Traveling Geeks

Consortium of entrepreneurs, thought lea

Traveling Geeks is a consortium of entrepreneurs, thought leaders, authors, journalists, bloggers, technology innovators and influencers who travel to countries to share and learn from peers, governments, corporations, and the general public in order to educate, share, evaluate, and promote new, innovative technologies. The initiative was founded by Jeff Saperstein and Renee Blodgett in 2008. Trips are funded by sponsorships from corporations, organizations and governments. The first tour was sponsored by the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a trip that successfully marked the proof of concept that could expand to other countries around the world. In the UK, the Traveling Geeks spoke on panels at Reboot Britain, Royal Society for the Arts and the Guardian, participated in roundtable discussions at Cambridge University and Econsultancy, interviewed and mentored startups from Seedcamp and Accel Partners, and engaged with leaders from East of England International, Microsoft & Nokia Research Labs, NESTA, British Telecom, Intel, Skype and more. Together, corporations, government and organizations can help shape history by teaming up with technology thought leaders and bloggers to gather and share ideas, further development and growth and take what we have learned across borders and back again. You can become a fan on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/travelinggeeks and follow along on Twitter @travelinggeeks. MISSION…… - The mission of Traveling Geeks is to collaborate with innovators and influencers, and then share that knowledge and insight to a collective global audience through blogging, video, social media tools, traditional media and meet-ups. - We customize the composition of participants for each trip for the needs of the region. The organizers of each trip conduct a peer review process to recruit a balanced group in experience, gender, expertise, and compatibility with the host region. - As educational emissaries, writers and thought leaders, our hope is that we can inform, educate and connect on behalf of innovators who are changing the world with like-minded people on the planet. We also come to listen and learn so we can take the wisdom of the region and spotlight it to the global innovation economy. - By bringing the wealth and depth of technology knowledge from the U.S.(and from other tech clusters) to regions, our goal is to increase global awareness of innovation in a region, share our expertise in areas that may benefit regional economic development and create and enhance professional relationships between American content providers and global technology innovators. PURPOSE: We provide a unique role: - Increase global awareness of innovation in a region - Bring Silicon Valley expertise and other innovators and experts from the globe. to benefit regional economic development - Create and enhance professional relationships between North American media content providers and global technology innovators - Serve as free speakers and panelists to regional technology conferences as part of our visit We do this through a multi-functional team that organizes each trip to interact with the region for the following: - Government and host coordination - Corporate sponsorships - Site visits and formal and informal events - Global and local media coverage - Organization and management of the group of Traveling Geeks for the trip - Technology requirements and web site development and maintenance WHO WE WORK WITH: - Regional economic development agencies - Corporate sponsors - Foundations dedicated to economic development through innovation and entrepreneurship - Start-ups in all stages of development - Venture capitalists - Technology Incubators, Research Institutes and University Tech Transfer Operations - Global and regional media focused on emerging technologies, the future of the web, life sciences, innovation and the economy