Boston Market | September 2009

OK. Let's get the bad news out of the way. An unemployment rate approaching 10% is not the most positive news to hear during a Labor Day weekend.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the news may be even worse:

The underemployment rate for August was 16.8 percent.

"Underemployment" is a broader measure that includes capable Americans who would like to work full-time, but have to settle for part-time opportunities, and those who are too discouraged to even look for work.

What follows are a few thoughts on how Web technology professionals can to get out from under the underemployment shadow.

Forward Focus

Let's look forward by focusing on what industry experts are saying.

The AIGA Design Leaders Confidence Index reveals that demand for design services is improving. This finding marks the second consecutive quarterly improvement reported by more than 300 design leaders working in various types of practices.

The ExecuNet Recruiter Confidence Index reveals that search firms are expecting an improvement over the next six months in placing workers in leadership positions. Just seven percent of recruiters are "not confident" that the market will get better during this period.

The Spherion Employee Confidence Index registered its highest level in more than 18 months as workers who have jobs are growing increasingly confident in the improving strength of the economy.

Boston Market

The Top 20 Web Technologies in Boston have been recalculated for September. An analysis of job postings at Monster.com reveals that job opportunities remained stable during August despite the perception that late summer is a slow hiring period. Half of the Top 20 Technologies show an increase in job postings in early September over early August.

The Top 20 List is located in the right-hand column and is dominated by database and programming skills. One newcomer to this month's Top 20 came about as a result of feedback from an executive recruiter. He stated that he was was experiencing an increase in demand for "UI Designers."

A search on this term landed it at #20 with 75 job postings. According to Wikipedia, "The goal of user interface design is to make the user's interaction as simple and efficient as possible." Job seekers with design skills may want to add "UI (user interface)" to their professional bios and social profiles.

Training Opportunity

The best training opportunity in September begins this week with FREE online Ajax training. Ajax (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) is a Top 10 Web technology in terms of job demand in the Boston technology marketplace. JavaScript and XML are also Top 10 technologies. With more than 100 job openings mentioning Ajax in job descriptions, and nearly twice as many mentioning JavaScript and XML, few technologies will grab the attention of recruiters than Ajax.

Free Ajax training is offered by Sang Shin, technology evangelist at Sun Microsystems. This 18-week course will guide you through some of the following topics:

• Ajax Basics
• JavaScript Basics
• Libraries and frameworks (Dojo, Prototype, jQuery, etc.)
• and much more

Participants receive a certificate upon successful completion during the first quarter of 2010. To learn more, access Ajax and Web 2.0 Programming (with Passion!) Online Course.

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Fastest Growing Companies | Fortune 100

Job losses are subsiding. The worst may be over. Prepare now for the turnaround.

Hale Stewart provides a visual analysis of job loss trends in his column at The Huffington Post. Based on one visual below, it is possible that 2010 will bring a return to net job creation.

Fastest Growing Companies

So, where should one start looking for employment opportunities? One avenue is to target large companies that have been growing during the downturn. Fortune magazine has released its list of the 100 fastest growing Fortune 500 companies.

While 21 of these companies are international, many states landed at least one company on the list. Here are the states with the most fast-growing large companies:

• California | 15
• Texas | 13
• New York | 8
• Massachusetts | 6
• New Jersey | 5
• Michigan | 3
• Missouri | 3
• Oklahoma | 3

You can access the list for your state at the Fortune section of CNNMoney.com.

Fastest Growing Companies in Massachusetts

Here are the six fastest growing large companies in Massachusetts:

[ NOTE: Simply log into your LinkedIn account on a separate tab, then click the "in" icon next to the company name below to identify the LinkedIn connections you might have within that organization. ]

1. Bruker | Billerica
2. Pegasystems | Cambridge
3. Thermo Fisher Scientific | Waltham
4. Zoll Medical | Chelmsford
5. Atlantic Tele-Network | Salem
6. Sapient | Boston

Conclusion

Remember, if you're trying to land work at one of these companies, take the advice offered by the 8th annual Sources of Hire Study:

"We continue to advise job seekers to NEVER apply to a company without first networking to an employee in that firm for a referral. The difference in probability of getting “up to bat” is too large to ignore."

