heathervescent

Ignite3 Line-up

I'm really excited about our 3rd Ignite here in Los Angeles on June 7th. We had a record number of absolutely AMAZING submissions. It took a lot of deliberation to select the speakers. Our only consolation for those awesome submittions not on stage this month, is ... you're on the short-list for IgniteLA4!

A note about our venue, V Lounge. We selected a larger capacity venue from our previous Ignite. We loved CineSpace, but wanted to offer a longer program and increase attendance capacity. However, even with the increase, we expect standing room only. We encourage you to arrive in plenty of time and we're working on an even larger venue for next time.

The event is FREE, but please register and support the event by having a cocktail or some snacks at V Lounge, they're donating the space. Space is first-come, first-serve. (Registering helps us plan future IgniteLAs.)

When: June 7, 7:30-11pm, talks start at 8:15pm
Where: V Lounge, 2020 Wilshire Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90403 (in West LA)
Cost: Free to attend, but you are responsible for paying for your own food/drinks.
Parking: Valet or neighborhood street parking (decent)

To spark your interest here's a partial list of our June 7th topics and speakers:

• Directed Evolution, Frances Arnold, Caltech
• Another Earth, Amir Give'on, NASA JPL
• Write How To Make The Best Of Living In A War Zone, Liz Grover, Writer/Filmmaker
• Financing the Future, Glenn Yago, Exec Dir of Financial Research, Milken Institute
• An Amazing History of Awesome Stuff Underground, Molly Steenson, Design Researcher
• Asking a girl out with PPT, Jason Porath, Professional Effects Artist and Technical Director
• Mechanical Olympics, Xtine Burrough, Media Artist & Asst Prof CSU Fullerton
• Meditation and Consciousness, Pedram Shojai, Taoist & Qi Gong master, Wellness Expert
• Collaborative Filmaking, Sheila Hardy, Filmmaker,  Eve's Lime
• Teaching Kids Programming, Lynn Langit, Microsoft Evangelist & Digigirls
• The Internet in China, Christine Lu, CEO, Affinity China

If you've been sparked by the above topics, we hope you'll join us on Monday, June 7th at V Lounge to hear about interesting projects by passionate people.

The IgniteLA Organizers,

• Dan
• Heather
• Michael
• Social Animal

Hbombtastic Events

I can't stop myself. I am compelled to create these spaces, these experiences. I hope you'll join me if you are into these same things.

• June 7: Ignite 3 in Los Angeles
• June 12-13: Humanity Plus Summit (ps. I'm speaking!)
• June 15: Geek Dinner REDUX @ Canters
• July 24: Save the Date for Xmas in July

********************************************

Ignite3

When: June 7, 7:30pm
Where: V Lounge (2020 Wilshire Boulevard, Santa Monica, CA 90403-5608)
What: 5 Minutes. 20 Slides. 15 Seconds per Slide.
Cost: Free
RSVP & Details

Speakers get only 5 minutes to give an amazing, inspiring talk. In LA, there are tons of different communities at the intersection of tech, academia, art, green/sustainability, entertainment, unique lifestyle design, entrepreneurship, digital/collaborative media, and social action that don't know each other but should. Think of Ignite as a set of trailers for exciting projects people are doing that you should know about.

LA Geek Dinner REDUX

The LA Geek Dinner returns for one night.

When: Tuesday, June 15, 2010, starting around 7:30pm
Where: Canters Deli, Mid-Town on Fairfax near Melrose
What: People who self-identify as geeks
Details

How does it work: Show up, order a drink, some food, be open and friendly, meet some new people, have some interesting conversations, eat some pastrami. It’s a chill scene. No uber networking, self-promotion or company promotion. Just be cool. We’re all friends you haven’t met yet. RSVP on our old friend Upcoming

XMAS in JULY: Santa Needs A Vacation

Save the date for Xmas in July: July 24th. Suggestion: Santa like red bikini's! Planning meeting soon.

Ignite Returns to Los Angeles: March 1

IgniteLA is back in LA after a short hiatus. I helped launch Ignite in Los Angeles last year with Dan Gould, the local wrangler, Brady Forrest from O'Reilly and Matt Forrest, (yes they are related) at Social Animal.

Starting Monday, March 1st, we in Los Angeles are kicking off Global Ignite week. That means cities across the world will host local Ignites. We have a great lineup of speakers here in Los Angeles. But first, the details:

• Monday March, 1st, starts at 7pm until 9pm
• Location: Cinespace in Hollywood (1st 50 folks who registered (and show up first) get free valet), 6356 Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90028 (map)
• Tickets are Free, but please register.
• On Twitter: @ignite2la
  
• Ignite LA Facebook Group
  

And now, our wonderful speakers (in no particular order):

• Karen North, USC, Social Media
• Eric Gradman: Through the Cloudmirror
• Adam Sadowsky: OK Go & the Grand Machine
• Mike Flynn: Something really cool
• Chad Catacchio: How Crisis Commons is Helping Haiti & Chile
• Sasha Chock: Something really neat
• Kasey McMahon: Breaking the Mold: Pattern Recognition, Art and Nanobot Housecleaning Services
  
• Lisa Remmington: Social action through film
• Sekou Andrews: Spoken Word
• Dena Plotkin: Working with difficult people
• Kurt Daradics: Something cyborgy
• Jenny Funkmeyer: Remote Viewing
• Chris Spurgeon: Mapping India: A True Tale of Balls-out 18th Century Science. With Tigers.
  

Note: If you are any of the above speakers, contact me to add your bio and link to your site.

Ignite2LA is organized by Dan Gould (@dgould), Michael Liskin (@rhetor), moi, Heathervescent  (@Heathervescent), and Matt Forrest.

