There’s a new public awareness campaign coming to a library near you. And let me just say we LOVE it. As some of the biggest nerds on the block, we can’t get enough of the new use of an old four-letter word: ‘Geek’ as a verb.

The community-based awareness campaign known as ‘Geek the Library’ is being launched exclusively in Savannah (you’ve prolly seen the billboards around town) and Des Moines, Iowa and is designed to highlight the vital role of public libraries for individuals and communities, and raise awareness about the critical funding issues they face. To do so, they’re promoting a play on words to find out what you ‘geek.’

“This campaign is designed to provoke conversation about the vital role that public libraries and librarians play in today’s challenging environment,” said Cathy De Rosa, global vice president of marketing for OCLC, a nonprofit library cooperative heading campaign development and implementation. “We hope it will spark important community discussions about how public libraries can remain strong throughout greater Savannah, and ultimately across the country.”

You’ve heard of tele-working, but have you heard of tele-learning? The wonders of technology now allow for remote education and companies like Savannah-based Urban Planet Mobile are redefining the way people learn. Their landmark product, Urban English, is a series of 4500 audio English language lessons available for 11 languages, all delivered via the mobile platform. That means you can learn English via cellphone!

Since each lesson is about the size of a ringtone file, even the most basic mobile phone can receive Urban English products, making this English lesson accessible across the globe. (Did you know that more people in third world countries have access to cellular technology than landlines? That’s because the infrastructure for cell phones is cheaper and easier to install. And thanks to sustainability programs, like the one run by Georgia-based CollectiveGood, cell phone recycling often translates into refurbished phones provided to people in the third world. So Urban English really IS more accessible than an English class.) In this way, the more than 1.4 billion people worldwide actively learning English can affordably access quality audio English lessons anytime, anywhere with Urban Planet Mobile.

Almost one year ago exactly, we told you all about the Savannah Economic Development Authority’s (SEDA) property search application – how Georgia-based BinaryBus, Ltd. used GIS (Geographic Information Systems) technology to help SEDA create an application enabling users to search, map and analyze demographic and business information for available commercial property listings in Chatham County. Last August, the application had been so well-received that it was featured on the ESRI website (THE leader in GIS technology). This August, we have some even more exciting news to report re: the property search.

(Drumroll please.) Together with the Savannah Development and Renewal Authority (SDRA), TCCa has joined forces (“let our powers combine!”) with SEDA to to provide comprehensive commercial property information for local businesses on the web.

Built on top of SEDA’s powerful technology, the new TCCa and SDRA applications will utilize SEDA’s master database, allowing all three organizations to add, update and list property collectively. For example, a downtown property providing information to SDRA will also have the added benefit of being automatically listed on the SEDA and TCCa websites.

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