At 4 p.m., there is a forum for business, economic and political science students and faculty in Kilcawley Center.

More about the event:

The ability to rebuild our manufacturing base has never been more critical to America and the Mahoning Valley. Doing so would help to create more jobs, reduce harmful trade imbalances and strengthen the US economy. Richard McCormack’s lecture will outline the challenges and opportunities facing America as it attempts to restore its manufacturing base.

Richard McCormack is the editor & publisher of the Manufacturing & Technology News. The paper is read by executives in industry, government and academia on five continents. McCormack has spent 22 years in Washington, D.C., as a journalist covering science and technology, industry and government. Mr. McCormack is also the editor of new book on manufacturing and public policy, Manufacturing a Better Future for America (2009). Prior to creating Manufacturing & Technology News, he was editor of High Performance Computing & Communications Week, a journal he created while at King Publishing Group in Washington, D.C.

I’m not entirely sure what he’s doing or playing with his right hand, but it’s fascinating to me. Do they make this for the Wii?

With a background in music school and having experienced lots of experimental music, I have a respect for not only new ideas and sounds but the total commitment to the whole package (e.g., vision, composition, execution, branding). It’s appealing to me to live in a space where you believe in something original.

I hope you agree that, whether or not you would put this on your iPod, it’s worth a listen. Friday night at Cedars with the Digimob.

(A few minutes later…) Okay, I just read a press release. Here it is:

Controllar throws themselves into a playground of vintage synths and samplers… An old video game controller called the P5 glove is used by the duo to manipulate this … sonic world through the use of three-dimensional motion tracking. The motion tracking interface turns Controllar’s performance into a vigorous blur of movement-driven music.

I guess that just about says it all.

Instead of getting money out of politics and recommitting to a government by the people, the people won’t stand a chance in a political system where campaigns are swallowed whole by corporate interests. I laughed at the line that this “will also allow labor unions to participate more freely,” given the plummeting membership and influence of unions in post-industrial America.

The traditional conservative argument for preventing restrictions on corporate campaign spending is that free speech demands that organizations be allowed to spend freely. Money is not speech. Money is money. And money in politics corrupts the politicians’ ability to respond to the people and their demands when those demands are in conflict with the wishes of free-spending corporate donors.

It’s a revitalized city poised for great change, prosperity and global success… a city where passion for progress is at an all-time high…a city that has garnered so much attention that the world is watching. That city is Youngstown, Ohio. In 2009, Youngstown was named: l A Top 10 U.S. city to start a new business. Entrepreneur Magazine, August 2009 l A Top 10 metro area for business expansion. SITE Selection, March 2009 l “A Young Town Again.” The Economist, Oct. 8, 2009 l A Top 25 Best Bang-For-the-Buck City in America. Forbes, Nov. 30, 2009 Located between Cleveland and Pittsburgh, Youngstown may boast its location as one of its greatest assets. Businesses call Youngstown home because of its easy access to suppliers and customers. It is the only place that provides effective overnight ground access to the entire New York City and Chicago markets. The city is within 500 miles of: l 60% of all the U.S. effective buying income l 55% of all U.S. manufacturing l 50% of the U.S. population l 41% of all U.S. households And within 75 miles of: l 6.8 million people l 38 Fortune 1000 company headquarters l 2 International and 3 regional airports l 5 Lake Erie and 3 Ohio River ports l The nation’s east-west fiber optic trunk lines pass through the heart of the region. Ready to take a look at Youngstown, Ohio? Call the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber to discuss what we can do for your business. (330) 392-6140, ext. 22; Walt Good, Vice President of Economic Development, Walt@regionalchamber.com - Or, visit www.regionalchamber.com

Support.com has local connections and is looking to our area for expansion. The beautiful thing is you can work from home, which I enjoy. Here’s the job description for the solutions engineer position:

Are you the person people call when their computers malfunction? Do you fix their problems so fast and easily?  Do you consider yourself really competent at fixing computers, synching printers and smart phones etc? And do you like working from home?
Then, this position may be for you…

support.com. (NASDAQ: SPRT) provides online technology services to consumers and small businesses.  support.com provides an award-winning customer experience  by using an innovative model that combines a cloud-based technology platform with a fully distributed workforce, support.com is defining a new category of technology-enabled services and growing rapidly each year.

support.com is seeking self-motivated individuals to provide expert computer and technology assistance . If you are already helping colleagues and family members to install, troubleshoot, and resolve their technical problems, then consider this opportunity! You will be able to apply the knowledge and experience you have gained in this position.

