Chicago: SYNC Tech Center Closes

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• Really? Because I'm sitting in the Sync, and they're still selling desks as of this week. I can't help but say Citation Needed here.

  Would you mind listing a source of this non-announcement? Any source?

• Really? Because I'm sitting in the Sync, and they're still selling desks as of this week. I can't help but say Citation Needed here.
  Would you mind listing a source of this non-announcement? Any source?

  • Jonathan,

    If you read the article it says in the first line, "As of Tuesday, March 1st...."

    It is open today. Wednesday it won't be.

    An email went out today from the SYNC center to people.that worked there letting.them know. I suspect you don't normally work there and therefore did not receive the email.

    As I said at the end of the article, there will be a full story next week. I am not attacking the SYNC- I like the SYNC. That doesn't change the fact that it is closing Tuesday, March 1st.

    • OK, so who's your source? Because as of a few hours ago, there's a crowd of people standing around discussing this, and let's just say your facts are very much in dispute.

      PS -- I work at the sync. Haven't gotten an email. Would love to see it. Perhaps you could post it? And who was it from?

• Jonathan,
  They are not selling desks. If you ask to rent one, you will be told they are closing. I am as unhappy about as everyone else. It was a great space for the community.

  • Told by who? Mike Rhodes rented a desk in front of me this week.

• I sorry to see them go. Mike worked hard to build a great open environment for business. The sync will be missed.

• Mike worked hard???? LOL

• Jonathan,

  Im not trying to cause controversy or argue with you. Here's a simple solution: Ask Mike Rhodes if the SYNC is closing. Ask the building owner if they are shutting it down.

  Talking to various people who are uninformed wont make it different. I'm sorry there seems to be confusion on the subject but its closed.

  And if you don't ask Mike before then, just stop by Wed when the doors are locked.

• Mr. Domain,
  As an outsider reading this site for news, what I see is a dispute over your breaking story by someone who seemed to be present at the facility in question. From the outsider's perspective, neither of you have presented more authority in this argument than the other, especially since this hasn't been reported anywhere else. As a journalist, you really should follow-up and just verify your news instead of just constantly arguing back against Jonathan on a 'I said so, just wait until you see' level. Very unprofessional. If you really do have inside information, you need to back it up with some sources or at least some follow-up investigation. Don't ask someone else to verify it for you... you reported it; it is your responsibility to 'ask Mike' to verify. Your integrity as a source of information is at stake here, and just letting posterity 'prove you right', if the news is accurate, isn't a solution, your credibility will already be damaged. Journalism 101.

  • "Journalist":

    I appreciate that you read FG for news and frankly, I am shocked by the response of people feeling I have:

    1. Attacked Mike Rhodes

    2. Somehow lied about this

    3. Didn't get the email.

    To the email that went out to the people that worked at the Sync:

    I have it and am certainly happy to print it- but I am waiting on approval from the sender since this all took on a "high tension" feel.

    You bring up good points- and I think you'll be satisfied with the answers. As I am sure you are aware, there are more sides to this story than just Mike.

    Later in the upcoming week I'll publish a balanced, objective story based on the facts.

    Finally- this was not some attempt to be mean, or underhanded. As I keep saying, I LIKED the SYNC. It's a great space.

    Based on the feedback I am getting from across Chicago, I get the feeling I have somehow touched a nerve and angered some people:

    Let me say this: My only goal in running FG is to report news of the industry honestly and factually. I don't publish rumors and base everything I write in fact. If I fail in that somehow, I will accept it and own up to it. I am not trying to be a muckracker or rumor-mongerer.

    I hope that the community wil accept that when they read my story next week.

    • j

    • Wow Edward. Right now I have more respect for Ron May than I do for you. He would have at least checked with Mike AND included a copy of the supposed email. I would think a guy who writes for crain's would have more journalistic integrity. I think I’m going to write them and suggest they rethink your status as a Crain’s writer.

      Just man up and admit you are wrong. You tried to look like a big shot getting the scoop and in the process you completely stabbed a friend in the back and look like a tool. Plus you’ve probably ruined any chance of anyone in the tech space trusting you with their news again.

      • I received a copy of "the supposed email." So either I'm part of Ed's hallucination or his information is accurate.

• Verified by Crains here:
  http://bit.ly/h4L0iH

• The Crain's piece sheds a lot of light on this. There's a big difference between the implications in this post on FG and the situation made clear in the Crain's piece. Chicago's startup community is in its infant stages, so having a place like SYNC fall off the map of course brought up a lot of controversy. However, "losing their lease and hoping to find a new space" is far less dramatic than the original impression that it was just shutting down. The last line of "Here is to hoping the closing of the SYNC isn’t permanent and they do raise their investment fund." makes sense in this context, and I don't think he was trying to lie or hide anything, but without the information about the lease/building issues it was not enough context at all and gave completely the wrong impression. It's also not surprising that they are still renting desks, as they probably hope to just carry those leases over to their new space.

  • "There's a big difference between THE IMPLICATIONS IN THIS POST on FG and the situation made clear in the Crain's piece." [EMPHASIS added.]

    I believe the "implications" you are reading into this post are entirely self-generated.

    Ed's scoop was accurate, and the post was neither negative nor a shot at Mike or The SYNC.

• Journalist -

  The distinction that needs to be made here is that Flyover Geeks is NOT Crain's, it is a tech blog. Asserting that this article is enough to dismiss someone from their post as a writer for another publication is not only unprofessional, but uncalled for.

  Online journalism is about getting out the news before your competitor does, and I think this is a perfect example. Mr. Domain wrote a brief article, promising a full-length version later this week, he was indeed the first to report on the closing.

  While I think it would have been apropos to allow the Sync to announce this themselves, I see nothing reported inaccurately in this post that isn't readily available in the Crain's article or the Sync's response.

  • Journalism102 here's a little journalism 101 -- There's a huge difference between the level of writing in Crain's and what Flyover boy is giving us here. Although he might be factually accurate, he lays out the facts in a very Enquirer way. There are a lot of people who are ticked at Edward over this. People can complain or not complain to Crain's and they can decide how to handle it. Any work you do on your own carries over to any other company you represent.