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gvsusean

By gvsusean
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wingbert
wingbert

So what we need is ArtPrize to become a tech event with investment bros and a bit of art?   

joeDowntown
joeDowntown

Like a really old dog that you loved for years, I think they just need to put ArtPrize down. As far as I can tell, there is very little Art or Prize left in ArtPrize. 

GR_Urbanist
GR_Urbanist

I mean, this is nice and all, but does it actually mean anything outside of sending out brochures to tech firms in California with big glossy stock photos of the area with boilerplate statistics boili

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organsnyder Hamlet

organsnyder

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https://www.grandrapidsmi.gov/Our-City/News-Media/GR-launches-Tech-Week-recognized-as-a-best-city-to-start-tech-careers

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“We are well positioned to be a major tech hub where startup companies and existing businesses will coalesce and become part of our inclusive economy. By aligning the Tech Week experience with existing events such as Confluence and ArtPrize, it allows our community to have a similar vibe as South by Southwest (SXSW) where we have an overlapping infusion of creative and innovative talent in our city. We can reimagine the world differently with art bringing creatives and entrepreneurs together to solve problems, start businesses and collaborate.”

I love this city, but... oof. "Similar vibe" as SXSW?

Also, it's been interesting to see how The Right Place and other bigger players have stepped in to reinvigorate local tech networking events. They had never restarted since COVID, and were hit-and-miss before then. But the ones I've gone to, even recently, have still made it evident that this is a very small pond.

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joeDowntown Metropolis

joeDowntown

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LOL. Definitely a reach. And maybe not what we’re aiming for? SXSW was a great music event, then a great tech and music event. Now it seems to be a tech event with a bunch of investment bro’s  and a bit of music. 

Either way, we’re not even close to a SXSW, but also don’t know why everything needs to be compared to everything else?

Joe

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walker Burg

walker

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Here's a follow-up story on the proposed Big Rapids battery parts plant after the recent public meetings.  No need to sneak through the back door to read this.  As I write this, the story is still free for anyone to read:

DETROIT NEWS: big-rapids-boards-ok-30-year-tax-break-for-chinese-battery-parts-maker

EDIT: I guess you can't get into it now without a subscription.  Sorry.

Edited by walker
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MJLO City

MJLO

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I still think Arcisure is the most immediate answer to this question.  Another acquisition of a digital company in IL.  In most of these cases they are acquiring the technology.  My guess is there will be a consolidation (even if just in part) in Grand Rapids.  If they keep growing the way they are and building out their facilities, it's going to have an impact on the amount of tech in the local economy. 

https://mibiz.com/sections/finance/acrisure-expands-digital-offerings-with-latest-acquisition

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walker Burg

walker

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On 9/22/2022 at 1:48 PM, GRDadof3 said:

Yes Artprize needs to reinvent itself for the 8th time.

Not likely as a tech event but it does look like Artprize is in for another reinvent:

WOODTV: ArtPrize being handed over to city, DGRI, Kendall College 

EDIT: And here's a link to the Mlive story - sounds here more like an abandonment than a reinvent:

MLIVE:artprize-calls-it-quits-after-13-years

Edited by walker
added MLIVE story
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GRDadof3 Ecumenopolis

GRDadof3

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On 10/27/2022 at 9:01 PM, joeDowntown said:

Like a really old dog that you loved for years, I think they just need to put ArtPrize down. As far as I can tell, there is very little Art or Prize left in ArtPrize. 

Agreed. I'd love to see them use the funds (if there are any, I'm somewhat doubtful) to host large scale outdoor art installations, like they do for winter fest. That's the part of AP I liked the best in the beginning, even if it was kitschy (the dragon at the Bob for instance). 

But with the major institutions stepping away from it (other than Devos Place) there's really no large venues anymore. 

 

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walker Burg

walker

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On 10/27/2022 at 9:01 PM, joeDowntown said:

Like a really old dog that you loved for years, I think they just need to put ArtPrize down. As far as I can tell, there is very little Art or Prize left in ArtPrize. 

