Two weeks ago, Smart Growth America held an event called “Tech in the City” in Washington, D.C. Now, D.C. may seem like an unlikely place for Sarasota to look for inspiration, but cities both big and small have one thing in common: They are all challenging Silicon Valley’s dominance of tech and finance.

Guest Contributor Greg Bowdish comments on the evolving relationship between artists and their fan base, facilitated by social media and web technology, after musician Amanda Palmer and author Neil Gaiman made a surprise appearance at a “Ninja Jam” last Sunday at Ringling College.

I was on the phone with my mom as I went to check out my groceries at Publix the other night. I was on a mission to satisfy a mad craving for mac ‘n’ cheese and pick up some bananas, apples and yogurt for my favorite morning smoothies. I got to the counter, still on the phone. But I always feel kinda skeezy for being on the phone and ignoring the checkout person, so I said to the friendly-looking young man,”I’m sorry for being on the phone right now.” He said, [...]

There is almost always a wide variety of angles from which any piece of journalism can be approached, and most of the time, before I even sit down at my computer, I already have a fairly solid idea about how I plan to write an article. This is not one of those times. Today I am torn. Half of me would like to congratulate Molly Demeulenaere on her new position as Vice President of Development at the fifth-largest science organization in the United States, Tampa’s Museum of Science and Industry [...]