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Tech Month Chicago is doing a lot of great work to get the word out about our local technology ecosystem to the general public. Chicagoans, regardless of their predisposition toward tech, love to know when there’s something they can be proud of when it comes to their city.

Here are some ways you can participate and get involved in activities during the month of September for Technology Awareness Month:

Attend tech events! Take a look at the home page of our website: https://techmonthchicago.com/

There’s something going on almost every day on our calendar. Take a look at our one-month awareness calendar and get out and attend a tech event in or around your neighborhood. We have over 150 events on our calendar and climbing. We welcome everyone who’s doing a tech event, gathering, lecture, meetup, or party to put their events on our calendar. As the month progresses, we’ll probably get several more.

Follow us on Twitter or Facebook for the latest updates on when and where things are happening in the tech scene in and around the Chiagoland area.

https://twitter.com/TechMonth

https://www.facebook.com/TechMonth

If you’re a part of the tech industry in the Chicagoland area, there are several additional things you can do:

Donate your Tech Venue

Submit Events to our Calendar

If you’re considering holding your own tech event, you can do it for free during the month of September only at one of twelve tech venues who has generously donated their spaces for the purpose of supporting the local tech community event organizers as part of Technology Awareness Month.

Stay Informed:

Join our Newsletter 

The Tech Month Chicago platform is a one-month awareness calendar of local technology industry events that are promoted to the general public every September. Last year we had over half a million impressions on our Social Media campaign, highly visible ads in 8 major Chicago news outlets, and more than 100 events on our calendar.

In our third year, Tech Month Chicago is poised for significant growth and we are offering an excellent sponsorship package that will help organizations like yourself achieve exposure and penetration into the local tech industry as well as the general public in the Chicagoland area. You’ll also get the added good vibes that result from supporting such a large scale diversity and awareness initiative.

This year we’re looking for tech companies and other appropriate organizations to sponsor us, and in exchange, sponsors will receive the following benefits:

• Your logo included on over 10,000 posters and handbills distributed in a citywide street marketing campaign that will cover college campuses, tech venues, and high visibility areas in Chicago neighborhoods
• Your logo and links placed on our website on our events calendar page
• Multiple mentions in our social media campaign
• A professional podcast interview focused on just your company
• An expertly written blog post about your company published on our Tech Month Chicago Website
• A professional press release regarding your sponsorship

For what sponsors receive, this sponsorship package is an excellent value at the affordable rate of $1,500. The podcast interview alone is worth more than we’re asking. Our current radio broadcast, Tech Scene Chicago, is a successful radio broadcast focused on tech events, that has 10,000 listeners tuning in for every show. You can rest assured that our team’s interviewing and post-production skills will represent your company well and your staff will have an excellent experience. With your sponsorship, your company will be a featured guest on our new podcast that launches later this fall, and as well your logo will be featured on our top-rated events calendar this September.

Our goal in asking for sponsorship is to become the best partner your company has. Take a moment to ask yourself what that would entail. If there is something else we can do to help serve your needs, please let us know, and we will gladly work with you to create a custom exposure package.

We want the whole city of Chicago to be able to celebrate our vibrant technology ecosystem here, but we do need some help to get the word out. We are looking to get five sponsors this year. If we can do that we will be able to expand our coverage of the city. Can we count you in? Please let me know by Noon on August 20th. I am happy to schedule a time for a discussion as well. Thanks in advance for your support.

Kind regards,

Melanie Adcock Cell Phone: 312-259-0610 Email: melanie@techmonthchicago.com

Other ways to participate:

Donate your Tech Venue

Submit Events to our Calendar

Stay Informed:

Join our Newsletter Twitter: @techmonth Instagram: @techmonthchicago Facebook: facebook.com/techmonth

After taking a moment to reflect on my first two years broadcasting live on FM radio, I wanted to announce that the production of a second audio production is currently underway.

The first show that I’ve done for two years is called Tech Scene Chicago. It is a radio broadcast. You know, radios, those strange little low-tech boxes that can also sometimes act as alarm clocks? In the world of podcasting, people tend to neglect their FM dial. It may be old school, but radio is able to reach those who can’t afford laptops, don’t have enough data on their cell phone, or access to enough WiFi to download a podcast. Radio, though not so shiny and new as the podcast, is great for accessibility.

