Internet Geek Girl

O’Reilly is in town and New Yorkers are a flutter!  Today kicks off the first ever Web2Expo in NYC at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center (655 West 34th Street). Co-produced by TechWeb and O’Reilly Conferences, @w2e_ny08 will wow NYC with it’s content and connection.  Be sure to follow them on Twitter, btw! You can find the detailed schedule here!

Web2expo in San Fran these last 2 years stand out for me as one of the best shows of the year (and that is saying a lot coming from someone who goes to as many conferences as I do).

I believe you can still register on-site! You can get a $100 off registration or a free expo pass if you use the code: webny08bd23.

By the way, we’re going to party like it’s Internet Week again! Assuming you’ve recovered from the June 2008 festivities, you should be sure to check out the list of events! I definitely want to highlight our TechSet event this evening at the Eden Rooftop . PLEASE RSVP ON FACEBOOK!!

I also want to make sure you know about web2Open, organized by Nate Westheimer.

Web2Open is the free “un-conference” side of the Web 2.0 Expo and takes place on September 17th and 18th, during the Expo. Inspired by the BarCamp movement, Web2Open is where the attendees lead create the conference content. It’s volunteer organized, and offers a fresh, community-oriented take on tech conferences.

One of the best parts of the Web2Open is that it’s free! To register, sign up for Expo pass using the code webny08opn (attendees with conference pass may also participate).

Brian Solis and I, founders of The TechSet would like to personally thank our sponsors for their support of the event tonight. Come out and meet them and be interviewed for Aaron Strout’s podcast, Citizen Marketer.

About our Sponsors (and please follow them on Twitter):

Mzinga (Twitter = @mzinga) is the leading provider of enterprise social media solutions that drive growth, innovation, and learning. The company combines a broad suite of social media and networking technologies with expert strategic consulting and moderation services to help businesses to harness the collective intelligence of employees, customers, and partners. Marketing, customer service, and human resources professionals deploy Mzinga’s “pervasive community” solutions to achieve higher revenues, lower costs, greater workplace satisfaction, and improved customer support.

Headquartered in Burlington, Massachusetts, Mzinga supports more than 14,000 communities and over 1 billion monthly page requests from 27 million users in 160 countries worldwide. Mzinga’s marquee list of customers includes such global brands as ABC, AOL, ESPN, CBS.com, iVillage, Chevron Corporation, Johnson & Johnson, and Prudential Financial.

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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.

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I like to write on planes.  Cranking the iTunes on my MacBook.  I am on a plane today.  7 years ago, all the airports were shut down. In fact, my whole city was pretty much shut down, except for the bars and restaurants. I remember very little except drowning our deep, unfathomable sorrow together in East Village.

Since that day, there have been other “9/11s” when I have sat around my house and cried, gone to memorials. A day of mourning.

Today I’m on a plane, going to a conference sitting next to a woman who speaks very little English. I speak no Spanish unfortunately. But she is wonderful to talk to and has a very nice smile. We’ve managed to learn a little bit about each other. She was born in Puerto Rico and currently lives in Manchester, NH and is visiting her daughter in Orlando.

My friend Steve Rosenbaum is a story teller. He has helped us to define what it means to be part of the 9/11 Generation. As Steve points out:

Each of us has a personal story, memories and feelings that we’ve pushed into a corner. The drumbeat to ‘move on’ is natural, perhaps essential. But I’d gently suggest that you make sure that your story isn’t lost or forgotten, as both historians and your grandchildren will hunger for it one day.

I actually do have stories.  But I don’t feel like telling them here. What I do want to point out is that we owe it to ourselves and the world to develop more successful domestic and foreign policies that safeguard our nation and our people from the horrors of terrorism. That’s what I want our leaders to focus on!  PHILIP BOBBITT and JOHN C. DANFORTH did a great job in the NYT Op Ed piece on 9/11 providing a list of questions on this issues that both Obama and McCain should answer. I wish they would.

I realize I’m just an InternetGeekGirl trying to make her way in the world. Today was not a 9/11 full of mourning for me. It has been pretty much business as usual. But September 11th is different and always will be.  I will always stop on this day, and find gratitude and peace.  As I always do, I focus on hope for the future, and send love to the many people who suffered from that great tragedy.

Photo credit: (CC) Brian Solis, www.briansolis.com and bub.blicio.us (who took this picture while he was walking around NYC on 9/11/08 finding his own moment of silence and gratitude).

