The time has come to choose a side: #TeamStarTrek and #TeamStarWars. The answer — or, at least, the Louisville Digital Association’s  reckless attempt to reach one — will support Apple Patch in their efforts to provide therapeutic iPads for autistic adults.

This April 18, in association with the Mayor’s Give A Day service week, the LDA is harnessing the power of the Trekkies vs. Jedi geek rivalry to raise funds for ApplePatch’s iPad project. Just go to one of two Amazon wishlists — #TeamStarTrek or #TeamStarWars – where you can purchase iPads, accessories or Amazon gift cards to gear up the Apple Patch crew. Whichever sci-fi franchise delivers the most tech (or tech-equivalent cash) by 5pm on April 18 will earn annual bragging rights over their fellow geeks.

But wait, there’s more. From 9am to 5pm on April 18, the LDA is challenging geeks of all persuasions to spread the word about the Apple Patch fundraiser with a galaxy-sized social media blitz. Transmit the donation links (and their associated hashtags and smack talk) via Facebook, Google+, Twitter, LinkedIn, e-mail, blogs, holonet, subspace radio and/or telepathic mindblast — whatever it takes to make the masses aware of our cause.

A victory party at Vint Coffee Holiday Manor awaits the winners from 6-9pm. A consolation party (awkwardly also at at Vint Coffee Holiday Manor) and a year of friendly mockery awaits the runners-up. April 18 will determine which side you’re on. Get ready.

May the Force be with you. Live long and prosper. Be there or be square.

What say we change that this year?

You can nominate members of Louisville’s 40 Under 40 here. Think we’ve got some tech-heads worth putting up for notice? Their names go there. For your consideration, might we suggest:

• Tendai Charasika, Director of the Innovation & Commercialization Center at EnterpriseCorp
• Chris Cprek, President of LVL1
• Dave Durand, CEO of Keepio and President of Forest Giant
• Todd Earwood, CEO of Try It Local
• Aaron Marshall, CEO of Potluck and CPO at Social Media Explorer

(And, in the nature of shameless plugs, more or less the LDA’s entire board is under 40, so feel free to throw any of our names in the hat if you feel so motivated.)

Surely this is not an exhaustive list; there are many accomplished technical heavy hitters here in town. If we want to change the culture of Louisville to one that embraces technical innovation, we must first work to have Louisville embrace our present innovators. Start by nominating them to Louisville’s 40 Under 40.

Any if you’ve got a name you want the LDA to get behind, share it the comments of this post.

The panel lineup includes:

• Bobby Ferreri, Executive Director of Louisville Enterprise Corp
• Adam Fish, Chief Advocate at Forge Louisville
• Rob May, cofounder of Backupify
• Dave Durand, cofounder of Keepio
• Sean O’Leary, Senior Director of Venture Finance, Kentucky Science & Technology Corp.

Panel topics will include:

• How does Louisville develop a strategic startup-VC advantage?
• In what startup sectors can (or should) Louisville specialize?
• What critical factors does Louisville need to improve to attract more VCs and startups?
• Should Louisville act alone, or as part of a larger startup region?
• Can Louisville leverage our major corporate players to attract more startups and VCs?

Got a strong opinion about Louisville’s startup community, or are you sitting on a business idea just waiting for the right venture capital boost? Then you need to be at this panel. The rebirth of Louisville’s startup community depends on all of us, and it all starts Mar. 21.

Reserve your seat here.

Apple Patch, which works to provide assistance to autistic adults, needs funds to purchase therapeutic iPads for its clients. This April 18, in association with the Mayor’s Give A Day service week, the LDA is harnessing the power of the Star Wars vs. Star Trek geek rivalry to power their fundraising efforts. Just as we pitted toothpaste vs. soap to benefit Home of the Innocents last fall, we’re now throwing Jedis vs. Trekkies into the online arena.

Apple Patch has established twin Amazon wishlists for #TeamStarTrek and #TeamStarWars, where you can purchase iPads, protective cases or Amazon gift cards of any denomination to support your favorite sci-fi franchise in its quest to gear up the Apple Patch crew. Whichever nerd clan delivers the highest dollar-figure of swag by 5pm on April 18 will earn annual bragging rights over their fellow geeks.

But wait, there’s more. From 9am to 5pm on April 18, we’ll be calling in all our LDA brothers and sisters to spread the word about the Apple Patch fundraiser with an all-out social media blitz. We’re counting on everyone to blast out the donation links (and their associated hashtags and smack talk) via Facebook, Google+, Twitter, LinkedIn, e-mail, blogs, carrier pigeons and (shudder) even MySpace to maximize the dorktacular confrontations — and the fundraising, too. Mark your calendars, folks, April 18, 2012 is the altruistic geek’s version of Wolf 359 and/or the Battle of Yavin. Save your sheckels and hone your snark, because were gonna go head-to-head and keyboard-to-touchscreen for a good cause this spring.

A victory party, location TBD, will await the winners. A consolation party (at the same TBD location) and a year of good-natured heckling awaits the losers. April 18 will determine which side you’re on. Get ready.

May the Force be with you. Live long and prosper. Be there or be square.

So how do you get in on it?

The LDA may just have the answer for you on Feb. 15, as we host a panel of local app experts to discuss App-tastic Innovation, the Dos and Don’ts of App Development and Business. It all starts at 6:30pm at Interactive Media Lab, 124 N. First Street. Our panel lineup includes:

• Michelle Jones - Editor-in-chief of Consuming Louisville and driving force behind Louisville’s own Menu and Hours app
• Dave Durand – Head man at local digital dev shop Forest Giant and CEO of online app Keepio
• Matthias Kolehmainen - Director of Software of at Parkvu Mobile

Think you’re ready to dive into app development and commerce? Find out for sure by hearing what this trio of experienced pros has to say.

