IT in the D

IT in the D, Episode 22 This was a GREAT episode. One of the ones where we could have sat there for anther two or three hours easily, and never run out of things to talk about. With our guests Elaina Farnsworth of Mobile Comply, Nate Hughes of Detroit Labs and Amber Coffman of Spark Digital Strategy, there was no shortage of things to talk about or topics to dive in...and a bit of ranting, naturally... In our first segment, we went through our usual round-up of news items that had caught our eye over the past week.  Things like our Support the Troops event next Thursday, "How is Black Friday an international thing...complete with riots and chaos in Ireland?", that stores being open on Thursday proved to be a very good thing for them, and so all of those protests and debates about letting people stay with their families and pledging not to shop that day were...worthless...because the landscape has changed permanently, you can bet on it. We even got a little bit into how small of a world it can be sometimes, and why you don't judge people based on how they treat the CEO, but rather how they treat the secretary...or perhaps the DJ.  Who happens to run a networking group you're a part of...but you don't know that.  And who's cohost and longtime friend is friends with your boss...and eight other people you work with. In our second segment, we chatted with Elaina Farnsworth about Mobile Comply, and what they've got going on...which, as it turns out, is quite a bit.  They've created a whole new training program to support the new CompTIA Certification, Mobility+, which teaches everything you need to know...and prove you know...about the basics of all things mobile.  From architecture to infrastructure, and from platform agnostic best practices to security...it's a great foundation.  They're running a special right now on the prep class for the test...and, well, since they quite literally wrote the book on it, you can be sure the teaching is sound. In our third segment, we switch over and engage with Nate Hughes, one of the founders of Detroit Labs.  Just a great chat overall.  From the beginnings at a few empty desks in the Compuware building to their space at the Madison building that they eventually filled to breaking point out to their move into their new building, where they span two entire floors of the old Lane Bryant building downtown.  We'd heard some of the stories from Erika Carlson during her last visit, but it was really great to sit down and hear it all from Nate's perspective, which can seem to be paradoxical at times.  They're a mobile application development company looking to hire developers...but not really necessarily mobile app devs.  They tell potential clients their prices are almost assuredly going to be the highest...and yet they're swamped with work and growing. For our fourth and final segment, we dragged Amber Coffman from Spark Digital Strategy out of lurker mode and talked a bit about what digital strategy is, what services she brings to the table for her clients, and what digital strategy is...and, more importantly, why you need one.  Brands versus identities.  Personal versus corporate.  Damage control and reputation management.  We chatted a bit about this story involving some shady practices by a company concerned about their online reputation...and it may wind up costing them more than the backlash they're already receiving. Links from tonight's show: Mobile Comply: http://mobilecomply.com/ Detroit Labs: http://www.detroitlabs.com/ Spark Digital Strategy: http://sparkdigitalstrategy.com/ The lawsuit over a negative review: http://abcnews.go.com/Business/couple-fined-3500-writing-negative-review/story?id=21018224 The IT in the D Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ITinTheD