I love what I do, but feel there is more that can be done. In the process of doing Tech Scene Chicago on Lumpen Radio’s non-commercial station, there are specific topics I can’t cover due to FCC regulations such as calls to action, cost of products or services, or anything that would be seen as a sales pitch. As a result, I have never been able to cover certain topics or guests who only want to discuss their product or service.

In order to address this, I’m going to keep doing the radio broadcast but launch an additional podcast that will be more commercially based and will enable me to cover a broader range of guests. It doesn’t have a name yet, but you’ll hear a lot about it later this fall.

The new Podcast will bring you all of the sensitivity, depth, and care that I put into elevating tech events and community meetups on my radio broadcast. I will also be able to ask a few more probing questions about the thought leadership and inner workings of a larger organization or startup. This podcast will also be under the umbrella of my organization Tech Month Chicago, LLC As a result, the new podcast will be part of a new sponsorship package for those who would like to sponsor Tech Month Chicago.

This podcast will present a massive opportunity for hundreds of local startups to get in front of Chicago area consumers and business intellectuals alike. As a 2018 sponsor of Tech Month Chicago, you and your organization will get a chance to help us build the framework of this new endeavor. If you would like more information about our sponsorship package, please refer to our sponsorship package description.

Thanks for your support as we construct and engineer a new and exciting podcast for Tech Month Chicago.

-Melanie Adcock

Melanie Adcock Cell Phone: 312-259-0610 Email: melanie@techmonthchicago.com

P. S. As mentioned above, our new Podcast doesn’t have a name yet. Please feel free to suggest names for it in the comments section.

First of all, what is Tech Month Chicago?

Tech Month Chicago is a month of technology awareness for the Chicagoland area showcasing the depth and diversity of our local tech culture featuring community events in technology, engineering, math, and science in Chicago and the surrounding area during the month of September.

By elevating, promoting, and celebrating local tech events, our aim is to engage new audiences for technology in the Chicago area and to raise awareness for the great tech-related culture happening throughout Chicago’s diverse neighborhoods. Unlike many tech industry-focused events, Tech Month Chicago is geared toward all city residents from senior citizens, kids, parents, and all people of the city of Chicago to share how technology shapes our culture and encourage participation from those outside the industry.

Events range from coding for kids to educational forums and invention showcases, startup pitches, tech activities for families, companies opening their doors to the public, job training, meetups, and festive tech celebrations. Presenters include tech organizations, large-scale technology-related companies based in Chicago, non-profit organizations, schools, tech experts, education groups, and other organizations throughout the city.

Have a Venue? Here’s how to donate your venue for tech events in the month of September:

This is a great fit for co-working spaces, offices, restaurants, schools and other large organizations. You are responsible for working out any logistical details with people who contact you about using your space in the month of September.

Pledge to make your space available for events during the month of September 2018. Work with people and groups who have great ideas, but no place to hold their events.

Here are some highlights from last September:

• Fourteen venues donated their spaces to help with our awareness month
• Our campaign had over half a million impressions on our twitter outreach alone
• Eight media outlets participated in our robust ad and awareness campaign
• Our calendar featured and promoted over 100 tech events in the Chicagoland area

Our Ask of You:

Send an email to melanie@techmonthchicago.com with the following:

1. The name of your organization, a Contact name, phone number, and email address where event coordinators can reach you
2. A high res file of your organization’s logo
3. A description of any considerations for your space that you would like event coordinators to know about such as the capacity, availability, etc.
4. Please send this to us by August 18th, 2018 if possible.

