Monday, January 31, 2011

Startup Watch | December 2010

There are five differences between Boston and Silicon Valley. When compared to its California counterpart, Beantown exhibits the following:

  • an abundance of non-Web 2.0 companies
  • an abundance of events
  • an abundance of marketing talent
  • an obsession with raising capital
  • an ignorance of how to raise capital

These observations were offered up by Jeff Seibert, Engineering Manager at Palo Alto-based Box.net. Seibert recently relocated to open the company's new East Coast office in Central Square, Cambridge. Details can be found in a blog article compliments of Greenhorn Connect.

[ Update: Nikki Smith-Morgan @publicwords provides one additional area where Boston lags behind its Left Coast competitor. ]

If you are looking to learn more about the startup culture in Boston consider attending the next Meetup event offered by Lean Startup Circle Boston.

Startup Watch for December

Mass High Tech highlights startup companies each week in a series called "Five You Should Follow."

Here are 18 startup companies to keep your eye on:

[NOTE: Hover over company name to view a tooltip summary of that company's value proposition.]

» AcceloWeb | North Easton

» Affectiva, Inc. | Waltham

» Basho Technologies, Inc. | Cambridge

» Cambridge Semantics, Inc. | Boston

» CFRx, Inc. | Charlestown

» Dear Panda LLC | Cambridge

» Edimer Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | Cambridge

» Ginger Software, Inc. | Lexington

» Healthrageous, Inc. | Boston

» ItsMYurls LLC | Boston

» MedicalRecords.com | Cambridge

» MobiLaurus | Newton

» NewPower Energy Systems | Boston

» Provasculon, Inc. | Cambridge

» SBR Health | Cambridge

» StopGoStopGo | Boston

» Swift Mobile, Inc. | Cambridge

» Worldwide Center of Mathematics LLC | Cambridge

Five new startups are listed every Tuesday at Mass High Tech -- The Journal of New England Technology. Access Startup News for details. If your company was founded within the last three years, and would like to be considered for the Watch List, contact the Startup Watch editor.

Access previous Startup Watch lists:

[ NOTE: Beantown Web is now on Twitter. Follow Beantown Web @webapprentices and on Facebook by becoming a Fan of Beantown Web. ]

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Thursday, January 13, 2011

Boston Market | January 2011

An upward hiring trend is expected in 2011 and information technology (IT) workers are in best position to benefit from this increase in employment demand.

This finding was revealed in a report released by CareerBliss, an online career community designed to help everyone find happiness in the workplace. Here are the five career specialties with the highest anticipated job openings:

  1. Information Technology
  2. Sales
  3. Engineering
  4. Marketing
  5. Healthcare

Access Top Hiring Cities and Jobs for 2011 from CareerBliss for details.

Boston Market

Information technology is a broad category. In many instances specific technology expertise and experience are required to fill these positions.

The list of Top 20 Web Technologies in Boston has been updated for January and appears in the right-hand column. The list is comprised of keyword searches for web-related technologies mentioned in job postings at Boston.com (managed by Monster.com).

The average Top 20 technology has experienced a 36% increase in demand since early January 2009. Here are the technologies that have demonstrated the greatest job growth in the past 12 months:

Here is the biggest mover not yet in the Top 20:

Other technologies experiencing above average year-over-year growth include the following:

Web professionals who have developed an expertise in these technologies and can demonstrate projects that utilize these skills will likely command attention as the job market continues to expand during the first quarter.

NOTE: Beantown Web is now on Twitter. Follow Beantown Web @webapprentices and on Facebook by becoming a Fan of Beantown Web]

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Sunday, January 09, 2011

Best Business Books | 2010

Seven books stand above the rest as the Best Business Books of 2010.
What follows is Beantown Web's annual quasi-scientific analysis of the Best Business Books published in the previous year. The search began with an online review of 10 "Best of" lists from the following sources:
All told, 103 books were mentioned on at least one "Best of" list. Among these offerings twenty books were mentioned on two lists (The Honorable Mention).

Best Business Books | Runners Up


Here are the four books identified on three lists (The Runners Up):

Best Business Books | Winners


~ Third place, mentioned on five of the 10 lists: Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?
~ Second place, mentioned on six of the 10 lists: The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine
~ First place, mentioned on seven of the 10 lists: Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard?


Personal Recommendations


I can personally vouch for four of the seven books identified, having read and posted reviews for the following:
I look forward to chilly winter nights getting acquainted with the other three recommended books. [ Note: Check out additional bookshelf recommendations in the right-hand column. ]

Suggested Success Strategy


Identify one book from the seven listed above and commit to learning more about the business world. Making a study of best business practices can only help improve job prospects and career success as we continue to establish a foothold in "the new normal."
Check out previous lists:
[ NOTE: Facebook Fans of Beantown Web gain access to a list of the 20 additional books that made The Honorable Mention list. Become a fan today! ]
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