When I first started going to Web Innovators Group, it had the feel of an underground happy hour of geeks on parade. We were about 200-300 strong. Last night I couldn’t believe my eyes when I opened the door to the hotel’s ballroom in Cambridge and found 800+ people inside! Holy cannoli! This is no longer the little event that could.

Let’s get right to the recap:

The Vibe: Anxious. Very little could be heard during the three main presentations due to chatting and poor audio from the front stage. Most of us spent time looking around the room to see who we wanted to talk to when the demos were over. My biggest feedback for host David Beisel is this: time to switch up the format. A bunch of attendees I chatted with said they’d be just as happy with 10-15 side dishes versus any presentation or demo. I typically ask for a quick demo at the booth anyways to see what I missed in the presentation. More one-on-ones would allow us to have more conversations and give us time to meet with more folks.

The Parade: Curious. My prediction pre-event was that the start-ups would be hyperlocal focused. The hyper part is dead on but hyperlocal is not the only way tech is improving. I typically use “hyperlocal” when I refer to sites like Zeer (one of the features at WIG) or MarksGuide. These sites connect people online to offline activities such as grocery shopping or a business seminar. The value of good hyperlocal is an improved experience — both online and offline.

The brainies at WebInno (and beyond) are building tools and apps that take experience beyond the either/or activity of website or real life. They are giving us platforms to create “hyperactivity,” only not the kind that makes your little cousin Johnny ruin Thanksgiving dinner. Sharing stuff is mixing with selling stuff. Communicating ideas is mixing with experiencing ideas. Building cool tools is mixing with playing cool tools. And if you can’t take it on the road, it’ll get left behind.

For instance, I spent some time chatting with Jeff Cutler from 211me, a text ad mobile mashup site. I asked Jeff how 211me differs from my pal Rob Flynn’s venture Pulse Media (Rob is also a group88 partner). Jeff proceeded to show me a promo for the upcoming flick Eagle Eye where fans can mashup Shia LaBeouf’s head with their own pic and forward it to a radio station promo to enter to win a walk-on role on some other DreamWorks flick. As Jeff would say, “That’s hot, right?” Yes Jeff, it sure is.

Mobile apps and i-ing up is the focus of start-ups these days. Apparently we will all be iPodding eventually, or at least everyone born in the ’80s will have them surgically attached to their texting hand. It’s not enough to be interesting, have a cool interface or provide something that brings users back. If you’re not bringing the activity to users while they’re waiting in line at Six Flags or hanging out drinking beers right now, figure out how. And figure it out fast because tomorrow will be too late.

The Deals: ?. My buddy Matt (a very sharp Rails developer) commented that the climate has changed because the start-up crowd has very few pre-funded folks these days. A lot of the companies are off and running and looking for next wave funding or need to figure out how to bring in the ecomm dollars (the biggest question of the night). I didn’t get to chat with any investors which is too bad because I’d like to know where they stand these days. Considering the packed house, I’d say that the funds are there but my gut tells me that the ideas getting the most notice have business plans beyond ad revenue or social connection models.

There is one prediction that I completely blew. Unlike last time, no one cared that I came “all that way from Connecticut.” Well, okay, two people did. Mostly, people were too busy trying to connect with the best connections, yours truly included.

The ride back was quick as my companion, Robin Towle-Fecso from JumpStart Creative, and I had a lot to chat about. Next week is Tech Cocktail. I’m up for the drive all the way from Connecticut, ludicrous gas prices and all. Bring it on Boston.

Every time I attend WebInno in Boston, I get the same question: “you came here ‘all that way’ from Connecticut?”

Honestly, is an hour and a half really “all that way”? I realize Boston is not exactly in my backyard but the mini-schlepp is definitely worth the trip. I like to think of The Web Innovators Group as the best geekpreneur sock hop on the East Coast. One Tuesday evening per month start-ups and techie guys and gals with ecomm and weberactive ideas court VCs and funders. We sip cocktails, watch demos and chat each other up with our best elevators.

As a writer and marketing message maven, I attend for very selfish reasons. The first is to have cool stuff to write about. The second is to have cool stuff to share with my clients. I could Google all day long to find out what new soc media or ecomm ventures are kicking up but, until you talk with the creators, you can’t really get a sense of how trends are shifting. Not being a techie, what seems new and fresh to me is old hat to a developer. I constantly feel like I’m behind the curve. I hate that. But feeling behind the curve is not all bad because it constantly drives me to learn something new every day.

I’ve met some sharp onliners at WebInno that I’m looking forward to checking in with, particularly Mark Doerschlag with MarksGuide, who just launched sites for NYC, Seattle and more, Kevin Gardner who runs the cool online music collab site Tune Rooms and Chris Keller from Fafarazzi, a fun soc net site that is like fantasy celeb sport meets The Onion. These guys have weathered the storm so far and have proven that they have the right combo of good idea + positioning + audience to pull it off.

Another reason I attend is to share ideas (to anyone who will listen) from the marketing and business perspective. Developers and programmers have a tendency to work within their world and focus on the “it”: what does “it” do, how does “it” look and where will “it” take the next wave of online cool? These are all very important “its.” The one I find missing a lot, however, is this: why are we doing “it”?

Asking why forces you to think beyond the immediate application and ten steps ahead to the possibilities of multiple apps. I sense that geeks and techies are getting wise to this, now that start-ups are transforming from dorm room innovation to dedicated career path.

If I could make one forecast for trends we’ll see on Tuesday night, it is this: hyperlocal. It’s a safe prediction, considering the pretty long list of new tools and apps for people to make online and offline connections for business and hobbies alike.

More importantly than trends, however, I’ll be paying uber close attention to conversations. It’s been a while since I attended a WebInno. Last time I attended I met the spectrum of smarties, from genius kids who were green in the ways of business to sharp-eyed suits who could use a little less business in their business.

Either way, I’ll be counting the times I hear, “You came ‘all that way’ from Connecticut?” So, let’s make another forecast. I predict that I’ll hear that question at least 4.5 times. More or less.

Hope to see you there! To check out the attendee list, go to the Eventbrite site for WebInno.

My pals Sonny and Kara Parlin have launched Sparrow Lounge, a site to showcase their amazing photography. The below pic of yours truly was taken in Hartford by Sonny.

Along with a sharp eye for perspective and in-the-moment portraits, Sonny and Kara are doing some amazing post-processing work. The work showcased on Sparrow Lounge is phenomenal.

Equally as awesome as their work is the lightening speed awareness Sonny and Kara are receiving via flickr. Within one day of posting the “Dreaming of Infinity” pic, Sonny received a two-page list of comments. Some spammers were among them but quite a few were either “love it” comments or “can I post this on my site?” questions. Sonny also joined the CT Meetup for flickr so he could hang with other photophiles.

This is a great example of social media turning the corner. flickr is a soc media granddaddy, for sure, but for many it’s still an online photo album. But, while kids and moms are posting photos for the heck of it, photographers are getting discovered and connections are being made.

If you have been one of those folks wondering what usefulness social media would ever have beyond a water cooler chat, get yourself on flickr. For the mainstream, flickr and other soc media giants are finally beyond the honeymoon stage. One of the biggest reasons for this is volume. With typically 5,000+ uploads per minute, flickr’s flurry of activity is more than just photos and comments. It’s art, laughter, friendship, innovation, intensity, transparency, discovery, and, for some, opportunity.

Writers and business analysts are keen builders of community. They share their work online before taking the traditional print path and eagerly engage audiences in discussion.

Two clever Wired guys are taking that anti-vacuum approach with books scheduled for print in 2008 and 2009:

FREE: Why $0.00 Is The Future of Business: Remember when The New York Times tried to charge us for online content? Those were the days when business tried to reshape a traditional product model into ecommerce revenue. Not anymore. As Chris Anderson (of The Longtail fame) argues in FREE, giving it away is getting business. Anderson hopes to, you guessed it, give away the book for free or practically free. How?: hungry sponsors.

Crowd Sourcing: Another Wired guy, Jeff P. Howe, is peddling his own book (publishing in July 2008) about the online phenomenon of crowds. The theory gives form to an underbelly, grassroots movement that has been successful in open source programming for years: the power of the masses trump the efforts of one. This, according to Howe, can be a powerful force in innovation, business and funding.

Both Anderson and Howe are tapping into more than just collaboration for the sake of collaboration or making the community feel warm and fuzzy. They are creating the ultimate marketing utopia of building a market with the product. How do you say no to purchasing or obtaining something you’ve participated in or donated to? It’s like bringing beef stew to the potluck but not having any. It’s not done.

You don’t have to be a book author to build a market with your product or service. Consider creating a Wiki to discuss your next business venture, marketing project or your take on industry trends. Too scary to open it up to the masses? Then don’t. Create a private Wiki for invite-only access to select clients and colleagues. Good or bad, we’d love to hear about your experiences or ideas so please post away.

