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Another year, another singles poll from Forbes. Columbus ended up slipping from the #11 spot in 2006 down to #19 in 2007. Still not a bad spot on the list.
Who knows how they actually come up with this data, but the areas we scored well in include Number of Singles, Culture, Online Dating, and Cost of Living Alone. The areas we need improvement in include Job Growth, Nightlife, and we actually placed dead last in “Coolness Factor”.
That’s right. According to Forbes, Columbus is less cool than Milwaukee, Baltimore, Indianapolis, Buffalo, Jacksonville, Pittsburgh, Kansas City, and Cincinnati.
I think people who pay attention to where things happen may have a lot to like about CMH:
WordCat
Chat
CAS Numbers
Frosties
Federline
Boobs
Hax0rs
QUBE
Wow Jonzun…maybe we should have everyone write letters. Definitely lets bring this up at the meeting. We can be the powerhouses for progress!!!
That sounds like a wonderful idea. The infrastructure is in place … just poke, prod and push. Or, at the very least, get them to engage the community a little more. It’s amazing what can be gleaned from the “Ground Troops.”
QUBE
QUBE! I remember when I was a kid watching QUBE at a friend of the family’s house and thinking how amazing all the channels were… and the first time I saw MTV (when they actually showed VIDEOS, of course)… wow.
Where did you get that stat?
Denver has a population of 566,974. (26th largest)
Columbus has a population of 733,203 (15th largest)
If you’re talking about the Denver Metro Area, there’s 2,408,750 people, which still puts it way down in 21st place. (Columbus drops down into the 30s since we have no large neighboring cities to share a metro area with).
back in 02 (when I was researching my move to CO), the census research I pulled up on the internet told me it was 4th.
& the internet is always right yes?
ah well, my brain hurts… and I can admit to being wrong.
[Nice one, Jonzun... keeping my eyes peeled for their response!!]
Agreed. Thanks for taking the initiative!
As promised. The reply to my email below:
First of all, just let me say how good it is to see the passion in your defense of Columbus and its “coolness.” That also is apparent in the comments I read in the Columbus Underground Web site.
Everyone here at Experience Columbus believes in and cares about Greater Columbus – its present and its future. Our job is to promote our community as a destination for conventions, meetings and leisure tourism. Therefore, much of what we do is focused outside our city limits and may never be seen by residents of Columbus.
You can see evidence of our work nearly every day if you drive by and see the activity in and around the Greater Columbus Convention Center and other facilities around town. Last year we helped to bring and host more than 2.1 million delegates to our city. The leisure tourists aren’t as easy to spot or count, but they are here. In fact, the latest independent research indicates that visitors spent $5.3 billion dollars in Greater Columbus in 2005. We don’t claim to be responsible for all of that, but we are the only organization marketing Greater Columbus as a visitor destination. In addition, we have an extensive PR effort that has generated some very positive out-of-market press lately.
Would we like to do more? Certainly. Can we do more? Not within the constraints of our budget, which is significantly lower than most of our competitors’.
Perhaps more to your point is the visibility of our organization in Greater Columbus. In June 2003, when we changed our name from the Greater Columbus Convention & Visitors Bureau to Experience Columbus, it marked a significant shift in our orientation to the local community. Since then we have launched more and more initiatives to heighten our exposure as a resource for locals to build awareness of and pride in all that we offer as a place to live and visit. These include the Columbus Insiders Club, an information and incentive program targeted to locals; Experience Columbus Days, a four-day discount promotion designed to get residents out to experience what’s in their own backyard, and a new information center that will open in the Arena District in the late fall. We are doing all that we can in light of the fact that we must always keep our focus on the proverbial “putting heads in beds.”
I hope this furthers your understanding of the work we do. I have attached the text from a column by our president and CEO, Paul Astleford, that recently appeared in Business First. (I noticed you work there.) It should provide you with additional insight.
We welcome input from residents (and even those who have moved away), so please don’t hesitate to continue to share your ideas.
Thanks Jonzun.
Interesting. It’s what I had thought all along to myself. The things they’re doing is just too small to be noticed, and largely cuz of budget constraints. I think people higher up in the ladder should put more money into Experience Columbus so they can do things that have a greater impact for the city.
The ball is rolling though… at least here in this forum.
I like the email reply (maybe 2012 can bring a higher budget to this needed organization) and here is an interesting read right on topic:
Greater Columbus should work to overcome lack of national image
http://southflorida.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2007/07/16/focus8.html
Greater Columbus should work to overcome lack of national image
http://southflorida.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2007/07/16/focus8.html
Yep! This was attached to the email reply I received.
Interesting. It’s what I had thought all along to myself. The things they’re doing is just too small to be noticed, and largely cuz of budget constraints. I think people higher up in the ladder should put more money into Experience Columbus so they can do things that have a greater impact for the city.
The ball is rolling though… at least here in this forum.
They seem to like the feedback. Let’s help/support them anyway we can.
Pretty offensive…..have you even been here? You might be a teensy bit surprised if you came. :wink:
Here is what we all need to do—-we all have a gift/talent that can be used for the greater good. If your not exactly sure what your natural gifts are then sit quietly until it comes to you. Anyway, if we ALL deployed our natural abilities whether it be in administration, business development, networking, promoting, creating, talent management, etc. we will be successful in our desire….so many on this forum have such a passion to put Cbus on the map. This is a cool town….and we are going to all work and focus our energy to make it even cooler in the eyes of other places. All of us have things cooking in our minds that we have always wanted to do for the greater good…a business, service, artwork, etc. Maybe someone is gifted at negotiating and bringing another strong corporation or lawfirm into downtown—all kinds of ways and everyone can contribute. Maybe at our meeting? Maybe some people have the ideas and the money to open a business but do not know how to run a business?? Maybe someone else has an investor but does not know what would work? Maybe all of us together could write up a plan for what we envision and present it to someone in a position to expedite and put into action. THis gets me all excited.
If only I would use my powers for good instead of evil. :twisted:
hahaha
What is evil….it could just be misunderstood and you are doing things to increase forward growth momentum.
Beth Ervin, the Director of Communications over at Experience Columbus, sent me a email yesterday with a flyer attached (don’t know how to place it here, though) for “Experience Columbus Days,” October 5-8. The email said in part:
“During Experience Columbus Days, Oct 5-8, check out someplace in Columbus you’ve never been. Take advantage of 50% off admission to Columbus’ top attractions and 25% off your food bill (up to two people) to 30 Dine Originals Columbus restaurants. These are the locally owned and operated restaurants in Columbus, including places like Rigsby’s, Due Amici, The Refectory, Z Cucina, Figlio, Barcelona, Katzingers, etc.”
So, check it out!
the link is:
http://www.ExperienceColumbusDays.com