The May Report: 3/23/2011: In Feb. 2011, Tech Crunch wrote about two hours ago, Groupon’s Feb. revenues dropped from an average of $81MM over the previous 3 months to $61MM!; Andrew Mason tells writer Erick Schonfeld that comScore’s traffic numbers are bullsh** — if he’s going to curse, maybe he should hire Weinstein after all; Groupon Inc. President and Chief Operating Officer Rob Solomon is leaving — what so soon?! and he was only there a year!; We’re still keeping that magical $1MM first round of funding: Lightbank funds Seattle firm Zaarly for you guessed it, $1MM; Now you tell me: Does Brad Keywell really need $100K from the Joyce Foundation and $100K from the MacArthur Foundation for an event he’s planning in October? — I’d bet that if he wrote the check himself it wouldn’t bounce; Melanie on the mobile roundtable over the weekend; SS&C Technologies announced the company’s plans to open a new service and technology center here, creating up to 500 new jobs by 2014 in an Evansville Tech Center; BNC VC Group holds Indiana night

The May Report March 23rd, 2011

Editor and publisher: ron@themayreport.com, ronaldmay@aol.com, www.themayreport.com , 773-525-3944.

Assistant editor: Melanie Adcock, iPHONE: 312-259-0610, melanie_adcock@msn.com

If you missed an article, go here: www.tmronline.com/A55951/tmrarticles.nsf/vwFullNewsletter
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

The Scoop section:

– Just about two hours ago at 1:30pm Chicago time, Tech Crunch is reporting that Groupon revenues dropped significantly in February and that the Super Bowl ad was a flop — You have to see the charts! techcrunch.com/2011/03/23/groupon-u-s-revenues/
– Groupon President and COO Solomon leaving company

– Solomon brings adult supervision to Groupon
– From the midVentures newsletter: Lightbank Funds 3-Week-Old Zaarly
– Yeah, like Brad Keywell really needs the money and is he getting the money just because of Groupon?! Keywell gets $100K from the Joyce Foundation and $100K from the MacArthur Foundation
– Wednesday, March 23: FoursquareTM Birthday Party
– Summary of Roundtable: Future of Mobile in Media, Saturday, March 26, 2011 from 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM, by Melanie Adcock
– SS&C Technologies (NASDAQ: SSNC) today announced the company’s plans to open a new service and technology center here, creating up to 500 new jobs by 2014
– Is FDA Handing Out Gag Orders to Journalists Now?
– Tuesday, April 5: BNC VC Group: Indiana Presenters: Coeus Technologies, SeetTek, Didgebridge
– Wednesday, April 6: Extreme Entrepreneurship Tour at Illinois Institute of Technology
– SXSW? NXNE? And an Innovation Telecon with CEA’s Gary Shapiro
– Daliah Saper: Fake Internet Boyfriends, Fox News, NetSecure 2011, Tech Cocktail, Flourish Open Source Conference, and more!
– Tarkus Murphy: 101 version of the 2011 USDA DLT – Connection to March 7, 2011 Workshop
– Tarkus again: The 2011 USDA DLT application is online
– ‘AFFILIATE MARKETERS’ SAY THEY WILL BE FORCED TO MOVE TO OTHER STATES IF GOV. QUINN SIGNS HB 3659 – Effort to Collect Tax from Internet Sales Will Cost Illinois Jobs, Revenue
– Miscellaneous messages (2 notes)

[Editor's note: Ron May here. I will have a more complete write-up for you about the beautiful funeral service for Jim Tyree Monday night, "Ty" to his boyhood friends along with many other nicknames, and the lovely wake. I got there about 5:20pm and left at the very end of the evening. When I got into the wake line, it was about a half hour wait and while the line was long, it did not extend outside the building. The church was packed -- no seating room left and standing room only for the service. A few of the dignitaries there were Governor Pat Quinn, U. S. Senator Dick Durbin, former State Treasurer Alexi Genoulias, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, and many others including Jerry Roper of the Chamber, Carol Marin of Channel 5 and 11 and the Chicago Sun-Times, and from our tech community, I saw only Darcy Evon and Paul Davidovich. The service was officiated by Celebrants Tom Hurley and Scott Donahue. The homily was given (I think) by Father Tom Hurley who repeated the line from St. Francis of Assisi en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_of_Assisi, "Preach the Gospel. Use words if you must." I took that to mean that Jim had lived the Christian values he was taught as a boy rather than just propounded them. The three eulogies were given by Richard Price, Jim's friend and the new CEO at Mesirow, Jim's sister-in-law and brother-in-law Margaret Nagle and Christopher Slusarczyk and finally by his boyhood friend since the age of ten, Tom Finn. Tom Finn had everyone in stitches because he knew the real and the crazy and fun Jim "Ty, Roscoe, etc." Tyree. I took copious notes and also taped it. But that is for another day. The music was great and I am told that St. Pat's is known for the best music. Also, Jim and Eve's oldest child Jessica's 6th grade class from the Frances Xavier Warde School www.fxw.org/ (right next door to the church) came in and sang to the congregants. Jim's sons Joseph and Matthew also go to that school. There is much more but let me get this out.]
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The Scoop section:
____________________
Just about two hours ago at 1:30pm Chicago time, Tech Crunch is reporting that Groupon revenues dropped significantly in February and that the Super Bowl ad was a flop — You have to see the charts! techcrunch.com/2011/03/23/groupon-u-s-revenues/

techcrunch.com/2011/03/23/groupon-u-s-revenues/

Exclusive Data On Groupon’s U.S. Revenues And February Falloff

Erick Schonfeld
1 hour ago

By most accounts, Groupon is growing like gangbusters. It’s taking market share around the world, hiring left and right, and priming for a $25 billion IPO. But how much of the group-buying site’s revenues are U.S. versus international and how is it doing in its home market, especially after its disastrous Super Bowl ads?

The chart above shows a pretty good estimate of Groupon’s monthly U.S. revenues based on an analysis of every Groupon deal on its site over the last year (each deal page shows how many Groupons were sold and the price). Some key takeaways: From January, 2010 to January 2011, Groupon’s U.S. monthly revenues grew eightfold from $11 million to $89 million. But February saw a huge 30 percent drop-off to $62 million. Was that a backlash because of the Super Bowl ads or simply a breather after three months of crazy holiday deals?

When you add up all of the monthly figures for 2010, it comes to an estimate of $460 million for Groupon’s annual U.S. revenue. That is 60 percent of Groupon’s rumored worldwide 2010 revenue of $760 million reported by the WSJ. And it also gels with this report on the U.S. group buying industry, which estimated total 2010 U.S. group buying revenues at $1.1 billion, with Groupon accounting for less than half. But the numbers being thrown out for Groupon’s 2011 revenues are in the $3 billion to $4 billion range. That means that either these estimates are low (a possibility), or that the bulk of Groupon’s growth is overseas.

This data came from a source I trust who monitors Groupon’s offers and has written custom software to gather the data. My source is not the only one doing this kind of digital sleuthing. Late last year, I received a similar data dump from another source that I never published because I wasn’t sure I could trust that source. Looking back now and comparing the two data sets, they are almost identical month by month. Again, these are just estimates based on the equivalent of scraping Groupon’s site, and thus could be missing something. Or something could have changed in February to make the data collection methods used less reliable.

But let’s look at one more set of data, this time from comScore. Its estimate of Groupon’s U.S. traffic shows it peaking in December. 2010 at 10.7 million unique visitors, and then drooping to 9.7 million in February, 2011. It stands to reason that traffic to a deals site is strongly correlated to revenues.

I reached out to Groupon CEO Andrew Mason about this data. He doesn’t talk about revenues, per his policy, but on the traffic numbers from comScore he says emphatically, “my man, don’t you know that sh** is bullshit**?” He sent me the Google Analytics chart at the bottom of this post, which he says shows Groupon’s true U.S. traffic trend. I guess we’ll find out how accurate this data is when Groupon files for its IPO, assuming it breaks out U.S. revenues in that filing.

get widgetminimize
CrunchBase Information
Groupon
Groupon image
Website: groupon.com
Location: Chicago, Illinois, United States
Founded: November 11, 2008
Funding: $1.14B

Groupon (www.groupon.com) features a daily deal on the best stuff to do, see, eat, and buy in more than 565 cities around the world. By promising businesses a minimum number of customers, Groupon can offer deals that aren’t available elsewhere.
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Ron May here. There are only 11 comments so far, but when there are at least 50, I will print them.One thought on my end is that February is 10% shorter than January and December in terms of days so that could account for some of the difference. .
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Groupon President and COO Solomon leaving company

Subject: Groupon President and COO Solomon leaving company
Date: 3/23/2011 10:44:26 A.M. Central Daylight Time
From: melanie_adcock@msn.com
Reply To:
To: ron@themayreport.com, ronaldmay@aol.com

Groupon President and COO Solomon leaving company
By: Ann Weiler March 22, 2011

www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20110322/NEWS07/110329953/groupon-president-and-coo-solomon-leaving-company-report

(Crain’s) – Groupon Inc. President and Chief Operating Officer Rob Solomon is leaving his job at the Chicago-based daily deal site.

Mr. Solomon told the Wall Street Journal that one reason he is leaving is that “Groupon got really big,” telling the paper that it had 200 employees when he came on a year ago and has 6,000 currently.

The Wall Street Journal’s All Things Digital blog first reported the move.

“Rob has added enormous value to Groupon and we’ll miss having him around,” Groupon CEO Andrew Mason said in an email to Crain’s Tuesday evening. “He’ll remain a friend and adviser to the company.”

Mr. Solomon told the Journal that he made his decision in talks with Mr. Mason. “In reflecting upon the next phase, I agree with Andrew that we really need a much different type of operator to take it to the next level,” he said in the Journal report.

He is “absolutely not” departing Groupon because of any troubles at the company, he told the paper.

Mr. Solomon, 44, a former executive with Yahoo Inc., held the titles for about a year.

As Groupon has hurtled toward an expected IPO, Mr. Solomon’s role had him racing to build the management structures and marketing strategies needed to harness its growth.

(Read Crain’s premium content: “Solomon brings adult supervision to Groupon.”)

