July LA Tech Event Calendar

Happy July everyone. For it being summer there sure is a lot going on and Thursday, July 16th seems to be the most popular day. As always, check back throughout the month because new events and opportunities pop up all the time.

Two events of note: Twiistup 6 is bigger and badder than ever in Universal City at the end of the month and Fortune Brainstorm Tech gets out of SV and comes to LA.  Awesome line-up with serious power hitters.  Serious reg fee too - $3,500. It ain’t cheap to hang with Diller, ya dig?

Have a great month and see you out and about…

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RECURRING WEEKLY:
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Tuesday’s with Exectec
7:30 PM @ D’Amore’s Pizza Connection on Westwood
1136 Westwood Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90024

ThursdayLunch
12PM @ Santa Monica/ 3rd
Santa Monica Promenade

JULY EVENTS

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Tuesday, July 7th & Wednesday, July 8th
NATPE LATV Fest 2009
Hyatt Regency
7522 W Sunset Blvd
Century City, CA

The LATV Fest is a two day conference based in Los Angeles dedicated to bringing together creative TV and digital content producers with development executives, agents, advertising and brand executives, software solutions and technology and equipment providers. Through a series of networking events, panel discussions, newsmaker addresses from some of the most creative minds in the business, technology demonstrations, never-before-seen screenings of content and one-of-a kind pitch opportunities the NATPE LATV Fest will provide an opportunity to share solutions for adapting and succeeding in the present and future media landscape.

Highlights of the fest include intimate workshops with top-level consultants, one-on-one face time with industry decision makers resulting in genuine opportunities for success.

Events to include:

* Showcase Lounge and Demo Area
* Industry Leader addresses
* Two great speakers at lunch!
Wednesday, July 8 - Greg Berlanti
Thursday, July 9, - Steve Levitan (Click here and view a sneak peek at his new ABC show, Modern Family.)
* Insightful sessions on digital production and distribution
* Workshops and Clinics with legal, business and pitch consultants
* NextTV Competition & Screenings recognizing the best in web series
* Pitch Pit – the only place where any paid attendee is guaranteed 10-minute meetings with the decision makers from talent agencies, broadcast, cable, Internet and On-Demand networks, studios and production companies
* Schmooze opportunities including networking events, parties and meal gatherings
* Wrap up day 1 and celebrate with producers, cast and executives of The Biggest Loser, recipients of the 2009 Innovator Award at a reception and presentation on Wednesday, July 8 at 6:30 pm.

Registration on-site.

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Wednesday, July 8th
Scrum Club & User Experience Design
Blankspaces
5405 Wilshire Blvd
Los Angeles, CA

Scrum provides us with a great framework for building our Scrum team, implementing the core agile practices and getting the inspect and adapt process started. But Scrum doesn’t provide much for the specific disciplines like programming, testing and User Experience. That’s where our coaches Mike Vincent and Patrick Neeman come in.

Join us as we explore how User Experience Design integrates with the Scrum process. We’ll see first hand how each type of activity fits into the Scrum cycles, and how our User Experience researchers, designers and artists integrate into a Scrum team.

We’ll lay a little foundation with a clear explanation of the core Scrum strategies and how typical User Experience activities map to the Scrum framework. Then we’ll get hands-on and gain experience by running a few live agile cycles to design the interface for an on-line version of Corporate Espionage!

By the end of the evening, you’ll have gained valuable insights into how to integrate User Experience activities into the Scrum process that you can take back and apply to your projects immediately.

Tickets are $15 per person. Free street parking is available about a block away. All funds raised from tickets go to support hands-on opportunities for members to try Scrum on practice projects for non-profits in the community and build leadership skills. We have a limited number of “scholarship tickets” available to university students and volunteers. Please contact amanda@scrumclub.org to get a student registration code or offer to volunteer at the event. We reimburse parking for our volunteers.

