Innovation buzz being noticed nationwide

Shaking the rust from it's rep, Michigan continues to draw nationwide attention for diversified business innovation.

Example: the technology and business online news network Xconomy (http://www.xconomy.com/) recently launched its fourth local channel, for Detroit, complementing others in Boston, Seattle and San Diego. That's impressive company to be keeping, considering the Motor City doesn't rev nearly as high in terms of venture capital and favorable climate for entrepreneurs.

But Xconomy Founder and Editor-in-Chief Robert Buderi says that, while other cities have more robust activity in key areas such as information technology and life sciences, "the innovation story playing out in Michigan is just as important, and in fact, the stakes may be far higher. To compete globally and thrive far into the future, the American auto industry will need to continue to reinvent itself. At the same time, entrepreneurs and government leaders recognize that the region needs a much broader economic base." That innovation, Buderi notes, has led to a profusion of investments in areas outside or peripherally related to the automotive industry, including biotechnology, biofuels, batteries, medical devices, software, and homeland security.

Xconomy Detroit will cover business investment, innovation and exponential economic growth (the xconomy factor) in Motown, much of the rest of Michigan, and northern Ohio.
Announcing the launch of the Detroit channel, Bruderi said, "scores of creative businesspeople and entrepreneurs are waiting to tell their stories and share their insights. And because we believe in the power of innovation and entrepreneurship to transform regional economies, we want to be on the ground in Detroit to hear what they have to say and watch the progress of their incredibly important efforts."

MI perspective: The juxtaposition of Detroit, even on a web page nav bar, with innovation hothouses such as Boston and San Diego can only help change the city's imprint on the nation's psyche. And the timing couldn't be better, considering general media coverage such as the recent "Dateline" special highlighting Mayor Bing's plan for downsizing the city. Xconomy, which also gained attention in the Wall Street Journal with it's new Detroit edition, gives greater voice to the descriptions of new economic beginnings, and a new day dawning, in Michigan.