World Domination

There are so many great entrepreneurial events going on this week that I thought I would highlight a few here:

Today – VC Office Hours
The Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation at GVSU is hosting Beringea, Michigan’s largest Venture Capital firm. Entrepreneurs from around West Michigan have booked 15 minutes sessions with them to get feedback on their ideas and how fund-able they are. This is a great first step for Michigan venture capitalists to be more open & receptive to the entrepreneur community.

Tonight - 5×5 Night
The Pomegranite Studios team is putting on their second of many 5×5 Nights, with the following five people presenting their ideas: Margarita Barry – 71 POP: Collaborative Creative Pop-Up Shop
Landon Bartley – Storefront windows to the world
David Buick - FitCup
Nicole Infante – GR Signature Sandwich Competition
AJ Paschka – Weather Collage

My advice is if you plan to go, definitely get there early to get a seat! It was standing room only last month.

Wednesday -Savvy Entrepreneur Series
CEI (Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation) has their monthly program, an invite only forum for entrepreneurs to learn more about their business and network with investors. This month, the topic is getting to the first sale.
If you are interested in attending tomorrow night, contact CEI and request an invitation.

Wednesday – Momentum Interviews
While this is not an event the public can attend, it bears noting that the final 9 (I think) Momentum candidates are being interviewed about their applications on Wednesday. I’m looking forward to see which teams go through this year.
Also – Momentum is gearing up for the Lean Startup Conference on May 19th – this conference is for current or aspiring entrepreneurs interested in lean startup methodologies. Personally, I am attending to learn more about customer development from a lean startup perspective.

Grand Rapids is a hotbed of innovation, isn’t it?

So, I have tried to build the suspense for days and now that I can’t contain my excitement and longer, I am happy to announce……drumroll….

I HAVE A NEW JOB!

Starting April 1st, I will be the Sales & Marketing Director for Zipments, a web service launching early this summer in West Michigan. Zipments connects the courier needs of local business and individuals with a virtual workforce of ready-to-work people in their area.

Here’s one example of how it works: A florist needs flowers delivered from East Grand Rapids to downtown GR. Rather than paying a delivery service to perform that function at a premium, the florist can post that job (and a fee) on zipments.com, and local individuals signed up on the site are notified. As a college student looking for extra money, a stay at home mom with a little time to spare or a recently retired person — you can make extra money by bidding on these jobs & transporting the items. One of these registered couriers (selected by the florist) would deliver the flowers for a fraction of the cost, effectively saving money for the florist and putting under-employed local people to work. This has SO many applications for a large variety of businesses.

Zipments was founded by Garrick Pohl, a Holland-based entrepreneur whose last venture, Crayon Interface, was recently purchased. I am SO excited about working with such a cool startup that will revolutionize the logistics industry on a national level and being an integral part in its success. Our team will be working out of an office in the 2nd floor of the San Chez building in downtown Grand Rapids.

Primarily I will be responsible for finding businesses to list jobs on the site and getting the word out to individuals who are looking to make some extra money. In addition, we may do a few fun local events to get the word out .

Don’t worry – I still plan to continue my masters degree at GVSU in the evenings next fall. As busy as I will be, I think it’s important to finish what I started and gain what there is to gain from the remainder of my degree.

I will keep you all updated to our progress in West Michigan!

This is what’s going on in my house right now:

I’m bundled on my couch, doing homework, dressed in multiple layers of clothing because my apartment is freeeeezing.

My large fluffy cat (Spike) is walking through the house minding his own business, while frisky young kitten (Willy) is chasing/taunting/harrassing him. In a distant room I hear multiple items crash to the floor (garbage can, maybe?).

Here's Spike (couple years ago) after getting his head stuck in a can of soup.

In the background, Ryan is talking to himself (in the shower), practicing a sales pitch for a presentation in the morning – a full on 15 minute presentation, out loud. He then enters the room and belts out a random song lyric (of which I still don’t recognize) and plops down next to me with his computer, fiercely typing away.