It is co-sponsored by USC's Annenberg Program on Online Communities (@APOCusc) and Social Animal who are graciously managing production--and will put the talks on the YouTube.

Ignite was started by Brady Forrest at O'Reilly. This event is part of Global Ignite Week, March 1-5. As part of Global Ignite Week, there will be Ignite events on six continents in 60 Cities with 600 Talks, encompassing 10,000+ Igniters.

October Geek Dinner next Tuesday

Yo Peeps, It's the pimping and promoting heathervescent coming at ya! Geek Dinner is going down next week on Tuesday the 21st at our favorite Chinese Restaurant - Mao's Kitchen on Melrose. I know there are a lot of Tech events happening in LA these days, and you may ask, what's the deal with the geek dinner.

Well, I won't say it was the first tech event in LA, (it wasn't) but when it launched almost three years ago, the LA tech scene was dead. Dead, I tell ya. The geek dinner was the fragile nub of new growth, from which a forest of LA technology events and the tech community sprouted. The geek dinner is low key, relaxed getting to know each other over a simple inexpensive meal. Sure some networking goes on, sometimes we have sponsors, sometimes we have giveaways, but mostly it's about meeting and connecting with people who self-select as being interested and passionate about technology.

It's easy to attend -  bring yourself and a twenty-spot to cover your dinner. I'm splurging and bringing drinks.

RSVP and details and stuff are at Upcoming.

Announcing GeekDinner.org

You may have noticed the lack of geek and tech coverage on the ole heathervescent blog - and that's for good reason, I'm taking back my blog as an expression of myself and segmenting my geek dinner announcements over on the brand spanking new Geek Dinner Blog!

So go check out the work in progress, subscribe to it's RSS and let us know what you think in the comments!

I may have tech coverage over here from time to time, but I plan on keeping my creative edge active over here. I also have another blog announcement coming up soon... so stay tuned!

2 Years of LA's Geek Dinner!

Next week will be the 2 year anniversary of the LA Geek Dinner. This is really exciting for me, because tech communities and bubbles come and go. I lived through the first bubble 1.0 in the Bay Area and watched it blow up and then blow out. I've worked really hard to make the geek dinner sustainable and long-term. Two years doesn't seem that long, but it is big landmark!

Anyway, come on down to an awesome geek dinner. Just be sure to buy your tickets in advance.

---

The Geek Dinners are a monthly gathers of Internet technology lovers in Los Angeles. Anyone who has an interest and passion for technology, the internet, internet technologies, software or you just know you're a geek is welcome.

OUR LOCAL SPONSORS
Mike Prasad of Bullspot is covering the drinks: http://www.bullspot.com/

Boris Epstein of BincSearch is hosting the "Ask a Recruiter" table and bringing cupcakes. Check out: http://blog.bincsearch.com/
-------------------------

You must buy a ticket to attend. http://geekdinner24.eventbrite.com
$20 and good karma in advance, $25 and bad karma if you pay at the door.

This month we're at BLANKSPACES - LA's 1st co-working space.

It's also the 2 year anniversary of the LA Geek Dinner!

GEEKEST T-SHIRT CONTEST
We're also having a "geekiest t-shirt" contest with prizes for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. So wear your geekiest t-shirt!

Update: The Winner will take home a $50 gift certificate from Threadless. So you can increase your geeky t-shirt collection even more!

And we're having some exciting press coverage, so come and celebrate with us.

Feb Geek Dinner 2nite!

It's the geek dinner tonight. On the board are some super-duper awesome giveaways!!!!

• One ticket to SXSW interactive - yup you heard me. SXSW wants you.
• One ticket to CommunityNext - coming the end of March
• A super sekret special code for CommunityNext if you didn't get the winning ticket. (Avail only at the geek dinner! Even better than ones posted on the barcamp list)
• Free drinks from Nielson Media!

And it's at uWink - the geekiest restaurant in California (take that Silicon Valley!)

See you there. Details and RSVP (sorry guest list closed).

uWink

 

    Westfield Promenade, 6100 Topanga Canyon Blvd. 2310
    Woodland Hills, California 91367  

LA Tech Plan coming True

I could not have scripted this better. The opening intro to this TV segment on Twiistup an LA's Tech Scene is what I have been planning. The time is now. Check it out.

Geek Dinner 008

Save the date - save the date!

Hey everyone,

Just a reminder to RSVP for the blind date with dorkbot on the 15th. That's the day before Twiistup.

We've going to be at Machine Project's Space in Echo Park. It's conveniently located off the 101 / Alvarado exit.

    1200 D North Alvarado Street
    Los Angeles, CA 90026

I'm having it catered, so I need to know accurate numbers for the caterer - aka - don't leave me hanging with at $400 bill this time! It's going to cost about $15-20 per person for an awesome catered meal by a chef that I have personally eaten the most awesome food from. In fact, she just won the Iron Chef Award for Perfect Culinary Excellence (or something like that) this past weekend.

Also we have a sponsor - SK Telecom (who incidentally is looking for cool technology to acquire).We have some things to give away and of course announcements.

Come, eat, drink and play with geeks and people who do strange things with electricity.

<3,

-Heather

A Story on Firestarting

I occasionally attend a multi-day gathering with friends at an old homesteader cabin in the Mojave. The area is desolate, and for one weekend we bring in generators and DJ equipment, a stage and about 80 people camp, party and generally have a good time. We shoot guns at the private range and generally engage in standard desert activities: eating, drinking, esoteric conversations and taking in the natural beauty of the desert. At night it is cold, so we have fires - inevitably started by yours truly.