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Fastest Growing Startups | Q2 2009

StartUpHire is a job search engine whose mission is to connect talented individuals to exciting career opportunities at venture backed companies.

They have compiled a list of the fastest growing start-ups backed by venture capital (VC). They focused on major metropolitan markets and formulated the list based on job postings during the second quarter.

The metropolitan areas include the following:

• San Francisco-Silicon Valley
• New York
• Southern California
• Baltimore-Washington
• Seattle
• Austin
• Philadelphia
• Denver-Boulder
• Atlanta
  

Access a list of the fastest-growing, VC-backed companies in these metropolitan areas at StartUpHire which provides direct access to job postings in these and other cities.

Boston's Fastest Growing Startups

The 10 fastest growing VC-backed companies in and around Boston are as follows:

[ NOTE: Beantown Web now features the LinkedIn Company Insider Widget. Simply log into your LinkedIn account on a separate tab, then click the "in" icon next to the company name below to identify the LinkedIn connections you might have within that organization. ]

• Acceleron Pharma | Cambridge
• CambridgeSoft | Cambridge
• Turbine | Westwood
• ITA Software | Cambridge
• Kronos | Chelmsford
• Senior Whole Health | Cambridge
• Zipcar | Cambridge
• Gomez | Lexington
• E Ink | Cambridge
• Acquia | Andover

Fast growing companies need bright, energetic workers. Start making connections today!

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TECH cocktail Boston 3

TECH cocktail is returning to Beantown for the third time to help showcase the local Boston tech scene.

TECH cocktail is a community for developers, designers, bloggers, technology enthusiasts & entrepreneurs interested in technology in local communities.

Events coordinated by TECH cocktail are planned for the following cities:

• Washington, DC | August 27
• Chicago | August 29
• Champaign - Urbana | September 24

TECH cocktail Boston

The Boston event will feature a handful of local start-ups providing demonstrations. Local sponsors will also be sharing their story with the technology crowd.

Eric Olson, a Massachusetts native and Bentley College alumnus, is a co-founder of TECH cocktail.

Details

• Date » Thursday, September 3
• Time » 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm
• Location » Tequila Rain (near Fenway Park)
• Price » $10

Details and registration are available through TECH cocktail.

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Ignite Boston 6

This FREE networking event is coordinated by O'Reilly Media.

Ignite activities are held in more than 50 cities around the globe. Access Ignite Event Locations to see if a group has been established in your city.

The Boston event will feature the following:

• social networking (in real life)
• keynote speaker (to be determined)
• lightning talks (20 slides in 5 minutes)

Books, t-shirts and other promotional items will be raffled off.

Check out Ignite Event Wrap-ups from the previous Boston event to see if the topics are of interest to you. The list of topics for the upcoming event has not yet been finalized.

This is a fun activity -- the sixth in a series. Space is limited to the first 300 registrants and seats are filling up fast. Sign up now.

Details

• Date » Thursday, September 17
• Time » 5:30 pm - 9:00 pm
• Location » Fidelity Center for Applied Technology (near South Station)

Access Ignite Boston for details and registration. Also, consider joining the Ignite Boston Facebook group to begin networking with more than 70 FOOs (Fans of O'Reilly's) in the metro Boston area.

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Hard Skills + Soft Skills = 60 Days

Hard skills land you the interview. Soft skills land you the job. We need both hard skills and soft skills.

Hard Skills

If you are a typical job seeker expect to be unemployed for four months. If you are out of work and have a Web technology background there is one skill that will land you a full-time assignment in half the time! What is this high-demand, high-tech skill?

• Microsoft's .NET technology
  

This single finding was reported in a quarterly report issued by CareerBuilder entitled The Staffing Supply & Demand Outlook. The study included more than 5,000 hiring managers and 9,000 workers.

