I went to the opening night get-together of the Rust Belt Bloggers Summit, which was at Brewerie. It was relatively small, maybe 8-10 people overall, but I felt really good about the experience and the people there. The focus is on economic development for the region, which includes Erie, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Youngstown and whomever else wants to participate.
Jack Tirak's daughter was there, as Jack had planned to be there. I recalled that I had photos of Jack at the same location from this past winter, so I showed them to her.
The group is working on a focus and direction, but it felt like a good and healthy stage; it neither felt like it was so vague that it would fall apart, nor did it feel constricting or controlling. People referred to having some ideas, but were thoughtful to acknowledge that they didn't want others to feel imposed upon. There was a lot of respect and a very nice lack of ego.
I am going back for the next part, which is also at Brewerie, 123 W 14th St, Erie PA at noon today (Saturday.) They will be talking about social media.
Good times and great folks!
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