My life makes me smile.

So, there is no point to my story, other than to possibly share a laugh with someone else about the silliness of my life. And to ask how it is possible to read and interpret a Havelock study on literacy and orality in Ancient Greece – I have insofar been unsuccessful in this endeavor.

Good talk.

Last week we read about the prevalence of distractions. We established that there is no such thing as multitasking and in fact, we are less productive when we focus on multiple tasks, switching back and forth without rhyme or reason. So, I ask: are there people who are more prone to distractions or do the many things and props in life distract us?

Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

In preparing to write this blog, I had 2 emails, 1 facebook alert and 2 random thoughts– all of which I decided to act on right then. After all, I can’t let the fact that someone ‘liked’ my status go unnoticed for any length of time.

I desperately wish for a one track mind. Desperately. Maybe I need a system…a process to organize my time of what I respond to when and how to keep my tasks front of mind. I know there are things out there that do that, but unless someone creates a tool to make my thoughts translate into actions, there is no hope.

I deal with my distractions and for the most part, accomplish what I set out to. However, I know it’s not all getting done at 100% effectiveness.

I assert that I am at the root of the distractions. While technology, gagets, and thoughts get in the way of my accomplishing things, I am the only one who can ignore them/prioritize them/deal with them and therefore make them disappear.

So, I have control to change this and get all my work done!?

Damnit.

The article by Squires discusses the impact of “netspeak” and “chatspeak” (internet lingo) on the English language which has previously been considered formal.  For the most part Squires views these changes as negative; as a decline in the language.   The idea is illustrated by the following excerpt Squires takes from The Chicago Maroon.

“The efficiency of AOL-speak not only erodes relationships by dumbing down how people talk to one another but it also degrades the English language itself.”

While we would agree that technology drives language evolution, there is some question as to the extent netspeak has played in that evolution and whether the changes brought on by chatspeak have been as negative as Squires contends.

One of technology’s qualities is its ability to make communication faster, better, more efficient and better capable of reaching greater audiences.  Netspeak’s shortened words, missing vowels and acronyms are the devices used to speed the process along.  Given the speed and direction of future technological advances, it is inevitable that language will change to reflect those changes.  But many of those changes could be trends; reflecting only the current trends in technology.  For example, video-chatting will make many of the “chatspeak” slang-words obsolete.  It is hard to imagine someone saying “LOL” when there is an option of actually laughing out loud.

Squire’s concern about the negative impacts on the language is overreaching.  While these terms are used as a way to abbreviate language, they seldom find their ways into face to face conversations.  And in instances where these slang terms do find their way in to conversation it is often for effect or as a joke.  There may be two exceptions: WTF and OMG.  However, each of these terms are often used as a replacement for offensive terms that are may not be acceptable in all social settings.

Social perception plays a significant role in the choice to use netspeak or chatspeak in communictation.  People are less likely to use the terms in a perceived professional setting and are more likely to do so in a less formal or familiar setting.  We don’t want to sound stupid.  Our use of language mirrors the social setting.  Because its users are so selective, Squire’s idea of the enregisterment of netspeak into the English language is dramatic.

While the use of Netspeak is common in some computer mediated communication, it is seldom used in others.   Email, as Squires points out, is a good example of this.

“For most participants in this data email is not one of these contexts, likely because it is perceived as used for more formal purposes; but instant messaging is, because it is used more casually.”

The selective nature of chatspeak, that we are still able to determine the appropriate times to use it, is further proof that it still hasn’t totally invaded our language.

Successful technology always adapts to its user’s preferences.  As a form of technology, language is adapting.  Netspeak and Chatspeak are the user’s adaptation of language.  Communication is becoming faster, better and more efficient as users selectively include netspeak in their computer mediated communications.    Squires concerns about the negative impacts to these adaptations are warrantless.