Episode 21 of the IT in the D show was exactly what we needed.  We were joined in studio by long-time friend of the program Jeff Haase in-studio. That of course led to a little hardcore geeking, some laughter, a dose of witty banter, a little mocking, some history of the group, a rant or two...you know, "Us 101"... In our first segment, we talk through the basics of our upcoming Support The Troops event on December 12th, we chat about our event last week at Falling Down Beer Company, and we dive into a bit of the history of ITintheD.com as well as some basics of dealing with us.  Including the best and easiest way to piss us off.  After that, we start diving into news and events that have caught our eye including fake Microsoft tech support phone calls that are really hackers, a problem with Yahoo that we're all surprised isn't getting more press, and a few others. In our second segment, we get right back into the Yahoo issue, as well as some freaky social engineering done via LinkedIn that just floored us all, dealing with the after-effects of your system getting compromised, a nasty scam that some tellers are running at grocery and departments stores around the country, some inevitable discussion of Black Friday and more importantly the psychology behind it, a really cool puzzle / cryptography / code breaking thing that's out there in the wild that's driving a lot of people nuts and more. In our third segment, we hop right back into the Cicada 3301 topic and why cryptography and code breaking are so damned fascinating, why Bob is stymied by the concept of airplanes being able to fly, Bitcoin, the Darknet and so much more geek-ness than we've gotten into in a long time. To wrap things up in our final segment, Bob and I get into a debate about the terms "saved" versus "started"...and of course it all revolved around beer, cell phones on airplanes, creatures of habit who fear change, and the impending possibility that phone carriers can start dropping landlines. Links from tonight's show: About Cicada 3301: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/internet/10468112/The-internet-mystery-that-has-the-world-baffled.html How scientists prove we're geniuses by gathering people together over beer: https://medium.com/the-physics-arxiv-blog/cf3e13e4f103 TOR in a box: http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/the-anonymous-tor-network-now-comes-in-a-box Are we about to start living in a post-antibiotics world where none of them work...and what that means: https://medium.com/p/892b57499e77/ Who best safeguards your data: http://lifehacker.com/this-infographic-shows-which-sites-properly-encypt-your-1471169272 Fake tech support calls and Yahoo: http://lnkd.in/dvGbNWJ Should landlines go away: http://lnkd.in/dUyZPfr The IT in the D Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ITinTheD IT in the D on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/ITinTheD The ITintheD.com Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ITintheD ITintheD.com on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/ITintheD Listing of our upcoming events: http://www.ITinTheD.com/meet/    

Episode 20 of the IT in the D show with April Boyle from D:Hive Detroit and Stephanie Goodrich of Secure-24. In our first segment, we talk through news and events that have caught our eye including conspiracy theories, Google forcing Google+ integration on Youtube and the public backlash and more. In our second segment, we dive in with April to learn about all of the cool things that D:Hive has going on. They're the folks behind one of our former show guests, Spielhaus Toys, getting setup with a pop-up storefront downtown, and they do much more in that avenue. From running classes teaching people how to actually start a business to bar crawls and walking tours throughout Detroit, D:Hive is doing some great stuff. In our third segment, we chat with Stephanie Goodrich from Secure-24 about reasons people aren't getting hired. From the horror stories of people bringing their parents to interviews to a complete lack of soft skills, and then on to companies that artificially manipulate market statistics so that they can bring in H1B visa workers on the cheap...a good chat for sure. To wrap things up in our final segment, we double back with our guests on some earlier points and close things out with some general chatter and discussions. Links from tonight's show: D:Hive Detroit: http://www.dhivedetroit.org Secure-24: http://www.secure-24.com The IT in the D Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ITinTheD IT in the D on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/ITinTheD The ITintheD.com Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ITintheD ITintheD.com on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/ITintheD Listing of our upcoming events: http://www.ITinTheD.com/meet/    

IT in the D, Episode 19: Canadian Legal. Original air date: 11/11/2013 Good episode. We had Matt Oehrlein from i3detroit, a pretty cool "hacker space" located just north of 8 mile in Ferndale in-studio with us, along with HerShe - a stand-up comic / writer / actress / singer who performs in clubs across the metro Detroit area who's just released a DVD and always has a good, laugh-worthy insight into things, and Russ Dotson called in from his overseas station in Ethiopia to start talking about our annual Support the Troops event in December. And as usual, we rambled quite a bit... You can listen via your browser by continuing down below, and of course everything is also out on SoundCloud - https://soundcloud.com/itinthed, and should be available on iTunes - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/ITinTheD.org/id665504867 and Stitchr - http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/ITintheD/it-in-the-d - shortly To kick things off, we handle some basics - Bob's back in-studio after a business trip and the birth of his third child, we introduce our guests for the night - Matt Oehrlein of i3Detroit and HerShe the Entertainer, and Russ Dotson calls in from his deployment station in Ethiopia to start the discussion about our annual Support the Troops event on December 12th at Rochester Mills in Rochester Hills. Appropriate for a broadcast on Veteran's Day. Segment 1: In our 2nd segment, we chat about net neutrality, Amazon.com paying for Sunday deliveries via the postal service, and Bob's newest obsession - a machine that dispenses mashed potatoes. Who would've thought mashed potatoes could cause a total loss of sanity? Segment 2: In our 3rd segment, we pull things back on to the tracks after the Great Mashed Potatoes Debacle, and learn all about i3Detroit from Matt Oehrlein.  With everything from classes about how to paint like Bob "Happy Little Trees" Ross to playing with plasma cutters, i3Detroit does a little bit of everything in their hacker space. What's a hacker space?  Guess you should listen and find out, shouldn't you? Segment 3: In our 4th and final segment, we dive in with HerShe the Entertainer, a stand up comic who's just released a DVD, chat a bit more with Matt from i3Detroit and wrap things up for the night. Segment 4: Links from tonight's show: i3Detroit: http://www.i3detroit.org/ HerShe: http://www.hershdoesitall.com/ The IT in the D Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ITinTheD IT in the D on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/ITinTheD The ITintheD.com Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ITintheD ITintheD.com on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/ITintheD Listing of our upcoming events: http://www.ITinTheD.com/meet/  

