Mobile App Links Retailers & Consumers

The Tacoma Metro marketplace is the first market in the country to get access to an exciting new technology being introduced by WhereURnow LLC. The company has developed a robust mobile application platform that will allow businesses of all sizes and scope to link up with consumers, who are interested in their services.

Additionally, the application utilizes the location information for both the consumer and the businesses to deliver information to consumers from businesses, based on what is closest to them. This allows business owners to target consumers who are interested in their services and are in their neighborhood.

The consumer gets relevant information both by proximity and their interests and provides mapping and directions to those businesses. As a consumer, you can also easily change the location of your search from your current location to another location with just a few clicks inside the application. You can select a different zip code, a different neighborhood, city or state.

The WhereURnow platform is a web based application, so it also allows consumers to look for information about businesses from their home or work and then easily save that info to their phone for future use.

The business owner also uses the web platform to manage their content on the WhereURnow platform. This allows the business owner 24/7 access to their content and allows them to change that content instantaneously. A business owner has the ability to have multiple offers in the system. The management system provided in the platform also gives the owner access to a complete redemption tracking system for any offers they put into the system and provides access to a loyalty program managed entirely through the WhereURnow interface.

The company launched the service on September 15th and is currently signing up businesses in advance of the public launch of the application in mid-October, which will be accompanied by a significant media campaign on local TV and internet sites.

Tacoma Has New Science Cafe

Pacific Science Center has announced a third Science Café, which will be located in Tacoma, Washington.

Science Cafés bring scientists face-to-face with the general public in the comfortable, lively atmosphere of a neighborhood cafe or pub All Science Cafés are free to the public, open to all ages and no science background is required!.

The evening begins with a brief presentation by a scientist, which kicks off an extended discussion session between the scientist and audience. Previous cafés have covered climate science, evolution and religion, robotics, and health care, just to name a few.

A partnership with KCTS-9 Public Television, the Tacoma Science Café will take place the first Thursday of each month at the famous Harmon Brewery in downtown Tacoma. The pub, known as "Tacoma's Downtown Gathering Place" will welcome local scientists and community to discuss current science topics from climate impacts in the Northwest to the science of chocolate.

"We are grateful to the Institute of Museum and Library Services for their generous grant that allows us to expand our Science Café program to the South Sound," says Meena Selvakumar, Acting Vice President for Strategic Programs at Pacific Science Center.

Science Cafés bring scientists face-to-face with the general public in the comfortable, lively atmosphere of a neighborhood café or pub. All Science Cafés are free to the public, open to all ages and no science background is required!

"People attend our science cafés for a variety of reasons," said Wendy Hansen, Ph.D., SCOPE Project Manager for Pacific Science Center. "But most are there to learn something new about current research and to ask questions of the speaker. The appeal of the cafés is that people get to learn about cutting edge research in a fun environment."

The new café will launch Thursday, November 4, at 7 p.m. at the Harmon Brewery in downtown Tacoma. Each Science Café begins with a local scientist presenting a backbone of science related to the night's topic, followed by a short break for table discussion and beverage refills. The highlight of the night is an extended question and answer session with the scientist.

The Harmon Brewery is located at 1938 Pacific Avenue, Tacoma, WA 98402

Want more science cafes? Click here.

South Sound Technology Conference 2010: Save the Date

Save the date of Friday November 19th to come and attend the 11th annual South Sound Technology Conference on the University of Washington, Tacoma campus. Last year’s event was a great success with over 165 registrations and over 200 attendees filling the William W. Philip Hall during the course of the all day event.

Like the 2009 event, there will be keynote speakers in the morning and during lunch, technology panels and exhibits in the Kopp gallery. Also, once again there will be dual track breakout sessions, though this year we have reserved larger rooms to accommodate the sessions.

One of the tracks has been identified as Energy, Sustainability and Technology which is a very timely topic. Other parts of the program will be developed as we get closer and will be posted on the South Sound Technology Conference website at www.sstconference.org. Thanks go out to Seamus Holman and Gridworks Design for once again sponsoring the site: http://www.sstconference.org/

The annual South Sound Technology Conference is the technology showcase for Tacoma and the South Puget Sound. For years it has brought together leaders from industry, education, and government from around the state to discuss and demonstrate technological innovations and their ongoing applications.

Panel and keynote presentations — including networking opportunities — provide a venue to discuss, explore, understand and deploy technology as a solution, an opportunity and an advantage. SST is perhaps this region’s best annual event to learn how technology is transforming our business and community life.

Startup Weekend for Olympia

Tacoma Leaders Close When Cloture Fails

Earlier, we’ve blogged about the Finance Reform bill and its comparatively minor provisions that relate to angel investors. I say comparatively minor as the Finance Reform bill does many earth-shaking changes in the nation’s/world’s financial market. Those many earth-shaking changes are where the news action is.

However, a new local link is emerging.

CQ News reports today that final action on the comprehensive financial service overhaul remains uncertain. With both the election of Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) and the death of Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV), sixty Democratic senatorial votes are no longer assured. With only four Republican senators voting “yea” for the Finance Reform bill, the question arises which Democrats are voting “no.”

