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)!

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.

As you can see, I’ve got my Internet Week mojo on. The week is chock-full of parties and yes, I will be attending a bunch of those. Stay tuned for my “must-do” list of Internet Week social events. Again, the full list of events is here. I’ll also be posting my flickr shots and providing Twitter coverage throughout the week, so please follow.

I think it is really important to recognize that there are many substantive gatherings planned, in addition to the networking events and parties. Internet Week is shaping up as an opportunity for “old media” New York to come face-to-face with the movers and shakers that are driving the evolution of the social media economy. Brand managers and media planners will get to meet with the start-ups and social media”rock stars” that are pushing the envelope of online marketing. I think this connection is critical. The geeks are coming to NYC and as Hugh MacLeod reminds us, it’s important for all marketers to “think geek.”  According to Hugh:

“Whatever industry you are in, there’s somebody who is geeked out about your product category. They are using your product [or a competitor's product] as a Social Object.”

Big brands can tap into this energy.  This is the focus of the Conversational Marketing Summit, sponsored by Federated Media (FM), which I’m really looking forward to btw. FYI – it’s not too late to secure access to the conference being held at the Ritz Carlton Battery Park on June 9th and 10th. FM has kindly provided InternetGeekGirl readers with a special discount code: Sign up with GeekGirl15 and save 15% on registration.

I really love the Federated Family of sites (including gapingvoid). Such great content backed by really smart, effective people. The event has quite a round-up of speakers, including: John Battelle, Chairman & CEO, Federated Media, Henry M. Blodget, CEO, Silicon Alley Media, Wenda Harris Millard, President, Media, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia & Chairman IAB, Steve Rubel, Senior Vice President, Director of Insights, Edelman Digital, Jason Kilar, CEO, Hulu, Martin A. Nisenholtz, SVP – Digital Operations, The New York Times Company and many more.

I look forward to seeing you in the Big Apple…big brands and small brands alike.

Internet Week New York (IWNY) starts next Tuesday, June 3rd in New York City. Not nearly the size or stature of its inspiration, Fashion Week, Internet Week will undoubtedly grow quick given the level of moxie and motivation of the NYC tech crowd.

For those of you that don’t know (and I expect that is a lot of you, since the press coverage of this event has been anemic so far), Internet Week is a week-long festival of events celebrating New York’s thriving Internet industry and community.  Started by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS) in cooperation with the City of New York and the Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre & Broadcasting, it’s billed as a celebration of digital media industry and community. There are great people backing this venture.  You can get the  quick facts here and check out the Executive Council list here.

I live and breathe the digital media industry and community (in New York, in California and beyond). As a active member of the NYC tech world for the last 10 years, I have experienced that growth through my own professional and personal journey.  Of course, in New York the “community” aspect gets lost a bit, due to the general size of the pond and all the other industries that call NYC their nerve center. When you’re in the Valley, you can’t walk 10 feet without hearing about the latest tech news or start-up. The community is everywhere.  Both environments have their pros and cons.

The New York tech crowd is known for its passion, marketing savvy, business acumen and access to Madison Avenue and Wall Street (both of which fuel the technology industry overall). I know that this inaugural event will catch fire in NYC and most likely take off in other cities.  I’m here to support making that happen.

Now, I’m not saying we’ll be Fashion Week overnight (or ever). I think Fashion Week, I think of hot models, catwalks, non-stop parties, sexy people hanging out at the Gansevoort pool and Devil Wears Prada-esque drama everywhere (oh yes, and cloths).  Let’s face it people, we are not that cool. We don’t even have a wikipedia page — yet. Now that’s kind of ironic, huh?

But there is a jam-packed schedule of events for Internet Week NYC. And each will be filled with exciting, cool, smart, successful geeks helping to evolve the next wave of Internet marketing. That is our community. Stay tuned for some additional posts highlighting the events and parties I will be attending. Plus SAVE the date, because, the TechSet is presenting in Manhattan! Brian Solis and Geoff Livingston co-authors of the new book Now is Gone, will be in town for a book signing. And Brian and I will be hosting TechSet NYC , gathering our east coast friends who are all actively contributing to the evolution of the social economy and new web.  

According to Amanda Fortini in the Brief History of the Fashion show, Fashion Week got its start in NYC in 1943, and then took on it’s current form in 1993 (fifteen years ago!) Let’s take a moment to imagine what this event could look like 15 years from now. In fact, I can imagine it being a much larger deal in even within 3 – 5 years. I’m so grateful for all the tech communities I get to hang out with across this country. Big shout out to my peeps in: LA, Philly, Chicago, Boston and so many other cities I can’t even list them all. I feel an idea in the works.