Another Social MatchBox in the Books
March 31, 2008
And it was a good one. Robert and his team at JobMatchBox did an outstanding job of gathering a great mix of presenters, job seekers, socializers, etc.
It took place down at Teqcorner in the Tysons Area. A good venue compared to some we find ourselves at.
The companies presenting got a short time to show their wares to the crowd and there was plenty of time for good ol'fashion networking. I was fortunate to meet another bunch of people that have become Twitter followers with me recently. And as always it was great to catch up with all. Unfortunately I have no Keith Casey quote for everyone this week. I will see him next week and I can only hope for a golden nugget from him then.
Anyway, this was by far one of the best community events I have been to so far. I hope to work with Robert soon to set one up for the Maryland area and showcase some of the startups up my way.
See everyone soon.
March 31, 2008
Centralized vs Decentalized
March 31, 2008
I have written a post before on FriendFeed, the social media aggregator if you will. I didn't really get it then and I still do not now. To me it seems like a bit of social media overload. Many bloggers I think have come to the same conclusion. Anyway, I came across a post my Michael Arrington this morning referencing a post by Loic Le Muer on the decentralization of our social networks.
In his post, Loic argues that our social presence used to be very centralized. Basically it revolved around our blogs, if one wrote a blog. Whereas now, that presence has been scattered and diluted all across that so called "series of tubes".(Sorry I couldn't help but throw this in somewhere, it is too damned funny). We post updates on Facebook, others on Twitter, and so on. Loic presents the fact that places like FriendFeed and Socialthing are good in that they help usre-centralize our content into one place. However, event though these services help, he adds
The challenge for Friendfeed and the like is that while I really like all my services gathered in one place, I would rather that these would be centralized on my blog instead of a third party service. Yes you can cross post or add badges, but it's not really like a center feed in your blog. What I like about my blog is that it is my space, I own it, I can customize it and change it, I do not depend on anybody (except the software and host, TypePad of course, needless to say).
I tend to agree wth this points. I can obviously see the benefit in a tool to help centralized our online social presence, but I still cannot help but say that when I go to FriendFeed, i am somewhat overwhelmed by it all. A virtual river of social updates that I seem to get lost in. And yes, I would prefer to control and aggregate my own data.
So what about you all, good ? bad ? Where do you want your presence ? Own it or rent it so to speak…
Event Reminder: Social Matchbox DC II
March 30, 2008
Just wanted to pass along a reminder for the Social Matchbox event taking place this coming week.
According to the press release for the event
is an open mic night and networking event for startup companies backed by angel and venture investors as well as those who aspire to join their ranks. The open format is a fusion of resume clinic, startup job fair and networking event. The audience mirrors the local startup community with professionals from disciplines including advertising design, marketing, human resources, sales and software engineering.
Where: TeqCorner, 3rd Floor, 1616 Anderson Road, McLean, VA 22102, 703-714-6171, www.teqcorner.com
When : Monday, March 31st, 2008 6-9 PM
Schedule:
6-7pm Networking and Resume Clinic
7-8pm Presentations
8-9pm Networking
There are a lot of great local companies participating and also many form the local community that will be there to netwrok, look for work, look for co founders, etc
It is sure to be a good time to meet and greet with many form across the various DC communities.
Check Your Calendars !
March 30, 2008
Well, okay at least check the DC Tech Events calendar maintained by Ross Karchner. As many of you in the DC area know, we have a habit of holding great events on the same night, making it hard for many of us to be everywhere at once. Based on some feedback I have gotten here on the blog and also from people I meet, there is a definite need for some type of process the various communities can use to make sure we can not step on each others "feet".
An initial step for planners out there should be to stop by the DC Tech Events calendar I mentioned above to pick a good date for everyone. Now obviously sometimes that may not be possible and that is understandable. But at least if you check we may be able to avoid those conflicts. There are also DC Tech Events groups: Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
So if you have an event, check the calendar and if you have a date in mind Add it to the DC Tech Events calendar HERE.
Also, you can add this link to Google Calendar, iCal, and many other calendar apps to subscribe to the events right there and always be up to date.
Also, if you have a blog or web site, go ahead and add a link to the calendar in your sidebar like I did under DC Community Stuff, see it over there ?
DC Photowalk Pics
March 30, 2008
Here is a look at some of the pics I got form my photowalk yesterday in Washington DC. IT was the Cherry Blossom Festival and as you can see, the blooms were out and beautiful.
1. Blossoms, 2. Bronze, 3. Blossoms & A Distant Memorial, 4. Blossoms, 5. Fallen Friends, 6. Pink Blossoms, 7. Wall of Stars, 8. Fly, 9. Tulips, 10. Crooked, 11. Honor, 12. Spirit of St. Louis, 13. Start Your Engines, 14. Heroes, 15. Shimmering Stars, 16. WWII Memorial, 17. Thanks You For Your Service, 18. Reflection, 19. Hat, 20. Blossom Sky, 21. Star Wall, 22. Focus, 23. Jefferson Memorial, 24. Propeller, 25. Silver & Orange, 26. Cherry Blossoms In Bloom, 27. Jefferson Memorial, 28. Jefferson Memorial
Event: Social Media Club & WhyGoSolo
March 28, 2008
The Social Media Club here in the DC area announced their next event today and I am excited to help pass on the news.
