Digital confusion as tech industry wrangles over name.Shakespeare once asked, "What's in a name?" For the Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. technology industry, the answer appears to be a headache. To raise national awareness for L.A.'s burgeoning technology industry and to bring more jobs and venture capital here, several groups are promoting catchy monikers as part of broad marketing campaigns. The goal is to create an identity to rival Silicon Valley in Northern California Northern California, sometimes referred to as NorCal, is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The region contains the San Francisco Bay Area, the state capital, Sacramento; as well as the substantial natural beauty of the redwood forests, the northern and Silicon Alley An area in New York that has become known for its companies devoted to multimedia and the Internet. It is located in Manhattan's "Soho" district, which does not stand for Small Office Home Office, rather it is SOuth of HOuston Street. in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of . But establishing a coherent identity for Los Angeles has always been tough, and the area's diverse tech industry is no exception. A mayoral group recently dubbed L.A.'s new-media industry the "Digital Coast." But the name is now being misused by many to refer to the entire local technology industry. Simultaneously, the phrase "Tech Coast" also has been bandied about to promote the general technology industry. Now, another group has come forward with yet another alternative name. Confusion on all sides is ensuing en·sue intr.v. en·sued, en·su·ing, en·sues 1. To follow as a consequence or result. See Synonyms at follow. 2. To take place subsequently. , and some areas of the industry feel left out. L.A.'s tech community has a strong collection of specific trade organizations. The Software Council of Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, , the Southern California Biomedical bi·o·med·i·cal adj. 1. Of or relating to biomedicine. 2. Of, relating to, or involving biological, medical, and physical sciences. Council and Lawnmower, a group dedicated to promoting the new-media industry, have been working for the last several years to further awareness and capital investment. Those groups, while somewhat successful, did not bring a coherent identity to the entire industry - which led to the Digital Coast and Tech Coast monikers. There's also the Southern California Technology Corridor - the name a 5-month-old Glendale-based organization has given to an eight-mile-wide, 200-mile-long "corridor" that follows the 10, 210, 134 and 101 freeways. It encompasses Pasadena's California Institute of Technology California Institute of Technology, at Pasadena, Calif.; originally for men, became coeducational in 1970; founded 1891 as Throop Polytechnic Institute; called Throop College of Technology, 1913–20. , Jet Propulsion Laboratory “JPL” redirects here. For other uses, see JPL (disambiguation). Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a NASA research center located in the cities of Pasadena and La Cañada Flintridge, near Los Angeles, California, USA. , EarthLink Network Inc. and IdeaLab!. "We don't consider ourselves a subset of the Tech Coast or the Digital Coast," said William Lyte, co-founder of the Southern California Technology Corridor. "Most of the companies and universities along this corridor are not anywhere near the coast, which means that when people hear the other names (like Tech Coast), they're going to exclude us." Lyte estimates that about 500 tech companies and universities are located within the corridor. The group's current membership, however, is fewer than 50 businesses. "We're not really worried about increasing the confusion over multiple names to identify the tech industry," Lyte said. "The (Tech Coast and Digital Coast) are the coast corridor, we're the freeway corridor. Creating an identity based on infrastructure is effective and easily memorable." Not so, said Rohit Shulda, director of the 4-year-old Los Angeles Regional Technology Alliance, the first industry-wide tech coalition in the area. "Tech Coast is an umbrella name intended to embrace a variety of local areas that stretch from San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. to Santa Barbara Santa Barbara (săn'tə bär`brə, –bərə), city (1990 pop. 85,571), seat of Santa Barbara co., S Calif., on the Pacific Ocean; inc. 1850. ," Shukla said. "The Southern California Technology Corridor is showing a parochialism that will keep it from being recognized in a serious vein by outsiders." L.A.'s efforts to be perceived as a serious technology center have already been undermined by the confusion between the two "Coast" monikers. Although media reports had Digital Coast beating out Tech Coast as the official nickname for L.A.'s technology industry, the two names are intended to co-exist and describe distinctly different groups. Riordan's New Media Roundtable announced Digital Coast in mid-February as the chosen moniker (1) A name, title or alias. See alias. (2) A COM object that is used to create instances of other objects. Monikers save programmers time when coding various types of COM-based functions such as linking one document to another (OLE). See COM and OLE. to describe the local new-media industry. Tech Coast, for which copyrights are held by a couple of Orange County businessmen, is intended to refer to Southern California's entire technology industry. Popular usage, however, is confusing the issue. "We are very concerned about the confusion between the two names," said Gabrielle Greene, director of marketing at the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp., an