Green Accelerator progress ...

Nice to see my Long Island Green Business Accelerator idea start to take shape.

Some updates ...

Sorry about the lack of posts lately.

It isn't that I've run out of ideas (although some might say that would be a good thing), I've just been busy on a number of other fronts.

1. Making some good progress on the "Green Accelerator" concept.

2. Even more promising developments on the whole One Long Island project and how it relates to "Meta- Planning" on Long Island.

3. My music CD project nearing completion. Not coming out too bad as far as I can tell from early reaction. Although people may just be acting politely so as not to crush my enthusiasm.

SUNY Ideas ...

"One argument that SUNY leaders make - and it will be easier to make the case once a new permanent chancellor is finally selected - is that public higher education is never more important than in tough economic times. For one thing, people losing jobs rely on SUNY schools for retraining. For another, the campuses - like Stony Brook, Farmingdale, Old Westbury, and the community colleges in Nassau and Suffolk here on Long Island - have a huge impact on the economy. So this is a bad time to slow that economic engine."

Good editorial above on SUNY.

As important is the need to restructure the way the state allows for the commercialization of research coming out of its system in a manner similar to California and other states.

There is a treasure trove of great ideas and products available to New York coming out of the SUNY system, but there must be a rational incentive for both inventors and the taxpayers of the state.

The "Green Business Accelerator" concept we proposed for Stony Brook is just one model of what can be accomplished.

Opening up the the commercialization of intellectual property coming out of SUNY is a great way to offset SUNY budget cuts, pour money into the state economy, develop new business and new business models, create good jobs among many other benefits.

The current system provides little incentive and too many roadblocks to innovation.

For a state that prides itself on being a world leader in many areas, the current situation at SUNY is a threat to this continuing quest for excellence.

Long Island "Green" Business Accelerator

I've been reading with great interest all the new focus on "green" energy and its possible positive impact on the Long Island economy.

"The Green Guide" and "Long Island's Next Big Thing" among others are great additions to the cause and are doing splendid work in highlighting the issues and attempting to take a comprehensive approach to energy production on Long Island.

I would suggest all involved consider a Long Island "Green" Business Accelerator model along the lines of the Port of Technology in Philadelphia and other business "accelerator" models we've discussed in previous posts over the past year. Here is another example of an "alternative energy accelerator" in Michigan.

I've had some very preliminary talks with some folks out at Stony Brook (a natural location given their new alternative energy center) and other folks in the industry who feel the idea has merit and some potential.

Of course there may be multiple "accelerators" so long as they work collaboratively (this is the meta acceleration we spoke about previously) and for a common purpose. There should also be "cross pollination" of ideas and business among and between accelerators engaged in green energy and accelerators and incubators engaged in different but potentially mutually helpful work.

Depending on governmental resources to launch this initiative into high gear is, perhaps, dooming it to at best mediocrity. Again, it must be a "dynamic" process, not the stagnant "static" process which has formed so much of our current policy.

We need all the resources at our disposal to create a "green" Long Island.

Acceleration, not incubation ...

Turning the former Navy property in Bethpage into a "jobs incubator" is potentially a very good idea, although the "incubator" concept should really be an "accelerator" concept as we have described in previous posts linked to all other Long Island Accelerators (meta acceleration).

Again we have an example of a good idea which could be made even better if it linked to "similar" projects and concepts being planned or underway on Long Island.We should first look for links on Long Island and "consolidate" concepts and programs where it makes sense to do so.

I understand there is an inherent competitiveness and need for autonomy between jurisdictions, but "regional planning" and "consolidation" does not only refer to land use issues and organizations.

Maybe regional planning is a somewhat outdated term. Perhaps it should be a "shared regional philosophy" instead.

A "Long Island Philosophy."

Accelerate Long Island, a Long Island Meta Accelerator: Part II

Long Island Meta-Accelerator Project: Part One

We've posted previously about how the Long Island 3.0 concepts have the potential to turn Long Island into one unified "accelerator" project.

Sort of like this only not just limited to business issues. Ours would be more all encompassing; a "meta-accelerator. "

Why can't we use our collective abilities to "make a profit" for Long Island. Use it to lower taxes. Attract business. Initiate and implement new ideas. More in part two.

As a side note, perhaps the reason there are so many different and diverse organizations (of all types) on Long Island is precisely because we have never had any method for "bringing it all together" before ... a self fulfilling prophesy of sorts. Different and diverse organizations are a good thing, so long as they are working towards a common, dynamic and organized mission. Hopefully Long Island 3.0 can, over time, help solve this riddle and promote diversity and innovation directed toward a common purpose.

Thinking About Long Island

We join spokes together in a wheel,
but it is the center hole
that makes the wagon move.

We shape clay into a pot,
but it is the emptiness inside
that holds whatever we want.

We hammer wood for a house,
but it is the inner space
that makes it livable.

We work with being,
but non-being is what we use.