5:45 - Doors open. Check-in and informal networking. Dinner and refreshments provided.
6:45 - 7:00 Welcome and Announcements, Club Business, Introductions
7:00 - 8:30 Speaker Presentation and Q&A
8:30 - 8:45 Closing Comments

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Friday, July 10th
Digital LA - Digital Drinks @ Boulevard 3
7:00-10:00pm
Boulevard 3
6523 W Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA

$10 ADVANCE REGISTRATION REQUIRED BY July 9

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Monday, July 13th
SMCLA: Citizen Journalism: Social Media’s Effect on News
7:00-9:00pm
Mahalo Offices
902 Colorado Ave
Santa Monica, CA

More and more people are turning to social media as the first place they look for breaking news. Pictures and videos from newsworthy events make it to the web via mobile phones and hand held devices and first hand accounts are micro blogged in 140 characters or less before any traditional news outlet is able to cover the story. What does this mean for: a.) the traditional media and b.) the public at-large who may find themselves in a position to report the next big story…

Panelists include:
LA Times, David Sarno
LAist, Andy Sternberg

(additional panelists to be announced)

Moderator: Alexia Tsotsis, LA Weekly

Tickets are $10.

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Wednesday, July 15th
ThinkLA Summer Mixer
6:00-10:00pm
Wokcano Santa Monica
1413 5th Street
Santa Monica CA 90401

Registration closes on 7/13/09 at 5:00 PM PDT. Event may sell out prior to registration deadline.

Members: $25
Non-Members: $40

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Thursday, July 16th
BusinessWire Presents: Communicating Through Social Media: How to Build Relationships to Reach Your Audience
8:00-9:30am
The Olympic Collection Center
11301 W. Olympic Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90064

With the popularity of social network sites and technology becoming more portable, flexible and available in today’s world, we are reminded of the importance of new media every day. Join Business Wire LA for a panel discussion on how companies can effectively use new and social media tools to connect with their clients in new and engaging ways. What should companies be using and why?

What are the new tools and platforms that are making their way into the spotlight? How have these tools impacted traditional media?

Karen Kovacs North, Director of the Annenberg Program on Online Communities at the University of Southern California, will moderate a panel of experts in emerging media, including:

• Siobhan O’Neill, Account Supervisor, Edelman Digital;
  
• Nick Mendoza, Senior Account Supervisor, Zeno Group;
  
• Nicole Jordan, Director, Integrated Communications, Rubicon Project;
  
• and social media blogger Julia Scott.

This event is free for all attendees.

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Thursday, July 16th
Whuffaoke Crew-Los Angeles
6:00-11:00pm
Location TBA (likely Westside)

Whuffaoke madness hits LA! We’ll be spending the day doing stuff like visiting Blankspaces (coworking space) and doing impromptu signings. Then we’ll settle in somewhere to strike up the karaoke.

What’s Whuffaoke or Bust?

It’s a karaoke-infused roadtrip across America, starting in San Francisco, California, and ending in Montreal, Quebec. The goal is to bring music, whuffie and conversation on how to change the world along with us. We are Tara Hunt, Tony Bacigalupo, Emma Persky, Alex Hillman and Ridley the Pug.
Website: http://www.whuffaoke.com

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Thursday, July 16th
DealMaker LA Strategy Series & Mixer: Content Monetization: 3 Models that Work
6:00-9:00pm
Zune L.A.
Los Angeles CA

From video to music and games to news, everyone and their mother is looking for better ways to monetize online content…and it’s starting to pay off.

New monetization models are taking shape as consumers rapidly embrace virtual currencies, micropayments, free to play, premium content…and more. Whether you’re in Hong Kong or L.A., these revamped models are opening up a whole new way of looking at content monetization.

But its not as simple as it sounds… Before you make any moves, you need to understand which model is right for your audience, how consumers behave within the new models, and the key tactics required for successful implementation.

In this Strategy Series, you’ll get to sit down with executives and entrepreneurs who are leveraging new monetization models and kicking butt along the way. What key lessons did they learn through the process, what strategies made the difference, and what do you need to know before you jump in?

Speakers:
Keith Richman, CEO, Break.com
Paul Yanover, Executive Vice-President & General Manager, Disney Online
Larry Fitzgibbon, EVP, Demand Brands/ Demand Media
Ro Choy, Chief Revenue Officer, RockYou

Moderator:Jason Nazar, CEO, Doctstoc

Ticket Price (Mixer only): $35
Member Price: $25
Door Price: $45
Member Door Price: $35

Ticket Price (Strategy Series + Mixer): $60
Member Price: $40
Door Price: $70
Member Door Price: $50

Registration closes 7/15/09 at 3:00PM

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Thursday, July 16th
Hollywood Web Television Meetup
7:00-11:55pm
Busby’s East (Mid Wilshire)
5364 Wilshire Blvd
Los Angeles, CA

With nearly 3,500 of web television’s top creators, producers, studio executives, agents, managers, technologists, and distributors on its roster, Tubefilter’s Hollywood Web Television Meetup brings together the most dynamic group of professionals in the online entertainment industry.

