Jay Adelson Formerly of Digg Speaks at Future Midwest Conference

FutureMidwest is the Midwest’s largest digital business conference. Initiated in 2009, the two-day conference is designed for executive management and decision makers from corporate, small and midsized businesses, entrepreneurs, brand managers, marketing, communication professionals, students and professionals in the digital/technology spheres, offering advice on implementing digital strategies to engage their audiences and boost the profitability of their companies. In it’s second year, FutureMidwest invited Jay Adelson, co-founder and former CEO of social sharing Web site Digg.com, to return to Metro Detroit with a message of inspiration for would-be entrepreneurs in the economically battered region.

Adelson, who was born in Detroit, raised in Southfield and recently hinted at (see: didn’t rule out) a possible return to the region, delivered the keynote speech at the FutureMidwest conference in Royal Oak.

“In Detroit, we have more talent and more technical expertise concentrated in one region than anywhere else in the United States,” he said.  “And we’re stuck in this because we’re told we’re supposed to be stuck in this.”

Rather than accepting the limits of the local economy or media narrative, Adelson challenged conference attendees to get “crazy” and take a leap of faith, referencing the likes of Henry Ford, Bill Gates and his own grandfather, who he said “essentially invented Best Buy” when he opened the unaffiliated Center Electric Supply in Southfield during the 1960s.

“If you want to make a difference in Detroit,  I would say think about those limits that have been set for you — anything you’ve been told is impossible — find one and break it, because there’s no people better qualified to do that than the people in this room,” he told the tech conference crowd.

“The limits in a way are comforting.  We’re told, ‘Detroit!’ What’s going on here? We’re told it can’t be done.  But it can be done.”

About FutureMidwest Conference

At FutureMidwest, the attendee experience isn’t just onstage. They’ve integrated a variety of organizations into virtually every facet of the offstage experience, as well, to increase the interactive opportunities for all. The program focuses on the impact of technology in five areas:

>> Integrated marketing: How to integrate digital platforms into a well-rounded marketing mix
>> User experience: How to create an engaging experience across a variety of digital media
>> Mobile: How it’s impacting information exchange and user access and how to utilize it
>> Business Intelligence/Analytics: How to define metrics that matter most and apply them
>> Regional growth: How the Midwest is participating in the Information Age

The conference offers basic and advanced information in separate sessions that incorporate presentations, group breakouts, networking with professionals, and engagements with influencers who are redefining business in the digital age.

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