sounds awesome. i'm in. i support the scene

Am definitely supporting this panel - LA Tech has so much to offer.

Great panel. Let's spread the good word.

As part of the LA tech community I can attest to the rapid growth and value of the community. This is a great panel idea, hopefully other communities can learn from our example. Looking forward to it!

I think LA is a great model for how to develop an organic tech scene. You have my full support.

I love these guys and I think they bring real value to any discussion. No other city provides as much time to 'marinate' in solving problems and hypothesize about the future as LA does with it's heavy traffic and long commutes. The infrastructure isn't unintentional!

Great panel topic, I dig it!

Viva Los Angeles! Great idea for a panel. I'm there.

This would be a great panel and really illustrative to so many other cities that would like to figure out how to build a dynamic tech and social media ecosystem! And Sloane rocks.

What an panel idea that will give community leaders (and those that want to be) inspiration for how to encourage and support growth and development in local eco-systems.

Props to LA for leading the charge and sharing the spoils. KD you da man!

Thanks for the support everyone! And keep on passing along the good word and having people vote for this panel. A quick note that we are also looking to add other panelists to help diversify and so stay tuned for those updates!

Thanks for putting this together Sloane.

Sloane, good one. We are a great case study, this little town of ours!

This is a great idea. A lot has happened in LA recently which other communities can learn from. Thanks so much Sloane for coordinating!

Sounds great!

this is huge!

You have my support.

Great stuff!

This is an important panel to support. Other metropolitan areas will learn a lot.

5 stars!

Ra ra!

I'm one hundred percent behind you!

Yes! Absolutely!

Thanks to the entrepreneurs who took it upon themselves to promote the thriving Los Angeles Tech Community. Silicon Valley watch out!

Absolutely!

Go L.A.!

Don't you know that LA is blowin up the spot!

Hello my friends!

So you want the LA Confidential??

Meet TechZulu.com --> From geek to chic, they've got the scoop, and are covering lots of ground.

Also, socalTECH.com's subscription service is essential for investors and entrepreneurs that want to compete in SoCal. CrunchBase doesn't compare for example...this is also our defacto community calander.

Both TechZulu.com and Ben Kuo (socalTech.com) have done a great job exploring the rich and diverse eco-system that makes up SoCal, and are great potential syndication partners for your community to 'stream' to the SoCal 'lake'.

To be sure, I've been invited to sit on this panel. Truly an honor considering the other panelists.

Mike Macadaan, Twiistup. An alternative to traditional networking events, Twiistup mixes it up with tunes, video, bites, beverages, prizes, swag and the unexpected. Mike is super humble, proven, and fun...check out some of the footage from this Summer's event http://www.techzulu.com/mike-macadaan-loves-the-la-tech.html I'm curious to taste what Mike is cooking up next...

In the tradition of "VIC" (Venice Interactive Community), Kevin Winston has fired up Digital LA and knows how to heat up a hot and diverse mix of tech and entertainment/media tweeps. We're glad Kevin Winston made it back safe from the Olympics. For an authentic and fun travel blog hit kevinwinston.com oh did I mention just how many smart people are in town these days...Kevin went to Yale and Princeton and works at MySpace.

So when Robert Scoble came to LA this Summer, Andrew Warner was the one that curated the start ups for Robert to review. http://www.techzulu.com/robert-scoble-on-building-a-smart-web-brand.html

Scoble even highlights how 'partnerships with other cities are the snowflakes that start avalanches'. By the way, Andrew produces Lunch 2.0 & Mixery.com events that do a great job of balancing scale and value.

Oh, before I forget, I'd like to nominate Ori Nedich on this panel too. Check out www.hhill.org With their Wired Magazine branded & green "Catalyst Center", they do it right, respek!

I'm personally interested in what sort of open source community projects could be fostered between our respective communities. In other words, I'm interested in exploring how to coordinate 'market making' by pollinating the various national tech corridors (SF, LA, Seattle, Boulder, NYC, Austin, North Carolina, Portland, Nashville, Louisville, etc.)

Let's truly have a "Meeting of the Minds" and create some excellent possibilities. And if nothing else, we can probably make a few new friends.

Come on!

@KurtyD

#giantsake

As you know, this is a very important topic to me. I hope to be part of the experience! VOTING IT UP!

socalTECH.com and TechZulu.com are both great resources and really showcase the best of Los Angeles

Awesome! Rock it!

