TCVN August Social - Interviews from Ciaran Foley on Vimeo.

TCVN is one of Southern California’s premier technology business networks. Through a wide variety of forums, pitch sessions, workshops, and other networking events, we bring together entrepreneurs and resources from every facet of the technology and startup landscape. Ciaran Foley interviews entrepreneurs at a recent TCVN social event.

Ciaran Foley with Sheriff Sandra Hutchens

SHERIFF-CORONER DEPARTMENT
COUNTY OF ORANGE
CALIFORNIA

550 NORTH FLOWER STREET – P.O. BOX 449
SANTA ANA, CALIFORNIA 92702-0449
(714) 647-7042

SANDRA HUTCHENS
SHERIFF-CORONER

August 19, 2010

PRESS RELEASE

Sheriff Sandra Hutchens has formed a volunteer group of the community’s top technology experts for the purpose of providing advice and consultation to the  Department. The Community Technology Advisory Council (CTAC) will assist in  defining the future of technology within the department and identifying areas where improvement and efficiencies can be found. The CTAC is 100% independent and  focused on technology and best practices that can improve efficiency and the department’s return on tax dollars invested while maintaining the overall security and reliability of the Systems.

“I am very pleased with the team that was presented to me in our first CTAC meeting,” said Sheriff Hutchens. “The talent pool and experience Council Chair Kevin McDonald has brought together in support of our technology decision making process promises to inject positive changes from budgetary, administrative and  tactical perspectives. In these times of budget cutbacks, the fact that these top professionals are volunteering their valuable time is very much appreciated.”

In late 2009 local technology leader, Alvaka Networks' Executive Vice President Kevin McDonald, was appointed by Sheriff Hutchens to recruit and manage the new team. The CTAC consists of leading executives, technologists, cyber security experts, engineers, disaster recovery and business continuity experts and other specialized professionals from the community.

“Our first priority is to become familiar with the Sheriff’s operations, systems and most importantly the people and how they utilize the technology. Over the next several months our team will complete a round of tours of critical facilities that rely on technology to support the department,” said CTAC Chair, Kevin McDonald.  “The Council will be looking at the current strategic plans, support models and technologies being utilized. At the outset, our focus will be to indentify efficiencies in areas where there may be immediate improvement and cost reductions.”

The Inaugural Community Technology Advisory Council members are:

• Kevin McDonald, EVP, Alvaka Networks, Inc.
• Ciaran Foley, Entrepreneur and President Tech Coast Venture Network
• Scott Swartzbaugh, SVP, Network Consulting Group
• Les Walker, CEO, DocuSource
• John Bilar, Vice President, Spectrum Video, Inc.
• Unnar Gardarsson, Director of Engineering, Alvaka Networks, Inc.
• Michael Siersema, Technical Director, CSC Consulting
• Tom Crone, VP Technology, Chief Financial & Legal Officer, REO World
• Robert Downs, Senior Engineer, Spectrum Video, Inc.
• Robert Schulz, Senior Network Engineer, Alvaka Networks, Inc.
• Julian Lambert, Vice President and Principal, RAZOR 360

For more information, please contact Public Affairs at (714) 647-7042 or visit the CTAC organizational website at http://www.sherifftechadvisors.org

For CTAC Media Contact call Cara Stewart at Remarx Media: 949-290-5563 or write to cara@remarxmedia.com 



Photo Credit: eole

Alternate systems of communication and "getting things done" are challenging our industrial-age perception of work and learning. Much of our current educational system, modeled after last centuries' mass production perspective, is languishing in a sea of mediocrity. Workplaces struggle with creating satisfaction and value.

Somewhere along the line, we traded efficiency for effectiveness as we attempted to apply a one-size-fits-all mentality (better suited to the industrial age) to the information age. But this was a mistake.

The future holds a new renaissance of sorts. One-to-many lecture and leadership styles will be largely replaced by an old-world (think middle ages) collegiate mentor model. This is due in no small part to the emergence of technologies that allow us to connect individually at great distance. Such conveniences have already spurned baby-steps in telecommuting and distance-learning that are fueling a wholesale departure from the "way it is" as we abandon our old-world control prejudices and realize that people really are more efficient when left to learn and work in the way that works best for them.

