Like I said, I am enthused to have have found the tech community thriving, because when I three years ago, it was very bare. I hope that by attending more of these, I can network and learn a lot for myself (outside of journalism) and hopefully take some of this knowledge and apply it in the newsroom.

I'd like to thank you for participating in RefreshMiami last night, where you're more than welcome! I hope you enjoyed meeting the community; everyone's very friendly and warm.

I met your colleagues over dinner after Refresh and we had a chance to clarify our views. I apologize I put you off by saying the bloggers and twitterers in the room have greater reach than the Herald. With a print circulation of about 200k, the people at last night's meetup are probably collectively reaching more people online across the multiple social media they use. They don't have the same reach as the online version of the Herald, although RefreshMiami's total membership may.

The point of this off-hand statement was to highlight that since our local mainstream media are not covering the tech scene, we'd better do it ourselves. Makes sense, right?

When the local mainstream media becomes interested in the tech activity in South Florida, the members of RefreshMiami will point them to dozens of startups and hundreds of entrepreneurs, freelancers, and independent consultants working on interesting new businesses. These entrepreneurs and startups will certainly benefit from having a light shined on them from time to time to get exposure to new resources and sources of financing. It will make a huge difference … when the day comes. By the way, many of these ventures create new jobs for others.

South Florida is well known for certain industries, many of which have historically received enormous support from the local government as well as ample coverage in the press. These include the Real Estate, Construction, Banking, Trade, Tourism, and Healthcare industries.

Should we not dream that one day South Florida will be known as Silicon Beach (rather than silicone beach) … and that the press will one day cover the tech scene?

In the meantime, I hope you and your colleagues will participate at the various events and local user groups that have been set up. Who knows, you may in time start up a new online venture yourself?

-Alex

Like I said, I am enthused to have have found the tech community thriving, because when I three years ago, it was very bare. I hope that by attending more of these, I can network and learn a lot for myself (outside of journalism) and hopefully take some of this knowledge and apply it in the newsroom.

I'd like to thank you for participating in RefreshMiami last night, where you're more than welcome! I hope you enjoyed meeting the community; everyone's very friendly and warm.

I met your colleagues over dinner after Refresh and we had a chance to clarify our views. I apologize I put you off by saying the bloggers and twitterers in the room have greater reach than the Herald. With a print circulation of about 200k, the people at last night's meetup are probably collectively reaching more people online across the multiple social media they use. They don't have the same reach as the online version of the Herald, although RefreshMiami's total membership may.

The point of this off-hand statement was to highlight that since our local mainstream media are not covering the tech scene, we'd better do it ourselves. Makes sense, right?

When the local mainstream media becomes interested in the tech activity in South Florida, the members of RefreshMiami will point them to dozens of startups and hundreds of entrepreneurs, freelancers, and independent consultants working on interesting new businesses. These entrepreneurs and startups will certainly benefit from having a light shined on them from time to time to get exposure to new resources and sources of financing. It will make a huge difference … when the day comes. By the way, many of these ventures create new jobs for others.

South Florida is well known for certain industries, many of which have historically received enormous support from the local government as well as ample coverage in the press. These include the Real Estate, Construction, Banking, Trade, Tourism, and Healthcare industries.

Should we not dream that one day South Florida will be known as Silicon Beach (rather than silicone beach) … and that the press will one day cover the tech scene?

In the meantime, I hope you and your colleagues will participate at the various events and local user groups that have been set up. Who knows, you may in time start up a new online venture yourself?

-Alex