Looks like Northeastern Pennsylvania is going to be getting a new reputation! From what I read, it’s not a matter of “if”, but simply a matter of “when”.

Given the occasional uncertain circumstances in New York City (9/11, power failures, broken steam pipes, etc.), the financial companies began to develop some contingency plans. Off-site back up media storage would be a mere band-aid in a catastrophe. Should there be a devastating event, these worldwide conglomerates would need some major surgery. So they look to their sister state in the west; Pennsylvania’s little coal towns are all grown up!

Our region is just perfect for such a Plan B. We have the available land, labor and we are on a separate electrical grid. The nine counties in Northeastern Pennsylvania have 27 colleges, plenty of major corporations and 1.7 million people. We’re not part of the New York area watershed, either. All of the sudden, the chit-chat about the rail service from Scranton to Hoboken just got more significant.

The Pocono area has become the focus for a home-away-from-home just 90 miles close to The Big Apple. (Ok, there is this one issue of fiber-optic cable, but let’s not let that get in the way of optimism. It’ll come.) “Wall Street West is a partnership of more than two dozen northeastern Pennsylvania regional and statewide Pennsylvania economic development agencies, technology investment groups, workforce development organizations, educational and research institutions and private-sector experts.” If you log onto their site, you can find out more about them. www.wallstreetwest.org. It is fascinating.

My, but this technology moves quickly. I remember the first time I accessed the internet. It was not living here at my home, but at work in my office. In 1995, the law firm where I work installed a “dedicated line” and selected some local numbers to get a connection to the internet. (I remember hearing the modem dial and the connect tone with total amazement) I think we accessed using a 486DX pc with a 5.25″ floppy drive. If that is indeed the pc we used, its purchase price in 1993 was $3,495. Of that I am sure — because I saved the original purchase order!

Hate to say “we’ve come a long way, baby”, but we have. Good ol’ Al Gore’s “information superhighway” is just “the internet” now. (Nobody remembers that he invented it, I guess.) Socially, we treat it no different than the television, newspapers or library. For me, its marvel is nearly gone after 12 years. It’s just a necessary tool for my business day and my personal contacts. It’s extremely necessary for The Big Fish.

It’s not our labor or land or even location that really is the driving force behind Wall Street West, but the technology. None of this space age stuff would have been possible 12 years ago. Sometimes, I think Gene Roddenberry was a prophet.

Well, anyway, you just bring it on, Big Apple! The Wild, Wild Wall Street West is ready for you.