This guy has an impressive  résumé.  Maybe they're not ready to put the old dog down after all:

WOODTV: new artprize executive director comes from sxsw

 

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gvsusean Burg

gvsusean

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12 hours ago, joeDowntown said:

It will be interesting. Glad to see they brought in new blood hope it can evolve into something new and exciting. 

Id like to see a “BeerPrize” or some sort of “International Marijuana Festival” the largest in the world…

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joeDowntown Metropolis

joeDowntown

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Gentex announced a "tech hub" opening in 25 Ottawa. Eventually will employee 100 people downtown (I assume this is space vacated by Spectrum/Corewell?). This is the second investment Gentex has made in the core of Grand Rapids. Would love to see some of the other major lakeshore employers follow suit. 

https://www.woodtv.com/news/grand-rapids/gentex-opens-new-technology-hub-in-downtown-gr/

Joe

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organsnyder Hamlet

organsnyder

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On 9/19/2023 at 9:34 AM, joeDowntown said:

Gentex announced a "tech hub" opening in 25 Ottawa. Eventually will employee 100 people downtown (I assume this is space vacated by Spectrum/Corewell?). This is the second investment Gentex has made in the core of Grand Rapids. Would love to see some of the other major lakeshore employers follow suit. 

https://www.woodtv.com/news/grand-rapids/gentex-opens-new-technology-hub-in-downtown-gr/

Joe

I'm 95% sure that is indeed old Spectrum space. I recognized the furnishings and layout from when I used to work there.

 

On 9/19/2023 at 9:59 AM, GRJohn said:

I also saw this retreat being offered.  I hope that GR becomes a hub for AI.  

https://lp.ratliffconsulting.com/airetreat2

AI is mainly a buzzword now—like blockchain, etc. before it. The AI technologies that matter are the ones that are already being seamlessly incorporated in various tools and workflows. AI isn't a standalone skill-set.

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joeDowntown Metropolis

joeDowntown

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4 hours ago, organsnyder said:

I'm 95% sure that is indeed old Spectrum space. I recognized the furnishings and layout from when I used to work there.

 

AI is mainly a buzzword now—like blockchain, etc. before it. The AI technologies that matter are the ones that are already being seamlessly incorporated in various tools and workflows. AI isn't a standalone skill-set.

I have to disagree. Blockchain has been widely hyped/talked about for years, but never gained mainstream traction for much of anything (except maybe Ponzi schemes and fodder for crypto bros). AI has been integrated into most major platforms and changed workflows for people / organizations in a little under a year (of general availability). 

I don’t know how many new companies it will create in west Michigan, but a lot of companies are already putting major resources into leveraging AI. If we can build a knowledgeable workforce in AI (and ML models, data cleansing/extraction, etc. , I think it would be very beneficial for the area. 

Joe

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organsnyder Hamlet

organsnyder

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On 9/24/2023 at 9:10 PM, joeDowntown said:

I have to disagree. Blockchain has been widely hyped/talked about for years, but never gained mainstream traction for much of anything (except maybe Ponzi schemes and fodder for crypto bros). AI has been integrated into most major platforms and changed workflows for people / organizations in a little under a year (of general availability). 

I don’t know how many new companies it will create in west Michigan, but a lot of companies are already putting major resources into leveraging AI. If we can build a knowledgeable workforce in AI (and ML models, data cleansing/extraction, etc. , I think it would be very beneficial for the area. 

Joe

Fair point. What I’m trying to say is that, for the most part, AI will mostly be a discipline within existing tech companies (and other companies with internal software engineering teams) rather than a new industry.

I’ve seen the way LLMs and other AI tools have transformed my company (a large tech company based in Canada), and it undoubtedly is many orders of magnitude more revolutionary than crypto ever will be. It’s truly astonishing. But even so, wading through the marketing hype is not easy.

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