I’ve been in California for one week now. While my life definitely not as exciting as Hank’s, I am blessed with the opportunity to hang out with Internet rock stars every where I go. They are an exciting bunch. Let’s start with the LA scene. Obviously “tech” is not the first thing that comes to mind when you think about the City of Angels.  However, I am consistently impressed with the force of nature that is emerging from the intersection of social media, technology, and advertising in Hollywood.  The community that cares about this trend in LA is growing. Last week was “Mini Internet Week” for that town: three packed days of networking with LA’s best and brightest!  The TechSet event at the Luxe Hotel on Sunset Boulevard on Wednesday night was a huge hit.  Mike Macadaan, founder of TwiistUp, did an amazing job on Thursday evening at the Viceroy Hotel with TwiistUp4 (yes that’s a 4). Mashable rounded out the week with the SummerMash LA, part of their US Summer Tour!

The next time you’re in LA, make sure you check out what is going on with TechZulu, Social Media Club LA, Jackie Peters of Heavy Bag Media, Nicole Jordan of bub.blicio.us, Sean Percival of DocStoc, Mike Prasad of GirlGamer, Karen Hartline of Mashable, Erica O’Grady, Marc Levin and the good people over at LA Geek Dinners!  You will definitely be able to find the party through them!

As you know, a picture is worth 1000 words.  For Brian Solis’ photostream, that calculation is more like 2000 words.  Brian also had great coverage of on Bub.blicio.us!

I’m here for another week still, so watch out!

Internet Week New York (IWNY) starts tomorrow. Since I can’t go to everything, I wanted to highlight my “Top 5 Picks” of the week.

Live from New York, it’s Diggnation!  Hop the L train out to Brooklyn on Wednesday night at 6 pm and join Kevin Rose and Alex Albrecht for a live taping in front of a New York Audience.  All the cool kids will be there.  Plus in addition to Kevin and Alex, the Revision3 folks got Brian Brushwood, host of the smash hit Scam School to shock and amaze the crowd with his dazzling array of bar tricks – can you stand the heat? DJ Bears and Bears Repeating will be performing as well for all you music fans. Rock on!

Pete’s back in NYC, time to get caffeinated! Join Pete Cashmore and his rockin’ band of Mashable staffers at Touch on Friday evening at 6 pm for the Mashable Exihibit Hall Extravaganza.   Over 14 showcasing exhibitors, and a large mix of attendees including local New York startups and entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, Web 2.0 companies and old-skool New York institutions will be there. Wouldn’t miss it for the world!

The TechSet does Manhattan!  Join me and Brian Solis as we celebrate the people who are actively defining the new Web landscape and contributing to the lucrative and industry-defining social economy along the way. We’ll be hanging on the rooftop of the Hotel Gansevoort (ooh la la) on Saturday afternoon beginning at 4:30 pm.  Please RSVP on our Facebook event page!

Old media meets the Social Web. Federated Media’s Conversational Marketing Summit will have some of the biggest names from Madison Avenue to Silicon Valley in attendance.  There are still tickets left for the conference which is June 9th and 10th. You can use the code GeekGirl15 and save 15% on registration!

If your tux is at the dry cleaners and you can’t fit in a Webby Award gathering, I’d suggest you check out the New York Software Industry Association (NYSIA) party on Monday night from 6 – 8 pm at JPMorgan Chase (270 Park Avenue).  The top technologists, developers, web 2.0 practitioners, and people from the professions that support them will be there. This event features an open bar, and Hors d’ Oeuvres will be served. $20 in advance, $30 at the door. Event starts at 6pm sharp.

The fact is I probably will party hop and also hit a few impromptu TweetUps as well so follow my Twitter.

Let’s get this party started!

The TechSet does Manhattan! We started in LA, hit Silicon Valley and San Fran, and now we are in the Big Apple during Internet Week!

Internet Week is spotlighting the influential and expanding Web community in New York and The TechSet is all set to contribute. Join me and Brian Solis, bub.blicio.us and PR 2.0, as together, we celebrate The TechSet, the people who are actively defining the new Web landscape and contributing to the lucrative and industry-defining social economy along the way.

The TechSet is everywhere, online and offline. The TechSet is you.

On Saturday afternoon, we’re going to bring the rooftop parties from the West Coast to the Right Coast while bringing together NY-based entrepreneurs and those in town for Internet Week. Special guests from the blogosphere as well as VCs, developers, and founders will take over the rooftop of the stylish Hotel Gansevoort in the chic part of NY made popular by the Sex and the City franchise – well, we’ll take over what we can!

Who said techies can’t be glamorous too!

But wait, there’s more. Co-authors Geoff Livingston and Brian Solis will also be signing copies of Now is Gone. Bring your book if you have it, otherwise books will be available for $10 on-site. (whoops.. that’s $15 sorry, cmon.. support a blogga!)

See you chic peeps next Saturday at the ROOFTOP bar (Plunge)! 

RSVP on the Facebook Event Page, grazie.