I don't want to be negative especially after slamming the Luminocity architecture "tour", but this was the worse event of the series. Fortunately the weather kept it to a minimum sparse group that had to suffer through the ordeal. Despite the efforts of the Cleveland Museum of Art's Len Steinbach, a proven and entertaining moderator, the talking head parade was able to maintain the Cleveland tradition of discussion by talking a lot without saying much. At least they were not saying much that anybody there wanted to hear about. The discussion topic "Making Your Business Wireless: Why, How, and How Soon" was ignored by the panel, who were more interested in pitching the attributes of their employers, rather than providing insight into the blending of Cleveland technology innovation and business development into a result that all would recognize as a success. Cleveland Public Arts Greg Peckham, who did an outstanding job organizing the entire Luminocity project, was forced to endure the dreary handling of what I'm sure he and the other 23 listeners expected to be a lively topic but turned into a long commercial for Tower City and Forest City Enterprises.

Bruce Garlitz, Manager of Network Services at Forest City Enterprises, seemed to want to convey some info into what he was involved with for the last 9 months, but fell into the drone of corporatese that used generalities and vague warnings of potential problems, but offered no solutions. He proudly explained that that quality of the connection and censoring of the content was justified because it was a free service. Economically speaking that is probably a good approach, but what does that say about Forest City's attitude about a job well done and building good will as a civic contributor? I wonder how their blasé attitude will fly if the entire network gets fried, amidst their publicity push? I'm not sure that the false promise and "screw you its free" tactic will do very well.

Lisa Kreiger, Senior Marketing Director of Tower City Center, should host infomercials for as much as she plugged her employers. I hope the Miller-Ratners pay her well, because she didn't give any info except for a commercial for Tower City, basically selling the idea that downtown life should be in a mall. In contrast with Garlitz, she seemed to indicate that they spent a lot of money on the user interface so that you HAD to see all the ads and pop ups and marketing content, but then you can email Santa instead waiting on line (instead of going in a store). But she was sure to point out that they had links to other community groups like Growth, CVB, and the Downtown Merchants Association. Funny that those have offices in Terminal Tower or most of the members are tenants of The Avenue. She only rattled off some stats after being prompted by a direct question, yet still did not compare them with last year's numbers. It was like listening to a dot-comedy pitch with no payback numbers, just "isn't this wonderful."

Brian Casto of ICI Networks, who didn't seem to care that his audience was small business owners looking to find out if this new fangled free wifi idea is worth it, covered the techie portion. He just used techno jargon and acronyms, with no concern about the total lack of comprehension by his audience. It seemed like he would bring up a concern, dazzle them with techno babble, and then suggest that if they don't understand to hire him, the expert. He used scare tactics about security, interference, and equipment/cable sophistication, but offered NO solutions.

The big question that was not answered was "Is this worth it? What are the quantifiable results from Wifi City compared to last year as opposed to 'I see a lot of people with laptops now?' How easy is it? Should I as a small business (retail) do this?" The hour dragged as the panel miserly held the info close to their chest like it was the last hand of a poker game where they wagered their firstborn in an attempt to bluff. Absolutely no sharing of information occurred. Just the same nondisclosure from the big guys, who were there to celebrate themselves, say "Hire me, Buy from me" but no sharing their success with others. It was a waste of time, and from the faces of the others in attendence, they thought so too. from Cool Cleveland Wi-Fi Guy Steve Goldberg steve@neobio.org

 (:divend:)