KEYSPOT: 100k hours of computer training to 10k Philadelphians in last year, planning for end of federal funding [VIDEO]

More than 70 computer training centers in Philadelphia have been given new life and helped familiarize more than 10,000 low-income residents with digital technology in the past year.
Next up for the KEYSPOT initiative, backed by the Freedom Rings Partnership, is to figure out what to do when the $18 million initial federal stimulus funding runs out a year from now. It’s something the partnership is putting as among its top priorities says Joanne Ferroni, among the Drexel University-based coordinators.
“We are working with sites and managing partners to come up with a collective vision for digital literacy and then support individual partners to sustain their own efforts,” said Ferroni. “We are collectively working toward a broad-based funding strategy that will support Philadelphia becoming the most digitally literate and digitally engaged city in the country.”

This appeared on the Technically Philly website on August 3, 2012.

Read the entire article here: http://technicallyphilly.com/2012/08/03/keyspot-100k-hours-of-computer-training-to-10k-participants-in-last-year-planning-for-end-of-federal-funding-video#more-16526

And yes, that's my annoying voice at the beginning of the video. 

N3rd Street: a cluster of tech businesses claim a corridor from Old City to Northern Liberties

A stretch of North Third Street in Philadelphia is on its way to acquiring a new moniker: N3rd Street.
In recent years, the corridor from roughly Market Street in Old City through Northern Liberties has been gradually filling with nerd-centric office buildings and shared workspaces. If Philadelphia is to strengthen its case for being a hub of innovation, the city could use its fair share of blocks known for technological residents.
While certain neighborhoods here have already grown a reputation for intellectual capital — think, University City — narrow stretches that identify how Philadelphia is silly with digital smarts are successes themselves.

This appeared on the Technically Philly website on June 20, 2012.

Read the entire article here: http://technicallyphilly.com/2012/06/20/n3rd-street-a-cluster-of-tech-businesses-claim-a-corridor-from-old-city-to-northern-liberties#more-16109

Network of Women in Computer Technology hosts 31st annual conference

With the number of women in America earning doctoral degrees in computer science and engineering steadily increasing during the first decade of the 21st century, according to the National Science Foundation, a natural question arises. Why aren’t more females making their mark in the world of technology?
One organization addressing this question by working to help women make their mark in technology is the Network of Women in Computer Technology.
This organization, which held its 31st annual conference this weekend, aims to enhance the workplace presence of females interested in technology.

This appeared on the Technically Philly website on June 15, 2012.

Read the entire article here: http://technicallyphilly.com/2012/06/15/network-of-women-in-computer-technology-hosts-31st-annual-conference

Startup Weekend Health winner Quick See MD directs users to ER alternatives

The first weekend in June marked a milestone in health care for Philadelphians with the first Startup Weekend dedicated solely to improving health care systems. Billed as a $2.7 trillion industry, healthcare caught the attention of an entrepreneurial community centered in a life sciences hub.
The weekend winner was Quick See MD, a web tool aiming to direct people to nearby clinics and other medical facilities other than often over-burdened emergency rooms.
Startup Weekend, the launch-a-business-in-a-weekend event first conceived in 2007 by Andrew Hyde in Boulder, Colo. and most recently held locally during Philly Tech Week, focuses mostly on mobile applications, websites and other simple life online businesses. But like the popular TED conference and lightning talk event Ignite, Startup Weekend just may be taking a more narrow focus, highlighted by this weekend’s Startup Weekend Health.

During the summer I was a staff reporter for Philadelphia Neighborhoods, a hyper-local publication based in Philadelphia. Through this publication, I was partnered as an intern with my partner at PN with Technically Philly, a niche media publication focused on anything technology happening in Philadelphia.

This appeared on the Technically Philly website on June 5, 2012.

Read the entire article here: http://technicallyphilly.com/2012/06/05/startup-healthcare-weekend-winner-quick-see-md-directs-users-to-er-alternatives

Detroit Cobras

They’ve come a long way, baby. Still, after enduring a long series of lineup changes since their 1995 founding, Detroit Cobras give new meaning to the term “cover band.” Digging up classic R&B tunes, along with rock ’n’ roll b-sides we’d never hear on the radio, DC breathes new life into songs with a swaggering soul-based flair. Sure, the group may be well over a decade old, but it’s got the garage rock ethos covered, complete with drawling vocals and primitive-sounding guitars. Thankfully spare of cheesy gimmicks and seeping with ’nuff talent to go around, Detroit Cobras will leave you wondering how a cover band could ever sound this good.

 http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/arts-and-culture/Calendar-July-18-24-2012-162773156.html?page=2&comments=1&showAll=

This appeared in the July 18, 2012 edition of Philadelphia Weekly.