innonate

Quick note here:

Very excited to say that BricaBox.org’s code is ready to check out.

It’s on Google Code. Our developer list is here.

Many thanks to Kyle Bragger for getting the code ready and removing our propriety stuff.

This is not a mature open source project AT ALL. So, don’t expect getting up and running to be easy. It will certainly require a lot of helping each other and asking question. Most of all, we’ll want to document everything we lear. This is where Google Code’s wiki features come into play.

Let’s see where people go with this! I’m excited to see.

Are you registered to vote?

FYI, here’s a link to register.

It’s important that you do this now (like NOW!) if you haven’t.

I like this ad. He talks to the camera. Says something substantive. 2 minutes — this is not soundbite politics. Real talk.

Good work.

This Thursday (at 11:05am), I’m moderating a panel called “Starting Up in Silicon Alley” at the Web 2.0 Expo (with a follow up session in the Web2Open).

The coolest part about my panel: my panelists are NYC tech rock stars. I’m very pleased to be joined by Kevin Ryan, Karin Klein, and David S. Rose (bios after the jump).

So, with these three great people on my panel, I wanted to take questions from folks other than me.

What would you like to ask Kevin, Karin, and David? What about their experiences as long-time entrepreneurs and investors in Silicon Alley are you interested in?

Use the comments section of my blog to suggest something.

Thanks!

[Read more →]

This week is a BIG week in Silicon Alley. As I was quoted as saying in Crain’s New York, “It’s like Internet Week part two, but this time around there is a ground zero for everything to take place in.”

While last night kicked everything off with Ignite, there’s still MUCH more to see. Here’s what’s on my radar (add other events below in the comments!):

I’m most excited about Web2Open, of course. It starts tomorrow and goes through Thursday, but today is the last day to register for free. Check out more info here.

Tonight there’s the @ShakeShack event, which is 100% no-questions-not-even-Nate-can-help sold out. So across the street, check out the event at Live Bait.

Following that there’s the Girls in Tech Event. That’s also at capacity but much more likely to open up, if you want to swing by and check it out (it’s close to the Shake Shack and Live Bait, so worth finding out).

Also going on tonight, is the super-hot Tech Set party, which I’ll also be going to.

Wednesday night I don’t know what’s going on, so please fill me in down in the comments section.

Thursday is the Wine 2.0 event at Webster Hall. This is the CAN’T MISS event of the week. My hermano Gary Vaynerchuk will be doing a LIVE taping of Wine Library TV from the stage. It’s going to be HOT!

Friday I think the Fashion 2.0 folks are throwing a party, so definitely keep your ears open for that.

Otherwise, I know I missed something so please fill the comments section up with other party info, or check out Gary’s Guide with a better list of what’s happening!

As I blogged earlier, I’m going to be giving another Ignite talk next week called “Magic at the Democratic National Convention.”

The goal: to take you inside the mechanics of certain “magical” moments of the DNC. Building off my study of “Social Magic” I gave as an Ignite talk two months ago, with this talk I’m going to dive into certain key moments of the Convention, what they did and the magic’s effect on the conventiongoers, delegates, and, in turn, the National audience.

Question:

So, in order to pull this talk off, I need to hear from you.

Whether you were there, watched the whole thing on CSPAN, caught just the keynotes, tuned in only Barack Obama’s acceptance speech, listened on the radio, just saw a newspaper article the day, or heard something around the watercooler:

What key moments struck you as pure magic about the Democratic National Convention?

I’d love to include it in my Ignite talk.

There’s a lot to be excited about next week. Web 2.0 Expo, Web2Open, the @ShakeShack/nextNY party… the list goes on and on.

I’m especially excited for Ignite NYC II, being held on Monday at the New World Stages (where the NYC TV & Film Festival is held) from 7:15 - 11:30pm.

Two months ago, Brady Forrest came to town and hosted the first ever Ignite in NYC, along side Ignite-cofounder and hacker extraordinare Bre Pettis. The event was famously covered in this New York Times article by Allen Salkin.

For Ignite NYC II, there’s a whole new line up of amazing talks and talkers (and somehow I got drafted for my second appearance). See this list of exciting topics:

• Krikorian Raffi - holmz : open database for energy consumption
• Deb Schultz - Alley vs Valley
• Jennifer Pahlka - Technology Anxiety: Jello and Web 3.0
• Sam Lessin - A very brief history of privacy in our data-deluged world
• Nichelle Stephens - Cupcakes: The iPhone of Desserts
• Don Carli - The Carbon Footprint of Banner Ads, Emails and Websites and why you should care
• Nate Westheimer - Magic at the Democratic National Convention
• Andrew Schneider - Experimental Devices for Performance
• Audacia Ray - Porn as a front runner in technology innovations… With a twist

Because of how monumental next week will be, and because of the venue and because of this great speakers list, Ignite NYC II is going to be 110% off the hook!

RSVP now on Facebook or Upcoming.

See you there!

Text: “Don Carli”

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Web2Open is only one week away!

If you liked BarCampNYC3, and/or can’t afford a full-price ticket for the Web 2.0 Expo, the Web2Open is for you. It’s a free conference, taking place on the grounds of, and with the support of, the great folks at Web 2.0 Expo (Janetti Chon, Jen Pahlka, and Brady Forrest. You know them!).

The Open sessions will be mostly decided on site. However, I’m now pleased to announce the pre-programmed sessions which will take place. These folks suggested a session on the Conference CrowdVine and won both the hearts of fellow attendees as well as the Web2Open Advisory Board.

• Fashion 2.0 with David Reinke of StyleHop and Yuli Ziv of MyItThings
• Making the Most of Transatlantic Business with Sam Michel of Chinwag and the UK Minister of Trade and Investment
• Going after Ad Dollars for Startups and Emerging Companies with Darren Herman of MediaKitchen
• Advertising Through Social Media Applications with Chris Cunningham of AppSavvy

See the full schedule here. And don’t worry! There are still loads of Open sessions waiting for you to lead! Just make sure you’re there first thing in the morning on Wednesday and Thursday, and that you’re in the Web2Open welcome session on the Expo Floor.

It’s then that we’ll open up the matrix for everyone and anyone to do a session.

So, what are you waiting for? Head to the Web2Open site to learn more, or just head on over to register for an “Expo” pass and use the Web2Open code (webny08opn) to get in free and participate in the unconference.

See you next week!

PS: There’s still some slots open to volunteer. Learn more here.

I’m considering taking leave from work during October and going home to Ohio to work for the Obama/Biden campaign. In 2006, I went home to Cincinnati and worked the final week of the 2006 election. I thought it was important then and I think it’s even more important now.

This is an excerpt from a post I did then (it was a particularly good one):

Why invest myself in this election:
If the stakes were higher for America this would be called the 2004 election. Republicans are running this country in the wrong direction — nearly 60% of America believes this — and the consequences could put America in a Dark Ages where: cures are never found because stem cell research is blocked; National Security is constantly threatened because peace is never built and terrorist cells are stoked and fanned by a remarkably poor foreign policy; my generation of Americans is increasingly saddled with the failed fiscal policy myopic politicians who think loading the public debt on the backs of the young is a short-term political solution; American classism grows more intense than racism as Rich America continues to be enriched by Republican policies and Poor America continues to get poorer because of Republicans’ state of economic denial; local economy is put on a back-burner to the global economy, instead of being seen as a partner to it; “fair trade” means the free-flow only of financial capital, social capital, and intellectual capital, yet the flow human capital remains regulated and criminalized, causing severe disruptions in the legal economy.

With the steaks this high, I can afford to take this week and work to elect smarter, better, leadership. Better said, I can’t afford not to.