For a time I wasn’t sure where I belonged…and then I realized that I could choose my community regardless of location.  Maybe if we all worried less whether our needs were fulfilled nearby, we’d see just how much we can be part of, and that there are no walls or beltways to stop us.

Polyamory’s Not So Bad

There’s an endless stream of discussion about the best place for startups.  An abundance of local sites and discussions.  All of this creates awareness and camaraderie…but also a sort of blindness.   Communities help us to grow, but they don’t have to define or limit us, and we get to choose where we call home.  Why not sleep around?

Successful startups and active community groups are everywhere.  But for the success of your business, it comes down to knowing who you need to know.

My Facebook groups is an interesting sample—Baltimore Tech, DC Tech, and two private groups related to startups.  It’s kind of a metaphor for my general approach—get out there in the community, but find what’s best for your business, not just what local community has to offer.  Note that I’m not even in a San Francisco based group, and I’m not sure that that matters.  Maybe I’ll start one.

Create your Own Community

I started Ignite DC partly because I knew the folks at Ignite Baltimore.  I started Bootstrap Maryland because I saw the education on the west coast that DC wasn’t getting.  I got to be one of the first social media “experts” in the area because I didn’t want the region to miss the boat.

Most of what I’ve done that’s been good for my community came from somewhere else.

It’s great that so many in a region like DC/Baltimore are now offering so much support for startups.  But it’s a piece of the puzzle, and locally it’s still very difficult to address at least two of the most core startup challenges today: funding and distribution.  (And there’s a lot to learn elsewhere about partnership, culture, customer acquisition, and even team dynamics.)

There isn’t a need to move.  And there’s a lot of value to growing together.  But that will never be enough.  You can define yourself by your location.  Or you can define yourself as the one who makes things happen, wherever those you need to know reside.

Consider which community can help you the most in 2011.  Or create a new one.  But just because things are looking good where you are, don’t forget to look around.

As of July 17, SET Consulting has a new owner.  As of August 30, I’ll have a new city.  (this logo above is SET’s original 2002 logo…)

SET Consulting is a New Company

I’m excited to still be part of SET, a business that began 8 years ago and inspires me to this day.  I’ve spent the past week introducing SET’s new president to clients, responding to leads together, and building a plan for the next several months and it reminded me just how much I love the team I’ve grown up with, the clients who have become family, and the meaningful challenges we’re solving.  From 2 hours per week at $50/hr to 6 figure contracts with Fortune 500 and government clients, it turned into a real business.

And SET now has a chance for its second life. John Lucke is the new owner and president, and he has the chance to grow SET into an even more successful company.  I’m happy to say that our existing clients have nothing to fear and new business is coming at a rapid pace.

If you spend a long time on proposals or reports in Word, or presentations in PowerPoint…or if your company is migrating from Office 2003 to 2007 or 2010, please let me know.  The SET team is ready as ever to help you kick ass with Microsoft Office templates, automation, and training.

In case you were wondering, AwayFind is now a fully independent business.  We’ve got 10 people pounding away at something beautiful, and I’m of course still serving as CEO.  I’ll keep pounding away on AwayFind, just in a new city.

I’m Moving, but not Leaving DC & Baltimore Behind

I’ve made DC and Baltimore my home for the past 11 years.  In the past 3 years I’ve traveled about a quarter of the time, and tried to come home and share what I learned.  I don’t plan to stop, at least not in 2010.

I’ll still be hosting Ignite DC 5 on September 30 and Bootstrap Maryland on October 27.  I’m participating as a mentor in DC’s next Founder Institute and I hope to check in with the Greater Baltimore Technology Council and the Baltimore Angels regularly.  I’m not selling the house or taking the car just yet, either.  I’m going to try to still play a role here.

Why Move?

Last summer I was deciding between San Francisco and Barcelona to spend a couple months.  I went with Barcelona because I thought that I wouldn’t get an escape in SF, that I’d be too immersed in the technology scene there to get a chance to breathe.  I’m really glad I spent my summer in Spain , but I was wrong.

This past year I’ve taken many trips to San Francisco and realized that while it’s got a strong tech scene, it’s got much more.  I’m excited about the dance scene, the perpetually perfect running weather, the diverse beauty of Golden Gate Park, the European cafes, and the healthy and balanced lifestyle that people respect and appreciate.