Seating is limited. Admission is free. Reserve your spot here.

I’ve had conversations with many of you about how to make Louisville, KY and the surrounding area the technology hot spot we all want it to be…so here is an opportunity to take another step in that direction.

When I received this tweet I was at once skeptical and excited:

@cjtheisen Your Klout has earned you a Perk! Be a part of the first ever Social Bowl #Social46 for @SuperBowl2012! bit.ly/xIVEhA

— Klout Perks (@KloutPerks) January 11, 2012

I’m guessing many of you have written or read posts on the topic of Klout. While us social media geeks could debate this aspect of the #social46 selection process ad nauseum — I will leave that for a later post (if I’m allowed back) — I was excited when I read about what the powers that be had in mind for the group. At its core the Social 46 group was selected to help promote the Super Bowl through social media. Whether it be the events leading up to and during Super Bowl week, or the myriad of initiatives started by the Indianapolis Super Bowl Host Committee, our “job” is to make Indy the most socially connected Super Bowl in history. I like to call us the “online street team”

While the rollout of the first of its kind group hasn’t been without its hiccups, I applaud the city for realizing the power community-driven content can have on a major event. I have already answered numerous questions and dispelled myths from the Indy community about attending Super Bowl 46 events. This entire event is as much for the city as it is for visitors from regional cities such as Louisville.

As a Facebook friend of mine stated skeptically, “Isn’t every Super Bowl from here on out going to be the most socially connected?” Yes they should be. While social media monitoring and community engagement is nothing new, and the LDA is obviously well aware of this, it has rarely been tackled (football pun intended) on this scale. The host committee is driving this area of the operation into the future with a social media command center. Mashable had a nice write up about it the other day and fellow #social46 member @petetheplanner gave everyone a sneak peak behind the scenes just the other day.

While the bar has been set low from past Super Bowls I suspect Indy is going to set it rather high for future cities. I for one hope they all take our lead and better it. I would think the NFL is keeping its eyes on the Indy social media command center and wouldn’t be surprised to see it brought in house for future Super Bowls. The NFL is notorious for its control of Twitter and other media outlets related to its product so this seems to be a natural transition to me.

In the short time we have been given to promote the activities leading up to and surrounding the Super Bowl the #social46 have already written blog posts, curated a Storify, sent countless tweets and even leveraged traditional media (yes that still helps). In the days leading up to the Super Bowl many of us will be attending tweetups, visiting the Super Bowl Village, attending Media Day and the NFL Experience; all while our thumbs get a workout sharing tons of content.

If you can’t, or don’t plan to, attend Super Bowl 46 activities I encourage you to follow along with the #social46 hashtag. Hopefully you can get a bit of the experience virtually. If you are attending any of the great events of the next week and a half please reach out to myself and other members of the group when you get to Indy. All you need to know about Super Bowl 46 can be found at http://www.indianapolissuperbowl.com/

Do you see social media community involvement playing a bigger role in future Super Bowls? What about future large scale events of this kind? Leave a comment below and let me know what you think.

Image via Wikipedia

What’s the difference between an LLC and an S-Corp? What’s a term sheet? How to I get a Tax ID number? How do I buy insurance as a sole proprietor? How do I file taxes if I have a side business and a day job?

It’s questions like these — and a fear of the wrong answers — that keep too many potential Louisville-area entrepreneurs on the bench, rather than building the next world-changing startup. And the LDA is here to fix that.

Join Dan Heffernan, a biz dev expert from Jewish family Career Services, Bobby Ferreri, the executive director of EnterpriseCorp, and Steven D. Kerrick, one of the accountants-in-chief at Mountjoy Chilton Medley for a crash course in basic business incorporation. The startup-centric learn-a-thon goes down Wed. Jan 18 at 6:30 pm at Interactive Media Lab, 124 North First Street, 40202.

Knowledge is power. Learning conquers fear. LDA events get you out of the house. All are good reasons to congregate and educate with your fellow Louisville Digerati. If you’re ready to start your own business — or think you just might someday — you need to be at

this meeting, if only to learn what you don’t know. (You’ll get some actionable answers, too, we promise.)

Admission is free. Wisdom is priceless. Reserve your spot here.

See you on Wednesday.

SOPA is designed to protect intellectual property against unlawful online infringement. Put more simply, it’s designed to shut down websites that help users download music, games and movies without paying for them. Regardless of whether you believe Internet infringement can or should be curtailed, we, the board of the Louisville Digital Association, submit that the remedies for infringement made legal by SOPA are a cure far worse than the disease.

SOPA requires that any site accused of infringing on intellectual property rights get the equivalent of an internet death penalty. It’s a death in four parts:

1. The infringing site’s DNS entry is blocked in the United States
2. The infringing site is omitted from search results served in the United States
3. The infringing site is blocked from receiving any funds from payment processors in the United States
4. The infringing site is blocked from US online ad networks

And you thought the Mayan Apocalypse was your most pressing concern for the coming year. We’ll tackle these topics and more at Predicting The Future of Everything (Well, Mostly Tech) in 2012 — and you can play along.

Join the LDA’s board of directors for a panel Q&A on the predictions for digital in 2012. The (almost) free discussion takes place Wednesday, Dec. 14 from 6:30 to 8:30 pm at Interactive Media Lab, 124 North First Street. Hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar will stimulate the physical, the discussion will stimulate the mental. Got a question to pose for Louisville’s self-styled digital smarty-pantses? We’re ready to field it.

So what does almost free mean? Glad you asked. The LDA is collecting donations for Toys for Tots as part of our annual TweetDrive charity efforts. The price of admission to Predicting The Future of Everything is one new-in-box unwrapped toy, suitable for gift-giving to a child in need.

You can reserve your seat here. See you in the near future.