It felt like deja vu from a decade ago when Mario Marino’s Netpreneur events were alive and well. However, the crowd seemed to lean more toward urban savvy than suburban hip last week when Twin Tech II came together at Avenue, a three-story club in the emerging hot spot area of DC’s Chinatown. The event was organized by Northern Virginia Technology Council (NVTC) and Peter Corbett of iStrategyLabs.
(Joshua Konowe, founder of BrandClik, and Dhawool Chung,director of ad sales)
The old-guard government technology firms (a stable lot) primarily from Northern Virginia came together once again with the emerging social-media sect. The first gathering was a little over 400 (not too shabby) but this time the crowd was over 1,200 (very impressive). Sure free drinks sponsored by over 40 sponsors may have been an incentive but people were really there to meet and greet. The energy has not been like this since the dot-boom days.
What a mix: There were Grays, Boomers, X-ers, Millennials, VCs, bloggers, PR consultants, technologists, bankers, real estate brokers, lawyers, probably even a social media Spook or two (who knows). It was a very interesting and engaging group that is bringing new energy to the tech and communications scene in the region.
(Sohale Razmjou, LeverPoint, and Elizabeth Shea, SpeakerBox Communications)