But I’d be lying if I said that Silicon Valley wasn’t a big part of my move.  And I know I may end up as yet another example of the inability to run a startup in DC.  But that’s not so.  Silicon Valley does justify a move at a time when I have to be careful with my finances and my company’s direction, but I’m going there because of the whole picture and the fact that I’m ready for a change.  But back to the eternal San Francisco and DC/Baltimore debate.

DC and Baltimore are Great Places to Start a Business

Certain things are easier to do in San Francisco and certain things are easier in DC.  Raising money, finding distribution partners for the consumer internet, or staying up on platform changes are unquestionably easier in San Francisco.  But finding technology talent, spreading a message, or effecting policy change are likely easier here.

Both DC and San Francisco are cities that people come to from far away to make a difference.  Both are full of independent, liberal, idealistic people who want to make their mark.

And don’t forget Baltimore—it’s got a small technology community, but it’s the most cohesive technology community I’ve witnessed.  There aren’t factions, there are just friends.  The respect I have for people like Dave Troy and Mike Subelsky in the way they’ve put on events that really bring people together…I just don’t know a community so giving and with open-arms.  Starting a technology business in Baltimore you’re going to find real support.  And you can buy a row house there that won’t break the bank, a block from the water, and with neighbors that want to know you.

I love you, DC and Baltimore.

I just feel like the difference I want to make will be easier in San Francisco.  While I’m proud to have sold a small business where I made a good living, I want to grow a big business where I make a big impact.  It just so happens that most of the companies and people who are involved with email and communications workflow are out there—and I want every advantage I can bring to AwayFind as I want to significantly impact the way people communicate for the better.

Lunch together, Party Time, Cole Valley, Etc

If you’re in the area, I’d love to meet up on August 28th when I have a little informal going away get-together.  I’d love to catch up a little and also introduce you to some other great people. You can RSVP at this Facebook invitation.

Also, if you want to meet up in August and if you’re willing to come to College Park, I’m happy to buy you lunch. Old friends and new are welcome.

Or come visit in San Francisco after the summer—I’ll be in Cole Valley, near the N Judah and Golden Gate Park!

Sorry to cram so much into this blog post.  While only a few of you will likely notice my move, I do care a lot about the DC/Baltimore community…and want to share what led me to these decisions.

I hope to see many of you in the coming weeks.  And this is far from goodbye!

The following are some of the key points that came up in the sessions.

First of all, thank you to so many of you for coming out and sharing your ideas!  I’ve never organized an event of this magnitude, and you’ve encouraged me that it was worth it.  I just hope a few people got a little push toward starting and succeeding in business.  Now, onto the panels…

What you need (and don’t need) to get a technology business started

In this first session, I moderated a panel with Greg Cangialosi, Scott Harris, Haroon Mokhtarzada, and Paul Singh.  We discussed some of the lessons picked up over the years in the several business endeavors we’ve been involved with:

• A business plan helps to get you thinking about where you’re going with your company, formalizing your thoughts, etc.  But most of us have had to change direction within 30 days and, at that point, the business plan often began to collect dust.  Key point: think hard about starting your business, and write out your overall strategy, but don’t get mired in the details of a fancy schmancy business plan.
• It’s important to cover your ass(ets).  But doing that right isn’t that important until you’ve proven that your idea has legs.  In other words, if you have a product you want to launch, worry first about getting a prototype and later about whether an LLC, S-Corp, or C-Corp is more important.  After all, there’s no shortage of lawyers who can change your business type later.
• While your legal status is not that important initially, it is important that you discuss ownership with any co-founders early on.  You need to get in the habit of having these conversations when the money isn’t already on the table.  Whatever you do with equity, just be sure that other team-members have to earn their equity rather than starting with it…otherwise underperformers can ruin the distribution of equity and create a difficult situation.  This is called vesting.
• Don’t assume that you have a market.  Spend serious time talking to your perceived market and showing them what you plan on creating.  You’ll learn very quickly that either the product you want to create or the audience you want to sell it to aren’t the best options.  That’s okay—let yourself fail in your assumptions early and instead continue to validate both your product and the market as you move forward.  Read Eric Ries’ blog for a continual reminder and tactical advice on this.
• Paul Singh talked a great deal about using Google AdWords to test ideas for just a few dollars.  See if the conversions are there by testing if people are interested in your ideas.  If they’re not, move on.  I mentioned another way to research markets is to take the first few days of the 30 Day Challenge where they teach about using Google’s market-testing tools with Market Samurai, but do it with a disposable email address.
• You don’t need to have $25,000 in the bank to start your business.  None of us had that in our first ventures.  The best time to start a business is not when you have lots of assets but when you have fewer liabilities.  So if you’re in your 20s that’s probably a damned good time.
• Haroon Mokhtarzada made the point that enterprise experience rarely translates into startup expertise.  So don’t worry about having a background in a big company or hiring people from that background.  Instead, focus on being scrappy and finding others with that mentality.
• If you’re building your business while working for another company, be sure you know whether your current employer has ownership of what you’re working on.  Often there’s a clause in your employment agreement to that effect.  Be careful!

