In the second week of November, I attended two functions for Global Entrepreneurship Week. The first was Wellington to the World 2009, where numerous local businesses, who had made it big worldwide, got a chance to talk about how they leveraged the internet. Solutions such as social media, virtual working and licensing were among the topics raised.
   This year, Richard McManus of ReadWriteWeb was the keynote speaker. I had heard of ReadWriteWeb before but—and this is terrible for someone who went through the same thing with Lucire—thought it was foreign. Admittedly, I tune in to ReadWriteWeb when there’s a news headline that intrigues me, and sometimes, those are from one of its overseas bureaux.
   It was a great wake-up call—that there are many world-class businesses right here in Wellington—and I enjoyed listening to Richard, who is going through many of the same phases as we had in the late 1990s and early 2000s. I remember the days when I had not met some of my team members in person, judging them by the quality of their work. It works quite well in the dot-com sphere. And for most of my 22 years in business, many people did not make the connection between our properties and New Zealand—including New Zealanders. (I still hear people think that my businesses have some foreign ownership or overseas partners, which is untrue.)
   We need to change the mindset of New Zealanders, myself included, toward thinking the best comes from this country. And if you look around the country, Wellington is the most creative city. We have as much capability of creating world-class businesses as anyone else. In fact, the Kiwi can-do mentality suggests we have a greater capability of doing this.
   This is one of the reasons behind the free wifi that I would like to see implemented if I am elected as mayor in October 2010. It is about job creation, and it is about civic pride. Weta, Sidhe and ReadWriteWeb have already shown that it is possible—and I would love to see more entrepreneurs get the right breaks to make Wellington even more vibrant.

Photographed by Jo Mangee, http://www.flickr.com/photos/mangee//CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

Aotearoa · creative sector · creativity · entrepreneurship · free wifi · Global Entrepreneurship Week · growth · ICT · Jack Yan · Lucire · New Zealand · opinion · ReadWriteWeb · Richard McManus · tech sector · technology · Unlimited Potential · W2W · Wellington · Wellington to the World · Whanganui-a-Tara · wifi

It has totally surprised me, when chatting to former mayor James Belich, that Wellington is not sister cities with San Francisco. In fact, we lost this connection in the 1980s. The benefits are obvious: not only are the two cities similar in terms of culture, politics and topography (let’s count the fault lines going through the city!), but the technological and special effects’ sectors are strong in both San Francisco and Wellington.
   This means we can each benefit from the other: Wellingtonians from access to the market, San Franciscans from access to the independent, innovative thinking than goes on down here. I accept there is a population difference, but I cannot see down sides with connecting the two cities with more exchanges, and letting companies reap the rewards. San Franciscans and Wellingtonians think alike in many ways, too, which says to me that there is room for alliances, JVs and remote working. We grow the sectors in both cities, and we cement Wellington’s reputation as the leading creative city in the nation.
   To this end, late last month I wrote to Mayor Gavin Newsom of San Francisco to see if he would put this matter before his council. Some of you who have followed my writings and work over the years know that I have known the Mayoress, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, for some time, and I think it is worth using our connection to reach her husband. It is worth re-establishing this connection with a city that most Kiwis regard as the “most Wellington” in North America; equally, more than a few Americans regard Wellington as “the San Francisco of the south”. At the very, very least, we should establish a dialogue with the City.
   I am also surprised this very logical step has not been taken over the years by our Council. I realize there have been other priorities in line with the thinking of an older generation, and there have been other sister-city relationships that Wellington has, rightly, pursued. However, San Francisco is such a no-brainer, and the potential connections and benefits so obvious, that it should be done.

alliances · Aotearoa · Business · business exchanges · California · Gavin Newsom · high-tech · Jack Yan · Jennifer Siebel · joint ventures · New Zealand · Politics · San Francisco · sister cities · special effects · tech sector · technology · USA · Wellington · Wellington City Council · Whanganui-a-Tara

The more I consider this site, the more I wonder why Wellington does not already have one that puts policies out to the people, allows feedback, and helps the Council with decision-making. (I realize there are great Wellington blogs out there—what I mean specifically is one set up by the city.) While I know there’s a tendency for blogs to attract some of the more extreme views—I have been blogging since 2003 and have seen the decline into mud-slinging in some quarters—the city needs something like this.
   While Wellington is one of the few places where you can check the government value of your home online, we need to build on this, and let people have a real voice. Transparency and even more representative democracy should be things we demand of our city. And we can use technology to get them.

Aotearoa · blogging · blogs · democracy · internet · New Zealand · representation · transparency · website · Wellington · Whanganui-a-Tara

In 1989, I signed up to Kosmos, the Wellington City Council’s email service. WCC, as far as I can remember, wanted to lead the way in becoming a wired capital, and offered free email to those who signed up. It was my first email account.
   It strikes me that we have lagged behind somewhat, although Wellingtonians, by nature, are very creative. In fact, that’s one thing that sets this city apart: our innovation and our spirit of independent, individualistic thinking. Sure we are the political capital, which implies only incremental thinking; perhaps as a counter to this, the rest of us seem to like thinking outside the square.
   We need a stronger IT strategy again, and that means we need to start looking at how we can get free wifi, with some data caps, in public spaces. That means Civic Square, the City Library, the Art Gallery and those areas should have free wifi for ratepayers. Our tourists should benefit, too, since they’re most likely going to blog or upload things favourable to Wellington.
   This is the creative capital, and programmes to support that should be at the forefront of our strategy.

Aotearoa · computing · creativity · independence · innovation · IT · New Zealand · public spaces · technology · Wellington · Whanganui-a-Tara · wifi

We understand that the Overseas’ Terminal building will become apartments on the upper level, which is fabulous to those who want a waterfront property in a building that was nearly obsolete by the time construction finished in 1964. But Wellington seems to be missing a mid-sized music venue, one around the size of the Terminal. Do we need one, and, if so, where could it be located? And could this help revitalize another part of our city? Your thoughts are welcome.

Aotearoa · arts · culture · entertainment · music · New Zealand · Overseas’ Terminal · Wellington · Whanganui-a-Tara

I have lived in Wellington for more of my years than any other place. I first arrived in 1976, and have been proud to call it my home. I did virtually all my schooling here, from primary to uni.
   When I started my business in 1987, I have watched companies here go through good and bad times. But in business you can only do so much. More recently, I became interested in seeing what we could do to make and sustain positive change for our city.
   Wellington is already a great city. We have a great cultural core, and a population that cares as much about the meaning in their lives as the quality. But there are a few problems, such as our population growth lagging behind Auckland and Christchurch. And what can we do to encourage and grow business here, without losing our essence?
   Can we grow while being sustainable? What safety issues are there for families living here, and can we make it more accommodating for them? How about our roading and traffic? What about our sporting and recreational venues?
   I set up this blog to find ways we can all explore that. I firmly believe if others around us benefit, we each will, too. I want to hear from you, either through my personal site’s feedback form, or here in the comments, on topics we need to address. We’ve kicked off with a few, and we’ll announce this site with a bit more hoop-la toward the end of 2009.

Aotearoa · arts · Business · commerce · culture · ethics · Family · growth · immigration · Jack Yan · New Zealand · opinion · Politics · prosperity · safety · Security · sports · Wellington · Whanganui-a-Tara