Forward Thinking

There is an overriding lack of confidence in Boston about its place in the world of innovation and business. Why is this? What is the solution for it? Is this a real issue or just a perception? Should it matter? I would argue that this is purely perception and that, therefore, Boston has a content problem.

We Have a History of Innovation…
Boston has an undeniable history of innovation dating back to colonial times. This city (well, let’s talk about Massachusetts more broadly) is responsible for Thanksgiving, the American Revolution, the typewriter, sewing machines, frozen food, Fig Newtons, microwave ovens, mutual funds, email and thousands of other innovations that affect everyone’s daily life. Some even claim Yoga was invented here (though not clearly an April Fools’ joke, we couldn’t find much evidence to support this one.)

…And We’re Disgruntled
Despite this irrefutable tradition of changing history, innovating in technology, medicine, education, religion and probably every other discipline, Boston seems to have a perpetual chip on its shoulder. This stems from a variety contributing factors, of which here are a few:

* Boston lost its position as the hub for business in America (to New York) by the 19th century
* The near endless dominance of the New York Yankees over the Red Sox since a fateful trade in 1918 until 2004
* Boston led (or tied for the lead) the world in technology and then lost that position to Silicon Valley

Boston spent a long time wondering “What happened?” In fact, we spent 86 years annually fretting about our Red Sox until one fine October when we were finally able to imagine a new story. Maybe that’s the spark we needed to start thinking that we’re worthy of excelling in other areas again too? It’s high time we allowed ourselves to be convinced that we are as capable of leading innovation, building great companies, and driving the future as we have historically been able to be. What we need is to elevate Boston – both to the world, as well as to ourselves.

I recently attended one of many conferences where a key topic of conversation on panels as well as during networking breaks centered around the questions:

1. “How can we make Boston a great center of entrepreneurship again?”
2. “How can we build and keep innovative companies in Boston?”
3. “How can we compete with Silicon Vallley?”

That last question is sometimes unstated but it’s always right beneath the surface, even when it’s not said out loud.

The first step in product-tizing your website is a site audit. Ask yourself what you want your users to do. Do you want them to come away with a feel for your corporate culture? Do you want them to buy something? Do you want them to create content? Boil it down to one sentence, then ask yourself if your site accommodates that now. If not, it’s time for a re-do.