How to market inexpensively with social media, events, and creative public relations

Energetically moderated by Mario Armstrong, this was a fun session with Aaron Brazell, Peter Corbett, Frank Gruber, and Kaitlyn Wilkins.  They talked about what to expect with marketing and how to do it through social media and other channels.

• Peter Corbett set a great tone for the session when he pointed out that social media is not free.  It’s a huge time commitment and, without that commitment, it’s just throwing time away.  But when done right it can be rewarding.
• If you’re a great writer, write.  If you have great presence, speak.  But learn your strengths early when it comes to spreading the word and play off those strengths.
• Niche.  Niche.  Niche.  Differentiation.  If you’re not differentiated you’re not memorable.  And if you’re not memorable you’re already forgotten.
• If your brand is all about solving a specific problem that’s a good start.  But if your brand is about a bigger idea, a cause, a lifestyle…then people will have a reason to come back to it, to hold onto it, to engage with it.
• While marketing is great, nothing happens if you don’t make a sale.

Sorry, I had to run around organizing lunch stuff during this session so my notes are more sparse.  Check out Russell Heimlich’s and Justin A. Brown’s notes.

Workshops and exercises in small groups

Tim Grahl and I organized breakout sessions where the 16 groups discussed their own businesses and the various revenue models of eight TechCrunch50 finalists (as a case study). 

While it’s difficult to capture that online, it’s important to explore and be familiar with various product-oriented revenue models.  The following links explain each of the models in more depth:

• Freemium
• Licensing
• Advertising
• Physical Product Sales
• Revenue Share / Affiliate Sales

Getting your technology right…and what people are using to develop today

David Troy led the next panel, which was about understanding certain key ideas around technology…especially if you’re planning on launch a tech company.  M. Jackson Wilkinson, Mike Subelsky, Amy Senger, and Andrew Turner shared their insight:

• One of the most important points discussed was understanding the differences between a programming language (the most flexible), a framework, and a content management system (CMS) (the fastest to deploy).  As a business owner it’s important to recognize that flexibility and speed of deployment are inversely related.
• Along the same lines, it’s important to recognize some of the most popular frameworks and to ensure that your development team is familiar with them so that they’re not reinventing the wheel.  Examples of popular frameworks include Rails (for Ruby), Kohana, Symfony, and CodeIgnite (for PHP), and Django (for Python).  If your team is developing in one of these languages, be sure they’re aware of the frameworks out there.
• There was a great deal of talk about when to use agile development methods and when not to.  Given the audience of my blog, suffice it to say that if you’re leading a team of developers it’s important to be up to speed on agile so that you can make decisions for when it’s most helpful.
• A couple salient points came up in relation to hiring tech people:
  1. Communication skills and initiative are as important as technology skills.  The best programmer in the world that continually builds the wrong features (and doesn’t suggest alternate ways to approach things) will get you nowhere.
  2. When choosing between open source and proprietary development environments, it’s important to consider what type of culture you’re looking to foster at your office (I’m still debating this one in my mind as my personal experience refutes it)

Introductions to local groups and events

The following groups presented.  Visit their websites to learn more.

