Main Street Live 09

Get Involved, Get Active, Get 2.0

Story Time: The Blog that Jack Built

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Jack's back!

As requested, I have finally adapted the short story "The Blog that Jack Built" (that I used in my session with Cac Kamak and Paul Ellis), into a short silent movie.

I hope you enjoy this fun little tale about Main Street Jack, that helps explain how you can use the strategic implementation of web 2.0 tools to build your organization and successes.

You're never too old for story time.

The Blog that Jack Built from Robert Voigt.

Daniel Burnham Walking Tour

Friday, March 20, 2009

Early on in the process of developing the blog we discussed the possibility of providing walking tour information online, moving beyond just descriptions. Now we can all share in the tours even after the event.

Here is a Google map of the Daniel Burnham Walking Tour.

View Larger Map
If you took part in the Tour, share your experience by sending me your pics and I'll include them in the map.

Conference Handouts Available

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Additional handouts have been uploaded. Just use your confirmation number and go git em! How nice was it to not unpack all that paper when you got home?
http://www.register123.com/event/profile/form/index.cfm?PKformID=0x716966e042

The final numbers are in!

Monday, March 16, 2009

The final conference attendee total is 1645! Our biggest conference was 1655 so this was our second biggest conference yet. Thank you all for being part of this!

ALSO, we are extending our PreservationBooks.org 20% discount through Monday, March 23. Go get your discounted books on!

NTMSC on Twitter

Monday, March 9, 2009

I got to attend 1 session during the whole conference and was inspired to create a Twitter account for the Center. NatlMainStreet. Come follow us! (I am still trying to figure out how to size our picture correctly...)

The State of Main Street

The State of Main Street

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Here is another "cross blog." If you missed the Opening Plenary, then you missed Doug Loescher's State of Main Street Address. Catch a few tidbits from it on the Preservation Nation blog. Also featured, highlights of the large sustainability project in Dubuque, Iowa, which NTHP Executive VP David Brown shared.

Here's a small snippet:

Doug shared news from a survey taken by the Main Street Center that as many as 27% of Main Street districts - communities with preservation-based economic development programs in place - are not reporting severe negative effects from the challenging national economy. In fact, in many communities tell us that business openings seem to be out-pacing closings 2 to 1.

And while the Institute for Local Self-Reliance reports 2008 holiday sales for independent businesses dropped an average of 5% from 2007, that’s nothing compared to what many national chains suffered: sales drops by as much as 25%. Even better news is coming out of Main Street communities that organized “Shop Local” campaigns: those participating businesses saw declines of just over two percent—a good testament to how coordinated strategies like Main Street can really make a difference.

If it’s Quirky, it’s Good

If it’s Quirky, it’s Good

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My colleague Trent Margrif, director of the Wisconsin Field Office of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, posted a few gems that he picked up from Anthony Rubano's walking tours educational session. If you were attending another session or were taking your own walking tour, check out his blog post here to learn what you missed.

Social Media for Businesses

Infusion Tea, a community spot and café in the College Park neighborhood of Orlando, recently used social media to enlist the help of loyal customers to help them survive a slow economy. In a Constant Contact e-newsletter, the owner (and chair of the Downtown College Park Partnership’s design committee) thanked customers for their patronage and shared a few tips to help keep their favorite local establishment afloat. They offered to send people a poster for their community bulletin boards advertising the café; encouraged them to write a review on Yelp, TeaMap, Urban Spoon, and other restaurant guides; invited them to be friends on their MySpace and Facebook pages; and gave them coupon books to distribute on their behalf. In just a few days, 200 coupon books were passed out, a dozen people picked up posters, several offered to host bridal showers and book club meetings at the café, and Infusion Tea’s Facebook friends immediately jumped from 5 to 63. The best part, all of this happened for free!

Social Media for Main Street Organizations

Still unconvinced about using social media?