Recent reports said Groupon has discussed an IPO with banks that would give the company a value of as high as $25 billion. The move to go public has been widely seen as happening this year and would not value the company lower than $15 billion, Bloomberg Businessweek reported earlier this month, citing “two people with knowledge of the discussions.”

The company’s revenue has been estimated by outsiders at about $150 million a month and continues to grow by about 25% per month. Half the revenue comes from overseas, the fastest-growing part of the business.

“When I got here, we had less than 200 people,” Mr. Solomon told Crain’s last month. “Now we’re over 5,000.”

What do you think?
George L. wrote:
Solomon’s sudden departure – it could be for personal reasons the #2 guy cashing out now when everything sounds so rosy makes me wonder… And starting up “Groupon Now”, coming into a market late as a follower rather than a leader when perhaps all their time and energy should remain focused on their primary purpose, amazing success and exponential grown makes me wonder what’s going on…

Just askin….
3/22/2011 9:30 PM CDT

Read more: www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20110322/NEWS07/110329953/groupon-president-and-coo-solomon-leaving-company#ixzz1HRAkQcJw
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Melanie Adcock
Assistant Editor of The May Report
312-259-0610 melanie_adcock@msn.com
LinkedIn: linkd.in/MelanieAdcock
The May Report Facebook Page: on.fb.me/TheMayReport
Visit The May Report Archives: bit.ly/TheMayReportArchives
Subscribe to The May Report: bit.ly/TheMayReportSubscribe
_______________________________

Ron May here. Melanie tells me that she hears that possibly Rob found something like The Next Big Thing when he was at SXSW. I don’t know how likely it is that such a big decision would be made so quickly for a position at that level. I am sure that there will be many comments about this shift at the top since it does raise a series of questions.

______________________________

Solomon brings adult supervision to Groupon

Subject: Solomon brings adult supervision to Groupon
Date: 3/23/2011 10:59:38 A.M. Central Daylight Time
From: melanie_adcock@msn.com
To: ron@themayreport.com, ronaldmay@aol.com

Ron, Here is a recent article written about Rob Solomon in Crain’s. It sounds like he had a mission critical role. Why would he leave? Was the harsh Chicago winter just too much for him or what? If he didn’t like his car getting towed I’m sure he was completely freaked out by the recent February blizzard. If he goes back to the West Coast he’s a total wimp. Just my two cents. -Melanie

Solomon brings adult supervision to Groupon

www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20110226/ISSUE01/302269984

By: John Pletz February 28, 2011

Read more: www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20110226/ISSUE01/302269984/solomon-brings-adult-supervision-to-groupon#ixzz1HREVwDnH
Stay on top of Chicago business with our free daily e-newsletters

Rob Solomon is working to make corporate Chicago’s fastest-growing adolescent behave more like a grown-up.

As Groupon Inc. hurtles toward an expected IPO, he’s racing to build the management structures and marketing strategies needed to harness its growth. In just under a year as president and chief operating officer of the daily-deal company, Mr. Solomon has recruited a cadre of experienced managers from Silicon Valley and amassed a salesforce of 2,000 in offices from Chicago to Tokyo to Johannesburg, South Africa.

“Rob’s role is to make sure the growth continues without the wheels coming off,” Groupon CEO Andrew Mason says.

The job gets harder and more important as Groupon gets bigger and prepares to sell its stock on Wall Street. The need for better controls and more sophisticated management became clear after the recent Super Bowl ad gaffe, followed by a Valentine’s Day promotion with FTD that angered customers and by Groupon’s halting efforts to crack the vast Chinese market.

“Those mistakes set you back and make you look foolish, and people don’t take you seriously as a mature company,” says Rob Enderle, a San Jose. Calif.-based technology analyst. “If they want to get people to invest their pension money, they have to appear mature.”

Mr. Mason took most of the lumps for the missteps. Mr. Solomon’s job is to prevent recurrences.

“We need to be more conscious and careful in the future (in our advertising),” the former Yahoo Inc. executive says. “As we get bigger and run more deals, we have to be more diligent and hyperfocused in policing them.”

That gets harder as Groupon steps up a global land-grab to fend off competitors, such as Washington, D.C.-based startup LivingSocial, and anticipated moves from Internet giants such as Mountain View, Calif.-based Google Inc.

The company’s revenue is estimated by outsiders at about $150 million a month and continues to grow by about 25% per month. Half the revenue comes from overseas, the fastest-growing part of the business.

“When I got here, we had less than 200 people,” Mr. Solomon says. “Now we’re over 5,000.”

Most of them are in their 20s, making the 44-year-old a graybeard at Groupon’s jam-packed headquarters on the North Branch of the Chicago River.

“I’m the old guy here,” he says.

He sits directly across from the 30-year-old Mr. Mason. Mr. Solomon focuses on sales and customer service; Mr. Mason deals more with product, technology and overall vision for the company. Groupon Chairman Eric Lefkofsky also takes a hand in management, along with big strategic calls like the decision to reject a reported $6-billion buyout offer late last year from Google.

A SHARK IN THE POOL

Mr. Mason is a programmer with an offbeat sense of humor who grew up in Pittsburgh and studied music at Northwestern University in the early 2000s. Mr. Solomon, who was born in New York and raised in Miami before moving to California as a teenager, comes across as more even-keeled, though friends say he’s driven and competitive.

An All-American water polo player at the University of California at Berkeley, he helped the team win two NCAA titles in the mid-1980s. Former teammate Jeff Brush says Mr. Solomon played every position but goalie. “It’s never about Rob,” he says. “There’s no ego.”

‘ I wasn’t brought here to be groomed to take (Mason’s) spot.’
- Rob Solomon,
referring to Groupon’s CEO Mr. Solomon says he isn’t angling for Mr. Mason’s job: “I wasn’t brought here to be groomed to take his spot. If I do my job, I become obsolete. He doesn’t.”

Mr. Mason says the two have “complementary personalities. What he brought that neither Eric nor I had was real experience at a consumer Internet company. That’s been invaluable to us.”

Mr. Solomon got his start in e-commerce at Cendant Corp. in the mid-’90s, then joined Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Yahoo in 2000, just as the dot-com bubble was about to burst. He built Yahoo Shopping into a $250- million business before leaving in 2006 to become CEO of travel-shopping site SideStep Inc., where he doubled revenue before selling the company to Kayak.com for $200 million in December 2007.

A Silicon Valley investor introduced Mr. Solomon to Mr. Mason when the latter traveled to California in late 2009. Thinking Mr. Solomon wouldn’t consider leaving California, Mr. Mason was surprised when he called a few months later to express interest in working for Groupon.

WELCOME TO CHICAGO

Mr. Solomon moved his wife and three kids to the Kenwood neighborhood, near where his wife’s sister lives. Still, the introduction to Chicago was rocky. While eating dinner in Chinatown, his car was towed, with two of his dogs inside. His first bite into a Chicago hot dog sent juice from a pepper into his eyes.

“It was the most intense pain I’ve ever felt,” he says. “I was alternately screaming and laughing.”

The transition to Groupon was easier as he drew on his Silicon Valley ties to help the company make hires such as Mark Johnson, chief data officer, from Netflix Inc.; Michael Shim, head of mobile development, and Lee Brown, who runs national sales, both from Yahoo; and research scientist Nitin Sharma from Google Inc.

“He’s helped recruit some talented people,” Mr. Lefkofsky says. “He’s been instrumental in putting in some of the systems for managing growth, the method by which we open new cities and countries. That’s the secret sauce for Groupon.”

Mr. Solomon is following the playbook he brought from Yahoo and SideStep, where he cranked up revenue largely by bringing in lots of customers with aggressive search advertising and partnerships with industry players, and by pushing into new international markets.

He believes strongly in using data to identify the most desirable customers, target deals to them and choose the right merchants. With 60 million subscribers, about three times its closest competitor’s total, data is one of Groupon’s only weapons in an industry with few barriers to entry.

“They’ve got to get more targeted,” says Steve Weinstein, a Portland, Ore.-based analyst at Pacific Crest Securities. “Everyone’s trying to do a knockoff. You can get only so many e-mails a day.”

Read more: www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20110226/ISSUE01/302269984/solomon-brings-adult-supervision-to-groupon#ixzz1HRENEMgZ
Stay on top of Chicago business with our free daily e-newsletters
_______________________________

From the midVentures newsletter: Lightbank Funds 3-Week-Old Zaarly

Lightbank Funds 3-Week-Old Zaarly
March 16th, 2011

Seattle startup Zaarly neworleans.zaarly.com/, an auction-style online marketplace designed to connect buyers and sellers via mobile phones, recently landed $1 million in funding – and it hasn’t even launched yet.

The investment comes from a group of angel investors that includes celebrity couple Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore, as well as venture firm of Groupon founders Lightbank. It follows the e-commerce software company’s first-place win at Startup Weekend Los Angeles, which was held last month.

Essentially, what Zaarly offers is a new spin on the online marketplace: users send out offers from smartphones to pay for a specific service. Whether it’s tickets to that night’s basketball game for $100, or for a $50 dinner, the offers could be anything. Others in the same geographic area respond to these requests.

Fishback explains it in a recent interview: “We facilitate in-person transactions so it is hyper-local in the truest sense. [For example] if you want to pay $50 for someone to bring you a pizza and you want it in the next 45 minutes, you post it on Zaarly and we make sure it gets as broadly syndicated as possible. People who are willing to fulfill that order for you, in that amount of time, for that amount of money, can make it happen.”

While co-founders Eric Koester, Bo Fishback, and Ian Hunter have yet to officially debut Zaarly’s mobile app, the trio did launch a beta version at South by Southwest this past weekend. By doing so, they have been able to rapidly get the word out and create a dense network of users.

Likewise, according to some commentators like ZippyCart, Zaarly sets an example for tech startups of all kinds: “Zaarly’s early buzz and innovated model can serve as an inspiration for other online entrepreneurs: how can you use your own ecommerce software to shake up your business model and drive buyer demand? Making buyers a partner in your model is a world apart from trying to cater to them and shove products at them.”

