The Great Lakes IT Report's Spring 2009 Tech Tour is refusing to participate in this recession.
That's right! Downturn or no, your humble narrator (WWJ Newsradio 950 Technolgy Editor, Matt Roush) will be hitting the road for a week of interviews and storytelling in West Michigan and Up North May 6-13.
And the itinerary for visits each day -- is as follows:
*Wednesday, May 6: Kalamazoo
*Thursday, May 7: The West Shore, from St. Joseph up to Muskegon
*Friday, May 8: Traverse City
*Saturday, May 9: The U.P., as far west as Marquette
*Sunday, May 10: Travel Day
*Monday, May 11: Tri-Cities (Saginaw, Bay City, Midland)
*Tuesday, May 12: Flint
*Wednesday, May 13: Lansing
I'm pretty well set up with interviews on the West Shore Thursday -- tech companies there have been trying to get me to visit for years instead of going to Grand Rapids as I always have -- but I'm wide open to suggestions for meetings in the other cities.
In an effort to tell Michigan's technology economy story outside metro Detroit more effectively, I take two Tech Tours a year.
The fall Tech Tour has a back-to-school theme and mostly covers university tech transfer and reserch spinoffs.
The spring Tech Tour, in contrast, takes a look at Michigan technology entrepreneurship. So I'm interested in meeting with young tech companies in or near the cities being visited.
What industries? That's pretty broad. Yes, hardware and software -- but also the life sciences (including both medical devices and pharmaceutical research), advanced manufacturing, and all things green, from renewable energy to energy conservation technologies.
I'm also pretty flexible in terms of my UP visit. I'll go as far as Sault Ste. Marie or Escanaba as well as Marquette; I realize the fine folks up there will drive 90 minutes for a decent restaurant, so I will drive at least that far from where I'm staying in Marquette Friday and Saturday nights for a decent tech story.
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