Tech Trek week in Ann Arbor has quickly become a week-long multiple-conference event. This year, there are many events you need to plan ahead for with registration or tickets. Here’s what you need to know to check out the tech scene in Ann Arbor the first week of June. a2Tech360 Schedule and Registration Info June…
Apply To Speak at DevOps Days Detroit 2019
Do you love DevOps? Yeah, well, some people do. DevOps Days Detroit has quickly taken off as a favorite small (for now) conference for DevOps folks in Ann Arbor-Detroit, and there’s time still both to register (conference runs Oct 23-24, 2019) and to apply to give a talk. Folks in back channels have been telling…
Attend (or Judge!) The New Enterprise Forum Pitch Pit
Every other month on the third Thursday of the month, the New Enterprise Forum meets in the Lower Level of SPARK Central on Liberty at 5:00 pm for Pitch Pit, where new entrepreneurs come and give short investor pitches on business ideas of all kinds. Pitch Pit doesn’t meet in August and December, and alternates…
The Explosive Growth of Ann Arbor’s Favorite Tech Week: Get Ready For 2019 Tech Trek & Hackathon
“Five years ago we kept hearing from people, ‘We give Spark funding to have this high-tech culture in Ann Arbor, and we don’t see any of these businesses,” says Jenn Cornell Queen, VP of Marketing at business incubator Ann Arbor Spark. “For instance, AR startup Spellbound graduated to a space above Arbor Brewing, but you…
Ann Arbor Tech Events: May 2019
Until they develop the technology (waiting), we can’t be everywhere at once, and that’s what it takes to attend and cover all Ann Arbor tech events these days. So, here is a list of some tech events going on in May in Ann Arbor, plus some great lists to follow who can keep you in…
Ann Arbor Tech Networking with Brooke Boyle of Engage
Of all the people you should meet if you are interested in meeting new people in Ann Arbor, particularly in tech, the one you will hear the most about is Brooke Boyle. Boyle is the founder and CEO of professional networking organization Engage, which helps connect not just people in tech but professionals across several…
UX Ignite Michigan 2019
It was packed to capacity and standing room only. The sixth annual UX Ignite meetup on user experience held this year at Circ Bar next to the Blind Pig on downtown Ann Arbor’s west side was an almost comedy club type setup for some very engaging speakers on the subjects of digital product design, user experience… and goats. One speaker, Jonathon Baugh of Pillar, had recently moved to the country west of Ann Arbor to start a family farm, so his talk focused on the parallel lessons between running a farm and the user experience of technology products. He told stories about surprisingly predictable seasonal visits from owls, and how he learned you have to catch the maple syrup at the exact right time of spring when the up and down cold weather makes the sap run. “Think about the season your users are going through,” he said, pointing to a photo of his toddler son drinking from a maple sap tap hose. “And learn to lean in to your users.” Instead of telling users what they need, listen to how they already use products and interfaces. The example for this? His goats found ways to knock down trees as snacks. Instead of restraining them, Baugh started a yearly tradition of feeding his goats an offering of recycled Christmas trees. Creating new routines on the farm and in technology can also create unintended users, he said, pointing to a video of him petting a “trash panda,” an opossum who was attracted to the farm’s new offerings.