Boston Market | October 2011

Hiring demand for Web developers remains strong according to a new report. The most commonly advertised job titles during the study period were the following:

• Java Developer
• Web Developer
• .Net Developer
• Sharepoint Developer
• Web Designer
• PHP Developer
• J2ee Developer

The report was issued by WANTED Analytics™. It also stated that the nationwide candidate pool consists of less than one potential candidate for each job listing.

Meaning: There are not enough Web Developers in the workforce to fill available job openings!

Source: WANTED Analytics™

The Dice Report for October is also reporting steady demand for developers, especially those with Microsoft .NET experience.

Boston Job Market for October

The list of Top 20 Web Technologies in Boston has been updated and appears in the right-hand column. Each technology links to job postings at Boston.com that list that technology keyword in the job description.

The usual suspects appear in the Top Five:

1. SQL | 968 job listings
2. Oracle | 789 job listings
3. Java | 631 job listings
4. JavaScript | 393 job listings
5. SQL Server | 378 job listings

Take home message:

Database skills + programming skills = career security

Note: There is no such thing as job security.

Boston Training Opportunities

Here are two training opportunities in the Boston area to consider.

wakanday 2011 | Saturday, October 15

Wakanday is a one-day event designed to show how far JavaScript has come along as a programming language.

Pricing & Registration

RIA Unleashed Boston 2011 | Thursday & Friday, October 27 & 28

What will be covered? Flex, AIR, ColdFusion, Flash CS5, Flash Catalyst CS5, JavaScript (including jQuery), mobile development, HTML5.

Pricing & Registration (Enter "BeantownWeb" to receive a 10% discount.)

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

Startup Watch | June 2011

Startup companies create jobs. According to StartUpHire.com there are currently more than 800 job openings at startup companies in the Boston area.

FounderMatchUp Boston

If you are looking to make personal connections with entrepreneurs in the startup arena, check out FounderMatchUp -- Where Co-Founders Connect.

Opportunities exist in the areas of web design, web development, finance, marketing, sales, and more. To make a personal connection simply register for this FREE networking event and begin making connections.

Event Details:

Wednesday, September 21, 2011
6:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Microsoft NERD
Cambridge, MA

Startup Watch for June

In addition to this networking opportunity, check out Mass High Tech which highlights startup companies each week in a series called "Five You Should Follow."

Here are 16 startup companies to keep your eye on:

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

» Constellation Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | Cambridge

» DailyFeats, Inc. | Cambridge

» Elerts Corp. | Braintree

» GrabCAD | GrabCAD

» LuckyLabs, Inc. | Cambridge

» Made in the Commonwealth LLC | Boston

» Objective Logistics LLC | New Bedford

» Orban Bioscience | Brookline

» Senexx, Inc. | Cambridge

» Smarterer, Inc. | Boston

» SmartRM, Inc. | Boston

» Strohl Medical Technologies, Inc. | Norwell

» Sun Catalytix Corp. | Cambridge

» TotalTab | Uxbridge

» VeloBit, Inc. | Boxborough

» Wing Power Energy, Inc. | Salem

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:

• Startup Watch | May 2011
• Startup Watch | April 2011
• Startup Watch | March 2011
• Startup Watch | February 2011
• Startup Watch | January 2011
• Startup Watch | December 2010
• Startup Watch | November 2010
• Startup Watch | October 2010
• Startup Watch | September 2010
• Startup Watch | August 2010
• Startup Watch | July 2010
• Startup Watch | June 2010
• Startup Watch | May 2010

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

Web Innovators Group | WebInno31

Nine companies. Nine hundred networking opportunities. All in one room. All FREE.

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 31st installment will feature the following presentations:

Main Dishes

• SnapApp | Get more leads, fuel Facebook likes, drive Twitter followers and acquire more customers.


• SocMetrics | Helps leading agencies and brands identify and engage topical influencers and turn them into advocates.


• Yesware | Makes products to help salespeople do their job better.

Side Dishes

• GoodTwo | Provides a free, unique fundraising tool.


• Cravelabs | Get your customers to drive word-of-mouth.