IT in the D, episode 18. Original air date 11/4/2013. Bob abandoned us for his stupid job, so it was Dave and Jeff holding down the fort with some really cool guests. We had Tom Churchwell in talking about the Agile and Beyond conference taking place in February, Jim Toscano and Danny Gianino from Toscano Media in talking about film making and what they do, and the photographer from our last two Pink Slip Party events, Cherry Volz, talking about her design and photography business. Oh, and we gave away some tickets to an upcoming concert at Saint Andrews Hall, and we'll be doing more of that in coming weeks... In our opening segment, we handle introductions of the guests, Bob calls in from Minneapolis, and we do our usual roundtable of discussing topics of interest from the course of the past week that have caught our eye, get some basics on the guests, and then make our valiant attempt at giving away tickets to a show Saturday night at Saint Andrews Hall. In our second segment, we catch up with the guys from Toscano Media. Kind of an interesting story here. They were working for a publication, that publication slashed out their staff, and so they were set adrift. They then decided to start their own business, and reached out to us via ITintheD.com...but unfortunately, as you know, we don't do a whole lot of "video worthy" stuff (you can stop reminding me about the time I got slapped by a little Navy girl any time now), but Bob got me pulled into this wrestling thing he's a total fanboy of, and so I mentioned that to them, they loved it, and long story short they wound up putting together a commercial for them in like a day that aired on MyTV20 this past Sunday. So, we have people getting fired, deciding to be entrepreneurs and strike out on their own, doing a killer job of it thus far, and indulging us for our pet projects. Needless to say, a good story all around. They're available for video shoots (however, "no weddings"...seriously, weddings must be hell, because Cherry didn't want to do any either), and would love to talk to companies about internal or external projects they're looking at taking on and more. A link to their Vimeo profile is below, and here's the killer commercial they put together in next to no time: In our third segment, we chat with Tom Churchwell about the Agile and Beyond conference taking place in February.  They're still looking for speakers and sponsors, so hit them up while you still can!  Sounds like a great event to be at whether you're just learning about agile or a seasoned professional with it.  Give a listen to learn all about what's going to be taking place at their Feb 22 conference. In our fourth and final segment of the night, we talk with Cherry about Blue Argyle Media, locking yourself out of your own server, and what it's like dealing with parents and kids during photo shoots.  Also, what she's looking for in potential clients (hint: "not weddings"...common answer), her upcoming Christmas card photo shoots, and life as a mom with teenage kids while trying to also be an entrepreneur. That's all for this week. Tune in on Monday the 11th for a chat with i3detroit about painting like Bob Ross, fighting robots, and DIY workspaces along with the founder and organizer of the "Detroit Drunken Historical Society". I know...we can't wait, either. Links from tonight's show: Agile and Beyond conference: http://www.agileandbeyond.com Toscano Media: https://vimeo.com/jimtoscano The studio they shoot in: http://bobwilliamsstudio.com The little side-project they did for Bob and I that you should check out: http://youtu.be/nb5Nn2PmsRM Cherry Volz: http://cherryvolz.com/

