10 Years Building, Creating, Innovating
It Started Back In Q1 2014 With A Habakkuk 2:2 Moment
(“Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it.”)
AIRR(Advancing Innovation With Regional Resources)
Then Later That Summer
Tech ‘Revolution’ Coming To Alabama
Brad Harper, Montgomery Advertiser, June 29, 2014.
Central Alabama may not look much like Silicon Valley, but a group of local entrepreneurs say there’s no reason it can’t have the same kind of future down the road.
“That (Interstate 85) corridor from Montgomery to Auburn-Opelika is the same length as the corridor from San Francisco to Silicon Valley,” Adam Warnke said. “Between Auburn University, Tuskegee University, Montgomery and the Air Force bases, there’s enough tech talent to create that same atmosphere within that stretch.”
They’re taking the first step toward that future Monday. Warnke and network engineer Boyd Stephens helped put together a gathering in downtown Montgomery for anyone who wants to share ideas.
It falls on Social Media Day, a nationwide event started by the tech blog Mashable in 2010 to encourage this kind of tech-focused forward-thinking. That seemed like perfect timing to Warnke, who was inspired by a talk about the area’s potential from Netelysis founder and event co-organizer Stephens.
Warnke set things up through his Lightning Line promotion company and started spreading the word about a “creative revolution” and sharing the hashtag #revolutionMGM on social media.
“We want to try to get the entrepreneurial mojo going in Montgomery,” Warnke said. “Other cities like Nashville seem to be capturing this young, entrepreneurial vibe and people kind of flock to that.”
Monday’s event is open to anyone. Organizers hoping to create a spark by bringing creative young people, IT professionals and business leaders together to mix.
People will be encouraged to get out of their comfort zones and talk to someone new, connect on social media and start sharing ideas.
“Maybe two people who wouldn’t normally come to an event downtown will meet,” Warnke said. “Maybe they’ll start a relationship and something cool will happen from it.”
They’re already planning other meetings and events.
Warnke said one possibility is a “Hackathon” in which tech professionals come together to solve a single problem with 24 hours of coding. For instance, he said they could create an app that lets people track city buses so they don’t have to sit and wait for one to arrive.
“We want to create something that snowballs and builds from here,” he said.
#revolutionMGM
WHEN: 5 p.m. today
WHERE: Upper room at the AlleyBar, 166 Commerce St. in Montgomery
DETAILS: Free mixer, with a cash bar and more
Adam Warnke
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