Internet Geek Girl

Last year I wrote my re-cap to Internet Week and described it as  “the start of something grand.”

Internet Week NY 2009 will undoubtedly prove me right. For those of you that don’t know about it, Internet Week New York is a week-long festival of events saluting New York’s thriving Internet industry and the many talented companies, organizations, and innovators creating the future of online media. It is presented by IADAS & The Mayor’s Office of Film, Theater, and Broadcasting.

This year, The TechSet and PepsiCo will be kicking off the week’s activities with the TechSet party on Monday June 1st (6 – 8 pm at the Bubble Lounge). PepsiCo’s commitment to bubbling up innovation will be on display all week. Stay tuned for other exciting announcements from PepsiCo soon!

It will be a busy week in the always busy Big Apple.  There are a range of events planned,  from educational to celebratory. Whether you want to pitch your start up or just add to your LinkedIn Network, Internet Week is sure to delight your digital sensibilities. Keep in mind, there are activities that suit every budget level as well.  While some of the conferences are more pricey, most events are free or cheap (though require sign up early).  Bookmark the ever-growing online schedule to stay up-to-date.

My list of don’t miss events include (please feel free to add more to the comments):

The Conversational Marketing Summit hosted by Federated Media ;  the NY Tech Meet Up Showcase and Monthly Event; Silicon Alley Insider’s Startup 2009; Mashable’s NextUp NYC: Social Media Marketing 101; the Digg MeetUp; Social Media Camp, hosted by the Social Media Club; Ignite NYC; and the Webby’s, which will be a star-studded line up again this year.

Lodging in NYC is never cheap, but the kind folks @InternetWeek have secured an excellent rate at the Standard Hotel – $235 while supplies last.  Also, you should check out The Roger Smith Hotel (for those of you who are mid-town inclined). Their “Roger Smith Life” and active Twitter account have made them a favorite for out-of-town blogger-types on a budget. Their rate for Internet Week NY is $165 / night (you really can’t beat that in NYC). Ask for the Internet Week Promo Rates at both locations.  But hurry – rooms will go fast.

By now, most of my fellow SXSW Interactive attendees have made it home and unpacked. Hopefully you have caught up on your lack of sleep and have warded off the SXSWsars (unfortunately I didn’t – can you hear my sniffles and scratchy voice?). If you’re like me, you’ve been digging through your email and reviewing the huge stack of business cards you collected in Austin. Processing all the information and inspiration takes time, especially for a show which overflows with both.

Unquestionably, SXSWi was a qualitative and quantitative success. There was a reported 25% increase in attendance year over year and the blog posts, tweets, and Facebook updates show nothing but love for this ritual “geek spring break.”

For me, the highlight of the trip was obviously the honor of co-hosting the TechSet Blogger Lounge with my co-founder @BrianSolis (and our event partners at Tokita Bethune, Inc.) The lounge and party were sponsored by Windows Mobile. The Windows Mobile team provided a great service to the community of bloggers, developers, marketers and influencers that set up shop in The Austin Suite. With great bandwidth and great company, the Windows Mobile lounge was THE PLACE to be every day (especially during our tweet ups from 4 – 6 pm – thank you AMD and Zappos). Plus, check out the videos that a bunch of well known geeks made in the lounge – Can you say Fantasy App? We were even lucky enough to have live entertainment one day from Paula Nelson (Austin native and Willie’s daughter). Big thanks to 1938media and John Rosenfelder (@earbender) for putting that together.

On the social front – I enjoyed going to Stubbs for the Diggnation event, The Salt Lick, Gueros, and of course, attending the many parties. “Best in show” include, Alltop, Facebook, Mashable and of course, The TechSet. The best pictures from the entire week come from Laughing Squid, Brian Solis and Wm. Marc Salsberry. Huge shout out to Joie de Vie salon and all the ladies from there that helped make me pretty every day (thanks Amanda, thanks Erin and the other Jerseygirl Steph).