In this particular weekend, it was unseasonably cold and as the sun set, everyone was gathered in and around the cabin. It was crammed in there while no one was paying attention to the cold desert beauty at dusk. So I went outside to start a fire. At first, it was just me and Sam, and a friend or two stopping by. We chucked more wood into it and really got it going. Then others came out and started adding wood and pretty soon there were a lot of people by the fire. The fire was going really well and people were enjoying adding wood and taking care of it. Since there were 2 other fire pit possibilities and plenty of wood, I moved onto start another fire in another location.

Same story as the first one. At first it was me and Sam (my firestarting partner) stacking the wood, the newspaper, twigs and lighting the match in several locations. We always get the fire started on the first try. Again, we were alone with the fire, but slowly folks moved from the first fire and others from the cabin came out to be around the second fire. It was closer to the stage and dance area so people would stop by to warm up between dancing and wandering.

The same thing happened for the third fire. At that point I would occasionally need to add wood to the previous other fires.

I feel like that's what happened here in LA Tech. There are tons of people around adding fuel to the fire, chucking on their own pieces of wood. Making a fire bigger and even starting their own. The fires are beautiful and roiling. It's very hot and going quite nicely.

Geek Dinner recap

That was one awesome geek dinner last night. I think we had most of the heavy hitters of the LA Tech Community in attendance. Lots of new faces (thanks to the article). The food wasn't that great, but we made up for it in great company. We had a link with the South Bay (in NorCal) geek dinner and I broadcasted our geek dinner via Justin.tv. It was loud on both ends and we can definitely improve the experience, but it was great to have the link with them.

I'm about to jump into my car and blast up to San Francisco for Open Space Training. I'm very excited about this. I woke up this morning with the idea for my next/first official open space event early next year and a vision from a location in the past. Karnak.

Last night, as we went around the room, each table read off their top 3 stories for 2007 and predicted the stories for 2008. Nicole Jordan wrote that 2008 is the year for LA. I couldn't agree with her more.

Virtual Combined Geek Dinner

Tonight will be the first ever NorCal/SoCal Geek Dinner!

Bring your laptops and EVDO or other wireless broadband connections. Bring a webcam if you have one, although I will have some available.

And, you can still tune if you can't make it in person.

NorCal (South Bay) is here:
http://www.justin.tv/sbgeekdinner
RSVP: http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/384133/

LA (Santa Monica) is here:
http://www.justin.tv/lageekdinner or
http://www.stickam.com/profile/lageekdinner
RSVP: http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/383895/

LA Geek Dinner - Tomorrow

Just a quick reminder that tomorrow is the LA Geek Dinner! Click to RSVP.

Here are the deets:
El Texate

 

    316 Pico Blvd
    Santa Monica, California 90405

I've some exciting stuff to talk about as well. See ya in Santa Monica.
 

Thoughts and Thanks

I sent this to the barcampLA list today. If you're of the like mind. Please join us.

--------------------------------------------

Yesterday's article about the geek dinners and our LA Tech community was a validation of what all of us on this list know has been happening and growing for quite some time. That the tech community here - spawned by Barcamp is no flash in the pan. That community is _you_. Everyone on this list and everyone who has attended an event are the community - and the _real_ reason that article was written.

We have awesome community leaders and plenty of community to grow. Many of you have heard me compare the LA Tech scene as a sleeping giant. Well, in the words of one of my favorite authors, Frank Herbert - "The sleeper has awakened."

And guess what -- that means the spotlight is on us. The world has started to take notice. Let's blow them away. How do we do that?

1. We are team. We're on the same side.
We might not always agree or get along. We might have different focuses and go to different events - but ultimately - working together will help us kick ass daft punk style: harder, better, faster, stronger!

2. Just do it.
Got an idea or a dream? Don't put it off another day. Everything starts with a small step. Don't think you can, then ....

3. Ask for Help
Have a question, need some help. We have the answers in the community. Please feel free to personally ping me. I love enabling you to be successful.

4. Be supportive.
Help those you can. Offer constructive criticism. Remember, everyone is doing the best that they can. Get over yourself and put your ego aside. Everyone can kick ass in their own way. Help them do that.

Finally, I want to say kudos to _you_. Yes, you reading this message right now. This is your community. Let's take even higher. You decide where we go. I'm at your service.

-Heather

Dec Geek Dinner - El Texate

The word is out. The December Geek Dinner is on Tuesday, Dec 18th at El Texate in Santa Monica.

Location (map)
316 Pico Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90405

Get Directions(310) 399-1115

Starts at 8pm. RSVP on Upcoming

Word to the Founders...

Last night, a few hours after I found out the LA Times article was running, the boyfriend, my pal Kaliya aka Identity Woman and I twisted our way into the Beverly Hills. The streets were dark with welcoming lights on the multi-million dollar homes, LA city twinkling behind me. As I downshifted to gain power up the hills, I was internally chucking. You see, I was on my way to a last minute Barlow get-together.

Barlow of John Perry Barlow, the Founder of EFF. My chuckling was because here I have been trying (and succeeding) in kick-starting the LA Tech scene for about 2 years, but I'm not the first one to do this, in fact Barlow's Frenzies are famous for this type of activity. And they've been going on, I don't know how long. They are old school. But there is one person in LA that has been rocking the Tech Party Scene for 20 years. Her name is Coco.

So on this day, where the LA Tech Scene is getting press due to the new explosion of geekterific events, I want to give a shout out to one of my inspirations - Coco Conn. You've been a quiet inspiration to me since I met you (back at the SRL <3 LA show). Thanks and Rock on!

I think I can say, the sleeping giant has awakened.

