IT in the D

Duran Duran.  The NeverEnding Story.  Transformers.

1984 was a good year, and so it's of little surprise that episode 84 of our weekly live broadcast was a blast.

With our guests from Falling Down Beer Company, RhinoCoders and Startup Weekend Pontiac in-studio with us, we had a wide variety of topics to handle...to the point where it even took us into a fifth segment to get through it all...

We kicked off this episode with another retrospective intro, and then dove into our usual round of guest introductions, followed by the stories that have caught our eye this past week.

Oh and hey, get a free audio book by hitting http://www.Audible.com/ITintheD

The end of Internet Explorer.  Sending money via Facebook Messenger.  The Nain Rouge events downtown over the weekend.  Slow Roll wanting people to buy memberships.  The amazing number of apps in the Apple store that haven't had a single download.  Our new favorite gag gift to send to people.

After a break, we dove in with Matt and Jon from RhinoCoders.  RhinoCoders immerses the young people of Metropolitan Detroit into the world of interactive architecture by providing them with a digital foundation from which to grow, through a series of fun and interactive tracks taught by web developers from SapientNitro Detroit. Students discover the latest cutting-edge technologies, learn how to code efficiently, develop stunning websites and create engaging apps.  Students build a clean, professional-looking website based off their favorite animal, utilizing the latest web standards and best practices in the HTML, CSS, JavaScript coding languages.  Their classes are only three weeks long, and they've got another round starting soon.  Check them out at http://www.rhinocoders.com/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/rhinocoders

Another flashback of some tunes from 1984 later, and segment three was all about Startup Weekend: Pontiac.  We chatted with the organizers, Crystal and Amos, about their event this weekend.  Over the span of 54 hours, you'll get immersed in what it takes to get to a minimum viable product, and you can come at it from just about any angle you want.  Are you a business person with an idea...but no tech skills or design capabilities?  They need you.  Can you sling code, and want to help get something off the ground?  They need you.  Got some design skills that can help make something look slick and clean? They need you.  Get on over to check them out at https://www.facebook.com/startupweekendpontiac and dive in!

For segment four, we chatted with one of our favorite people...and not just because we get beer from him...Mark from Falling Down Beer Company.  Their second anniversary event is this weekend, and you should absolutely plan on attending.  From 9am to 11am, they've got a reservations-only brunch going on that, knowing their kitchen, is going to knock your socks off.  Starting at 11am, the doors open to the public, and they'll have 14 taps running with a wide variety of brews available, food, entertainment, they'll be raffling off gift cards, growler fills, and a bunch of other stuff.  Plan on being there.  Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/fallingdownbeer

And as mentioned up in the intro, we had to keep things rolling into a fifth segment because we had so much to cover.  We hadn't even talked about our Pink Slip Party last week at The Majestic, or that we're doubling down on events starting in April with an event on Wednesday, April 1st over at Firebird Tavern downtown.

So listen to this week's episode, and we'll see you next week.

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RhinoCoders can be found at http://www.rhinocoders.com/ and https://www.facebook.com/rhinocoders

Startup Weekend Pontiac can be found at https://www.facebook.com/startupweekendpontiac

Falling Down Beer Company can be found at https://www.facebook.com/fallingdownbeer

As always, we can be found:

On the web: http://www.ITinTheD.com

On Meetup: http://www.meetup.com/ITintheD/

On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=91763

On Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ITintheD 

On Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ITintheD

Duran Duran.  The NeverEnding Story.  Transformers. 1984 was a good year, and so it’s of little surprise that episode 84 of our weekly live broadcast was a blast. With our guests from Falling Down Beer Company, RhinoCoders and Startup Weekend Pontiac in-studio with us, we had a wide variety of topics to handle…to the point where […]

Our flashback to 1983 with episode 83 of our live, weekly broadcast has come and gone, and it was definitely a lot of fun.

