Strangely enough, Southern Oregon University, based in Ashland, Oregon, actually offers a certificate in e-commerce. Chuck Jaeger, the professor who heads up the program, called me in December to do a brief presentation to about 100 students--just say a bit about Musician's Friend and any internship opportunities--and be on a panel to answer some questions.
Although Southern Oregon is not exactly an e-commerce mecca, as small as it is, it does host a few surprisingly large direct marketing companies--Musician's Friend (where I work), the largest direct seller of musical instruments in the world, Harry & David, one of the largest fruit and gift sellers around (you probably know them for their amazing pears which are grown right here in this area), and Fire Mountain Gems, one of the world's largest bead companies (go figure).
Anyway, a couple of weeks after the presentation, I went to buy my new iPhone (which I love, btw) and the sales associate says to me, "Hey, I saw you speak at SOU!" And then again at the grocery a few days ago, I was in the fruit section and a young guy stacking oranges stops me to tell me, "I know you! I saw you at SOU last month. I'm a computer science major."
OK, seriously, how small is this town?? :)