If you're new to the LA Tech Scene, go check out this page (I'm writing it right now), where I've outlined the various kick ass leaders in the community and where you can go to meet them and learn more.

xxx LA,

-H

I am Queen of LA Tech

The LA Times has officially recognized me as the Queen of LA Tech. Well, ok, maybe not officially the Queen of LA tech, but at least someone who likes to throw tech parties and "nerd" out.

So hi all you LA Times readers. Want to know more about me? Then check out my bio, and then my company - The Purple Tornado. We can help your company kick ass online. (And throw a kick ass party too.) Here's my original call to arms to the LA Tech community.

Want to join? Then join this group.
Want to find about upcoming tech events? Then check out OptionLA - the site I created to catalog all the events.
Want to list your geekertific event? You can do that too.
Want to come the next geek dinner? It's December 18th in Santa Monica. Email me for details.
Jan 15 is going be with our friends Machine Project.

Please feel free to send me email. I promise that I will read all of them that flit past my spam protection. Especially since my inbox is now GTDed! blog at heathervescent dot com.

ps. Check out my last LA Times mention (reigning over LA Blogging) almost 2 years exactly. Thanks LA Times. I try to do our city good.

The Winnies 2007

The Winnies 2007 0985.jpg
Originally uploaded by luismi1985.

Yet another winnies photo.

The Winnies 2007

The Winnies 2007 1415.jpg
Originally uploaded by luismi1985.

Jennifer Fader and I pose at the Winnies. Thanks Irina - you kick ass in my book.

MatzoBall Soup, Wifi and Geeks

Andy and I dream about the LA Tech Community. I know, I know, I need to work on my diction Mom. By the way, Twiistup 3 is Jan 16. Just wait till you see the tricks I have up my sleeve for this one....

Hawt! An n9593 on Ice

Andrew Maskin put an n93 on ice for the NYC mobile barcamp.

If you missed the MobileBarcampLA, check out the recap here. There's also a google group you can join. My favorite items were:

• One World. No Borders. 3 Billion Connected People. Claim Your Piece. - David Harper
  Dave Harper, CEO of Winksite, a suite of tools to immediately create and support mobile communities, gave an hour-long session sharing his experience on what it takes to scale mobile applications to 189+ countries and over 5 million hits per month. After providing tips and tricks on mobile advertising and mobile SEO, Dave showed and explained QR Codes and their real-world applications using a plethora of examples. People got really excited about this and again, ideas were bounced back and forth and were discussed far beyond the session.

• halfbaked.com - Entrepreneurial Improv - Alexis Rondeau
  Each team selected 2 random words and got 20 minutes to come up with - and pitch - the next mobile killer application! Besides having the very nice side-effect of making people play and interact, the resulting mobile startup ideas ranged from outrageous ("Zombie Hook-up") to VC-fundable ("Car Watch"). After every team presented their startups' product, revenue model, marketing plan, tagline and logo the most promising one was selected. The winning team was completely speechless when we gave each of them either an N95 or an N800. The unpacking of the boxes ensued immediately and everyone was flocking around the devices. In total we gave away 10 devices in this session (including the very cool panel of judges).

• MegaPhone Demo and discussion - Dan Albritton
  Dan Albritton from playmegaphone.com gave the first workshop in the morning showcasing their mobile real-time multiplayer game engine. MegaPhone is an interactive installation where any cellphone becomes a game-controller by placing a phonecall. Within 1 Minute Dan had the crowd punching their phone-keypads ("Peow-peow!P-p-p-eow!") to score and shouting into their mics ("Grabgrab! Grabgrabgrab! Grab!") to reach the Top 10 of the game. After an overview of the underlying technology and showcases, the group went into a long conversation on creating new applications of the project.
• (recap bullets written by Andy Maskin, Source)

And the In N Out Burger truck in the parking lot. And I don't even like In n Out. ;) I also enjoyed the 1-2am drive around Hollywood to Santa Monica, where we QR tagged In n Out on Sunset, saw a car go over the cliff on Mulholland, looked at the lights of the Valley and Basin from the hills and drove like a race car driver taking the freeway curves at an increasing speed utilizing centrifugal force with the top down.

Now that's a day in the life of LA.

BarcampLA4 Preso

Here's the preso I gave at BarcampLA 4. It spans online branding, blowing shit up, doing things and how to get your heart's desire. As in all things, be authentic, manage risks strategically and be safe KICK ASS.

xxx

-Heather

ps. I'm a kick-ass integrator.

 

| View | Upload your own

ps. photo credits in the preso go to Kmo and Jenna.

Add a listing of LA Tech events to your blog or site

Want to keep in touch with the events happening in the LA tech scene? Then check out Option:LA - an online event calendar. If you're into Facebook Apps, here's the Option:LA facebook app. You can also add a widget display the upcoming events on your own blog or web site (grab the code here). It's easy, and free and you'll help build and participate in the LA Tech Community. It looks something like this:

BarcampLA Calls

Another weekend of tech craziness. LA is smack in the middle of it's geek event explosion. I've got mixed feelings about all the events.

On one hand, it is awesome to see the popularity, the success, the desire and thirsting for this tech connectivity. On the other hand, my biggest concern, my biggest fear is too many tech events are happening with participants spread thin. Back on the other hand, I'm excited and delighted that so many leaders are taking the torch. On the other hand, how do I know they are looking out for the community? On the other hand why is it up to me to decide what's good for the community? It's not. I just had the vision last year and have been carrying the torch. The diversity and different methods, attitudes, goals and people make for a diverse vibrant community that serves the community. That's all good.