• Baltimore OpenCoffee
• Greater Baltimore Technology Council
• Refresh DC
• Refresh Baltimore
• BarCamp DC
• BarCamp Baltimore
• NetSquared
• SocialDevCamp
• BeeHive Baltimore
• Baltimore Angles
• TECH Cocktail
• Ignite Baltimore
• Ignite DC
• WordCamp Mid-Atlantic
• DC Tech Events 

Success stories and lessons learned

Matthias Broecheler, Martin Ringlein, and David Troy shared their mistakes and talked about the different forms of entrepreneurial success in the final panel, which I moderated. Some of the topics discussed:

• Martin Ringlein spent some time discussing the different definitions of success, and how we all have to understand the importance of impact, family, lifestyle, and money.  For instance, if you work until midnight every day but don’t get to relax, have you truly achieved success?  Needless to say, I blog about this a lot, but the point of balance is not just for happiness…it relates to our core opinion of our own success.
• We all talked about the merit of having service-based businesses, especially when getting started.  For one thing, one can become cash flow positive in a service business right away; for another, one will learn very quickly what customers want when they’re working directly with them.  And of course, having a service business is a great way to bootstrap the building of a product company (that’s what I’ve done with SET and AwayFind).
• It’s unfortunate that geeks often get the impression that they need people with a business background to launch a company.  They absolutely do not.  It’s much easier to teach a geek about business than the other way around.  This is proven time and again in the most visibly successful companies, large and small.  kthxbye.
• Doesn’t matter how big your company is or how much you formalize the process, you need to talk with your employees one-on-one to discuss each other’s performance at least twice per year.  It will get a lot of information out into the open that you might not expect.
• If there’s even an ounce of negative emotion in an email, sleep on it before you send it.
• If you’re in a family business, draw very clear boundaries between work time and personal time
• If you have a business process and you decide to take on a project with a friend, don’t bend the rules or you’ll slip up.  Follow the same business process when dealing with a friend as you do with clients.
• Whenever possible, avoid taking credit cards.  The reason: you’ll never win a fight with VISA.  (This is especially relevant with high dollar transactions with people you don’t know really well.  Less important for low-dollar transactions)
• If a project is still holding you back, and you’re a tech person, consider turning it into an open source project (if you have the time ; )
• And for the next steps:
• Write down all the things that are holding you back.  Are these surmountable?
• Do your best to be around (virtually or in real life) the people who are where you want to be.  You’ll soon find yourself there.

In Conclusion

It was a rockin’ day with a good vibe and great ideas.  Thank you to all the speakers, small group leaders, sponsors, and of course the University of Maryland for making it all happen.  When I have them I’ll either post or link to the videos.  But in the mean time, here are the photos from me and Bobby Saini (we shared my camera, and he took most of the photos shown above).

Thank you and hope this all helps : ).

Below I’ve indicated the timestamps for when AwayFind, email productivity, and Bootstrap Maryland are discussed…so you can dive right in.  After the videos are also some recent links, like being in Gartner’s 2009 Cool Vendor Report : ).

Robert Scoble Interview on Scobleizer TV

• 00:30: Continuous Partial Interruptions
• 1:31: Difference between AwayFind and the Vaynerchuk/Ferriss approach
• 5:30: What I’m working on for the future—understanding different channels
• 6:55: What sucks about Twitter and lack of chat, being used for support, etc
• 11:17 Bootstrap Maryland discussion

Note: After this interview, I was also on air for a longer discussion with Robert Scoble and Dave McClure.  It was an excellent discussion of the state of the venture market (mostly just Dave sharing, because Dave knows it better than anyone).  Robert’s blog post and video are here.

Greg Cangialosi Interview on Blue Sky Factory TV

• 11:30 My interview starts
• 16:20 How to better manage when we check email
• 21:00 I explain how I go through my day
• 30:45 Bootstrap Maryland discussion
• 48:15 My interview ends (stay on for email marketing tips)

AwayFind Around Town

• Gartner Research: Cool Vendors in Project and Program Management, 2009
• The Digital Marketer: Four Tools to Manage Your Calls
• Summit Daily News: Technology Solution of the Week: AwayFind
• Tokyo Beer & Blog Meetup with AwayFind
• San Francisco Meetup at House of Shields (Facebook)

Thank you to Robert, Greg, and the other folks who were kind enough to speak with me and review AwayFind.

–

We’ll soon be back with our regularly scheduled programming, like an upcoming post on “Action Tweeting” : ).  Cheers!

You may have heard about the Bootstrap Maryland Conference.  Here’s a little background on why I’m holding this event, and how I hope it will add value to our community. If you’re not interested in the back-story but are curious about the event, you can skip to bootstrapmaryland.com.

I’ve written this post because I’ve received a lot of inquiries (some excited, some wondering why they weren’t notified earlier); I want to address those questions and open up the discussion.