Each month’s event features presentations from influential web television creators, talent, and industry executives who are leading the charge in shaping the future of our industry.

Speakers at the Meetup:

Alex Albrecht has been in the web game for over six years. While working as co-host of TechTV’s The Screen Savers, he met Kevin Rose and founded one of the most successful web television partnerships and created the most popular running web series of all time: Diggnation. He also starred in the cult classic cooking show Ctrl+Alt+Chicken, created The Totally Rad Show and took home a Streamy Award for Project Lore which he also created. Alex was also honored by the Producers Guild of America making the Digital 25: Visionaries, Innovators and Producers of 2009 list. If all that wasn’t enough Albrecht is in pre-production on a super secret sci-fi web comedy due out around December ‘09 (shhh!).

Hayden Black created, wrote, produced and starred in Goodnight Burbank, and did the same for Abigail’s Teen Diary, and now he’s doing the same again for The Cabonauts, the first original US commission from Dailymotion, co-starring a wealth of iconic actors and actresses from sci-fi TV and movies. With views in the multi-millions, awards and Webby nominations (Best Comedy ‘08), and rave reviews from the press (”A web sensation” - LA Times, “Black runs circles around the competition” - Wall St. Journal), Black has now retired from public life and will only be communicated with via Facebook.

Tickets are $9

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Thursday, July 16th
Mindshare
7:00pm-1:00am
The Firehouse
710 S. Santa Fe
(Enter via alley)
Los Angeles, CA

*Tickets are $30 and will not be sold at the door.

Program line-up:

Eileen Luders / Post Doctoral Neurology Researcher, UCLA
How to Build a Bigger Brain

Paul Carey / Pres, Marketing Specialists, Inc.
Stereographics 101: Digital 3D in the Home

Rob Spruijt / Artist & Neurologist, Art Center
Where Dreams and Movies Intersect

Tyler Emmett / Cinematographer, 180 South
Conquering the Useless: the Journey to Make 180 South

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Thursday, July 16th
The Black Card Circle Foundation Charity Dinner and Mixer Event
6:00-11:00pm
Wokcano Restaurant
1413 5th Street
Santa Monica, CA

Join the Black Card Circle Foundation and friends on Thursday evening, July 16th at 6:00pm at Wokcano Santa Monica for innovative Asian Fusion cuisine! Some of our favorites? The Dynamite Roll (Alice Wang) & the Beef Pepper Steak (Frank Centofanti).

Enjoy great ambiance inside the two-story restaurant and outside on the heated terrace, live music, a D.J., and networking with dynamic professionals and artists. This event is promoted courtesy of Jeffrey R. Gund’s InfoList and Mr. Kerry Moy.

There is no cover charge.

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Monday, July 20th
Girls in Tech & WITI Summer Mixer
7:00-9:00-m
Wokcano - Santa Monica
1413 5th St
Santa Monica, CA 90401

Tickets are $10.

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Monday, July 20th
Mobile Monday - Future of Mobile Film & Television
6:30-9:00pm
Sony PIctures
10202 W. Washington Blvd
Culver City, CA 90232

This months Mobile Monday Panel will cover the future of mobile television & film: Is there a mobile future in Hollywood? How is money being made from studio’s to advertisers? Is advertising the answer? What about the consumer experience - android, iPhone, smartphones… who’s keeping up and who’s not?
Panelists Include:

-Daniel Tibbets, EVP & Studio Chief, GoTV Networks, Producer of HBO
hit series, ROME
-Assaf Tarnopolsky, VP - Mobile Programming & Digital Product
Development, Sony Pictures
-Shashi Fernando, CEO, Saffron Digital
-Neil Patel, Director, Digital & Non-Traditional
Services,TBWA\Chiat\Day
-Jamie Shortill, Senior Director,WME Entertainment, LLC

Moderator: Debra Kaufman, Chief Editor & Founder, MobilizedTV

Members $20/ Non-members $25. Seating limited.

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Tuesday, July 21st
Social Media Club Orange County: Government 2.0
7:00pm - 9:00pm
OCTA Room 103/104
600 South Main Street
Orange, CA

The social web is changing the way government and non-profits interact with their respective communities and constituents. Come learn how Orange County government is embracing social media and social computing technologies to reach citizens, share information with the public and creating a more transparent relationship.

