Oakland County is using cyberspace methods to get more real people voting in the next election cycle.

Its latest innovation is to send out an email reminder to voters two weeks before elections and then again on election days. The reminder will also include a bevy of other information voters can use to make the process easier.

"It's kind of like an electronic post-it note," says Ruth Johnson, Oakland County Clerk/Register of Deeds.

The emails will be sent out before all local, school, state, and federal elections and will link to the clerk's website. The site will feature a list of candidates and ballot proposals, campaign finance reports, polling locations, and instructional videos for using voting machines.

It will also feature a new election reporting system that reveals results in real time. Also included will be information on voter registration and on how to become a poll worker, and a link to the state's Voter Information Center.

"This is just one more tool in the tool box," Johnson says.

For information on these new systems, click here.

Source: Ruth Johnson, Oakland County Clerk/Register of Deeds
Writer: Jon Zemke

The Center for Digital Government recently recognized two of Oakland County's eGovernment programs for its 2009 Digital Government Achievement Awards - its Video Center and the Blogin' Café.

The Video Center is located on the county's website and the Blogin' Cafe was featured at last year's Arts, Beats & Eats festival in downtown Pontiac. The awards recognized these programs as first-rate ideas and collaborations on digital solutions that benefit citizens.

Oakland County sees this as a sort of electronic evolution of government that provides more with less. The idea is that the old ways of deeply rooted government processes where certain people look at certain sheets of paper decade after decade can be turned on its head thanks to the new economy.

Now it can do such work with fewer human resources while still dispensing more information to more people. This new automation provides more information in a convenient way.

"Many times they'll go to the web first before they pick up the phone or get in the car," says Phil Bertolini, deputy county executive and CIO for Oakland County. "We believe the needs of the consumer are changing."

They also see this as a way of effectively cutting costs without reducing services in a time of ever-present budget shortfalls. It's a line of new, innovative thinking officials are aggressively pursuing and why Oakland County was recently rated as the No. 1 digital county in America.

Source: Phil Bertolini, deputy county executive and CIO for Oakland County
Writer: Jon Zemke

Now that the temps are starting to fall a bit, it's time to squeeze in some more outdoorsy stuff before it gets really frigid around here. Thankfully, there are lots of options that can help even the most jaded soul to appreciate the great outdoors in Southeast Michigan.

First up, fun for two-wheelers. There are two rides in Detroit on the 19th: Programs to Educate All Cyclists' (PEAC) Celebration of Cycling, which utilizes Hines Drive, and the Tour de Troit, which offers riders the option of a 30-mile or Metric Century tour of the D.

The Clinton River Trail Fall Classic is set for September 26, a great chance to experience a lovely trail if you haven't checked it out in a while.

On foot, the Sierra Club's Southeast Michigan Group has you covered. Just a sampling: September 6 at Independence Oaks, September 12 at Maybury State Park, the 26th at Potawatomi State Park and the 27th in the environs of the Fairlane Mansion in Dearborn. Find out details here.

Last but not least, take to the waters. Riverside Kayak Connection in Wyandotte has a Detroit River sunset tour at 6 p.m. every Wednesday. You can also arrange a group outing for $35 per person for a group of four or more that takes in Humbug Marsh, the lower Huron River, Grassy Island, or Mud Island. Call 734-285-2925 to make arrangements.

Get out there -- and appreciate what this area has to offer -- before frosty winter gets you couch-bound!

Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh

Arts Beats & Eats is taking its promotion and marketing to the next level, employing a number of viral media methods to ramp up interest in this year's festival in downtown Pontiac.

Organizers behind the Labor Day weekend event have been successfully drumming up interest through popular social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter. They are recognizing that patrons get their information through a number of different avenues, ranging from traditional news sources to new Internet fads.

"This is in its infancy this year," says Jonathan Witz, producer of Arts Beats & Eats. "We grew our Facebook fan page from 200 to 2,000 in 10 days. We see a huge potential for this."
 
Part of that success is because Witz and his cohorts are offering juicy incentives through these social-media outlets. For instance, the first 2,500 fans of the Arts Beats & Eats Facebook page receive free parking (worth $8) and users of Twitter who retweet messages can earn VIP passes. It all amounts to a street team generating real interest in a virtual world.

Arts Beats & Eats is still working with traditional media sources, such as newspapers, TV and radio. However, Witz sees future promotions utilizing all avenues.