This finding is consistent with the latest Beantown Web research that reveals a high demand for the following fast-growing skills:

• C#
• Web Services
• ASP.NET
• SEO
• Ajax

Soft Skills

Virtually every job description lists "excellent communication skills" as a core requirement. However, higher level soft skills are in high demand according to one survey of Boston employers:

• Employers who say it is difficult to find "strategic thinkers" | 80%
• Employers who say it is difficult to find candidates who can "lead and motivate" others | 75%
  

A press release of the 2009 Greater Boston Area Talent Markets Survey is available for review. A more detailed FREE 44-page report is also available from Camden Consulting Group.

60 Days

Few activities will alter the trajectory of your career faster than upgrading specific hard skills and soft skills. If you are a Web professional consider developing a 60-plan (a strategic plan) to incorporate ASP.NET into your skill set. If you are a professional in any discipline spend 60 minutes today identifying "strategic thinking" and "leading & motivating" examples you can point to in projects you have worked on. Employers are actively looking for these hard and soft skills.

Hard skills + soft skills = 60 days to your next opportunity.

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Boston Market | August 2009

The unemployment numbers will likely continue to rise for the next 12 months according to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.

Employment in the Information Technology (IT) sector, however, continues to outperform the general employment marketplace with a lower percentage of tech workers out of work.

Information Technology workers are in demand, at least those who possess technology skills that are valued in today's marketplace. This analysis shines a light on these in-demand skills.

Boston Market

Job opportunities continued an upward momentum in the Boston technology marketplace for the second consecutive month. Sixteen of the Top 20 Web Technologies are "in the green." These technologies were mentioned more frequently in job descriptions this month than last month. The updated list of Top 20 Web Technologies appears in the right-hand column.

Five of the Top 20 Web Technologies have seen impressive gains in job postings -- an increase of at least 50% since early June. The five hottest technologies are as follows:

• C# | 74%
• Web Services | 63%
• ASP.NET | 57%
• SEO | 55%
• Ajax | 53%

Web professionals who possess these technical skills and are actively pursuing opportunities would do well to highlight these skills on resumes and in social media profiles.

Training Opportunity

The best value in Web technology training might be RIA Unleashed : Boston. This one-day conference is billed as New England's only conference focused on building rich internet applications (RIAs) using the Adobe Flash Platform including Flex, AIR, ColdFusion, Catalyst and other technologies.

None of these technologies, including Flash, are currently Top 20 technologies in terms of how frequently they are mentioned in job descriptions. However, as conference organizer Brian Rinaldi pointed out to me, 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.

What makes this conference attractive is the cost of ONLY $30, while the early bird supply of 100 tickets lasts. Even at the next level of $50 this training opportunity promises to be a real bargain.

To learn more about this November (Friday the 13th) training opportunity in Waltham, access RIA Unleashed : Boston.

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

Social Media Breakfast | Boston

The Social Media Breakfast was founded as an event where social media experts and newbies alike come together to eat, meet, share, and learn.

The breakfast series began in Boston and has now spread to more than two dozen cities. Social Media Breakfast was founded by Bryan Person.

Boston Breakfast

The topic for the next Boston seminar is "The Power & Peril of Online Communities." The presenters are as follows:

• Bryan Person
• Rachel Happe
• Diane Hessan

Marketers, PR pros, entrepreneurs, bloggers, podcasters, new-media fanatics, and online social networkers are all welcome to attend.

Details

When: Friday, August 7, 2009, 8:30 am

Where: Communispace Corporation | Watertown

Registration is only $7.99 and the networking could prove invaluable! Check out the Attendee List of more than 70 pre-registrants to determine if this networking event is right for you.

To learn more about this event access the Social Media Breakfast website where you can learn more about upcoming events in more than two dozen cities. You can also learn more about starting a Social Media Breakfast event in your city.

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Global 250 Top Private Companies | 2009

A list of the 250 most innovative (and disruptive) companies has been announced. Previous winners of the top award include Google and Twitter.

This year's overall winner is Quantcast, a company that helps bring marketers and publishers together.

California leads the list with 126 companies followed by New York with 21. The Boston metro area placed 14 companies on this year's list.

Boston Area Innovators

Innovative companies are looking for innovative people to help them grow. Check out the following 14 companies, listed by category, for business opportunities. Click the "in" icon to identify your LinkedIn connections into that company.