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Tuesday, July 21st
Ignite LA & the LA Geek Dinner
6:30 Geek Dinner starts
8:00-9:30 Ignite talks
Cinespace
6356 Hollywood Boulevard
Los Angeles, California

LA Geek Dinner kicks off the inaugural LA Ignite with Brady Forrest and Dan Gould.

About Ignite
If you had five minutes on stage what would you say? What if you only got 20 slides and they rotated automatically after 15 seconds? Around the world geeks have been putting together Ignite nights to show their answers.

Ignite site: http://ignite.oreilly.com/

About the LA Geek Dinner
The Geek Dinners are a monthly gathers of Internet and technology lovers in Los Angeles. Anyone who has an interest and passion for technology, the internet, internet technologies, software or you just know you’re a geek is welcome.

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Wednesday, July 22nd-24th
Fortune Brainstorm Tech
7:00-10:00pm
The Langham Huntington Hotel & Spa.
1401 South Oak Knoll Avenue,
Pasadena, California 91106

FORTUNE Brainstorm: TECH convenes the world’s top technology and media thinkers, doers, entrepreneurs, innovators, and visionaries. Our goal is to tap into the collective brainpower of the smartest people we know to explore the trends that are changing the future of business. The main focus: the way emerging technologies and tech entrepreneurs are solving problems and creating opportunities. This will be a collaborative conversation - smart, informed thinking about the challenges facing business and society – that will provide context and color to Fortune’s technology and business coverage throughout the year.

At this year’s Brainstorm Tech, we will focus on how technology companies, content creators and other institutions can thrive in the recession, and help lead the way to a new era of global prosperity.

The agenda is based on 4 content pillars:

- Renewal and Recovery

- The 21st Century Consumer

- Technology and Social Transformation

-    Business Innovation

The registration fee of $3,500 includes the complete program, scheduled meals, and conference materials. Participants are responsible for their own travel and hotel charges.

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Thursday, July 23rd
ThinkLA/ AdZoo Mixer
6:30-9:30pm
117 Manhattan Beach Blvd.
Manhattan Beach CA 90266

Meet up with thinkLA for a free-to-attend networking mixer organized by AdZoo!  Thirsty Thursdays are casual events (no name tags) that give people the chance to mix, mingle and make new friends in a relaxed atmosphere.

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Thursday, July 23rd
LA’s Largest Mixer
5:00-9:00pm
Shrine Auditorium- Expo Center
700 W. 32nd Street
Los Angeles, CA 90007

Join Los Angeles County chambers and business organizations plus hundreds of exhibitors for the ultimate business networking event! Mix and mingle with business people representing hundreds of industries and companies in and around Los Angeles County. L.A.’s Largest Mixer is a great opportunity to reach small to large companies, meet new clients and learn how the different chambers of commerce and business organizations can make your business grow.

List of participating companies

Tickets are $20

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Saturday, July 25th
Digital LA - San Diego Comic-Con @ IVY Hotel
5:00pm - 7:00pm
Ivy Hotel
600 F Street
San Diego, CA

Hey Digital LA peeps! We’re heading down to the annual San Diego Comic-Con! It’s where LA’s studios promote comics-based and action/sci-fi/fantasy movies, TV shows and games to thousands of core fans, and get/set the pulse on pop-culture. This year sold-out show is gonna be HUGE with more than 120,000 attendees packing the Convention Hall and movie-panel Hall H! Movie and TV studios are finalizing their celebrity-studded panels and sneak preview clips. We’ll update panel highlights here as they are announced on the Comic-Con site.

Take a break right after the exhibit hall closes on Saturday, and head to our relaxing poolside cocktails at the roof top bar Eden at the hip Ivy Hotel in the Gas Lamp Quarter (6th and F St, 600 F St in San Diego). A few blocks east of Horton plaza.

FREE with your Comic-Con badge (and without it too) just show up. Look for us Sat 5-7p, before they clear the area to turn it into a nightclub (no readmission). Cash bar, appetizer menu available.

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Tuesday, July 28th
OMMA AdNets
8:00-5:30pm
5:30-8:00pm (cocktail party)
Hyatt Regency Century Plaza
2025 Avenue of the Stars
Los Angeles, California, USA 90067
OMMA AdNets will help agencies, marketers and publishers target the key issues they must engage with their clients and partners to navigate an eco-system that has changed the way digital advertising is assembled, sold, priced and measured.