I would vote to have some representation from a few organizations that have seen multiple economic cycles in SoCal and have a bit more well rounded technology experience. Southern California has a wide range of technology including entertainment, semiconductors, biotech, medical devices, enterprise software, wireless and especially marketing services. Some of the organizations that support these groups include WPO, SoCal Technology Council, SCVN, UCSD Connect, SoCal Tech, DealMaker and TIE.

LA is the place where the tech and the content communities meet bigtime. There has been a vibrant tech community in LA for over 15 years, but the new influx of entrepreneurs is really reshaping and building the community. This is a very important subject. It should make for a great panel.

woot

I've learned tons from USC's Annenberg Program on Online Communities, TwiistUP, Thursday Lunch and G33k d1nners -- "Whether you are a hard-core geek, a dedicated content creator, a new media entrepreneur, or just someone who likes being around an extremely creative community," -- LA is the place to be :-)

Jeff Cohn makes an excellent point, and folks like Ben Kuo (socalTech), Jim Jonassen (LawNMoweR founder & Digital Coast Roundtable co-founder), Tony Winders (VIC, Host & VP Marketing @ ValucClick), or Mark Jeffery (Mahalo, CTO and founder of The Palace) would all be appropriate POV's to round out the panel from a legacy standpoint.

Jeff, anyone specifically that you'd like to nominate??

The LA Tech scene lives on. Its time we get ours :-)

This will be an awesome panel, not just for new emerging tech markets, but for all tech markets.

Also, let us not forget Wm. Marc Salsberry~!

LA based, Marc Salsberry, has done a great job getting out there, including the Mashable Summer tour, and has elegantly documented what's going on.

Check out an interview with the man himself--> www.viddler.com/explore/nme2min/videos/25/

Also, www.flickr.com/photos/wmsproductions

Marc is the man!! Thanks dude:-)

This will be a great panel

do it! ahhh!

This is a fantastic idea. When I think of everything that's happened in the last year.... it's stunning. Someone should make a movie. :-)

I agree with everyone here. This is a fantastic idea. SoCal needs representation.

Would love to see this!

5 Stars!

Kurt and Jeff describe the organizations and groups that support the wide range of technologies in Southern California.

For many years professionally-staffed organizations like TCSC and LAVA have served our technology community. VIC became the more casual meeting place with its huge mixers.

However, after the economy turned down, it was hard to find casual networking events. That's why we created LINC networking events in 2006.

Today, there are a wide range of events, from the Twiistup parties to the LINC business networking events to the educational events of TCSC - and everything in between.

Together, these organizations are a model for how to build a thriving technology community.

Early adopters in LA have been making their mark, banding together and creating a community to be reckoned with...
I see the core group of people that have been on the scene for ten or more years (you know who you are...)who have helped to shape the industry here which is starting to grow by leaps and bounds. Their tireless commitment to creating a SoCal Tech scene is just beginning to be acknowledged, but be sure this did not happen "overnight". Several of those people are on this panel and in these comments and it is time to bring this powerful community to the front stage. It's time to acknowledge you all in a big way and I can't wait to see you at SXSW!

supporter, but with the caveat ...this can't be replicated in just any city - there's been many years of backstory to the "overnight" success of LA's emergence in this area.

Hey save the date everybody!! VIC founder, Brad Nye, just called me and confirmed the Skirball for Thurs Dec 11th. The Digital Coast Roundtable, MOTM (Meeting of the Minds), and VIC present "The Digital Family Reunion" and will be making a concerted effort to bridge the generations and various tribes for a party that we can all celebrate the holidays on our community. Many folks don't realize that LA City Atty Rocky Degadillo and then Mayor Dick Riordan started the DCR with Jim Jonassen. We have tons of footage from the Old Vic days that we'll be editing to a short film. This is going to rock the casbah!

The community is really coming together in LA. We started www.betasouth.org last year and have had over 300 people participate in our dinners and party. We are having yet another one with Yossi Vardi and his Israeli startups coming to LA in a few weeks and already have closed the list with over 200 of the most influential tech folks in LA (with over a dozen flying down from silicon valley to be a part of it). People are genuinely excited about the prospect and explosion in LA of great startups like Rubicon Project, Mahalo, Docstoc and have the history of big exits like Pricegrabber, Lowermybills, Shopzilla..

