Tuesday, June 26, 2012
It’s All How You See It
by Luke Frazier, host of NEOtropolis

You say high tech, I say low tech, but can we agree that it’s really about perception and belief, in technology and ourselves? When I moved back to Northeast Ohio, I anticipated a slower pace than the East Coast, and that the slower pace would probably translate to a less “cutting-edge” feel to the technology environment. Read more...

Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Medical Meanings
by Luke Frazier, host of NEOtropolis

Right after law school I worked at an association that tested and certified orthotists and prosthetists (yeah, it was a mouthful). Since I grew up without knowing anyone who had an artificial limb, I was pretty clueless about what medical devices such as orthopedic braces and mechanical prosthetics looked like up close. Read more...

Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Summer Books, Some Are Life Changers
by Luke Frazier, host of NEOtropolis

So the Times’ Book Review did its biblio-duty this week and published the “Summer Reading” issue. Never mind that it strikes me that if we’re talking about what books to take to the beach cottage for lazy afternoons by the seashore then maybe I don’t get to participate. Read more...

Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Pilgrims' Progress, 21st-Century Style
by Luke Frazier, host of NEOtropolis

Remember the sci-fi dreams of the '60s and '70s? When we could “de-molecularize” on board the Starship Enterprise and reformulate elsewhere — ready to make things right in our best earthling fashion? “Star Trek” also brought us “phasers” to stun our enemies and medical wands waving our wounds to wellness. But I thought the coolest ideas (or at least the closest possibilities) were those we were promised by optimistic futurists as “the cars of the future!” Read more...

Monday, May 21, 2012
The Future is Now
by Craig James, NEOtropolis contributor

Welcome to the future. There’s a lot of talk about “change” these days — isn’t there? But this time — this wave of change — is like never before. It’s a time when all of the domains of civilization are changing at the same time, from technology to politics to economics. Read more...

Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Currents of Opportunity
by Luke Frazier, host of NEOtropolis

I was talking with a policy person the other day — you know the type. Breaks down the vexing questions with an intellectual cleaver, exposing the raw stuff of understanding for all to see. In this case we were discussing energy — renewable, nonrenewable, alternative, good old oil, etc. And what was said really crystallized some of my thinking: “Policy creates the market.” Read more...

Saturday, May 12, 2012
Thinking in Ways That Create Things Out of Thin Air
by Craig James, NEOtropolis contributor

We can’t see air — right? It’s invisible. But we see it all the time. We see it by way of what it can do — such as when it moves leaves on a tree. We also "see" air when we feel it — like when the wind blows sand in our eyes and blurs our vision. Read more...

Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Good Golly, It’s Gestalt!
by Luke Frazier, host of NEOtropolis

I’ve always loved the word “gestalt” — it’s a hardy-sounding growl wrapped in a bit of foreign mystery. Read more...

Monday, April 30, 2012
What My iPad Teaches Me About Me — What it Can Teach You About You (and Me) — and Vice Versa
by Craig James, NEOtropolis contributor

This article includes a couple hints about iPad/iOS usage — but more so, it offers a hint or two about our own consciousness and awareness — of ourselves and of others. Read more...

Saturday, April 28, 2012
Human Nature is Pinteresting
by Craig James, NEOtropolis contributor

I had my first experience with Pinterest today. It was an oddly compelling experience, and it makes mees thinks about human nature. Read more...

Monday, April 23, 2012
Look up in the Sky — It's a Bird — It's a Plane ... No, It's a House!
by Craig James, NEOtropolis contributor

The definitions of how and where we live, and why — are on the fly. When I grew up in suburban Cleveland during the 60's and 70's, life was ideal. Surreal ideal. I was an only child (still am). My earliest memories are of a new brick ranch style home — and then a modern split level. Read more...

Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Homestretch
by Luke Frazier, host of NEOtropolis

So Frost pointed out, "Home is the place where, if you have to go there, they have to take you in." And plenty of other less genteel sayings exist to describe the idea of hearth and home — that fertile and sometimes fecund place of extremes. Read more...

Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Be the OCD You Were Meant to Be
by Luke Frazier, host of NEOtropolis

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) gets a bad rap these days. It's in the funny farm book (otherwise known as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) and conjures an image of the guy who washes his hands so much his skin falls off. But what about OCD’s usefulness in an America increasingly bereft of meaningful rituals? Read more...

Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Risky Business
by Luke Frazier, host of NEOtropolis

Psychotherapists and investment bankers may not seem to have much in common, but they both ask a similar question as they try to get you well (mentally or financially): “How willing are you to take risks?” Read more...