• synchtube | Synchronize various types of media across the web.


• Addie | A new approach to real-life sharing and cloud storage.


• Curisma | Explore community discovered, cool tech products.


• RepTivity | Real time leaderboard for your sales teams.

Event Details

Tuesday, September 13, 2011, 6:30 pm

Royal Sonesta Cambridge

Registration is FREE and the networking could prove invaluable! Check out the Attendee List of more than 900 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 nearly 1,500 members.

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

Boston Market | September 2011

As President Obama addresses the nation about job creation in America, workers with in-demand skills are fairing better than others.

Notably, residents of Massachusetts are experiencing a 7.6 percent unemployment rate, considerably better than the national average rate of 9.1 percent. And residents of Massachusetts with the right mix of technology skills and experience have more options than most.

Developers In Demand

WBUR, Boston's NPR news station, ran a Labor Day story entitled In Tough Labor Market, Software Developers Wanted. The story featured Dharmesh Shah, co-founder and CTO of Cambridge-based HubSpot. Not only is he having a challenge finding talent, he is willing to give you $10,000 just for helping him find the right developers to join his team.

Boston Job Market for September

So, what are the Web-related technology skills that are most in-demand in the Boston metro area? The list of Top 20 Web Technologies in Boston has been updated and appears in the right-hand column. Each technology links to job postings at Boston.com that list that technology keyword in the job description.

The number of job postings for most technologies has increased since early June despite the uncertainty surrounding our elected leaders' inability to form a consensus around the best way to steer our economic ship.

Technology Training Opportunity

One challenge that faces many job seekers is "How can I learn the skills I need to qualify for one of these jobs?" Boston PHP has a solution. Boston PHP is the largest Web technology Meetup in New England with more than 2,000 members.

Boston PHP offers two virtual self-study groups targeting Web technology beginners.

~ PHP Percolate! for beginners who want to learn the basics of PHP and MySQL

~ jQuery jAM for beginners who want the learn the basics of JavaScript and jQuery

Why these technologies? Simply because employers are looking for workers who have these skills:

#4 JavaScript | 372 job postings
#12 PHP | 177 job postings
#14 MySQL | 165 job postings
#20 jQuery | 132 job postings

If you would like to participate in one of the Boston PHP self-study groups, simply become a member of Boston PHP and state your interest in joining either PHP Percolate! or jQuery jAM when you sign up. Membership is free.

Full Disclosure: PHP Percolate! and jQuery jAM are lead by the author of this blog article.

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

Startup Watch | May 2011

Today's new businesses are lean. Businesses less than a year old are hiring fewer employees than they have in years past.

"Not only are these businesses starting out smaller than their predecessors, they are staying smaller."

"We won’t fix our core unemployment problem in the United States until young businesses get back on track."

Details can be found in a new report from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation entitled Starting Smaller; Staying Smaller: America’s Slow Leak in Job Creation [ press release | 20-page report ]

Startup Watch for May

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

Here are 22 Massachusetts-based startup companies to keep your eye on:

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

» AcuityBio Corp. | Newton

» Aid Aide | Cambridge

» Alpinewerx, LLC | Cambridge

» Bioarray Therapeutics, Inc. | Boston

» Click Diagnostics, Inc. | Lexington

» CraveLabs | Tewksbury

» EmptyCabin | Watertown

» Enlight Biosciences LLC | Boston

» EveryFit, Inc. | Cambridge

» Fundraise.com, Inc. | Boston

» Junctions | Brookline

» Kaminario, Inc. | Newton

» Loxal Rewards | Cambridge

» Modo Labs, Inc. | Cambridge

» Noblegen Biosciences, Inc. | Boston

» NuOrtho Surgical, Inc. | Fall River

» RippleFunction | Boston

» Thermedical, Inc. | Somerville

» Transatomic Power Corp. | Cambridge

» Typesafe, Inc. | Cambridge

» UsTrendy, Inc. | Cambridge

» Zigswitch, Inc. | 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:

