TECHNA: Chicago, IL (8/6-8/8)

This past week I went up to Chicago and attended my first TECHNA conference, for those of you unfamiliar this organization it is the association of tech associations. Upon arrival I found a room full of peers, similar in enthusiasm and shared interests…that is, after I found the correct room full of peers. Leave it to me to hop in a cab with total strangers headed to the same restaurant for a similar conference. Eventually I found my way.

I opened my notebook, sharpened my pencils, and ordered a double venti was prepped and ready to go. The first session was a program on what cities need to ensure success; as in the Richard Florida school of thought on being unique to your region. In many ways, Austin is the epitome of being successful in this space with a university, strong community connections, innovation, creative clusters, understood differences and strong core city vitality. Check---we were on our way!

Digging further into association programming and overall mission, the discussion was around peer groups and the value of clusters, special interest and professional groups. This was the real meat on where each organization had a different goal, benchmarks and overall value. ATC offers Cluster groups (Wireless, Life Sciences, Clean Energy) Interest Groups (Java, Dot Net, PMO and Sales programming) while the Professional groups (CEO, CIO Roundtables) are effective shared resources. Again---check. But PLENTY of room to grow!

The networking between programming truly offered the most value. Utah, Pittsburg, Vermont, Ottawa, Louisiana, all represented along with 30 other councils looking for the same shared knowledge. It was invigorating and the outlet I was looking for; a complete breath of fresh air and new ideas.

The afternoon sessions delved into board management, community partnerships, policy efforts, program ideas, membership value. The second day focused on web presence, development, branding, event promotion, surveys, operations, interns, communication and role in the community. Not a small spread of topics to cover in one day. I left with pages and pages of notes and new ideas and ways to truly improve the overall value of ATC.

I trekked back to Austin late Friday night and didn’t open my notebook all weekend; rather, I let it marinate until Monday. I walked into my office yesterday and BAM! We have a new blog, Face book page, Linkedin groups, iPhone logos, Wikipedia page (in the making) and a our team has a new invigorated spirit to improve the overall value of ATC.

This all came about because I was inspired by a conversation with a colleague a few months back when he said, it was essential for ATC to represent a successful organization as it is a direct reflection of our overall Central Texas economy. A daunting truth, but one where we are able to challenge the boundaries and continue to grow.

First time round: Austin Technology Council Post #1

Today marks a landmark movement for the Austin Technology Council. August 11, 2008 at 3:30 pm ATC has decided to embrace all that social networking has to offer; mind you, this is a decision three years in the making. Thanks to the many emails, rants, recommendations and comments…we have decided this would be an effective grassroots effort to expand our message and the three-dimensional aspect of our community.

For those of you who are not familiar with the Austin Technology Council, we are member-driven association of business and organization executive leaders, working together to promote the growth and success of Austin's technology sector. ATC envisions an Austin in which the technology community is the catalyst for inspiration and leadership that transforms our city into a world-center for business innovation, creative thinking, community involvement and educational supports.

To better define our mission, we host over 100 events during the year to aide technology companies in growing to the next level through education, networking and policy work. As we are a small (staff of three) non-profit, we have found that branding ourselves through different channels and partners has helped us to grow our presence and network beyond Central Texas.

And so it begins, we have also launched a Facebook, Twitter, Plaxo, LinkedIn and iPhone logo for our site. Visit www.austintechnologycouncil.org for more information.