IT in the D, Episode 17.  Original air date 10/28/2013. Another great show.  With return guests Erika and Michelle from Girl Develop It - Detroit and Billy Strawter of Social Media Coop Detroit coming back in, it's always a good time.  Tonight was no different... In our first segment, we pretend that we really do have girls coming to join us at some point as we break in with Billy Strawter and talk social media, why LinkedIn sucks yet again and how dangerous their latest app update is, more on the Adobe hack with an ironic twist, and some other news and stories that have caught our attention this week. In our second segment, Erika and Michelle finally find their way to the studio after wandering aimlessly around the fourth floor for who knows how long, we talk Halloween and social media with Billy Strawter, and have a good old time in general. For segment three, we dive back in with our guests, talking about major social media fails, what's going on over at Girl Develop It - Detroit, and other news and topics from around the area. In our fourth and final segment, we wrap things up by hitting on Girl Develop It - Detroit's upcoming classes, touching on changing perceptions from "social media" to "digital marketing" and more. Girl Develop It - Detroit can be found at http://www.girldevelopit.com/chapters/detroit or on Meetup at http://www.meetup.com/Girl-Develop-It-Detroit/ Social Media Coop Detroit can be found at http://socialcoopmedia.com/ Our IT in the D Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ITinTheD Our IT in the D Twitter account: https://twitter.com/ITinTheD ITintheD.com on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ITintheD ITintheD.com on LinkedIn https://twitter.com/ITintheD

IT in the D, Episode 16.  Original air date 10/21/2013. Our guests include Mark Larson, one of the owners of Falling Down Beer Company, Mark Shaftner, COO of Marketplace Homes, and Derek Strate, owner of Absotech LLC. A great show, all around.  Fantastic conversations, awesome topics, and a solid flow between all of the guests. In tonight's show... In our first segment, we handle introductions, and do our usual wander through some of the more interesting stories that have caught our eye.  From Google+ using your face in ads to stores tracking your movements through your cell phone's wifi card, our recent event at Blackfinn and Network Michigan's event on Thursday night, helicopter drones that use your phone's GPS to deliver books and food to you bringing us one step closer to Terminator's Judgment Day and the latest fun with Experian having sold 500,000 full details to an identity theft website and oh so much more. In our second segment, we get right to the fun stuff.  Mark Larson of Falling Down Beer Company.  Those of you who have been around for a while will remember that we had our February casual networking social event there before they were even really open to the public.  Well, they've been cranking on their remodeling work and we're going back for our November event on the 21st.  Mark also brought along some of the great beer that they've got on tap at Falling Down...but unfortunately we still haven't managed to get those reuben eggrolls in-studio with us.  Guess we'll just have to stop by and grab some between now and the 21st. In our third segment, we dive in to all of the cool things that Marketplace Homes is doing, and we're not just talking about the "hey, we'll lease your existing home" program that they have going on.  Mark Shaftner, COO of Marketplace Homes is in-studio to tell us about some of the ways that Marketplace Homes is using technology to revolutionize the home shopping and home buying experience, and things they're doing to make the process smoother, easier, and even cheaper. In our fourth and final segment, we wrap things up with Derek Strate telling us about Absotech.  Derek's a long-time member of our networking group, and one of the folks who has moved on from working for others to starting his own company and now hiring others through our events.  Truly a great success story, and Derek's doing a lot of good things for his clients around the metro Detroit area. Falling Down Beer Company can be found at https://www.facebook.com/fallingdownbeer Marketplace Homes can be found at http://marketplacehomes.com/ Absotech can be found at http://absotechllc.com/ Network Michigan can be found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/NetworkingMichigan On LinkedIn at http://www.linkedin.com/groups/NetworkMichiganorg-4264317 On Twitter at https://twitter.com/networkmichigan Our IT in the D Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ITinTheD Our IT in the D Twitter account: https://twitter.com/ITinTheD ITintheD.com on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ITintheD ITintheD.com on LinkedIn https://twitter.com/ITintheD

