Gawker: valleywag, valleywag calendar

Go forth and network

Adriana Nunez — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 10:30:00 EST

Now that the calendar is walking out of your life, here is a quick and dirty guide to how you can stay up to date on tech:

Gary's Guide: This is by far my favorite. It's not only easy to navigate, it's industry specific. As long as the site isn't down, you'll save time and effort with Gary.
Upcoming: Since it's mostly used by tech geeks like you, almost all of the popular events on relevant to tech. Though if you're not just looking at the popular events, the sheer number of events can tax anyone's patience.
Scoble on Tech: A good resource if you want someone to cull Upcoming for events where hardcore Twitter users cluster. But if you're Valleycentric it's not.
Andrew Mager: Has more time to network than God. Where tech is, Andrew is.
Techvenue: Aggregates events from several different sites. If you don't mind clutter (it doesn't screen for duplicate listings), every obscure user group seems to be represented.
Friend Feed Search: Are you feeling lucky? Try searching "party SF," and see what the twitter feed has to offer.
Facebook: As good as the people you know. (See Andrew Mager.)
Craigslist: The layout is terrible and search feature is worse. Unless you're also in the market for a free mattress, avoid.
Eventbrite: You can get a nice selection of conferences. But it's more useful if you're browsing aimlessly. The sort by start date feature is wonky when searching by location.
San Jose Mercury Business & Tech Events: Perfect if your looking for a class to improve your business English; otherwise it is hit or miss.
Going: Use if you like networking in 'da club because this is pretty much where electronica fans unite.
Yelp: A bit like shopping at TJ Maxx. You have to sift through a lot of crap but every so often there is event gold.

Did I miss something? Help a colleague out and put your favorite event website in the comments.

User Groups say to heck with the holidays

Adriana Nunez — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 13:48:15 EST

It's not such a bad thing that Valleywag Calendar will be gone after this week. The scarcity of upcoming events in the Valley means you'll have time to devote to the real things that matter this holiday season-shopping, eating, drinking, oh and family. But before you get festive, there are a few die hard groups still meeting tonight. The Openmoko User Group will be reporting back on their media player testing at the PariSoMa Coworking Space from 6-8 p.m. The Silicon Valley OpenSolaris User Group will be installing the latest bits of 2008.11 OpenSolaris at Sun Microsystems' Santa Clara Campus. And the SF Java Script Meetup will be casual networking about code at CBS Interactive, nee Cnet, at 5:30 p.m. If you really want to indulge your inner dork, DorkBot SF will be at Retox to chat laser cutters, touch screens for live mashups, and space tourism. Fly me to the moon!

Got something to add to the calendar? Send it to calendar@valleywag.com.

Even the universe is getting fatter

Adriana Nunez — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 12:31:38 EST

As Thanksgiving approaches, take a minute to ponder this: some expansion is inevitable. But it isn't just your waistline that is growing. 10 years ago scientists discovered a dark energy that is pushing the universe outwards at increasing speeds. Tonight, get to the meat of one of the biggest physics quandaries of the 21st century with Dr. Eric Linder of Berkeley Labs. Starting at 5:30 p.m., Linder will discuss how dark energy has been linked to supernovas and dinosaur extinction at the Berkeley Repertory Theater. More interested in the dark forces cramping your networking skills? The Executive Sandbox will be discussing the essential communication skills to help you build rapport with clients and bosses at Patima Organic Coffee from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. (Photo by Erin O'Connor)

Got something to add to the calendar? Send it to calendar@valleywag.com.

Live from the Herbst Pavilion, it's ... YouTube?

Adriana Nunez — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 14:00:00 EST

What, someone's hiring? Fixya, which is doling out the free food at Lunch 2.0 today, is hiring. Grab a bite and a job. Tomorrow indulge your YouTube habit. Your favorite timesuck is streaming live from the Herbst Pavilion at Fort Mason in San Francisco. Watch the new product launch/party featuring your favorite Internet stars at home or in person starting at 5 p.m. After you kill some brain cells, try learning something. The Mishap Science Fair is bringing science to Mighty. Drink, dance, and relive the best part about 3rd grade — baking soda eruptions. (Photo by Mike G. Ottawa)

Got something to add to the calendar? Send it to calendar@valleywag.com.