To be notified when Zaarly officially launches, visit Zaarly.com.

Edited by Meagan Lopez
_______________________________

Yeah, like Brad Keywell really needs the money and is he getting the money just because of Groupon?! Keywell gets $100K from the Joyce Foundation and $100K from the MacArthur Foundation

Subject: Brad Keywell Ideas Week gets 200K!!!
Date: 3/20/2011 12:27:25 A.M. Central Daylight Time
From: Name withheld although not requested

To: RONALDMAY@aol.com

Brad Keywell’s Ideas Week gets $100K each from Joyce, MacArthur foundations
Posted by Shia K. at 1/28/2011 6:04 AM CST

Chicago Ideas Week, planned as a heady gathering of speakers talking about issues that shape our everyday lives, has been awarded $100,000 by both the Joyce Foundation and the MacArthur Foundation.

Brad Keywell

Brad Keywell, co-founder of Groupon and LightBank, says the funding will help solidify the event’s place in Chicago. He is interviewing potential speakers himself for the program, planned for Oct. 11-16.

“The more support from the community, the better the speakers,” he told me, adding, “the better the speakers, the more likely more people will come the next year.”

There will be more than 120 speakers addressing a range of topics, including happiness, architecture, technology and the future of health care.

Like similar idea-sharing events around the country – where Mr. Keywell is a regular – Chicago Ideas Week will limit each speaker to an 18-minute presentation. Musical and artistic performances are also planned.

Sent from my lunar orbiter
_____________________________________

Wednesday, March 23: FoursquareTM Birthday Party

From: melanie_adcock@msn.com
To: ron@themayreport.com; ronaldmay@aol.com
Subject: FoursquareTM Birthday Party Wednesday March 23!
Date: Tue, 22 Mar 2011 14:14:54 +0000

FoursquareTM Birthday Party
Wednesday, March 23, 2011 from 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM (CT)
Chicago, United States
Register: 4squarebday.eventbrite.com/

Ticket Information
TICKET TYPE REMAINING SALES END PRICE FEE QUANTITY
Attendee
Entry to Birthday Party, soft drinks and snacks.
12 tickets 1d 6h 2m $20.00 $1.49
Enter Discount Code
Order Now
Event Details
FoursquareTM Birthday Party

When: Wednesday, March 23, 2011 from 6:00PM-8:00PM
Where: Digital Bootcamp, 25 West Hubbard St., Chicago, IL 60654
FoursquareTM is turning two years old and you are invited to the birthday party. The mobile application was first introduced at the South by Southwest (SXSW) conference in Austin, TX in March 2009. FoursquareTM quickly became the breakout mobile application at the conference. Currently, Foursquare has over 6 million users and partnerships with Bon Appetit, Bravo, Louis Vuitton, MTV, People Magazine, Walgreens, Zagat, etc.
Registration/Networking: 6pm-7pm
Presentations: 7pm-8pm
Todor Krecu, Chicago Ambassador, Foursquare
Jeffrey Epstein, Director, Digital Bootcamp
Maria Scileppi, Director, Chicago Portfolio School
Uki Dominque Lucas, Founder, Dominique Lucas, Inc.
Rosemary Walker, Manager, Creative Circle
Geoff Alexander, Vice President – Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, Managing Partner – Wow Bao
Alecia Dantico, Vice President, Digtial, Weber Shandwick
Adam Kraft, Co-Founder, GeoPollster
Keynote Speaker

Ramon De Leon (@Ramon_DeLeon)
Social Media Visionary & International Speaker
Dominos Pizza in Chicago

After party will be at: Theory Sports Bar & Grill, 9 W. Hubbard St., Hubbard & State, Chicago, IL 60654, (312) 644-0004. Specials: $5 Belvedere cocktails and $5 22 oz Bud Lights.

These are photos from the first birthday party: bit.ly/ftoKiu

For questions or for more information about this event, contact:
Todor Krecu
tkrecu(@)gmail.com
Foursquare Chicago Ambassador

join.4sq.com/tkrecu

www.foursquare.com/user/tkrecu

This foursquareTM Birthday Party is being hosted Chicago Web 2.0 and Social Media Marketing Group and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Foursquare Labs, Inc.
_____________________________
Summary of Roundtable: Future of Mobile in Media, Saturday, March 26, 2011 from 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM, by Melanie Adcock

Subject: Roundtable: Future of Mobile in Media, Saturday, March 26, 2011 from 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Date: 3/23/2011 9:14:14 A.M. Central Daylight Time
From: melanie_adcock@msn.com
To: ron@themayreport.com, ronaldmay@aol.com

Ron, I went to the first Saturday event for this Roundtable last weekend and the discussion and conversation was unbeatable. I want to share some more in depth info on what was covered last weekend and this weekend. This is one of the few Saturday events I’ve attended where it’s really been worth going and gained a ton of new insight. -Melanie

Roundtable: Future of Mobile in Media
Saturday, March 26, 2011 from 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM (CT)
Chicago, United States

Roundtable: Future of Mobile in Media
Ask tough questions, get real answers from mobile tech and digital branding experts.
For the roundtables, we will discuss the topics crucial to understanding the future of mobile in media. All participants are invited to bring questions or challenges from their business to address in a roundtable format.

- Uki D. Lucas, Android Architect, Sears, Founder of ChicagoAndroid.com
- Brian Mayer, President of M-Flat Media, Co-Founder of midVentures

Roundtable 1 – 3/19/11 – PR & Marketing
Moderator: Brian Mayer
President, M-Flat Media and Co-Founder, midVentures
The PR & Marketing Roundtable will discuss the ins and outs of marketing on mobile platforms and how mobile apps can be used to create new marketing opportunities.

Marketing
- Methods for marketing your apps
- Gender divide: 84% of social networks have more women then men
- Local, ultra-local vs. global news – reliable sources when news agencies close their foreign offices.
- Objective vs. subjective journalism.

Social media and communication
- Web vs. Mobile users and their habits
- More news are consumed in digital format than paper.
- With 150 million blogs, what will it mean in age of mobile?

Mobile search
- How can people find your mobile apps through search?
- In app search techniques

Roundtable 2 – 3/26/11 – Mobile Technology
Moderator: Uki Lucas
Founder, ChicagoAndroid and Android Architect, Sears Holdings Corporation
The Mobile Technology roundtable is an opportunity for participants to exchange experiences utilizing the wide array of mobile technologies for their apps.

Technology & Design Process
- Bridging the development gap between traditional and mobile websites
- User experience as part of the technology process
- Choosing a development technology: Native vs. Web-based?
- Native vs. PhoneGap vs. Titanium?
- Developing for multiple screen sizes across multiple platforms

Sales and E-commerce
- What kind of mobile opportunities are available to advertisers?
- Developing for in-app e-commerce
- In-app purchasing and mobile business opportunities

Traditional Media
- Traditional publishers and going mobile
- Organizational design challenges for mobile media
- Future of Honeycomb for publishing
- Influence of iPad 2 and iBooks on media publishing
Twitter: #MobMediaPub
________________________________

Ron May here. Melanie, you are burying the lead here. Melanie told me that all the firms presenting on the panel are currently hiring!

________________________________

SS&C Technologies (NASDAQ: SSNC) today announced the company’s plans to open a new service and technology center here, creating up to 500 new jobs by 2014

BREAKING: Software Provider to Create 500 Jobs
Opening Evansville Tech Center

March 22, 2011

News Release

EVANSVILLE, Ind. -SS&C Technologies (NASDAQ: SSNC) today announced the company’s plans to open a new service and technology center here, creating up to 500 new jobs by 2014.

SS&C provides software and software-enabled services for trading, accounting, reporting, risk management and fund administration to hedge fund clients, insurance companies and institutional asset managers, among other finance industry clients. The company will invest approximately $3.9 million to lease and equip space at a to-be-determined site in Indiana’s third largest city.

“SS&C is a company that has continued to grow even during the challenging economic times,” said Governor Mitch Daniels. “We couldn’t be happier that they’ve chosen to bring these new high-skill positions to Evansville.”

The company plans to begin hiring fund accountants and account managers, in addition to sales and operations support roles, with the anticipated opening of operations in Evansville in the second quarter of 2011.

“According to the 2010 HedgeFund.net survey, we are the fifth largest fund administrator in North America, based on assets under administration, and we plan to leverage our Evansville operations to continue growth in the alternative asset management sector,” said Bill Stone, chairman and chief executive officer of SS&C Technologies. “We selected the state of Indiana and the city of Evansville based on several criteria, including the strong partnerships we have forged with the state and city, and the talent and skills available.”

Established in 1986, SS&C has grown to employ more than 1,400 associates at offices throughout North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. The company counts more than 5,000 financial services providers as customers, ranging from large corporations to local organizations.

The Indiana Economic Development Corporation offered SS&C Technologies up to $8.3 million in performance-based tax credits and up to $200,000 in training grants based on the company’s job creation plans. The city of Evansville will consider additional property tax abatement at the request of the Growth Alliance for Greater Evansville.

“Evansville was up against Louisville, Ky., Oklahoma City, Okla. and Springfield, Ill., for this highly-competitive project. In addition to the significant capital investment, the SS&C project will further stimulate downtown redevelopment and create just the kind of high-paying, professional jobs our community needs as we head into the future,” said Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel.

SS&C’s announced expansion to Evansville comes just two months after steel processor, Sugar Steel, announced it would invest more than $1.6 million to locate in the 100,000 square-foot former Patriot Steel building in Evansville, creating up to 26 new jobs by 2012. The facility will be Sugar Steel’s first operation outside of its home state of Illinois.

About SS&C Technologies
SS&C is a global provider of investment and financial software-enabled services and software focused exclusively on the global financial services industry. Founded in 1986, SS&C has its headquarters in Windsor, Connecticut and offices around the world. 5,000 financial services organizations, from the world’s largest to local financial services organizations, manage and account for their investments using SS&C’s products and services. These clients in the aggregate manage over $16 trillion in assets.

Additional information about SS&C (NASDAQ: SSNC) is available at www.ssctech.com.

