Date: Tuesday March 9, 2010 Time: 6:00pm – 9:30pm Location: Caroline Collective 4820 Caroline Houston, Texas 77004 RSVP on Facebook

Since that starts at 6, you can then go to the monthly NetSquared meetup – generously sponsored [...]]]> Even if you’re not planning on coming to Austin for SXSW, you should plan on coming to the Houston@SXSW Pre-party at Caroline Collective

Date: Tuesday March 9, 2010
Time: 6:00pm – 9:30pm
Location: Caroline Collective 4820 Caroline Houston, Texas 77004
RSVP on Facebook

Since that starts at 6, you can then go to the monthly NetSquared meetup – generously sponsored by Schipul, The Web Marketing Company where I’m giving a talk on why Non-profits need to foster a vibrant Tech Startup Community and vice versa.

Date: Tuesday March 9, 2010
Time: 7:00 PM
Location: Stag’s Head Pub 2128 Portsmouth St. Houston, TX 77098
RSVP on Meetup

On Wednesday, you can show up to the Social Media Shin-Dig hosted by new marketing firm, The Black Sheep Agency but only if you’re one of the lucky first 100 to RSVP:

Date: Wednesday March 10, 2010
Time: 7:00 PM
Location: Beaver’s 2310 Decatur Street Houston, TX 77007-7519
RSVP on Pingg

Oh, and that bonus

fourth

event this week: There is an intimate little gathering of 25,000 in Austin starting on Friday that you might not have heard of called South by Southwest. Don’t forget to register for the Houston@SXSW party on Monday night starting at 7pm

The Houston Innovation Initiative is a group started by Houston Council Member Jarvis Johnson and Yvette Golan of World Innova and here is a quick summary of what they are all about:

The Houston Innovation Initiative (HII) joins government leaders focused on solving city challenges to the technology and innovation leaders who can help. [...]]]>

The Houston Innovation Initiative is a group started by Houston Council Member Jarvis Johnson and Yvette Golan of World Innova and here is a quick summary of what they are all about:

The Houston Innovation Initiative (HII) joins government leaders focused on solving city challenges to the technology and innovation leaders who can help. HII’s introductions inform the technology community of areas the city seeks cost savings and efficiencies, while equipping city leaders with the resources of technology associations who have demonstrated superior innovation access, information, and credibility. In short, HII’s platform connects problems with solutions, needs with resources, and experience with the appetite to learn.

Today, the Houston Innovation Initiative, is hosting the February Forum; a private roundtable event between 100 of Houston’s city and technology leaders, designed to help the city solve specific challenges with new and innovative technology.

After the roundtable event, HII is sponsoring an open mixer from 6pm – 8pm where everyone that shares a passion for technology and innovation can come together and share information.  Below is just a sampling of the people from the event that are expected to be at the mixer.

• Bart Bartkowiak, Information Technology Director for the City of Beaumont;
• Anne Clutterbuck, Mayor Pro-Tem of the City of Houston;
• Bill Crow, Executive-in-Residence from the Houston Technology Center;
• Richard Haut, Senior Research Scientist, Houston Advanced Research Center;
• Kenneth Hernandez, Dean of Career Technical Education, Energy Institute at Houston Community College;
• Richard Lewis, Chief Information Officer, City of Houston;
• Bernie Satterwhite, City Manager of the City of Bellaire;
• Bill Sherrill, Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Houston;
• James Tillman, Assistant Director of Houston’s Finance Department;
• Dwight Williams, General Manager of HTV Houston Television
• Leo Womack, President of the Houston Angel Network;
• Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship.

Here is a Google Map link to the event:  Tasting Room at River Oaks, 2409 West Alabama St.

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FreeTimeStudios, an independent mobile game development studio founded by Nathan Eror and headquartered in Houston, TX, announced yesterday that their new game, SlapHappy, is now available via the iTunes Store for an introductory price of 99 cents.

For those of you not aware, Nathan has been very active in Houston’s development community and is [...]]]>

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FreeTimeStudios, an independent mobile game development studio founded by Nathan Eror and headquartered in Houston, TX, announced yesterday that their new game, SlapHappy, is now available via the iTunes Store for an introductory price of 99 cents.

For those of you not aware, Nathan has been very active in Houston’s development community and is also the organizer for the Houston iPhone Dev Camp and co-organizer of the Houston iPhone Developer’s Meetup, so its great to see a lot of his hard effort beginning to pay off, both professionally and for Houston’s Startup & Tech Community.

Here is a description of the game provided by Nathan:

Remember that game you played as a kid? SlapHappy!™ brings you back to the playground where the simplest things brought hours of fun.

Hold your hand over your friend’s, and pull your hand away before you get slapped. Once you see your friend’s hand start to move, the faster and harder you pull your hand away, the higher your score. Move too soon and you lose.

Battle 6 different characters, each quicker and stronger than the last. Don’t blink or you will get SLAPPED!

SlapHappy!™ is OpenFeint enabled. Compare your highest score and best reaction times with your friends and everyone else in the world, and unlock achievements to boost your OpenFeint gamerscore.

