian Pittman

Jon Wallace

Deborah Edwards-Onoro

Scott Bowman

Greg Schwartz

For the past couple months I have been following my Twitter pal Shauna and her recent decision to leave the corporate world and start up her own company. Being the inquisitive person I am I decided the news was the best place to find out more about that great leap she recently took. This story aired on December 11th, 2009.

I’m really thankful for this project, but I’m curious what you’re doing to further connect the Time and Detroit communities. You’re using social media, but not engaging with the thriving and vibrant Detroit social media community. Twitter isn’t supposed to be an RSS aggregator. Respect the 917 people following you and ENGAGE! That’s what will bring Detroit together. That’s what will help Detroit.

There’s so much POTENTIAL there. Contact me and I’ll get you moving!

Shauna, a proud member of Detroit’s social media community

_________

Detroit community members:

You might be interested in Time’s Assignment Detroit project. Here are a few clips:

If you haven’t heard about this project yet, take notice. Time is setting up camp in Detroit for a year, reporting on the way they see it. Sounds like the perfect time to make big things happen, no?

Links:

Start here–Assignment Detroit: Why Time Inc. Is in Motownhttp://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1925681,00.html

http://www.time.com/time/detroit

http://detroit.blogs.time.com/

http://detroit.blogs.time.com/2009/10/06/banking-on-michigans-community-spirit/

http://www.facebook.com/assignmentdetroit?v=wall

After the hundredth article like this (WSJ: “The Next Youth-Magnet Cities“), perpetuating the brain drain we know all to well in Detroit, I started to get irritated.

That doesn’t mean I might not leave again at some point, but I’m so sick of people being too lazy to seize or create new opportunities in their own backyard. I know many of you are trying. I’m not talking to you (see below). But I do hope you feel challenged to take another perspective or get motivated.

I recently had the opporunity to chat with Shelli Gutholm, a talent recruiter based in Detroit. She and I were discussing some mutual connections then realized we, in fact, had a TON of mutual connections. Another friend of mine, Adrian Pittman, and I were just discussing his experience finding and recruiting Detroit talent he uses to blow clients away. Don’t perpetuate the brain drain fallacy.

You see, this is how Detroit works. You have the opportunity to fight to achieve in Detroit what you wouldn’t be even considered for elsewhere. The talent that is here is known, respected, and SUPPORTED here. It’s evidenced in local events, like Detroit Tweetups or the upcoming TEDxDetroit. There isn’t a week that goes by I don’t have a conversation with a Detroit-based thought leader, industry-innovator, or entrepreneur who isn’t working like crazy to make a difference and profit. (Yes, “make a difference” preceded “profit” for a reason.)

Bottom line: This is Detroit. Unlike other cities, we don’t coddle the weak. Kick some ass or move on.

“(Entrepreneur’s) main competitors to be honest are automotive based technologies, they’re going to be the big guys.”

It’s frustrating, though understandable, that most Detroit-area investors have sought out auto. Of course, auto has been Detroit’s golden goose, but really? Are we that resistant to change that investors are still drawn to the money pit Detroit auto has become? I’m absolutely all for helping out my hometown’s bread-and-butter, of course I have family deeply embedded, but diversification is an absolute necessity if not inevitable.

The next striking point is the apparent lack of investors in Detroit at all.

He says most of the private investment money, venture capitalists, or even what are called “angel investors”… live in places like Silicon Valley or Boston.

And Michigan entrepreneurs can win investment from those places, but it’s more likely they’d be forced to move.

The article suggests we can attract these investors with tax incentives. I must admit, I’ve felt the pull of out-of-state solutions to better achieve my ambition. It’s irritating our state has done little to better influence these investors. After all, as the report mentions, that is how the auto industry we know today began.

That’s one of the sad realities in Michigan right now. At a time when the state desperately needs to encourage entrepreneurs, there are fewer resources to do so.

The strategy at this point is to target incentives to particular industries, like film or electric car batteries.

That means some entrepreneurs will get less help than others.

So, now that Detroit has learned from the mistake of putting all of its eggs in one auto industry basket, we’re rising from the ashes to put our eggs in only a few new industries. Hm. Really? Sure, we’ve shown some early successes with film and others–just like the auto industry did. But are we really about to take those same steps with no insurance (through diversification) for our future?

All I’m saying is it’d be nice if Michigan would stop pulling the seat from underneath itself and stop screwing over its own future.