About IEDC
Created by Governor Mitch Daniels in 2005 to replace the former Department of Commerce, the Indiana Economic Development Corporation is governed by a 12-member board chaired by Governor Daniels. Mitch Roob serves as the chief executive officer of the IEDC. For more information about IEDC, visit www.iedc.in.gov.

Source: Indiana Economic Development Corporation
____________________________
Is FDA Handing Out Gag Orders to Journalists Now?

Subject: Fwd: Is FDA Handing Out Gag Orders to Journalists Now?
Date: 3/23/2011 7:30:24 A.M. Central Daylight Time
From: jpkattt@att.net
To: RONALDMAY@aol.com

——– Original Message ——– Subject: Is FDA Handing Out Gag Orders to Journalists Now?
Date: Tue, 15 Mar 2011 16:14:02 -0500 (CDT)
From: Alliance for Natural Health USA
Reply-To: Alliance for Natural Health USA
Organization: Alliance for Natural Health USA
To: jpkattt@att.net

The Pulse of Natural Health

A weekly e-newsletter edited by Deborah Ray and Craig R. Smith and published by the Alliance for Natural Health USA. Stay informed on what is hot in Washington and about decisions affecting natural health and your health freedom.

Subscribe! (It’s Free!)

March 15, 2011

Is FDA Handing Out Gag Orders to Journalists Now?
The current FDA administration is blocking reporters from sharing agency pre-publication releases with experts to obtain outside comment. Help us protect medical freedom of speech!

Watchdog Group Confuses Our Consumer Activists With “Well-Connected Lobbyists”!
A few weeks ago, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) released a report representing ANH-USA (and many other organizations’ efforts to protect natural health consumer rights) as “another disturbing example of pay-to-play in Washington.” Huh? Come again?

Diet Sodas: Fewer Calories, But More Strokes
Last month we reported on the dangers of many artificial sweeteners. Now a report links diet sodas to a 61% increase in strokes and heart attacks.

Help Us Have An Even Bigger Impact! Sign Up a Friend-It’s Easy (and Free!)
We don’t say it often enough: If not for you, we couldn’t do what we do. Now we need your help to increase our readership.

If you were forwarded this page by a friend and would like to sign up for the newsletter, click here.

Be sure to join us on Facebook and Twitter!

Editors
Deborah A. Ray, MT (ASCP)
Craig R. Smith

Pulse of Natural Health. This newsletter is copyrighted material (© 2010 by Alliance for Natural Health USA) but we hope you will forward, copy, or reprint it without prior authorization. Just remember to note the source and date, and please link to original content on the ANH-USA website.

The information in Pulse of Natural Health is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice. Readers are advised to consult a qualified professional about any issue regarding their health and well-being.
___________________________________
Tuesday, April 5: BNC VC Group: Indiana Presenters: Coeus Technologies, SeetTek, Didgebridge

Subject: BNC VC Group 4/5/11 at LLB&L 5:00 PM – Indiana Presenters: Coeus Technologies, SeetTek, Didgebridge
Date: 3/21/2011 1:10:56 P.M. Central Daylight Time
From: len_bland@conceptequity.com
To: ronaldmay@aol.com

Indiana Night!

Sign up here: bit.ly/bncvc0405
4/5/2011, 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM 111 S. Wacker Drive, 41st Floor
Please do not arrive before 5:00 PM

Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell, LLP is a national law firm with extensive experience representing emerging growth businesses and venture capital funds through formation, initial financing, protection of intellectual property, and other legal and regulatory hurdles that face such businesses.

When the time comes, Locke Lord has the necessary practical experience to advise entrepreneurs and investors regarding initial public offerings, mergers, acquisitions and divestitures.

Locke Lord attorneys assist emerging growth businesses with choosing the proper entity and initial financing arrangements, as well as other possible legal issues and regulatory hurdles that growing businesses face. We advise venture capital firms and private equity funds concerning their formation and operation, including initial investments in small and start-up businesses.

Entrepreneurs, send your executive summary to len_bland@conceptequity.com to be considered to present at the BNC Venture Capital Group.

How does Business Network Chicago choose their 3 monthly presenters?

Join the BNC VC Group on LinkedIn

Events

BNC Event Calendar

BNC Tech Ptich – 4/15

Funding Feeding Frenzy – 5/4 Discount Code: BNC

News and Articles

Creating a Company Vision

5 uncommon ways to pitch potential investors

How does a VC value a business? Â« The Equity Kicker

Ideas from the Capital Matchmaker: Illinois Angel Investment Credit

Advice for Entrepreneurs Pitching a VC

Starting with the Why. Where Inspiration and Possibility Meet

SCOR – Use the Internet to Raise Startup Money

The Top 10 Lies Entrepreneurs Tell VCs – Tech Europe – WSJ

Angels act: 100 percent exemption for gains made in Qualified Small Business Stock

“We all know that business plans are a sub-genre of science fiction”

11 Ways to Lose Investors Before You Finish Speaking

The 5 biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make
Know Your Numbers Cold

Series AA Equity Financing Documents

Business method patents preserved for software entrepreneurs.

Concept Equity Blog: What goes into the PPM? How to generate a Term Sheet?

Inc: An Insider’s Guide to Venture Capital Financing

When should entrepreneurs use an NDA?

Inc Magazine: How to Read a Term Sheet
Why You Should Start a Company in Chicago

Entrepreneurs have trouble crafting a simple, emotional message because they suffer from the curse of knowledge.
Audio Sample from Made to Stick

Perfecting Your Pitch – what goes into a good investor presentation?

How does the investor make money? Modeling the answer to one of our four questions. Stories connect to emotions, where decisions are made

Angels take an average of 67 days to close a deal.

Why It’s So Difficult to Find Angel Capital

Len Bland Funding Interview on SmallBiz America

Startup Valuation: Top Ten Techniques

Investor Presentation – 10 Slides is Just Right

Must see from 2006, Guy Kawasaki’s The Art of the Start presentation

Why Business Plans Don’t Deliver – The five most common flaws-and how to fix them

Study Disputes The Value of VCs “Buying Local”

In Pitching to Angel Investors, Preparation Tops Zeal

I Love Executive Summaries

The BNC Venture Capital Group introduces exciting investment opportunities to professional investors (angels, early stage venture capitalists, and private equity firms seeking add-ons) and fosters the growth of entrepreneurial activity.

Len Bland, CEO of Concept Equity, and David Carman, CEO of Business Network Chicago, lead the BNC Venture Capital Group. We will review three entrepreneurial opportunities. Each presentation lasts 10 minutes, followed by a 15 minute Q&A.
Effective presentations answer 5 questions:

·What is the product or service?
-Why will customers buy it?
·Why is this management team the best one to run the business?
-How does the company make money?
·How will the investor make money?

5:00 PM – Networking
5:30 PM – Introductions
5:45 PM – Coeus Technology
6:15 PM – SeatTek
6:45 PM – Break
7:00 PM – Didgebridge
7:30 PM – Results

Coeus Technology www.coeustechnology.com/ provides a broad spectrum of antimicrobial technologies and applications. Their MonoFoil® Technology antimicrobial additive applications provide permanent surface protection, continuously working 24/7 to inhibit the growth of microbes which can cause sickness, stains, odors or declination of products.

SeetTek www.seettek.com/ offers a cushioned seat perfect for an aging population. The seat provides superior comfort, support, and air flow. Their seat is designed to reduce back pain, increase comfort, and improve blood flow. Low blood flow has been tied to clots resulting in pain and skin discoloration.

Didgebridge www.didgebridge.com/ helps marketers solve their toughest marketing challenges in
digital advertising and social media today by enabling them to measure the effectiveness of their video advertising at each stage in the process.

Locke Lord Bissell
111 South Wacker Drive, 41st Floor
Chicago, Illinois 60606

Evening Meeting includes food and beverages
Call Len Bland at 847-317-0656 or write len_bland@conceptequity.com with questions or if you have any difficulty registering. Other investors welcome.

If you have a scheduling conflict, please join us for the next meeting set for the first Tuesday of each month.

DISCLAIMER: Neither the BNC Venture Capital Group, Concept Equity Group, Inc. (together with BNC Venture Capital Group, the “Sponsor”) nor the host for this event, Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell LLP (“LLBL”), has verified, approved or endorsed any materials or information provided (whether in writing or orally) by the presenters, audience or other participants at this event . UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHALL SPONSOR OR LLBL BE RESPONSIBLE IN ANY MANNER FOR, AND EACH OF SPONSOR AND LLBL DISCLAIMS ALL LIABILITY WHATSOEVER IN RELATION TO, ANY MATERIALS OR INFORMATION PROVIDED BY, OR THE CONDUCT OF, THE PRESENTERS, AUDIENCE OR PARTICIPANTS AT THIS EVENT OR ANY OTHER THIRD PARTIES (INCLUDING, FOR EACH OF SPONSOR AND LLBL, ANY MATERIALS OR INFORMATION PROVIDED BY, OR THE CONDUCT OF, THE OTHER). In addition, any written materials provided by LLBL, and any presentations made generally to the participants at this event by LLBL, are solely for informational purposes and are not intended to constitute legal advice or to create an attorney-client relationship.

·What is the product or service?
-Why will customers buy it?
·Why is this management team the best one to run the business?
-How does the company make money?
·How will the investor make money?

5:00 PM – Networking
5:30 PM – Introductions
5:45 PM – Presenter
6:15 PM – Presenter
6:45 PM – Break
7:00 PM – Presenter
7:30 PM – Results

Indiana Night! All 3 presenters have been specially selected from the highest quality entrepreneurs in Indiana.

Locke Lord Bissell
111 South Wacker Drive, 41st Floor
Chicago, Illinois 60606

Evening Meeting includes food and beverages
Call Len Bland at 847-317-0656 or write len_bland@conceptequity.com with questions or if you have any difficulty registering. Other investors welcome.
_____________________________________
Wednesday, April 6: Extreme Entrepreneurship Tour at Illinois Institute of Technology

Extreme Entrepreneurship Tour at Illinois Institute of Technology
Wednesday, April 06, 2011 from 3:00 PM – 7:00 PM (CT)
Chicago, IL

Ticket Information
Type Ends Quantity
Extreme Entrepreneurship Tour at Illinois Institute of Technology Apr 06, 2011 Free 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

Register
This event holder has not yet specified any payment methods for this event.
Please contact Extreme Entrepreneurship Education, LLC directly for further information.