For the last few years the Geeks have taken over the town before the music festival swings into full force. If you stay for part of the transition time, it’s funny to see the difference. My cab driver summed it up best – “the geeks are way more quiet and they are always playing on their phones.” He just doesn’t realize we’re making a ton of noise online and talking to our friends (who are sitting next to us in RL) on Twitter!

If you missed the show or like me, were too busy to attend most of the panels, here’s a short list of some recommended recaps:

• BlogWorld Expo Radio Podcast with yours truly and Jim Turner!
• The very awesome Nicole Jordan on her blog, Kicking Sand. She captures the style and substance.
• Nothin’ but SocNet’s Zena Weist has a great list of other recaps in addition to her insightful musings. She doesn’t just chat about social media – she lives it.
• Omar Gallaga from the Austin Statesman has a bunch of good stuff (with a local spin) on Austin360, with individual panel/party/videos here. Omar also did an NPR segment last Monday which was very cool.
• Pamela Lund on Massively Networked reviewed some very cool panels, which included tidbits of advice from: Thor Muller (Get Satisfaction, Inc.), Patrick Moorhead (Razorfish), and Ben Rigby (Mobile Voter), Barrett Fox (COCO Studios) and Jeroen Lapre (distant-galaxy.com).
• Jeff Beckham’s SXSW Scorecard looks back at the 19 panels/talks he attended, and he ranked them.  Very good stuff.
• RJ Owen of O’Reilly’s InsideRIA had at a great take on parties and panels!
• The ever-good-spirited @technosailor shares his journey and musings. Love the shout out to the Blogger Lounge!

BTW – David Carr wrote a nice piece in the NYT today that tells the story of the founding of the entire festival and it’s impact on the town. Plus his insights about the THRIVING Austin Chronicle, which has fueled this multimedia event since its inception, are especially intriguing given a market where many newspapers are failing.

All I can say is….keep Austin Weird and Geeky!

I’ll leave you with a video from my friend Guy Kawasaki that he did from his Kirsty-Alltop Party. Ya gotta love Texas (especially once / year in Austin)!

I really love Austin, Texas. And it’s not just because I’m obsessed with Allen’s Boots and love to eat at Guero’s and drink margaritas and beer.  It is a town full of smart, driven, cool people and a tech community that has been growing steadily for years.  The music scene is of course one of the best in the nation. Hugh MacLeod visits regularly. And of course, LANCE lives there! P.S. – Lance is on Twitter so follow him! LiveStrong baby!

Next week, Brian Solis (my TechSet partner-in-crime) and I will head down to Austin to celebrate the launch of BizSpark with Microsoft and with our local partners, the Startup District. Please be sure to also follow us on Twitter for more details:

@techset

@bizspark

@startupdistrict

You are cordially invited to join us at The Speakeasy at 7 pm on Thursday, November 20th. The event is *free* but please RSVP here. There will be free drinks and appetizers, so come early.

(Please note these are the boots I bought in March at SXSW and I will be wearing these for sure!)

I’ve been a “startup chick” for a very long time. Having worked at early stage companies as employee number 2 and number 240, I have experienced the wide array of challenges faced by companies growing new markets.  In fact, established markets never interested me much (boring!!!)

I’ve guided my professional development for 15 years by one simply rule: surround yourself with the smartest, most hard-working, super effective entrepreneurs you can find. Despite the fact that these individuals and environments can be crazy and chaotic, it has been a very fun journey. Like the road less traveled, it has also made all the difference in my life.

Over the next few weeks, Brian Solis and I will be celebrating our mutual love for startups by presenting Ignition, an event to commemorate the launch of Microsoft BizSpark – a new program for those who contribute to a dynamic ecosystem to help startups flourish. It seems to me that in this economy, everyone needs something to celebrate. It is also an exceptional time to start a startup and take advantage of all the opportunity out there.

Brian and I cordially invite you to another TechSet Series (with some free appetizers and drinks).  We kick off our four-city tour next week in New York City on November 11th.  You need to RSVP here. As all the locals know, that’s the night of the New York New Tech Meetup, which will feature a presentation by Microsoft BizSpark staff. Be at both or be square!

We head to Austin, Texas on November 20th, LA on December 2nd and Silicon Valley on December 4th.  Stay tuned for links Facebook invites and RSVP pages on Eventbrite.