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Tuesday, July 28th
Eastside Los Angeles NetSquared Group
7:00-9:00pm
HMS Bounty
3357 Wilshire Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90010

Every month, the NetSquared community comes together offline at Net Tuesday events to mix, swap stories and ideas, build new relationships, and collaborate. These gatherings provide a chance for all those interested in the intersection of social technologies and social change, whether you’re part of a nonprofit organization or a for-profit organization, a funder or a consultant, a developer or an entrepreneur.

WHY AN EASTSIDE GROUP? Due to the realities of the traffic flows in our fair city (or lack thereof), this “Eastside” group is an attempt to gather folks who are doing great work east of roughly Western Blvd. We know the true divider is the LA River but we’d like to keep it broader. Yes, West-siders are always welcome!

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Wednesday, July 29th
Media Leaders LA
7:00-10:00pm
Twelve+Highland
304 12th St.
Manhattan Beach, CA

INTRODUCING: MEDIA LEADERS, a monthly experiential mixing event in Manhattan Beach.

Media Leaders is a boutique experiential think tank group with only 100 select influencers that come together to discuss, exchange and thrive on meeting new people and making lasting connections. Bring your business cards to take part in a cutting edge junction of leaders in PR, media, marketing, advertising and tech while discussing current events and new ideas

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Wednesday, July 29th
iHollywood Forum’s Digital Media Summit
9:00am-7:00pm
UCLA
Covel Commons
Los Angeles, CA

Technology is transforming the entertainment business. But the basic underpinnings of the business – film, television, music, video, games – remain largely the same. The Digital Media Summit looks at each major industry segment and asks simple but vital questions: what is the cutting edge and near future for this business? What must studios do to retain their audience? How will the new business be monetized? What is the impact on Hollywood of the greatest economic and social upheaval since the Great Depression?

The goal is to stimulate both conversation and dealmaking. The people who consider the basic questions we pose are the people building Hollywood’s future.

Digital Media Summit is aimed at “C”-level and other top executives who make key decisions about digital media at their companies. The audience closely maps the titles and industries of the speakers.

Basic Rates:
Ticket: $95 - Admission to show only.
Lunch: $20
Cocktail Party: $30

Deluxe Rate:
Ticket: $200 - Includes lunch, cocktail party, parking and attendee list.

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Wednesday, July 29th
New Media Vault – Hosted by: TubeFilter, Stella Media & LA Mixers
7:00-10:00pm
The Crocker Club
453 S Spring St.
Los Angeles, 90013

This month we’re getting prepped for two days of Twiistup excitement. Two times a year, Twiistup brings together Los Angele’s technology, media and entertainment communities, but unlike Twiistup traditional conferences, Twiistup mixes it up with tunes, video, beverages, swag and the unexpected.

In celebration, New Media Vault will be giving away two copies of The Write Environment DVD from creator’s Tim Kring (Heros & Crossing Jordan) and Damon Lindelof (Lost). Both copies are signed by the writers.

Want to stay up-to-date on the latest New Media Vault Events? Make sure to follow @tubefilter and @lamixers as well!

About the New Media Vault
New Media Vault is the only new media networking event in Downtown Los Angeles. This monthly event draws over 300 people from all levels of the new media world: with top industry leaders in attendance, your company will have the chance to get face time with financiers, talent, celebrities, producers, directors, designers, agents, managers, lawyers, and industry award winners.

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Thursday, July 30th- Friday, July 31st
Twiistup 6
Universal Hilton at Universal City
555 Universal Hollywood Drive
Universal City, CA

Join us for the biggest Twiistup ever. Twiistup has expanded with a two-day stage program that brings together innovators in technology and media. The classic open-bar evening mixer will continue, but attendees are encouraged to attend the full conference to experience this unique program.

Sessions Include:
» Pitches and Q&A sessions from the 10 Showoff companies
» Incubators and Early Stage investing
» Bridging the online/mainstream divide
» Technology and Music
» Investing and Marketing based on the 7 Deadly Sins
» Startup Ecosystems
» Opportunities and Challenges of User Generated Content
» Monetizing Social Media
…and more as additional presenters sign on.

Check out confirmed speakers and register here.