The Valley is one giant cocktail party

Adriana Nunez — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 14:00:00 EST

If your office cut its holiday day party budget, don't despair! There's still ample opportunity to make out with that coworker from the 3rd floor — on someone else's dime. iWidgets is launching version 2 of its social syndication platform at Project One from 6-9 p.m. WorkIt.com's annual Silicon Valley Mixer for startup types is at Techmart from 6-9 p.m. Salesforce.com is hosting a technology social networking night with food, games, and swag at the Four Seasons from 6-8 p.m. And for something low-key, Avangate is having casual drinks with software publishers at the Tied House in Mountain View from 6-8 p.m. Drink on! (Photo by Rick)

Got something to add to the calendar? Send it to calendar@valleywag.com.

Follow the hackers

Adriana Nunez — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 14:00:00 EST

From personal computing to extreme sports, hackers out for a good time have been pioneering new ways of doing things. Tim O'Reilly, of O'Reilly Media, thinks we should follow them. To find out what O'Reilly thinks alpha geeks tell us about the future, make your way to the Stanford EE Computer Systems Colloquium at 4:15 p.m. Want to know what's next in mobile? Nokia research is sharing the results of a two-year field study on consumer mobile phone use. Get tips on mobile product design and strategy at the Berkeley Center for New Media Commons from 6-7:30 p.m. Only thinking as far as your next drink? Web Analytics Wednesday will be networking with wine at the Press Club from 6-8 p.m. while Digg lovers meet up to drink up at Mighty from 7 p.m.-12:00 a.m. (Photo by Rodrigo Paoletti)

Got something to add to the calendar? Send it to calendar@valleywag.com.

Calling all citizen snoops

Adriana Nunez — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 14:00:00 EST

Looking for an excuse to head down to Yahoo? Get the update on Jerry Yang at the Yahoo User Interface and BrowserPlus Launch Party from 2-6 p.m. To find out what gadgets are on the chopping block, head to the Churchill Club's "What's Hot and What's Not in Personal Technology." The Wall Street Journal's Walt Mossberg and AllThingsD's Kara Swisher are headlining the annual gadget show-and-tell at Cabana in Palo Alto from 6-9 p.m. And SF New Tech is taking over Mighty for demos and drinks. Get your networking fix from 6:30-11 p.m. (Photo by Brian Solis)

Got something to add to the calendar? Send it to calendar@valleywag.com.

Industries that might actually do well in 2009

Adriana Nunez — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 14:00:00 EST

It is unseasonably hot in the Bay Area. Time to lap up your vitamin D and forget about the dismal economic climate. Tonight, reps from high tech, life sciences, and the non-profit world dish about where to place your money and your time for a plausibly successful 2009. To channel the positive energy, head to the the Westin San Francisco Airport from 5:30-9 p.m. The Silicon Valley Engineering Council is having an open house. Geek out about emerging technologies at the SEMI Global Headquarter from 6-9 p.m. And Bambi Francisco, the telegenic business journalist turned cofounder/CEO of the startup social networking site Vator.tv, will be at the November Startup SIG. To find out how Francisco's venture is doing now that she is free from the shackles of journalistic integrity, head to Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP from 6:30-9 p.m.

Got something to add to the calendar? Send it to calendar@valleywag.com.

Your premier tech event resource until Dec. 1

Adriana Nunez — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 14:00:00 EST

Feast on the smorgasbord of conferences and tech events this weekend. For starters, try the 2008 Music Business Seminar at Ex'pression College for Digital Arts on Saturday. Panels on production, financing, and online marketing can you help you get the juices flowing on your next app for making money on music. Thinking bigger than widgets? Berkeley's Digital Media Play Conference at Haas is bringing together music tycoons, technology innovators, and a gaggle of up and coming MBA's to discuss issues facing the current media economy. Thinking bigger still? Convergence 08 is hosting a free-flowing unconference on everything from space tourism to open source. Envision the next technological revolution and beyond at the Computer History Museum both Saturday and Sunday. Finally, get a head a start on next week with Adobe MAX 2008 preconference festivities. The Adobe Community Leaders will be at Thirsty Bear for a welcome reception from 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Got something to add to the calendar? Send it to calendar@valleywag.com.

Live, in San Francisco

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 14:00:00 EST

NewTeeVee Live, the online-video blog's conference, runs today in Mission Bay. VoiceCon and ISPCon continue. Tonight: a meetup of San Francisco Flickr users at Crossroads Cafe in South Beach. More on the calendar:

Got something to add to the calendar? Send it to calendar@valleywag.com.

