Social media would seem to go hand-in-hand with innovators. Services such as Facebook and Twitter can drive traffic, jump start marketing efforts, build name recognition…but does the hype outpace the reality?

That’s just the question posed by the Wall Street Journal Online. Entrepreneurs seemed to be mixed on the subject. Let us know what you think. Are you on Facebook (of course you are — but do you utilize it as a marketing tool)? Do you tweet? Does social media live up to the hype?

On a related topic, check out this Arkansas Business piece on social media and its use in the workplace.

Jeff Amerine

Techpreneurship, with Jeff Amerine

(Jeff Amerine is an IA advisor, entrepreneurship educator, and officer with the University of Arkansas Technology Licensing Office. Each Thursday, his Techpreneurship blog will appear in INOV8. Drop him a line in comments.)

I tell my entrepreneurship students to be observant, look for the unmet need, figure out if meeting that need can be a business…

So, I decided just for kicks to identify some mobile applications I would personally pay for if they existed today. By the way, if these do exist today, go ahead and embarrass me publicly by responding to this blog with the details and the site links. Here goes…

I want a mobile iPhone/Blackberry/Droid  app and non-invasive wearable sensor that can measure blood glucose, HDL/LDL, triglyserides, blood pressure, electrolyte levels, and pulse rate.  I want the application to have the ability to send alerts when these things are critically out of whack to me and others I may designate like my doctor, local 911, athletic trainer, or my home security monitoring service.

I want the sensor to be outdoor sport durable, and 3G and zigbee enabled so I can communicate with the handheld application and/or back to a web portal application.  I want the portal and handheld app to log my stats, have built in reports/analysis, and to provide a dashboard of key indicators and alerts.  I want the mobile app to be free, and I want to pay no more than $9.99/month for the service.  I want the sensor to be less than $100.

OK. Clearly, I am “boiling the ocean” with the myriad of requirements above.  This sort of capability would have broad applicability in athletic training, home health care, and personal wellness.  The app part is easy.   The non-invasive sensor part, not so much…

If I could just get a real-time, wearable, wireless-enabled, non-invasive blood glucose monitor for my dad, that would be a start.  He has had Type II Diabetes since 1984.  My biggest worry these days is that his blood sugar occasionally drops to very low levels while he’s sleeping.  When he wakes up and his glucose level is 40 or below, he has a tough time getting to the refrigerator to get orange juice to bring it back up.  So with this type of monitor, the sensor could activate an audible alarm or cause a home monitoring service to ring the phone when these blood sugar levels begin to trend downward toward unsafe levels, especially late at night.  Better yet, if I could securely monitor a web portal or from my Blackberry as well that would allow me to keep “an eye” on my Dad, and to track his A1C levels, etc.

I know there are external, wearable, glucose pump solutions, etc., but for the elderly (talking about a sample size of one here – my dad), the pump solutions are hardly non-invasive.

So here are a couple of real-life unmet needs…Techpreneurs,  build me a solution!  I am ready to buy, and I bet others would be also.

Has Google attached strings to its planned high-speed broadband rollout?

Therese Poletti over at MarketWatch thinks maybe they have. Google is planning to build and test ultra-high speed broadband internet in trial locations across the United States.

And cities across the plains are falling all over themselves with cries of “Pick me! Pick Me!”

But as Poletti points out, those cities that get picked may end up paying more in the long run than they bargained for.

…But some cities might want to think twice before they court Google. They might want to make sure they have some funds in their coffers and incentives that will very likely be required to help turn their cities into 21st century digital hubs.

Jeff Amerine

Techpreneurship, with Jeff Amerine

(Jeff Amerine is an IA advisor, entrepreneurship educator, and officer with the University of Arkansas Technology Licensing Office. Each Thursday, his Techpreneurship blog will appear in INOV8. Drop him a line in comments.)

Earlier this week, I attended the Building the Arkansas Innovation Economy symposium at the Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock.  The U.S. National Academy of Sciences and UALR, led by Dr. Mary Good, organized the two-day event.

The event included speakers from the White House staff, other federal agencies, universities, state government and industry.  I think there would be little debate amongst the attendees that the most inspiring and compelling speech of the event was delivered by Gov. Mike Beebe.

Beebe spoke with great conviction about Arkansas’s determination and tenacity in the pursuit of dramatic educational improvement. He painted a clear picture as to how education drives entrepreneurship and economic development.

I can’t do the speech justice, and I am sure the details of the speech are covered elsewhere in the press.  So I’ll just give you one amusing anecdotal comment I heard from an out-of-state presenter after Beebe’s speech.

She said something like this, “Gov. Beebe really believes what he says; does he have Presidential aspirations?” And then she said, ”We sure don’t get that message from our governor.”  Frankly, regardless of political preference, it was hard not to have those sorts of positive feelings about Beebe after he spoke.

The consensus from people I run with in either party is that we need to keep him at the helm here in Arkansas for a bit longer.

The message for techpreneurs…the Governor gets it.

There were several highpoints from the two-day event, but I want to end with a challenge to Arkansas techpreneurs.  Joe Brenner from Nordex outlined his view of the future of wind energy in Arkansas.  He gave a clear picture of the large manufacturing plant and high-wage rate employment they have in the works for Jonesboro.

With wind turbine manufacturing plants being built in Arkansas from at least three different major global providers across the state, how can startup techpreneurs leverage these developments?  How can Arkansas become a worldwide center of excellence in renewable energy technology and manufacturing?

Here are some thoughts to chew on.  In addition to the attraction of global wind turbine manufacturers, Arkansas has a unique facility in the University of Arkansas Research Park called the National Center for Reliable Electric Power Transmission (NCREPT).

The facility, led by Dr. Alan Mantooth and managed by T.A. Walton, allows researchers to test power grid power electronics, systems for hybrid electric vehicles, and advanced battery technologies.

As an example, if you need to test your system with the power load from 1,000 homes…they can do that. Need to test a power system intended to run a 50 story building? Well, they can do that also, and a whole lot more.  Check it out:  http://ncrept.eleg.uark.edu/Index.html

In addition to NCREPT, one of the world leaders in high power, high temperature silicon carbide electronics is right here in the Research Park as well.  Led by Dr. Alex Lostetter, Arkansas Power Electronics International (APEI), has power electronics that make electric/hybrid electric vehicles and renewable energy (like wind and solar) power conversion more practical.  Check them out at: http://www.apei.net/default.aspx.

So, renewable energy techpreneurs, the ingredients for Arkansas to be a worldwide center of excellence in renewable energy technology are right here before us, right here in our backyard.  The Governor believes we can be a center of innovation.  I’m convinced we can do it.

What say you?