Sunday, February 21, 2010

Web Innovators Group | WebInno25

If you are interested in previewing the latest innovations on the Internet and mobile devices, and networking with industry leaders, then check out the next gathering of the Web Innovators Group.

This 25th installment (WebInno25) will feature the following presentations:

Main Dishes

  • Swift Mobile | custom apps that thrill your attendees and increase your event's success!

  • Noteflight | the online notation software that's reinventing music on the web.

  • Trefis | helps you understand how a company's products impact its stock price.

Side Dishes

  • Textaurant | aims to create a dialogue between restaurants and patrons through the use of technology

  • GeoLenz | a resource for enabling developers and businesses to rapidly deliver precise contextual data for geospatial locations associated with their applications

  • Shortbord | earn cash and deals to promote your favorite companies

  • HomeField | privately watch and discuss game video online

  • Conversation Associates | core mission: the simplification of digital analytics

  • Sustainable Minds | enables companies to innovate and grow through environmentally sustainable product design

  • Vuuch | it's like Facebook for files

Special Breakout Session

A panel conversation entitled Serial Web Entrepreneurs’ Founding Stories will be conducted with the following serial-entrepreneurs:

[NOTE: Beantown Web features the LinkedIn Profile Widget. Simply click the "in" icon to view the individual's LinkedIn profile.]

Event Details

Monday, March 1, 2010, 6:30 pm

Royal Sonesta Cambridge

Registration is FREE and the networking could prove invaluable! Check out the Attendee List of hundreds of pre-registrants to determine if this networking event is right for you.

Registrants are encouraged to join the Boston Web Innovators Group on LinkedIn and connect with more than 1,200 members.

[ NOTE: Beantown Web is now on Facebook. Become a fan today! ]

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Thursday, February 18, 2010

Boston Market | February 2010

Web-related technology jobs abound as a new decade begins with impressive job gains. The Top 20 Web Technologies in Boston posted an average 30% increase in job opportunities over the past 30 days. This performance more than makes up for the sluggish job markets of January and December.

Every single technology in the Top 20 posted gains over January. The online Boston Globe want ads, managed by Monster.com, is the source of the job postings listed in the right-hand column.

What's Missing?

Of course not all Web technologies are in equally high demand by employers. Database and programming skills never seem to go out of fashion. This demand bodes well for web developers.

Web designers, on the other hand, can count on the following two Top 20 skills:

Web Designers should also consider positioning themselves in the user interface (UI | #19) space. Wikipedia makes the following distinction:

"Newer implementations (of web user interfaces) utilize Java, AJAX, Adobe Flex, Microsoft .NET, or similar technologies to provide real-time control in a separate program, eliminating the need to refresh a traditional HTML based web browser."

One Web design skill that dropped out of the Top 20 this month is Flash (#22). While it is not unusual for technologies to move in and out of the Top 20 on a monthly basis, it will be interesting to monitor the demand for Flash skills over the next year. For an interesting perspective on Apple + Flash + HTML5 check out a recent podcast made available on Marketplace on National Public Radio.

What Else is Missing?

Another "technology" that gets mentioned frequently in job circles is "content management systems" (CMS). While the generic term has not been able to crack the Top 30 -- this month it stands at #36 -- individual CMS applications fair even worse in terms of job demand. Here are four common CMSs:

Combined there are 17 job opportunities for these technologies, not enough to land any of these technologies in the Top 50!

So, caution should prevail in setting a goal to master these technologies IF your goal is to land a job. One the other hand, IF your goal is to start your own Web consulting company, then you might benefit from positioning yourself as an expert in these and other niche technologies.

Best Training Opportunity

The best training opportunity for March arrives with Flash Camp Boston. "Best" because it's FREE! Technologies on the schedule include the following:

  • PHP
  • Flash
  • Flex
  • ColdFusion

While PHP is the only technology in the Top 20, these emerging technologies are worth monitoring, especially if you want to position yourself as a specialist in these lower demand, niche skills. As Biran Rinaldi pointed out in the August Boston Market report, demand is only half of the supply/demand equation. Skilled professionals in these technologies are finding high-paying work because there are relatively few professionals trained in these emerging technologies.

[ NOTE: Facebook Fans of Beantown Web gain access to an expanded list of the Top 50 Web Technologies in Boston. Become a fan today! ]

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