IntoPittsburgh

We have a name: IntoPittsburgh.

BurghDiaspora's Jim Russell explains:

IntoPittsburgh isn't an organization or a marketing campaign. It is a collection of people (and existing initiatives) who matter and who are into Pittsburgh. Feel free to self-identify. I did exactly that.Blogging is an exercise in humility. I didn't invent the idea of leveraging the Burgh Diaspora for purposes of regional economic development. But not only do the like-minded fail to find each other, we fail to do something once we connect. My vision for IntoPittsburgh is doing by connecting.

What IntoPittsburgh will do depends on the people and organizations involved. I'm part of IntoPittsburgh to help people motivated to return to Pittsburgh to do so by becoming entrepreneurs or freelancers. I'll continue to advance this initiative via this blog.But I will also link the world to other IntoPittsburgh projects, many of which are already in the pipeline. Alan Paul is a Pittsburgher thriving in China. We should celebrate his success. He's sharing IntoPittsburgh with the rest of the world and I want to take this opportunity to say that all you natives should be proud.

Jim's reference to Alan Paul is a reference to this column in today's Wall Street Journal Online. Alan is a Pittsburgher and expat living in China. Alan writes about the special importance of place, emotionally as well as physically. He's the embodiment of the Pittsburgh Diaspora. Congrats, Jim, for making that connection.