Cloud & Infrastructure

• Pixily | Waltham
• Visible Measures | Boston ★★★
  
• VKernel | Portsmouth, NH

Consumer Internet

• Viximo | Cambridge

Digital Education

• 8D World | Woburn
• Eduventures | Boston
• SimpleTuition | Newton
  

Enabling Tools & Devices

• EveryZing | Cambridge [ Category Winner ]

Greentech

• GreatPoint Energy | Cambridge
  
• Premium Power | North Reading
  
• Wilson TurboPower | Woburn

SaaS & Enterprise

• uTest | Southborough [ Category Winner ]
• HubSpot | Cambridge

Wireless

• Skyhook Wireless | Boston [ Category Winner ]
  

The complete list of 250 companies can be found at the AlwaysOn Network (AO) website.

★★★ Visible Measures is the local sponsor of the upcoming Boston leg of the Summer of Social Good networking event tour.

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Summer of Social Good | Six City Tour

The Summer of Social Good is the first large scale charitable campaign designed to raise funds strictly online through the power of social media. A six-city tour has been organized to promote the campaign.

The Organizers

Mashable - The Social Media Guide has teamed with Hyatt Hotels and various local sponsors to promote the tour under the banner Mashable’s #Hyatt4Good Tweetup Tour.

The Charities

Charities will receive 100% of funds raised during the campaign. All proceeds will be split equally among the following four charities:

• The Humane Society
• LIVESTRONG
• Oxfam America
• WWF

The Cities

The tour will visit the following cities:

• New York | Monday, July 27
• Chicago | Tuesday, August 4
• Denver | Thursday, August 6
• San Diego | Friday, August 7
• Washington, DC | Thursday, August 13
• Boston | Friday, August 21

The style of each event will be an informal mixer for the social media community. A local sponsor will help cover some food and drinks and a cash bar will be available. Registration is required and a donation is suggested.

Readers are encouraged to spread the word about the Summer of Social Good through the social media of your choice.

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Web Innovators Group | WebInno 22

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

This 22nd installment (WebInno22) will feature the following presentations:

Main Dishes

• Planet Cazmo | a virtual world set inside an alien solar system who have been inspired by music, hip hop and other earth cultural phenomenon


• Thunder Thimble | Who’s talking about your product or business? What are they saying? Thunder Thimble monitors brand mentions and allows you to respond in real time.


• BuySellAds | an advertising marketplace for small to medium sized website owners/publishers

Side Dishes

• Shareaholic | simply the quickest and best way to share, e-mail, tweet, bookmark, and blog links


• Muzzy Lane | creating great games and innovative Sandstone technology to build and deliver them


• Localytics | focused on giving mobile application developers the tools they need to improve their businesses


• Fluent Mobile | a pioneer in mobile content organization and delivery


• Tor Project | a network of virtual tunnels that allows people and groups to improve their privacy and security on the Internet


• CaptureCode | a transaction processing company focused on helping merchants increase their return on marketing investment

Details

Wednesday, July 15, 2009, 6:30 pm

Royal Sonesta Cambridge

Registration is FREE and the networking could prove invaluable! Check out the Attendee List of more than 800 hundred pre-registrants to determine if this networking event is right for you.

Registrants are also encouraged to join the Boston Web Innovators Group on LinkedIn and connect with more than 900 members.

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Boston Market | July 2009

More employers are expected to hire full-time staff in the third quarter than fire workers according to one recent job survey.

Listed below are the trends for the past three quarters.

Plan to increase the number of full-time employees:

• third quarter | 15% (expectation)
• second quarter | 18%
• first quarter | 13%

Plan to reduce the number of full-time employees:

• third quarter | 10% (expectation)
• second quarter 17%
• first quarter | 26%

So, job losses are expected to slow, but job creation is not expected to grow. According to the survey,

". . . we're not likely to experience significant movement in job creation in 2009. Jobs will be added, but overall, businesses will continue to be conservative in their hiring and maintain focus on existing human capital."