According to singer Jill Sobule, there is no end to the superness of this week. Catching the Bryant Park Project today on Sirius, I had a good chuckle listening to Jill and her co-singer pal belt out a little diddy for Super Tuesday.

Even better than the diddy was the conversation that followed. Jill is currently raising money to produce her next album through this site: Jill’s Next Record. She’s not just asking for flat out cash. Givers receive too. Sponsorship levels range from $25 in exchange for a comp copy of the CD to $10,000 to join her on the record (cowbell provided).

This has to be the best idea I’ve come across all year, and that’s not just because it’s only February. We can all take some cues from Jill. Whether she knows it or not, she’s maxing out the convergence of ecomm, grassroots marketing and social networking.

In 2007, Radiohead channeled publicity for their latest album, In Rainbows, to a website where fans downloaded tracks at a self-chosen price. A statement against old school industriasts? Publicity stunt? Either way the tracks are no longer available as freebies. There’s no failure here. Radiohead’s approach got everyone talking and gobs of site-clogging traffic. The chatter was mostly aimed at the stunt versus the album itself which is a bit of a shame but either way we all should applaud Radiohead for connecting with their fans in a new way.

Jill’s path takes the fan connection and blows it up. She reverses the path by getting her fans to pay her. How great is that? Everyone talks about building a community online but Jill is really, actively, one-by-one, person-to-person, musician-to-fan drawing the circle. If I threw Jill some cash, which I am contemplating, you’ll bet I’ll be checking back at the site in a few weeks to see if she’s raised any more money. I’ll also tell my friends about it, maybe even blog about it again, and I might buy a few of her older tracks too. All of my actions along the way will contribute to Jill’s success and this is the key value of Jill’s idea: I’m giving just as much as I’m receiving. That is a true community experience.

If more people can Jillify the web, we can really advance this thing. Let’s get active. Connect with people online in ways that mimic real connections. Jill has me thinking about my own web presence. Since my talents are limited to playing the spoons and writing about other people’s talents, it will require some thought. I’ll get back to you on that. Until then, give Jill a visit.

Have you heard of any other weboneers paving the next wave of online experience? Chat us up and link away.

Predicting what 2008 will bring is tricky business. It’s an election year, housing is moving on from sellers-market denial, credit card debt continues to eat away at our economic stability, the U.S. dollar has seen better days, old media continues to fight the once-good fight while new media prepares for all-out infiltration and conglomerate air time is continually consumed by the Writer’s Guild strike and Britney Smears instead of our troops.

Armageddon? Not yet. As far as I can tell, turmoil breeds panic for the timid and intrigue for everyone else. The business climate, depending on the business, is at once volatile and filled with opportunity. I see the upcoming two years as less of an end to a decade than a precursor to the incredible shifts that will take place beginning in 2010. Virtual living and working will cause person-to-person business to make room for better online practices and philosophies. To be truly successful in the Web 2.whatever, businesses must synergize online and offline activities. Your business’ relationships, revenue and mojo depend on it. Enough about the decade, let’s just focus on 2008 for now.

Below are WallFly’s top three predictions for the upcoming year. I have to admit they are a mix of prediction and hope. Maybe I should have called them “Business-Fulfilling Prophecies” instead?

Recession Schmession

Smart companies will improve relationships, not business plans.

I’m not suggesting you avoid streamlining. We’re all making measured decisions with our cash flow. Just last week I considered not sending out a business mailer for the holiday season. Instead I opted to spend less money at Panera and wait until the new year to hit Staples.

Move your numbers around all you want but if you’re not taking time out to do the following, you are losing ground with clients: a) connecting with your clients on a regular basis (phone, mail, email or events) to increase opportunity for more interaction b) learning when, why and how your current clients interact with you, and applying that knowledge to improving your value and c) feeding your positioning with a menu of competitive activity, impending growth and your customer’s changing climate.

We all know that getting a client takes double the effort versus convincing a happy client to stay, so why do companies continue to neglect clients in the off-season of interaction? Think about your best personal relationships and what makes them tick. Making someone happy in a relationship 90% of the time requires improving their life every day (i.e., taking out the garbage) versus buying an expensive gift one day out of the year (i.e., buying an iPhone). Next time you consider dumping all of your marketing dollars into a big trade show, think about the low-budget things you can do to reach out to clients throughout the year: start a monthly newsletter, make quality control phone calls, talk about how other clients benefit from you, make in-person annual visits or even send out a short quarterly email that shares info on upcoming developments.