To qualify for this Work From Home opportunity you would need:

• Your PC with minimum 3 GHz processor and 1 GB RAM with 1280×1024 minimum resolution. Minimum OS of Windows XP SP2 with latest security patches applied. Recommend 17” flat screen monitor or greater.
• Broadband connection (1 MB down / 384 kbps up)
• Meet the requirements of the job description below

Responsibilities:

• Perform analysis on customer’s PC and make product or service recommendations
• Supply best in class support to direct consumers on all technology support needs
• Use company provided tools to troubleshoot and solve customer technology problems
• Maintain high level of customer satisfaction with focus on first call resolution
• Identification and removal of Malware and Viruses

As part of the process of providing best-in-class customer satisfaction for the technology services you will also be required to do the following:
• Answer calls and greet customer or partner sales representative
• Review ticket in customer service tracking application
• Determine scope of issue
• Confirm customer agreement to pricing and conditions of service
• Manage credit card processing
• Handle requests for refunds per company policies
• Follow through on warranty requests or open issues
• Encourage completion of customer survey
• Close the incident within recommended service times
• Properly document all support calls
• Adhere to quality standards set by company
• Provide feedback on tool, process, and business improvements
• Represent company in a professional and ethical manner

Skills:

• Excellent written and oral communication skills, second language a plus
• Can communicate technical concepts clearly to customer’s level of understanding
• Excellent  customer interaction skills
• Very good organizational and multitasking skills
• Ability to problem solve and resolve problems creatively
• Review SOPs (standard operating procedures) and provide feedback and ideas
• Ability to type 30 to 40 words per minute

Qualifications:

• Minimum of 1 to 2 years of related experience Job roles in customer service dealing with consumers
• Hardware / Software technical support
• Troubleshooting Windows XP platform to registry level
• Home networks (wire and wireless) using multiple network technologies such as switches, routers, printer, etc…
• Networking technologies TCP/IP, DNS, Firewalls
• Internet connectivity using cable, DSL, satellite, dial-up
• Consumer/business peripherals – printers, scanners, fax, MP3 players, digital cameras, cellphones, PDAs
• Internet security in areas of virus and spyware
• Courses in technology related fields and customer service. MSDST, A+, HDI Support Center Analyst or other relevant certification a plus.

Interested? Apply here.

There’s really no excuse for this. Domains cost about $10 per year, and you can get your e-mail hosted at your custom domain name free by Google. Google also has spelled out all the steps you need to take to set this up. I admit, if you haven’t done it before, it can be a bit off-putting. However, there are professionals around who can set it up in a couple of hours.

Because I feel so strongly that every business and organization should have a custom domain name for their e-mail at least, if not for their Web site, I’m offering to donate my time to set it up for you in 2010.

I’ll pick one organization each month (maybe more if the response is great), and we’ll get together and ensure you have a domain name set up and walk through the process of getting your e-mail hosted by Google Apps and your MX (mail exchange) records properly configured in your DNS. Just contact me through my site, and let me know what your current domain name is (if you have one) and why I should pick you.

If you’re up for doing it on your own, you can sign up for Google Apps here and then follow these instructions to get the e-mail switched over. Please note that the free version has a limited number of users (50) and no e-mail bulk import tool. However, you can take a 30-day free trial of the Premier version, which gives temporary access to the bulk mail import tool. Import all your mail for all your users, then you can cancel the trial. 501(c)(3) Non-profits may have free access to the Google Apps Premier edition after validating their status.

As we continue to celebrate our 40th anniversary, we’d like YOU to get involved. This is your opportunity to have your say–literally, because we’re sponsoring a commentary contest!

The topic is “What WYSU Means to Me.” The winner will read his or her commentary on-air and receive a WYSU 40th Anniversary mug and tote bag, plus 2 HD radios – a portable Insignia and a tabletop Radiosophy.

Guidelines for acceptable submissions are the same as the station’s commentary guidelines. The commentary should be about three minutes in length. The entry deadline is the end of our spring fund drive: Friday, April 23rd.