But I've worked so hard, for what feels like often nothing, to get here. To this place where these events are even happening - I'm not the only one carrying the torch. I don't want them to be flash in the pans. I want them to be successful, sustainable - for each organizer/leader and the community. But for them to be sustainable, they must each hold on their own, and within the community. And I'd like to hope that all events contribute the building and visibility of the LA tech community.

Why do I even care? A couple years ago I only wanted to blow shit up, express myself and make my life the most awesome thing in the world. What's the difference now? (Maybe I've blown enough stuff up, expressed myself enough and have a dream life - and teach you too how to have a dream life.)

Because I see the need, and I have a bigger vision.

But let's get beyond the big vision and talk about today. I'm thinking about chucking my online branding with bonus enlightenment preso, for a guide on blowing things up in a fire or do-ocracy or how to get your heart's desire. Which is more interesting? Or should I cram all 4 into 1 sessions called the heathervescent show?

Geeking Events in LA

It's amazing how much the LA Geek Scene has exploded. A year ago I was doing the geek dinners for about 20 people and pulling my hair out preparing for Barcamp2. Today you can choose from many different montly geek events (like Lunch 2.0, Hike the Geek, Thursday Lunch, LA Web App developers, Geek Dinner) in additional to unconference events like Twiistup, StartupLA and good old Barcamp.

I've been keeping track of most of these events in my brain and I've tried to post about all of them here on this blog. But I've never been happy with those solutions. So I'd like to introduce you to OptionLA. OptionLA lists all the geek events happening in Los Angeles. Anyone can submit a geek event. You can add the events to your calendar and subscribe to an RSS feed. It doesn't look uber slick, but hey - we're all about meeting in person. Please add your own events and check out the calendar to meet more LA Geeks. There are quite a few of us.

ps. There is also a facebook app you can subscribe to - to get the listings on your facebook page.

Are you in for Start-up LA!

Have you registered for Startup LA yet? LA's first startup unconference happening at UCLA the end of this month. For $50, you can meet and hear some leaders in the LA tech community. Folks like

• Stephen A. Burgess - Author, CEO, serial entrepreneur
• Peter Lee - PRISM VentureWorks
• Dr. Tony Karrer, CEO/CTO of TechEmpower
• Jeff Carmody - Managing Partner, Agility Capital
• Jason Calacanis - Entrepreneur, Blogger
• Mark Jeffrey - Entrepreneur, Author
• Jennifer Openshaw - Author of “The Millionaire Zone”
• Richard Morganster, President LA Chapter of Tech Coast Angels
• Christian Giangreco, President of RIS Technology, Inc.
• Cliff Allen, CEO of Cliff Allen Consulting
• Mark Geller, from Google
• Michael Leventhal, Partner, Praxis LLPJane Guerin, JD
• Lily Steiner - Director of American Business Gateway
• Ian Browde - Director of Strategy & Business Development, Nokia
• Simon Anderson - Managing Director of Ocean Avenue Ventures
• Sean Bonner - Metroblogging

And that's just Friday afternoon!

In addition, you can participate and present your own ideas and share best practices with everyone on Saturday. If you care about a vibrant LA tech community you should plan on attending. $50 is cheap when it comes to making your dreams a reality.

More Geek Events: She's Geeky & StartupLA

Update, update, update! More geek events, more geek events to announce!!!!!! Here's what I'm doing the last week in October.

First I am going to kick it in Mountain View at the Computer History Museum with a bunch of geeky girls at the She's Geeky unconference!I'm wrangling up a crew of SoCal ladies to represent to the Valley. Here me NorCal - we're gonna Represent.

More details here!

And a little closer to home: it's Startup LA hosted by UCLA on Friday October 26th and Sunday October 27th. Registration is open and if you are fast, you can snag a $25 ticket.

Have you noticed that Silicon Valley and the Bay Area get all the attention when it comes to entrepreneurship and technology? Well, things are about to change, and you can be a part of it. Different that other conferences for entrepreneurs, students, and investors, StartupLA is one that is structured yet free flowing, blending scheduled speakers and presentations with open topics that guests can sign-up for the day of the event.  Attend panel topics ranging from pitching to VCs and raising money, to legal startup advice, to marketing. You can enter the business plan competition or just come to network.

StartupLA is a new conference committed to building the startup community in Los Angeles.

I'm personally really excited about StartupLA because it's taking my vision of creating a sustainable LA technology community to the next level. Plus I'm excited to check out our panels.

About Last Night - g33k d1nner recap

The geek dinner last night was a mixed bag. It was awesome to be back at the Electric Lotus. The food was great, the tables were overflowing with over 20 different dishes, our waiter Arthur kicked ass and there was pie! Dave Bullock also took awesome photos! (Can't wait to see them! I still owe you that drink.) There were 3 in attendance (other than myself) from the original LA geek dinner: Crystal, Jory and Sam.

Yesterday I wrote a post collecting the geek events happening in SoCal through the rest of the year. There are 15 events on the list and I forgot to include LA Flash Stuff and CodeCamp. Two years ago, I could not find one geek type event. Today, there is something happening almost every week in all areas of the LA Metro Area. This is AWESOME and a testament to our community.

But it's not all good. We have growing pains. Last night, those growing pains came in the form of 20+ no shows to a $20 price fixed dinner. They didn't update their RSVP or even email me to say they weren't coming. (This doesn't include the two people who were physically ill and contacted me. I had people waiting to attend and people took your places.)

$20 x 20 = $400 to cover the no-shows. In addition, some people didn't pay their bar tabs and/or didn't tip the waiter. The total additional we had to cover was about $450!!!!!

Which we did it thanks to everyone chipping in additional $$ with Sanjay and Bino covering the majority. CJ took care of the shirked bartabs and tips. You guys totally rock!