Their April event will showcase Ann Bernard, CEO of WhyGoSolo.
Ann will show us how a local start-up company has created a social media platform that leverages the web from one click of a button. WhyGoSolo has the solution to bridge our online worlds to offline real world connections but that’s only a small part of the story. The more involved and complex social media becomes, the more critical it is to keep it simple and user-friendly for both businesses and web users to leverage. Ann will explain more about the key factors of creating a platform that is fully integrated in everyone’s online worlds and that works has a hub of information that gathers and delivers information where people want to receive it and view it.
I have come to know Ann over the last few months and am looking forward to hearing her at this event. She has done a great job with her team to build a very innovative application that I use to make my offline connections.
Here are the details of the event:
| Date: |
Thursday, April 10, 2008
|
| Time: |
6:30pm - 8:00pm
|
| Location: |
Viget Labs
|
| City/Town: |
Falls Church, VA
|
Click HERE to add it to your calendar.
Please RSVP to larissa@livingstonbuzz.com by April 8th.
Look forward to seeing many of you there to come out and show Ann our support !
Facebook: People You Might Know
March 28, 2008
I will admit, I am not a huge Facebook fan, nor do I tend to use it a lot. I get some event invites on it, but unlike others I only tend to stop by every once in a while to check out my profile and see what is happening.
Today I logged in because I had received an invite to a Social Media Club event coming up in April. In the left column of my Home page I saw something I had not seen before. This does not mean it hasnt been there … just that I probably missed it. Anyway there is a section that presents you with people you may know.
I must admit, I find this incredibly useful. It does some sort of processing and looks into your current friends and aggregates people that more than one of your friends are friends with. It seems to me to be very similar to the Linkedin feature that connects you with connections of your connections, expanding your network.
Right away, I probably added a dozen people that I know locally, but had not "found" them on Facebook as of yet. There are not a lot of features on Facebook that have made me stop and actually use it straight away, but this is one of them. Good job Mark and gang
Local DC Co. Aux interactive Pairs with Mashable
March 27, 2008
Got news today that one of our local agency Aux interactive signed an exclusive deal with Mashable
For the development of social applications, including applications for Facebook and Google OpenSocial, Mashable recommends Aux Interactive. Aux is the only social application vendor officially endorsed by Mashable.
Mashable was looking for an agency with
deep industry knowledge and the fulfillment capability to ensure flawless
execution; Aux was the right match.
according to the CEO, Pete Cashmore, and they found these qualities in Aux interactive. The partnership will offer Mashable readers Aux services. You can go here to contact Aux through Mashable.
Mashable is obviously a big player in the space and its good to see them pair up with a local DC company to bring a little more buzz to the area. Congrats Aux and good luck with the venture.
Local Focus: Loladex
March 26, 2008
Today was the launch of DC startup Loladex, a Facebook application to leverage your Fabebook network for local reviews.
Trying to find the perfect spot for a first date? Need a good mechanic to check out that noisy rattle? When you're searching for a local business, what you really want is a thumbs up from someone you trust – Loladex helps you get recommendations from people you know and sources you trust.
I got a chance to sit down with the founders Dan Goodman and Laurence Hooper out near their headquarters in Leesburg, VA the other day to chat about their creation over a nice cup of coffee.
Both guys were great explaining their vision and what Loladex is all about now, and where they see it going in the future. Nick O'Neill of Social Times and Eric Schonfeld of Techcrunch had the first reviews on the street of the product. In a nutshell, you install the Loladex Facebook application into your FB profile. Then search away to find that local … well whatever. It could be a doctor, sports shop, basically anything. And best yet, it tells you who your Facebook friends have recommended. I like this idea in that on sites like Yelp, you are at the mercy of the crowds recommendation. That is not necessarily a bad thing, but with Loladex you are getting a review from most likely a trusted friend. They also have featured third party input from sources like The Washingtonian Magazine as well.
Laurence told me that initially they looked at building it as a web application, but when Facebook launched it API and platform, they decided to take advantage of that. However, in the future they would look to branching out from the Facebook application to a web presence.
Like Erick said on his review, building the user base is going to be critical for them. I think leveraging people's friends for the reviews brings a little more of a personal touch, but I think it may be hard to get people to review things in some cases. But I hope they do for Loladex.
I did find a point Nick made very interesting, that I had not noticed, but they have limited their reviews to 140 characters … sound familiar ? Exactly the number Twitter allows… Hmmm… Maybe we can look for the review to be shot over to Twitter as well here soon reaching a much wider audience and pulling them back in to the application to check it out.
Obviously being a DC startup I am totally rooting for the guys to do well. Another success story will garner the area some well deserved good press.
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