What is Long Island? 

A geographic region to be sure.  A series of interconnecting communities or a series of random communities? A place to come from or a destination? 

There are many ways to view Long Island.

But how about Long Island as an idea? Not as a means to an end but an end in and of itself?

We need to think of Long Island comprehensively rather than as a series of issues to be addressed or problems to be solved.  We must think of how one issue influences all relevant issues. 

For example, how can we build affordable housing if we don't know how it affects the traffic, sewage disposal, energy needs, school enrollment among some items and what type of housing and where and how much and for how long  ...

Some might view those types of question as being obstructionist, that we are simply against building. This is not the case. We must have a comprehensive, long term approach to Long Island and the influence our decisions will  have on successive generation. 

In short, we need to use our intelligence and resources to think about and plan for what Long Island is and what it reasonably may become. Not just what we think it should be, but as a practical matter, what are our limitations and how do we overcome those limitations. How do we achieve balance.

We can never know how to achieve a balanced existence on Long Island unless we view Long Island as one entity, as a sort of "dynamic idea accelerator" which may have many moving parts (diversity creates a constant stream of new ideas), yet operates in a cooperative and positive manner.  We should not continue to rely on the "great man (person) theory" to find a solution to our problems. No one individual has all the answers.

We must also encourage our Long Island schools and universities to train our young people in the great possibilities of what Long Island can become. Not in an isolationist sort of way, but in a way that gets them thinking about how all the parts work on Long Island and how they can make them work in a better way. Because if they can do it in their own back yard, they can do it anywhere in the world.

The Long Island Congress and Long Island 3.0 attempt to offer some initial structure to this concept, to "create a pot" or "build a house"as it were to fill with whatever our imagination and abilities can conjure up and to create a new Long Island we can all be proud of. 

It won't be perfect and it is an ongoing process. But thinking about Long Island is a good first step and continued thinking will keep Long Island alive and well as a region, an idea or both.

"As you think, so you act. As you act, so you become."

As we have previously stated, the Long Island Congress and Long Island 3.0 concepts are as much about a new way of thinking as they are about hard and fast solutions.

It is important to think about solutions for Long Island in a "global" and inclusive manner rather than in the fragmented approach that exists on much of Long Island at present. A house divided against itself cannot stand.

We do ourselves a disservice as a region and subject ourselves to the fickle machinations of Albany and Washington when we keep ourselves in a fragmented and weakened state.

Think inclusively and we will act inclusively and we will become inclusive. The more of our citizens who prosper from a united Long Island, the stronger we will become.

Think in a coordinated manner, and we will act in a coordinated manner and will will become a coordinated and powerful region.

We must fully utilize and develop all aspects of our educational and library systems, business development and accelerator projects, advanced technology centers, community and advocacy organizations, local governments among many others, and weave it into a strong, flexible and unbreakable fabric.

If we depend too greatly upon others for support, we run the risk of allowing others to play one Long Island group off of another, keeping us is a constant state of disarray.

We must think as a Long Island region and be proud of and relentlessly promote and defend Long Island. Too often, I think, some think of Long Island in the abstract; as a place to come from on our way to somewhere else.

We must infuse a sense of urgency and devotion to the Long Island cause, and build upon what we have; and what we have is pretty good already.

We can achieve greatness.

Think regionally, act regionally, become a region.

Long Island Metadata Project: Part One

"The simplest definition of metadata is that it is data about data."

Another useful tool in helping Long Island to "get organized" would be for some of our great colleges and universities in cooperation with state and local government and community organizations, to implement a Long Island Metadata Project (LIMDP). My apologies if someone is already doing this. I haven't come across it yet apart from some science related information. (Refer to Oyster Bay 2000 chart "Central Data Access/ Multi Platform" )

The LIMDP could established in conjunction with the SUNY Portal project (presuming it will be constructed to an "open architecture" platform) or as a different project based exclusively on Long Island with links to other projects. Perhaps the new LIFT Innovation Centers Project and other New York State NextGen Projects (both good variants of the Business Accelerator Model in The Port of Technology) could work cooperatively to create the correct environment of better communication. It seems Long Island and New York State have a lot of the correct elements in place and many very intelligent people from all walks of life ready to help our economy and our standard of living. We just need a little help organizing and working cooperatively to a achieve our goals (reference Oyster Bay 2000 "Community Congress" ).

Again the key is establishing a set of "open" standards and API that all such projects will adhere to. This still allow for creativity, competition and innovation while setting the framework for cooperation and information sharing and reasoned analysis. We still may not all agree on the results or how to proceed (human nature) but we are closer to having a unified approach to problem solving. When standards change in the future as inevitably they must, we then have a way to move together in unison rather than having to start from scratch.

Combined with XML, data mining and other relevant technologies, the LIDMP could be a simple and productive first step to having Long Islanders speak a common language and begin to chart a more productive course for our communities.