Creative thinking & competitive advantage

Mission Critical. Milwaukee Transit Vote set for Wed!

We have come to a deciding moment for our region. Your voice is very important and is needed NOW! The Joint Finance Committee is scheduled to vote on the RTA Thursday morning (April 30th). Their vote will play a role in determining the future of the RTA – and the future of our region.

Now is the time to take action: Call or send an urgent reminder and let decision makers know the RTA is vitally important to you and to our region, cities, families, and businesses. Ask associates, friends, neighbors to voice their opinion by forwarding this message to all of your contacts.

Here’s how:

Take a moment now to contact key legislators and urge them to support the Governor’s RTA proposal

Contact key Joint Finance Committee members from SE Wisconsin:

Senator John Lehman (Racine) especially needs to hear from you!
(608) 266-1832 (866) 615-7510, Fax (608) 267-6793, Sen.Lehman@legis.wisconsin.gov
PO Box 7882, Madison, 53707

Representative Cory Mason (Racine)
(608) 266-0634, Rep.Mason@legis.wisconsin.gov
PO Box 8953, Madison, 53708

Representative Pedro Colon (Milwaukee)
888 534-0008, 608 282-3608 fax, rep.colon@legis.wisconsin.gov
PO Box 8952, Madison, 53708

Representative Tamara Grigsby (Milwaukee)
888 534-0018, 608 282-3618 fax, rep.grigsby@legis.wisconsin.gov
PO Box 8952, Madison, 53708

Senator Lena Taylor (Milwaukee)
608 266-5810, 608 267-2353 fax, sen.taylor@legis.wisconsin.gov
PO Box 7882, Madison, 53707

Senator Alberta Darling (Milwaukee)
608 266-5830, 608 267-0588 fax, sen.darling@legis.wisconsin.gov
PO Box 7882, Madison, 53707

Talking Points: Why an RTA is Vital NOW

We need dedicated funding to stabilize our transit system and build the KRM. The time to do this is now and in the state budget.

We need dedicated funding for transit, and a sales tax is the only viable option.

· A sales tax is the most stable, reliable funding source available for transit and the KRM; it is likely the only local funding option that will help us secure an FTA grant to build the KRM.

· Our current transit system is inadequate and obsolete; I cannot efficiently get workers to my locations, and transit is critical to the success of my business moving forward.

· Without a dedicated funding source, transit service will cease to exist in southeastern Wisconsin. While the need for dedicated funding is extremely urgent in regard to Milwaukee County, Racine and Kenosha are heading down the same path and when considered proportionately, are facing the same financial crisis as Milwaukee County.

· The local business community is solidly behind the RTA and its recommendations to shift funding for transit to a dedicated sales tax. We support the language in the Governor’s budget, but would like to see mandatory property tax relief.

· Some say that a sales tax for transit is anti-business, but in reality a lack of available transit has a greater impact on local companies than a shift in how we pay for it.

· The scenario of running a business with thousands of employees, and having no public transit system to get them to work is far more devastating to local businesses and the local economy than shifting transit from the property tax to a sales tax.

We need to connect workers to jobs

· Our region needs jobs, and the ability to connect southeastern Wisconsin residents with over one million existing jobs.  The KRM commuter rail will spark transit-oriented development creating up to 70,000 jobs for workers in southeastern Wisconsin.

· It would quickly create 5,000 construction jobs.

Even though you don’t use it, transit affects everyone in the region

· Even though you may not use it, transit affects everyone and has major implications for our economy. Although you may not personally rely on public transportation to get to and from your job, it is important that you consider that many of your constituents rely on mass transit to get to jobs and school. Many companies rely on transit to bring employees to and from work each day.

· When looking to relocate or expand, the strength of a region’s transit system is one of the top five factors a business will consider. A weak transit system hurts our entire region, making it less attractive to new business development and expansion.

We need to be competitive as a region

· Of the top 50 most populated U.S. cities, only 7 do not have or are not developing rail transit. Wisconsin is falling behind in this regard.

