IT In The D – Episode 64: Jack Olson, Michipreneur, Patronicity

Also known as “Dave completely nerds out beyond all ability to recover”.

Why? Because we had Jack Olson in-studio with us, that’s why. And if you don’t know why that triggered a major nerding out, then you might as well just completely avoid segments two and thre of this one because it’s all nerd, all the time. We also ran long, with a full fifth segment as we talked with Amanda Lewan and Ebrahim Varachia. Amanda’s been on our show a couple of times in the past, talking about her work with Michipreneur.com and Bamboo Detroit. Ebrahim is the Co-Founder and Director of Operations for Patronicity.com…

Our first segment was all about news and events. From the Honey Boo Boo / TLC debacle to schools not teaching the critical thinking skills that employers are looking for, we had some good discussions.

As always, links for the various topics we covered (and those we didn’t get to due to time constraints) are down below. So check those out to see what we found interesting this week.

And then…then The Geekening happened.

Jack Olson is the man behind the software that many of us use every day. IMS. DB2. UDB. Operating systems. Databases. His bio and background are here if you’re interested: Jack Olson Bio Background

And so we went on a deep dive.

From the history of databases to the evolution of business intelligence, data profiling, security and archiving…such a wide, cool variety of topics.

And then in segment three, we got into what he’s working on these days, and it got even more awesome.

What are the biggest problems that face companies dealing with big data? Data security. Encryption. Safety of the data. Corporate policies around access and use.

Well, he’s gone and build something that addresses all of those issues and more…oh, and also managed to utilize compression to get some awesome performance gains along the way.

Got your attention? Good. Go check it out at http://www.3lgtechsolutions.com/solutions.html

In our fourth and fifth segments, we dove in with Amanda Lewan discussing her recent article about funding sources for companies here in Michigan, which you can read out at http://www.michipreneur.com/michigan-funding-resources/ Amanda’s a repeat guest with us, and we’re always happy to talk with her about the work she’s doing at Michipreneur and Bamboo Detroit.

Amanda Lewan is Co-founder of the creative work space Bamboo Detroit and Editor of Michipreneur, and online community for Michigan creatives and entrepreneurs. She’s passionate about building a more creative economy in Michigan. Her work has been featured in local and national publications, including Entrepreneur, The Nation, and Crain’s Business. Follow the conversation online at Michipreneur.com.

One of those funding sources is Patronicity.com, a localized version of something like Kickstarter, but also with the bonus of working with MEDC and providing matching grants. What does that mean? So let’s say your project requires $20,000. Launch a project on Patronicity, get it rolling, and you raise $10,000 from the community and you’ll get the remaining $10,000 from a matching grant. Ebrahim Varachia is the co-founder and Director of Operations for Patronicity, and he had a lot of great insight into not only his own site and company, but also other options as well.

Check out https://patronicity.com/ and see if they’re right for you.

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– The whole TLC / Honey Boo Boo / pedo saga

– WTF? There’s a conference…on creationism…at MSU in Lansing on November 1: http://news.sciencemag.org/education/2014/10/creationism-conference-large-u-s-research-university-stirs-unease

– …which is awesome, as lizards in Florida are not only proving evolution, but are in a pattern of rapid escalation: http://www.utexas.edu/news/2014/10/23/anole-lizards-evolution-florida/

– Would you pay $50 for a “shapie”…a 3d figure of yourself? http://www.computerworld.com/article/2836838/worlds-first-3d-full-body-scanning-booth-to-create-custom-you-figurines.html

– Companies want critical thinking skills – http://online.wsj.com/articles/bosses-seek-critical-thinking-but-what-is-that-1413923730 – but schools still aren’t teaching critical thinking – http://news.dice.com/2014/10/24/employers-worried-critical-thinking-skills/

– Busted California cop admits it’s a game among cops to find and distribute nude photos from women’s phones: http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2014/10/24/east-bay-chp-officer-accused-of-stealing-nude-photos-says-its-game-for-police-california-highway-patrol-sean-harrington/

– Rite Aid and CVS block Apple Pay and Google Wallet, leaked memo shows homegrown solution the reason: http://mashable.com/2014/10/25/apple-pay-blocked-at-rite-aid-and-cvs-reports-say/

– So Ballmer paid $2 billion for the Clippers…but half of that will be a tax write off. WTF?! http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Report-Steve-Ballmer-Could-Claim-1B-in-Tax-Write-Offs-For-Buying-Clippers-280466752.html

– Elon Musk warns of the dangers of AI: http://mashable.com/2014/10/26/elon-musk-artificial-intelligence-demons/

– The Florida mom and Breaking Bad action figures: http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/20/living/breaking-bad-action-figures-toys-r-us-protest/index.html

– Google’s new inbox: http://mobile.nytimes.com/blogs/bits/2014/10/22/google-unveils-inbox-a-new-take-on-email-and-possibly-a-replacement-for-gmail/

– Ello’s $5.5million http://betabeat.com/2014/10/ello-takes-5-5-in-vc-money-signs-a-legally-binding-charter-to-never-sell-ads-or-data/

– Bluesmart: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/bluesmart-world-s-first-smart-connected-carry-on

– DIE SLOW ROLL, DIE: http://www.metrotimes.com/Blogs/archives/2014/10/26/slow-roll-season-ends-with-a-special-halloween-edition

– XBox One prices dropped by $50 http://www.cnet.com/news/microsoft-to-slash-xbox-one-price-by-50-until-end-of-year-as-holiday-season-heats-up/