Event Details

Do you want to take your career to the next level faster?

Do you want to learn more about entrepreneurship and turn your idea into a reality?

If so, then attending the Extreme Entrepreneurship Tour (www.extremetour.org)
is a MUST. It is the first-ever national entrepreneurship tour and features the country’s top young entrepreneurs and successful local entrepreneurs. This high-energy event has lots of music, movement, opportunities to receive over $300 in prizes, and light refreshments.

Why Come:

Get your burning questions answered during the interactive panel

Receive feedback and support with other like-minded students and community members during networking breaks

Receive access to nuts & bolts startup articles in the event magazine

Who Should Come:

If you’re interested in starting a business or setting yourself apart in your career now, this event is for you! Existing entrepreneurs who want to recharge their batteries are also welcome.

Attendee List Sort by: Date | First Name | Last Name

Brittany Martin

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David Portnoy

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Murali Veeraiyan

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Adam Birch

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Brock Renner

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Changwi Son

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Yiran WANG

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junjie wang

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Yifang Liu

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Muyiwa Jimi-Salami

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Michael Sowards

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Jesse Cohoon

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Taylor Harvey

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Matthew Knippen

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Joe Millham

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laolu adeola

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Ming Cai

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shan lu

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Siddhartha Raghuvanshi

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vaibhav gupta

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Anam Abro

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Emanuel Collins

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Dia Chatterjee Chatterjee

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Santiago Rodriguez

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Ausrine Rakauskaite

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Jaeide Jawahill

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DJ Sergent

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Ton Trieu

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Nishanth Samala

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Shefali Umrania

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Darya Ivankina

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Jill May

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Milesh Jain

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Nik Rokop
________________________________

SXSW? NXNE? And an Innovation Telecon with CEA’s Gary Shapiro

Subject: SXSW? NXNE? And an Innovation Telecon with CEA’s Gary Shapiro
Date: 3/21/2011 1:04:48 P.M. Central Daylight Time
From: nigel.m.cameron@c-pet.org
To: ronaldmay@aol.com

March 21, 2011

Dear Colleagues,

Thanks to those who were able to join us in Washington, DC last Friday for the latest in our Institute on Innovation roundtable series co-sponsored by the Task Force on American Innovation. USPTO Director David Kappos was joined by Barron’s editorial page editor Tom Donlan and others in two hours of sustained discussion of the utility of the patent/copyright system for an innovation-focused economy. Transcript and video will soon be available.

Next up from our Institute on Innovation is a Thought Leader Teleconference with CEA president Gary Shapiro, whose innovation manifesto The Comeback has just been released – tomorrow (Tuesday) at 2.00 eastern. You may register by replying to this email. Then: 4/22 our roundtable focus is Innovation and Policy. Details and registration button at c-pet.org.

Meanwhile, in our developing Institute on Security for the 21st Century, we invite you on 4/7 to a roundtable on the implications of the Arab revolutions on WMD control (2.30; reception at 4.45). This roundtable is a collaborative effort with the International Security and Biopolicy Institute; email brent_davidson@biopolicy.org for details. In May we turn to biometrics and security with a conference and roundtable on 5/6. Email matt.james@c-pet.org to register an interest in these events.

In the brief thought piece below, I reflect a little provocatively on the growing divide between future-oriented, techno-literate America, and the America of governance that will finally set the terms of engagement for technology, innovation, and this nation’s global role. Or, in sum, SXSW v. NXNE. Thanks to those who have reviewed earlier drafts. Your comments will as ever be appreciated. And you are welcome to pass this on or post it, in full and with acknowledgement.

Best,

Nigel

————————————————————————

SXSW, NXNE, and the new Fundamentalism; A perspective from the analog polis of a digital people.

Nigel M. de S. Cameron

Center for Policy on Emerging Technologies

Washington, DC

Pretty much all of hip and would-be hip America has been lolling, partying, festooning, and tweeting in an alternate universe these past days. Woodstock for the geeks? Neverland of the digerati? Or (ouch) a retreat into a new Century 21 Fundamentalism, a bolt-hole from the realtime world into a might-have-been America?

In case you didn’t know, it’s called South by Southwest, or SXSW (which looks like something from the NYSE, but this proleptic and cabalistic stock is not yet traded), or South By, as say the cognoscenti. I suppose it might also be Burning Man. And there’s a different sense in which it could be TED. There are (ahem) various denominations. These camp meetings (ouch, sorry, please, don’t hit me) of the techno-Fundamentalists are anchor-points of an emerging, intricate, alternative world, a digi-religion, a hip-technological complex that offers hope to those who choose to flee the real world of (deep breath) K Street and approps committees and the Tea Party (TP had the support of 41% of the electorate in November) and the West Wing and deficits and sinophobia and donorphilia and the dire electoral cycle. An alternative world to federal Washington, and the space-time continuum.

Because America qua democracy, qua waning global superpower, is defiantly NXNE. Beltway America. Agency America. 202 and 20002 America. A vast, well-meaning, bureaucratic, Fordist, clunking, machine; swamping the bright and visionary minds who pepper its lumpen molasses, as it sullenly subsides back into the malarial swamp on which it was once built by the idealists of a teenage nation whose premature aging has driven its smart (but perhaps less smart than they think) minds to seek solace in a religion of disengagement. In a mythical America, convened far from the madding crowd’s ignoble electoral strife. A theme park, a Westworld (remember the Yul Brinner classic?), a place that multiverse theory says must exist but that for all present purposes is less a wormhole to nirvana than a sinkhole from reality.

Because America is going down. Steve Burrill, doyen of biotech investors (and, full disclosure, member of C-PET’s Board of Directors) stated unambiguously at a recent Innovation Roundtable that America has a choice: whether to become a second tier nation, or a third tier. Quite apart from current efforts to slash federal R and D budgets by a Congress newly cognizant of its fiscal responsibilities, there are deep-seated structural disabilities that the world’s leading nation has chosen to impose on itself in order to ensure that “world’s leading nation” is a title it will before long shed. The conquest of America is no achievement of hell-bent fascists or the bakelite apparachiks of Soviet glory days – back when the IGB (how many at SXSW know that acronym?) was a perilous thin red line and much depended on nuclear bluster and troopships rushing the Atlantic like a football field. No: it is a terrible self-conquest, half-witting, coated in irony and insouciance as well as plain dumb pig-ignorance of where our interest really lies. A self-conquest whose outcome is self-immolation. The triumph of means over ends. As if Pizarro had been an Inca.

But why has digital America decided to give the federal capital and all for which it stands so wide a berth? It is not my point that the Washington Convention Center and its satellite hotels here in the Beltway are where South By and its cognates should assemble, though that would not be entirely bad. The avoidance of NXNE is at a more visceral, strategic, fundamental level, and its implications run far from the epiphenomena of event location. The digital tribes simply don’t see Washington as their capital.

Question is, what to do? And answer is, o digerati, think Washington. Swarm Washington. Invest (old meaning; lay siege to) Washington. Work with assiduous focus and strategic resilience to change Washington. Task yourself, techno-America, with this challenge, do-or-die: Transform the political culture of this city, perhaps the most geographical center of power on the planet, into the SXSW of government. And understand that we truly need a Kulturkampf in which the future becomes the lobbyist for America; a struggle for the corporate culture of our political life here in an analog polis blinded by the present to its digitally-driven future.

Back to my theme. Where is techno-corporate America’s plan, in parallel with their 10-year plans to build markets in China, to turn Washington into a political capital fit to sustain America’s leadership role as Century 21 moves deep into its second decade? Why are the SXSWers not focused NXNE?

Permission granted to reproduce in full and with acknowledgement.

__________________________________________________________________________

Daliah Saper: Fake Internet Boyfriends, Fox News, NetSecure 2011, Tech Cocktail, Flourish Open Source Conference, and more!

Fake Internet Boyfriends, Fox News, NetSecure 2011, Tech Cocktail, Flourish Open Source Conference, and more!

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reply-to Daliah Saper
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date Tue, Mar 22, 2011 at 10:06 AM
subject Fake Internet Boyfriends, Fox News, NetSecure 2011, Tech Cocktail, Flourish Open Source Conference, and more!
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Mark your Calendars!

Dear Ron ,

Whew, what a month!

* Saper Law wins it appeal on behalf of client Paula Bonhomme in a case that will surely set precedent for non-business related cases involving fraud in an online forum. The defendant in this case created a fake internet boyfriend, and no less than 20 fake friends and relatives, as part of an elaborate scheme to deceive the Plaintiff. Read more about the case here:

Internetcases.com coverage: blog.internetcases.com/2011/03/19/fraud-misrepresentation-internet-illinois-fake-boyfriend-impersonation/

Ars Technica coverage: arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/03/lori-drew-redux-woman-faces-fraud-claim-thanks-to-fake-boyfriend-plot.ars?comments=1#comments-bar

Front page news of the Chicago Reader back in 2008: www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/2-good-2-b-true/Content?oid=1105976

* Daliah Saper was featured on Fox news on three separate occasions to talk about watching movies on Facebook, the Whitehouse’s new anti-cyberbullying initiatives, and the increased responsibility placed on schools to monitor student social media use (respectively). Watch the interviews here:

video.foxnews.com/v/4576878/meet-your-new-media-company-facebook/?playlist_id=162726

www.myfoxchicago.com/dpp/news/obamas-take-on-bullying-at-white-house-conference-dpgonc-20110310-fc1299811249809

video.foxnews.com/v/4594196/the-department-of-education-eyeing-facebook/

* This Thursday, March 24, Daliah will be speaking at IIT’s NetSecure2011. Here is the abstract of her presentation:

Anonymity Online: When Should Your IT Department Reveal Information Related to an IP Address? The explosion of computer technology and communications has spawned a new area of litigation and legal concerns with regard to the constitutional expectation of privacy in Internet communications. The Stored Communications Act, 18 U.S.C. § 2703, enacted in 1986, represents Congress’ attempt to strike a fair balance between the privacy rights of individuals who have entrusted the contents of their electronic communications to Internet service providers and the government’s legitimate interest in gaining access to such communications when investigating crimes. Daliah Saper, Principal Attorney for Saper Law Offices, LLC will discuss the interplay between the Stored Communications Act and Petitions for Discovery in a corporate setting.