Ecomm Grows Up

Utility will emerge from 80 gazillion social media apps.

I’ve seen some pretty useless Facebook applications - from starting a virtual snowball fight to getting hugged by a zombie. How do these strides in web development improve your business? They won’t. But they will change the way users interact with the web and that’s what you need notice. Once users start expecting things from the online world, they want it from everyone - a streamlined user experience, content that takes into account context and a site that understands the concept of easy.

The massive amount of activity taking place among developers for Facebook and now Google’s universal app platform will both increase the size of our kids’ behinds as they play less soccer (or play more virtual soccer) and generate technologies that users will want to see everywhere. If you have a website, start paying attention to the activities happening online. You don’t have to apply them all but you have to understand how it will affect your clients. I’ve advised some clients to skip blogging because it didn’t make sense for them. It’s not about jumping on the latest, new technology - it’s about understanding how all new technology is driving the way we do business.

Marketing Gets Stuck

New media will drive marketing. The stories that stick, win.

I was wondering when some smart marketing guy would take Chris Anderson’s Long Tail and extend it by applying it to branding. The smart marketing guy is Mohammed Iqbal and the essay is The Elongating Tail of Brand Communication, as found on ChangeThis.

One-hit wonders are not only increasingly rare in this climate of targeted success, aiming for them is the same as denying the tastes of various music fans. We are a culture of choice and highly personal demand. One size does not fit all and this philosophy applies to both your products or service and your brand position.

I recently discovered this in my research for finding a market for a Connecticut coworking space, Group88, that I will help manage in 2008. Some of the area professionals liked the idea of getting out of their home-based office to meet with other folks while others had no need for networking at all (I think there’s always a need for networking but I’m partial to the practice). You can’t be all things to all people so don’t even try. You can, however, choose the primary values of your positioning that appeals to your variety of customers. Using new media channels to test an idea and then kill it or expand it will yield higher results than picking one thing and crossing your fingers that it will stick. Don’t egg your basket - add crates and buckets and other things to put all your eggs into.

I have never been tempted to drag myself out of a post-Thanksgiving coma to mingle with the early morning freaks on Black Friday. But darn that Kohl’s if they didn’t have the best deal on digital photo frames. So, there I was, pulling into Kohl’s at 4:15 a.m., and under my droopy eyelids I suddenly notice not 1, 2 or 3 but like 8-10 women strolling out of the store with purchases in hand. The store had only been open for 15 minutes! These gals must have been camped out since 2 a.m. and, obviously, knew exactly what they wanted - my digital photo frame. Dang it!

I parked the car, in the second back lot since the first was a complete nightmare, and strolled into the store. After finding the empty shelf that was home to my digital photo frame and catching a glimpse of the frenzy throughout the store, I split. I then strolled over to Best Buy, which was opening at 5 a.m., and got in the line about 300 people deep. A guy in front of me told another guy that he’d need a ticket or he’d be forced to wait outside and, by the way, they weren’t giving out tickets anymore. Back to the car I went. I’ll spare you the details of the rest of my day, which I now call Black-Eye Friday, for the elbow-throwing crazies who will do anything to grab the biggest deal first.

Have we totally lost our minds? Retailers are pointing to high fuel prices (which are definitely a factor but not always a deal breaker) and the mortgage crunch for pre-blame commentary on how they will have a tough holiday season. Dozens of surveys and reports such as this one by U.S. News predict consumers will tighten their belts and spend less than we have in the past 5 years. Fooey! It’s not the holidays we should be worried about. Consumers won’t spend less between now and December 25. They’ll just jack up their plastic and then, starting January 1, try to figure out how to pay for it. And that’s when we’ll all be in trouble.

I don’t think we’ll have an all-out recession (plus, who am I to predict such things?), but I do think that businesses will be tightening up in every area: resources, marketing, advertising, overhead, employee benefits and anything that isn’t instantly reflective of the bottom line. You will see tons more businesses investing marketing dollars in online within the next two years. This isn’t difficult to predict based on the recent growth in trends and the Googlization of advertising, but I believe more businesses will be open to online for basic cost-saving factors. As long as they can be sure of the return and, with online, tracking the return is as easy as a few clicks and a scan of the data.

You can take all the surveys you want that will predict a slow in spending, and they might be true, but I’m less concerned with the economical effects of not buying Johnny an iPhone in Christmas 2007 versus the after-effects of a nervous economy that breeds less investing and ostrich-like spending in 2008 and beyond.