My Own Background: Seeking Out Business Advice

I’ve been running a business for about 7 years, and when I started there wasn’t much good information locally for people building technology companies.  There was business networking, there were business consultants operating for a fee, and there were organizations aimed at advising traditional businesses…but I wasn’t aware of a group or course that knew how to help a 20 year old with a technical degree to build a company.  So first time through, I got a lot of things wrong with my business.

A year and a half ago, when my team began working on AwayFind, we stumbled around a bit.  We found many new challenges in transitioning to a product company, and were continually surprised by the scale of our financial, marketing, and technical efforts. It took time to find people who could ‘tell it like it is’, confirm that we weren’t alone, and point us to the resources (some local, many online) that we needed.

Changes in the Region

While we’ve been building AwayFind, the DC, MD, and NoVA technology communities have grown rapidly, especially in the 20- and 30-something demographic:

• Organizations have sprouted up all over the place.  They have varying focuses, such as web development, design, social media, and business networking
• An early stage incubator launched and other incubators have begun focusing more on younger technology startups
• Coworking and other movements (such as the various un-conferences) have come to our cities, further helping us to share ideas and build peer networks

In short, the face of this community has changed for the better…and now there is so much more opportunity to find peers and mentors. It’s a more inviting and supportive environment.  Though I didn’t name the specific organizations (you know who you are), I applaud you for giving so much of your energy and serving as a resource for the entrepreneurs and soon-to-be entrepreneurs in this region.

No, my “applause” doesn’t quite cut it: if it weren’t for you all, I couldn’t live here. I get a little sniffily when I consider how vibrant and giving the community here is. I feel like a part of something greater, especially with all the passion and optimism (and you should think about that optimism: it ain’t like that in the rest of the country). Thank you all for doing so much to shape the community the last few years.

A Need for Business Education

However, I still believe there’s a need for education and peer groups that focus specifically on the logistical, financial, and tactical business decisions that serve as roadblocks to launching and succeeding in building a technology business. There’s a whole bunch of misinformation, old information, and fear to debunk. And further, it doesn’t take boatloads of cash, an MBA, or a large rolodex to succeed. That is why I’m holding the Bootstrap Maryland Conference.

But that’s not all.  Two recent experiences have pushed me to make this happen:

• I’ve been traveling a great deal: to conferences, to startup hubs, to incubators, and to venture events both domestic and abroad. Outside of this region, there are more people and events focused on helping others with the best business practices of growing technology companies. And in the most successful regions there are deeper ties between the university and business communities
• I recently attended a sizable event that was intended to energize the student community into building more technology companies. There were two areas where it could have been improved: (1) its advice could have been more current, and thus more applicable to today’s technology companies, particularly with the speed of the web; and, (2) its speakers could have been closer in age to the attendees, so that the attendees could have better identified with the speakers (and possibly been that much more inspired by them)

Bootstrap Maryland’s Focus

Bootstrap Maryland will focus on helping entrepreneurs with the unique business challenges of building a technology company today.  It will involve the university community whenever possible.  And at the first Conference, most of the speakers will be indistinguishable from the generally-younger attendees, to illustrate just how possible and (in some ways) easy it is to build a sustainable business.

Bootstrap Maryland is not just for bootstrapped startups; it will address a broad array of lean principles for building technology companies, particularly with small teams. While some of the topics at the conference (or possibly at future events) may overlap with other community groups, the underlying theme is what’s best for the business of a startup; for instance, though the first conference will explore technology and social media, these topics will be addressed at a high level under the lens of “what decisions in technology or marketing will seriously impact the future of my business?”

One more thing: I’ve been working (and traveling for work) a little bit too much lately, and  I should have paused for a moment to contact more people and let them know about this event in advance.  I know many of you want to be involved…and I have no intention of doing this alone.  I really hope it doesn’t sound like I’m doing this for personal gain.  And as for the first round of panelists, selecting them was the most difficult part: while I’m confident that they’re very qualified, it was very difficult to narrow it down to the list that is there now.  If I overlooked or failed to contact a person or group, please know that I want to work with you.  Just email me or comment below and we’ll find a way for you to play a part.  And if this event is a success, perhaps we’ll find an opportunity to do something more together.

Please Sign Up and Please Help Spread the Word

If you do have the time, please come along on May 2nd to the conference.  And if you have a blog, a Twitter account, or a friend that might benefit, please spread the word.  The site is http://bootstrapmaryland.com and on Twitter it’s @bootstrapmd.

