RI Nexus Expands Activities, Announces New Collaboration with Providence Geeks
June 10, 2008 | Print this page | Share This | Email this page
RIEDC initiative utilizes community building approach to strengthen activity in the info-tech and digital media sector; will partner with Providence Geeks in coming months to expand efforts
The Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation has announced the next phase of activity for RI Nexus, the RIEDC program dedicated to information sharing and community building in the state's info-tech and digital media (ITDM) sector. Activities will include improvements to the RINexus.com online hub, an expanded line-up of events and activities and a deepened partnership with Providence Geeks, the group co-founded by RI Nexus program director Jack Templin.
Launched in 2007, RI Nexus quickly became a successful effort to support entrepreneurs and spur activity across Rhode Island’s ITDM sector. RINexus.com, the program’s online hub, provides a directory of Rhode Island ITDM companies, news, discussion forums, event calendar and boards for posting and browsing local ITDM-related jobs and internships. Today, with more than 1,300 announcement list subscribers, RINexus.com has become a natural place for ITDM sector leaders to collaborate, share new ideas and information, learn about trends, find and post job opportunities, as well as forge new business alliances.
In its first year, RI Nexus hosted community building events including a casual meet up with 37 Signals’ Jason Fried and a discussion on next-gen working environments with noted panelists such as Betahouse founder Greg Gibson, FB Capital’s Gary Brandeis, and The Grant co-owner J Hogue. RI Nexus also kicked off its “college tour” at Johnson and Wales University, where Templin hosted a discussion with ITDM-minded undergraduates about job opportunities in Rhode Island.
“RI Nexus is helping the ITDM community connect, communicate and collaborate,” said Templin, who helped launch RI Nexus in 2007. “RI Nexus also makes it easier for ITDM companies to access the tools and support programs available through RIEDC.”
Activity on the website’s discussion forum led to the creation of RI Nexus Open Coffee, a casual bi-weekly get together for both experienced and aspiring ITDM entrepreneurs led by Templin and Allan Tear, a Providence-based consultant and entrepreneur.
RI Nexus is poised to capitalize on its first year of success and deliver more value to the state’s ITDM stakeholders, with the ultimate aim of creating more high-wage jobs for Rhode Island’s citizens.
“With significant job growth potential, the ITDM sector is an important high-wage target industry for the RIEDC business development team. ITDM in Rhode Island employs more than 15,000 people and accounts for more than $1 billion in wages,” said RIEDC Executive Director Saul Kaplan. “RI Nexus is a powerful community building tool and a platform for job creation in the ITDM sector. This program is leading the way toward a 21st century innovation economy in Rhode Island.”
RI Nexus will kick off its next series of events with a “meet and greet” with the Rhode Island School of Design’s incoming president, former MIT Media Lab Associate Director John Maeda. The free event, “Meet John Maeda: RISD’s New President Connects with RI’s Info-Tech and Digital Media Community,” will be held on Wednesday, June 11 at the RIEDC’s offices (located at 555 Valley St., Providence) from 5:30–7:30 p.m. The event will feature an onstage interview with Maeda, followed by an open Q&A and socializing.
Other upcoming RI Nexus events will include a panel event entitled Next-Generation Entrepreneurs: Supporting and Retaining Rhode Island’s Young and Student Entrepreneurs. This fall, RI Nexus will continue its college tour at Rhode Island colleges and universities, informing students of the opportunities Rhode Island’s ITDM industry has to offer them, including high paying jobs at exciting, newly formed companies.
Building off an already strong working relationship, RI Nexus will also deepen its connection with Providence Geeks. The two organizations will work together to cross-promote one another’s efforts and events.
RI Nexus, and the emphasis it puts on business development and information exchange, is a perfect complement to Providence Geeks, which puts a high priority on creating a place for more informal, highly social engagement. As partner organizations, Geeks and Nexus are well positioned support the state’s ITDM companies and entrepreneurs.
“Even before we worked on this partnership, RI Nexus invigorated the Providence Geeks community by giving them a place to share ideas, tell each other about themselves, and find projects to collaborate on,” said Providence Geeks Co-Founder Brian Jepson. “RI Nexus is where the geeks who power Rhode Island’s ITDM companies go to connect after the party’s over.”
Visit RINexus.com to participate in the discussion forums, access information or learn more about what’s happening in the Rhode Island ITDM community.
About RI Nexus
RI Nexus is a public-private initiative of the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation to support and grow the state’s info-tech and digital media sector. RI Nexus aims to help transform the sector’s collection of organizations, individuals and initiatives into a highly interconnected statewide industry cluster by helping the sector’s stakeholders to connect, communicate and collaborate; nurturing a culture that recognizes and celebrates entrepreneurship and innovation; streamlining access to support resources relevant to entrepreneurs and innovators; and promoting Rhode Island’s dynamic info-tech and digital media sector beyond our borders. For more information about RI Nexus visit rinexus.com