organization devoted to promoting and tracking local business growth. "There is a perception that Digital Coast overrules the Tech Coast, and unfortunately, the distinction is not being conveyed clearly." Another group, the Southern California Biomedical Council, is displeased dis·please v. dis·pleased, dis·pleas·ing, dis·pleas·es v.tr. To cause annoyance or vexation to. v.intr. To cause annoyance or displeasure. with both monikers. "Digital Coast doesn't reflect the entire (tech) industry, (including the biomed sector). It seems as if the mayor's group is putting all its eggs behind the new-media and entertainment industries," said Ahmed Enany, executive director of the council. "It is not helpful for L.A. or to the Digital Coast movement to set itself up as a rival or replacement for the Tech Coast name," Shukla said. "It creates an amorphous identity problem that confirms a negative perception that the rest of the nation already has about us." Joel Kotkin, senior fellow at the Pepperdine University Pepperdine University is a private institution of higher learning affiliated with the Church of Christ in unincorporated Los Angeles County, California, United States. The university's location overlooks the Pacific Ocean and is adjacent to the city limits of Malibu. Institute for Public Policy, said one reason for the rival monikers is that L.A. has not yet had a strong figurehead figurehead, carved decoration usually representing a head or figure placed under the bowsprit of a ship. The art is of extreme antiquity. Ancient galleys and triremes carried rostrums, or beaks, on the bow to ram enemy vessels. company or individual throwing financial support behind any particular initiative. "Without someone writing checks, you get into this situation of multiple grassroots movements," Kotkin said. "Look at New York, where you had a real estate figure drive their name; or up north, where you had a very determined company (Hewlett-Packard) using the term Silicon Valley. Without strong monetary support, we have yet to see a group successfully figure out how to knit the local industry together." The bottom line, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. industry members, is a nickname's marketing viability. Jim Jonassen, founder of Lawnmower and a member of the mayor's New Media Roundtable, emphasized that the Digital Coast name is just a first step. Next come the marketing efforts, the Web page, the stationery and even the map. "The media across the nation have already taken their best shot (at mocking the Digital Coast name)," said Jonassen. "Now let's get through the year and see what name and what image sticks." Industry Groups Lawnmower Founded in 1993 to forster unity among new-media companies. Los Angeles New Media Roundtable Seven-month-old group established to increase awareness of new-media industry. Los Angeles Regional Technology Alliance Founded in 1993 to assist and facilitate communication between local tech companies. Software Council of Southern California Founded in 1991 to facilitate venture capital funding and strategic alliances. Southern California Biomedical Council Founded in 1995 to promote medical research and biomed manufacturing in L.A. Southern California Technology Corridor Launched five months ago to promote and support a technology-based economic corridor. RELATED ARTICLE: Web Development Firms Merged Consolidation of the local new-media industry took another step forward this week with the creation of USWeb Los Angeles. Comprised of L.A. new-media companies DreamMedia, LA Metro and W3-design, USWeb Los Angeles is now the biggest Web-site development firm in the greater L.A. area. "Our decision to consolidate was a natural decision responding to market demands," said Craig Bramscher, co-managing partner of the new company and former CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of DreamMedia. Bramscher is one of three partners who will co-manage the new venture - all of them the former heads of their individual companies. The three companies come together under the umbrella of the USWeb Corp., a Santa Clara-based Internet development and service firm. USWeb first established a presence in L.A. last April with the acquisition of LA Metro. It bought DreamMedia in September and W3-design in October. The three companies have recently merged their operations into cramped offices in Culver City Culver City, city (1990 pop. 38,793), Los Angeles co., S Calif., a residential suburb of Los Angeles; inc. 1917. It is a center of the U.S. motion-picture industry, whose roots in the city date to c.1915. Its chief manufactures are rubber products and computers. , but are looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. a new location in Los Angeles. The three companies each bring their own specialty to the consolidated company, making it a one-stop Internet shop. DreamMedia's specialty is infrastructure technology that enables new-media projects. LA Metro has a consulting background, with its executives coming from such companies as Andersen Consulting See Accenture. . W3-design has expertise in creative Web development and marketing. The partners report that other new-media companies in Los Angeles are increasingly aware of how fast the industry is consolidating. "I've had a lot of phone calls come from colleagues here asking if USWeb is still shopping (to acquire other new-media firms) in L.A.," said co-managing partner Nick Rothenberg. "Interest in consolidating is increasing, and smaller companies are really looking at the situation and wondering where their future lies." - Sara Fisher |
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