Possible IT Cluster in NWA

[mcheiss]

KonaWare Inc. of Menlo Park, Calif., is seeking a mission to create NWA as the Silicon Valley of the Midwest. Two principals at the company teamed up with Tim McFarland of Accelerate Arkansas and wrote a paper titled Logistics Technology Center of Excellence: Why Northwest Arkansas is Uniquely Positioned to Become a World-Class Focal Point for Logistics Technologies.

But KonaWare, an information technology and software company focused on logistics and freight tracking, has done more than that. In August, principals opened an office in Harrison, and they

[Aporkalypse]

Sounds like a company targeting the trucking industry, which is a good idea with Wal-Mart, JB Hunt, and a couple of other trucking cos around.

[mcheiss]

Yeah, hopefully this could be a spark for something great. I think NWA is situated as a great location for Information Technology.

[Mith242]

I've been waiting for some news like this. Not only are these the type of jobs I'd like to see come into the area and help diversify our economy. We'll actually have more options for some of the graduates from the U of A. So many of the graduates in the computer/tech field have to leave because there's simply not many jobs for them. It would be great to be able to keep more of the top graduates in this field and others in this area.

[mcheiss]

I didn't think about that, but this could actually get a good IT Program started at the UofA.

[masons_dad1]

I know a lot of IT people that move here from bigger IT areas like Dallas end up moving back because there aren't enough IT jobs here. Hopefully something like this would bring in highly skilled IT people to NWA... as long as they don't end up taking my job!

[Arkansawyer]

KonaWare Inc. of Menlo Park, Calif., is seeking a mission to create NWA as the Silicon Valley of the Midwest. Two principals at the company teamed up with Tim McFarland of Accelerate Arkansas and wrote a paper titled Logistics Technology Center of Excellence: Why Northwest Arkansas is Uniquely Positioned to Become a World-Class Focal Point for Logistics Technologies.

But KonaWare, an information technology and software company focused on logistics and freight tracking, has done more than that. In August, principals opened an office in Harrison, and they

[Mith242]

How could they physically transplant NWA to the Midwest?

Yeah but NWA is very close to the Midwest. I think we're close to the edge of the 'south'.

[johnnydr87]

True.

[mcheiss]

Yeah but NWA is very close to the Midwest. I think we're close to the edge of the 'south'.

I think NWA is more in the Mid-West, while the rest of Arkansas is in the Mid-South.

[masons_dad1]

I think NWA is more in the Mid-West, while the rest of Arkansas is in the Mid-South.

Careful Matt, I think that's the attitude that sperated West Virginia from Virginia. Image Northwest Arkansas being a state seperate from Arkansas. Which side would have the most to lose I wonder?

[Arkansawyer]

I think NWA is more in the Mid-West, while the rest of Arkansas is in the Mid-South.

That's just inaccurate. In the same way, a lot of people now choose to say that Virginia is Northeastern. Many Northeasterners have moved there and classify it this way despite its Southern heritage. As I've mentioned before, NWA now consists of more non-natives to the areas than natives, and so its culture has rapidly changed. Just look around the area for signs of the region's past. There's the Confederate Cemetary in Fayetteville, the Confederate statue in the Bentonville Square, Dixieland Road in Rogers. Those aren't things you'll see in a Midwestern city. Generally, I think the term Midwestern is misunderstood. First and foremost, it is a northern region. It's major cities include Chicago and Detroit. The term is used so incorrectly that I've recently seen someone call Texas Midwestern. In addition, Arkansas is often classified as a Deep South state, even though the Ozarks are of the distinct Southern mountain culture. The farthest one could stretch and be close to accurate is to say that NWA is where South meets Southwest, although that's really more in East/Central Oklahoma and West Texas.

Careful Matt, I think that's the attitude that sperated West Virginia from Virginia. Image Northwest Arkansas being a state seperate from Arkansas. Which side would have the most to lose I wonder?

The part that fractured from the main state isn't doing very well, and Virginia is booming. Y'all better watch out.

[Mith242]

I think the midwest term can mean different things. I consider midwest to now also mean Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma. There were times in the past when it even applied to areas like Ohio and such. But I have also heard about the upper midwest as you mentioned as well.