But the situation did not rock. It showed a lack of responsibility and was unfair to those who did show up by increasing the cost of the dinner.

20+ people flaked on their commitment. Almost 50% of the RSVPs. Other people didn't pay for what they consumed and the community had to cover their ass. This is NOT ACCEPTABLE behavior for ADULTS! Instead of unleashing my wrath (remember, I'm into guns, fire and unicorns) on the no shows (many of whom I am friends with), I want to ask the community, what should we do about this?

I have the names of everyone who RSVPed. I printed the closed list and checked off everyone who showed up and paid. I know who flaked. Should I -

1. Contact the noshows and ask them to paypal $21 ($20 + fee) to pay back the people who covered their ass.
2. Publish the names and publicly humiliate the people who didn't show up?
3. Take a chill pill and say, "It's just money."
4. Give me a better option

I try to make the geek dinners as accessible as possible by keeping the cost down and as easy to attend. I organize this event without any remuneration, using time from my billable hours (I'm independent and don't have a corporate day job). I do this to build the community I want to participate in.

Should I enforce pre-pay? Should we skip dinner and move this to a drinking/bar environment? What can be done to make sure this doesn't happen again? And please let me know what we should do about the no-shows. I don't think it's fair that we had to come up with $450 to cover their asses.

Sept 18th g33k d1nner: almost full

Well, well, well, it's time again for geeks to eat en mass again. The September geek dinner is back at our original location: The Electric Lotus.

Deets for Tuesday, Sept 18th.

• Dinner starts at 8pm. You can come early for drinks.
• Electric Lotus, Los Feliz, 4656 Franklin Avenue, Los Angeles, California (map)
• Valet parking in the back
• Price fixed dinner (inc tax + tip) for $20, please bring cash. Drinks are on your own.
• We're supposed to be in the side room.
• Reservation under "Heather"
• RSVP on upcoming. We're limited to 50 people and about to hit that.
• Bring your geek gear to show off. I've got a new phone (that's not an iphone - so take that! ;) )

New for this geek dinner: Directions from your Phone!
Dial Directions is a new service that lets any cell phone user call "DIR-ECT-IONS" (347-327-4667 on their keypad), request any destination address or store location, and receive directions instantly by text message. No GPS or web plan needed.

Tuyen Ho at Dial Directions has been kind enough to set this up for our dinner on Tuesday. Check it out. From your cell phone,
- Dial 347-328-4667 which spells DIR-ECT-IONS
- Say event "LA Geek Dinner"
- Say your start address (or intersection).
- Receive instant driving directions by text message.

Let me know if you try this out.

Disclaimer: I'm pimping this because it sounds cool and usable to us. DD did not pay for mention, although I do think they should sponsor a future geek dinner... ;)

I'm a tech Vixen!

According to this article in Wired about Lunch 2.0!

Search company ThisNext hosted the first ever Lunch 2.0 meetup in Los Angeles on Friday. The company's Santa Monica office, built for a staff of 12, was swamped with over 80 people all stuffing their faces with free food. Los Angeles, it seems, has a strong startup community that's itching to take on the Valley.

Well, I wouldn't say take on the Valley, but I would say leverage our assets. And yeah, LA has a lot of assets - all the way from a thriving VC community, content creators, tons of ideas, great weather and beautiful (and smart) people.

---

ManJose,

We got your new gig and girlfriend down here. Not only will you blow us away with your insane coding skills, you can surf or rock climb or ski or hike, catch awesome movies @ the Arclight, pretend to care about the Hwood club scene or eat any kind of authentic ethnic food. You won't necessarily have to work on the weekends, so you'll have plenty of time to visit Fry's for your side project. You'd better move fast though, cause our housing prices are coming close to Bay Area levels.

If you need any additional convincing, just drop me line.

<3,

-heathervescent

Reminder: Lunch 2.0 on Friday

Whew - I'm probably back and still covered in dust, but I wanted to remind you of the inaugural Lunch 2.0 - yes - yet another geek tech event has landed in LA. (Go LA geeks!) Thanks to Andrew Warner  for motivation and initiative and ThisNext for hosting. Looks like there are going to be about 100+- people in attendance. Way to go!

Details:
Friday, September 7 @ 12:05 PM

ThisNext's Office (map)
1409 3rd Street Promenade
Santa Monica, CA 90401 Map
310-463-9345

RSVP here: http://www.mixergy.com/r/?lk=LpxAyOXrijuczHh

About Lunch 2.0:

Lunch 2.0, the popular Silicon Valley get-together, is coming to LA, thanks to ThisNext. Let's all meet at ThisNext's office to eat their lunch. It'll be a good place to really get to know other ambitious SoCal techies.

Reminder: Community Buildrs Mtg tomorrow

Just a quick reminder about the Community Builders Mtg tomorrow. Details:

When:
Thursday August 30th, 2007

Where:
Rich Media Institute
525 Venezia Avenue
Venice, California 90291
Map & Contact Info

Agenda:
6:30 - 7:00 Arrive, Greet, Chat
7:00 - 8:30 Meeting on topics TBD
8:30 - 9:00 Individual Discussions

I'm really looking forward to this meeting and building on the momentum as a group from the first one! I've got some thoughts on discussion topics for this meeting. Here they are:

1)  What is the single most effective means of building participation that each of us has found so far?
2)  How much damage (if any) do monetization efforts cause the spirit of a community?
3)  Can we as a group produce a "Quick Start Guide to Community Building" to share with others?

I will not be able to make it because I have been on the playa for about a week now, but you should go and post the recap in the comments. Thanks to Kirk for hosting/organizing.