Monday, April 2, 2012
Are you a NEOpreneur?
by Craig James, NEOtropolis contributor

Employment. Work. Job. Play. Prosperity. Progress. GDP. The 21st Century is changing what these words mean. It's also changing the word "Entrepreneur." Read more...

Tuesday, March 26, 2012
Food: Up or Out?
by Craig James, NEOtropolis contributor

NEOtropolis returns from its Spring Break and kicks-off its season "back nine" on March 27. The show, titled "Taste and Place," explores the forces of technology affecting our production and consumption of food. Read more...

Monday, March 26, 2012
Renew, Refresh, Regroup
by Luke Frazier, host of NEOtropolis

This week marks roughly the halfway point of NEOtropolis, season three. So far it's been an incredibly fun and fantastic ride, with a few live TV bumps along the way. Read more...

Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Reflections on #TheStartupBus
by Thomas Mulready, NEOtropolis correspondent and CoolCleveland.com owner

Hack-a-thons Are Nothing New. They are also called "Hack Day," "HackFest" or "CodeFest." Usually they are time-limited (24 or 48 hours), and they are focused on a particular software problem or solution. Read more...

Monday, March 12, 2012
StartupBus Winner Announced
by Thomas Mulready, NEOtropolis correspondent and CoolCleveland.com owner

After 72 hours, a dust storm delay (for the West Coast buses), a traffic snarl (for the East Coast buses), only a few hours' rest and a general lack of good wi-fi along the way, all 10 StartupBuses arrived in Austin, Texas, for the finals on Sunday, 3/11. Read more...

Thursday, March 8, 2012
Connections Are Everything
by Thomas Mulready, NEOtropolis correspondent and CoolCleveland.com owner

If you ask the buspreneurs riding the Cincinnati StartupBus, they will tell you that making connections was the #1 reason for sequestering themselves inside a very large and very fast vehicle for 72 hours. Read more...

Thursday, March 8, 2012
What Really Happens on #TheStartupBus
by Thomas Mulready, NEOtropolis correspondent and CoolCleveland.com owner

Maybe you've been following our adventures on #TheStartupBus blasting toward Austin to see who can start up the coolest business in 72 hours. Read more...

Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Judgment Day
by Thomas Mulready, NEOtropolis correspondent and CoolCleveland.com owner

On #TheStartupBus, the details are starting to leak out. Read more...

Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Bring On the Stock Market
by Thomas Mulready, NEOtropolis correspondent and CoolCleveland.com owner

Now the rules have changed. We're on #TheStartupBus to Austin with 32 buspreneurs from Ohio, Detroit and Indy. Read more...

Tuesday, March 6, 2012
The Domain Name Game
by Thomas Mulready, NEOtropolis correspondent and CoolCleveland.com owner

One part of creating a new company is registering a domain name. Read more...

Tuesday, March 6, 2012
The StartupBus Departs TechColumbus
by Thomas Mulready, NEOtropolis correspondent and CoolCleveland.com owner

Finally the bus has departed from Columbus. Read more...

Monday, March 5, 2012
nPowerPeg
by Thomas Mulready, NEOtropolis correspondent and CoolCleveland.com owner

Cleveland-based Tremont Electric donates three of their nPowerPeg backup battery chargers for hand-held electronics. Read more...

Monday, March 5, 2012
Start Me Up
by Luke Frazier, host of NEOtropolis

Let's get this show on the road! Not NEOtropolis per se — that's been rolling along like a luxury Lexus for the past two months. I'm talking here about Western Reserve Public Media's new "Wiki-TV" effort that will bring a live report from the StartUpBus all this week at 6:57 p.m., just before PBS NewsHour, on Western Reserve PBS (WNEO/WEAO). Read more...

Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2012
Post-Show Update: The Power of Energy
by Craig James, NEOtropolis contributor

The "What's the Big Idea?" segment raised awareness of the importance of energy in tackling other large issues that face the planet Earth. We also suggested that if we can be successful in creating and harnessing additional, and cleaner, energy — we will be able to solve many of the world's greatest challenges via a beautiful and elaborate 'domino cascade' of events.  Read more...

Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2012
Recycling the Classics With Social Media
by Kathleen Colan, NEOtropolis social media expert

Have you heard about the Gutenberg Project? It’s a free e-book library containing 38,000 of the world’s classic works of literature. Read more...

Monday, Feb. 27, 2012
The Power of Energy
by Craig James, NEOtropolis contributor

How often do you use the term "energy?" You probably use it in a "traditional" fashion, referring to the energy moving your car, keeping you warm or powering your computer. You probably also think of "energy" when you encounter people too — right?  i.e., "He has great (or bad) energy."  You know what you feel — but how do you "know?" Read more...

