“Taking Back The Country” At NY Tech Meetup

Article By: Joshua ‘The Red’ Russak (Red@aclion.com)

NY Tech Meetup may be my favorite event of all time. Okay, that may be a slight exaggeration, but it is definitely an amazing event. I’m using a lot of adjectives so let me explain…For one, you should know what Meetup.com is and if you don’t, take the Meetup.com Tour here. [I would have hosted the video explanation, but apparently, the minute I embedded it here, it was no longer on Vimeo.]
So there you go. That was easy. Now, the CEO and Co-Founder’s is Scott Heiferman. Scott focuses the team on the goal of a Meetup Everywhere About Most Everything.
BUT WHAT’S IMPORTANT FOR THE SAKE OF THIS BLOG IS… He’s the Organizer of NY Tech Meetup. You can find Scott’s blog at scott.heiferman.com. I had the pleasure of not knowing knowing he was the CEO of Meetup when I first met him at the June ’08 NY-Tech Meetup during InternetWeek. (*Which probably explains why he made sure to announce who he was during the July ’08 meetup, last night…so yea, I’m giving myself credit there).
So now you’re wondering, what’s NY-Tech Meetup? If you’re not asking that, then I’m assuming you’re either socially retarded or well informed and probably met me at one time or another. Either way, for you soci-tards, check out the NY Tech Meetup Site here. Simply: “On the 1st Tuesday each month at 7PM, 6 people get 5 minutes each to demo something cool to New York’s tech community (geeks, investors, entrepreneurs, hackers, etc).” It also happens to be the first and only one run by Scott. It’s a great event and Scott puts a lot of care into making sure it runs well. What’s the catch? $10.00 and required RSVP/limited attendance.
So why am I talking about this event? BECAUSE YOU SHOULD BE THERE! It hosts 400 people and the venue is spectacular. Hosted in the ballroom/entry hall of The IAC (*a perfect venue for online tech community, no?) in front of a the Largest Video Wall In The World:

“The world’s largest high resolution, edge-blended video wall resides inside the lobby of InterActiveCorp’s (IAC) global headquarters in the Chelsea District of New York City. The venue is renowned architect Frank Gehry’s first building in New York City, featuring a 10-story glass façade with contours reminiscent of the unfurled, wind-tossed sails of a ship. The audio visual design and build was accomplished by Edison NJ based McCann Systems. There are two video walls in the lobby. The larger, the West Wall, is the largest, 120’ x 11’, permanently installed, edge-blended video wall in the world, which is clearly visible from the West Side Highway.”

It’s a spectacular sight to see, and an even more effective presentation tool. I had the pleasure of getting a tour of how-it-works last night. To protect my sources, I’ll just refer to him as “SH the AV Guru”. It’s amazing, he works full time to keep that among other display (both audio and visual) systems up and running throughout the entire IAC building. Thank you “AV Guru” and I look forward to meeting you again.
As for the content, LAST NIGHT WAS AMAZING! Every time I go, I have a great and make great contacts. It’s perfect for entrepreneurs of all ages and somehow related to the interactive/new-media industry. The way it works is simple: You get 5 minutes to pitch your company followed up by a Q&A while the next presenter sets up. Are you up to the challenge?
Unfortunately, not all presentations are full of “Oooohh’s” and “Ahhhh’s”, but for the most part everything you see is impressive and innovative. Here are a few examples of companies that presented last night: Wakozi, Pluribo, DailyLit, TransClick, Cause Caller, Cloudsmith & iYear. Some of the technology was worthy of a standing ovation, but for my sake, I stay seated.
I had the change meat the CEO’s and founders of these companies and they are very down-to-earth and willing to open up about their products and I find that to be a very personable experience you rarely find anywhere else. Definitely one of the major benefits in attending this event.
Oh…one more thing: I got 2 free drinks last night. Not sure if that will be a regular thing, but it’s definitely worth going again. JUST DON’T TAKE MY SPOT! The next one is in August, so try and make it!