Thank you for hearing me out, and I hope to see you there.  I welcome any thoughts, questions, or suggestions.

Above you’ll find a video from Jonny’s Partay, where I was interviewed on Wednesday, July 9 at 9pm.

There’s a bit of talk about AwayFind, some news about DC, and of course much of what I’ve been up to. From lifehacks to batching email to mobility and travel, hopefully this’ll keep you entertained.

This is a 60 minute show (my piece starts about ten minutes in), so you might want to hold onto this and watch later. If I can find a way to get a better player for this I’ll try to post it.

Thanks so much to so many of you for coming out to watch this live last night! And especially to Jonny Goldstein and Scott Stead for hosting me and putting this together.

Tonight I’ll be interviewed by Jonny Goldstein on Jonny’s Par-tay.  He’ll have some questions but half the fun is where you take the show in the live chatroom.  If you can’t be there tonight at 9pm EDT, just leave a question in the comments and I’ll be sure to answer on the show, which will be recorded and posted here.

Watch it live here!

What do you want to know…

• How do I find time for all these tools and still do things that aren’t in front of a computer?
• How’d I get into this “productivity business”?
• Where do I make money?
• What TV show am I obsessed with?

Ask away in the comments or bring your questions tonight…

A huge thank you to Jonny Goldstein for inviting me and Scott Stead for filming (doing the real work). They’re both awesome people that we in the DC area are so lucky to have around.

While the biggest roadblock to getting involved remains knowing where to start, Graphing Social Patterns and BlogPotomac show just how much we’ve regained our position on the map. Read on for highlights and a discussion of these events.

Graphing Social Patterns East

Graphing Social Patterns brought many engaging industry leaders in social networking to the nation’s capitol. Dave McClure (the main organizer and emcee for the event) kept us entertained as we learned what’s in store for Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, Hi5, MyAOL, Friendster, and others.

The highlight for me was the great people I got to spend time with.  But the event was no doubt full of valuable information.  If you’re in the social networking development or advisory community, some of the snippets worth noting:

• I always like reminders that the US is very different than the rest of the world online.  Benjamin Joffe’s presentation explains both the social networks in Asia and their penetration amongst mobile users.  This is especially relevant since much of technology’s early adoption takes place there first
• Surprisingly few developers complained at the talk of the new Facebook Profile page designs that are coming (more discussion here) (recent update here)
• Dave McClure teased some insight out of Facebook’s team–the payment processing will be “coming soon,” for instance.  [Dave’s a fun moderator—since the Facebook folks normally just spew PR-speak]
• I suppose this is nothing new, but games like Playfish’s Bowling Buddies surprised me with their rich designs and levels of engagement (presented by Sebastien de Halleux at Tuesday’s AppNite)
• While most of the networks are opening up some of their social graph and programming interfaces (API), Facebook is still the most proprietary.  It sounds to me like that’s giving them the ability to act much faster and thus keep more developers and users interested.  Example of a new feature: Facebook is now recommending applications that a user might like

For anyone looking to learn more intricate details of what’s happening in social networks…and meeting the people behind the happenings, I’d highly recommend checking out Graphing Social Patterns when it’s in town.

BlogPotomac

Geoff Livingston and Debbie Weil put on a rockin’ conference about PR and social media.  They had a series of presenters who provided overviews of their topics for about 15-20 minutes and then answered questions for the remainder of the hour.  It worked surprisingly well (considering there were over 200 attendees)—it kept the audience engaged and the topics relevant.

As with Graphing Social Patterns, it was the people that made this event.  The DC community had a strong representation and there was a conspicuous feeling of community…even though there were mostly new faces from the largely PR-oriented attendance.

Some of the highlights:

• Dan Beyers, the Local Business editor for the Washington Post spoke of the challenges traditional media faces with blogs and user-generated content.  I look forward to seeing the Washington Post offer more options for both their readers and the larger social media community to engage and interact with their reporting.  You can watch the video here
• Frank Gruber of Somewhat Frank and TechCocktail, shared his story, and provided a list of the “bright and shiny objects” (web tools) he uses on a daily basis.  For the largely PR crowd, he offered a view of how to get involved with both listening and participating online.  It was also a fun presentation about Frank’s own transparency online—you can check out the video here soon
• KD Paine of KD Paine & Partners explained in clear and practical terms how to measure new media success.  This was all news to me.  When her video appears here, it’ll be well worth the watch
• Kami Huyse of Communication Overtones led a very interactive session on social media ethics—with discussions about astroturfing, using others’ content, and many topics relevant to organizations looking to maintain an online identity.  Kami hosts an excellent list of articles on new media ethics on her del.icio.us page

So Much Going On In DC

I’m excited to see major events like this taking place in DC…and to realize that much of our local talent is creating such a presence in social media.  Thank you so much to the organizers and sponsors who have made these events possible.