What You Get When you Donate your Venue:

• Your logo on our street marketing materials that will cover the city in strategic locations with posters and handbills (Please contact us by Aug.18, 2018 to make sure your logo is included in this)
• Multiple Social Media mentions throughout the month
• A professionally written press release you can use on your website
• Your logo on our website
• Open to anything else you may have in mind that we can accomplish to elevate and celebrate your organization

Have questions? Please feel welcome to contact Melanie Adcock at 312-259-0610 or melanie@techmonthchicago.com

Subscribe to our Newsletter Here: http://bit.ly/TMCNewsletter

Follow us on Social Media here:

Twitter: twitter.com/techmonth

Facebook: facebook.com/techmonth

Instagram: @techmonthchicago

 

I’ll start by saying I love radio. I was never much of a singer in school, and my voice cracked a humiliating crack during cheerleading tryouts at age twelve (no, I didn’t make the team), but there is something about using my voice. I love the way the subtlest of emotion and expression in other people can be detected through just hearing the sound of their voice. Much more than speaking, I love listening.

Radio was much easier for me than cold calling and sales. My beginning in the technology industry was as a business development executive who was setting appointments to sell enterprise B2B software. Listening to subtle hints in the prospect’s voice helped turn my message around in a second to get that meeting scheduled. Before starting a cold calling campaign I would record at least twelve practice messages and listen to how I sounded. The way my voice sounded could mean the difference between making quota or not. The happy day when I retired from selling for other people to start my own business as a writer of tech industry related content, I still missed using my voice. With all of the inequality in the tech industry and the woes of so many women and minorities not getting the support and props they truly deserve, I couldn’t sit idly by and do nothing. Articulate and purposeful communication to help increase access to the tech industry, for me, was something I had to do.

As luck would have it, I had some friends in Chicago named Ed and Logan that were starting a brand new radio station called Lumpen Radio a couple of years back.  Edward Marszewski and I met over a decade ago at an art event I was coordinating at a place called Buddy Gallery in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood. Logan Bay and I met even before that in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago when he had a sound and art gallery called Bruner & Bay. When Ed and Logan were asking people to volunteer to do radio broadcasts and they listed technology as one of the topics, I called them right away, did a mock-up interview, and created an mp3 file with some of the world’s worst sound quality to share with them, but they liked what they heard, and the rest is history.

Over 100 guests later, the radio broadcast, Tech Scene Chicago, now has over 10,000 listeners for every transmission and is one of the oldest and most listened to shows on the Lumpen Radio station today. Lumpen Radio is on the local Chicago FM radio dial at 105.5 FM WLPN LP Chicago. They have exciting programs and rare music that you can’t find anywhere else. I am so proud of what they have created in the two short years they’ve been on the air.

There is a lot to learn about radio if you’ve never done it and are not familiar with this industry. Radio is not the same as a podcast. Lumpen Radio is a non-commercial station and a non-profit organization. I have certain FCC restraints on my show as a result. No one seems to mind that much though because it’s such a great experience to get in front of the lipstick microphones and speak on the topics that ignite our passion about technology for a few hours a month. I make it a priority to give exposure to different people and new names and faces in the city of Chicago where the same small group of people who are supposedly successful seem to be recycled over and over again in the news without much variety. I wanted some other people to have a chance to be known for their excellent work as well.

After two years I finally decided it was time to do some research on other podcasts about technology and read some of those advice columns about how other people do radio and podcasting. Admittedly, I was so enthusiastic in the beginning I jumped in with both feet and started pushing forward with my big heart out there for everyone to see my passion, flaws and all. I think now in hindsight, that was way more important than reading a bunch of tutorials. People want passion. They don’t want perfection. My research did not find another podcast or radio broadcast anywhere in the country that I’ve seen that focuses exclusively on technology community meetups and events like I do.

Tech Scene Chicago is the year-round marketing arm of Tech Month Chicago, an organization that produces a one-month awareness calendar every September. The calendar features local tech events like the events featured on the radio broadcast and promotes these meetups, lectures, mixers, and networking events to the general public, inviting them to take a look at the tech insider crowd in the Chicagoland area. It helps to get the word out about tech events to the general public. Publicizing the tech scene more is significant in Chicago because we’re not silicon valley, but there is still a ton of cool stuff going on that most people don’t even know about that is going on right under their nose. The tech meetups in the Chicagoland area are where you will find the epicenter of tech and geek culture in our city. It is still very much an underground and foreign culture to those outside of the tech industry. I host this broadcast to help bring to light what happens at these events.

