I would have reported sooner on the “Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Today’s Economy” conference that I attended last Thursday at the Log Cabin in Holyoke, Massachusetts, but the ice storm that hit the Northeast set me back to the middle ages. Suffice it to say, it was a long weekend and blogging was not an option.

At the conference:

I spoke about the three types of people in the world: 

• the head-in-the-sand ostriches, who are oblivious to change, and happy right up until their world collapses around them
• the Chicken Littles, who respond with excessive clucking and squawking while they wait to receive the scraps dished out to them; while no more proactive than the ostriches, they have the added disadvantage of being miserable while their world collapses around them
• the early birds, who are alert and looking for the opportunities that change always brings

Who gets the worm?

I’ll give you a clue: it’s not the Chicken Littles who seem to be in overly-abundant supply these days! We need more early birds and fewer Chicken Littles. While this gathering was full of innovators, it turns out that even they need an occasional reminder to keep the Chicken Littles locked up in the hen house.

I heard about wild, crazy and useful new products:

• robots that bring racks of product out of warehouses so parts can be picked from a short, close-at-hand row rather than traversing the warehouse
• large, flexible screens that pull out of your cell phone like a little roller shade and provide vastly more real estate for messages, photos, movies, etc.
• an umbrella handle that changes color with the forecast so you are reminded not to leave home without it on those wet days
• wireless electricity
• thermally activated paper so your cell phone, camera, e-picture frame, etc. can have printer capability without the bulk of an ink-based printer
• a sugar crystal printer that can print logos and messages on latte or Guinness foam
• pills that contain the beneficial components of red wine
• micro chips that can be implanted under your skin, can monitor conditions, and can dispense drugs with the help of a remote
• an airplane that folds up its wings and drives home making a hangar unnecessary

Our keynote speaker was Scott Kirsner. His blog can be found at http://innoeco.com/.

This event, brought to us by the Regional Technology Corporation (RTC) of Springfield, also featured panel discussions with entrepreneurs and venture capitalists.