You just have to have dedicated people who want to make a difference and bring people together that really want to help eachother.

Very cool - I'm in.

I've lived in LA for exactly three years and when I first arrived, LA was a tech wasteland. In some ways, it still is. But in the last year, it's really improved. Not just because of the tech events and mixers in town from Mixergy, Twiistup, etc. but also the user group scene has exploded. When I got here, there was LA Flash and that was about it. Now there's my group LAdobe (all things Adobe related at laadug.org) and also there's groups for Java, Photoshop, Flex, AIR and if you really want to branch out there's ColdFusion group in Pomona and a Mac group in Valencia. Most of these didn't exist back and they're all free to attend! So let's not forget the great user group community LA has hatched because a free drink is nice but learning how to use this stuff is vital.

We're a tech company based in LA, funded by a valley-backed VC fund (Mailroom Fund) who are targeting LA startups - so LA is definitely a viable place for entrepreneurial minded techies. Come join us.

Nice, see you in Austin

You definitely have my vote!!

I moved to LA 4 years ago and in the first 2 years I really felt alone working in the Internet in a city entirely devoted to TV and movies. Then, in the past two years, this has totally changed. LA is still not the Silicon Valley and probably never will, but its tech community has flourished thanks to many of the commenters above, and this is a great experience to share with other big cities around the world.

Fantastic, anything we can do to support let us know. Dealmaker Media - LA is doing it's best to create a strong supportive community so that startups can meet successful founders, the venture community as well as the executives they need to get in front of. It's great to have people like Nicole Jordan, Mike Jones, and Jason Nazar driving and supporting groups like this. We'll keep doing our monthly events so let us know if there is anything specific we should be discussing. www.dealmakermedia.com/la

Heck yeah!

The growing tech scene made my move to LA more attractive than just having the company based here. Look forward to the panel. Tony Katz

I've been to SxSW for the music portion since 2002. Last year I skipped the music and attended Interactive which has opened so many doors for me specifically being a liaison between the music & entertainment industries. Thoroughly impressed with the progressive culture of the tech industry in LA, and have found even the key players to be welcoming and open to new ideas. So refreshing compared to the entertainment industry, this is a topic worth exploring at next year's panel discussions.

- Casey Phillips

I put in my votes for Kurt Daradics and Andrew Warner

big ups to Andrew Warner and my main man KurtyD -melting digital faces!

Bring it!!!

I'd definitely go to support the SoCal tech community!

Sounds like a solid panel, but while the focus might be on the LA digital community... any thoughts about other markets or event the "greater" SoCal? There are many to choose from and they all have different pov - Santa Barbara, OC, San Diego, Inland Empire...

It might be nice to have some folks that have studied or researched the impact of the digital economy, during the dotcom the Milken Institute produced some very interesting data/reports on that subject.

It is true, LA has...and it is awesome!

What an amazing response, WOW! This really shows the strength and support of the LA tech community. This panel will help showcase the many, many amazing people who are bringing this community to light and helping it grow. Thank you to everyone for voting and for supporting LA Tech!

This is really exciting. I'll be seeing all of you there!

As someone who arrived to the LA community fresh in June, I can tell you that not only is it vibrant and exiting, but it is a group of warm and collaborative individuals, of which Sloane Berrent is a perfect example.

This collaborative and innovative dynamic has been accomplished by a continuing focus on using the tools of community and social media to their fullest, and as tech and media continue to fuse, LA tech will continue to be a place for exiting innovation for years to come.

You've got my vote - good luck Sloane!

its an exciting time in LA and this group of panelist have been instrumental in building a dynamic community. Nicely done!

L.A. is an exciting place to get involved in a colorful web community, with folks from all over the spectrum - technology to entertainment. This will be a fun panel discussion!

LA has the advantage of a thriving entertainment community to plug into content creators and producers that span several mediums. Great idea.

Absolutely. The talent we are finding in LA is terrific. Couldn't think of a better city for Tubefilter - perfect mix of creatives and tech. Looking forward to the panel Sloane!

Hey you got my vote

Great venue to meet cool and interesting people.

You've got my vote

This is great and I'll make sure that I get my collegues to vote as well. Hope this gets in and maybe I'll see you there!

Very happy to see the city of angels represented.

cool