Q3 2009 U.S. Job Forecast

Job growth in the Northeast is expected to be higher in the third quarter than any other region of the United States, except for the South. Eighteen percent of employers in the Northeast are expected to add full-time staff vs. 15 percent nationally. Four job sectors are fueling hiring in the Northeast:

• government
• education
• healthcare
• defense

The quarterly survey, conducted in late May and early June, polled more than 2,600 hiring managers and human resource professionals. A press release of the Q3 2009 U.S. Job Forecast is available for review. For a more detailed summary of the findings, conducted jointly by CareerBuilder and USA Today, download a free six-page report.

Boston Technology Market

Overcast or rainy skies hovered over Boston for 22 out of 30 days in June (source). Rain makes things grow and apparently the Boston technology job market was one beneficiary.

A review of the Top 20 Web Technologies in Boston reveals that 11 of the top 12 technologies experienced increases in job listings since early June. Job postings for workers who can demonstrate proficiency in these technologies are up an impressive 22 percent in the past 30 days.

In general, Boston area employers are looking for technical expertise in the following skill areas:

• databases
• programming

This combination bodes well for Web developers. The biggest movers of the month include Microsoft-centric Web development skills:

• Web Services 56%
• C# 43%
• ASP.NET 41%
• SQL Server 29%

One simple training opportunity for July would be to learn more about Web Services. W3Schools.com offers a FREE introductory Web Services Tutorial.

A complete listing of the Top 20 Web Technologies in Boston appears in the right-hand column along with links to local job postings.

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

Girls in Tech | Boston Event

Girls in Tech is a network of professional women who aspire to careers in technology.

Girls in Tech has an official presence in the following cities:

Atlanta, Austin, Berlin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Kuwait, London, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Omaha, Orlando, Paris, Portland, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Stamford, Tampa, and Washington DC

Girls in Tech | Boston

The Boston Chapter of Girls in Tech will be hosting a lifestyle panel discussion designed to explore the following issues:

• work/life balance
• career management
• leading a purpose-driven life

Agenda:

• 6:00 - 7:00 pm » Networking
• 7:00 - 7:45 pm » Panel Discussion
• 7:45 - 9:00 pm » Open Audience Discussion

Event Details

• Date » Tuesday, June 30, 2009
• Time » 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
• Location » 38 Cameron Gallery, Cambridge, MA

This event is FREE. Hors d'oeuvres and refreshments will be served. Reservations are required.

PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS A WOMEN'S ONLY EVENT

Boston area technology enthusiasts should consider joining the 200+ members of the Girls in Tech | Boston Chapter Facebook group.

For information about activities in other metropolitan areas access the Girls in Tech website.

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AIGA Aquent Survey of Design Salaries | 2009

More than 9,000 designers nationwide completed an annual salary survey.

Billed as "the most comprehensive annual survey of compensation data for the communication design profession in the United States," the survey was a joint effort between the following:

• AIGA | the professional association for design
• Aquent | the talent agency for marketers and designers

Here is a summary of the findings.

Boston Salaries

Median salaries for design professionals in Boston exceeded the national average by a range of between $2,000 and $8,000. Here are the Boston median salaries for select job titles:

• Entry-level designer | $40,000
• Print production artist | $47,500
• Designer | $47,000
• Web designer | $60,000
• Senior designer | $65,000

Relatively few Web developers and programmers belong to the organizations that were used in the survey sample. Therefore, salaries for Boston could not be provided with statistical accuracy. Here are the national median average salaries for these job titles:

• Web programmer/developer (back end) | $62,400
• Web developer (front end) | $65,000

It would not be unusual for these median salaries to be higher in the Boston metro area.

Definitions are provided for these and other job titles at the AIGA website.

Advice from Design Leaders

Ten design professionals from across the country were asked to share their advice on surviving during challenging economic times. One quote was a headline grabber.

"Be smart and strategic—or else deliver pizzas"

Here are the 10 design leaders along with their LinkedIn profiles:

• David Baker | Tennessee
• Michael Bierut | New York
• Alexander Isley | Connecticut
• Judy Kirpich | Virginia
• Denise Korn | Massachusetts
• Jamie Koval | Illinois
• Monica Little | Minnesota
• Janet Martin | Colorado
• Shel Perkins | California
• Paula Savage Hansen | Texas

Access Advice from Professional Designers at the AIGA website.