IT in the D, Episode 15. The full episode of our show from 10/14/2013... Great night with Davina Beh, Scott Sabellico, and Melinda Ann Prince as our in-studio guests. In our opening segment, we chat about some news, take a phone call from an old friend of mine as we tackle the semi-uncomfortable topic of dealing with jerks from your past on social media and learn why none of us will ever have security clearances.  Ever.  In the second, we talk about Goodwill Industries Detroit, get through some introductions of our in-studio guests...and laugh.  A lot.  In the third, we dive into handling your job search when you're completely changing industries and career paths, what Goodwill Industries Detroit has going on, and more.  For the final segment, we close out the night by wrapping up a few touch points from prior segments, talking about recruiters, resumes, and the importance of networking overall. Links from tonight's show: Our upcoming events an always be found at http://www.ITinTheD.com/meet/ iTalent is at http://www.italent-llc.com Goodwill Industries Detroit can be found at http://www.goodwilldetroit.org/ Network Michigan can be found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/NetworkingMichigan On LinkedIn at http://www.linkedin.com/groups/NetworkMichiganorg-4264317 On Twitter at https://twitter.com/networkmichigan Our IT in the D Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ITinTheD Our IT in the D Twitter account: https://twitter.com/ITinTheD ITintheD.com on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ITintheD ITintheD.com on LinkedIn https://twitter.com/ITintheD

The IT in the D show is joined by Elyse Lopez, April Jennings, and George Opitz of Brightwing to discuss what they do, how they see the market going, interviewing tips and tricks, and more. Air date: 10/7/2013... The full episode of the 10/7/2013 show, and it was a really fun, solid episode. Everything from the history of Brightwing to hints and tips on your job search, why choosing the right recruiter to work with matters and the difference they can make, random news stories and more...this was a really great, fun time with everyone involved. Links from our chat / discussions: Don't Be That Guy - The Betta Fish: http://www.ITinTheD.com/2633/dont-be-that-guy-the-betta-fish/ Our three part blog series on how not to suck at interviewing for a job: - The preparation: http://www.ITinTheD.com/3078/how-not-to-suck-at-interviewing-for-a-job-part-i/ - The interview itself: http://www.ITinTheD.com/3086/how-not-to-suck-at-interviewing-for-a-job-part-ii/ - Follow up and composure: http://www.ITinTheD.com/3159/how-not-to-suck-at-interviewing-for-a-job-part-3/ Details on our upcoming events are always out at http://www.ITinTheD.com/meet/ Brightwing - http://www.gobrightwing.com/ - was a sponsor of both of our recent Pink Slip Party events, the one back on 3/13/13 as well as the one on 9/19/13. Additionally, Russ Dotson has been a crucial part of our Support The Troops activities over the past few years, and was a guest on our very first installment of the IT in the D show. You can listen to that episode here - http://www.ITinTheD.com/listen/it-in-the-d-show-archives/episode-1-june-03-2013/, and then another when April and Elyse popped in over at http://www.ITinTheD.com/listen/it-in-the-d-show-archives/episode-8-august-5-2013/ They're recruiting for a wide variety of positions currently, and you can check out all of the gigs they're looking to fill out at http://www.gobrightwing.com/jobs/, or just hit http://www.gobrightwing.com/ to learn more about them and what they have going on. If you listened live, then you heard them talk about how important it is to them that they make sure they find the right fit for both their clients and their candidates, and based on everything we've seen and heard...we have no reason to doubt them at all.  

IT in the D, Episode 13, full episode... We were joined by two of our sponsors from our 9/19 Pink Slip Party at Saint Andrews Hall for our 13th episode. This is the full episode of our show. Arrow Strategies - http://www.arrowstrategies.com/ - should be a familiar name to most people at our events.  They've been heavily involved with us for years, and were sponsors the first time we hit Saint Andrews Hall on 3/13/13.  Additionally, Steve Gaura was on our IT in the D show a few weeks ago, and you can catch what he had to say about the industry as a whole, the types of positions his company is always looking to fill, and more over at http://www.ITinTheD.com/listen/it-in-the-d-show-archives/episode-9-arrow-strategies-and-yelp/  Steve in particular is truly part of the "core" of what our group is and does, so always keep him and Arrow Strategies in mind when you're looking. The Great Lakes Technology Showcase - http://www.greatlakestechshow.com/ - will be taking place November 4-6, 2013, and is focused heavily on the telecommunications industry.  If that's in your line of work or area of interest, be sure to check them out.  They're still looking for a few exhibitors to join them, specifically those involved in developing applications and working downtown.  