All too often breaking news in the tech world centers on funding, successful exits, and companies that are going out of business and of course in Chicago, you’ll get the occasional corruption story. For me, what is generally covered in the more prominent outlets, is only part of the news. When someone bright and beaming like Shanya Atkins starts a tech meetup called Queen’s Brunch to expose women of color on Chicago’s south and west side to aspects of the tech industry, it should be celebrated. To me, that is a great story. No one is funding Shanya, no one told Shanya to do this, but she is doing this, and she is making a difference. To me, that is a story. For me, it’s a good story when Pat Maher from SPR Group is setting such a great example in his role as Civic Engagement Director for how other companies can interact with the public, and hire a diverse staff including people with disabilities. When our community is doing amazing things to help one another, to me, that is a good story. I try to help tell those stories because at present they are not getting enough attention.

My goal as the host, creator, and producer of Tech Scene Chicago is not to stop until everyone who wants to be on my broadcast has had a chance to be on it. With over 465 meetups in the Chicagoland area that focus on technology, I think I’m going to stay pretty busy!

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Tech Scene Chicago airs on 105.5 FM WLPN LP Chicago, Lumpen Radio every first and third Friday of the month at 1 pm. Not in the area of our radio signal? You can also stream it live on www.lumpenradio.com

You can also catch rebroadcasts of our live show every Saturday morning at 9 am on Lumpen Radio.

If you have a meetup, networking event, or lecture series that focuses on tech, STEM or STEAM, let us know, and we’ll feature you on our show. We give priority to events that are open to the general public and serve the public interest. You can contact me, Melanie Adcock, right here on LinkedIn to inquire further.

Tech Scene Chicago is produced by Tech Month Chicago, an organization, galvanizing a month-long series of events every September. Visit www.techmonthchicago.com to learn more.

Tech Scene Chicago airs on WLPN-LP Chicago, 105.5 FM, Lumpen Radio, a non-commercial, radical radio station in Chicago showcasing innovative ideas, highly curated music, and commentary. To learn more visit www.lumpenradio.com.

Tech Scene Chicago Archive to date:

bit.ly/techscenechicago1 04/29/2016 John Polacek, Monica Metzler, Dan Rezac, Rashad Sallee

bit.ly/techscenechicago2 05/20/2016 Shayna Atkins, Meghan Hausman, Steven Philpott, Edward Yu

bit.ly/TechSceneChicago3 06/03/2016 Pat Maher, Fenesha Hubbard, Amanda Signorelli, David Carman

bit.ly/TechSceneChicago4 06/17/2016 Allyson Scrutchens, Mark Andersen, JD Pirtle, Matt Washington

bit.ly/techscenechicago5 07/01/2016 LaShon Anthony, Isabelle Rizo, Brian Laughlin, Julian Kidd

bit.ly/TechSceneChicago6 07/15/2016 Alison Stanton, Brent Williams, and Adam Hecktman

bit.ly/TechSceneChicago7 08/05/2016 Carl West and Jeremie Bacon

bit.ly/TechSceneChicago8 08/19/2016 Emile Cambry, Deena McKay, Megan Rhyme, Elizabeth Hicks, and Roger Zare

bit.ly/techscenechicago9 09/02/2016 Harrison Horan and Brenda Hernandez

bit.ly/TechSceneChicago10 09/16/2016 Wok Barry, Stephanie Spetter, and Eric Wierzbicki

http://bit.ly/TechSceneChicago11 10/07/2016 Derek Eder and Calvin Flowers

http://bit.ly/TechSceneChicago12 10/21/2016 Eileen McFarland, Linwei Cheng, Mary DuQuaine, and Linda Olsheska-Brenner

http://bit.ly/TechSceneChicago13 11/04/2016 Lee Hopkins, Fabian Elliott

http://bit.ly/TechSceneChicago14 11/18/2016 Phillip Jackson, Scott Kitun

http://bit.ly/TechSceneChicago15 12/02/2016 Arcot Naresh and Brian Rodriguez

http://bit.ly/TechSceneChicago16 12/16/2016 Justin Love and Adam Hecktman

http://bit.ly/TechSceneChicago17 01/06/2017 Leslie McKinney and Brian Bar

http://bit.ly/TechSceneChicago18 01/20/2017 Todor Krecu

http://bit.ly/TechSceneChicago19 02/03/2017 Bob Johnson

http://bit.ly/TechSceneChicago20 02/17/2017 Dan Green and Carolyn Nivling

http://bit.ly/TechSceneChicago21 03/03/2017 Brian Kroll

http://bit.ly/TechSceneChicago22 03/17/2017 George Vukotich, Ginger Sovari Bucklin, and Gregg Walrod