The winner will be announced in May 2010, at the end of Youngstown State University’s academic year. If we’re a part of your day-to-day life and you can’t imagine your day without us, please enter the contest and tell us all about it!

Today, the city immortalized by Bruce Springsteen’s 1995 Rust-Belt anthem “Youngstown” is moving on. Among other things, it has created an incubator to attract the types of small businesses that are expected to drive future growth. Despite the thousands of vacant homes that serve as reminders of a traumatic past and turbulent present, some business and civic leaders think this heartland city has a chance to lead the U.S. into its next era of prosperity.

Getting to there from here, however, won’t be easy — for Youngstown, for Ohio, for the nation.

Youngstown is an extreme but by no means unique case in America. On a basic level, it represents some of the challenges facing the country today in the wake of the longest and deepest downturn since the 1930s.

We had a chance to sit down with Nick and his crew as they came through Youngstown. (See our inexplicably unpublished post.) His interest in the stories here–including the positives and negatives–is apparent in his report. Here is a segment on the decline of manufacturing.

Manufacturers must also continue moving up the value chain, switching to niche production that cannot be easily transferred to China or Mexico. In the future, the sector will involve fewer but more-educated workers.

Now civic and business leaders are looking closely at another part of the economic equation. After seeing the impact that the departure of large corporations can have, there is a renewed focus on fostering small businesses instead.

The reasons are simple: They create more jobs and can be more easily replaced if they leave.

According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, companies with fewer than 500 employees accounted for 64 percent of new jobs from 1993 to the third quarter of 2008.

Small firms also tend to be more involved in their local communities than major corporations.

Given that Coyne Investments, according to the article, paid $324,000 to purchase the properties and “under $200,000″ for demolition, he must have a sense of the parking supply and demand. It’s interesting to note, therefore, the following quote:

“There used to be a parking need [downtown] and I don’t think there is any more need for parking.”

This is an important statement. I was with a group recently and heard the guide say, “We all know there’s a parking problem downtown Youngstown.” Yet, I’ve never been unable to find a parking spot somewhere when I’ve needed it. Perhaps I’ve had to walk a few blocks, but I’ve always thought that was the charm of being in a downtown setting.

When you walk, you can encounter people and places that you otherwise would have missed. I frequently see friends downtown while walking from A to B, and that’s one of the great pleasures of being out and about in this town. I also have the inclination to explore stores I haven’t explored before, such as Two Guys Clothing, where I recently bought a sport coat and Silver’s Vogue Shop, where I bought a winter overcoat. I frequently stop into Tom James in the Commerce Building, as John always has new slacks ($20/ea.), ties ($10/ea.) and sport coats (~$50/ea.) in stock.

So, walking is good, but it is inconvenient to have to hunt around for an available parking space when you’re pressed for time. That’s why I appreciate a good parking deck. Fortunately, a downtown parking deck appears to be in the works. Although, it’s still as much as $6 million away from realization. The CIC is studying the issue and favors the site of the existing parking lot between Commerce and Wood streets, adjacent to the Steel Museum.

A deck in this location would provide parking for events at the DeYor Center and for the increasing number of employees on the Federal Street tech corridor. But until a new deck is ready, for god’s sake, no more surface parking lots. As Ampco itself said, we don’t need any more.

Friday morning, a banner was lifted into place at the Ohio One building in downtown Youngstown, facing Front Street. The banner came about from some discussions immediately following the appearance of the Entrepreneur Magazine article featuring Youngstown as a top ten city to start a business.

Eric Planey at the Regional Chamber took the lead and began looking for sponsors to absorb the costs of printing and mounting the giant banner. It should come as no surprise that Mike Garvey of M7 Technologies stepped up to support the effort. Mike is a real supporter of the community, frequently without asking for credit. I’m glad to see M7’s name there in recognition of the Garveys’ frequent contributions.

With the support of Rich Mills, his Ohio One Corporation, the YBI, and the Regional Chamber, we are now one step further in driving home the message that the Entrepreneur Magazine article made about the spirit of Youngstown’s business and technology communities.

There’s a can-do spirit and access to resources for getting going with a start-up that are hard to match. Other communities are calling Youngstown to find out how to recreate the stupendous success of its business incubator. (Thanks to the Regional Chamber for the photos in this post.)