12/17/15 11:31am

The sharing economy is about more than finding your own health insurance and funding your own 401k. It’s also about being independent while networking with other entrepreneurs to discover new ways of sharing workspaces that promote collaboration and creativity. Here are some co-working spaces doing things right in Dumbo.

DUMBO Startup Lab coworking space

DUMBO Startup Lab (DSL) is committed to helping entrepreneurs become part of a vibrant community of like-minded individuals in a welcoming loft space. They offer flexible plans for everything from individuals just needing a desk to groups brainstorming huge projects. DSL is located at 68 Jay Street and gives members access and amenities that include a kitchen space with free water, coffee, and tea, as well as hosting events, panels, and meet-ups for up-and-comers.

DUMBO Startup Lab photo courtesy of DSL. (more…)

06/19/13 12:40am

Brooklyn Tech Triangle plan

Brooklyn Tech Triangle Strategic Plan

Brooklyn Tech Triangle Strategic Plan

In April 2012, the DUMBO Improvement District and Brooklyn Tech Triangle partners commissioned an economic impact study of the “Brooklyn Tech Triangle”. Today, the Brooklyn Tech Triangle, a partnership of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, the Dumbo Business Improvement District and the Brooklyn Navy Yard unveiled a master strategic plan that detailed proposals on workforce development, real estate incentives and zoning, transportation linkages, and public space creation with the goal of nurturing innovation for NYC.

New York City is a leading tech innovation hub (after Silicon Valley), and the Brooklyn Tech Triangle is taking charge to include a broad public, private, and academic backing to provide an environment, infrastructure, transportation, and workforce development to ensure that the area can accommodate the needs of the new economy. There are five key challenges to which the Brooklyn Tech Triangle Strategic Plan counters with five plan components. The five key challenges are:

  1. Space: We are running out of appropriate commercial space for tech.
  2. Workforce: The Tech Triangle could be—but isn’t yet—a new model integrating talent from local communities and universities with high-growth industries.
  3. Transportation: It needs to be easier to get around the Tech Triangle.
  4. Dynamic Places: Some parts of the Tech Triangle need an upgraded energy and vibe.
  5. Tech Infrastructure: The “tech” in Tech Triangle should be apparent to all.

The 94 page plan include challenges and proposals that address them. We’re only touching on a small slice, so you may want to read the full strategic plan. More renderings after the jump…
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05/14/13 4:00pm

On May 30th Digital DUMBO’s dd:IMPACT conference, “Groundswell: The Next Wave of Content,” will descend on DUMBO (RSVP: ddimpactmay2013.eventbrite.com).

Inspired by the rise of self, enabled by the development of social media platforms leading to the creation of new ecosystems, networks, and participatory media, “Groundswell: The Next Wave of Content” will be a half-day discussion exploring how the most successful companies and brands in the world are using digital content and platforms to spark movements and increase their bottom lines.

Digital DUMBO (www.digitaldumbo.com) has assembled a top tier list of new media companies, platforms, and brands to participate. Panelists represent The New York Times, Buzzfeed, Reddit, VICE, The Onion, MINI USA, Digg, Pulse, Hyperallergic, Artsy, NowThis News, Narratively, and more. The conference will conclude with a cocktail reception hosted by MICK (formerly DJ Mick Boogie) at Galapagos Art Space in Brooklyn.

The conference will take place at Galapagos Art Space in DUMBO, a neighborhood that is now home to over one hundred of New York City’s most creative digital agencies and start-ups.

05/02/13 5:00pm

There is a fundraiser for Senator Daniel Squadron’s campaign for Public Advocate on Tuesday, May 7, 2013, hosted by Mike Germano.

Mike Germano, co-founder and CEO of social media agency Carrot Creative, is among DUMBO’s original advocates. After a term in political office, Mike established his company in DUMBO and went on to create the now global Digital DUMBO and co-found the New York Digital District, both of which he is a board member of.

Please join Mike and the Dumbo community to support Dumbo’s future:

I haven’t been involved in politics since 2007 when I left office to focus on growing my business. At that point, we moved Carrot Creative to DUMBO, knowing that it would eventually grow to be the epicenter of our industry. Now is a crucial time for the identity of DUMBO in terms of tech and infrastructure growth. What needs to happen down here isn’t going to be accomplished by small business owners alone; we need someone with vision and a track record for enacting change. For the upcoming race for Public Advocate, I am putting 100% of my support in Senator Daniel Squadron –the candidate that has the experience and resources we need to accomplish our goals in DUMBO.

I want to invite you to a fundraiser I’m hosting for the Senator on May 7th in DUMBO and ask for your support of a leader who has our community’s growth on his agenda. I would be honored for you to attend, meet the Senator, and donate to his campaign.

Details are as follows:

Date: May 7th, 2013
Time: 7pm-8:30pm
Location: reBar in DUMBO, 147 Front St., Brooklyn, NY 11201, (718) 766-9110
Donate to RSVP: squadronfornewyork.com/germano
*The $100 entry donation can be made via the above link or at the door.

If you are unable to attend, a donation of any size will still go towards helping this candidate that is so important to the future of DUMBO’s development.

07/10/12 4:53pm

1) Event Title: Solr In Practice: Customizing Search Rankings
When: Wednesday, July 11, 2012 @ 6:45 PM
Where: Huge BK, 45 Main St. Suite 220 Brooklyn, NY 11201
Description:
This Huge Tech meetup event is meant to give a hands-on demonstration of advanced Solr search features. The goal is to motivate attendees to dig deep into the feature and integrate it into their own websites. The session will focus on using external data for ranking results and will be followed by a series of guest lightning talks by professionals who use Solr on popular websites.This meetup is targeted to those who are already familiar with the basics of Solr, but even beginner search coders are encouraged to attend.

Agenda:

  • Customizing Solr Rankings with External Data, presented by Kristian Rickert and Toufique Harun from Huge
  • Large-Scale Performance Monitoring for Solr, ElasticSearch, HBase & Friends, presented by Otis Gospodneti?, author of Lucene in Action.
  • Lightning Talks By:
    • The Ladders – Techniques to Improve Relevancy. Presented by Laura Kang and Peter Pathirana
    • Shutterstock – Presented by Neil Hooey
  • Q&A

For more information please visit solrtutorials.com

To RSVP please visit meetup.com/HUGE-Tech-Events/events/69135012/

2) Event Title: Behind the Scenes with the New York Times Company R&D Venture Group
When: Thursday, July 19, 2012 @ 6:45 PM
Where: Huge BK, 45 Main St. Suite 220 Brooklyn, NY 11201
Description:
In 2006, The New York Times Company was one of the first media companies to introduce a research and development department. This year, they announced a new addition, called R&D Ventures, and two products the team is taking to market: CascadeTM and RicochetTM.

Join Huge and the NYT R&D Lab’s Director of Product Strategy and Business Development, Amy Hyde, to discuss the development, strategy, usage and future of these products, and how they affect both the technology and journalism industries.

Cascade is a data visualization tool that helps analyze the structures of content sharing on Twitter. The tool visualizes how media assets spread throughout Twitter, allowing users to see the development of a shared news-related conversation, the connection between readers and publishers, and the most dominant sharers and contributors to the conversation.

Ricochet is a social media marketing platform for brands to select articles from multiple premium publishers that relate to the brands’ messages. They can then bind their ad creative to the article and share in their owned media channels using a unique URL. The Ricochet platform can become a key component of any brand’s content marketing strategy.

To RSVP please visit meetup.com/Huge-Digital-Strategy-Events/events/71741482/