• Startup Watch | April 2011
• Startup Watch | March 2011
• Startup Watch | February 2011
• Startup Watch | January 2011
• Startup Watch | December 2010
• Startup Watch | November 2010
• Startup Watch | October 2010
• Startup Watch | September 2010
• Startup Watch | August 2010
• Startup Watch | July 2010
• Startup Watch | June 2010
• Startup Watch | May 2010

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Boston Market | June 2011

Web technology professionals should target advertising and marketing executives to enhance employment prospects. A net 19 percent of advertising and marketing executives plan to increase staffing levels in the third quarter. Here are the positions in top demand:

• Web designers/developers
• Mobile apps designers/developers
• Interactive marketing managers

Only legal professionals are in greater demand according to the Robert Half Professional Employment Report for the third quarter of 2011 . Complete details are available in an 11-page report.

Boston Market

The list of Top 20 Web Technologies in Boston has been updated and appears in the right-hand column.Each technology links to job postings at Boston.com that list that technology keyword in the job description. The number of job postings has declined over the past 30 days and this may reflect a seasonal slowdown as the summer months begin.

None-the-less, jobs are plentiful. Even the technology in position #20 -- MySQL -- is mentioned in more than 100 job postings.

~ SQL Server is mentioned three times more frequently than MySQL.
~ SQL and Oracle are mentioned eight times more frequently than MySQL.

So, the ability to store and retrieve data is at the center of today's advertising- and marketing-driven, Web development landscape.

Next Action

If you are a Web technology professional and are interested in exploring opportunities in the marketplace, start with your LinkedIn list of connections. Search your connections for those that list "Marketing and Advertising" as their industry. Then, send each a message with an update on how you might be able to help them.

Advertising and marketing executives are looking for talented and experienced Web technology professionals. Let them know of your interest and availability. (If you also have a law degree, don't be shy in mentioning that skill as well!)

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

Web Innovators Group | WebInno30

Eleven companies. Eleven hundred networking opportunities. All in one room. All FREE.

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 30th installment will feature the following presentations:

Main Dishes

• Lockify | Take control of your private communications..


• Pintly | A new kind of beer website -- one that only recommends beer you're sure to love.


• Smarterer | Show what you know by taking tests and sharing your skills.

Side Dishes

• Apptegic | Do you know what your customers are doing?


• Fantourage | Get rewarded for fandom!


• GamesForLanguage | Learn languages the fun way!


• Goshido | Focus on doing the work that matters.


• The Happy Cloud | How longs are you willing to wait for your games?


• TourSphere | The mobile app generator for museums & cultural destinations.


• Zaarly | Helps you buy and sell with people around you.


• CLOVR Media | Card Linked Offers with Virtual Redemption.

A Startup's Guide to Navigating Agencies & Brands

A special optional breakout session will begin at 8:00 pm. The panelists will discuss how to overcome the challenges that small startup companies have in attracting the attention of digital agencies and large brands with significant ad spending power.

Moderator: Dave Balter | CEO of BzzAgent
Panelist: Edward Boches | Chief Innovation Officer of Mullen
Panelist: Jeff McMahon | CEO of Agency Oasis
Panelist: Jessica DeVlieger | V.P. of Strategic Accounts at Communispace

Event Details

Monday, June 13, 2011, 6:30 pm

Royal Sonesta Cambridge

Registration is FREE and the networking could prove invaluable! Check out the Attendee List of more than 1,000 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 nearly 1,400 members.

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

Seven Skills | Seven Cities

Seven Web technology skills offer the greatest potential to advance your career. Seven cities offer the best prospects for employing these skills.

Seven Skills

Here are the specific IT skills that staffing executives say are most in demand—and that are commanding the highest pay rates:

• Java
• C#
• PHP
• Ruby on Rails
• .NET
• SQL
• Oracle DBAs

For details access an article at CIO magazine entitled IT Pay Creeps Up After Two-Year Downward Spiral.

Seven Cities

Here are the seven cities with the best job prospects for technology workers:

1. Houston
2. Washington, DC
3. Columbus, OH
4. Detroit
5. Philadelphia
6. Edison, NJ
7. Boston

For details access an article at Forbes magazine entitled The Top 7 U.S. Cities To Find An IT Job Right Now.