National Survey Results

Salary results are available for 31 cities and nine regions of the United States at the AIGA | Aquent Survey of Design Salaries website. Simply access the Salary Calculator to review the compensation data for 15 design-related positions in your part of the country. You can also download a FREE 48-page summary of the survey findings.

Additional Surveys

Here are additional salary surveys and guides that have been summarized in Beantown Web in the past nine months:

• InformationWeek's Salary Survey | 2009‏
• Web Design Survey | 2008‏
• IT Skills & Salary Report | 2009‏
• Dice Annual Salary Survey | 2009‏
• Computerworld | Salary Survey 2008
• 2009 Salary Guide | Robert Half Technology‏
• Microsoft Salary Survey | 2008‏

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The Dice Report | June 2009

Four out of five technology recruiters and hiring managers say that the current economy has caused them to scale back hiring for the next six months.

More than 1,900 people responded to the email survey conducted by Dice.com. The survey targeted human resource staff and recruiters who primarily hire or recruit technology professionals. The survey was conducted in May 2009.

Two Questions

Six questions were asked in the survey. Here are two that stand out.

“Has the current economic environment caused you or your clients to scale back hiring plans for the next six months?”

• Yes, substantially | 43%
• Yes, slightly | 38%

“How likely do you think layoffs are in the next six months at your organization, or if you are a recruiter at your clients’ organizations?”

• Very likely | 12%
• Likely | 31%

So, layoffs will likely continue in the technology sector over the next six months and companies will continue to be reluctant to add new staff for the remainder of 2009.

A Call from the Mountain

Granted, this is not the most motivating picture of the future. Now is the time to envision a view from the mountain on the other side of this valley. A Dice spokesperson is standing on that mountain and calling back to us across the valley . . .

“While it’s not surprising in this economy that companies are being selective, more than 90 percent of respondents indicated they have at least one hard to find skill set or position to fill. This potentially equates to solid demand when the economy turns upward.”

Details are available at The Dice Report, Special Edition, June 2009 .

Three Possible Paths

To get across the valley Web professionals should consider strengthening three core skills. According to ComputerWeekly.com, trend data suggests a growing demand for these technologies:

• PHP
• JavaScript
• Ajax

Details are available at Learn PHP and get a job. Even though this publication is based in the UK, Beantown Web's Boston Market | June 2009 supports the demand for these technologies in the Boston metro area.

Obtaining training and demonstrating proficiency in these three technologies will likely help you get across the valley quicker and provide you a better view from the mountain on the other side.

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Boston Market | June 2009

Here are three indicators that the economy may be on the mend.

Spherion Employee Confidence Index

A monthly index that measures workers’ confidence in their personal employment situation and optimism in the economic environment, has risen for three consecutive months. The Spherion Employee Confidence Index reports that workers are more optimistic about the strength of the economy.

AIGA’s Design Leaders Confidence Index

A quarterly survey of more than 300 design leaders reveals an improvement in optimism about the economy over the next six months. The Design Leaders Confidence Index posted is highest score in the last three quarters. Fourteen percent of survey participants feel they are more likely to add staff now than they had anticipated at the beginning of the year.

ExecuNet's Recruiter Confidence Index

A survey of executive search consultants has climbed for the third consecutive month. ExecuNet's Recruiter Confidence Index reveals that the executive search industry's outlook for the employment market continues to improve and now stands at its highest level since June 2008.

Top 20 Web Technologies

So, what do the tea leaves say about the Web technology marketplace in Boston? Continued stability. The Top 20 Web Technologies list has been updated for June and appears in the right-hand column. The biggest gainers for the month were technologies outside of the Top 10 as follows:

• PHP | 48%
• JSP | 27%
• MySQL | 18%

This short-term trend reveals an ongoing strong demand for Web Developers. Web Design & Development professionals should continue to focus on maximizing their opportunities by improving their programming and database skills since these technologies dominate the Top 20 list.

June is Innovation Month

Here is a two-fold strategy for upgrading skills and improving career advancement prospects over the next month.

