by Sean McManus
Staff Writer
One might doubt that in this business climate, it’s a good time to be thinking exclusively about information technology. The Internet bubble popped, companies scrambled to take the dot com suffix off their name and E-Trade Bank built brick-and-mortar offices.
But Bianca Gardner knows that information technology is here to stay and she’s confident that when the pendulum swings back, her newspaper will be there to corner the market as the best and only resource for IT professionals in Jacksonville and beyond.
Gardner publishes the I.t. Reporter, a monthly newspaper for techies that she runs out of her home in Atlantic Beach. It features spotlights on local technology companies, interviews with the people who start those companies, articles on innovative concepts, website reviews, a column called “City Beat” that talks about the business atmosphere in Northeast Florida, and of course, advertisements ranging from Modis to the Navy.
The I.t. Reporter recently recruited former Business Journal writer Eric Cravey, president of the Orange Park marketing firm Cravey Communications, to write a column called “Talk of the Town,” a bullet point column of the latest in the technology business in Jacksonville. There is also a column called “How IT all Began” that traces technology back to the history of mathematics and discusses subjects like prime numbers.
“We try to publish articles by people who are in the field,” said Gardner, who is originally from Queens, N.Y. “We try to incorporate some humor, as well as a platform for the exchange of ideas.”
Gardner became interested in technology when she landed a job as a software developer, working for Coca-Cola in Ft. Lauderdale. She then became a software tester for a quality assurance firm doing contract work for Alltel and moved to Jacksonville.
“They paid me to try and break their software,” said Gardner laughing. “Is there a better job than that?”
She was working at Blue Cross Blue Shield when Y2K happened — or didn’t happen — and afterwards found herself needing a new job. She quickly discovered that the resources for people in her line of work were slim.
“So that was really the primary catalyst for starting the paper, “ said Gardner. “Since the technology industry changes so fast, North Florida needed a place where people could look for new jobs and connect with other people doing the same things.”
The I.t. Reporter is free and distributed by a company called Free Press that drops it at libraries, technical schools, convenience stores and office buildings; about 100 locations in total. Gardner said her paper is a good place for smaller companies to advertise who can’t afford TV or big print ad campaigns.
Gardner is active in the Chamber of Commerce and in other technology-oriented trade organizations like the Jacksonville Chapter of the Association of Information Technology Professionals (AITP). She also serves on Mayor John Delaney’s Commission for Telecommunications and IT.
The next step is to take the I.t. Reporter statewide to Orlando, Tampa and Ft. Lauderdale. Gardner said the tech-oriented staffing firms in Jacksonville who advertise with her — and have a wider reach — can provide some of the initial infrastructure for expansion.