Detroit, never one to quit, is trying to drag itself from ruins and rebuild itself in the image of Silicon Valley. Calling itself Automation Alley. In addition, they are recognizing their other great contribution to the world besides the automobile. Electronic Music.
But, regardless of what all their new ads say, even a cursory examination of this new foray into the 21st century shows Detroit can’t cut it’s ties. Most of the ads urging business owners to move their companies to Michigan are payed for by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. Looking through their site, and their outreaches such as the Michigan Center for Career and Technical Education you get a steady stream of phrases such as skill standards and vocational education. Which translates to, training a workforce for manufacturing based business. There’s nothing wrong with this, it’s Michigan’s heritage, but it’s also a far cry from Silicon Valley. Yes, Silicon Valley does have a large core of manufacturing companies. The chip companies for example. But it also recognizes that money can be made from ones and zeros. Oracle, Adobe, Macromedia, Sybase, and hundreds of other software companies. Detroit is still hanging on to the old. Which is fine, they’re good at it Even the name Automation Alley recognizes this. In the end, Michigan does have a lot to offer to new companies. But, is there a large enough supply of comp. sci. and experienced programmers in the area?
