Comments on: CenPhoCamp was great, but we gotta keep going

By: Matthew Petro

Matthew Petro — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 01:36:09 +0000

Ah, I forgot that the current Gangplank is actually straight north of the new location.

I've hoped for the West Valley to get some momentum behind attracting more tech companies and people, but that doesn't seem to be happening. For better or for worse, the East Valley is the tech side of the area.

Social media helps take away a lot of the geographic barriers that Phoenix has been faced with, but it can't take away all of them. There's still a lot to be said for being close to where most of the people and resources in your field are located.

By: Matthew Petro

Matthew Petro — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 18:36:09 +0000

By: tdhurst

tdhurst — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 03:58:45 +0000

You can't cater to everyone. There are plenty of things people give up to live when they choose.

By: Derek Neighbors

Derek Neighbors — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 03:13:04 +0000

Currently location is technically on the BRT route. We walked to the ground breaking. Metro Phoenix spans over 144sq miles. There is no such thing as “central” or “close”. It's about making hard decisions to get the things you want. We chose to put Gangplank where the most people who would use it are located.

By: Derek Neighbors

Derek Neighbors — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 03:10:59 +0000

People will make excuses. That is one of the lamest ones.

By: Matthew Petro

Matthew Petro — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 15:33:51 +0000

Gangplank is a good place, but for some it is too far. It's 42 miles from my house, nor is it easily accessible by public transit. So for me, it is too far.

Yes, moving Gangplank to a location directly on the new BRT route which connects with light rail will help with the transit accessibility, but it's still out of the way for anyone who doesn't live in the east valley.

By: Matthew Petro

Matthew Petro — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 15:25:03 +0000

I'm not really sure how, or even if, we can quantitatively measure outcomes from an event like CenPhoCamp. Maybe we don't. Maybe the real measurement is the public consensus as to what CenPho is. If a lot of work happens but many residents of the valley still view downtown as a wasteland that's deserted after dark, then the number of lots filled in, the number of businesses opened and the number of events held doesn't matter. But if we do manage to really change the public view of CenPho, then the amount of work, large or small, is worth it.

By: tdhurst

tdhurst — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 14:39:13 +0000

Gangplank is still intimidating to a lot of people.

By: Derek Neighbors

Derek Neighbors — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 14:17:14 +0000

We have our cheers.. It's called Gangplank. Of course, you probably think it's too far.

By: Mark Ng

Mark Ng — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 03:36:57 +0000

For what it's worth, I'm already doing tonight.

How do we begin to measure whether things actually get done from these conferences ? If it's measurable, we can tell what works and what doesn't.