Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Knowledge And Migration

You go where you know. Money follows lines of trust. Proximity matters. All springs to my mind while reading the latest from Pop City:

Pitt Law Innovation Practice Institute's Justine Kasznica moved to Pittsburgh enticed by what she heard from BeatBots founder Marek Michalowski, a friend she had met during her undergrad years. He instilled in her an appreciation of the region's strong ties to innovation and commitment to economic development.
"I kept hearing how Pittsburgh was such an authentic city," says Kasznica, a former Philadelphia attorney who arrived in 2008 to work as a clerk in the federal court and later for CMU's Robotics Institute. Today she is the executive director of IPI, bringing fresh thinking about law and innovation to job.

Emphasis added. The mesofacts of Pittsburgh have evolved from Rust Belt to Rust Belt Chic. The pejorative is now a selling point. Of course, none of that matters if Pittsburgh can't get the word out.

Knowledge exchange is tricky business. You might hear that Pittsburgh is an authentic city. Do you believe everything you hear? Repetition helps. The clincher is usually a trusted confidant. In that case, outmigration is a shrinking city's best friend.

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