By
Mike Adkinson
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I believe I have one of the best jobs in the state of Georgia. I attend meetings, briefings, conferences and even celebrations where new ideas are being discussed and explained. I get to see the enthusiasm of people who are excited about being part of something that is intended to make life, work, community, government or school better, easier or more effective. I have watched as a science teacher in Savannah explained new techniques she used to get elementary students (and their parents) excited about math and physics. I sat among local citizens in LaGrange as they committed time, energy and resources to the creation of projects that would result in economic development successes in their hometown. I sat on a can in a factory in Gainesville and watched as managers recognized (and rewarded) an invention made by one of the employees to improve their product. I was present when community leaders in Fitzgerald discussed ways to support innovative ideas that would result in the creation of new companies within their communities. I saw the sparkle in the eyes of a fellow from Americus who is building a device that solves a big problem for corn farmers. Just last week, I reviewed the results of a fellow who had the idea of devoting himself to becoming an expert in a new Microsoft product and within 18 months he had developed a very profitable business for himself and others. And there are many, many more examples available. Each month, TechLINKS magazine publishes a list of new patents that have been registered and approved for Georgians, and each month that list gets better. The ideas become richer, more applicable, more relevant to problems that need solutions. Within your community right now, there are people creating and developing new ideas that have great potential. Investors and venture capitalists will not likely acknowledge most of those ideas, like those of Eli Whitney and Ed Roberts, but these ideas could create new fields and new jobs. There are so many new ideas coming from the citizens of our great state that maybe it’s time we examine our communities and ask ourselves if we are finding more ways to acknowledge new ideas. If not, now is a good time to inspire others to take action. By the way,
this job I enjoy so much? I created it. I envisioned TechLINKS
and made it a reality, first on the Internet, and now also in a glossy,
bimonthly magazine. Look around, identify a real need, develop a plan
and make it happen!
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Mike Adkinson is editor and founder of TechLINKS, a magazine and information resource service dedicated to covering Georgia technology. For more information, visit their web site, www.techlinks.net. For
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any
people are concerned about current economic trends that are causing some
jobs to be lost from Georgia and I will not make light of that concern.
There are tremendous pressures to keep costs low, and this is being felt
most acutely in areas of unskilled labor where wages are very low. However,
retention of low wage jobs is not really a goal of Georgia’s future.
What is a part of Georgia’s future is the development of ideas that
will energize its economy, and cultivate and maintain a skilled, highly
educated labor force.
None
of this is new. Georgia’s history is rich with examples of brilliant
new ideas for products and solutions. Experiencing a shortage of labor
to process cotton from the fields of coastal Georgia inspired Eli Whitney
to invent the cotton gin. In the same region, Henry Ford actualized his
thinking about mass production of the automobile. Let us also remember
that Georgians’ ideas led to the first personal computer (Ed Roberts,
Cochran), the creation of the modem device that enabled personal computers
to communicate over phone lines (Dennis Hayes, Norcross) and the world-altering
impact of 24-hour news service (Ted Turner, Atlanta). And Quick Start
has pioneered a program for workforce training that is a model for the
nation.