Some argue that the University is dead. Others point to the "right sizing" of corporate America.

Whatever the opinion, it is clear that we are moving from a linear, assembly line thinking model to a hyperthinking model - a way of visualizing relationships, learning, patterns and even streams of income that reflects personal empowerment and responsibility as opposed to dependence upon a centralized generic system or caretaker. It is a painful transition filled with change and involves outsourcing, globalization and long tail economics.

If you're an entrepreneur looking for opportunity, provide value to individuals and organizations looking to free themselves from the shackles of dependence upon the assembly line.

Ciaran Foley interviewed by EyeOnBusiness re: TCVN from Ciaran Foley on Vimeo.

Ciaran is interviewed for EyeOnBusiness in Orange County, CA and discusses his involvement with Tech Coast Venture Network (tcvn.org)

Photo Credit: Max

The result according to some? "Filter failure" according to Clay Shirky, referring to our inability to process the firehose of data.

The matrix now exists in our real world. The next ten years brings the internet and data into every aspect of our lives in the physical world--from ubiquitous appliances (the iPad) and augmented reality, to conferring the ability of materials, appliances and environments to sense, store, track and communicate information.

Our perception of reality is shifting--brought about, in part, by an evolved sense of visual dimension. No longer are we mentally confined to drawing flat, linear sketches to reflect a process or evolution from A-to-B. Our ability to perceive, render and leverage our world as a complex web of interconnectedness has matured, in part through use of visualization and data-mining tools. The recent phenomenon of social networking has cast light on this complex interrelatedness. We now perceive relationships in nature and information as living, breathing structures with infinite complexity and a life all their own. A wholesale march from the world of simple "search" to one of "prediction" where evolved systems will suggest, in advance of our own request, paths of exploration, solutions or explanations has already begun in earnest. Our challenge is harnessing the collective wisdom of the crowd while respecting the independence of each of its component members.

There is a lot of wisdom here to be gained by a young business looking to understand or be advised by its marketplace. Additionally, the opportunity presented by community and connection for entrepreneurs is virtually limitless. View your marketplace as not just a collection of individuals to sell to, but a collection of intelligences to engage with. Gather market intelligence and product feedback. Crowdsource. Think biologically, rather than linearly.

Photo Credit: karramarro

Privacy is in short supply. We all live in public.

Whether cast as beneficial or troublesome, transparency is the name of the game going forward. Ironically, the only way to simulate some semblance of privacy (temporarily) is to wrap yourself in a blanket of "status static" so as to be troublesome to others to parse. Staying "off the grid" is ineffective because you place your reputation in the hands of others who would post and comment on it. Yet, there are strong, proven benefits to "living in public."

Increased sharing and information exchange has led to a new sense of community and globalization--in some cases, resulting in dramatic positive results (witness a suicide intervention thanks to Demi Moore and her Twitter feed).

Entrepreneurs and content creators must continue to educate themselves in the domains of personal privacy and security and leverage the new link and freemium economies to be successful moving forward.

Photo Credit: à voir etc...

As computing has transformed from a cold calculator to the facilitator of communication between people, it has simultaneously morphed from an end times fall guy to a cuddly lapdog and companion, at least for now. As humans begin the wholesale self-evolution of the biological machine, we will have to confront many of these fears again. From genetic reprogramming to designed consciousness, we may be closer to looking ourselves in the mirror in another form that we think. What will the mirror reflect back to us?

Only time will tell.

For now, the savvy entrepreneur must think mobile and always-connected. Think iPad. Think push and touch. Think augmented. Think local and fast. Cloud-based. Always connected. Make it FRIENDLY. Make it USEFUL. make it FAST.

Ready, Aim, Fire - Part II from Ciaran Foley on Vimeo.

In this 3 part series, we take a look at some of the essential ingredients to entrepreneurial success: the integration of key Financial, Sales and Marketing efforts. In part two, we examine some of the key marketing mistakes business owners make.

Ready, Aim, Fire...Part I from Ciaran Foley on Vimeo.

In this 3 part series, we take a look at some of the essential ingredients to entrepreneurial success: the integration of key Financial, Sales and Marketing efforts. In part one, we examine some of the key financial mistakes business owners make.