IT in the D, Episode 12, full episode... IT in the D is joined by Mark Stanislav of Duo Security. Over the course of this episode, we talk security basics, two factor authentication, recap our Pink Slip Party event at Saint Andrews Hall on 9/19, and give away the free training class from New Horizons. The Pink Slip Party Recap: http://www.ITinTheD.com/6314/919-pink-slip-party-recap/ Photos from the Pink Slip Party are live on our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ITintheD Mark Stanislav can be found on LinkedIn here: http://www.linkedin.com/in/mstanislav Duo Security: https://www.duosecurity.com/ The Duo Security event on two factor authentication with Girl Develop It - Detroit: http://www.meetup.com/Girl-Develop-It-Detroit/events/137213652/ Our Pink Slip Party sponsors: Arrow Strategies - http://www.arrowstrategies.com/ - should be a familiar name to most people at our events.  They've been heavily involved with us for years, and were sponsors the first time we hit Saint Andrews Hall on 3/13/13.  Additionally, Steve Gaura was on our IT in the D show a few weeks ago, and you can catch what he had to say about the industry as a whole, the types of positions his company is always looking to fill, and more over at http://www.ITinTheD.com/listen/it-in-the-d-show-archives/episode-9-arrow-strategies-and-yelp/  Steve in particular is truly part of the "core" of what our group is and does, so always keep him and Arrow Strategies in mind when you're looking. Brightwing - http://www.gobrightwing.com/ - was also a sponsor back on 3/13/13, and had a great group of folks there last night as well.  Additionally, Russ Dotson has been a crucial part of our Support The Troops activities over the past few years, and was a guest on our very first installment of the IT in the D show.  You can listen to that episode here - http://www.ITinTheD.com/listen/it-in-the-d-show-archives/episode-1-june-03-2013/, and then another when April and Elyse popped in over at http://www.ITinTheD.com/listen/it-in-the-d-show-archives/episode-8-august-5-2013/ Strategic Staffing Solutions - http://www.strategicstaff.com/ - is a relative newcomer to our events, but that doesn't make us any less grateful or appreciative for their support of what we do.  They're based downtown right off Campus Martius, and even though you don't hear as much about them as you do some of the other companies that are located in that same circle, they're doing really great things and always looking for great people. Logicalis - http://www.us.logicalis.com/ - is also fairly new to our events, but they're getting more engaged ever since a long-time member of ours who has been coming to our events for quite some time took a job there earlier this year.  They specialize in global virtualization solutions, and have some really cool offerings.  They're also looking for some bright minds to join their team, so give them a look and keep them in mind. MEDC - http://www.michiganbusiness.org/ - we do a lot with MEDC, not necessarily as a part of "ITinTheD.org events", but Bob and I have spoken at a number of their Shifting Gears classes and really enjoy doing our part to help people in career transition with our 10 Commandments of Networking presentation.  MEDC is far more than just the Shifting Gears program though, and they have a lot of great things going on all across the state in a number of capacities. New Horizons - http://nhgreatlakes.com/ - has been coming to our events forever, and they've helped literally hundreds of our folks find grant funding for training classes.  So it wasn't really a surprise that they wanted to get involved, and they did so in a great way - one attendee at our event last night is now the winner of a free technical training class!  Want to find out if you're the winner?

