New York Tech Meetup | The New York Observer

Iranian Ex-Pat: Michael Jackson Disrupts the Online Revolution

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 17:39:12 -0400

A few weeks ago, the Iranian "online revolution" seemed to be doing well. Since the presidential election on June 12, bloggers were culling together Twitter updates, Flickr photos and reports from Iranians on the ground at protests ripping across the country. CNN aired YouTube videos of the violence and Time magazine wrote about an especially moving one. Twitter and Facebook users were changing their avatars to display green colors and ribbons in support of...

VocabSushi: Read the Times Without a Dictionary!

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 16:07:56 -0400

Ever read The Times and feel like you need a dictionary by your side? Last month, Times deputy news editor Philip Corbett sent a memo to reporters about the 50 most frequently looked-up words on nytimes.com. "Sui generis," "penury," "peripatetic" made the top of the list. Interesting!

Well, now there's a site that can help you brush up on your vocab without pulling out a No. 2 pencil. Check out VocabSushi.com, a site...

Top Tech 'Pimp' Jason Calacanis Presents Mahalo 2.0

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 13:43:18 -0400

Last night, on June 2, Jason Calacanis was introduced as Silicon Alley's "original pimp" by Meetup's Scott Heiferman and debuted a new version of his "human powered search engine," Mahalo.com. "My wife is here," Mr. Calacanis said to the crowd of about 775 entreprenuers, venture capitalists, tech geeks and Silicon Valley randoms who had shown up for Internet Week events. "If there are any women I used to date in the audience, don't come...

Clip Me, Baby! The iTunes of Movies Is Coming

Tue, 12 May 2009 17:47:08 -0400

A few weeks ago, Nate Westheimer was sitting at a table outside a Chelsea cafe with bleary eyes and his brown hair sticking out in five different directions toward the sunny sky. He looked like he could use a beer. But it was only 10 a.m., so he ordered granola over milk.

“Last week, I got dumped on the Lower East Side,” he told The Observer. Mr. Westheimer, the 26-year-old head organizer of the...

What Does Apture Mean for Open Government?

Wed, 06 May 2009 16:19:19 -0400

On Thursday, May 7, the New York State Senate is set to launch their new Web site. Albany's King Geek, Andrew Hoppin, and his team have been working on upgrading the online portal for the past few months, creating new ways to display information on government bills and hearings on the Web, as well as training Senators in the art of blogging, Twittering, and generally breaking down the walls between citizens and their elected...

Welcome to the Demo Pit! New York Tech Meetup to Host Largest Showcase of City Tech Companies at Internet Week

Wed, 06 May 2009 12:01:43 -0400

On June 2, the New York Tech Meetup will host the largest live showcase of New York technology and Web-based companies during Internet Week. They're calling it a "Demo Pit" and 60 city-based tech companies or coders of Web-based projects will set up shop in FIT's Great Hall from 3 to 6:30 p.m., the afternoon before the Tech Meetup's official presentation that evening. It will be one of the largest free, public events during...

Foursquare, Hot New Phone App, Is Dodgeball on Steroids

Tue, 10 Mar 2009 09:21:12 -0400

"If you're have a slamming Saturday night, there's no reason why it shouldn't feel like a game of Legend of Zelda," said Dennis Crowley, who was presenting his new mobile social networking application, Foursquare, on March 9 at the monthly New York Tech Meetup. "What we wanted to do is turn life into a video game. You should be rewarded for going out more times than your friends, and hanging out with new people...

David Rose: Something Needs to Be Done and the NYTM is Stuck in the Middle

Wed, 17 Dec 2008 12:08:44 -0500

In a Dec. 15 interview with David Rose, the prominent angel investor as chairman of the New York Angels, the founder of Rose Tech Ventures explained why the New York Tech Meetup has become a crucial opportunity for the city. "With the financial crisis, there was a beginning of a movement, realizing that the entreprenuerial sector is really important, more than when it was when it was being drowned out by Wall Street," he...

A 25-Year-Old Boy Wonder Wants to Make This a Tech Town

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 11:16:18 -0500

Around midnight on Dec. 12, just a few minutes after being elected leader of one of the most influential tech groups in New York City, Nate Westheimer was winding down in his Lower East Side apartment with some Wii Bowling. Earlier that night, Mr. Westheimer, 25, had a few beers with various blogger types, recently laid-off Radar writers and other 20-something tech scenesters, like Tumblr founder David Karp, at Sweet & Vicious, the Nolita...

Nate Westheimer Will Take Over Scott Heiferman's Spot as NY Tech Meetup Organizer

Fri, 12 Dec 2008 09:47:36 -0500

Nate Westheimer, founder of BricaBox and entrepreneur-in-residence at Rose Tech Ventures, will take over Meetup CEO Scott Heiferman's position as organizer of the New York Tech Meetup. After a little controversy, candidate presentations and a voting poll, which closed at 11:59 p.m. last night, Mr. Westheimer snagged the spot by a landslide 48 percent vote. Out of more than 7,500 NYTM members, only 630 voted.

Mr. Westheimer proposed creating a board of "egoless community organizers"...

Race for the New NY Tech Meetup Leader Is On

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 10:50:43 -0500

On December 9, 10 candidates presented their case to take over the New York Tech Meetup at Barry Diller's glittering IAC Building lobby in Chelsea. The room was half-empty, a curious scene for the normally packed New York Tech Meetup. But this time, no five-minute infomercials for new Web-based companies would be made. Instead, attendees saw short video and PowerPoint presentations of local community members who want to take over one of the most...

On NY Tech Meetup: Change is Sexy, But Let's Focus

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 14:50:44 -0500

Last week, Scott Heiferman, C.E.O. of Meetup, announced when and where candidates could announce their interest in replacing him as organizer of the New York Tech Meetup. So far, several candidates have stepped forward, including Greg Magarshak, founder of social media company Lucky Apps; Joe DiPasquale, founder of CollegeWikis.com and self-described Meetup fanatic; Rich Hecker, an organizer of Bootstrapper.com and co-founder of The Connectors Group, a new angel investment group, and Groupable.com, a site...

Scott Heiferman on The NYTM: 'Now, It's Yours'

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 13:24:28 -0500

Scott Heiferman, C.E.O. of Meetup, released information today on how people can declare their candidacy to replace him as leader of the New York Tech Meetup. Mr. Heiferman stepped down in November.

According to Mr. Heiferman, a new organizer will be elected on Dec. 11th, after candidates give a five minute presentation at the Dec. 9th Meetup. "Then, with the new Organizer, Dawn [Barber] and I will establish a Board for the NYTM made mostly...

Big Shake-Up at New York Tech Meetup

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 13:11:10 -0500

On Nov. 11, Scott Heiferman looked small standing in front of the glowing, 11-foot-high video walls in the lobby of Barry Diller’s glittering, $100 million InterActiveCorp building on West 18th Street. “There’s a great President-elect Barack Obama line which is: We’re the ones we’ve been waiting for,” he said, microphone in hand, buttoned-down shirt unbuttoned.

Mr. Heiferman, the charasmatic co-founder and chief executive of social networking site Meetup.com,...