ProtectMyRep: Social media tool for teens, made in Minnesota

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Sometimes I talk to high school classes about online reputation management. I’ve learned that kids have not heard of LinkedIn. It doesn’t always occur to them that a SnapChat picture might not disappear after 10 seconds – if an enterprising recipient is quick with a screen capture. They don’t realize that even if they do have privacy settings on, if their friends don’t, I can probably learn a quite a bit about them from the friends – especially if their friends are my friends. Something to consider, especially in a small town. They are users of social media but they’re not strategic. To be fair a lot of us weren’t that strategic at age 16, but we weren’t leaving digital fingerprints behind. Continue Reading

Online citizens in St. Paul ask – why did Google pass us by?

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I like to see broadband come up in main street media. I like to see broadband come up in community discussions. It means people are recognizing the importance of broadband. I really like when it comes up in my community (St Paul) because I would love to see more options here. And yes I realize that the fact that I can say “more options” implies there are options already and that I’m in better broadband shape than many people reading this blog – but my goal is to see Minnesota be a world leader with broadband and we need more discussion, more recognition and more options statewide if that’s going to happen! Continue Reading

MUSIC REVIEW | Erik Koskinen record release and Chastity Brown at Real Phonic Radio

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Real Phonic Radio on a Saturday night? Something must be special – like the record release of Real Phonic Radio member Erik Koskinen. Or a boatload of snow on ice of the third Thursday of the month. Or a little bit of both. Either way the show was worth the wait, battling the Crashed Ice traffic and an inch of ice on every road in St Paul!As my nine year old (Aine) is quick to point out whenever we go to a record release of a favorite band: these songs aren’t new. Continue Reading

ARTS REVIEW | Walker After Hours: Sisyphus, Jim Hodges & the beautiful people

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The Walker After Hours event is a different kettle of fish than The Walker on a Saturday (especially a Free Family First Saturday) or even a Walker production. The Walker After Hours is much more of a scene – or maybe a see and be seen – than your usual visit. The After Hours on Valentine’s night was even more so. It was fun, but different.This event seemed almost too full. The queues were long and I think many people weren’t able to get into see Sisyphus, which I’m sure was a big draw for many guests. That being said, the people, police officers, volunteer guards, staff were all very friendly and nice. Continue Reading

MUSIC REVIEW | Sunny Sunday breakfast show with Jeremy Messersmith at Electric Fetus

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Jeremy Messersmith remarked that it would be great to do all breakfast gigs – then he’d have the rest of the day to mess around. I think more than a few of us would sign up for that morning routine. I can’t think of a better way to start a Sunday than an intimate performance with Jeremy Messersmith at the Electric Fetus and breakfast hosted by the Salty Tart and Peace Coffee.Messersmith hit every right note. It was just him and the guitar and 200 friends sitting around – kids up front – listening to some tunes. He played a nice mix of new songs and old to an audience that was a nice mix of new and old. Continue Reading

MUSIC REVIEW | Gentler Noise: Balung Getih, Pelzwick, Growth Spert at Maruso

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Last week I wrote about my introduction to Noise in Minneapolis. The fun thing about an underground genre is the nuances and subgenres that surround the scene. Saturday night I went to a show where the music might be a close cousin to Noise. While noise, I’ve seen in the past has been more industrial and even when not aggressive, it’s harsh. Saturday night the music was lighter, more personal and quirkier.Pelzwick started the night and now I have a much better understanding of ambient music. Continue Reading

MUSIC REVIEW | Neutral Milk Hotel: Dark, rich and wonderful at First Avenue

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I have been looking forward to Neutral Milk Hotel since I bought the ticket in August. Luckily I was uncharacteristically on the ball and got tickets the first morning they were on sale; when I checked later that the day the show was sold out – both nights! As I’ve explained ot many friends, Neutral Milk Hotel is the most popular band, you’ve never heard of. They don’t tour often and I had never seen them.They were absolutely worth the wait.They opened with King of Carrot Flowers Pt 1, followed by Kimg of Carrot Flower Pts 2 & 3. Lead singer, Jeff Mangum, started on his own and the other band members joined. Continue Reading

Minneapolis Noise: Underground audio art form that you might not have heard of

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“I moved to Minneapolis for the noise scene back in 2008.” I overheard this statement at a recent noise show and wondered where I’d been for the last six years. Noise is not a new genre, but it’s new to me and definitely underground. I wanted to learn more so I started my research where all great scholars start, Wikipedia. They track noise to Luigi Russolo’s 1913 manifesto, L’Arte dei Rumori (The Art of Noises). Nice to know I’m 100 years late to the game! Continue Reading

Hackathons and Coding Jams – Great events coming up for civic minded coders and others!

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The hot topic at the big broadband conference in St Paul last week was infrastructure – people learning and talking about infrastructure. But – my favorite sideline at the broadband conference this week was the talk about applications, open data and getting citizens involved through applications, open data and access to technology, which includes broadband. Continue Reading

THEATER REVIEW | Venus DeMars’ “The Queer’s Book Of Journey: A User’s Guide For The Lost And Found” at The Soap Factory

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Venus DeMars, best known as the transgender lead singer of All The Pretty Horses, brought a new show to the Soap Factory last weekend: The Queer’s Book Of Journey: A User’s Guide For The Lost And Found. As the title indicates, sexual orientation plays highly in the latest work but I feel like this show speaks to a wider audience of souls who are lost and/or found.The show starts with Venus telling tales and swinging over the stage like a bird. The audience (especially late comers!) are led through a maze to the stage that somehow makes The Soap Factory (one of my favorite galleries) look even more urban than usual. The mixed media TV screens in the back showing live feed from handheld cameras aimed at all corners of the space, the two drums on either end pounding and pounding and the audience standing around the stage like watching a street performance or car crash. It was immediately raw and drew me in like an accidental voyeur.While Venus maintained cool composure, the other performers had a frenetic energy that beat like sensationalist news. Continue Reading