Since I covered the social technology community in Philadelphia for Philebrity.com in a weekly column, my interest has been piqued by the goings-on of the technology scene, the lack of media coverage it holds, and what potential lie in devoting more energy to the topic. I often wondered how a standalone site dedicated to the tech scene would look and feel, and what good it could potentially bring to a community, that before today, was mostly self-reported.
From the beginning when I pitched my interest in technology to Philebrity as a column, and news broke that Alex Hilman and Geoff DiMasi had opened their collaborative workspace Independents Hall, I had a feeling that there was much more to come.
While writing the column, I witnessed the community evolve at a rapid pace. Social tech events were popping up everywhere. I will concede that many of those events were already well underway, some for years, but I believe IndyHall played a crucial role in evangelizing a community that was mostly disconnected. A rise in the popularity of blogging and the social connections forged by Twitter were also crucial in connecting the people using technology in their day-to-day lives. What sprang from these occurrences was the notion that the talented, well-intentioned individuals involved with the city’s tech scene were coming together to make Philadelphia a better place.
My last column about the community, coverage of the IgnitePhilly lectures, is what I believe should have been the first column; When our technology scene transcended its digital roots and its anti-social, “shut-in” stigmas and became an important part of shaping Philadelphia’s social consciousness. The momentum that I felt while covering IgnitePhilly was palpable, and I doubt there was anyone attending the event that did not feel the same. I have not been able to invoke a better description than when I wrote about IgnitePhilly the following day:
Having had a birds-eye perspective on the creative community during the last year, in many ways, IgnitePhilly felt to me like the culmination of something big—a movement that had been brewing in the hearts and minds of many in the city whom hadn’t put a finger on what it was. Or what to call it. Although I had an inkling that the tech community was doing a lot of cool things, before IgnitePhilly, I didn’t realize how many other communities are tied to this and how many things are changing in every industry.
Style and food. Business and manufacturing. Music downloads and DIY radio. Art and handcraft. Sustainable living and mapping. Even the ways in which humans touch each other is inherently affected by the increasing availability of technology.
And with that, I am thrilled to announce Technically Philly, a news site dedicated to the community of people who use technology in Philadelphia. Since Feb. 9, Technically Philly has been in a soft launch that has offered its editors only a glance at what’s in store. We are excited to work with the technology community, and we hope it will accept our invitation to participate with us in this process of making this site great.
I am proud to be involved with Technically Philly as a co-founder with Sean Blanda and Christopher Wink. Sean has worked tirelessly to make this site possible, and aside from caring for the technical back-end, he is an exceptional journalist who will be contributing in reporting. Chris’s drive is the envy of many, and his experience reporting business and metropolitan news for dozens of publications is a crucial addition to the Technically Philly staff.
For those that have already visited the site, today we are unveiling our comprehensive events calendar. We will be in touch with and hope to hear from technology organizers throughout the metropolitan area. Frankly, we won’t be able to do it without you.
We have many things exciting things to come. This Friday we will feature a Q&A with Roz Duffy of Refresh Philly, our first in a weekly series interviewing a leader or innovator in Philadelphia’s technology community. Later today, we will unveil our first editorial as members of this community, discussing the opportunity that will arise when HallWatch.org is forced to retire from its important fourth estate duty on Thursday. Also, look forward to more event coverage, like our reporting on Philadelphia Standard Organization’s lecture on social media and music last week. And last, we hope you will visit us daily for the best Philadelphia technology news that we can offer.
We hope to facilitate Philadelphia’s technology community as best we can, and ask for your readership as reward for our coverage. Thank you.
Post a Comment