What IF we let entreprenuers pursue their dreams and make the business cases for what they know best? What IF our focus was encouraging their development, whatever it may be, and supported the viable business cases that ensued?

I hesitated blogging these because I feel like it exposes the negativity around what’s left of Detroit. Between Kwame Kilpatrick and the Detroit council, another public embarrassment wasn’t something I was looking to highlight. Rather than viewing it in this way, I think some of the Detroit corruption and downfalls are finally coming to light and in-and-outsiders are recognizing ways we can all make a difference.

Here are a few of my shots, I apologize the blog re-sizes some AWESOME panoramics, but you can check out more here:

Shauna Nicholson’s Detroit Public Schools Flickr Photostream

Manufacturing building. Multiple people live in corners of this building

An abandoned school

A Detroit resident stays warm near the fire on the right

Recently, Scott wrote a blog post titled “How You Can Use Social Media to Help the U.S. Auto Industry“. Here’s an excerpt:

(A)t Ford, our social media efforts are just in their nascency. My colleagues at GM have a pretty strong team in place, while I’m just one guy doing what I can. Since Ford doesn’t yet have a robust public platform in the social media space, it’s largely been a matter of individual engagement. And for much of the week, it’s been like fighting a forest fire with a squirt gun.

It’s definitely worth the read, so I want to encourage you to make your way over. Please check out Scott’s entire blog post here. It’s about time we got energized about DOING SOMETHING about the state of our economy; the big 3 is integral to that.

To keep Urbane residents connected to each other and informed, the Urbane team launched a community (Urbane Lobby), blog (Urbane Blog), and micro-blogs (via Twitter).
Interview with Eric Brown of Urbane Apartments from Shauna Nicholson on Vimeo.

Learn more about the Urbane Apartments on their website.

I just thought that Detroit could really use this more than most places. There is so much bad news coming out of this city — especially when it comes to job losses and the overall economy. I thought an event like this would help bring out some of the area’s talent and help jumpstart small business development in the city and the region. It was also my hope to generate a few positive news stories as a result of the event.

Why is it important for the event to happen NOW?
Detroit, and the surrounding region, is facing some of the most challenging times in its history. The future of the economy in this region is going to depend on the ingenuity of individuals who can start small. Most of the new jobs being created in this economy are from small businesses. I believe that there are as many talented, skilled and passionate people in this city as any other, but we haven’t been so great at forming a really solid community around networking and innovation. Community is an essential ingredient to fostering the kind of supportive environment for new businesses to be able to thrive.

Who attends events like this?
Just about anybody with an idea or a skill or both is welcome to participate in this event. Usually Startup Weekend attracts people with deep technical/programming skills as well as design professionals, marketing and public relations professionals, project managers and venture capitalists. Most companies that have formed as a result of a Startup Weekend have been web-based, but there are many notable exceptions to this rule.

Can companies sponsor this initiative?
Yes, we are still looking for companies to help sponsor some of the costs of the event. Sponsorship packages are available. Companies interested in donating to offset costs, or providing swag to attendees should contact me.

Can we help get the word out about this event?
Yes! Please share this information with everyone you know. Add this event to your Facebook profile or Upcoming, and join our group on LinkedIn. Click on the ShareThis button at the bottom of this post and add it to Digg, Stumble or Delicious. Please feel free to reblog this post, or any of the other posts on this blog and link it back to http://detroit.startupweekend.com/.

How can I sign up?
The cost to attend is $40. Register to attend at http://detroitstartupweekend.eventbrite.com/

What should I bring?
What you bring is really up to you. Ideally, attendees should bring a laptop computer that can connect to the Internet via a wireless network. We will also need volunteers to supply extra extension cords and power strips to accommodate everyone’s electricity needs.

Who can I contact for more information on Startup Weekend Detroit?
Anyone interested in helping out or getting additional information may contact Shauna Nicholson, Brian Ambrozy, or I.

Shannon Paul (734) 968-9065 or shannonpaul5[at]gmail[dot]com
Shauna Nicholson (248) 722-2685 snicholson[at]biznetis[dot]net
Brian Ambrozy (586) 693-3509 brian[at]icrontic[dot]com

Shannon Paul blogs about Public Relations and Social Media, check it out at http://shannonpaul.wordpress.com

Brain Ambrozy is an editor and owner of the ultimate Detroit Tech online journal, check it out at http://icrontic.com