Beantown Web: 04/01/2011

Saturday, April 30, 2011

Startup Watch | April 2011

Annualized economic expansion rates during the first quarter of 2011:

~ U.S. economy | 1.8 percent
~ Massachusetts economy | 4.2 percent

The dramatic difference can be explained largely by the booming technology sector in Massachusetts according to new report issued by MassBenchmarks (Bloomberg Businessweek, Reuters).

Refer a Rockstar

You don't have to be a technology rockstar to benefit financially from this tech expansion. You simply need to be acquainted with Steven Tyler's techie twin.

To enter the Refer a Rockstar Lottery simply select the amount, click and refer!

$1,500 | $2,500 | $10,000 | $12,000

Startup Watch

Most of us don't have the catalog of hit tunes to become a judge on America Idol. If you are currently struggling to land a record deal, perhaps joining a garage band is the next step.

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

Here are 20 startup companies to keep your eye on:

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

» 28Wins | Cambridge

» Acceptional | Weston

» ByteLight | Boston

» Closed Loop Service | Tewksbury

» ExceLingo | Cambridge

» Family Health Portfolio, Inc. | Sherborn

» GamesForLanguage LLC | Watertown

» Getabl | Boston

» GoodTwo | Boston

» InCrowd LLC | Chestnut Hill

» KnowEssentials | Boston

» Luminaire Coffee | Somerville

» Modapt, Inc. | Wellesley

» MyTake LLC | Westborough

» Paperwork.Pro LLC | Cambridge

» PerkStreet Financial, Inc. | Boston

» PK Clean Technologies, Inc. | Cambridge

» SilverRail Technologies, Inc. | Woburn

» Swellr, Inc. | Woburn

» TrainingPal 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: Follow Beantown Web on Twitter @webapprentices and on Facebook by becoming a Fan of Beantown Web.

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Boston Market | April 2011

Companies are getting more aggressive at poaching talent from rival companies. This practice is more common in information technology (IT) than in other disciplines with 62% of hiring managers and recruiters agreeing that poaching in on the rise.

What industry sectors are ripe for poaching in New England?

industrial
medical
educational

What traits are hiring managers looking for?

multi-skilled
experienced
industry-specific

Details from two separate findings can be found at Dice.com: Dice Report and Local Markets.

There are no shortage of opportunities for Web professionals in the Boston area. Here are the current postings available at Dice.com:

web development | 776 opportunities
web design | 636 opportunities

Boston Market

Generic titles such as "web development" and "web design" can cover a wide area of technology skills. One job search strategy is to focus on an individual technology.

The Top 20 Web Technologies in Boston has been updated for April and appears in the right-hand column. The frantic pace of technology job postings has slowed over the past 30 days. None-the-less, every technology listed has seen a substantial increase in activity since the beginning of 2011.

Single-month movements do not signify a trend. However, it is worth noting that only three technologies experienced a net increase in job postings over the past 30 days. They are as follows:

Social Media | 261 opportunities 13%
PHP | 163 opportunities 07%
e-commerce | 163 opportunities 07%

Best Training Opportunity

The Boston PHP Meetup is offering a virtually FREE training opportunity to learn PHP, a popular Web programming language. This virtual self-study group is designed for PHP beginners only. The total monetary investment is the purchase of a book. Each participant commits to the following:

read one chapter of the book per week
complete the exercises associated with that chapter

An online discussion area has been created to answer questions and resolve challenges along the way. Since this training opportunity is virtual, participants are welcome from anywhere on the planet! More than 100 Boston area developers-in-training have signed up so far.

For details access Self-Study Group for PHP Beginners Begins May 1. Then click the "Join us!" button and reply to the discussion to begin the training.

[ FULL DISCLOSURE: This self-study opportunity, called PHP Percolate!, is coordinated by yours truly, the creator of Beantown Web. ]

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

Thursday, April 07, 2011

Startup Watch | March 2011

Bloomberg Businessweek reports:

"As the economy rebounds, tech companies are battling over engineers, designers, computer scientists, and executives who can stay ahead of rapid change in the industry."

"Several factors are driving the talent grab. The rapid growth of social media, mobile technology, and e-commerce has fueled a run on employees with expertise in those fields. The recent increase in the number of startups is also fueling hiring."

Details can be found at Techdom's Talent Poaching Epidemic.

This perspective confirms last year's Gartner report of the top three Strategic Technologies for 2011:

Cloud
Mobile
Social

Enterprise Mobile Event

If you are looking for talent (or you are talent looking to be found), sign up now for a FREE networking event sponsored by Cisco. The Enterprise Mobile Event tour began in Austin, TX on April 4 and will visit the following cities: