Emerging Technologies : Featured Stories

The video game industry may not be Maryland's equivalent of film in Los Angeles or country music in Nashville, but it is a force. Companies such as Zynga, Firaxis, Big Huge Games, and Day 1 Studios are all based here and are responsible for some of the industry's most interesting titles. We're also lucky to have a robust gaming program at UMBC, where students on the creative and technical ends of the game creation process learn side-by-side how to conceptualize and create the games of tomorrow.

It's worth remembering that there was a time, not terribly long ago, when "media" meant the morning paper and the 6 o'clock news. When a handful of large, powerful voices dominated the conversation. No more. Today, startups on a shoestring can speak as loudly and clearly as more established outlets. We took a look at the emerging media scene in Baltimore and found five sites making a name for themselves by doing just that.

Tools scattered on workbenches. Solder dripping into pizza boxes. Ideas and innovation in abundance at every turn. And, oh yeah: cash prizes. It was all part of the scene at Baltimore's first Hackathon, held November 19-21 at the Emerging Technology Center in Canton. Bmore was there, and we've got the full story.

Entrepreneurs in Maryland can now build social good into their business plans thanks to the recently created "benefit corporation" designation.

PARK(ing) Day gives Baltimore's urban landscape a fresh touch of green.

How many of us have thought of a way to improve a device or tool we use? Problem is most of us let the idea slip away and then kick ourselves when we see a finished product that's eerily similar to our idea on store shelves. Patrick Mish of M-Edge Accessories took the road less traveled. And now he, his wife, and a small group of their friends are covering iPads, Nooks, and Kindles.

Including a technology showcase in the nation's largest free arts festival may leave many arts lovers scratching their heads. Baltimore's tech community doesn't think combining the two is strange at all. In fact they see Betascape, the latest addition to Artscape, as their coming out party, demonstrating to area residents and the rest of the country that Bmore's tech scene is badass.

How do you take the cliche out of "thinking outside the box?" By actually doing that. At a time when it seems like there's a Web design and marketing firm on nearly every street corner, Fastspot, guided by Tracy Halvorsen,  has left a trail of innovation and happy clients in its wake. We wondered how the company has managed to forge its distinctly unique identity. Here's what we found out...