I attended the Highlight Midwest conference this last Wednesday and had the pleasure of filling in as emcee for the event. This is the first time this conference has been held and was what I considered a complete success! Highlight Midwest was based around these goals: To highlight the best and the brightest web-related success stories in the Midwest To connect nearby communities To demonstrate local innovation in a rapidly changing economic landscape Highlight Midwest targeted the region’s [Kansas City, Omaha, and Des Moines] finest entrepreneurs, technologists, social media experts, and new media success stories. The turnout was very good for a conference that was put together in 9 weeks. There were entrepreneurs from four different states including Missouri, Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska. Social media played a big part in communications for Highlight Midwest and the word spread quickly. The event was completely sold out! The conference was broken up into two events, the "Focused Highlight" sessions during the day and the evening "New Heights For Flyover States" reception and panel discussion. The daytime events were held at the Record Bar in the Westport area of Kansas City while the evening reception was held at the Kauffman Foundation Conference Center. The daytime venue at the Record ...

I've been on the Internet since the early 90's. It's been amazing to watch how the Internet has grown and changed over the years. The one aspect that really has been causing a lot of change and innovation the last couple of years is "Social Networking". There has always been ways for people with similar interests to meet and socialize but the Internet allows people worldwide to connect with others that share interests, hobbies, goals, opinions, thoughts, feelings, etc. There are many people that don't "see" how the Internet can be social. There are those that think being on the Internet is disconnecting and withdrawing from actual social aspects of life. There are aspects of being online that could be seen as disconnecting but with the plethora of social networks available and the strong communities that are emerging, the online world can offer a very "social" experience. Many members of social networks organize are arranging regular real life meetups with the friends they have established on the Internet. Over the years I have belonged to various sites and groups on the Internet. The social networking sites of today have allowed me to meet and connect with many people online. A lot of ...