I look forward to what lies ahead as our community and the caliber of our events continues to grow.

Note: I’ll update the podcast links as they become available on SXSW’s site.

Personal favorites

• Beyond the Blogosphere: How Online Talent is Being Developed Offline – this rockstar panel–Omid Ashtari (Creative Artist Agency), Damon Berger (Revision3), Brad King, (thedudeman.net), Nicole Lapin (CNN), and Gary Vaynerchuk (winelibrary.tv)–was packed full of valuable insight. Vaynerchuk was hilarious and there were questions and commentary with Tim Ferriss, Jeff Jarvis, Erik Nordby, Jim Louderback, and even Twanna Hines. This was a panel full of sharp people with conversation to match it. [podcast] [description on SXSW]
• Tools for Enchantment: 20 Ways to Woo Users – Kathy Sierra never fails to offer an enlightening perspective, and do it with wit & flare. Here she explains 20 ways to get your audience’s brains more interested in your message/product. She ends with a touching surprise that got everyone cheering. [podcast] [description on SXSW]
• The Art of Speed: Conversations With Monster Makers – This panel, moderated by Tim Ferriss, featured Mike Cassidy (XFire and others), Evan Williams (Twitter), and Cali Lewis (GeekBrief.TV). It offered a lot of creative ideas for growing a business rapidly. [podcast] [description on SXSW] [coverage]

Ones many others have recommended (I may add to this list)

• Peas in a Pod: Advertising, Monetization and Social Media – The title may sound dry, but I heard this featured some very lively debate between Kent Nichols (Ask a Ninja) and Tim Kendall (Facebook). Other panelists included Ellen McGirt (Fast Company) and Seth Goldstein (Socialmedia Networks). I wish I could’ve seen this in person… [podcast] [description on SXSW]
• 10 Things We’ve Learned at 37signals – Jason Fried of 37signals opines on their lessons-learned. Always a treat to hear the thoughts from the founder of arguably the most successful small company there is. This got rave reviews for the advice / unique approach offered [podcast] [description on SXSW]
• Keynote by Frank Warren – Frank Warren tells the PostSecret story and his thoughts on sharing secrets. If I hadn’t been long familiar with PostSecret (it started just a few miles from me), I would’ve attended this. Frank’s emotional keynote brought the crowd to a standing ovation. [podcast] [description]

My Favorite Parties

• Gary Vaynerchuk’s Wine Party [pics]
• Geeks Love Bowling [pics]

Other Miscellany

• The controversial Mark Zuckerberg interview by Sarah Lacy [podcast / description] [Brian Solis opinion] [Nick O'Neill reaction]
• Mark Cuban interviewing Michael Eisner [podcast] [description on SXSW] [coverage]
• Great local coverage on austin360
• Great live blogging on newmediabuzz.com
• My pictures on Flickr

I can’t finish this post without some personal thank you’s to people who took the time out of a busy week to really chat. Thank you to Gina Trapani, Tim Ferriss, and Deborah Schultz for being so open minded and helpful.

Do you have any recommendations or thoughts?

Photos:

dancingwithwords’ NetSquared at Google DC photoset

Last night’s event was put on by NetSquared DC, a group that educates while bringing together the non profit and technology sectors. We spent an hour in open discussion of the OneWorld.net web presence–and the conversation ranged from social media and Drupal to advocacy and business. There was energy, intelligence, passion. It felt right at home in the Googleplex.

I’m excited to see the way companies like Viget Labs and nclud are raising the bar of our local businesses’ web presence. The way social media outreach is taken to high levels of transparency and integrity by companies like Livingston Communications. And the way small startups and big are right at home here.

Last night I met Jake Brewer from idealist.org, as they also just opened a DC office. It’s great to see companies participate here, regardless of all the Valley talk lately. We’ve got a ways to go, but progress is being made by so many people.