Timothy Bishop, executive director of Ellensburg Downtown Association (Washington), reports his program set up its Myspace page over a year ago and has had great success with it. Currently, they have more than 1500 friends who are mostly students at Central Washington University—which is a great connection to a large group of volunteers and local youth. The connection with students has blossomed into larger joint-press and marketing projects with the students. EDA has been using MySpace to post special events, recruit volunteers, and share information about new businesses. This social media tool has been very helpful so far. For example, nearly half of the participants at the group’s Girls Night Out event first heard about it through the Myspace page; also when a local business was having difficulty filling jobs despite numerous newspaper ads and attending the job fairs —after the positions were posted on MySpace they were soon filled!

EDA has also experimented with Change.org with good results. On average, the group receives about $100 every month from people in places like New Jersey, San Francisco, and Oklahoma! http://www.myspace.com/ellensburgdowntown

Opening Keynote Speaker's Presentation

From the upper balcony of the ballroom (was that space gorgeous or what?!), I saw a lot of you taking notes during Demetrio's opening keynote presentation. If you want to view his PowerPoint presentation, he has shared it online. Check it out. (No audio)
http://www.slideshare.net/Demetrio_Maguigad/national-main-street-coference

The Blog that Jack Built

Sunday, March 8, 2009

A number of people mentioned how much they enjoyed the Short Story - The Blog That Jack Built - that I presented during our afternoon session (Blogging, Multi-media and Bunnies: Three things you need not fear), and asked for a copy.

Unfortunately that presentation is currently in Mac format (Keynote) and is not part of the online materials available.

Please contact me if you would like a copy and I will convert it and pass it along.

Saturday Ramblings from a Main Streeter

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Steve Munson let me know that he provided a Main Street Conference feature on this blog, Saturday Morning Ramblings.

His post provides interesting insight into the highs and lows of technology from the perspectives of both a Main Street presenter and participant. Enjoy.

New Survey

Hello again, I have just added another survey to the blog to get your feedback about your favorite parts of the Conference (see left sidebar).

Click away and vote for what you liked best, or leave a comment on this post!

It's fun, but so much more than just games!

What is the difference between using social media as tools to help with marketing, productivity, or connections, and developing strategic plans that maximize the capabilities of a Main Street organization (or any organization for that matter)?

The first deals with using social media to DO what you DO, the second is using social media to CHANGE HOW you DO what you DO! I had many conversations throughout the Conference about this concept.

Additionally, in our session (Blogging, Multi-Media and Bunnies: Three things you need not fear), my co-presenters and I were able to present a number of ways in which we each have adapted the WAY WE DO what we DO through web 2.0 tools. Through our experience and the examples we presented, we put forth the challenge to use web 2.0 tools as more than just enhanced communication methods or as the ultimate virtual Rolodex.

From action research methods, to integrated project monitoring, to facilitative leadership; by working with the full capabilities of web 2.0 tools, letting go of outdated strategies, and rethinking organizational development, Main Streeters can be leading the way.

Will all this be easy? Maybe not. But, by taking the building blocks of social media and developing well crafted strategic approaches to their use, that go beyond blind implementation, Main Street Organizations will be leading the pack and reaping the rewards of their efforts.

Now go out there, rip open the packaging and build YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA MAIN STREET!

The After Glow

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

For those of you visiting the Live Blog again, now that you are back home, note that we are still posting a bunch of items over the next few days and that the blog will remain active over the next month.

There's still lots to come!

If there is an idea for a post you would like to pass on without using the comment feature, send it directly to me at rob@robvoigt.com

Clarity of Vision

All I will say to introduce this post from Trent Margrif is thanks, and enjoy:

“Vision with action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare!” This Japanese proverb was used in the presentation “Strategic Planning in Your Downtown” and resonated with laughter to the packed audience of attendees. Too many main street managers, board members, and downtown business owners in the room knew just how true those words were.

The presentation demonstrated a sound six month process to create a strategic plan for your downtown and community. Including utilization of online tools such as Survey Monkey, Constant Contact, GoogleDocs, and others. The presenters cited examples of this planning process working in Delaware Main Street communities, but the tools will translate anywhere. A strategy of planning that will work for Statewide and Local Partners in historic preservation of the National Trust as well.

