KingstonDigitalCorridor.org

A bigger, bolder KDC site…

Kingston Digital Corridor — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 13:01:39 +0000

So we’ve been banging on this one for a while, and it’s finally here.

A new and improved KDC site, with a real community component. You can “friend” folks, fill out a full profile, add your own avatar, and use the KDC board to communicate with each other. Not only that – there’s private messaging too.

The functionality of the board is very similar to that of Facebook – at present, you will only see activity of those you have “friended”.

If you’re not registered on the site, now would be a great time to do so! Registrations are manually approved, so a little patience, please.

We look forward to your comments – and your collaboration!

The Next KDC Happier Hour!!!!

sleepjunky — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 12:00:41 +0000

We’re on the move!

KDC is taking it on the road to explore some cool spots in Kingston – this time, we’re in the Rondout!!!

Plus: Our friends at DragonSearch are buying a beer for the first 40 attendees ($5 maximum value). They’re hoping to meet local talent – whether you’re interested in a job or not (although they are hoping to meet their next social media superstar).

Join us for the next KDC Happier Hour at MINT Lounge and Tapas on Wednesday, August 25!

Wednesday, August 25 – 5:30 – 7:30 at MINT

Directions to MINT Lounge and Tapas

Come to Keegan Ales for the next KDC ‘Happier Hour’!

sleepjunky — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 06:28:17 +0000

Calling all independents, creatives, and digerati! Get out of your pyjamas and bring your non-digital selves over to Keegan Ales!

Out of focus? We are, too! Let’s come together and inspire some collaborative thought!

Our goal in hosting the ‘KDC Happier Hour!’ every last Wednesday of the month is to get all of you talented local yokels together so you can meet others of your species, talk shop (or not), share resources, and by all means, have some fun!

Plus – the next installment of “Your 45 seconds of fame!”

Wednesday, June 30th – 5:30 – 7:30 at Keegan Ales

Directions to Keegan Ales: http://www.keeganales.com/visiting/

COLLABORATE! CONNECT! CONQUER!

Who Are the People in the Neighborhood?

sleepjunky — Mon, 31 May 2010 00:10:02 +0000

Connect.

I wandered off the grid to meet up with the others who were brave enough to suffer the ungodly heat for the KDC ‘Happier Hour’ at Keegan Ales last Wednesday. (For future knowledge — Keegan Ales has air conditioning…)

What I enjoy the most about these events is the variety of talented local yokels that it brings – media producers, web designers, writers, audio-video specialists – together. Each event widens our own personal circle, opening opportunities for collaboration on and off the grid.

Furthermore, it’s fun!

Collaborate.

Walking distance from my home, I learned of a group called Second Chance 4 Me, a nonprofit organization aimed at revitalizing our community through education and training. By empowering residents in the community with the tools they need, ranging from computer training and job development to more artistic endeavors, the community itself becomes empowered. Former teacher and CEO of Second Chance 4 Me, Lou Spina, took the stage for KDC’s ’45 Seconds of Fame’, and in those 45 seconds, shared several initiatives, including the recent ‘Nearly Famous Film Festival’ as well as a recent production of ‘Little Shop of Horrors’.

To me, Lou’s project embodies the spirit of the Kingston Digital Corridor – drawing from the community, for the community.

Second Chance for Me is located at the Seven 21 Media Center at 721 Broadway. They will be a featured stop on Kingston’s First Saturday Art Walk, June 5, from 5 to 8 p.m. featuring the art of Hugh Morris.

Learn more about Second Chance 4 Me at their website.

common grounds.

sleepjunky — Thu, 13 May 2010 19:04:39 +0000

Most of us spend more hours attached to a computer than we spend with our neighbors, friends, and even family. We’re no longer waiting on the delivery of interoffice mail or limited to a location determined by the corded phone. Work is mobile and accessible 24/7. We are always connected. There is no getting away from this. It is how it is.

Being connected to the digital universe doesn’t mean we need to disconnect from each other. On the contrary, it enables us to find those with common interests and desires, to connect in a multidimensional way with others on the grid. Twitter and Foursquare go a step further by throwing geolocation into the mix, allowing us to quickly disseminate information to the community. Many of those who have previously attended a KDC mixer learned of it through social media. It has become our generation meeting at the digital fence, a snapshot of every moment mirroring our experience off the grid. It’s a parallel universe.

c’mon. everybody’s doing it.

Some digital local yokels are already doing it right! Hudson Coffee Traders offers incentives for their ‘followers’. Besides offering free WiFi, Hudson Coffee Traders hosts one of the most coveted Mayorships on FourSquare! Being the Mayor grants you the simple privilege of a free cup of coffee every Wednesday! Can’t overthrow the Mayor of Hudson Coffee Traders? You still have another chance! On Facebook, they choose one customer randomly each Monday, connecting the customer to the promise of a complimentary medium cup of coffee.

Is it working? There’s rarely a time that I’ve ‘checked in’ on Foursquare at Hudson Coffee Traders and not discovered many of my neighbors and friends – many who I was introduced to through Twitter – were already there.

Off the grid, Hudson Coffee Traders is a digital hub in our community, many of us meeting there to work, to meet, and of course, to indulge in coffee. Part of what has made it that way is the willingness of Tim and Donna Brooks to do everything they can to connect with their customers – many of them who work in the digital sector. It brings back the old neighborhood feeling, going into a coffee shop, and having the owners greet you by your name, ask is your child is better? How’s your family? What happened to your ankle?… You know each other as people because you have given a glimpse of yourself, who you are, what are you about by sharing your thoughts and quirks.