PR pitches to save PR

Adriana Nunez — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 14:00:00 EST

Social media has undoubtedly democratized the Internet. But is this information free-for-all putting PR on the endangered industries list? To find out why not even social media will be able kill PR, head to the Horn Group Offices. Tonight, AllThingsD's Kara Swisher and some PR types debate why controlling the channels of communications may be more important than ever. Cocktails start at 4:30 p.m.; the panel starts at 5:30 p.m. For those of you who are over Web 2.0, see what's next. Eric Rodenbeck, founder and creative director of Stamen Design will be discussing the evolution of the Internet at the Commonwealth Club at 6 p.m. If your hump-day happy hour can't start early enough, LinkedIn is sponsoring another networking event downtown. Hobnob with other professionals at the Wine Bar SF from 12-1:30 p.m. (Photo by Brian Solis)

Got something to add to the calendar? Send it to calendar@valleywag.com.

Give your employees the gift that keeps on giving: a job

Adriana Nunez — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 14:00:00 EST

Just in time for the holidays, layoff season is here. To avoid your own nightmare before Christmas, join a dotcom bust survivor, The Stephenz Group, at the Silicon Valley Capital Club. They'll be sharing their tips for keeping your revenue stream flowing in a tight financial market from 5-8:30 p.m. For something a bit more uplifting, tonight's Net Tuesday is out to prove that some youngs have heart. At 6 p.m., representatives from Millennials Changing America and Change.org will be at Techsoup to discuss how technology can give the next generation of leaders a voice. Lastly, Thrillist SF, the lifestyle e-newsletter that reads like one giant sponsored listing, is celebrating their first anniversary today. The party at Project One in Potrero Hill is already at capacity. So let the party crashing juices flow. (Photo by texas mustang)

Got something to add to the calendar? Send it to calendar@valleywag.com.

Would an iPhone by any other name sell as strongly?

Adriana Nunez — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 14:00:00 EST

Your company doesn't just need a great product, it needs something that sounds cool. Put the "name" in "name brand" at tonight's SD Forum's marketing event. Athol Foden, president of Brighter Naming, will be sharing his tips on power branding and trademarks at DLA Piper from 6:30-9 p.m. At the Commonwealth Club, Jan Muehlfeit, Microsoft's European chairman, will be espousing his thoughts on what you need to maintain your competitive advantage globally. Quick hint: talent and intelligence might not be enough. And the High Tech Entrepreneurs forum is giving the floor to their fully-employed peers. Hear corporate intrapreneurs speak out on innovation at Jones Day from 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Got something to add to the calendar? Send it to calendar@valleywag.com.

Who needs days off?

Adriana Nunez — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 14:00:00 EST

If work is your mistress, give her a little extra loving this weekend. At the Freebase Hack Day, dataheads will be getting together to unconference about Open Government applications and other topics at Metaweb Technologies from 10-6 p.m. on Saturday. Code Camp is taking over Foothill Community College for a fluff free weekend about, well, code. Whether you talk Ruby or Hadoop, geek out at 100-plus sessions at the annual event by developers for developers. Meanwhile, SIPACON 08 will be tackling social media and enterprise at Hewlett-Packard from 8:30-4 p.m. Find out how big business is planning to actually make money on Web 2.0. And finally, a quick message about Proposition 8. Californian farm animals may have fared better than the gay and lesbian community in this election, but that doesn't mean you have to pull a Yahoo and chicken out about the issue. Prop 8 protest kicks off at 7th and Market tonight at 5:30 p.m. (Photo by elliotcable)

Got something to add to the calendar? Send it to calendar@valleywag.com.

F-bomb dropping PHP advocate derails Ruby, again

Adriana Nunez — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 14:00:00 EST

Didn't make it to ZendCon08 for developer Terry Chay's expletive-laden talk on Ruby? Chay, the original PHP terrorist, is headlining the PHP meetup with an encore presentation of "Making Frameworks Suck Less" at CBS Interactive, the company formerly known as CNET, from 6:30-10 p.m. Now that the Internet has won the presidency, head to the Commonwealth Club for an update on new media's right to express itself. From 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Four Seasons in Silicon Valley, representatives from YouTube, Veoh, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation will be dissecting the impact of Viacom's attempt to sue YouTube off the Internet. For those of you missing out the raucousness of Web 2.0 Summit, the Fall Social Mixer at Roe Restaurant is giving meetups a chance to meetup. Tonight, join peeps from the SF Bay Area Tech Entrepreneurs, Fashion Replant, the Art Scene, and the Real Estate List Network for a runway show benefiting GreenPasture.org. Also getting together tonight, Tweets and Drinks will be at Mars Bars from 6:30-8 p.m. (Photo by Sebastian Bergmann)

Got something to add to the calendar? Send it to calendar@valleywag.com.