Monday, Feb. 27, 2012
It's a Wiki-Wide World
by Luke Frazier, host of NEOtropolis

This week on NEOtropolis, it's all about making something less desirable (like yucky organic waste or discarded floor tiles) into something more desirable (like natural gas or faux flowers). Converting to second uses, repurposing, upcycling — whatever you call it — puts you in the role of a co-creator (or at least a supporter of someone else's repurposing) instead of a passive, pass-through consumer. Read more...

Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2012
Music in the Workplace... and Beyond
by Craig James, NEOtropolis contributor

On Feb. 14, 2012, NEOtropolis covered "The Languages of Expression."  The "What's the Big Idea?" segment talked about the power of music in the workplace — and beyond. Usually we think of music as pleasant or entertaining. Well, it can be both of those things and much, much more. Read more...

Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2012
Self-Expression — Harder Than It Seems?
by Luke Frazier, host of NEOtropolis

Wow, show #6 this week! Hard to believe that Season Three of NEOtropolis is nearing the halfway point. We’ve been busy illustrating and interpreting the forces affecting all of us in Northeast Ohio — technology, globalization and diversity. This week we’re all about the different expressions and “languages” we use to grapple with these forces, e.g. poetry, fashion, politics and Madonna?? Read more...

Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2012
The Language of Social Media Begins With Blogging
by Kathleen Colan, NEOtropolis social media expert

Social media is made for self expression. Perhaps even too much expression. Read more...

Monday, Feb. 13, 2012
Musing About Expression
by Craig James, NEOtropolis contributor

Muse-ic. Do you know that the word "music" is derived from the the Greek word "mousike" meaning "Art of the Muses?" Read more...

Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2012
For the Love of Maps
by Luke Frazier, host of NEOtropolis

I first got hooked on maps when I was about 10 and reading "Treasure Island." Read more...

Monday, Feb. 6, 2012
Borders, Barriers or Bridges?
by Craig James, NEOtropolis contributor

As I write this article on the eve of the NEOtropolis episode "Phantom Borders," I can't help but reflect on the fact that today, February 6, 2012 the U.S. Embassy closed its doors in Damascus, and our diplomats race back home to safety. Read more...

Monday, Jan. 30, 2012
Top Three Reasons to Follow Your Doctor on Social Media
by Kathleen Colan, NEOtropolis social media expert

What’s the benefit of following your doctor on Twitter and Facebook? Read more...

Monday, Jan. 30, 2012
Thirsting for Meaning; Drinking for Survival
by Luke Frazier, host of NEOtropolis

Living near one of the Great Lakes tends to skews one’s perspective on fresh water. Read more...

Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012
What Kind of Information Is in Your Diet?
by Luke Frazier, host of NEOtropolis

So the slogan across the top of the New York Times says it is, “All the news that’s fit to print.” Of course, it was never meant to be literal. But there certainly was an implied sense of comprehensive information being delivered by the vaunted paper of record. Read more...

Monday, Jan. 23, 2012
So, What's News? The Convergence of Information
by Craig James, NEOtropolis contributor

What is news? What is information? How has it changed? Have the multitude of mechanisms, modes and means merged into a blur we can no longer understand? Things have converged like never before.  Read more...

Monday, Jan. 23, 2012
How to Customize Social Media for Your Personal News Consumption
by Kathleen Colan, NEOtropolis social media expert

With last week’s news that Twitter bought Vancouver-based Summify, the interwebs are buzzing about how the acquisition will enable you to receive top news from your social networks based on a proprietary algorithm that combines your interests with the most popular links among the people you follow on Twitter. Read more...

Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012
It’s Only Natural
by Luke Frazier, host of NEOtropolis

After a pretty cool premiere episode, we’re back and looking to the future. This week we are going to see about “mimicking” nature, as in biomimicry. Read more...

Monday, Jan. 16, 2012
To Survive, Should We Share and Share Alike?
by Craig James, NEOtropolis contributor

“Sustainability” is about green building, conservation, recycling, renewable energy and the environment — right? Read more...

Friday, Jan. 13, 2012
Get Social With Western Reserve Public Media
by Kathleen Colan, NEOtropolis social media expert

The Internet is now social and has organized itself around people and connections. Read more...

Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2012
Let’s Get This Party Started
by Luke Frazier, host of NEOtropolis

Really looking forward to the first NEOtropolis episode of the new season! We’re going to touch a lot of bases, technology-wise, as we gear up for an exciting season. Read more...

Monday, Jan. 9, 2012
The Merging of Man and Machine
by Craig James, NEOtropolis contributor

Imagine man and machine, becoming one. Science fiction? Not anymore. Read more...