Be sure to check out the benefits you get from the BizSpark global program – namely – software, support and visibility. Hope to see you there so you can learn more and have a great time doing it!

That’s right. My second trip to Vegas this year.  I’m super excited for the second annual Blog World Expo that starts this Friday. It’s not too late to make your plans (there are actually some really good hotel deals on Hotels.com). The speaker line up and the party list look fantastic. Don’t forget to use the code: GEEKGIRL!

Follow @blogworld on Twitter for all the latest updates!

The TechSet has earned a reputation for hosting some of the most glamorous and connected events around the country. We’d like to invite you to what just may be our most incredible event yet as we celebrate you and the other entrepreneurs defining the new Web landscape. At BlogWorld, we will gather poolside at the new Bare lounge at the Mirage Hotel.

(mt) Media Temple, our title sponsor, will be hosting blog super stars and super startups alike!  Check out the *cabana* sponsors, including: Canvas On Demand, Empressr, MindTouch, ShareThis and Tagga.

In addition to Sarah Lacy, Hugh MacLeod, and Loren Feldman, we’ll be welcoming — all of you – the people that are the TECHSET!

---

(mt) Media Temple Inc., (Twitter = @mediatemple) Inc. is an industry-leading, privately held web hosting and software services provider with headquarters in California. Since 1998, the company has provided businesses worldwide with reliable, high-capacity networks to host websites, email, business applications, video and other modern, rich-media content.

We are a friendly, accessible group of technology-agnostic managers, engineers and support professionals dedicated to making our customers happy. We are a true 24/7 company. Contact us anytime 24 hours a day at 877-578-4000. English is our primary language. We also speak Spanish, Japanese, Swedish, Korean, Polish, Russian, Romanian, Armenian and a few other languages.

---

ShareThis (Twitter = @sharethis) lets people easily share the things they find online, in the most convenient way possible. ShareThis consolidates address books and friend lists, so that anything can be shared immediately, without ever leaving a webpage.

---

Tagga (Twitter = @tagga) allows anyone to create text message campaigns instantly so that you can interact, sell to, or simply communicate with mobile users.  Promote your product or service to a targeted audience on their mobile.

You can target the audience you want, deliver the content you want and pay only on success.  Monetize your web or print content like blogs, websites, signage or print publications and expand your distribution channel.  Integrating with Tagga is fast and simple. In just a few minutes you can be on your way to extending your website’s functionality and earning additional revenue. www.tagga.com.

---

MindTouch, (Twitter = @mindtouch) recognized the world over for innovation beyond open source wiki collaboration and content management, is delivering a leading edge application integration and development platform. MindTouch Deki, built with a Web Oriented Architecture (WOA), enables users to connect teams, enterprise systems, Web services and Web 2.0 applications with IT governance. Users easily access and organize data and systems efficiently to achieve their business objectives.

MindTouch Deki is deployed by Fortune 500 companies, major media, research/education institutions, government agencies, and online businesses worldwide. Customers include Microsoft, Fujitsu, Siemens, Gannett, FedEx, U.S. Army, DoD, and others. MindTouch is committed to delivering next generation solutions to people, businesses and governments.

---

Empressr (Twitter = @empressr) is the first of its kind rich Internet application that provides users with the tools to create and share Multi-media visual stories online. Armed with only a Web browser, users can combine photographs, artwork, text, music, videos, audio recordings and charts to produce anything from a simple slide show to a state-of-the-art business presentation.

Empressr embraces the best of what the Internet has to offer with features such as asset tagging, Web mashups, embedded data and a comprehensive selection of rich media features. Once created, an empressr can be distributed in many ways. It can be published to the community site or your social networking page, sent in an email and even embedded in a blog or wiki.

---

Canvas on Demand is the Raleigh, North Carolina that transforms your sentimental photos into canvas artwork. Co-owners Tom Lotrecchiano and Joe Schmidt were named Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the year finalists and  ranked number 283 in the 2008 Inc. 500.  You can visit www.CanvasOnDemand.com for more information or to see samples.