IT in the D, Episode 11, full episode... IT in the D chats with Brad from Grand Circus, Jay from Ann Arbor Give Camp, and all about our Pink Slip Party. As a reminder, our Pink Slip Party is Thursday night, the open house at Grand Circus is Friday from 11:30am to 6pm, and Ann Arbor Give Camp runs all weekend starting Friday. Links from tonight's show: Our Pink Slip Party: http://www.ITinTheD.com/meet/ Grand Circus: http://www.GrandCircus.co Ann Arbor Give Camp: http://www.AnnArborGiveCamp.org  

Could not possibly have asked for a better group to have in-studio with us last night. Hatch Detroit and their four finalists. Michipreneur. Bamboo Detroit. Beacon Hill Staffing. Great show, awesome conversations, and very cool to hear about some things going on around the city... In our opening segment, we kick things off with Vittoria Katanski of Hatch Detroit, Amanda Lewan of Michipreneur and Bamboo Detroit, and Steven Urenda of Beacon Hill Staffing. Hatch Detroit is running a contest for entrepreneurs in the area, with the winner getting $50,000 to open up a storefront in Detroit. The final four contestants join us in-studio during our second and third segments, because the public gets to vote on who that winner will be. But to start off, Vittoria tells us a little bit about the background of the contest, how people got involved, the process of narrowing down the entries and how they got down to this final four. Michipreneur is a great online resource for entrepreneurs and business types here in the southeast Michigan area, and Bamboo Detroit is a new coworking space open downtown where you can grab a desk and other office amenities. In our second segment, we keep Vittoria Katanski of Hatch Detroit and Amanda Lewan of Michipreneur with us, and we bring in the first pair of finalists for the Hatch Detroit $50,000 grand prize - Batch Brewing Company and HenriettaHaus Coffee Roasters. In our third segment, we still have with Vittoria Katanski of Hatch Detroit and Amanda Lewan with us, and we bring in the other pair of finalists for the Hatch Detroit $50,000 grand prize.  Corktown Cinema and Spielhaus Toys. In our final segment, we wrapped up a bit with Vittoria Katanski of Hatch Detroit talking about the voting process to see which of the four finalists will walk away with the $50,000 prize, chatted with Amanda Lewan about both Michipreneur and Bamboo Detroit, and finally managed to sneak Steve Urenda from Beacon Hill Staffing back into the conversation. About Hatch Detroit: http://www.HatchDetroit.com Founded in 2011 by Ted Balowski and Nick Gorga-two passionate lovers of Detroit- Hatch Detroit was created to give others the opportunity to have a role in the redevelopment of Detroit. The Contest was built on an idea called “Crowd Entrepreneurship” where average citizens have a role in voting for the type of retail they want in their community, and determining the winner of the Hatch Contest. Since 2011, two winners have been announced, and several semi-finalists are in the process of opening. Now in its third year, Hatch Detroit has expanded its retail role into six neighborhoods in Detroit as part of the Detroit Lion’s Living for the City Initiative. Hatch Detroit will be partnering with local Community Development Corporations (CDC’s) to determine an area of focus that works within the community’s masterplan for its retail strip. Examples include improvements in signage, interior lighting, window displays, and outdoor beautification projects all geared to improving retail. About Michipreneur: http://www.michipreneur.com Michigan innovation has a rich and interesting history in our great state. We’re here to help publish news and resources aimed to continue to foster Michigan innovation. Michipreneur is an online publication built to empower entrepreneurs, encourage investment, strengthen small business, and foster talent retention in Michigan. We publish news, resources, events, funding information and more for Michigan startups and businesses. About Bamboo Detroit: http://www.bamboodetroit.com We're a members-only co-working space comprised of talented entrepreneurs growing their businesses right in the heart of Downtown Detroit. We offer affordable workspace and a community of others who share your v...