Wiggling out of deals for fun and profit

Adriana Nunez — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 14:00:00 EST

If you've ever signed an unfair contract, don't wallow in regret. Take it back! As part of Astia's "Doing it Right" series, a bunch of attorneys will show you how to weasel your way out of unfavorable terms that could cost you and your employees precious bling. To learn to play hardball, head to Fenwick and West from 3:30-5 p.m. Feeling inspired today? Break the glass ceiling at the eWomans Network's accelerated networking dinner at Villa Ragusa from 5-8:15 p.m. Also for the ladies, Janet Fouts, of Tatu Digital Media, and Anna Billstrom, of MarketingSherpa, are sharing their social marketing tips at tonight's SFWoW meeting at McCann Worldgroup from 6-9 p.m. (Photo via Inman News))

Got something to add to the calendar? Send it to calendar@valleywag.com.

Epic night, epic parties

Adriana Nunez — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 14:00:00 EST

Not hitting up Lead21's party for the Valley's Republican scene? Think London and Sterling Communications are sponsoring an election-night bash at 111 Minna. All of you Web 2.0 summit attendees without a couch to sit on can livestream the election results to the back beat of brit-pop. If you're planning on microblogging the historic night, raise a glass to democracy with Current, Digg, and Twitter. The new-media trio will be at 330 Ritch with real-time coverage and commentary from 5-10 p.m. Outside the City, drink liberally with Democrats at the Fireside Grill in Sunnyvale or cheers to conservatism with Republicans at the Maltby's Restaurant & Tavern in Los Altos. Whatever you do, just don't forget your "I Voted" sticker. (Photo by cursedthing)

Got something to add to the calendar? Send it to calendar@valleywag.com.

Cleantech: Change you can believe in?

Adriana Nunez — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 14:00:00 EST

Worried about layoffs? We'd suggest you embrace the Valley's alternative-energy lifestyle, but electric carmaker Tesla's woes seem to make that a poor bet. Still, SD Forum will be looking at how the next wave of innovation can bring clean energy and water solutions to the developing world at Orrick from 6:30-9 p.m. FountainBlue is also thinking cleantech tonight. Join the likes of Symantec, EnerVault, and Element Partners for a conversation on efficient energy storage at Jones Day from 5:30 p.m-7:30 p.m. More concerned about issues of scale? The MySQL Meetup will be sharing tips on sharding and replications at CBS Interactive while the SF Java Developers will be digging into another enterprise-grade scalability solution at the Marakana Classroom tonight. (Photo by Matt Honan)

Got something to add to the calendar? Send it to calendar@valleywag.com.

Vote yes on Proposition Costume Party

Adriana Nunez — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 14:00:00 EDT

A gentle reminder from the City-sanctioned Boo Tube: There is no fun in the Castro in the tonight. I repeat. NO FUN. So take your decked-out self downtown. E-storm International has teamed up with Lunch 2.0 to bring a very special Halloween Edition of free food, games, candy, horror movies, and, of course, beer from 12-2 p.m. After the you've gotten your fill of afternoon trick-or-treats, head over to Otis Bar for the afterparty. Going to be in the Mission? Head over to Amnesia for its "Buckets of Blood" Red Lagerparty with a back-from-the-dead Led Zeppelin cover band and shadow puppets. (Photo by erikogan)

Got something to add to the calendar? Send it to calendar@valleywag.com.

Is my watchdog a spin doctor?

Adriana Nunez — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 14:00:00 EDT

Following every poll to watch swing states move from left to right and back again? A 24/7 news cycle feeds our craving for instant information, but separating fact from hype is trickier than ever. Join reps from YouTube, The Real News Network, BettyConfidential.com, and Google for a Churchill Club discussion on spin and politics in the age of online journalism at the SRI International Building tonight. If you have a post-World Series hole in your heart, fill it with beer. The Ubuntu 8.10 Release Party will be at Thirsty Bear at 7 p.m. for a low-key celebration of the latest in Linux's rapid-fire OS updates. Meanwhile, the creator of Movable Type and TypePad, Six Apart, is celebrating the second anniversary of its Vox blogging service from 6-9 p.m. at its 4th Street headquarters in SoMa. (Photo by Paul Keleher)

Got something to add to the calendar? Send it to calendar@valleywag.com.