Last week I was fortunate to have presented to XCellR8, part of the Connecticut Growth Network, an eclectic mix of technology start-ups, academia, reps from the state, VCers and consultants. After a shaky start, literally . . . (I stupidly skipped breakfast and wore shoes that crunched a broken left toe, sparking nausea and a blood sugar drop that almost landed me on the floor - I wish I were kidding) . . . my very patient, considerate crowd and I tackled a few topics on brand synergy and top online and offline marketing channels for pocket-friendly budgets.

If I could redo the hour, I would’ve focused it more on the area of high-return marketing channels. Brand synergy is important stuff, particularly for companies looking to build loyalty and find a competitive voice, but this group needs more “what can I do right now that won’t kill my budget” options. So, here are three areas that I believe hatchling start-ups should contemplate, keeping in mind that each business requires unique strategies:

Strategize, Don’t Agonize

During the discussion, the group expressed a few pain points that need further discussion. In particular:

“My business is not ready for marketing.”

RESPONSE A: If you’ve got a website and/or clients, you’re already marketing. The trick is focusing those energies to ensure the right message gets to the right markets and leads to more clients.

RESPONSE B: Remember that commercial that showed a start-up company’s excitement turn to panic as they launched their website and then watched purchase orders pile up into the millions? Never happens. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t have your infrastructure in place before you reach out to the world, but avoiding marketing because you think you’ll be bombarded with clients that you have to turn away is causing you to miss opportunities. Building a product (or service or organization) and marketing it are joined at the hip. While you are building, you should be marketing. This doesn’t mean printing flyers or hiring a PR guy. It does mean engaging your market on the groundfloor to grow your audience, learn from them and then reach out to places where there are more of them. More tips on what marketing to tackle first are coming up.

“My clients don’t live online.”

RESPONSE: Are you sure? Call them and find out. Spend a few hours to reach out personally to clients and ask them questions about their challenges, the benefits you’ve been able to provide, how you can make it better, where they spend their time, publications they read, what types of programs they’d participate in and how they prefer to interact with you (email, print, etc.). When you have this information, compile it into a spreadsheet and compare notes among the clients based on their industry, purchase history and other defining features. This knowledge will help you finetune the channels you use to reach out, what you say and how often. By calling, you have also just made yourself top-of-mind with a client who was thinking about solving a production line problem or how they could improve efficiency. You never know where conversations can lead.

“My background is tech-based and I can’t afford to hire out for marketing or I only want to spend XXX, where do I invest?”

RESPONSE: Consider setting a budget, even if it’s only $500 and pick one or two initiatives. Based on what you know about your current clientele, target efforts that make sense for your business and what your audience is willing to do. Some ideas include: starting a referral program with clients or building a “beta or advisory group” of select clients where they give you feedback on your product/service in exchange for giving them something they can use (access to you, discounts, etc.). If you’re going to spend your money in online advertising, first find out how your current clients found you. Get the keywords they used, who mentioned you or, if cold calling, what sold it on the phone. Google Adwords (and the like) are cheap but worthless if you don’t use them wisely and keep an eagle on eye on their return. I believe, for start-ups, you’ll get more leverage out of building unique content and generating PR buzz.

Every business is different and requires a unique, tactical approach that aligns with your business strategy. If you’re starting out, focus marketing efforts on areas that get you noticed, provide the biggest return and allow you to be agile. You are testing the waters of what works, how to best market yourself and where to find your audience. Where you spend your time and money now will become building blocks for your brand’s unique value and will set the stage for bigger marketing initiatives.

Become A Resource

These days, out of sight ensures out of mind. Depending on where your audience lives, online or offline, reach out with unique content or activities that sparks more interaction with you and adds value to their day. Here are some ideas:

1) One Paragraph Tips. Spend an hour and write out 5-6 different paragraphs on using your product/service, business ideas, ways other clients have been successful and dos and don’ts. Use this content to post on your homepage (and in your blog if you have one) and email to clients in a quick “Tip of the Week” type email, always linking back to your site for them to read the archived tips. When you run low, sit down for another hour and write out 5-6 more.

COSTS: If you can easily post items on your website and can manage email campaigns, this will cost you 3-5% of your time per week. If you need to pay your web developer to do this for you (yuck - that will add up!), it will cost you a few hours of their time per week.

2) Get Out There. Conferences and seminars always need speakers. Find outlets where your audience is future clients, not just colleagues. The key here is to use the opportunity as networking and leveraging. Before your talk, announce your appearance to clients and encourage them to join you. Maybe a client you’re very close with will want to help you present and give their view from the in-industry side? Be sure to follow-up with clients after the event with a recounting of the experience that includes what you learned at the conference and trends to watch.

