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The State of Tech Culture in Iowa

Thursday, April 24th, 2008
at 11:15pm

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On my recent trip home to Iowa, I was able to meet up with several business and personal friends at a Des Moines Tweet-Up. We discussed RSS Feeds and how Twitter has replaced them for me. Nathan played “interviewer” on this video with me.

Back in ‘the day’, we used to have to visit web pages to get our information. Those pages didn’t tell us when they updated, so we had to find out manually. Then, along came RSS. The idea was you could subscribe to something, and it would tell you when there was a new update. Now comes Twitter, with its flood of information that allows me to spot trends in general. Twitter has supplanted the information I used to receive in my news aggregator. I don’t follow many websites anymore, and don’t really ’subscribe’ to anything. For me, if something is going to be relevant, I’m going to read about it on Twitter. With Twitter, I’m able to follow people much easier. As disorganized as it is, it’s easier for me to learn about personalities. You can understand thoughts and feelings much easier than you could with a simple RSS feed.

Nathan then brings up my hometown of Des Moines, Iowa. He wonders what sorts of things does Des Moines have to do to attract and retain a creative class of people? My answer is simple… imports. The chief export of the Midwest is people. The problem is that as much as you could hope to attract people with the similar mindset, to change the culture is nearly impossible. The path of least resistance is to find your way to groups, such as physical meet-ups like this one. You want to look for forward thinkers, people who have new ideas and aren’t afraid to put them into action.

Back in 1992 when I was in college, the Internet was just starting to really get off the ground, and was being offered to students. When I was ready to start having a presence on the Internet, people in Des Moines looked at me like I was a crazy man. They just weren’t ready for it. It’s the culture, and it’s not that there’s anything ‘wrong’ with it. It’s just the way it is. People have to be shown that technology isn’t a thing to be feared… it should be embraced. Iowa’s infrastructure is there, but the mind structure isn’t.

I love that I’m no longer the “ugly duckling” when I return home to Iowa. There are more and more people like me! We’re a group, and I love it! The only way to change that culture is to teach that culture. Don’t keep it inside an echo chamber. Make it real. Make connections with people online and offline. Educate them. You’ll find then that your treasures will come pouring in.

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35 Comments

tony tidswell

April 25th, 2008
at 1:02am

Iowa sounds like our village in the south of France - except we have a lot of sunshine - great interview - but I had to listen very carefully several times to the very last word Nathan says at the end of the clip !! Did he really say that ?

Zane Savage

April 25th, 2008
at 11:31pm

Its the same way here in southern IL :( We’ll catch up eventually!

Phalanx

April 26th, 2008
at 2:43pm

Chris,

I totally understand. I myself live in a small city and have also been criticized about my involvement in the Internet and in other advancing technologies such as robotics. When ever I try to explain to people that I participate annually in a robotics competition most of the time they just stare and say. “thats nice”. It will not always be like this though, and some day the geeks will rule!

Michael

April 27th, 2008
at 10:23pm

Mr.Pirillo
Please advise if you are able I am fairly new to the home computer word
a few years.(self taught) I’m still a hack BUT learning what I can and after a few years with one Now I’m hooked “how did I GET BY WITH-OUT ONE !!! I currently have a (used) IBM Think Pad labtop but soon will be upgrading to a (used) Apple Think PadG4 Titanium 15 with the specs of 800 Mhz ,40gb, Mac OSX 10.3Panther
can I UPGRADE THE SPEED OR THE MEMORY ? if YES how big and
how fast should I go ???
Love the sight THANKS MUCH

smays.com

April 28th, 2008
at 2:24pm

Chris Pirillo was –and remains– an early thought-leader for me. Blogging, RSS, video… Chris was always out there on the front edge. So, when he saysTwitter has become one of his primary sources of information, I’m inclined to listen. “Back in ‘the day’, we used to have to visit web pages to get our information. Those pages didn’t tell us when they updated, so we had to find out manually. Then, along came RSS. The idea was you could subscribe to

geoffplunkett

April 29th, 2008
at 1:04am

Did he used to work with Ron Jeremy sure I have seen him on a old VHS tape

NileshFowdar

April 29th, 2008
at 4:40am

Kat is so slow in uploading videos now or Chris isn’t making any =( , sadly now i cba.

jonxp18

April 29th, 2008
at 7:59am

your right, I personally do not have much of a life and yes I am a bit of a computer geek, but I was always taught to pursue what I’m good at, sure he rants constantly, but he’s been a great help to me.

utubefreak101

April 29th, 2008
at 8:03am

what’s your fucken problem?

