There’s A Change In The Air

One of the reasons I set out writing this blog about a year ago (granted I took a looong hiatus and l lost most posts in a server move) was to try to highlight and showcase the talent and the cools things they had going here on the east coast. I started to get a bit of a complex living here on the “wrong coast” for innovation. I got to meet and write about the New York startup SpiralFrog as well as MyMovieNetwork, and others. At the time, it seemed an inordinate amount of the startup activity was taking place more in the Northeast corridor, in places Like Boston and New York. I could not find the same climate around here in the DC area. But I think that things are starting to turn, and there truly is change in the air.

I was reminded of the special time which we are on the cusp of after reading Nick O’Neill’s post on the Social Times just the other day titled “Creating a Mini-Valley in DC“. I think he is dead on, 2008 will be a great year for the DC area and it startup/tech community. I will be happy and proud to be a part of it. I want to be able to get the word out about the great people doing great things here in the area. If you are one of those people, please contact me, I would love to hear about what you are working on. At the same time, I am trying to seize upon my idea and make a go at astartup as well, more an that to come so stay tuned. We have such great people out there already. I am sure we are all familiar with the trials and tribulations of Ann Bernard and her soon to launchstartup, WhyGoSolo. Nick’s recent launch party for Social Times gave Ann and her team, as well as some other local companies the venue to show what they have in store for us. It was an awesome time and there was a vibe that said to me good things are on their way. Nick has more events planned to help nurture the groundswell of activity in the area and I for one cannot wait for whats to come.

As you may have seen in my previous post, a few of us got together for a local DC Tweetup the other day for lunch. As we sat and talked about everything that we are working on, it only further confirmed to me that we are in store for great things. Andrew Wright (@batterista in Twitterspeak) is working an something special he hopes to release soon. Nick of course has great things going. It was really exciting for me to be there and feel the underlying passion in everyone for whatever it may be that they are working on.

So as we ring in our New Year, lets all make a resolution to get out there and continue to do the great things that were started in 2007 and work to make 2008 the year of the DC area startups and further foster that cool “Mini-Valley” tech vibe.

Have a safe and Happy New Year Everyone !