yeah, but how does it work?
While economic development is a great concept, getting under it's hood to see the mechanics can be a little trickier. I'm a web application programmer, I make my livelihood by writing programs than can be incredibly complex; by nature I like to know how things tick.
One of the Magnet's guiding principles is to connect innovative professionals. In the first couple of years I lived here I met one other programmer, and that was only because our kids go to the same school and our wives were chatting and happened to mention something about "my husband does something crazy with programming." Not the most direct or ideal way to make a connection.
It was not that I hadn't tried to make contact with others, I had, but without a social or professional introduction it was hard to establish context. Email threads back and forth faded or were lost in a crunch time.
Since getting involved with the Magnet and meeting up with Maggi Blue, I've established strategic relationships with creative services firm Ariel Creative and local-grown-though-now-out-of-state Flash and PHP hacker Klick 175.
Both of these relationships are growing my client base both in Maine and out-of-state. I particularly like the out-of-state roster since income that I generate through non-Maine work is a pure cash injection into the local economy.
Especially interesting to me is the fact that Brian Wilson at 3 Islands Press is one of the folks that I had initially contacted. We talked about getting together for coffee, but it just never worked out. Brian's on the Magnet's board of advisors and after meeting in person within the context of the Magnet, we've totally hit it off and will soon be meeting to talk about ways we can work together.
So, how is the Magnet accomplishing that sometimes enigmatic goal of economic development? If my experience is any indication, part of it is simply providing the social and professional context for otherwise isolated innovators to connect. And quite simply, it's already working; I for one am very excited to see how in what ways it can scale out moving forward.
One of the Magnet's guiding principles is to connect innovative professionals. In the first couple of years I lived here I met one other programmer, and that was only because our kids go to the same school and our wives were chatting and happened to mention something about "my husband does something crazy with programming." Not the most direct or ideal way to make a connection.
It was not that I hadn't tried to make contact with others, I had, but without a social or professional introduction it was hard to establish context. Email threads back and forth faded or were lost in a crunch time.
Since getting involved with the Magnet and meeting up with Maggi Blue, I've established strategic relationships with creative services firm Ariel Creative and local-grown-though-now-out-of-state Flash and PHP hacker Klick 175.
Both of these relationships are growing my client base both in Maine and out-of-state. I particularly like the out-of-state roster since income that I generate through non-Maine work is a pure cash injection into the local economy.
Especially interesting to me is the fact that Brian Wilson at 3 Islands Press is one of the folks that I had initially contacted. We talked about getting together for coffee, but it just never worked out. Brian's on the Magnet's board of advisors and after meeting in person within the context of the Magnet, we've totally hit it off and will soon be meeting to talk about ways we can work together.
So, how is the Magnet accomplishing that sometimes enigmatic goal of economic development? If my experience is any indication, part of it is simply providing the social and professional context for otherwise isolated innovators to connect. And quite simply, it's already working; I for one am very excited to see how in what ways it can scale out moving forward.
1 Comments:
How we think things work, how we talk about it, and how it actually works are all very different. Your comments about your real experience are much appreciated and heartening. Thanks.
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