http://bit.ly/TechSceneChicago23 04/07/2017 Jerrell Mardis, Christopher Agocs, and Jessica Fong

http://bit.ly/TechSceneChicago24a 04/21/2017 Jeremy Dunn, Eric Reyes, and Monica Swope

http://bit.ly/TechSceneChicago25 05/05/2017 Julia Kanouse and Travis Johnson

http://bit.ly/TechSceneChicago26 05/19/2017 Jeff Smith and Andrew Ettenhofer

http://bit.ly/TechSceneChicago27 06/02/2017 Don Wittmer, Darren Olson, and Christina Rodriguez

http://bit.ly/TechSceneChicago28 06/16/2017 Todor Krecu and Kayley Carswell

http://bit.ly/TechSceheChicago29 07/07/2017 Tracy Powell and Bobby Nicholson

http://bit.ly/TechSceneChicago30 07/21/2017 Jamilia Parham and Deena McKay

http://bit.ly/TechSceneChicago31 08/04/2017 Bill Allen and Joanna Vahlsing

http://bit.ly/TechSceneChicago32 08/18/2017 Kim Kleeman and Christine Pietryla

http://bit.ly/TechSceneChicago33 09/01/2017 Eric Vazquez and Lesley Etherly

http://bit.ly/TechSceneChicago34 09/15/2017 Kent Green and Ashley Purdy

http://bit.ly/TechSceneChicago35 10/06/2017 Peter Selarno and Angela Li

http://bit.ly/TechSceneChicago36 10/20/2017 Dante Hamilton and Nakia Green

http://bit.ly/TechSceneChicago37 11/03/2017 Homa Ghaemi and Dennis Deacon

http://bit.ly/TechSceneChicago38 11/17/2017 Nathaly Salas Welch and Beth Shea Palmer

http://bit.ly/TechSceneChicago39 12/01/17 George Williams and Carol Davids

http://bit.ly/TechSceneChicago40 12/15/17 Jonathan Terrasi and Lauren Ramsey

http://bit.ly/TechSceneChicago41 01/5/2018 Wok Barry, Dave Jacobs, Monique Phillips, and Ruben Agosto

NO RECORDING 421/19/2018 Chris Rollyson and Jonathan Freeman

http://bit.ly/TechSceneChicago43 2/2/2018 Hannah Rosenberg and John Edel

http://bit.ly/TechSceneChicago44 2/16/2018 Kathryn Gray and Adam Reed Tucker

http://bit.ly/TechSceneChicago45 3/2/2018 Kara Kennedy and Anne Mayers

http://bit.ly/TechSceneChicago46 3/16/2018 Michael Weinberg and Stel Valavanis

http://bit.ly/TechSceneChicago47 4/20/2018 Jennifer Traut-Todaro and Carl West

http://bit.ly/TechSceneChicago48 05/04/2018 Amara Enyia and Monica Metzler

http://bit.ly/TechSceneChicago49 05/18/2018 Christina Whitehouse and Jonathan Terrasi

http://bit.ly/TechSceneChicago50 06/01/2018 Lauren Ramsey

http://bit.ly/TechSceneChicago51 06/15/2018 Matt Stratton and Anne Wermuth

http://bit.ly/TechSceneChicago52 07/20/2018 Nathan Vermeiren

http://bit.ly/TechSceneChicago53 08/03/2018 Amanda Elliott and LaShon Anthony

Would you like to run a civic program on the Tech Month Chicago platform this September?

The Chicago technology community is leading the way in showing the rest of the country how to create a dynamic and inclusive local tech community. There are so many wonderful people out there doing great things to uplift others in Chicagoland. Are you one of those people, or do you know someone who is?