SlapHappy!™ is simple, fun and addictive! Are you quick enough?

Click below if you would like to see a video of the game in action:

More info on SlapHappy can be found via the links below:

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Werkadoo, the Houston startup that aims to compete with the likes of ODesk and eLance for the business of contractors and freelancers and be the “eHarmony of Business,” officially launched their site yesterday!  Below are the screenshots of their beta invitation and launch sites, as well as information from the announcement of their [...]]]>

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Werkadoo, the Houston startup that aims to compete with the likes of ODesk and eLance for the business of contractors and freelancers and be the “eHarmony of Business,” officially launched their site yesterday!  Below are the screenshots of their beta invitation and launch sites, as well as information from the announcement of their launch, provided by the founders: Travis Skweres and Bridgette Penel .

Check them out at http://www.werkadoo.com

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NEW SITE

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OLD BETA INVITE SITE

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Local Houston startup Werkadoo is proud to launch it’s web-based platform to the public! Werkadoo’s goal is to link the best-fit professionals looking for work with businesses that need their services in an exciting new way.  In fact, Werkadoo.com aims to be the ‘eHarmony of Business’. Unlike traditional job boards, Werkadoo matches people to projects based on their resume and skills as well as 7 work dimensions and behavioral preferences. Research has shown that employee/employer compatibility on a human level is the most indicating factor of whether or not a project will be successful or fail. By measuring the human element as well as one’s resume, Werkadoo helps reduce the risk that comes with hiring unknown talent, and connects the best fit people the business in need.

Why Businesses Use Werkadoo:

1. Hire on-demand talent easily.
2. Receive your top 10 matches based on your needs, don’t sift through 1,000 resumes.
3. Drastically reduce the time it takes to source a candidate for a position.
4. Ensure that the candidates chosen are a good fit both on a skill and personal level.
5. Hire pre-formed teams for larger projects. They’re ready to work instantly!

Why Professionals Use Werkadoo:

1. Stand out from the resume pile.
2. Don’t search, get matched to projects that best fit you, so you can focus on doing what you do best.
3. Fill a full-time schedule with several Werkadoo clients, and make more money.
4. Form and join teams on Werkadoo, and compete for bigger projects!
5. Plug in all the great communication and collaboration tools you use all in one place.

How We’re Different From oDesk, eLance, Monster, CareerBuilder, And All The Other Guys:

1. When you post a position with us, you’re not bombarded with irrelevant resumes.
2. We match you to the best-fit candidates on a skill and behavioral level.
3. We bring you the top 10 people you should be talking to for your open position.
4. As a professional, you don’t have to search endlessly for positions, we match you to them.
5. We never take a commission out of your paycheck.
6. You can form and join teams on Werkadoo, and compete for larger projects.
7. You can hire these teams on the spot, and save the trouble of assembling them yourself.
8. We don’t force you into a box, use any online tools you want to get work done.
9.. You can get us on the phone 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, just call.
10. Not sure what you need? We have Werkadoo Ambassadors standing by to walk you through the process.

In this economy, businesses need on-demand talent they can hire easily to get things done. At the same time, professionals need an effective way to find work and make money. Werkadoo is dedicated to improving the way businesses and professionals find each other, so give us a try today.

www.Werkadoo.com

Twitter: @Werkadoo
Facebook: http://facebook.com/werkadoo

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Werkadoo is also a Houston Technology Center client company. We wish Werkadoo the best of luck on their launch!

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Streaming live video by Ustream

Anthony Broussard gave a great interview about his company Quantum Potato to the BusinessMakers radio show. You can hear the entire interview here http://www.thebusinessmakers.com/episodes/shows/2010/january-2010/episode-240/anthony-broussard.html

He talks about how his [...]]]> In light of the article written in the Houston Chronicle by Purva Patel last week: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/tech/news/6808624.html# some other news has come out about the Houston mobile development scene.

Anthony Broussard gave a great interview about his company Quantum Potato to the BusinessMakers radio show. You can hear the entire interview here http://www.thebusinessmakers.com/episodes/shows/2010/january-2010/episode-240/anthony-broussard.html

He talks about how his very first game called Enlightenment Vision: http://linktoapp.com/enlightenment_vision was approved in four days by the App Store.

There is still time to register to attend the iPhone Dev Camp Houston

What is iPhoneDevCamp Houston?

iPhoneDevCamp Houston is a participant-driven gathering of like-minded individuals – also known as an unconference – with the goal of bringing together current and future iPhone developers and business owners to network, share ideas, and explore opportunities.

Dates:  Jan 30 – 31, 2010
Location:  CoffeeGroundz at 2503 Bagby Street
Registration: http://iphonedevcamphouston.eventbrite.com/?ref=ecount
Web Site:  iPhoneDevCampHouston.com
Facebook Fan Page:  http://www.facebook.com/pages/iPhoneDevCamp-Houston/207773391733
Twitter Page:  http://twitter.com/ipdchouston
Twitter Hash Tag:  #ipdchouston