Chamber delegation visiting with Sen. Cantwell immediately following Senate failure to
vote on her amendment.
                                                                                      

Those two Democratic senators voting “no” are said to be Sen. Charles Grassley (D-IA) and our own Sen. Maria Cantwell.

When the Chamber’s delegation visited Washington, D.C. last month, Sen. Cantwell had just had defeated (by Sen. Harry Reid, (D-NV) Majority Leader, pursuing a cloture vote) on the Senate floor her proposed amendment. She was quoted at the time by Jordan Fabian, thehill.com/blogs, that a vote on her amendment was continguent on her voting “yea” for the Finance Reform bill.

Sen. Cantwell’s amendment, co-sponsored by Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), aims to toughen enforcement of complex financial derivatives.                                

VOB Use Tech in Business Models

Two firms, honored by the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber as Veteran-Owned Businesses at the annual Spotlight! On Business Awards could just as easily have been so honored for their application of technology in their business models.

Selected to receive the Chamber’s first VOB Spotlight! Award, with a tagline of “Applying Technology and Doing IT Right Since 1988,” is mynetworkcompany.com. Owner and CEO Darrel Bowman, a disabled Veteran, makes hiring Veterans and current active duty IT personnel a priority. He also continues to be involved in the community and serves on Congressman Adam Smith’s Technology Advisory Council Committee; and is current Chairman of the South Puget Sound IT and Emerging Technology Skills Panel, among others. Mynetworkingcompany.com was a major sponsor for technology in the 2008 Tall Ships Festival – supplying computers, printers, phones and a variety of technical expertise.

Also receiving recognition at the Spotlight! On Business Awards was Jordan and Donna Haines, both Vets as retired Air Force, and owners of Coinforce.com Their company is an internet-based promotional product company, focusing on military challenge coins, lapel pins and belt buckles to the military, businesses, schools, government agencies and non-proft organizations worldwide. They support the local community in many ways: annually towards numerous military morale, welfare and recreation opportunities and other family military programs; and last year, helped raise money for the fallen Lakewood Police officers’ families.

James Donaldson, keynoter at the Spotlight! On Business Awards (known to many as “the big man on small business”), is a small business entrepreneur, former NBA player, motivational speaker, and author of a newly published book “Standing Above the Crowd.” (Executing Your Game Plan to Become The Best You Can Be in Sports, Life & Business). Donaldson inspired us with his real life experiences of his years playing professional sports and his work in motivating youth and encouraging business people to achieve their goals and realize success.

WA Leader in Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Washington’s commitment to investing in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) jobs has placed it among the top states in the country when it comes to entrepreneurship and innovation.

                   According to a new study from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and National Chamber Foundation (NCF), the Enterprising States study highlights how state and local policies—including those in Washington—play a vital role in spurring job creation and economic development.

“By embracing many of the strategies at the core of our free enterprise system—competitive tax rates, open trade, and commonsense regulation—states are helping to jumpstart our economic recovery and create more jobs,” wrote Thomas J. Donohue, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber, in a letter to Governor Chris Gregoire. “Many of the new ideas, new companies, and new jobs will come from local initiatives that allow the free market to do what it does best.”

The Enterprising States study was released as part of a U.S. Chamber event where a group of bipartisan governors from around the country discussed the role of the free enterprise system in job creation. Through this study, the Chamber is highlighting bipartisan state and local policies—including those in Washington—that have proven to help create jobs and that will be key to our economic recovery. The study is part of the U.S. Chamber’s American Free Enterprise. Dream Big. campaign, a comprehensive nationwide effort to create 20 million jobs in the next 10 years.

Specifically, the study highlights how Washington is playing a pivotal role in fostering the conditions for job growth through the Education Legacy Trust Fund program, being a global leader in aerospace research and development, and a strong focus on rail and container port initiatives to drive exports.

“This study provides an in-depth look at the vast and complex network of economies we call the 50 states and territories,” said Margaret Spellings, executive vice president of NCF and former secretary of the Department of Education. “By highlighting lessons learned we hope to create a roadmap to economic resilience and an ongoing dialogue that makes every state’s jobs picture stronger.”

The Enterprising States study highlights six factors that drive job creation: Innovation, productivity through investments in workforce development and training, science and technology, infrastructure, exporting, and competitive tax rates. The study found that states are much more active than the federal government on the job creation and economic development front. For example, the study found that high tax rates do not lead to either healthy economies or budgets.

Similarly, the study looks at how states have implemented initiatives for streamlining red tape to help businesses sort through the many layers of government regulation and have incentivized private-sector investors primarily with tax credits. It also highlights that targeted investments in infrastructure projects at the state-level can create growth‐friendly environments in communities. Science- and technology-based economic development and clean tech initiatives are proliferating amongst virtually all of the states. There is widespread support for doubling exports and there are also states that have made significant headway using strategies for foreign direct investment (FDI). Finally, cultivating people through workforce development will drive economic growth at the state-level, the study shows.