If so, we’d love to hear from you if you have a bit of extra time and would like to have your mission or civic tech or civic outreach program featured on our platform for the month of September during Technology Awareness Month in Chicago. We’ve done things in past years such as promoting tech job training at food pantries, elevating programs for students in STEM, and hosting an awards program.

Tech Month Chicago is in its third year. It is an awareness campaign geared toward the general public in the Chicagoland area to make them aware of local tech events, tech venues and coworking spaces and more. We have a calendar of events that we promote to the general public. If you would like to submit events to our calendar for the month of September, please do so here: http://bit.ly/TMCSubmitEvent

Our hope is to be more than just a calendar and to do that we need to hear from you. What’s your techy niche when it comes to helping to elevate others in Chicagoland? Senior citizens? Bike Riders? Special needs children? Women in Tech? Something else? Let us know by July 31, 2018, and we will meet with you, discuss, and work with you per your project to use our platform to promote what you’re doing to the general public.

Much love and respect,

Melanie Adcock, CEO of Tech Month Chicago melanie@techmonthchicago.com 312-259-0610 (Open to receiving communications)

In our third year in a row, Tech Month Chicago will create awareness for all Chicagoland citizens surrounding our local technology scene. Here’s a brief rundown of what we did last year:

• Promoted over 100 local and grassroots tech events on our one-month calendar for the month of September.
• Worked with 14 local tech venues who donated their venues for community tech events and seminars.
• Had full page advertisements in city-wide publications all over Chicagoland to promote local Chicago tech events.
• Promoted events with selfie bubbles.
• Distributed award ribbons to students.

What can we do to help elevate what you do in the Chicago Tech Community this September? We want to hear from you! And we want to work with you!

Please contact Melanie Adcock 312-259-0610, melanie_adcock@msn.com to get in touch.

Who?

Tech Month Chicago was founded by Melanie Adcock in 2014 and is in it’s second year. The audience for Tech Month Chicago is the general public as well as the local Chicagoland Technology industry.

What?

Tech Month Chicago has proclaimed the month of September to be Technology Awareness Month for the Chicagoland area. There is an events calendar of tech events that are open to the general public for the month of September on the techmonthchicago.com website. These events are created and hosted by local community organizers and are promoted in a show of solidarity for Technology Awareness Month. Anyone who attends 3 or more events on this calendar will get a Techie Award after September. You can find more details on that here on our website.

Where?

Tech Month Chicago events are anywhere and everywhere throughout the Chicagoland area. They are in restaurants, tech venues, galleries, co-working spaces, coffee houses, innovation spaces, and at tech company offices. These events can take place in all neighborhoods at different times. Check our calendar for more details.

When?

Tech Month Chicago’s events calendar is for the month of September only. Though there are many tech events taking place throughout the year in Chicago, we promote events during the month of September to the general public as part of a public outreach awareness campaign. Events on our calendar take place at various times throughout the month and at times there may be more than one event going on at once.

Why?

Several reasons:

1. Firstly, who in Chicago doesn’t love it when there is something to be proud of in our fine city? We wanted to make the general public aware of the vibrant technology ecosystem that exists in the Chicagoland area.
2. Secondly, let’s face it- tech jobs pay well, and who doesn’t want a better job? It can be very intimidating to make that career shift, and a lot of the time it’s all about who you know. We wanted to make that process less scary and more accessible to people.
3. Thirdly, there has been much written in the media about the technology industry’s diversity problem. By celebrating diversity, increasing access and awareness about Chicago’s local tech ecosystem, we are doing our part to elevate the solutions, not the problem.
4. And finally, an awareness month for technology in Chicago is a great idea who’s time has come. We need this in our city, so we made it happen.

How?

How can you get involved? You can put an event on our calendar, donate your venue for Chicago area tech events, and you can attend events. We are always open to meeting with people who would like to give us feedback or volunteer as well.

More questions?

Please feel free to contact Tech Month Chicago at melanie@techmonthchicago.com or via phone at 312-259-0610.

 

The team here at Tech Month Chicago has been working hard to provide an excellent, fun Awareness Month for Technology in Chicago. Please take a look at our events calendar for a listing of events you can attend and learn how you can earn a Techie Award Ribbon if you attend 3 or more tech events in the month of September.