Philadelphia is *the* Center for the Creative Economy

I've been a citizen marketer, and curator of Fast Company magazine readers' network for seven years. The conversations we have developed in the Greater Philadelphia area cut across professional associations, disciplines, type of work, and age groups. The magazine celebrated our fair city on its pages, at live events, and during roadshows on numerous occasions. They are back this coming month with Senior Editor Charles Fishman engaging Fast50 honoree Sun Edison CEO Jigar Shah.

Last Tuesday, I was invited to attend the unveiling of the Center for The Creative Economy at the University of the Arts. Richard Florida, the guest speaker, had an interesting take on 'place' that I will expand upon on Sunday. It deserves its own post. Since I heard those words uttered I have been thinking about this city and its many attractions.

There are more things happening here than meet the eye. And many local grassroots groups are beginning to connect the dots for me and for the world. This summer, Philadelphia inaugurates its first unconference for bloggers. The tireless spirit and action behind blogPhiladelphia is Annie Heckenberger, Social Media Director at the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Association. Annie comes to us from New York City with the connections, passion, and skill to make this first effort a winner.

Alex Hillman is co-creator and evangelist for this effort. Alex is the brain thrust behind Independents Hall, a portal designed to serve free agents in Philadelphia. In his words, the idea for Independence Hall is to be the foundation for the collaboration of independent creatives in the city of Philadelphia, and nearby areas. Alex is a web developer and entrepreneur who believes in the concept of coworking and the potential behind the centralization of resources for independent talent.

I met Alex last night at a Junto get together along with hosts Geoff diMasi of creative firm P'UNK avenue,Tony Guido of Grow-Design, sustainable to restorative industrial design, and David Speers, marketing and social media specialist who blogs at Phillypreneurs.com. Randy Schmidt shared his ideas to help people and companies cross-pollinate online at BubbleBee.org (coming soon).

It feels like the city is sitting on the verge of a major tipping point. People are talking and connecting, and that is where I love to be.

Comments

[Alex Hillman]

Valeria, this is some excellent coverage of what's going on. I'm really excited to get YOU excited about what's going on, and to be able to have you as another venue of promotion. Glad you enjoyed last nights event and I hope to see you at more of the outreach events that I participate in! Cheers,
Alex

[David Reich]

I haven't really ventured much beyond the marketing blog community, so I must confess I don't have a clue what else is happening blogwise right here in NY City. Frankly, I'm quite content with the people I've been meeting in the marketing spectrum of the blogosphere.

[Alex Hillman]

It's my opinion that you should never be
"quite content" with anything. Thats when things start to stagnate.

Even if something is positive and successful (which I don't doubt your experiences are; I know a lot of really great marketing folks in NYC, and all over the blogosphere), there is always room for nuance and improvement.

I think events like the ones we're pushing for are the next step, to make sure that the communities DON'T get too comfortable, and always are pushing to innovate and reinvent themselves.

[Valeria Maltoni]

Alex -- it was really good meeting all of you the other evening. I have been a long term fan of Philadelphia and contributed to put it on the map with Fast Company magazine. Let's tip the point, together.

David -- I see where you're coming from, and agree that relationships are important to develop and cultivate. I also see the point Alex makes on stretching goals.

Alex -- I often challenge my own comfort zone by exploring and expanding horizons. I think we evolve the conversation when we allow ourselves to think we can learn and do more and different.

[Annie]

Valeria:

Thanks for the mention on your blog. You're right, Philadelphia has been at a tipping point for some time now; that's presumably why National Geographic Magazine named Philly "America's Next Great City" last year.

As I spread the word about BlogPhiladelphia (which isn't just a blogging event - it's a 2-day open discussion about web 2.0/social media), I have the privilege of meeting more local talent who are blowing my mind.

The creative pool quietly living here in Philly are making things happen. The national press follows Silicon Valley and Silicon Alley, while the Philly scene is about to rock everyone with a Philly funkadelic 3.0 jawn.

Can't wait to get all those brains in one room in July!

[Valeria Maltoni]

Annie:

You have what it takes to make it happen, too. Our group has been around for a while (Fast Company readers' network) with almost 500 members now at various stages of activity. I hope that by cross-pollinating the information for both on this post, we can really rev up the engines of this quiet revolution.