We were joined in-studio by a couple of recurring guests on our show, Steve Gaura from Arrow Strategies and Billy Strawter of Social Coop Media Detroit.  We talked about our Pink Slip Party this Thursday night, what Arrow's seeing in the jobs market, why companies build all of these splintered apps and more...

Once our 1983 themed intro wrapped up, we dove into the news, events and stories that have caught our eyes over the past week.

From our impending Pink Slip Party to us doubling down on events in April and throughout the rest of the year, we handled a little business first and foremost.

Then we dove into the fun news that everything you say to Siri is recorded, packaged, sent back to the Apple mothership and sold off.  So that's awesome.  The new Hello Barbie dolls doing the exact same thing to your kids.  Hertz putting spycams in their rental cars...even if they say they haven't activated them.  Super PI day that happened this past Saturday.  And, of course, much more.

In segment two, we dropped in with Steve Gaura from Arrow Strategies to talk about why they've been a sponsor of our Pink Slip Party events ever since...well, ever since we first started accepting sponsors, actually.  We talked about what they'll be looking for Thursday night, a recruiter's take on what you should expect, how you should act, and what you should be looking for at the event.  How to best prepare yourself and handle the interactions with everyone, and a good bit more.  Arrow Strategies can be found at http://arrowstrategies.com/, or, of course, at our event Thursday night.

Our third segment dove in with Billy Strawter of Social Coop Media.  It's always great having Billy in, because he's one of the few people that can actually make us understand social media topics without wanting to kill people.  We had some great chats about why companies are building so many splintered apps these days...and the rather annoying trend of apps that aren't happy doing one thing really well, and find themselves sucking when they try to be all things to all people.  They handle clients all over the country, but especially if you're here in the metro Detroit area and trying to get a grip on your social media strategy and make sense of all the nonsense going on these days...we can't possibly recommend Billy and Social Coop Media enough to you.  Go check them out at http://socialcoopmedia.com/

As we always do, our fourth segment doubled back on some earlier topics to amplify things a bit, we covered a few more news stories from the past week, and then wrapped things up for the night.

Come join us live and in person Thursday night at The Majestic Theater - looking forward to seeing everyone there!

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Arrow Strategies can be found at http://arrowstrategies.com/

Social Coop Media can be found at http://socialcoopmedia.com/

As always, we can be found:

On the web: http://www.ITinTheD.com

On Meetup: http://www.meetup.com/ITintheD/

On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=91763

On Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ITintheD 

On Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ITintheD

Our flashback to 1983 with episode 83 of our live, weekly broadcast has come and gone, and it was definitely a lot of fun. We were joined in-studio by a couple of recurring guests on our show, Steve Gaura from Arrow Strategies and Billy Strawter of Social Coop Media Detroit.  We talked about our Pink […]

Episode 82 of our weekly live broadcast is in the history books, and we had a lot of fun with our guests.

We were joined by Corey from Midwest Media Expo and Terry from 313Dlove to talk about their respective events coming up in the next month, as well as two of our group's members, Ian and Darshan, to get their take on those events, our own upcoming events and more...

In case you weren't listening live last night, you still have time to win a free lifetime membership to the Detroit Beer Press howler club.  All you have to do is be the first one to post a comment here that identifies all of the movies and TV shows from 1982 that the clips came from during our intro!

Once said intro wrapped up, as always, we dove into quick introductions of everyone, and then hopped right into the news, events and stories that caught our eye from this past week.  We talked about Mt Everest basically being a chemical war zone due to all of the human waste left behind (yes, that means exactly what you think it means), Curt Schilling tracking down the guys who were harassing his daughter on twitter, the Rock Band video game making a comeback onto new platforms, why we're all apparently old and out of it since we don't understand how Snapchat can possibly be a threat to TV and more.

