Small business has long emphasized alternatives in efficiency.  While they may enjoy a level of professional intimacy and organizational flexibility not often enjoyed by their super-sized counterparts, small businesses usually don’t have resources to burn.  And, money or no, when it comes to office space, their needs can be almost prohibitively unique.  This probably explains why shared office spaces came about generations ago.  Business ‘A’ had too much space.  Business ‘B’ didn’t need much.  So began the symbiosis that many large and small companies and non-profits share.

The model has long been at work in Savannah. United Way building on Monterey Square, for example, doubles as office space for no less than nine other entities.  But, the idea of shared spaces seems to have traditionally been one of afterthought, an ad hoc plan created to make use of excess.  No more.  Thanks to some visionary companies and designers, the widespread concept of planned shared office space has come home to roost on the creative coast.  And with them comes reduced cost, preferential location, environmental efficiency, and creative, interactive work spaces.

Outside of Summer’s regular posts, sometimes our loyal supporters don’t know everything we’re up to. In fact, I’d say that the majority of what we do on a day-to-day, or even week-to-week basis goes on without most people knowing about it.

The newsletters, email alerts and event notices are mainly for telling you about things we hope are of value to YOU. Things we hope you can plug into and benefit from knowing or participating in. But in terms of the businesses we may be working with to help grow or the attraction projects we are working on, we don’t really spread the word for a variety of reasons (confidentiality chief amongst them.)

Either way, it occurred to us that there are some initiatives underway that we could share. In that light, (and since the cat’s out of the bag already), I thought I’d go into one of our latest endeavors: Fishin’ for Game Development Companies.

The Atari 2600 controller.

As most of you know, our mission is pretty simple: We exist to help create, grow and attract higher-wage jobs and knowledge-based businesses in Savannah, furthering the development of a an innovation-driven economy.

Whether you love Savannah’s St. Patrick’s Day festivities (like me) or think they’re inflated/overrated (like Fitz, bah humbug), there’s no doubt that the holiday provokes thousands to descend on our quaint little town.  In many ways, long before Midnight or Deen, it was our annual March 17th parade and River Street debauchery that put Savannah on the map.  (Many might not realize that the high holiday has been celebrated here since 1824.)

But what do all the beer-buying, hotel room-staying, cop salary-paying (via tickets and fines as opposed to taxes), and green-wearing visitors really bestow Savannah with a pot of gold?  And this year, with March 17th falling mid-week and the economy floundering, will our famed St. Patrick’s Day celebration bring us the Luck o’ the Irish?

Years passed, St. Patrick’s Day was the biggest tourist cash cow for the city, bringing close to a half-million revelers, with booze-loosened pocketbooks.  Consider this, taken from an article in today’s Savannah Morning News:

“There was a time in Savannah’s not-so-distant past when St. Patrick’s Day was considered the singular make-or-break celebration in the city,” he said. “But, while it’s still huge, it has lots of company now – the Savannah Music Festival, the Legends of Golf, the (Savannah) Film Festival.”

There is a creative way to approach humanity.  The TAP Project is a testament to that.  The TAP Project was born in 2007 in New York City around a simple idea: restaurants would ask their patrons to donate $1 or more for the tap water they usually enjoy for free, and all funds raised would support UNICEF’s efforts to bring clean and accessible water to millions of children around the world.  This year marks the second year that TAP has taken their project nationwide.  So don’t be surprised this year during World Water Week (March 22 – 28) when TAP comes to a restaurant near you.

Beginning with 300 restaurants in New York in ’07 and expanding to more than 2,300 restaurants in 44 states in ’08 making over $855,000, which helped provide clean water and sanitation to children in Iraq, Côte d’Ivoire, Nicaragua and Belize.  This year, thanks to local environmental activist and Head of Sustainability Initiatives at Melaver, Inc., Tommy Linstroth, TAP is headed to Savannah.