“Do not be a Bavarian Village if nothing about your town is Bavarian.” Seems to make sense, but when stated by the presenter there was a laugh, perhaps everyone in the audience could site those communities out there that project a fraudulent heritage and history to attract current visitors, tourists. In Wisconsin, the ethnic settlements throughout the state project the “authentic” heritage the presenters encouraged in the planning process. The German heritage is very real throughout the state, a source of pride, and indeed an effective marketing and retail strategy.

But this is not the only niche. The Polish heritage of Stevens Point. The Scandinavian streetscapes of Stoughton, Mount Horeb, and New Glarus, Wisconsin. Downtowns that have successfully implemented a plan and revisited its effectiveness every five years or so. Even if you are a newly formed Main Street program with little to no background, establishing your path ahead can only occur through strategic planning, made much easier with the online tools and resources available in becoming Main Street 2.0"

It's All About Community

An email was forward to me which perfectly described the kind of excitement and value people can find when attending the Main Street Conference:

"Cheryl MacDowell with the Platteville Wisconsin main street program is looking forward to attending. She says the networking opportunities that the Conference brings are huge. To learn from people who have already gone through what we are going through. To learn that we are not alone in trying to do certain things.

I am looking forward to learning all I can about e-commerce and social networking to assist main street in connecting with new age technology, which will in turn add to the renaissance that we are creating with our downtown and allow the new and old to work together.

Cheryl and others will be pleased with the conference and take their important connections back to their home communities. It is a new world out there, and the Main Street Conference is bringing it back home".

Build Tomorrow's Main Street with Today's Technology

Rob and I had a chance to catch up with Steve Robinson, who is going to be presenting on Wednesday, March 4 on email marketing. Steve gave us a brief overview of what he is going to cover in his presentation that will be in the Wabash Room at 10:15 am.

All Aboard!

I was forwarded an email to share, telling of the environmentally conscious trip two of the Conference attendees took to join us this year:

Sarah Robinson, Director, Stevens Point Main Street, and Sue Bessert, Director, Rhinelander Main Street chose the more eco friendly way to the Main Street conference, taking Amtrak from Milwaukee to Chicago.

It was a quick and hassle free trip. They also were able to discuss main street strategies and solutions for their communities in Wisconsin. This is the first main street conference for both and they definetely are looking forward to it. All aboard!!

YouTube Example

Through a recent email, Keith Stanley SOHI District Manager, told me about his Main Street's use of YouTube since last year.

The SOHI District is a Main Street Milwaukee program sponsored by the City of Milwaukee and Local Initiatives Support Corporation of Milwaukee. Check out the channel here.

For further information visit their website at www.sohidistrict.org.

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Who Is Robert Voigt

Robert Voigt is an Urban Planner, Artist and Blogger, specializing in urban design, community engagement, site planning, and organizational development. He holds Masters and Bachelor degrees in Planning, with experience in numerous governmental and private organizations in both Canadian and US contexts. Robert has been pioneering work in project specific municipal blogs and has been involved in public participation throughout his career, utilizing a variety of high impact stakeholder engagement techniques such as visual preference surveys, photo scavenger hunts, and video reporting. Robert's skills as a sculptor translate into his practice as creativity, innovation, and an eye for design. Robert actively promotes effective community engagement, integrating technology use, and a greater focus on design for all aspects of his practice. You can see examples of his work on CivicBlogger, or through Voigt Consulting. Robert can be reached at rob(at)robvoigt.com.

Who Is Cac Kamak

Cac Kamak has been in the planning profession for more than 13 years. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture from Bharathidasan University and a Masters of Regional & Community Planning from Kansas State University.Cac spent many of his early career years in current planning and has experience dealing with the challenges of communications within property development and public processes.The latter part of his career has been in long-range planning, where he has further honed his professional skills in public involvementand management of long range Planning projects. Cac is committed to developing the Planning profession and was the Training Coordinator for the Greater Illinois Section of the Illinois American Planning Association for more than eight years.He can be reached atcackamak(at)hotmail.com.

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