Social Matchbox DC

There's an item in Techcrunch right now about Scalr, some sort of open source server management thingy by a company called Intridea.

Scalr, Scalr. Why does that sound familiar? Oh, right: The company was one of those presenting at Social Matchbox DC on Monday. Good on them.

So now I have a hook on which to hang a quick entry about Social Matchbox DC.

Like I'd said, since TeqCorner is in McLean, right down the street from where I'm consulting, going was a no-brainer. I went as a Socializer, as opposed to Job Seeker.

It was a pretty big crowd. Plenty of blue (or was it green, I forget) badges (the aforementioned job seekers) stalking the red badges (people with, um, openings).

During the pre-presentation mingling, I did talk to a bunch of people, handed out some cards and got some in return. I note that, especially in the DC area, if you ask someone what they do and they say "government," they either work in law enforcement or intelligence... or they want to make it sound like they do.

Folks, since the followup question is invariably "What part?", you might as well just come out with it.

As to the companies's 3-minute presentation pitches: Most were okay, some were good, and a few were really bad.

I'm far from the best public speaker (a lot of times I speed-talk my way into a stammer, and my posture is pretty bad, until I remember and overcompensate, sticking my chest into the front row, which I guess would be more effective if you're a woman), but at least people can hear me. (A few years of high school drama in the age before body mikes will do that for you.)

I should reach out to a few of those companies and offer my services as a presentation coach.

Anyway, I don't have cards I collected on me, but some of the companies that were there included the secretive Pseuds; the ever-present Shashi of Network Solutions; WhyGoSolo (who I likewise see everywhere); fantasy politics provider Publi.us; Foliofn (I know someone who used to work there, back when they were known as Folio[fn], which was a great name until you realize that the brackets don't actually work in URLs and people aren't going to get the math reference); more than a few IP TV-related ventures; Hungry Machine; Searchles (note: not "search less"); Loladex (another recent Techcrunch mention); Investors Without Borders (I guess Kiva with an ROI); Positive Energy (working to apply peer pressure to energy conservation); Mobile Posse; and a bunch of others.

So, it was a good event. Needs beer, though.

Remember, presentation coaching services available. Real cheap (and you definitely get what you pay for). Inquire within.

Tags: social matchbox dc, teqcorner