This reporter’s 3 resolutions for covering Baltimore tech in 2016

Last week we highlighted some of the moving parts that made up Baltimore’s year in tech for 2015. The New Year isn’t quite here, but I’m already looking ahead.
Here are a few reporting resolutions from my notebook for 2016:

1. Devs

• Tech media, myself included, tends to focus on the big narrative of who’s getting acquired, who’s raising money and what the biggest, hottest companies and institutions are doing. Those stories are important. Equally, however, the engine of each of those signposts are people using tech to solve problems. I learn this anew every time I attend a hackathon. Going forward, I would like to meet more of the developers who are trying new approaches day in and day out, and tell their stories in language that honors their craft.

2. Diversity

• Baltimore has dipped into national conversations around women in tech and workforce development, but on a local level there is more story to tell. Especially in light of OneBaltimore’s tech-focused workforce development efforts and the giant new developments in the works from Plank Industries, Johns Hopkins and University of Maryland, it’s time to take a closer look at what’s being done locally to make sure there is a place for everyone in building tech businesses, as well as benefitting from all of the innovation. As Steve Case said (and I’m paraphrasing here), there’s more chance of success if everyone is on the field playing, not just white dudes.

3. Democracy

• We have a mayor’s race coming up, a Comcast franchise being negotiated and, perhaps most importantly, a groundswell of energy to find a solution to the lack of options for high-quality broadband in Baltimore. We’ve already seen organizing in the tech community in each of these areas. As the election approaches and contract negotiations are pushed into public view, look for more of a focus after the first of the year.

Have your own? Feel free to comment or drop me a line.