COSTS: Again, your time is required on all aspects: putting the presentation together, participating in the event and reaching out to clients and prospects. Make sure the investment is worth it by ensuring the audience is within your target market and that buzz you create around the event will engage your current clientele.

3) Pitch It. I realize that not everyone is comfortable with talking to the media or don’t even know how to go about it. Getting major PR does require connections and a savvy PR guy or gal who can make it happen. However, media is always scrambling for fresh stories. Especially in these days of constant content when they have paper and/or a website to fill and a narrower audience base to reach. When you reach out to a publication, have a game plan. Give them a story idea that fits their audience and makes their publication look like they’re on the cutting edge. Maybe you and a client are working on an unusual project or maybe you see a trend in your industry that no one else is catching on to. The goal is to a) get published for visibility and b) use that publicity as a conversation starter with clients and prospects.

COSTS: This requires more time with gathering a list of media outlets, writing press releases and/or pitches. Consider contacting me for a free needs assessment. If you’ve got a budget for this, I can work with it. If you have a zero budget, I can give you more ideas of things you can do yourself - just be prepared to invest time that may take you away from your core business. How do you like how I did that – I pitched myself in a post on pitching. See how easy it is?!

Small Stuff – The latest manifesto on ChangeThis talks about “microtrends.” Yes, we all know about the growth of niche and the longtail but this interestingly takes it one step further and suggests that there is a lot of power in 1% that is being overlooked: http://www.changethis.com/38.01.JustOne

Social Networking is Coming For You – Businesses who don’t understand why Facebook and online community building will affect the future, will be left in the dust. Remember the days when email was primarily for chain letters and jokes? Now it’s a marketing tool. Younger generations are building social networking beyond trend and into lifestyle and work function. All the young techies are trying to figure out a catchy Facebook app like this: www.lemonade.com. It may not directly affect your business right now but understanding its impact will keep you open to opportunities when presented.

Word of Mouth – I’ve been a BzzAgent for several years now. As an agent, I spread the word on products and services that I like to friends and family and earn points for spending time talking about other people’s stuff. Recently, they launched the Frog Pond where agents spread the word on websites and online promos. WOM is strategically tricky stuff. I think this avenue will do well with agents like me who live off the laptop: http://www.bzzagent.com/frog/FrogPond.do

Right now I’m driving back to my little house in CT from the Geezeo ZoomInfo Compete + sponsored Tech Cocktail event in Bostonian MA. Cool event. Probably 500+ folks chatting, drinking, hanging.

This is the type of event that I like. Nothing planned except for a few fun events - particularly, a raffle coordinated with a money machine (fitting for Geezeo) where folks had to enter a booth and grab as much fake money as possible as it blew around their heads. I totally rocked this game (which didn’t matter because you didn’t win anything except for the chance to drop your biz card into the raffle - blah) but my strategy was killer. I’d tell you but then if we ever were to encounter each other at another geek networking event with a money-blowing-around-your-head machine competition, you’d totally trump me. Not cool. A Wii, of course, was also present. First time playing a Wii for me and I totally stink so it will probably be the last. There were probably a few other things that I didn’t pay much attention to. I was too busy chatting folks up.

At the bar I ran into Mark from MarksGuide, a guy my buddy Matt has been trying to connect me with for sometime. He has an awesome concept for a hyperlocal, biz event happening site and I’ve already got some great ideas for how he can build up some excitement and get some Craig’s List type hype. I also had several fabulous conversations with Jill from Fashion Public. Her mission is to get boutique fashion directly into the hands of fashionistas. Another awesome concept. Jill is currently in the fund gathering stage. If there’s anyone out there that would like to invest in a sure-fire hit company, please contact Jill and give her your money. I’d love to work with her and the funds will make this happen. Thanks.

I also ran into BzzAgent reps. BzzAgent and I go way back. Pete from Geezeo will tell you that I told him about BzzAgent like four years ago. It was great to meet the folks face-to-face. Awesome WOM company and I’m excited to learn more about their new Frog Pond adventure. I haven’t participated in one of their campaigns in a while but I will be sure to hook up with one ASAP.

Honestly, if every conference and seminar out there was replaced with a straight out networking event, I think they’d be 30% more successful. Maybe even 38%. It’s the right environment to make things happen - people hanging out, talking, getting to know each other. It just makes sense. Thanks TechCocktail funders - looking forward to the next one.