Comments for MiBizTools

Comment on Coworking, Shared Space for Independents by Edward Vielmetti

Edward Vielmetti — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 16:17:36 +0000

as an update to this -

regular Ann Arbor microcoworking calendar at

http://www.microcoworking.com

traveling itinerary includes Weds a.m. (Primo Coffe) and Friday a.m. (Pure Visibility).

There’s 10 people who have been in today at PV, which is pretty typical.

Comment on Connecting local companies to UM students by Dan Romanchik

Dan Romanchik — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 17:12:52 +0000

I haven’t tried working with U-M students, but I did try doing the intern thing with some students from Washtenaw Community College. My results were mixed. On some projects, it worked out fine, but on others, it took me as much time or more to explain and evaluate the work as it would have taken me to do just do it.

Having said that, the observations “…companies and entrepreneurs get software help, and students get real software development experience,” and “other benefits include the potential of retaining local talent and helping to grow a technology base in Ann Arbor” are true enough. Just be aware about what you’re getting into.

Comment on Connecting local companies to UM students by Bob Kuehne

Bob Kuehne — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 16:28:53 +0000

i suffer through this every summer when i try to hire interns. i’m not as fortunate to have a deep network in umich cs or cpre, not having either attended or worked there. however, i do have real needs for interns, contractor, and part-time help, but have virtually no luck finding these people. i’ve tried craigslist, with some success, but for the most part, it’s a challenge even finding these people, let alone matching interests and needs.

a wiki would be a great start, facebook, perhaps, especially given it’s prominence among the youts. and personally, i’d love to see a social network application that actually provides value to the participants, other than a voyeuristic thrill - this would be a great step towards providing tangible value to a social networking platform.

ship it!
bob

Comment on Collaborate by Connecting local companies to UM students at MiBizTools

Connecting local companies to UM students at MiBizTools — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 15:57:34 +0000

[…] Collaborate […]

Comment on Michigan Man Arrested for Using Cafe’s Free Wi-Fi from his Car by Alan Gutierrez

Alan Gutierrez — Tue, 29 May 2007 03:29:18 +0000

Thanks for the linkage.

This story is chilling. Grand Rapids should know better. The prosecutor’s office, with it’s admonisments about serious consequences, it registered in my mind as, yes, there are serious consequences when you do business in a region that doesn’t understand the business. It would be in Michigan’s best interest to look into this. If Grand Rapids keeps charging people with felonies for using open Wifi hubs, Michigan is going to get a deserved ludditte with a pitchfork reputation.

I’m only pointing this out because I feel it so vicerally. I don’t want to live in beautiful, sunny California, but I often feel naked in my industry when I’m so far away from the cultural center of the industry. Louisiana used to be a strange place to be wired, but since Katrina, there’s a profound appreciation for technology and open information.

Comment on Coworking, Shared Space for Independents by Tom

Tom — Sat, 19 May 2007 14:44:37 +0000

I’ve been thinking about setting up a tiny shared space like this in Mt. View California for the Web 2.0 companies based in Michigan who want to occasionally visit and work in the heart of the valley. Also, it would allow us to jointly create an Ann Arbor MI presence near all the Angels and VCs.

Comment on Coworking, Shared Space for Independents by Derek Mehraban

Derek Mehraban — Wed, 02 May 2007 14:18:06 +0000

I work in a shared office loft in downtown Ann Arbor with 4 other creative firms. It’s a great environment for collaboration and sharing of ideas. People here are designers, web developers, marketers and GIS mappers. It’s much more productive than working out of a home office.

You can see pictures here: http://tinyurl.com/ytvstm

Comment on Coworking, Shared Space for Independents by Nancy Shore

Nancy Shore — Tue, 01 May 2007 15:32:17 +0000

While I am in the nonprofit sector, I too, think this makes a lot of sense. Especially because it encourage folks who would normally be working in isolated spaces to come together and perhaps share ideas and thoughts.

I believe that local communities can be a place of great change and I think it would be great for like-minded workers to come together in downtown Ann Arbor to both revitalize the economy and create something more.

I know that one of the reasons I like Ann Arbor is that is has such a strong sense of community and local flavor. What better way to extend this into the business sector than by a collaborative work space?

Comment on Coworking, Shared Space for Independents by Laura

Laura — Tue, 01 May 2007 13:56:42 +0000

I’m interested in this concept as well. To add another resource, there’s a blog at coworking.com which collects items of interest on the subject. They have several different feeds; I couldn’t find one that aggregated them all, so I made one at Yahoo Pipes.

Comment on Coworking, Shared Space for Independents by Edward Vielmetti

Edward Vielmetti — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 17:51:38 +0000

Note this innovation from Socialtext in Palo Alto -

http://ross.typepad.com/blog/2007/04/a_commune_for_g.html

They had extra space when they moved into a new location, and are using it as coworking space for companies. Ross Mayfield says "Real estate is the leading cause of death for startups," and that is one way to reduce the risk for everyone.