Vote for my SXSW Panel

OK, so it's not really my panel. Ian Muir put it together, but he asked me to be on it and talk about the kicking ass geek dinners and what's worked to create the LA tech community. I think we have an awesome community here and I'd love to share what's worked for us to help others create vibrate tech communities outside of "the valley."

Description:
BarCamps, Geek Dinners and other events are changing the face of the web community. Rather than relying on blogs and forums, these events provide communities with an opportunity to share and learn in person. The panel will be provided by several BarCamp organizers and will focus on the organization process and the effect on the community afterwards.

If you like the idea show the love with your vote.

Geek Events tonight

Two tech/geek/blogger events are happening tonight.

1. Bloggers Live - 6:30 pm @ Tangier. (I had a great time @ Leah's LA Angst)
   
2. Facebook developer's garage - from 7 to late in the night. You must RSVP on Facebook.

I'm going to try to stop by, if my truck is mostly packed.

What is out of the box?

The upcoming Exectech asks this very question and gives a darn good answer, so good, I'm posting it in entirety. Sounds like a great discussion and I might just have to go, if I'm not too networked out.

I think Out of the Box is a reverse excuse for a failure to innovate or to even try. Lets face it, it is far easier to not innovate then it is to really think Out Side the Box.

Literally the original term "outside the box" refers to the work of 1970's era business consultants who referred their clients to a puzzle in Sam Loyd's 1914 Cyclopedia of Puzzles, where when 9 nine dots arrange in a square the challenge is to connect the dots by drawing four straight, continuous lines while never lifting the pencil from the paper. As everyone knows you can not complete the task without drawing a line outside the confines of the square.

Lunch 2.0 in LA

Lunch 2.0 is coming to LA and the awesome people at ThisNext are hosting it. Details:

When: Wednesday, September 7th, 12:05PM-
Where: ThisNext, 1409 3rd Street Promenade, Santa Monica
RSVP on Mixergy

See you there!

LAVA - It's Hot!

LAVA isn't what you think it is. It's not boiling hot magma from a volcano bursting in LA threatening to destroy the city. Nope - LAVA is Los Angeles Venture Association and it's doing anything but destructive. I joined their yearly VC panel presentation at 7AM!!! yesterday (Tuesday the 14th) to get the scoop.

It had been some time since I was in a room of such professionally dressed individuals. I was the only one with purple hair and I enjoyed being back in executive black. Teacups of coffee, milling about - networking - taking my seat as the panel began. On it was Ted Alexander of Mission Ventures, David Dennis of Pacific Venture Group, Greg Martin of Redpoint, Phil Ressler of Clearstone, Dana Settle of Greycroft and Brody Stout of Maveron. The panel was co-moderated by Douglas Burke and Ric Kern.

For a recap including VC Characteristics, Pitch turnoffs, VC Distortions and the VC view of SV vs SoCal - click through.

Geek Dinner Rocked the Cucina

Last night's geek dinner (of over 50 people) rocked the house. The was swag to be had, hot garlic knots, pasta, pasta, pasta, new faces, familiar faces, great conversation and Tiramisu from our anonymous sponsor. (Thanks Anon!)

We're back at our original location - The Electric Lotus for our September g33k d1nner on September 18th. RSVP here (on Upcoming) and add your name (if you like) to the participants list on the wiki. Sorry about the multiple RSVP lists last time - I've learned from that confusion and you only need to RSVP on upcoming - not the wiki. The wiki is our collaborative document of the evening.

Here are the dinner details

• Date: September 18th, 8pm dinner, The Electric Lotus in Los Feliz Area (where we had our very first geek dinner!)
• 4656 Franklin Avenue, Los Angeles, California map

See you there!

<3,
heathervescent

ps. where are the photos?

Aug Geek Dinner 2morrow

Whoo-hoo. It looks like another awesome geek dinner is gonna happen tomorrow night. 69 people have RSVPed. Check it out - geek dinner is one of the top events on upcoming in LA for tomorrow. geeks <3 LA!

I'm gonna bring a box or two of swag and we have an anonymous sponsor for the Tiramisu! See you there!

ps. Barcamp LA 4 is also rocking it. Go Barcamp LA!

Updated: A pickle, a camera crew, an orange wig and Bono

It might not seem that a pickle, a camera crew, an orange wig and Bono have much in common, but if you think that, then you weren't at Twiistup 2 in Venice last week. As host of the evening I swapped my purple locks with a bright orange bob straight off Hollywood Blvd!

I've always been a bit camera shy. Sure I'll mug for the lens, but I prefer to be behind the scenes, making things work. Well, that got twiisted up Twiistup night when I roamed around the club with a camera crew in tow. Then I was pulled off for my "interviews". I tried hard to keep a straight face when I heard "we're ready for your interview, heather" and sat down and did my thing.

All in all it was a great evening. I saw tons of friends, learned about awesome companies, even came up with a new tag line for Elephant Drive "back those assets up!" Because of my visibility I was able to pimp my vision of organizing the LA Tech community that plays on a local, industry, national and global level. We've got a long way to go, but we're making fast progress and we have some awesome organizers here in our city of Angels.

Later in the evening Bono 2.0 appeared with a drink for me. He then proceeded to teach me how to head butt the camera. I must admit, I was not a very good student. For one thing, I'm not used to using my head as a weapon. The photos are being uploaded to flickr and it's just a matter of time before the videos surface on YouTube.

If you missed out on the fun, I've got some insane ideas for Twiistup3 in LA - happening in blustery LA wintertime. ;) See you there, or at the geek dinner or at barcamp or at . . .

Updated: See NoodleScar's Video Review of Twiistup and learn about my new stealth start-up making pockets for towels! Sponsored by the awesome Ruby on Rails Development Company ELC Tech in Santa Barbara!

