Sonoma gets wired

Wired Sonoma has a goal – to help Sonoma-based techies find local jobs. Surely in today’s world of broadband technology and telecommuting, this should be possible. But Chip Roberson, who founded the group with Christine Mason McCaull, found that local tech jobs that are high-paying and not tied to agriculture or tourism are hard to come by.
Dubbed a networking site for businesses, entrepreneurs, tech experts and digital artists in the Valley of the Moon, Wired Sonoma launched its Web site (Wiredsonoma.com) in January. They held their first LiveWired event, an informal discussion and social hour, on last Tuesday.
Roberson and his wife moved to Sonoma nine years ago after successfully launching and selling Cerent Corporation to Cicso Systems back in 1999. Christine Mason McCaull is Roberson’s business partner in the new venture. A self-described artist, four-time Internet CEO, yogini and mother, among other things, Mason McCaull has been starting businesses since she was 18 and moved to Sonoma from Chicago just a couple of years ago.
For Roberson and Mason McCaull, Wired Sonoma was born out of a desire to marry the bucolic place they live with where they want to work
“Christine and I are adamant that both living in and working in Sonoma should be possible and the 50 or so people that turned out for the LiveWired event underscores this idea,” said Roberson. “Our initial focus with Wired Sonoma is to connect people in the Valley who work in the digital domains like information technology, software development, web development, graphic arts and more. From there, we want to raise the digital quotient of Sonoma Valley by helping people understand the rapidly evolving world of technology.”
For Jim Witous, owner of caféMac, it’s high time for an organization of this nature.
“I started caféMac because I chose to live in Sonoma and I wanted to work here also. I wanted to be tied to my community, not commuting in and out of it every day,” said Witous. “Wired Sonoma is a step in that direction for all of us, not just those in technology. Using the site, anyone can find resources in Sonoma whether they are technology-related or not. For instance, my wife is working on putting together a cookbook and at the meeting she found two people who had experience and could help her.”
“For me, it was a true exchange of information and a resource for talent that I haven’t gotten from other meetings in the valley,” Witous continued. “The group environment at the event felt collaborative, not competitive, which is great as it helps build community.”
Through their shared experience working on the Obama campaign, Roberson and Mason McCaull discovered the growing divide between those who understand the advantages and shortcomings of technology and those who don’t. Their belief is that every business, whether it’s a technology company, a traditional company or a non-profit can benefit by a more tech-savvy population in Sonoma Valley. To that end, they’re hoping not only to share their knowledge with each other but to share it with the rest of the community through their Web site.
Prior to the Live Wired event Mason McCaull had returned from the TED conference – TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design – in southern California. Since 1984, TED has been bringing together people from these three worlds. The annual conference is a giant information exchange of sorts with some of the world’s most fascinating thinkers and doers who gather together to share and spread ideas.
Wired Sonoma hopes to mirror some of the ideas put forth by TED, just on a much smaller scale. In addition to meeting each other, the group hopes to educate greater Sonoma on the value of technology, including a series of mini-classes. They have also begun discussions with the Sonoma Valley Education Foundation about how to educate other non-profits on the use of Google Docs.
“I’m floored by the amount of talent we have in this valley,” said Roberson. “”We want to keep the digital vibe of this town growing by supporting the technology community. By building this network we can move forward together to promote Sonoma as a great place to live – and work – if you’re in technology.”