It’s all too easy to objectify someone you do not know. Social media adds the human element, something to identify with, to your person, to your product, or to your company. It acts as a reminder that everyone is multidimensional in character. We’re not one-dimensional billboards. We’re all a little quirky. That’s OK. That may even be good.

It’s isn’t about berating your followers with incessant sales pitches. It’s about making connections with your followers, networking with those who have similar interests and desires, briding a disconnect.

Frankly, I never read much of the Daily Freeman before becoming acquainted with Ivan Lajara on Twitter. I do now.

Social media can help resolve some of the the gaps that were introduced through the evolution of our digital universe. It’s human to human connection, even if its means is via the wire.

And so the neighborhood feels a little smaller.

And what better feeling is there than that?

______________________________

CONNECT! COLLABORATE! CONQUER!

Many thanks….

Kingston Digital Corridor — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 14:51:55 +0000

Thanks to all those who came to the KDC Happier Hour last night.

And very special thanks to Arnaldo Sehwerert from the NYS Small Business Development Center for coming in to talk with us about the importance of business plans. Those of you who want a free consultation on the subject can contact him at sehwerea@sunyulster.edu – or by calling 845-339-0025, extension 11.

As discussed, we’ve started a new HotSpot map – (see the menu above). If you know a WiFi location in or around Kingston, please let us know and we’ll add it to the map!

Finally – thanks to the seven intrepid participants in our “45 Seconds of fame!” segment. You were GREAT!

We all had a blast, and can’t wait for the next one!

Happier Hour Again!!!

Kingston Digital Corridor — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 20:24:33 +0000

The NEXT Kingston Digital Corridor Happier Hour!

COLLABORATE! CONNECT! CONQUER!

Step off the grid and into Keegan Ales for some camaraderie with others of your kind!

We know what it’s like to spend day after day in front of a computer screen. We also know that there’s a slew of techie and indie talent in the Kingston area. Our goal in hosting the “KDC Happier Hour!” every last Wednesday of the month is to get all of you talented local yokels together so you can meet others of your species, talk shop (or not), share resources, and by all means, have some fun!

This month features:

What’s Your Plan? — Special guest Arnaldo Sehweret, Director, Mid-Hudson Small Business Development Center, talks briefly about the importance of having a business plan.

Plus…the next installment of “Your 45 Seconds of Fame!” Seven randomly chosen local yokels have the floor to introduce yourself or your business!

Did we mention beer..?

The last was a blast – and we’re expecting no less this time – so come join us!

Wednesday, April 28th – 5:30 7:30 at Keegan Ale’s in Kingston

Directions to Keegan Ales: http://www.keeganales.com/visiting/

KDC shoots for Google Fiber for Communities!

Kingston Digital Corridor — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 11:24:05 +0000

Today Kingston Digital Corridor, in partnership with Ulster County and multiple other organizations, applied for Google Fiber for Communities.

Google is planning to build, and test ultra-high speed broadband networks in a small number of trial locations across the country. They’ll deliver Internet speeds more than 100 times faster than what most Americans have access to today with 1 gigabit per second, fiber-to-the-home connections.

So – we’re not just sticking our toes in the water – we jumped in. No, NOT literally.

Take a look up top at “Google Fiber” – or just click here

Ulster initiative gains state green tech grant

Kingston Digital Corridor — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 13:26:20 +0000

KINGSTON – The Hudson Valley Center for Innovation, based in Lake Katrine, will be receiving funding as part of the iClean initiative, an incubator and accelerator to help spur alternative energy technology.

“The idea behind this is to encourage and stimulate entrepreneurs, inventors and visionaries in alternative and renewable energy technologies,” said Les Neumann, the managing director of the Hudson Valley Center for Innovation.

“It’s in order to get new products and services into the market and help them commercialize here in the Hudson Valley,” he said.

“We’re looking at boiler technologies, a lot of wind, solar, geothermal and hydrogen technologies. It’s a whole myriad of things that we have on our plate right now, everything but oil and coal.”

Neumann announced the grant during a morning breakfast at the 721 Media Center in uptown Kingston Wednesday.

Neumann’s group will share a $1.5 million grant, awarded by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), to help develop these new technologies with the Saratoga Technology Energy Park and Albany NanoTech center.

Neumann said the grant will help fund and subsidize the growth of new ideas and bring them to market.

Source: The Mid-Hudson News

The KDC Happier Hour!!!

The KDC Geeks — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 18:31:29 +0000

Us KDC folks are all-too comfortable being behind these screens – but there are times when ya just gotta get out, meet some people, and have a little FUN.

Well, here’s your chance. We’re holding the next KDC Happier Hour at Keegan Ale’s in Kingston. (The last two were a blast!)

SO…Get out from behind the screens, and come mingle with others of your species… talk shop (or NOT), share resources, but by all means – have a little fun… and be a part of the Chamber of COOL.

Are you ready to mix it up? Back by popular demand is the third official Kingston Digital Corridor Geek Round-up!

When: Wednesday, March 24

Time: 5:30-7:30pm

Where: Keegan Ales. 20 St. James Street, Kingston. For map, click here

Why: Get your geek on! Discover others of your species. Learn about synergistic companies that might have some project work for you…and find folks to do what you need done! Enjoy finely crafted ales like Keegan’s amazing Joe Mama Stout (made with coffee and chocolate!). And rediscover what the Kingston Digital Corridor is all about. Spread the word…