LA Geek Dinner close to being sold out - 3 more spots

Wow - the geek dinner is almost sold out. RSVP on Upcoming if you haven't already.

See you at Twiistup

It's time again for some craziness. Take technology peeps and mix them in LA and what do you get? Twiistup. Put a "tornado" in the special code box to knock off $5. See you there.

CommunityBuildrs Recap

I missed this meeting (there are tech meetings happening ALL the time now!!!) but Kirk wrote up a great recap and they're meeting again soon.

First and foremost I want to thank everyone who attended for participating in the conversation and sharing your thoughts and perspectives on community building.  As this topic continues to grow in importance and transitions from "what the kids are up to" to "vital business channel" and "vital grass-roots channel" it is nice to know we can share the journey.

Go to the full details and get involved yourself!

Build a Startup in 3 days

Announcing another LA Tech event! Build a Startup in 3 days over labor day weekend.
(I would so be there but I will be burning unicorns at Burning Man... bummer)

Concept:

The concept is to create an internet startup in a long weekend. Gather a group of enthusiastic people who are all founders of the startup that will work to launch the startup prototype over the Labor day long weekend. You may ask why this is being done. It is to get a bunch of super enthusiastic people together and try to transform an idea into a product and eventually a business.

Who can participate?

Enthusiastic, no-nonsense people that think they have what it takes to last a long 72 hour drill. Hey - there will be no time for office politics for sure.

Anyone that meets the need described in the "Register Now" section above and lives and works around Los Angeles, California. Sorry, you need to be local to carry this forward.

More information and to register (it's free) go here.

Announcing August G33k Dinner

The next LA Geek Dinner is on August 14th at C & O Cucina in Marina del Rey.

Cost is $20 per person for food (not including drinks). Please bring cash. More details and rspvlist are on the geek dinner wiki. Please RSVP on upcoming for the final headcount - we are limited to 45 attendees.

• Date: August 14th, 8pm dinner, C & O Cucina
• C & O Cucina, 3016 Washington Boulevard, Marina del Rey, CA. One block West of Lincoln Boulevard at 3016 Washington Boulevard at Washington and Thatcher in Marina Del Rey.
• Reservation under "Heather"

Sponsorship for desert or drinks is still available for a very cheap $150!

* Photo by Adam of Travis getting applause for sponsoring the beer (we love our sponsors!)

g33k d1nn3r recap

I had dinner @ Galanga last night and was a little worried if they would let me back in. You see, Galanga is where we had the geek dinner last week! I knew the patio was going to be a little tight if all 30 people showed up. Well, that ended up being a moot point because we had over 40 people show up!

It was an awesome time. Over 40 geeks - lots of new faces and old ones. Travis from Verse brought plentiful beer and we took turns at table space. I actually enjoyed standing up and had great conversations with so many people: Michelle, Kirk, Devin, Jeff and Adam, DJ Drue, Nathan and more. And by the end of the night I convinced Sponge to create an algorithmic version of me. (That's what happens if you forget to pay your bill.)

So, when's the next one? And where? Well, it's west side August. Twiistup is happening on August 8th and Aug geek dinner is on the 14th.  I don't have a location yet, but it's going to be in Santa Monica area. And it needs to seat like 40 people. And project ppt karaoke too. And I'm looking for a kick ass sponsor! Ping me if you're game!

ps. Galanga did indeed let me back in, and they were thrilled that I had so many people show up. Whew.

pps. here are some photos.

Reminder: g33k d1nner 2morrow

Just a quick reminder that the geek dinner is tomorrow night in West Hollywood. RSVP.

Technology and Taxidermy

Insanity? or creativity? It's the text-o-possom!

It's official - Kasey kicks ass. But we all knew that already!

Pimping: Adobe Air Bus in LA

Adobe is bringing their AIR bus to LA. They are currently in the hot hot desert on their way to Vegas. I'd tell them to stop @ the Mad Greek, if I could figure out how to text them... Anyway, they will be in LA in a few days. Check it out.

The event is a free one day mini conference where you can learn how to leverage the Adobe Integrated Runtime (AIR) to bring your web applications to the desktop.

On Upcoming. For more info.

Photo by Mike Chambers stolen from airbus Flickr site.

Updated: g33k d1nner July 17 - Galanga in WeHo!

Mah geek homies! It's that time of the month. The reminder for the monthly geek dinner. I know, you have many choices when it comes to geeking out - with Mixergy's web feedback hour, the ruby on rails meetup, the demo hour, the drupal meetup, the podcasters at the brewery, bloggers read, etc, etc. That's all good, but let's just get our geek on and eat what I think is the best Thai in LA - Galanga.

When:

• July 17th, 8pm

Where:

• Galanga in West Hollywood. 7440 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90046
• Free easy parking
• We'll be in the back patio

If you're new to the concept:

The Geek Dinners are a monthly gathers of Internet technology lovers in Los Angeles. We are loosely affiliated with BarCamp - because many of us met there. Anyone who has an interest and passion for technology, the internet, internet technologies, software or you just know you're a geek is welcome. Come play with us.

Last month, uWink was nice enough to host us (and Twiistup bought us dessert) and everyone had a great time. I think we had some of the best pptKaraoke. So come on out to West Hollywood and let's do it again. Word has it, we may just have a drink sponsor Verse Studios is buying drinks, so be sure to RSVP! This especially wonderful because Galanga does not usually serve alcohol.

RSVP to the wiki and/or upcoming. We'll have the usual crew, name tags, announcements, etc. It should be fun. Did I mention free easy parking and the best thai in LA? We've got the entire back patio to ourselves.

ps. I still have swag, so I'll be bringing stfuff!