The last official iRoadTrip interview (for this trip) was interesting. I was able to speak with Brett Hines who heads up the new EcoBoost technology for Ford. This technology is making better fuel economies available and affordable in all vehicle lines – Brett talks about this technology and how its development was accelerated. While we were talking, the fire alarm went off – which apparently happens in the Innovation Lab regularly… listen to how Brett talks about it and relates it to innovation.
My daughter was helping me cut onions over the holidays when she discovered that onions make your eyes water. She ran from the kitchen and said to her mom, “Mommy, I am allergic to onions; they make me cry.”
My wife patiently explained to her that slicing onions creates a vapor that makes your eyes water and that it happens to everyone. My daughter then exclaimed, “Well, I am going to invent special goggles, like swim goggles, but for cutting onions so I don’t cry!”
I forgot all about it until I met Chris Hawker of Trident Design. Chris is a professional inventor out of Columbus, Ohio who has numerous inventions to his credit. We met at CES and he handed me his brochure and I was shocked to see – Onion Goggles! He already created my daughter’s idea!
And that is the point. How many times have all of us thought of something to make life better, more interesting, easier and not followed through? All of us have the ability to think of these ideas – but the real innovators are focused on trying, creating and doing!
We hope to sit down with Chris Hawker on our trip and talk to him further.
Anything can happen on the road, but we wanted to share with you our rough itinerary for the trip. If you know a great innovator that we should talk to along the way, please let me know (colin AT constructingsocial DOT com).
Day 1: Monday, March 9th – Detroit & Dearborn, MI
Day 2: Tuesday, March 10th – Cleveland and Columbus, OH
Day 3: Wednesday, March 11th – Cincinnati, OH
Day 4: Thursday, March 12th – Louisville, KY
Day 5: Friday, March 13th – Dallas and Austin, TX – ARRIVAL at SXSW!
Now that is just the way down… The way back begins Sunday, March 15th!
I wanted to take a moment and introduce the members of the team that will be driving through the heartland together. We each have a unique perspective and a range of great experience in building online content – most importantly we are all very excited to get started and start sharing our experiences!
Jim Storer: Jim is an experienced community builder and social media strategist. Over the last ten years he’s built and managed both small and very large communities and consulted with both start-ups and large enterprises on how to effectively build lasting value with social media solutions. Follow Jim’s blog at: http://jimstorer.com or on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/jimstorer
Jeff Cutler: Jeff Cutler is a content creation specialist and the owner of far too many URLs. Therefore, when he’s not writing for clients, he blogs for himself in about 14 locations. Follow Jeff’s main writing blog at: http://jeffcutler.com/jeff, his random inane blog at: http://bowlofcheese.com/ or chase him on twitter at: http://twitter.com/jeffcutler
John Johansen: In John’s words, “I am a marketer. I like being clear about that because it’s something I’m passionate about. The application of Internet tools to marketing is the current focus of my career. My blog explores the evolution of marketing as discovery becomes more fragmented.” Follow John’s blog at http://originalcomment.blogspot.com/ or follow John on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jljohansen
Colin Browning: Colin is the Vice President at New Marketing Labs, a new media marketing agency educational event company. Previously Colin was Director of Business Development of Mzinga where for the past 3 years he has worked with a wide variety of organizations and their agencies and helped them to architect and build successful social media strategies. Follow my blog at: http://constructingsocial.com/ or follow me on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/crbrowning
Road trips are one of those great American experiences. After reading great books like Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, On the Road, or even The Road (shudder), I have always seen a trip across or through America as a great way to discover more about the wonderful people and companies that make up this great nation.
Starting next Monday (March 9th), my friend, Jim Storer and I (and hopefully a few other passengers… stay tuned), will be starting in Dearborn, MI and driving to Austin, TX.
Jim and I are continuing (and sharing) a conversation that started with Liz Strauss at last year’s SXSW. Over some great BBQ there we talked about how the east and west coasts of the US seem to be the focus for innovation and social media – yet, there is a ton of great work happening in through the middle of America.
We look forward to sharing our conversation with you as we drive through the Heartland of America and Innovation and talk to the innovators at Ford, Makers Mark, Gannett’s Moms Like Me and many others.
We do have to thank the folks that are making this trip possible for us. First, our families for letting us travel away from home for so long! Second, Ford, for some of the best road tripping wheels in the country! And our sponsors, Ripple6, Powered and New Marketing Labs!
