Diwali in Cleveland

Deepavali, or the "festival of lights", is one of the most important festivals of the year for Hindus, Jains, Sikhs and others. The name "Diwali" or "Divali" is a contraction of deepavali which translates into "row of lamps".


Federation of India Community Associations (FICA) celebrated Deepavali 2013 on Friday, November 8th in the Rotunda of Cleveland City Hall with music, dance, camaraderie and Mayor Frank Jackson. The Indian flag flew atop City Hall.

More from Diwali 2013 in Cleveland

Are Facebook (or Instagram or …) ads cost effective?

So where does a company put its limited advertising resources? Facebook? Pinterest? Other Social Media?

The Great Lakes Geek asked Dave Skorepa, Chief Creative Officer, and Matt Messenger, Director of Web Marketing, of Aztek, a Cleveland web design firm, specializing in custom responsive web design and web application development and web marketing.

Matt quotes a report that only 37% of Facebook advertisers were satisfied and Dave has some concerns about the ads being too targeted and displaying just how much information they have about him. Check it out.

Philippines storm devastation

Dr. Joy Kouns Lewis spoke about the tragic storm devastation in her hometown and surrounding areas in the Philippines. Almost two weeks ago, Super Typhoon Haiyan - called Yolanda in the Philippines - landed in Eastern Samar and Leyte provinces and destroyed much of Tacloban City.


Experts say it was one of the most powerful storms ever to hit land. Thousands are dead and thousands are missing. Local Filipino and other communities are planning events to raise funds to help those affected by this tragedy.

Champion of Immigrants Award

Congressman Dennis Kucinich accepted the first annual Champion of Immigrants award at an event in Cleveland sponsored by the International Services Center.

As its first recipient of this annual award, the ISC selected Dennis J. Kucinich, former U.S. Congressman and Mayor of Cleveland, because of his ongoing dedication and service to immigrants both locally and on a national level. As the grandson of immigrants from Croatia and Ireland, Congressman Kucinich understood the diversity that makes up the ethnic neighborhoods of Cleveland, as well as those in the African American and Latino communities. Throughout his political career he “stood up for the people,” addressing their concerns and problems.

As a Member of Congress, his advocacy for immigrants and refugees helped many come and stay in this country. He also opened doors for bilateral trade with the countries represented by immigrants in Greater Cleveland. He has always put immigration to the forefront of his service to our community and country, and so richly deserves this honor.

Photos and video from the event 

Albanian Cultural Garden Dedication

A delegation from Albania including Fier Mayor Baftjar Zeqaj and the Prefect who represented Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama joined Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson, Councilwoman Dona Brady and members of the Albanian community to dedicate Phase 2 of the Albanian Cultural Garden.


The ceremony included scattering of soil from Albania and a ribbon cutting.

Photos and videos from the Albanian Cultural Garden event

Happy Thanksgivukkah

This year, on November 28, 2013, two of the most delicious holidays for Jews collide: Thanksgiving and Hanukkah.

This much anticipated day, a day when you finally can eat Thanksgiving turkey and potato latkes at the same time, will not happen again in our lifetime, or even our great-grandchildren's lifetime.


According to the Denver Post, the last time the confluence of Thanksgiving and Hanukkah happened was 1888. This year it occurs Nov. 28, which is the second night of the eight-day Hanukkah celebration. The next time it will occur? Hold on to your dreidels: By some calculations, it won't be for another 79,043 years, thanks to disparities between the Hebrew and Gregorian calendars.

When life gives you Hanukkah on Thanksgiving, make a menurkey. Or a turkel.

Gobble Tov!

Happy Thanksgiving

May your stuffing be tasty,
may your turkey be plump.
May your potatoes 'n gravy
have nary a lump,

May your yams be delicious,
May your pies take the prize,
May your Thanksgiving dinner
stay off of your thighs.

May your Thanksgiving be blessed!!

Best to you and your family

Is Vine (or Instagram video) useful for business?

I have to admit that watching compilations of the best Vines (6 second videos) can be addictive. Some are really funny. Most are stupid. That's the web.

But is there a business case for Vine?

We use to wonder if messages of 140 characters or less could be productive and Twitter showed us that it could. But a 6 second video?

The Great Lakes Geek asked Dave Skorepa, Chief Creative Officer, and Matt Messenger, Director of Web Marketing, of Aztek, a Cleveland web design firm, specializing in custom responsive web design and web application development and web marketing.

Matt pointed out an effective business use and Dave told of the competition with Instagram.

What went wrong with Healthcare.Gov – web pro’s view

Leave the politics aside because both sides of the aisle admit that the launch of Healthcare.gov was not, let’s say, optimal. 

But whether you are a fan of the Affordable Care Act – Obamacare – or not, there are things we can learn from professional web developers about this botched launch.

 Dave Skorepa, Chief Creative Officer, and Matt Messenger, Director of Web Marketing, work for Aztek, a Cleveland web design firm, specializes in custom responsive web design and web application development and web marketing. In their 15+ years in business Aztek has completed thousands of projects with more than 600 different clients in nearly every industry imaginable.

Great Lakes Geek Dan Hanson asked them, from the point of view of web developers, what went wrong with the healthcare.gov launch.

They spoke about the user experience component as well as the back end issues but also pointed out a website that the government did right, data.gov.