the onda

Apparently there was an article in the Globe last week about the need for the Boston technology scene to rebrand itself to attract attention to the local successes around here. Wade Roush takes this apart today as the wrong way to approach the problem of getting more innovation, investment dollars, and entrepreneurs around here.

I could not agree more.

When I clicked through to the original article, I felt as though I were reading something out of the Onion— with that exquisite feel of "almost real" while at the same time being totally ludicrous.

It is really simple: the only thing we need to "brand" ourselves as a technology powerhouse is more successes. We've got almost all of the ingredients in just about the right quantities. What we are missing is minor attitude shifts on the part of investors, startup service providers (lawyers, landlords, etc.), and even entrepreneurs (I will write about the attitude shift needed in the last bucket more later). Oh yeah, and maybe some more global warming to take care of this "winter thing."

But come on— a $150,000 study on branding? Come on guys, if this is how we are going to waste money, we deserve to become irrelevant.