LOUDER

DeMo Des Moines — February Edition

DeMo Des Moines returns to Startup City Des Moines on Tuesday, February 21 at 4pm.

Not clear on what DeMo is? Check out the recap from January’s event.

You don’t have to register to attend or present, but a heads-up is always appreciated. Hope to see you there.

DeMo Des Moines January 2012 Recap

I’m often asked if DeMo is just for “tech stuff”. It’s definitely not, and the conversation we had at January’s DeMo session proved that out. Four presenters shared a diverse group of projects and ideas including web startups and brick-and-mortar initiatives.

I used this slide deck to start things out. While it doesn’t contain info about the presentations (those are generally improvised on-site by the presenters), poking through it may give you a better feel for the event.

Below are my notes on the January 2012 #DeMoDSM presentations.

Presentation One: Locusic Social Sharing

Jake Kerber from Locusic presented at DeMo for the second time. Locusic hadn’t even launched yet when Jake first presented. Locusic has generated a lot of buzz since then, and Jake is looking to add to that buzz with social media integration features. Discussion ranged from the literal (you could add a Like button right there) to the conceptual (could you encourage users to share “stories” generated by their behavior on the system).

Jake said he’s looking for a few hours of help from a developer experienced with social integration for web services and is open to discussing trade or pay.

Presentation Two: iDealer.co White Label Dealership App

Yas Kuraishi from iapps24 (also the sponsor of January’s DeMo) went through a sales deck for iDealer, a white-label app available to be branded and customized for deployment as a B2C app from auto dealerships for their customers to use. Yas sought ideas on how to best market the iDealer service to dealerships and how to structure the feature/benefit pitch.

Presentation Three: Bike Shop / Coffee Shop Concept

Nicholas Casber and Scott Bents talked through an idea for a combination bike shop and coffee shop they’d like to see launched in downtown Des Moines. They’re excited by a successful cafe with a similar model in nearby Minneapolis and thought it would be a great fit for Des Moines’ developing downtown. The group talked through possible various models, such as partnering with existing organizations and businesses, as well as potentially launching a traditional business such as a bar or restaurant with a strong focus on being cyclist-friendly, showers and all. Nicholas and Scott seemed most interested in simply connecting the right people to start making this happen, and are looking to have conversations with others excited about the idea. Ping me if you’re interested and I’ll put you in touch.

Presentation Four: “Iowa Stimulus Club”

Local ad man and buy local advocate Michael Libbie talked through an idea for the “Iowa Stimulus Club”, an organization designed to connect a network of local-shopping supporters with truly local businesses. Discussion included the plusses, minuses, and appropriate ways of integrating a charitable component as well as what kind of benefits and access consumers are interested in with local businesses.

What’s next?

You might not guess it from the above, but it’s still a bit of a struggle getting presenters to volunteer for DeMo. I plan on holding a session in February, but may play with the format a bit to see if I can make anything happen. I don’t expect to change the time or date for February (4pm on third Tuesday).

Upcoming Panel at Drake’s Journalism Days

I’ve been invited to speak on a panel called “The Cutting Edge” at Drake University’s Journalism Days event this week. The panel is described thusly:

Panel of professionals discuss exciting careers in media, moderated by SJMC multimedia instructor Chris Snider.

It will be held on Wednesday, November 9 at 7pm in Meredith Hall (the black steel and glass building adjacent to the gated pay lot off University Avenue) on Drake’s campus.

I’ve received official word this particular panel is open to the public, so if you’re in the Des Moines area, interested in media, startups, and technology, and can stand the sound of my voice, consider attending.

Chris, the moderator, has been kind enough to invite myself and my coworker Amanda Morrow to his web design class in the Journalism department twice now to share thoughts about applying a Journalism degree to work in technology and the startup scene. I documented what we shared on the most recent visit in a post on Brick by Brick, the BitMethod blog. Depending on how the conversation flows, I imagine I’ll be offering up much of the same sentiments in a different context.