Events

Social Rockstars Happy Hour

Paul and Kady of the DC New Media Technology Web 2.0 Meetup group put together another Social Rockstars Happy Hour at Lotus Lounge last Thursday.  The event was an opportunity for local startups and projects to demo their work, attract users and recieve feedback.  A significant number of ventures were present, speaking again to the growing size and scope of the Washington, D.C. tech scene.  Those on hand included

• ShareMeme
• GeniusRocket
• Starburbs
• ViaPlace
• InsideJob (Facebook application)
• JunJonz
• MindGrub

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Contribune at Twin Tech III

Last Thursday was the DC tech scene’s largest and most exciting happy hour, Twin Tech.  Over 2,000 people signed up to attend, filling three floors at Lux Lounge on New York Avenue.  Along with a number of other local startups, Contribune sponsored the event and the Contribune team was out talking technology and causes with the attendees.  A special thanks the Northerns Virginia Technology Council and, in particular, Peter Corbett of iStrategyLabs for making this event happen and working with us as a sponsor.

Enjoy some photos from the event below. Continue reading »

First DC Changebloggers Meetup

Some of DC’s leading changebloggers decided to celebrate Blog Action Day, October 15th, by hosting a meetup of like-minded locals. Organized by Alex Rampy, along with Qui Diaz and others, the occasion was taken as an opportunity to celebrate and discuss the use of new media to further social action. It was a great excuse to meet some of DC’s smartest social entrepreneurs as well.

In addition to the usual name tags, Alex provided chalk and construction paper for each attendee to write about their top cause — Poverty appeared to be the crowd favorite. While there, I had the opportunity to hear some feedback on Contribune, in addition to hearing about some other interesting projects. It is really an extrodionarily stimulating experience speaking with some of these people. Exchanging ideas with this crowd always leads me to new creative concepts, one of which has turned into a Knight Foundation application. Speaking of which, if you haven’t heard yet, there is still time to submit – $5 million for local news.

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Solutions Stars Video Conference Wrap Up

Network Solutions‘ Solutions Stars Video Conference just finished and I have to admit, it was a pretty intense experience.  The event was primarily driven by a series of videos, each on a different topic relating to social media strategy.  The videos themselves were each composed of short bursts of insight from various web personalities.  These clips moved at a rather rapid pace.  Below the video player, the site offered participants a live chat box, which was quickly filled with a lively discussion.  Between the videos and the chat, along with a separate “ask a question” box and the parallel conversation on Twitter, it was quite a lot of information to digest.

Each video clip contained some useful insight, though some more obvious than others (a chat participant noted he would have to “write that one down” when a video clip mentioned adding keywords to your website).  I particularly enjoyed the comments made by Guy Kawasaki, Tim Ferriss, Tony Hsieh, Chris Brogan and Mari Smith.  In general, I was most intrigued by the discussion on the integration of offline business and marketing efforts with those being made online.

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Solution Stars Video Conference Today

This afternoon, Network Solutions will be hosting a video conference with some of the brightest minds in new media strategy. The list of speakers includes Guy Kawasaki and Chris Brogan along with about two dozen others. The conference is free to attend and will be help from 1 p.m. until approximately 3:30 p.m. EST. The following topic areas will be covered:

• Building Web Presence
• The Social Opportunity
• Start with Listening
• Strategy Drives Outreach
• You Need Social Networks
• To Blog or Not to Blog
• Visibility Through Search
• Rising Above the Noise
• Time Demands

Learn more at the Solution Stars website.

Jonathan Aberman: Tomorrow’s Great Companies Will Be Created During These Hard Economic Times

A surprise speaker was on hand at the recent Startup Rockstarts demo event in Falls Church, Virginia. Amplifer Ventures partner Jonathan Aberman offered his thoughts on the challenges and advantages facing startups in the current economic climate.  His remarks were both extremely insightful and encouraging.

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Startup Rockstarts 3

1 Piazza hosted another Startup Rockstars demo event yesterday at Viget Labs. I had the chance to catch up with some friends and meet a string of really interesting entrepreneurs. As usual, Paul and Kady came through with a fantastic event and even a surprise guest speaker.

Contribune demoed at the last Startup Rockstars event and it is very exciting to see the scene growing.

Check out my thoughts on the presentations and a ton of event photos after the break.

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Contribune at Tech Cocktail DC 3

This past Thursday, Team Contribune was out in force at Tech Cocktail DC. Contribune , along with five other startups, demoed web applications for a large and engaged crowd. Among those in attendance were Mixed Ink’s David and Diditz’s Sohit.

The team had a good conversation with Raj of Introin about finding more ways for DC startups to better work together. We met quite a few new people, including the guys behind Planypus, iDooba, Strands and GeniusRocket. Thanks to Frank Gruber for putting together this great event.

Click through for pictures of the event, or view our Diditz.

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Come see Contribune at Tech Cocktail DC

The Contribune team will be out in full force at tonight’s Tech Cocktail DC event.  Be sure to come by and check us out, particularly if you represent or work with a political campaign or charitable organization.  We’re working on some cool stuff for you.

Register at http://tech-cocktail-dc-3.eventbrite.com/ or read the event preview at http://techcocktail.com/home/2008/10/01/tech-cocktail-dc-3-preview/.  Thanks to Frank Gruber of Somewhat Frank for helping put this event together.  See you tonight!