#tedxfortwayne

TedxFort Wayne was a huge success last year. Join us this year and see what you can get out of this influential conference. There are only 100 spots for the event, so get your tickets now... they are going fast! 

Home page: http://tedxfortwayne.com/

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I love this video that Alex Jonathon Brown posted a few days ago for his TEDxFortWayne submission. In fact, I've been passing it around to several people because, regardless of whether or not he's picked for a TED talk this year (though I have no doubt he will, and I'm looking forward to his presentation), I think this video has a strong message it's carrying:

<-- Click to play video.

I love the comparison he makes between "cool" and "hip," and the relationship he draws between a city's "sense of cool" and its use of time, money, and enthusiasm. He's spot-on with his argument - are we working towards a "sustainable cool" that is immune to time and feeds off of the ever-growing enthusiasm of its residents, or are we trying to be "hip" by being the early-adopters, the betas, the first in line?

Some cities are hip by nature. They have an enormous creative capacity and an entrepreneurial spirit, so they are naturally inclined to create something new and innovate. They build a culture of early-adopters and betas; they foster forward-thinking communities that give new ideas the benefit of the doubt and let them germinate. 

The difference in a city being 'hip' versus a 'hipster' is in the title of Alex's video - it's 100% organic.

I won't try to explain Alex's talk for him or guess what he's going to say, but I will say that it touches on something I've witnessed countless times on visits to other cities. It's very obvious when something isn't authentic or organic. You can tell when a city is trying to "play with the cool kids" by throwing on an act that doesn't really fit. A city can have an identity crises, and when it does, it shows. If you walk down 6th Street in Austin, it has an authentic "100% Austin" flavor to it. If you spend a day hopping from gallery to gallery on the Short North, you know you're in Columbus, Ohio. But without pointing fingers, I will say there are many cities you can visit that don't have that organic flavor. They just don't feel.. real.

Cities are much like people and must be treated as such. They have different styles, different personalities, different characteristics that make them unique. Every city is and should be unique. No one likes the kid in high school who tries to be like everyone else - so why would you try to turn your city into that kid?

Find your city's flavor. Better yet, create it. Live it, breathe it, build it. Make sure that whatever style your city is flaunting, it's doing so in a 100% organic fashion. The more a city organically takes on the image its residents create, the more sustainable that 'image' will be in the long run. As Alex points out - being the hipster city of today could mean being the Mighty Mighty Bosstones of tomorrow.

Are you a fan of TED? Want to see some awesome ideas spread in your own community? Fort Wayne area residents will get that opportunity during TEDxFortWayne! On Saturday, May 14th, local leaders, entrepreneurs, and think-aholics will converge on One Summit Square (the 2nd floor auditorium, to be exact) for a day of idea-spreading and community-building.

Craig Crook, curator of TEDxFortWayne and CEO of TQM Network, gave me some interesting insight behind the concept of the event and the value it can hold. While the ideas may be cool and the name is part of a popular brand, a collaborative energy created by a wealth of knowledge and exchange of ideas is what Crook hopes to see emerge from the event. In today's ever-changing world, effective communication and collaboration have become critical elements in the development of new strategies and methodologies. A collaborative approach to an issue gives you more of a 360-view as opposed to traditional direct-approach methods.

So, want to be part of the community-impacting event? Here's the details -