"We're still strongly tied to into traditional media but it's a future transition that is coming soon," he says.

Source: Jonathan Witz, producer of Arts Beats & Eats
Writer: Jon Zemke

Electronic information, whether it's smart grid or digital health records, should be a boon for cyber security firms like RazorThreat.

The downtown Pontiac-based firm specializes in threat analysis and other cyber security issues for firms. It's been a growth industry as the world goes digital, and Greg Guidice, CEO of RazorThreat, sees it exploding as more and more hackers become more sophisticated, better funded, and more effective.

"Look at what's happening at Twitter," Guidice says.

He points out that these forces are a lot like organized crime. They are often financially or politically motivated and well-funded. Initiatives like the smart grid and electronic health records give them a bigger field to play in.

RazorThreat employs mostly 1099 (freelance) workers, with some located in its Pontiac office and others spread remotely throughout Michigan and the eastern half of the U.S.

Source: Greg Guidice, CEO of RazorThreat
Writer: Jon Zemke

Rocket Monster. It sounds like the name of a Jim Henson Muppet or character from Where the Wild Things Are. Go beyond the surface and realize it's the newest place for musicians and video producers to show off their work.

Royal Oak-based 323East and Pontiac-based Crofoot have teamed up to create RocketMonster.com. The online film festival website lets local bands and filmmakers broadcast their music videos and compete for a grand prize of $500 cash, $500 in merchandise from Konquest, and a year of text message marketing service from Fyremobile.com.

The video creators can win by entering their work and promoting it virally using social media tools. Viewers vote for the 10 best films and website staff choose another 10 to make it to the final round on Oct. 4. The one with the most votes by Nov. 5 wins.

The idea is to spur more creativity and collaboration in the music and film scenes while promoting artists' work. The low cost of creating Internet entertainment is expected to open the contest up to a lot of up-and-coming bands and filmmakers.

323East and its companion company Ohm Creative Group have put these sorts of principals together in downtown Royal Oak for years. The Crofoot, an old blighted building in downtown Pontiac turned into Metro Detroit's up-and-coming concert venue, also works closely with these companies and employs many of the same principals.

Source: Jesse Cory, partner of 323East and owner of Ohm Creative Group
Writer: Jon Zemke

During these tough economic times, many companies and organizations bring out the long-term statistics from the past several years to put themselves in a better light. Oakland County can fall back on both the long- and short-term statistics.

The county released a report that shows not only has it taken in about $2.4 billion worth of investment over the last five years, it did well in June, with $748 million in investment.

Most of that comes from General Motors' plans for a $650 million Orion Township plant, which will build smaller, more fuel-efficient cars. However, that leaves about another $100 million that the county was able to attract in the midst of one of the toughest economies in generations.

Oakland County has had more than $2.4 billion worth of business investment in the past five years, giving residents a reason to be optimistic about its future during the most difficult economic challenge in its history, County Executive L. Brooks Patterson said recently.

"We had our best month ever during one of the worst times ever," Oakland County Executive L Brooks Patterson said in a press release. "We've withstood all of the body blows and we're still standing."

More of the $2.4 billion came from emerging sectors based in the new economy ($1.3 billion), compared to traditional business sectors, like automotive manufacturing. Oakland County created its Emerging Sectors program five years ago to help diversify its economy and make up for lost manufacturing jobs.

Source: Oakland County
Writer: Jon Zemke

Construction is a dirty job that can generate a lot of waste. Here are a few ways to minimize the load in your dumpster!

Ceiling tiles can be taken to Allied Building Products Corp. in Pontiac -- the company is an Armstrong Recycling Program Consolidation Partner. Contact Marilyn Rich at Allied at 248-745-0300.

Windows, sinks, counters, cabinets, fans...anything of that nature can be brought to Architectural Salvage Warehouse of Detroit or Recycle Ann Arbor's Reuse Center. Bonus: a tax write-off!

Cherry Crushed Concrete is a national company that recycles concrete and produces new concrete with it. They've been around since 1952 and can actually send a mobile recycling plant out to a construction site. It will take the old concrete, recycle it and produce new base material. I'm guessing this is more possible for large-scale construction sites than the home remodeling-scale job, but it's still interesting.

If you know of a local resource for hard-to-recycle materials, please drop Green Space a line here.

Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh