Future Midwest Looks to Rebuild Detroit

Change is happening in Detroit, are you a part of it?

That was the theme of the first annual Future Midwest conference, held this past weekend in Royal Oak, Mich. Headlined by former Digg CEO and native Detroiter Jay Adelson, the conference focused on growing businesses and spurring local entrepreneurs by bringing together the best and brightest digital minds from across the country.

From digital marketing to PR and social media, Future Midwest addressed how technology can be used to lift Detroit and pave the way for its future. As the conference’s keynote speaker, Adelson framed a positive vision for Detroit and urged young creatives to seize their opportunity.

“If you want to make a difference in Detroit, I would say think about those limits that have been set for you — anything you’ve been told is impossible — find one and break it, because there’s no people better qualified to do that than the people in this room,” he says.

Marred by economic woes and a poor public image, Detroit needs to overcome many negative stereotypes. Overcoming these challenges starts with every conversation and interaction that Detroiters have with those outside the city. Whether it’s with friends, investors, or business leaders, it’s our job to be the change that Detroit needs.

“This is the right pool from which to build business, there’s just no question about it,” says Adelson. “What’s missing is that leap of faith.”

Taking that leap will ultimately be the difference between Detroit floating in economic obscurity or cementing its name into the future of the country.

So ask yourself - Are you making the difference? Are you taking that leap?

Proud to be a Detroiter

The past few years have not been kind to Detroit, most evident in the fact that its unemployment rate sits at 28.9%—the highest in the country. That figure, along with a government full of corruption, doesn't give Detroiters a lot to brag about. The city has become the brunt of many jokes in the media and its reputation as a graveyard to those outside the city seems to have spread.

So where is the light at the end of the tunnel?

Detroit is looking to become the epicenter of the green job revolution. The Green Jobs Initiative, as it is being called, will invest $6 million into training for jobs that can be classified as energy efficient. However, unlike the energy sources this initiative promotes, green jobs themselves have yet to be proven sustainable in our economy.

Still yet, Ford recently posted a surprise third-quarter profit of $997 million, its first profitable quarter in North America in more than four years.

Finally, Forbes recently released a study that places Detroit as the 12th safest city in the U.S., ahead of Chicago and Pittsburgh among others. This announcement comes just six months after the magazine named the Motor City the most dangerous city in the United States. For a place that used to have the highest rate of violent crime in the country, that ain't too shabby.

Detroiters have always been a proud and hard-working people, and this attitude continues to shine through in the face of adversity. Detroit is still the beating heart of the auto-industry, the birthplace of techno, and Hockeytown.

The next time someone makes an unwarranted comment about my city, I may have to call up the boys down on 8 Mile and Gratiot to pay them a visit.

The Social Media Bandwagon

Do you remember life before Facebook? Life before you could share your thoughts and pictures with the rest of the world?

The social media revolution, while good for keeping up on what your favorite celebrity is having for lunch or for stalking a ex-girlfriend, is also having a profound affect on important issues in our lives. Australia’s Griffith University has made Twitter a required class for journalism students, citing an increase in demand from employers for new hires who are well-versed in social media. Still yet, dissemination of info on Twitter and the Internet helped drive the momentum of the recent green revolution in Iran.

So what’s this mean for you?

It’s time to start taking Twitter and other interactive media seriously, especially if you’re looking to get into PR or business.

From reputation management to branding, social media is getting its sticky fingers into all aspects of the business honey jar. Social media is being used to increase brand awareness, influence a consumer’s decision-making process, and to help position companies as leaders in their respective industries.

For PR people, knowing what the public is saying in the blogosphere about your company or client is something that needs to be dealt with head on. Social media is a word-of-mouth campaign on crack, where the message is traveling through numerous media in a matter of minutes.

Where ever your focus, knowing how to properly utilize social media will give you a leg-up on the competition. So get on LinkedIn, open that Twitter account, write a blog, and start sharing (preferably not the picture of you taking that keg stand like a champ.)