In our second segment, we dove in with Corey from Midwest Media Expo.  For just $45 (and that pricing ends TODAY, people...so if you want it, go get it!) you get access to the entire weekend's events, autographs from the special guests and more.  That's right - no extra charge for autographs, special sessions, or anything else.  What a novel freaking concept.  The World Cosplay Summit will be taking place as a part of that weekend's activities, gaming tournaments and much, much more.  The Midwest Media Expo is a popular culture event similar to most Comic Conventions. Instead of focusing on only comics, the Midwest Media Expo is a celebration of all popular media, including: Animation, Television, Film, Literature, Video Games, Tabletop Gaming, Comics, and Internet Culture. The Midwest Media Expo will bring a unique all-ages blend of interactive events, celebrity guest panels, and live musical performances to Downtown Detroit.  Find them online at http://www.midwestmediaexpo.com/, or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/MidwestMediaExpo

Segment three has us chatting about an event this Friday as Terry talked about the 313Dlove event.  From a trending topic on Twitter to a movement that will one day see March 13 a city-wide holiday, they focus on positive change.  There's a march taking place in the morning, followed by a programming track at the Charles H Wright Museum of African American History.  Find out more on their site - http://313dlove.com/ - or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/313DLove

Our fourth and final segment doubled back on some earlier topics, covered a few more items that we hadn't gotten to, and then wrapped things up for the night.

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Join us next week as we've got Steve from Arrow Strategies and Billy Strawter from Social Coop Media Detroit with us in-studio as we talk about our Pink Slip Party that Thursday night and more.

Midwest Media Expo can be found at at http://www.midwestmediaexpo.com/, or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/MidwestMediaExp

313Dlove can be found at http://313dlove.com/ - or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/313DLove

As always, we can be found:

On the web: http://www.ITinTheD.com

On Meetup: http://www.meetup.com/ITintheD/

On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=91763

On Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ITintheD 

On Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ITintheD

Episode 82 of our weekly live broadcast is in the history books, and we had a lot of fun with our guests. We were joined by Corey from Midwest Media Expo and Terry from 313Dlove to talk about their respective events coming up in the next month, as well as two of our group’s members, Ian and […]

Episode 81 of our weekly broadcast is in the rear view mirror, and it was definitely a good one.

We were joined in-studio by two of the ladies behind ComiqueCon to discuss their November event, the owner of The Detroit Bus Company to talk about their recent dust-up with a production house as well as their efforts to keep Detroit's youth safe and able to access programs, and the writer behind Folkteller to talk a little Detroit folklore and history in the context of their stories, graphic novel, and in-progress film version...

Hey, did you hear Spock died?  In case you went Amish for a few days, Leonard Nimoy died, and so of course we chatted about that for a few.  Our Pink Slip Party event is just a couple of weeks away, and in just a week we're down to only one sponsor slot left open.  We talked about a need that our friends over at Penguicon have that will help them work miracles for some local children, so you should go read about that here.  The opening of Buffalo Wild Wings in Royal Oak...and people standing in line in the freezing weather for basically nothing.  Uber's data breach and the guy who got hit with a $452 fare over an 11 mile, 30 minute ride.  That stupid dress that took over the internet for a few days.  Net neutrality and the internet being classified as a utility.  So, so much more.

After a break, we came back with Sharon and Chelsea from Comiquecon, an event being put on in November focused on female creators, authors, artists and panels.  It's taking place on Saturday, November 7 at the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn, and since they're still in the planning stages, there's plenty of time for you to get involved.  They're looking for sponsors, ideas for panels, volunteers, presenters and more.  Tickets haven't been released yet, but they made a few announcements last night as to some guests who have been booked for appearances at their event, so listen in and hear what they've got going on.