Step #1: Access the New England Innovation Month website and review the many networking opportunities that are occurring in the Boston metro area this month; commit to attend one event.

Step #2: Review the Top 20 Web Technologies list in the right-hand column; identify one technology to improve; get to work improving that skill by the end of the month.

[ NOTE: What if I don't see my technology skills listed in the Top 20? Simply access Beantown Web's new Facebook page. Become a fan today and gain instant access to the Top 50+ Web Technologies in Boston! ]

Mass Innovation Nights | June 2009‏‏

Mass Innovation Nights provides innovators with a place to connect with the media, influential bloggers, the marketplace and each other. More than 200 guests registered to attend the May event.

June Innovators

The spotlight will be on the following innovators in June:

• Atalasoft | affordable document imaging for SharePoint


• Canson | project your handwritten notes on the screen directly during a meeting


• Coreblox | monitor Twitter conversations that matter to you


• Emo Labs, Inc. | create a better multimedia entertainment experience with invisible loudspeaker solutions
  


• IBM | a mission to create the largest public computing grid benefiting humanity


• MyRoar | ask questions in natural language and receive intelligent answers


• NaviSite | dedicated Web hosting services


• Popkins | for the ice pop stick without the ick


• ThingMagic | a low-cost platform for developing and deploying interactive read/write applications


• Urban Animal | a new design collaborative focused on bringing multiple creative disciplines together under one banner

Event Details

Location: Charles River Museum of Industry & Innovation | Waltham

Date: Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Time: 6:30 PM

After Party: Biagio's Plush Lounge

To learn more, simply access the Mass Innovation Nights website. Check out the June RSVP List to help determine if this FREE networking event might be valuable for you to attend. Then, submit your RSVP to attend this launch party.

Mass Innovation Nights actively encourages job seekers to attend.

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Chowda Chat | Leah Busque

Chowda Chat is a periodic Beantown Web installment that features a conversation with an influential member of the Boston technology community.

The purpose of Chowda Chat is to provide Web technology professionals with information to help advance their careers. The format involves three questions and responses followed by one final thought.

Today's Chowda Chat presents the insights of Leah Busque, Founder, RUNmyERRAND.com, a Web service that helps individuals and small businesses in a community outsource their tasks and deliveries. Think of it as Craigslist meets eBay. They are pioneering a trend that they call Service Networking.

Leah, you were a software engineer for IBM for seven years. Why give up the fast track to start your own business and what were some of the first steps you took?

"I felt I had more to offer than just technical skills. By starting my own business I could not only utilize my technical expertise, I could also develop skills in the business, legal and management arenas. I basically locked myself in a room for four months and developed a working prototype for my idea. Along the way I networked with anyone who would listen and give me feedback about my concept.

My Board of Advisors became the following:

• Scott Griffith, Chairman & CEO of Zipcar
• Thomas Erickson, CEO of Acquia
• Cindy Smith, Managing Director of Lighthouse Financial Advisors, LLC
• Robbie Vorhaus, Founder & Principal of Vorhaus Communications, Inc.

With their guidance I launched a beta version of the service in Charlestown (MA). I have since expanded the RUNmyERRAND crew and extended the service to the greater Boston community. We are over-the-moon excited about being a finalist for the fbFund '09 Incubator Program established by Facebook. Additional funding will help us introduce our service in other metropolitan areas."

[Update: RUNmyERRAND.com has been selected as one of 20 final winners and will participate in the fbFund REV incubator program to take place in Silicon Valley this summer.]

What technology runs your Web operations?

"I researched several options and decided to implement Ruby on Rails because of its rapid development features. While I didn't know the technology when I started I felt confident from my training at IBM that I could learn it quickly. I started with O'Reilly's ONLamp tutorials and Rails Cookbook. Our Web operations also utilize Amazon Web Services to manage our expanding data needs."

[NOTE: Additional resources include 31 Fascinating Ruby on Rails Tutorials & Guides.]

How can someone get started with RUNmyERRAND.com?

