If golfing for groceries was not your idea of a good
time, the law firm of Luce Forward Hamilton and Scripps http://www.luce.com had set up Sony
Playstations, giving those used to battling in the boardroom the opportunity to
show off their competitive spirit.
I caught up with Leane Marchese, director of
membership and marketing services for Biocom http://www.biocom.org/,
who says that the biotech industry in San Diego could learn from this event…and
she hopes to see more biotech firms getting involved in the next Tech Mecca. In
fact, Biocom president and CEO Joseph Panetta called the Tech Mecca “the
hippest event in San Diego”, which to me indicates his seal of approval as
well. He may be right…but my votes are still out until the Big eSchmooze takes
place on March 1st!
In the current dotcom-and-go craziness to hit San
Diego, it was inevitable that I would meet up with at least a few pink slip
refugees as well as the scrappy survivors. One of those still hanging on is
Planesia http://www.planesia.com/, which
develops business software that links commerce portals, creating a “universal
shopping cart.” Lisa Culver, director of business development, says that
although they have solid backers and developers, they are urgently looking to
access new funding. I hope they find it, because San Diego needs all the
success stories it can get!
Speaking of success stories, when I finally got a
chance to chat with Katherine Harrington, publisher of the T Sector, we
both agreed that the Tech Mecca was a success. Unofficial count puts
attendance at around 900, which was perfect for such a creative venue. And as
Katherine says, the real success of the evening was “due to the support of the
sponsors and the involvement of the community.” And she had so much fun (clad
in a very hip cyber-camisole made of metal, by the way) that she is absolutely
ready to “do it again next year!” I’ll be there!
Tuesday the 13th found me back at
Michael’s Bar at the La Jolla Hyatt Aventine for another round of the
netHappyHour http://www.nethappyhour.com/.
Despite coming in late after a marketing seminar put on by Techniquelle http://www.techniquelle.com/, there was
still a good crowd, though the vibe had mellowed and the initial “Pick me, pick
me” song and dance by the entrepreneurs for the VCs and angels had subsided.
Those who were doing business were off in corners working figures, and those
who failed to make a business connection were connecting in other ways, if you
know what I mean. In fact, according to Bryan Depew, director of
marketing and sales for Impact Engine http://www.impactengine.com/,
the netHappyHour is “one of the best singles scenes in San Diego.” Who would
have thought?
Legitimately looking for business was Anita
Cohen-Williams of CohWill Consulting, a search engine optimization firm. If
you are interested in learning how empty your life is without meta-tags, you
can contact Anita at sdpresidio@earthlink.net
. Also on the beat for new opportunities was Thomas Noble, a pink slip
refugee now assisting Ants.com with marketing their new software product Scout.
He says that they are “still working out the bugs”…no pun intended.
And finally, kudos to Nutshell Digital http://www.nutshelldigital.net/ for
winning a Featured Site Award on Flashkit.com for the month of February! Mark
Holmes (CEO), who was mentioned in the SD Cyber Scene a few weeks back, told me
that to be eligible for the award, a website must be Flash, or have innovative
use of Flash, and must be original, with good use of design or sound or
interactivity. When he found out they had won the award, Mark says, “We had
over 3000 unique visitors to our site on the first morning the award was
announced.” Well done Nutshell Digital http://www.nutshelldigital.net/!
Until next time!
Lilia Phleger Benjamin
http://www.digitelle.net