· We need to tap into the talent pool of workers in northern Illinois, and make sure we are retaining the talented workers in the region by offering jobs and amenities competitive with those in other developing regions.

· Public transit encourages urban development, provides access to arts, culture and entertainment, along with other amenities and education opportunities. Such quality of life issues and transit options are rapidly becoming key determining factors in where young professionals choose to live and where businesses choose to locate. Regionally, we need to be able to compete. Right now, we’re not even at the table.

Photos by cedric sam and Lizzaka

Milwaukee Tweet Up

The Milwaukee Tweet Up is scheduled for less than an hour away at the Iron Horse Hotel. They are a sponsor as well as Identify Yourself, a branding and image releations LLC ran by two lovely young women I had the opportunity to meet over coffee. It was an interesting meeting as they were very “gung-ho” about a big event driven “tweet-up,” yet hadn’t actually been to one themselves. I had, JSOnline, Twestival, which I hosted, Spreenkler crowd events and a few others. I knew them all to be small informal gatherings. I think it will be nice to see what unfolds, but I do have few thoughts:

What I have seen so far is a corporate approach for better or worse that has included press releases, data collection, personal invites, some of which include the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks and Fox News 6 affilliate here in Milwaukee.

Is this a good thing for Twitter? I’m not sure. iDo know that it is a social tool. iDo know that we recieved our company analytics today and Twitter was even higher than our anchor site for traffic distribution to our satirical content and little local news stories.

In the last month I’ve been asked 5 times to speak on social media, yet only had the opportunity to do so once. I wonder if iWill be saying any words about Twitter tonight as I did hep with some of the PR by “retweeting” and setting up a group for Milwaukee, called the Milwaukee Meetup.com Tweet Up Group.

Some questions i’d like to answer by attending this event are: Will the local Twitter elite be there? How will thy respond? How much of this is a PR machine for the sponsors and really what else is there? I’m not sure. I hope that some of this is headed for a good cause or that it isn’t a big commercial for a few media outlets to commandendere part of our antartic ice shelf. We are the 48th biggest Twitter community in the world btw.

SoHo BizTube Launches LIVE

I have had the pleasure of getting to know CD Vann and some of the key players that made SOHO magazine and SOHO biztube a success. I also owe her a a dinner. Check out the latest version of SOHO Magazine right here. and follow on Twitter too!

Go to website! http://www.sohobiztube.com/

Once upon a time in Baires: A Marketing Tale

 

For a few years I lived outside the walls of the united States. However I was able to connect with people via the internet and perhaps the world’s “FamilyCast” via skype in 2005. This is a brochure I created for students wanted to come live, play, and work abroad. The program was very successful in it’s day. I recruiteed clients via email, myspace, facebook, and skype. However nothing compared to when i would meet them in my office in chicago or the school in Baires.

TEFLocal Buenos Aires

Social Media and Facebook Connect

As a web designer, developer, and social media geek; I have to tell you that Facebook is quite exciting for me. Reason being, the gravity it’s collecting with social reach and marketing initiatives such as Facebook Connect.  To think, CitySearch was once just 1  of 24 sites to use FC increasingly effect & commingling opportunities of Facebook connect. This Thursday expect many more… so many other sites that web media 1.0/1.5/1.9 social media sites that aren’t on board with FC likely be swallowed or forgotten about. Such as CitySearch surely should have been if it wasn’t so quick to grab a seat on board. Remember OpenID? I can see it as an afterthought in the not too far distance future. “Facebook Connect” looks to change the web in a big way… according to Facebook itself, here is what the social web epicenter is saying about it… “

Trusted Authentication
Users will be able to connect their Facebook account with any partner website using a trusted authentication method. Whether at login, or anywhere else a developer would like to add social context, the user will be able to authenticate and connect their account in a trusted environment. The user will have total control of the permissions granted.

Real Identity
Facebook users represent themselves with their real names and real identities. With Facebook Connect, users can bring their real identity information with them wherever they go on the Web, including: basic profile information, profile picture, name, friends, photos, events, groups, and more.