IT in the D, Episode 9 was...well, it was pretty damned solid. We had Steve Gaura from Arrow Strategies in, as well as Annette, the metro Detroit Community Manager for Yelp.com... Here's the full episode version of last night's show. Social Media apps seem to be of high interest to our listeners, and we've always made a habit of paying attention to what folks want from us, and so this week we've got Annette, the community manager for the metro Detroit area for Yelp.com, as one of our in-studio guests. What is it? Whaddaya do with it? What should businesses be doing with it? Who are these people writing reviews? That and a bunch of other questions will be answered tonight. Plus, they've got their annual huge event coming up on Thursday, September 5th, this year called the "Yelp After School Special". It's taking place at St Andrews Hall, a familiar location to many of you, and they're going to have a ton of stuff for you to check out and enjoy. They're even doing some fundraising for Operation: Kid Equip like we did a couple weeks back with our event at the BlackFinn, so you've got another good reason to go. Here's a bit of what they've got in store for people: Thirsty? Enjoy some of our fine refreshments! We'll have a cash bar plus your choice of 5 complimentary tastings from the likes of: Blue Nectar Tequila El Mayor Tequila L.Mawby Sparkling Wine Lady Bligh Spiced Rum Pearl Vodka Pearl Gin Tito's Handmade Vodka Hungry? Sop up that booze with eats from: Good People Popcorn Green Dot Stables Just Baked KIND Snacks Mac Shack Olga's Kitchen Peteet's Famous Cheesecake Potbelly Sandwich Shop Rock City Pies Skybar Lounge Treat Dreams Zoup! Hydration? Required. Sip on some: Great Lakes Coffee Jones Soda Not enough? How about: 3 floors of DJs! Wood and metal movable type demonstrations/takeaways from Salt and Cedar A performance by the hardcore kids of Rock and Roll Prep School Get fancy with hair and make stations by L'esprit Academy And a fashion show featuring looks by: Detroit Respect LilacPOP Studio Matthew F Richmond The Paper Code (And don't forget to bring a few extra bills as they'll be selling goods from the show at the event too!) Plus photos and video by: Mammothbooth! Shutterbooth Velocity Cow Need a ride home? We'll also be offering discounted rides via Uber (Deets and discount codes to come). The event is free but be a pal and bring a $5 donation to support Operation: Kid Equip. They provide backpacks and school supplies to local kids in need. They recently had a flood that destroyed tens of thousands of dollars worth of supplies for the upcoming school year so let's be good citizens and raise some money to help them rebuild, shall we? Bring a $5 (or even a $10, a $20 or more--we won't be mad!) and come have a grand ol' time for a good cause! Wanna go? Of course you do. Hop onto Yelp and RSVP: http://www.yelp.com/events/detroit-yelps-after-school-special Our other in-studio guest was Steve Gaura from Arrow Strategies, to talk about what Arrow has going on these days, gigs they're hiring for, and our usual run of conversations with recruiters on the air with us about the overall market conditions in Detroit and what they're seeing. Listen live: http://www.ITinTheD.com/listen/  

Our second attempt at Episode 8 came off very nicely. With some great in-studio guests, the conversation flowed really well, and we covered a whole host of topics... IT in The D is joined in-studio by Mark DiCarlo from Wolverine Technical Staffing (http://www.wolverinetech.com), Jason Gole from the OpenCo conference (http://det.openco.us), and Elyse and April from Brightwing (http://www.gobrightwing.com). Discussions range from the August 15th ITintheD.org casual networking event for professionals in and around the metro Detroit information technology industry taking place on Thursday, August 15th at Conor O'Neill's in Ann Arbor that Wolverine is sponsoring food for the guests at, to what Wolverine Technical Staffing is looking for from the event, the types of positions they're looking to hire for, and what they see in the industry, and then out to the OpenCo event coming to Detroit in early September to showcase some of the coolest things going on in downtown Detroit that you can explore and see while chatting with the owners of the companies transforming the face of Detroit on a daily basis, and a good marketing perspective on the conversations taking place throughout the show. Hope you managed to join us live, but if not, here's the full episode. Our links from tonight's show: Mark DiCarlo was our in-studio guest recruiter from Wolverine Technical Staffing.  They can be found at http://www.wolverinetech.com, and here are a few hot jobs Mark's looking to fill right now: (click the links to load the PDFs with full job details) Database Administrator II Systems Integration Manager Software Developer Remember, you can meet Mark on August 15th at Conor O'Neill's in Ann Arbor at our event, but if you can't wait, you can reach out to him via: Mark DiCarlo Senior IT Recruiter Office: (734) 996-4800 mark@wolverinetech.com   OpenCo is taking place September 11-12 in Downtown Detroit, and the events on the 12th are completely free to attend.  You can find out more and sign up at http://det.openco.us