* On March 29, Daliah will once again be speaking at SCORE Chicago to start-ups and aspiring entrepreneurs about the legalities involved with starting a new business. Among the topics covered are business entity formation, trademarks, copyrights, and the legal implications of social media. More details here: s08.123signup.com/servlet/SignUp?PG=1522055182300&cat:1087=1670&P=152205500

* On March 31, head out to Tech Cocktail where Saper Law attorneys will once again be answering questions about web startups at the Saper Law booth! More details here: techcocktail.com/join-us-for-tech-cocktail-chicago-march-31st-2011-03

* On April 2, Daliah will once again be speaking at the Flourish Open Source Conference. More details here: www.flourishconf.com/2011/

* On April 5, Daliah Saper will be speaking at the Chicago Bar Association about Intellectual Property Law basics with a focus on Trademarks. More details here: www.chicagobar.org/source/Meetings/cMeetingFunctionDetail.cfm?section=Calendar&product_major=C6811&functionstartdisplayrow=1

Please visit Saper Law for more news, articles, and seminar announcements.

Saper Law is an intellectual property and business law firm. Our attorneys possess significant transactional and both federal and state litigation experience. Our most recent court cases have involved trade secret misappropriation, intellectual property infringement, defamation, and commercial disputes. Click on the News tab to learn about our upcoming events and announcements, sign up for our Seminar mailing list, and read what clients are saying about us.

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Contact Us:
Saper Law Offices, LLC
505 N LaSalle, Suite 350
Chicago, IL 60654
phone: 312.527.4100
fax: 312.527.5020
www.saperlaw.com
____________________________________

Tarkus Murphy: 101 version of the 2011 USDA DLT – Connection to March 7, 2011 Workshop

Subject: RE: 101 version of the 2011 USDA DLT – Connection to March 7, 2011 Workshop
Date: 2/26/2011 1:46:16 P.M. Central Standard Time
From: tarkus@ripco.com
To: DSSA310@aol.com, leo@howehutton.com, onepresence@yahoo.com, RONALDMAY@aol.com, jschultz@u-rekabroadband.com, nick.stanley@lecoma.com, ron@themayreport.com, cwu@ippay.com, vb1516@aol.com, tarkus@ripco.com

Should impact each of the items in RED:

(1) the essence of the proposed program and application;

In red: (2) broadband alternatives currently available to anchor institutions and user markets

In red: (3) program benefits to be achieved in terms of BTOP and BIP objectives;

(4) target markets to be served in terms of demographics and numbers;

(5) interventions to increase broadband access and use by the target markets;

(6) methods to be used to evaluate economic and social impacts;

(7) the status of the work completed to date; and

In red: (8) the program objectives and milestones for 2011.

In red: John Lewis, NIU and the DeKalb and NW IBOP BTOP Winners in Rounds 1 and 2.

John’s presentation will include a discussion of the use of broadband by telehealth and telemedicine in these regions.

Charles Wu – Convergence Technologies – Chicago South Suburbs Round 2 BIP Winner.

In red: Charles . . . will also explain how the $12 million broadband stimulus funding from BIP and $6 million in private “in-kind” match for middle mile and last mile services will accelerate this growth and bring an expanded set of broadband options to underserved markets in the suburbs and surrounding areas south of Chicago along the I 88 corridor.

Andrew Lowenstein – Connected Living – Round 2 BTOP SBA Winner. (Health/Wellness – Distance Learning)

You may want to speak with your USDA contact and see if they can get you some resources for the meeting.

USDA CONTACTS = Northern Division – General Field Representative Staff

Illinois and Indiana
Allen D. DeForest
allen.deforest@wdc.usda.gov
P.O. Box 421
Stanford, IN 47463
(812) 825-3727
(812) 320-3812 (Cell)

Eastern South Dakota and NW Iowa, Southern Minnesota

Thomas Jensen
thomas.jensen@wdc.usda.gov
P.O. Box 88540
Sioux Falls, SD 57109
(202) 834-3393 (Cell)

Wisconsin
Wayne Jorewicz
wayne.jorewicz@wdc.usda.gov
P.O. Box 519
Baraboo, WI 53913
(608) 356-4151
(608) 642-0126 (Cell)

——————————————————————————–
From: DSSA310@aol.com [mailto:DSSA310@aol.com]
Sent: Saturday, February 26, 2011 1:54 PM
To: tarkus@ripco.com; leo@howehutton.com; onepresence@yahoo.com; RONALDMAY@aol.com; jschultz@u-rekabroadband.com; nick.stanley@lecoma.com; ron@themayreport.com; cwu@ippay.com; vb1516@aol.com
Subject: Re: 101 version of the 2011 USDA DLT – Connection to March 7, 2011 Workshop

Tarkus:

Thanks. What do you recommend we do here in Illinois. Note agenda for a BTOP workshop below.

Don

In a message dated 2/26/2011 12:38:10 P.M. Central Standard Time, tarkus@ripco.com writes:
Sure – the original post was just a short link to the web site (a better source of information than me):

www.rurdev.usda.gov/UTP_DLTResources.html

Deadline: 04/25/11

Our urban friends should help our rural friends in all areas of resources, content and programming. This is a rural (digital divide) program that helps both schools and hospitals but it DOES NOT BRING BANDWIDTH.

The site has lots of information and all the application instructions and materials. As grants go, this one has a lot of items to tackle. If you don’t have a good self assessed objective score, it may not be a grant to pursue. Look at past awards and talk to recipients – I think I sent a short list of recipients from earlier years (attached here., too). The site has more. Maximum award is $500,000 and the minimum is $50,000. Minimum match of 15%. Higher matches receive points in the evaluation process. [Note: Plan for a high match (for points) and cash is a preferred form of match for this grant.]

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Rural Development, Rural Utilities Service (RUS)

Source – See www.dltgrants.info/GrantDetails.aspx?Grant=7702 for Much MORE

The USDA DLT Grant Program is competitive. Applications are scored in objective and subjective categories. Objective criteria are generally straightforward indicators. Subjective criteria are comparative in the sense that the score of one application is based on comparison to other applications received that year. Applications are scored in the following categories: (1) Rural Area (Rurality): up to 45 Points; (2) Economic Need (NSLP): up to 35 Points; (3) Matching Funds: up to 35 points; (4) Empowerment Zones (EZ): up to 10 points; (5) Additional NSLP: up to 10 points; (6) Needs and Benefits: up to 45 points; (7) Innovativeness: up to 15 points; and (8) Cost Effectiveness: up to 35 points.

The Distance Learning and Telemedicine (DLT) Program is specifically designed to meet the educational and health care needs of rural America through the use of advanced telecommunications technologies. The DLT program is legislatively authorized to provide three kinds of financial assistance: (1) 100% grant; (2) Combination Loan-Grant; and, (3) 100% Loan. In FY11, funds will only be provided to cover 100% grant assistance. {Tarkus NO BUDGET AUTHORITY MEANS NO COMBO LOANS – YET.}

The eligible purposes for 100% grants are the most restrictive. The DLT Grant Program is primarily focused on providing equipment that operates via telecommunications to rural end-users of telemedicine and distance learning. It is useful to keep in mind that while the equipment is eligible, it does not fund the telecommunications that connects that equipment. DLT does not fund communications links between sites (wireless or wire-line) and it does not fund telecommunications or Internet connections. Grants (and eligible matching funds) can be expended only for the costs associated with the initial capital assets associated with the project.

——————————————————————————–

From: DSSA310@aol.com [mailto:DSSA310@aol.com]
Sent: Saturday, February 26, 2011 12:58 PM
To: tarkus@ripco.com; leo@howehutton.com; onepresence@yahoo.com; RONALDMAY@aol.com; jschultz@u-rekabroadband.com; nick.stanley@lecoma.com; ron@themayreport.com
Cc: cwu@ippay.com; vb1516@aol.com
Subject: Re: The 2011 USDA DLT application is online

Tarkus:

Can you give me the 101 version of the 2011 USDA DLT application? What is it for? Where do you find the application? When is the application due?

You may have sent this information before? But. It didn’t register with me at the time. It got confused in my mind with Layton’s many ideas in his response.

Thanks.

Don

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

In a message dated 2/26/2011 10:22:41 A.M. Central Standard Time, tarkus@ripco.com writes:
It should be possible to apply for both – just do different things with each project. Use the same team to put together the applications and develop a consistent approach for these and other grants in your [filing entity] portfolio. USDA is one of the few grants that allow you to buy equipment the day after the filing date. One client bought his equipment last May, but he just picked up the reimbursement forms. A reduction in allocation allowed him to use the equipment for over six months before he knew if the money was coming. Building a grant portfolio can allow you to accomplish a lot of things and start towards a path to sustainability before the first grant dollar shows up.

The client had a very high innovation score last year and should have new innovations in the 2011 application – in a whole new State. The USDA award from 2010 will allow them to put a studio quality facility in operation in time to provide 2010 services and expand in 2011. The remote facilities will also allow for an increasing amount of mobility through furniture redesign (a minor but essential part of the total cost). The new equipment helps drive down the price. There is no way a single grant could cover all elements, but a series of grants has allows the client to drive down costs (for purchase) at urban centers (hubs) and rural end users. If you can drive down the cost of mobility, you can increase the amount of equipment purchased for the same dollars. Lowering costs also drives sustainability.
——————————————————————————–
From: DSSA310@aol.com [mailto:DSSA310@aol.com]
Sent: Saturday, February 26, 2011 11:06 AM
To: leo@howehutton.com; tarkus@ripco.com; onepresence@yahoo.com; RONALDMAY@aol.com; jschultz@u-rekabroadband.com; nick.stanley@lecoma.com; ron@themayreport.com
Cc: cwu@ippay.com
Subject: Re: The 2011 USDA DLT application is online

Layton:

I’m confused. There is a DCEO DD Grant program RFA due on March 10, 2011. Tarkus was talking about a 2011 USDA DLT application that is online.