Friends Access
Users count on Facebook to stay connected to their friends and family. With Facebook Connect, users can take their friends with them wherever they go on the Web. Developers will be able to add rich social context to their websites. Developers will even be able to dynamically show which of their Facebook friends already have accounts on their sites.

Dynamic Privacy
As a user moves around the open Web, their privacy settings will follow, ensuring that users’ information and privacy rules are always up-to-date. For example, if a user changes their profile picture, or removes a friend connection, this will be automatically updated in the external website.

These are just a few steps Facebook is taking to make the vision of data portability a reality for users worldwide. We believe the next evolution of data portability is about much more than data. It’s about giving users the ability to take their identity and friends with them around the Web, while being able to trust that their information is always up to date and always protected by their privacy settings.

Upgrading to Adobe’s CS4.

Creative Suite Web Premium 4

I have been a long time user of Photoshop & Adobe’s Creative Suite products since I first managed a business where it was necessary for me to rise to the challenge of learning the programs and attempting to master them. So I am extremely excited to finally get the opportunity to take my creative suite 2 & 3 skills and polish them up on Adobes new software, Creative Suite Web Premium 4. Learn more about my excitement on Twitter or learn more with cnet’s review and video link below.

The good: Adobe CS4 Web Premium includes a game-changing update to Flash; spruced-up shortcuts for dynamic designs in Dreamweaver and Fireworks; decent if unnecessary upgrades of Photoshop and Illustrator, Soundbooth and Acrobat 9, with improved integration among similar interfaces.

The bad: These heavy-duty applications take long to install, are hard to learn, and hog resources; personal tech support can exceed the price of some applications.

The bottom line: Adobe CS4 Web Premium is a good deal for interactive designers who don’t need tools for video editing and sophisticated print layouts.

learn more about my design skills at long-time poular web blog, www.ThunkDifferent.com

What is your “Tribe” in marketing, in life?

What is groupthink, crowdsharing, and collective intelligence?

All are ways to explain events, systems, and methodologies, but can YOU explain any of those items in short detail? Not likely, However Seth Godin does and if you are interested in branding, evangelical marketing systems, and business in the 21st century this may be a book for you.

Some questions asked in the book are ones we do not normally thing about. The value of the right questions, due thought, and why some people have rhythm and some don’t. Here are some questions that may opn the book for you at first glance.

Why you identify with the groups that you do? Why do you identify with certain music, their fans, sports teams, brands?

“Tribes” is all about what’s next in marketing, and tribes are all about brands.

Find out how branding is going to work in the 21st century. I’ll be more than glad to answer your comments about it at Milwaukee Web Media, Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter, or one of my other blogs.

Big props for the contact update Andrew, see you on Twitter

Click HERE to download a the podcast.

Click HERE to view Seth’s presentation on Video.

Click HERE for Seth’s Weblog & to add it to your reader

Chicago Tribune Company files for Chapter 11

This is epic news in the world of journalism and the hopefully just a sign of the times that a sea change is coming, not an economic tsunami. In either case, I would take deep breathe, learn to swim faster & and do whatever it takes to float. When a titanic like the Trib sinks nothing good can come of it… unless of course your an anti-cubs fan.

WordPress 2.7 Preview

WordPress 2.7 will be arriving today at 8pm Eastern. This is a good thing for most people, yet bad for some. Why? Milwaukee Web media and Jane Wells from WordPress.com gives us the lowdown here:

Navigation

The first thing you’ll notice when you’ve logged in is that the navigation has moved and changed. Now located on the left side on the screen, the new navigation menu is meant to be more intuitive and flexible as well as saving you a few steps here and there.

Section Labels: Instead of all your content objects (posts, pages, links, etc.) being grouped under Write and Manage, they get their own top-level sections, making it easier to go directly to the screens you need. Clicking on a section label will take you to the first screen in that section (just as it used to do in 2.6).