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| Cupertino City Council Minutes |
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No ordinary council meeting here. Watch Steve Jobs present plans for Apple's new headquarters, which resembles a spaceship parked in an orchard.
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| Tech Community Calendar |
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"What the Hell is User Experience?" Design + Tech, a new interest group for graphic designers in technology, meets Wednesday, July 6 (details here).
Silicon Prairie News meetup, Thursday, July 7, Amici Espresso, downtown Des Moines.
Central Iowa Software Symposium, August 5-7, Des Moines.
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 25 Things - Scott RocketshipHe's active in the local startup scene (often asking tough questions of it), isn't afraid of colorful language, and has embraced his catchy online surname as a public identity. Meet Scott Kubie, known as Scott Rocketship on Twitter and to many in Des Moines. He's the Senior Product Director at BitMethod. Scott likes to write, so we changed up 25 Things this month and lobbed a few questions his way.
1. Rocketship?
My wife is an artist and uses that name. She was on Twitter first as @CatRocketship, so I signed up as @ScottRocketship. I ended up meeting a lot of folks in Des Moines via Twitter and it just kind of stuck. I have fun with it but I'm not super serious about it.
2. If you were in charge of a team of 25 Gen Y workers at your company, what would you do to retain them?
I would rip the cover and spine off of ReWork (by 37Signals), paste all the pages on my office wall, and drill the concepts into every manager and team leader at the company. Treat people like human beings, let smart people do their thing, and inspire them to work hard. The only thing that's hard about that is unlearning the instincts people have developed from working at shitty places. And that's a very hard thing, unfortunately.
People aren't any different than they were thousands of years ago when it comes to what drives them: recognition from others and the opportunity to do meaningful work.
3. You're writing language can be pretty salty. Does your mother approve?
Not sure, it might be genetic. I'm just trying to be myself. If nothing else, I've found that salty language is a great way to let "my kind of people" self-select. I don't know if I've ever really enjoyed the company of someone constitutionally incapable of using four-letter words. It's not appropriate in every situation. I gently edit it out of the BitMethod podcast, for example, but not my make\break podcast about art and creativity. Different audiences.
4. If someone met you on the street, what would they guess your profession to be?
Roadie. Zach Galifianakis impersonator. Worst bicycle messenger ever.
5. BitMethod's product seems in demand by a lot of companies. What's the market like for you and your competitors?
Seems to me like it's the same as it's ever been. The new hot topic is mobile. Everyone wants to do mobile, not everyone wants to pay to do it right. And a lot of people are paying too much to do too little. We have a whole presentation about it, "Straight Talk About Mobile." Call me, we'll come do it at your company and save you a bunch of money and headaches.
The exciting thing for us is the number of companies starting to understand that the mainstreaming of web apps and mobile web usage gives them a chance to build new products instead of just adapting stuff they already have.
6. What is BitMethod's personality?
We try and maintain as little distinction between the BitMethod's personality and the aggregate personalities of the people who work here. Meaning: it's our personality. Nerdy, goofy, arty, punk, fun, friendly. We have an entry in our Field Guide to Modern Business called "Brands as People". It reads, "If your brand was a person, what would people say about them? That's your brand. Be consistent, trustworthy, honest and kind."
7. What company or leader do you guys admire and try to emulate?
We have a lot of respect for any company that publishes and stands by their ideals, even if they're different than ours, and any company that's bootstrapped their way from consulting and client services into an independent product company.
8. You're a small shop. What's the talent level like there?
Hard to answer this humbly, so I won't: I think BitMethod is a phenomenally talented team. If we gave everyone highly accurate job titles, we'd need bigger business cards. I think our work easily stands up to the work of larger teams with bigger bankrolls and bigger numbers on their anniversary party invites.
9. Can a startup thrive in Des Moines?
A startup could thrive on the ISS if they got better Internet up there. If your team needs a lot of developers or designers or relies on a lesser-known technology, you'll likely have to recruit people to come here, train people that are here, or be down with remote collaboration. So yes, a startup can certainly thrive in Des Moines, they just have to use a slightly different playbook than a startup in Silicon Valley or even Chicago.
10. Is Gen Y more entrepreneurial than others?
Hard to say. Probably less entrepreneurial in the traditional sense, but more so in the startup sense. People are really figuring out the whole "try something small, quickly, and see what sticks" model. I don't know a lot of people my age writing business plans and getting loans, but I know a heck of a lot of people trying out creative ideas at low-to-no-cost and seeing what works.
11. What's the story behind your podcast and who is intended for?
Our main objective with the podcast is to build an image for BitMethod that's not tied 100% to Des Moines. We love Des Moines, but things get echo-y when it's just the same people talking to each other about the same stuff all the time. We're in Des Moines -- hence the name, The Flyover Effect -- but it's not about Des Moines. It's about startups, design, and the Internet. We bring on smart folks from all over the world to chat when we can.
12. What media do you read daily?
I'm most likely to read things recommended by my friends -- via Twitter, Facebook, Google Reader share, or just passed around internally via email or our company chat room. I try and stay up-to-date on my RSS subscriptions to Fast Company, MacStories, and some comic-book related blogs.
13. How do you view that media (iphone, Web, ipad, etc.)?
iPhone and web. No real routine to it. Just whatever catches my attention on whatever device I happen to be on. I don't have any tablets.
14. Who in Des Moines should we listen to?
My wife has pretty good thoughts about life in Des Moines. She has a periodic column in Juice. I try and pay attention to anything independent business owners have to say in Des Moines. More often than not I hear very different thoughts and ideas coming from their lips than what I hear coming from some of the civic and chamber organizations in town.
15. What's the perfect evening for Mr. and Mrs. Rocketship?
Dinner at Baratta's right down the street. Catch an awesome movie at Southridge or Fleur. Drinks with friends at High Life / El Bait Shop.
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Top Ranked
It takes a little self-promotion to get ahead (hello, Lady Gaga) and there's nothing wrong with that. On that note, here's a collection of recent "Best of" news stories that include Des Moines. It includes a number one ranking and a couple of top 10's, thus we avoid the worst label imaginable--"Best Kept Secret."
Congrats to Principal, number 31 in ComputerWorld's Best Places to Work in IT 2011 (USAA is #1)
Did you know you live in one of the best cities for families? Parenting Mag has the details.
We have the highest "real income," says U.S. News & World Report.
And we're number 9 in CNBC's "Top States for Business."
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