Omaha, Nebraska.  Portland, Oregon.  Boulder, Colorado.  ‘Thriving technology innovation community’ probably is not the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the names of these cities … well think again.

Representatives from each of these ‘mini Silicon Valley’s spoke at South by Southwest Interactive to discuss the challenges and opportunities they’ve encountered so that they can serve as models for other cities to follow.  The result?  New capital, jobs, mentorships, and increased visibility in the national business and technology landscape.

Panelists included Jeremy Tanner (Boulder, CO); Rick Turoczy of Silicon Florist (Portland, OR), and Jeff Slobotski, Silicon Prairie News (Omaha, NE). Here are some of their tips for building and growing a technology community in your city:

• Have people become storytellers for your technology community via blogging.
• Host unconferences called “Camps” to gather people around different technologies and goals.
• Don’t take on too much as an individual. Delegate!
• Use local universities, if available, for finding talent (interns) and venues for events.
• Use even small dollar awards for competitions around innovation.
• Make technical events social, like “Blogging and Beer” nights and “Ignite.”
• Find mentors to help you grow and people with other areas of expertise (like marketing and PR) to help promote your products.

I interviewed panel moderator Erin Kotecki Vest of BlogHer immediately following the panel.  Watch below!

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