As I sit and type at the Purple Perk Cafe on 4th Street in Calgary (one of the only coffee shops around with free wireless I might add, which is kinda ridiculous, frankly), I think "Man, I wish I came up with the title of this blog post."
No ... the phrase, "Welcome to the Wired West" (which I'll probably start repeating until I actually think I did make it up ;), is an article from the latest Unlimited Magazine in which Jesse Semko, Bruce Weir and Tyler Enfield talk about the momentum of high tech companies in Alberta ... I highly recommend the quick read. This is a great overview of the Alberta High Tech community and echoes my own sentiments about the simmering high tech scene here in Calgary.
You can click through to my existing Techvibe articles on some of the covered companies: Material Insight and Curve Dental, for example ... and I'll be covering more in the coming months like Zigtag and Tynt so stay tuned.
Interestingly, through the blog link universe, I came across this comment about my Material Insight post in a Toronto blog, MapleLeaf 2.0, penned by Tris Hussey:
"I haven’t covered much about Calgary tech. Not that I don’t like Alberta or anything, I just haven’t heard of much coming out of there. Clearly I need to keep my eyes open."
No kidding! Of course, some Torontonians have a "Toronto-is-the-centre-of-the-universe-if- it-ain't-happening- here-it's-not-important- or-even-relevant" outlook, so it's cool that the word is spreading about the community here. Thanks for the mention & link, Tris!
So, indeed ... Welcome to the Wired West!
By the way, the Purple Perk Cafe makes awesome food, too, in addition to their coffee staples; mmmmmm ... french fried chips and Huevos Rancheros pannini.
Hey Stephen thanks for the link. Actually I'm closer to you than Toronto ... look SW, I'm in Victoria. ;-).
That's funny! I looked at the b5Media|Mapleleaf|About and saw the staff from Toronto so I assumed ... ("which makes an ass of u and me"). Apparently, this world wide web thing can allow for virtual writing from anywhere ;).
Hey Stephen,
Glad you're digging The Wired West! We luv it too. Claudia Moore (of Material Insight) and I came up with that phrase this past summer, but we're really open to sharing its provenance and future with everyone. :D Would be cool to connect with you at the Purple Perk one of these days. I'm writing a book about how "place" influences innovation and creativity - would love to interview you!
Hey, Sharon ... thanks for the note ... I'll make sure I attribute the phrase to you next time. I'll contact you directly about a chat, ok ...
Hi Stephen, thanks for the note on Unlimited, and the link. The tech issue will be around on newsstands through the end of April, but we're always looking for leads on interesting young people in the business world -- tech especially.
Best wishes,
Joyce Byrne
Associate Publisher, Unlimited
