Guest Author Bio: Vikash Shah is a Twitter hashtag fiend that recently started hashtagd. A website dedicated to being the “reality TV trash of Twitter”. When he isn’t infront of a computer he is either; tearing up the dance floor, eating more food than is adequate or reading about economics. You can follow him at @vikashnshah.
For three days Eastern Market, a vibrant marketplace in downtown Detroit, was transformed into the epicenter of Tech Socialites. Hundreds of attendees including seasoned marketing professionals, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and digital creators. The marketing professionals frantically wrote notes in hopes to better understand the role of social in the new age of media. The venture Capitalists could be identified as the only attendees wearing either Dockers or suits. Digital creators swarmed around conference speakers to thank them for their work in their field. And entrepreneurs showed off their pride and joy.
The cause of all this ruckus can be directly linked to FutureMidwest. Coined “the largest digital business conference in the Midwest,” FutureMidwest has been in existence for only three years. The team of organizers would have you convinced they have been here longer with the level of professionalism they showcased on the weekend of April 28th, 2011.
In his welcome address to attendees, Adrian Pittman laid out a foci road map for the conference.
Integrated marketing:
How to integrate digital platforms into a well-rounded marketing mix
User experience:
How to create an engaging experience across a variety of digital media
Mobile:
How it’s impacting information exchange and user access and how to utilize it
Business Intelligence/Analytics:
How to define metrics that matter most and apply them
Regional growth:
How the Midwest is participating in the Information Age
A first of its kind event, Funded by Night brought venture capitalists and entrepreneurs in one room to compete for up to a $100,000 convertible note. About 20 companies were left on stage and they were given 180 seconds to explain their idea. There were demo failures and obvious first time public speakers, but that didn’t take away from their expressed passion for their idea.
The event organizers Jeff Epstein, Jordan Wolfe, and Raji Bedi added variety to the nights show by having a VC Panel, Entrepreneurs Panel and talks by Micah Baldwin and Noah Kagan sprinkled between company pitches. Local talent was showcased on both panels. Quality nuggets such as: “never underestimate the power of cashflow, competition and iteration” from the VC Panel, Micah sharing his thoughts on how “every story has the same structure,” and my favorite Noah Kagan throwing Sriracha sauce to audience participators were highlights of the event.
Quite possibly the most controversial foci of FutureMidwest was Mobile. The recent media lash out against Apple for “tracking users” caused confusion, enough to land Apple in Senate to testify. With geolocation services still waining to be adopted by the masses due to these concerns, Bobby Ghoshal the founder of FLUD decided to take the issue head on. Bobby was originally scheduled to talk about “Hyper Relevant Communities are the New Pink,” but made a last minute change to discuss “Mobile Location and Privacy”.
Below are a few “text-bites” from Bobby.
* The world is run on data.
*For us not to give this data back, we are stifling innovation.
*Allow your phone to “know” you.
*Your phone could save your life one day.
While the media quotes abyssal statistics on Detroit, there are silent professionals who are the minority in these numbers. FutureMidwest allows for these “silent professionals” to showcase their “we are doing” actions instead of “we can do” ideology. The founders of FutureMidwest, Adrian Pittman, Jordan Wolfe and Zach Lipson are on to something. Watch for a better FutureMidwest in 2012, for it is an event that is setting trends and inspiring culture while the media rests on their negative view of Detroit.