MrElussive

April 29th, 2008
at 8:46am

Why did I subscribe to this guy? He talks too much and says too little, he’s not funny, and he thinks he’s cool - ur just another computer geek like the rest of you loser.

Kitelight08

April 29th, 2008
at 10:58am

i like to think of myself as a pc geek he is funny if u know whats hes on about n he knows his stuff n i apreiate him for tht

protospy

April 29th, 2008
at 11:02am

mrelussive and funckyjunky are so right

Wolfie4693

April 29th, 2008
at 11:32am

then unsubscribe you IDIOT if you don’t like the video or the person who makes them then dont subscribe and if you dont like vids dont leave negative comments you say he wastes your time but you sit here trying to think of smart comments no1 wants to hear it

JazzLover747

April 29th, 2008
at 2:06pm

wow your a ****
**** off

Drake

April 29th, 2008
at 6:44pm

I’ve never tried twitter, however I’m finding that facebook is a very popular option for a social environment such as university

spray3r

April 29th, 2008
at 10:53pm

I love you Chris. You are my idol.

applenerd106

April 30th, 2008
at 9:53am

ooooooooooooooooooooooook

Aboresh

April 30th, 2008
at 11:57am

This man speaks the truth. Iowa is a wasteland and will continue to be until we change the paradigm.

dynexpwner

April 30th, 2008
at 12:29pm

Wise Word’s Chris Wise words

Now for a Limerick Poem:
The man woke up in the morning.
His day was going to be very boring.
He has a friend who is tall.
So he gave his friend a call.
But the man did not wake up in the morning.
(insert Laughter here)

mrcheesenips

April 30th, 2008
at 12:38pm

He is the best geek of all.

hichez

April 30th, 2008
at 7:01pm

Intersting, I think that it will happen. My grandparents still don’t know how to use computers. I mean every generation has there “thing”. This generation just happened to be computers. Maybe next generation will experience hover boards.

frasercjackson

May 1st, 2008
at 3:20am

why would anyone need so many computers around them are you working for the fbi or are you cia what is wrong with you just sit there talking rubbish like an undereducated girl from mars

Jacque

May 2nd, 2008
at 6:21pm

It’s true that every generation has their “thing” i agree with hichez. my grandparents and even my parents are “technologically challenged”. I myself love technology and have been branded the “go to ” person in my family for anything electronic.

BillyUno

May 2nd, 2008
at 11:19pm

As an Iowan in general, and a Clintonian specifically, I have a group of geek friends who are quite geeky, and then a group of people who look at me like I just stepped off the first spaceship from Mars.

But those non-geeks are the first ones who ask me to help them when they have technical problems.

Linux Fanatics

May 3rd, 2008
at 1:18am

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EpzMaxima96

May 7th, 2008
at 9:11am

wtf is this ****** fagot *** idiot sayin …..wat a **** stick i didnt understand one thing this ****** nerd said

Neku86

May 9th, 2008
at 3:38am

Wow, just wow. I’ve seen a lot of “repost this or else” posts on YouTube, but I think this is the weakest attempt of them all.

duderseb

May 13th, 2008
at 11:48pm

Then why are you watching?

shannonehlers.com · Do you have a PURPOSE??

June 3rd, 2008
at 11:13pm

[...] with Britt Raybould.   Her post on agriculture in Idaho really struck a chord with me. Finally, Chris Pirillo’s YouTube video about the slow way tech is being taken up in Iowa also stirred something in [...]

News

June 22nd, 2008
at 1:28am

a href=”http://media.pirillo.com/”>Video Help</a> | <a href=”http://feeds.pirillo.com/ChrisPirilloShow”>Add to iTunes</a> How do you Choose to use Twitter? Web Communities and Social Networks Need TransparencyThe State of Tech Culture in IowaHow do you Keep up with all Your Comments? Twitter in Live Video Follow me on Twitter Twitter Remembers Everything Social Media Questions and Answers Presence Social Network - Twitter, Pownce, and Jaiku

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