If you recently attended the Kickstart event, held at Boise State a few weeks ago, you had the opportunity to meet one of Idaho's most fascinating entrepreneurs / inventors / technologists / toymaker / mimes. Caleb Chung, inventor of the Furby, isn't a mime anymore (at least not professionally) but he is in the process of bringing to market one of the most fascinating products I think I've seen in a long time. Pleo is the flagship product of Caleb's new venture Ugobe. Pleo is a baby dinosaur "toy" that responds to touch, responds to sounds, takes a nap when its tired, and will even limp if played its played with in the wrong way. Those are just a few of things Pleo can do.

Washington Irving said "There is a certain relief in change, even though it be from bad to worse; as I have found in traveling in a stage-coach, that it is often a comfort to shift one's position and be bruised in a new place." I love that statement and have come to view it as telling of the tech environment not only in Boise, but in Idaho and to my dismay just the other day, Oregon. Over the past several weeks, I have found myself shifting and getting new bruises. I have been involved in conversations, discussions and meetings that sent me into a time warp - back to 2004 when I was in the Office of Science and Technology. The fact that it is three years later and the same conversations are taking place is incredible to me (and not in a good way). The market doesn't stand still. Why should public policy?

We know a lot more than many realize about what it takes for an organization to be -and stay- innovative. This something I've consulted on for years and studied for even longer. The message hasn't changed in decades: The heart of the matter is learning to think entrepreneurially and keeping that mindset. It's not bureaucracy that kills innovation, it is bureaucratic thinking. We (organizations and communities) need to cultivate a cognitive (human) infrastructure that encourages innovation and entrepreneurial thinking. Stanford's Bob Sutton is "da man" in understanding how our businesses can be innovative. He will tell you there is nothing new; we have long known the keys to innovative activity, the keys for firms to stay entrepreneurial. We just can't seem to DO them. So, who blocks them? To find out, take this test before reading further... [note: rude word alert in link]

http://tinyurl.com/29ba44

Saw this one through a Google Alert:

Microsoft tech guru emphasizes education
Business expert speaks to parents and students

I've had the opportunity listen to Bob Lokken speak a few different times and I have never heard him NOT talk about education. And ever since Microsoft's acquisition of Proclarity he's even more fired
up about it.

From the Idaho Mountain Express:

"Like water is to agriculture, education is to technology," Lokken said.

A new Web-based community for scholars has debuted at www.pronetos.com. Pronetos, the Professors?ɬ¢?¢‚Äö¬¨?¢‚Äû¬¢ Network, is the brainchild of Chris Blanchard, a graduate student in history. While working as an undergraduate student to publish a paper with social work professor Dan Huff in 2003, he became frustrated by the cumbersome process of peer review and publishing.

ComputerWorld just released a story on Boise, our growing tech community and our desperate need for IT jobs. There's Tech Treasures Tucked in and Around Boise, Idaho.

While the story does a great job of pointing out the great quality of life and did a much better job than MSNBC interviewing several of our smaller tech companies the story also highlighted our desperate need for more programmers.

Think of the old "general store" - a "thirdspace" isn't home, it isn't work, but it IS a place for people to meet, whether intentionally or accidentally. A place where ideas tend to surface. Why do you think so many different kinds of people go to Dawson-Taylor? (or the Interlude before that?)

What makes thriving communities? Thriving communities... of people. Nurturing this is so important to all of us. We need places where we can meet intentionally, even work. (Google "co-working". An amazing model that could be implemented if only we had lots of excess office space downtown... LOL). But let's get started informally... What do we need? What's important?

Boise, ID - May 8, 2007 - TechConnect West announced today the schedule for participation in TechLaunch 4.0.

TechLaunch 4.0 will be held July 11 and 12 in Boise, ID and features cash prizes of over $10,000 for winning venture presentations.

TechLaunch is focused on preparing entrepreneurial companies in Idaho that want or need to find financing to start and grow the state's new companies. Companies must have or create a business plan, a business plan presentation and an elevator speech.