In segment three, we chatted with Andy Didorisi of The Detroit Bus Company on a couple of different topics.  We invited him in originally because of a bit of whacky mayhem that went down regarding a tv program that apparently took the liberty of stealing a video he was a part of...and if that wasn't bad enough, they bundled it into their own work and completely misrepresented his story.  Even better, he didn't know about it until he started getting calls and texts from people watching it.  But then, even though we initially brought him in to chat about that, as we did a little pre-show research, we discovered that his company does some very cool things, including ensuring that school kids who don't have access to after school programs due to a lack of transportation availability are able to get where they need to go to have the opportunities to learn and grow.  Which, as it turns out, isn't cheap at all to do.  They received a grant to get them rolling (pardon the pun) last year, but this year it's on them to raise a hefty chunk of the cash required to keep this program alive, and so they've got an IndieGogo campaign running to raise the money they need.  There are worse things you can do with your money, so go give it a look and donate.

For our last segment, we brought Joseph Bastien of Folkteller into the mix to discuss his Nain Rouge story, graphic novel and movie in the works.  For those unfamiliar with the urban legend / folklore of Nain Rouge, the story goes that there's a red dwarf who shows up when bad things are about to happen in Detroit, dating as far back as 1701.  There are events that have cropped up around the story in recent years, beers have been named after it by local breweries, and it's a rather interesting story and bit of legend for the area.  This was an interesting chat, going through the process of a writer trying to get his story more easily accessible to today's readers, as well as the process of finding the talent to support his work, and the painstaking process involved in getting a movie coming together.

ComiqueCon can be found online at http://comiquecon.com/

The Detroit Bus Company can be found at http://thedetroitbus.com/ and their fundraiser can be found at  https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/keep-detroit-s-youth-transit-alliance-on-the-road/

Folkteller can be found at http://www.folktellerstories.com/

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As always, we can be found:

On the web: http://www.ITinTheD.com

On Meetup: http://www.meetup.com/ITintheD/

On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=91763

On Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ITintheD 

On Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ITintheD

Episode 81 of our weekly broadcast is in the rear view mirror, and it was definitely a good one. We were joined in-studio by two of the ladies behind ComiqueCon to discuss their November event, the owner of The Detroit Bus Company to talk about their recent dust-up with a production house as well as their efforts […]

A fun episode, even if we were riddled with technical issues, which sort of explains why this episode is a little bit late getting out.  Sorry about that.

We were joined in-studio by one of our sponsors, W3R, as well as our friends over at Daily Detroit, for a whole bunch of conversations and chats about the state of things here in Detroit, the latest news and info floating around worth noting, the BIGGEST NEWS EVER IN DETROIT...and much more...

In our first segment, we talked about the little problem Lenovo has with some pre-loaded software that isn't necessarily what users were expecting, the fact that we're finally in the 80s and some of the landmark moments from 1980 that were worth remembering, our article in the latest issue of Detroit Beer Press, our upcoming events and more.

Next up...well, next up we had some technical issues with the broadcast and so things got a little fluky, but eventually we dove in with W3R about an event of their own they had in the works, what they see in and around the area and the industry, the sort of jobs they're hiring for and more.  Check out everything W3R has going on at http://www.w3r.com/

With Daily Detroit, we talked about some shenanigans going on with a couple local media outlets and a power player around town, whether or not the announcement about fiber coming to Detroit is actually going to matter for your typical resident and a whole bunch of fun topics...well, because it's always a blast when we dive in with that crew.  Check them out at http://www.dailydetroit.com/

In our final segment, we did as we usually do.  We doubled back on some earlier topics, caught a few things that we missed in the earlier segment, and then wrapped things up for the night.

Catch W3R at http://www.w3r.com/

Read Daily Detroit at http://www.dailydetroit.com/

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As always, we can be found:

On the web: http://www.ITinTheD.com

On Meetup: http://www.meetup.com/ITintheD/

On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=91763

On Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ITintheD 

On Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ITintheD

A fun episode, even if we were riddled with technical issues, which sort of explains why this episode is a little bit late getting out.  Sorry about that. We were joined in-studio by one of our sponsors, W3R, as well as our friends over at Daily Detroit, for a whole bunch of conversations and chats […]