To further our cause, Stay the course, Shameless self-promotion

The phone call I had on Friday from the FNP made it into press in todays edition:

Biotech blog’s founder says it’s overdue
Originally published October 28, 2007

By Ike Wilson
News-Post Staff

Biotech blog’s founder says it’s overdue

Jim Hardy of Gahaga Bioscience hopes interest in his blog, fredcobio.wordpress.com, will grow.

A new Frederick biotechnology blog that began Monday is already up to 100 hits per day.

Not bad for starters, said Jim Hardy, Frederick Clounty[sic] Biotech Blog’s creator.

The avenue for an informal conversation about all things biotech is long overdue in Frederick, he said. Frederick is home to 37 of Maryland’s 350 biotechnology companies, hence the need for a forum for like-minded individuals, Hardy said.

Hardy is chief executive officer and a founder of Gahaga Biosciences Inc. in Frederick. The company was established in 2006 to commercialize a proprietary method for the isolation of stem cells from placental and umbilical tissues for use in basic research.

Hardy said the blog idea was conceived during a conversation with biotech-types during a happy hour at The Frederick Innovative Technology Center Inc.

The blog itself is an experiment, Hardy said, “like any other we all conduct on a daily basis to further our cause. We seek a medium to exchange ideas, information and idle chatter with other like-minded individuals in the county.”

Hardy received many compliments for beginning the blog, but what the project needs is for people to posts comments, he said.

The blog’s existence relies on others’ input, he said.

“We’re just trying to get people engaged on biotech stuff,” Hardy said. “The blog needs to be very informal, interactive, flexible, not somebody’s website.”

One of the reasons behind the blog is that the Technology Council of Maryland doesn’t come to Frederick as often as it does Montgomery County.

“Why don’t we have a Greater Frederick Tech Council? Or better yet, anyone interested in a Frederick County Biotech Roundtable?” Hardy said in one of his recent posts. “I am really tired of driving to Baltimore and Bethesda and spending $150 on a ticket to listen to someone talk up how great so-and-so is and then ask for charitable contributions in the end.”

Hardy eventually expects about 500 hits per day or 20,000 a month, if all goes as planned. He and his wife are contributing editors to another blog, Frederick Maryland Online, which generates 600 to 800 hits per day on workdays.

Hardy said he is surprised by the naivety, even from the so-called IT gurus, about blogs.

“It is simple to add a post, but you need the right permissions. If you’d like to be a contributing editor, just let me know and I’ll set you up,” Hardy said.

The easiest way to get involved is to post comments. To do that you don’t need to sign in or create a account, unless you like to see your avatar on display, Hardy said.

To post a comment, go all the way to the bottom of the post and select the phrase “no comments,” or “one comment,” in the event there is actually a comment.

Hardy said he is offering other bloggers — for a limited time — free publicity in the form of a sidebar banner.

“I will post anyone’s newsworthy story, assuming it is biotech and happening in Frederick County. If you’re in Montgomery County, you need not apply,” he said. “Free ad space, wow, it doesn’t get any better than that.”

“It’s not that we don’t care about what’s happening in Montgomery and Howard counties,” Hardy said, in his first post. “I’ve worked in both places over the years. To heck with the 270 commute. It is high time we dedicated some energy and effort into building the biotech community here in Frederick so we can rescue some of our long-lost colleagues from their nightmarish commute.”

Being interviewed by the FNP is a good thing for promoting the blog. A picture of me pouring water into a beaker without safety glasses while looking directly into the camera: priceless!

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