How are the two connected? I know the essential information on the DCEO DD Grant program RFA (link below). What, when and how does the 2011 USDA DLT application ft in.

DD Grant Program – March 10, 2011

Don

In a message dated 2/25/2011 11:21:45 A.M. Central Standard Time, leo@howehutton.com writes:
Tarkus,

Thanks for the thoughts on systematic applications and network-building of digital literacy programs in schools, hospitals and other places. Below are notes prepared for Broadband Illinois/Partnership for a Connected Illinois linked to encouraging combined applications for Digital Divide grants, in which high quality computer instruction labs partner with human service and arts/education programs without such capacity, in so-called Broadband as a Basic Need partnerships. I would be glad to talk with applicants or with potential applicants which may want to partner with established applicants, particularly given the short time now to March 10 due date.

Layton

_______

Recommend Public Computing Center/Community Technology Center “Outreach Partner-Building” in applications for (small) DCEO Eliminate the Digital Divide instructional grants due March 10. Background: For the current year EDD grants averaging $40-50,000 provide digital literacy instruction were made for PCCs/CTCs in low income areas across the state. In the current year 101 grants (about 70 percent in metro Chicago area based on population and low income need) were made from about 230 applications, totalling $5 million. This included one grant of $1 million to state libraries which is making about 40 subgrants of about $25,000 to local libraries in low income areas. Thus, about 140 centers are running (normally) 6-8 week basic digital literacy programs several times per year, and making quarterly reports, and often using automated computer lab outcome tracking of time on task and completion of steps.

For FY 11 starting July 1, 2011, the full $5 million is available directly to PCC/CTC applicants. DCEO is now using an adaptation of standard DCEO application (one less form to master), which includes a budget line item for capacity building which includes costs of marketing and recruitment via local partner organizations referring youth, adults or seniors. Under a Broadband as a Basic Need theme (of the kind understandable to community foundations and non-tech groups), we have been encouraging well established PCCs to include a number of human service, arts and education organizations as “marketing and referral partners” perhaps at $100 per person who completes instruction.

Thus, well established PCCs might secure a little bit more funding if they develop partners, and bring them into the Community Leadership network and constituency of parties who are part of local Community Anchor Institution networks (such as in community college, university or hospital serving area of from 25,000 to 250,000 or more. In Illinois statewide-regional-local broadband extension programs of Broadband Illinois/Partnership for a Connected Illinois – see www.broadbandillinois.org – there is potential for cooperation with Illinois Century Network by inviting EDD applicants to ICN Regional Meetings – normally September-October. These are important professional development/organizational development events, both for large institutions (longtime ICN members) as well as for smaller community institutions, and including opportunities for linking with BI/PCI eCommunity Leadership Teams, or eTeams, in each region of the state, starting in Southern, East Central and NW Illinois.

_________________________________

——————————————————————————–

From: Tarkus [mailto:tarkus@ripco.com]
Sent: Thursday, February 24, 2011 6:42 PM
To: DSSA310@aol.com; Layton E. Olson; onepresence@yahoo.com; RONALDMAY@aol.com; jschultz@u-rekabroadband.com; nick.stanley@lecoma.com; ron@themayreport.com
Cc: cwu@ippay.com; ‘Tarkus’
Subject: RE: The 2011 USDA DLT application is online

Thank you.

It looks like it would be possible for a school district to file for both without “comingling.” Up on the Information Superglacier(TM) we have shared service organizations for rural school districts outside of the 5 major metropolitan areas. They tend to run Internet and DLT services.

Does Illinois have similar shared services groups that could aggregate traffic and host a bridge (with other equipment)? A lot of my bridges have been in urban area, but a BIP/BTOP rural data center would save a lot of efforts to show yourself as a “pure hub” under the grant.

I’ve done most of my applications in the past few years for telemedicine, but Christopher Semler, the prior grants coordinator and I have all pitched the schools. My child’s district gets a zero rurality score, has a big budget and a low NSLP. We tried to donate some distance learning resources last year, but the donor never built out his proposed facility.

Back in the 1990s, I put together a presentation for the State Board of Education with the school district properties in every LATA other than Chicago’s. I have no idea where that file would be today. The USDA DLT award does (did?) not allow you to pay for a new connection, but I suspect most of the school networks could tie to a hub site with existing connections.

Hospitals are a little tougher because it is not usual to have a central hub site for different hospital systems. An Illinois FCC rural pilot network is coming online in 2011, so “usual” may change – a lot. A similar FCC network coming on line here may let my client in PA reach new partners in NY.

Tarkus

——————————————————————————–

From: DSSA310@aol.com [mailto:DSSA310@aol.com]
Sent: Thursday, February 24, 2011 5:54 PM
To: tarkus@ripco.com; leo@howehutton.com; onepresence@yahoo.com; RONALDMAY@aol.com; jschultz@u-rekabroadband.com; nick.stanley@lecoma.com; ron@themayreport.com
Cc: cwu@ippay.com
Subject: Re: The 2011 USDA DLT application is online

Tarkus:

The same drill can be done with the DCEO DD grant program. A very good and clear website:

DD Grant Program – March 10, 2011

Interesting to look at prior winners and the school lunch program percentages by school districts throughout Illinois.

Don

In a message dated 2/24/2011 3:55:22 P.M. Central Standard Time, tarkus@ripco.com writes:

Here’s a list of past USDA DLT in Illinois. Any new project should take into account past award winners to avoid duplication and encourage interaction between systems. You only have to go back a few years, so it is not an exhaustive list. See www.rurdev.usda.gov/UTP_DLTAwardsIndex.html for other awards (by year or by State).

(Please note: Because no budget authority has been appropriated, applications are not currently being accepted for either 100% loans or loan/grant combinations as described below.)

There is only one link to a DLT workshop on the web site (see, www.rurdev.usda.gov/mo/2011WorkshopFlyerComplete.pdf). There are a few vendor sponsored Grants Office presentations that can be found under the grantsoffice.info site or grantsoffice.com . I suspect there will be a lot of such presentations by other groups – even when sponsored by the same vendors.

——————————————————————————–

From: DSSA310@aol.com [mailto:DSSA310@aol.com]
Sent: Thursday, February 24, 2011 4:37 PM
To: leo@howehutton.com; tarkus@ripco.com; onepresence@yahoo.com; RONALDMAY@aol.com; jschultz@u-rekabroadband.com; nick.stanley@lecoma.com; ron@themayreport.com
Cc: cwu@ippay.com
Subject: Re: The 2011 USDA DLT application is online

Layton:

Good ideas. The problem is in understanding and prioritizing reading, understanding and taking action.

Don

In a message dated 2/24/2011 2:25:42 P.M. Central Standard Time, leo@howehutton.com writes:

Tarkus,

Thanks for sharing.

Don,

Thanks for thoughts.

I sent this to PCI/Broadband Illinois www.broadbandillinois.org for posting to regional calendar, and noted $170,000 award in FY 10 to Schuyler County Hospital for linking mammogram connections and electronic health operations records with hospitals in Schuyler, Cass and Fulton counties, and to stay tuned for funding amount for applications due April 25. Perhaps PCI/BI regions in Southern, East Central and NW areas as well as IRHN may have DLT parties interested, and with backup from regional/state networks.

Perhaps video links to events in Naperville and Chicago on March 7 and 8, by which time there may be a decision on funding.

Thanks again for sending,

Layton

——————————————————————————–

From: Tarkus [mailto:tarkus@ripco.com]
Sent: Thursday, February 24, 2011 1:55 PM
To: DSSA310@aol.com; onepresence@yahoo.com; RONALDMAY@aol.com; Layton E. Olson; jschultz@u-rekabroadband.com; nick.stanley@lecoma.com; ron@themayreport.com
Cc: cwu@ippay.com
Subject: RE: The 2011 USDA DLT application is online

Thanks Don,

Maybe the summer or Fall quarter to get there live. If you or Bruce can give me a bridge dial in or WebEx location, I might be able to attend (except for a family doctor appointment on that day),

I see that Michael Paddock, the head of Grants Office, has already presented to the broadband group in Illinois (I think he is on the December ’08 Agenda).

There is a free site, www,grantsoffice.info (not the main site GrantsOffice.com), which has a list of grant opportunities and related webcasts. I was a guest for a Q & A on one of the health care grants. I know there may be a few presentations on the Distance Learning and Telemedicine grants on the Grants Office WebEx site.

I’ve done over a billion dollars in total project costs for Grants Office and I know that they have a large staff of contractors (like me) throughout the US. I tend to prefer telecommunications and technical grants, but I’ve also done a lot of grants with energy, alternative energy, medicine, telemedicine, wellness, safe schools, public safety, firefighter grants and more. You have a longer list from an earlier communication.

I just passed the three year mark as a contractor at Grants Office (longer with WFL-BOCES). I met Michael Paddock via e-mail when I invited him to a CEIS showcase in Rochester. He could not make the meeting to discuss the topic of disaster response, but he sent me a contract for my review and I’ve been a contractor with them, ever since.

I stopped doing independent grant writing on my own when I started doing contract work for WFL-BOCES, Grants Office and others. Grants Office has a national practice. In a weird twist, my boss at BOCES is alao a peer contractor at Grants Office.

I still do my own business development work, but grants really require extra support and services that I would not have with a smaller company up on the Information Superglacier(TM). The business volume is much less than I would expect to do in downtown Chicago.

On balance, I have done about an equal amount of grants and business development work, but grants has been a better source of income in the past two or three years. Business development has a greater amount of uncertainty (like having a client just walk away after an environment has been made ready – complete with funding and other resources).

The grants environment will be changing in 2011, but I have a lot of repeat clients despite the lower volume of total projects.