It's simple, first check out the How it works in 90 seconds video, then click the Get Started button! Sign up before the end of May and your first errand is better than FREE, it is on us! And, make sure you become a fan of our service on Facebook.

Final Thought

"There are a lot of great ideas out there, the difficult part is taking the leap and deciding to execute on them. There was a very clear moment for me where I thought to myself, there is absolutely no reason why I can not do this, so why not give it a try. I've enjoyed meeting many other entrepreneurs with the same mentality, which makes for an exciting startup scene here in Boston!"

Update: Bloomberg BusinessWeek article, November 11, 2010.

Previous Chowda Chats

• Chowda Chat | Margaret Meloni
• Chowda Chat | Dan Keldsen
• Chowda Chat | Dean Fossella

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Horizon Interactive Awards | 2009

The Horizon Interactive Awards honors the most talented developers of interactive media.

Judges look for the best blend between creativity and functionality. Awards are issued based on the following criteria:

• solution creativity and originality
• overall graphic design / appearance / user experience
• communication of message
• technical merit
• effectiveness of solution

2009 Best of Category Winners

Here are the 2009 Best of Category winners:

• Advertising Online | It's Linner Time
• Blog | Mamelodi Stories
• Business to Business | Morgan Corporation
• College & University | Cape Fear to Down Here
• Consumer Information | Happy In Greenville
• E-commerce / Shopping | Ebay Desktop
• Entertainment | I Prophesy Interactive
• Flash | CutSomething.com
• Government | Faces of Strength
• Magazine / News | Sony CES 2009 Virtual Press Kit
• Public Service / Non-Profit | The Girl Effect
• Self Promotion / Company Identity | Thank You begins with a T.
• Video Game | Levi's® Live Unbuttoned

Web designers and developers can benchmark their Web solutions against these award-winning entries to stimulate the creative process and help raise the bar.

Here are the Massachusetts organizations (along with their projects) honored with awards:

• Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center | Boston
  » BIDMC Website Redesign
• Bridgeline Software | Woburn
  » Partners HealthCare RVL Website
  » Rollex Public Website
  » Washington Redskins
  » Someone I Love is Sick
  » T. Rowe Price Public Website
  » HookedonPhonics.com
• CXO Communication | Boston
  » Generation Cures
• Digital Influence Group | Waltham
  » Burma: It Can't Wait
• TandemSEVEN | Plymouth
  » LeapFrog's Tag School Reader Microsite and Flash Demo
• Wakefly | Westborough
  » One Communications Website
  » GORE™ TENARA® Architectural Fabric Web Site Design

Access a complete list of more than 500 2009 Award Winners to see which organizations (and projects) may have been honored with Horizon Interactive Awards in your state.

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IT Education Providers | Massachusetts

Continuous improvement is a prerequisite for long-term career success as a Web technology professional. Lifelong learning is not optional -- it is mandatory -- as Web technologies evolve constantly.

A recent survey of more than 30,000 Web professionals reveals that nearly 80% of Web workers list the desire to improve their technical skills through educational training as their next career move.

IT Education Providers

Mass High Tech, The Journal of New England Technology, has researched providers of information technology (IT) education services in the region and has compiled a ranking. Here are the largest IT education providers in Massachusetts (click the "in" icon next to the organization to reveal your LinkedIn connections at that organization):

1. New Horizons of Boston | Boston, Waltham
2. CompuWorks Systems, Inc. | Boston
3. RJ Wronski Associates, Inc. | Chelsea
4. The Training Associates | Westborough
5. Middlesex Community College | Lowell
6. TrainerQuest | Allston
7. UMass Lowell Cont. Studies, Corp. & Distance Ed. | Lowell
8. Softeach | Newton
9. BITadvisors, Inc. | Hingham
10. Learning Tree International | Burlington, Waltham
11. Miller & Associates | Northborough
12. MicroCAD Training & Consulting | Watertown
13. nSight, Inc. | Burlington
14. Charles River Public Internet Center | Waltham
15. iDL Systems | Boston
16. Softeach, Inc. | Newton
17. Bridgewater State College | Bridgewater

This listing is ranked by number of students trained in New England in 2008. For complete details access Largest IT Education Providers.

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