Tarkus

——————————————————————————–

From: DSSA310@aol.com [mailto:DSSA310@aol.com]
Sent: Thursday, February 24, 2011 1:05 PM
To: tarkus@ripco.com; onepresence@yahoo.com; RONALDMAY@aol.com; leo@howehutton.com; jschultz@u-rekabroadband.com; nick.stanley@lecoma.com; ron@themayreport.com
Cc: cwu@ippay.com
Subject: Re: The 2011 USDA DLT application is online

Tarkus:

Do you have ideas on how this and other grant opportunities might be useful to Illinois. Here is an agenda for a March 7, 2011 meeting that you might find of interest – attached.

Don

And look at these two links – for support for the Illinois support/incubation of high growth businesses.

Obama Administration Jobs Plan – C-SPAN Video Library

TechStars » Funding and Mentorship from the #1 Startup Accelerator in the World

Details | Excelerate Labs

In a message dated 2/24/2011 10:09:09 A.M. Central Standard Time, tarkus@ripco.com writes:

www.rurdev.usda.gov/UTP_DLTResources.html

Good luck to all applicants and partners.
_______________________________

Subject: RE: We also have a mystery to crack . . .
Date: 2/26/2011 10:44:54 A.M. Central Standard Time
From: tarkus@ripco.com
To: DSSA310@aol.com, leo@howehutton.com, onepresence@yahoo.com, RONALDMAY@aol.com, jschultz@u-rekabroadband.com, nick.stanley@lecoma.com, ron@themayreport.com, cwu@ippay.com, tarkus@ripco.com

Merit has to add about 60,000 new community anchors in 50 States. I have seen nothing about where these centers will be. Groups affiliated with John Schultz, Joe Starks and Ed Hemminger were all supporting partners in this $92 M project, but there was a change in the group putting the grant together and the group doing the implementation. This should be a good project for each of us in the Great Lakes Region to make sure that both partner communities and areas in need of service are part of this large project with a 100 GBps backbone. When the FCC network overlays with US UCAN, there should be a substantial Great Lakes network for urban/rural medical projects that can support both distance learning and telemedicine. School communities can also benefit (but I was not involved in school projects with US UCAN). I did not work on connecting other anchors, but the Ramsey County also had a public safety / government element and Axcess Ontario involves County economic developers in a separate 40 County network.

Ed Hemminger’s project did not file for BIP/BTOP – it is already built. The other US UCAN partners were not awarded funds but both are going forward in MN & NY. We had a hard fought change to add the US UCAN partner in Minnesota and I want to make sure that the partnership moves forward. The project in NY was the top choice of the Governor, but the Department of Commerce had to give up about $300M in the jobs bill.

We have three good examples of sustainability that are not awarded, but the thought process that led to the grant or network design was sustainable beyond grant funding. You would think that sustainable from the start would also be a good grant argument, but not every good idea gets funded in a grant program. Good ideas can take on a life of their own!

If we don’t let Merit know that we are still interested and moving forward, how will they ever know? If the groups in Illinois did not partner with Merit at the start, there may be an opportunity to do so, so we should share information in getting these communities connected.

——————————————————————————–
From: DSSA310@aol.com [mailto:DSSA310@aol.com]
Sent: Saturday, February 26, 2011 11:21 AM
To: tarkus@ripco.com; leo@howehutton.com; onepresence@yahoo.com; RONALDMAY@aol.com; jschultz@u-rekabroadband.com; nick.stanley@lecoma.com; ron@themayreport.com; cwu@ippay.com
Subject: Re: We also have a mystery to crack . . .

Tarkus:

I think that some/most/all of the BTOP submissions developed lists of CAIs in their service areas. For those states with BTOP (or perhaps BIP) winners, that would be a good place to start. John Lewis of Northern Illinois University has proposed to build upon this “demand” information for three counties in northwestern Illinois to develop a “baseline” against which the economic and social impact of the CCI networks can be measured.

Don

In a message dated 2/25/2011 12:19:15 P.M. Central Standard Time, tarkus@ripco.com writes:
Gentlemen,

We still have to figure out where the new community anchors are located on the Merit UCAID / United States Unified Community Anchor Network (U.S. UCAN) 100 Mbps network.

Here’s how Merit will work with several project in Michigan (with an existing connection to Chicago).

If you make inroads with any of the Merit people (involve NCSA, Governor, others) remember to lend us a hand over in New York for Axcess Ontario, Southern Tier and any other NY partners who supported the US UCAN network.

John and Nick are both on this e-mail, so we need to reawake the connections with US UCAN for Ramsey County and other projects in Minnesota. The Merit network in the slides also makes landfall in Duluth (also not too far from Door County, Nick!).

Both the Southern Tier and Ramsey County projects are moving forward. In addition, the Ramsey County project will include a new data center on the dual conduit network.

I think the Governor of Wisconsin just turned down funding for a BIP or BTOP project.

Healthcare:

Here is the latest Illinois report for the FCC Rural Healthcare Pilot Program network – Live connections can qualify for connectivity as part of a USDA Grant:

tinyurl.com/4vmflbk

——————————————————————————–

From: Layton E. Olson [mailto:leo@howehutton.com]
Sent: Friday, February 25, 2011 12:21 PM
To: Tarkus; DSSA310@aol.com; onepresence@yahoo.com; RONALDMAY@aol.com; jschultz@u-rekabroadband.com; nick.stanley@lecoma.com; ron@themayreport.com
Cc: cwu@ippay.com
Subject: RE: The 2011 USDA DLT application is online

Tarkus,

Layton

_______

_________________________________

——————————————————————————–

Thank you.

Tarkus

——————————————————————————–

Tarkus:

The same drill can be done with the DCEO DD grant program. A very good and clear website:

DD Grant Program – March 10, 2011

Interesting to look at prior winners and the school lunch program percentages by school districts throughout Illinois.

Don

In a message dated 2/24/2011 3:55:22 P.M. Central Standard Time, tarkus@ripco.com writes:

(Please note: Because no budget authority has been appropriated, applications are not currently being accepted for either 100% loans or loan/grant combinations as described below.)

——————————————————————————–

Layton:

Good ideas. The problem is in understanding and prioritizing reading, understanding and taking action.

Don

In a message dated 2/24/2011 2:25:42 P.M. Central Standard Time, leo@howehutton.com writes:

Tarkus,

Thanks for sharing.

Don,

Thanks for thoughts.

Perhaps video links to events in Naperville and Chicago on March 7 and 8, by which time there may be a decision on funding.

Thanks again for sending,

Layton

——————————————————————————–

Thanks Don,

Maybe the summer or Fall quarter to get there live. If you or Bruce can give me a bridge dial in or WebEx location, I might be able to attend (except for a family doctor appointment on that day),

I see that Michael Paddock, the head of Grants Office, has already presented to the broadband group in Illinois (I think he is on the December ’08 Agenda).

The grants environment will be changing in 2011, but I have a lot of repeat clients despite the lower volume of total projects.

Tarkus

——————————————————————————–

Tarkus:

Do you have ideas on how this and other grant opportunities might be useful to Illinois. Here is an agenda for a March 7, 2011 meeting that you might find of interest – attached.

Don

And look at these two links – for support for the Illinois support/incubation of high growth businesses.

Obama Administration Jobs Plan – C-SPAN Video Library

TechStars » Funding and Mentorship from the #1 Startup Accelerator in the World

Details | Excelerate Labs

In a message dated 2/24/2011 10:09:09 A.M. Central Standard Time, tarkus@ripco.com writes:

www.rurdev.usda.gov/UTP_DLTResources.html

Good luck to all applicants and partners.
____________________________________

Tarkus again: The 2011 USDA DLT application is online

The 2011 USDA DLT application is online

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Tarkus
to onepresence, RONALDMAY, DSSA310, Layton, John, Nick, me

show details Feb 24

from Tarkus
to onepresence@yahoo.com,
Tarkus ,
RONALDMAY@aol.com,
DSSA310@aol.com,
“Layton E. Olson” ,
John Schultz ,
Nick Stanley ,
The May Report
date Thu, Feb 24, 2011 at 10:13 AM
subject The 2011 USDA DLT application is online
mailed-by ripco.com

hide details Feb 24

www.rurdev.usda.gov/UTP_DLTResources.html

Good luck to all applicants and partners.
_________________________________

‘AFFILIATE MARKETERS’ SAY THEY WILL BE FORCED TO MOVE TO OTHER STATES IF GOV. QUINN SIGNS HB 3659 – Effort to Collect Tax from Internet Sales Will Cost Illinois Jobs, Revenue

RE: ‘AFFILIATE MARKETERS’ SAY THEY WILL BE FORCED TO MOVE TO OTHER STATES IF GOV. QUINN SIGNS HB 3659 – Effort to Collect Tax from Internet Sales Will Cost Illinois Jobs, Revenue

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show details Mar 3 (10 days ago)

from Melanie Adcock
to ed.longanecker@techamerica.org,
ron@themayreport.com,
ronaldmay@aol.com
date Thu, Mar 3, 2011 at 8:52 PM
subject RE: ‘AFFILIATE MARKETERS’ SAY THEY WILL BE FORCED TO MOVE TO OTHER STATES IF GOV. QUINN SIGNS HB 3659 – Effort to Collect Tax from Internet Sales Will Cost Illinois Jobs, Revenue
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hide details Mar 3 (10 days ago)

Hey Ed, Ron’s in the hospital. Nothing too serious, so far as I know at this point. I’m not sure when he’s getting out, though. Hope all is well with you. -Melanie

_____________________

#1: Speedy recovery

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show details 8:09 AM (5 minutes ago)

from Tarkus
to Tarkus ,
RONALDMAY@aol.com,
ron@themayreport.com
date Mon, Mar 14, 2011 at 8:09 AM
subject Speedy recovery
mailed-by ripco.com

hide details 8:09 AM (5 minutes ago)

A speedy recovery to you both!
+++++++++++++++++++++++++

#2:: Subject: you are up late now get some rest
Date: 3/21/2011 12:13:24 A.M. Central Daylight Time
From: anthonylawoffice@gmail.com
To: RONALDMAY@aol.com

–
William D. Anthony, Attorney at Law
Anthony Law Office, 20 North Wacker Drive, Suite 2520
Chicago, Illinois 60606, Telephone (312) 332-6405, est. 267, Cellular (630) 854-0009, Facsimile (312) 332-2657
_______________________________
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