One Action Plan

While it may not be realistic to uproot your family and move to another city, you can develop new skills that the marketplace wants and will compensate you for at above average wages.

Identify one of the top seven Web technology skills and develop a plan to get better at this skill. For example, 192 web-developers-in-training have committed to a 17-week self-study group to learn PHP. You can organize a self-study group and make a difference in your community.

There is no need for your career to be a crap shoot. Set a goal, develop a plan, get others involved.

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

Boston Market | May 2011

Two surveys provide insights into how workers find jobs and what employers are looking for in candidates.

Who You Know

How did you secure your most recent position?

1. "word-of-mouth" referrals | 28 percent
2. online job postings | 19 percent
3. recruitment/staffing firms | 16 percent
   
4. direct approaches from employers | 16 percent

More than 18,000 U.S. workers were included in these findings which were presented in the Kelly Global Workforce Index. This report is rich with information about the emerging effects of social media on job search and is worth a deeper look. [ Press Release | Complete Report ]

What You Know

What skills sets are employers looking for in new grads?

1. communications skills (written + verbal) | 69 percent
   
2. technical skills | 57 percent
   
3. project management skills | 44 percent

These findings included more than 2,800 hiring managers and human resource professionals and are reported in CareerBuilder’s Annual College Job Forecast.

Seven-Day Action Plan

Based on these findings, here are three questions to ask yourself about your goals for this week:

~ What networking event will I attend?
~ What article will I write or presentation will I make to my industry peers?
~ What project will I manage from start to finish?

Boston Market

Now for the technical skills. The list of Top 20 Web Technologies in Boston has been updated for May and is presented in the right-hand column. Many of the technical skills posted increases over the past 30 days. Twelve of the 20 skills were mentioned more frequently in job descriptions posted at Boston.com than this time last month.

The double-digit movers on the plus side were as follows:

#08 "Web Services" | 267 job postings 10%

#12 JSP | 181 job postings 20%

#13 UI | 176 job postings 31%

#18 Photoshop | 148 job postings 16%

Bottom line: Interpersonal skills + technical skills = increased opportunity

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

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:

• Startup Watch | March 2011
• Startup Watch | February 2011
• Startup Watch | January 2011
• Startup Watch | December 2010
• Startup Watch | November 2010
• Startup Watch | October 2010
• Startup Watch | September 2010
• Startup Watch | August 2010
• Startup Watch | July 2010
• Startup Watch | June 2010
• Startup Watch | May 2010

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

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. ]

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:

• San Francisco | April 11
• Boston | April 11
• Seattle | April 18
• New York City | April 25

The Boston event will be held at the Liberty Hotel.

Once registered, let your network know about the Boston event on LinkedIn.

Startup Watch for March

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.]

» Asthma Signals, Inc. | Woburn

» City Penguin | Boston

» Defective Studios | Watertown

» EasyUnsubscriber.com | Boston

» essayCLOUD | Boston

» Forma Therapeutics, Inc. | Cambridge

» ImpulseSave | Cambridge

» Mobinett Interactive, Inc. | Medford

» Nimbus Discovery LLC | Cambridge

» Novogy, Inc. | Cambridge

» Oddfellow Studios, Inc. | Somerville

» PostPost | Waltham

» Privy | Boston

» Stonewedge Corp. | Andover

» Synapse Firing Squad LLC | Brighton

» Take the Interview | Boston

» The Tap Lab | Cambridge

» Triumphant Visions | Boston

» U for Life, Inc. | Needham

» Upward Mobility | Boston

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:

• Startup Watch | February 2011
• Startup Watch | January 2011
• Startup Watch | December 2010
• Startup Watch | November 2010
• Startup Watch | October 2010
• Startup Watch | September 2010
• Startup Watch | August 2010
• Startup Watch | July 2010
• Startup Watch | June 2010
• Startup Watch | May 2010

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

Sources of Hire (SOH) Study | 2011

Picture yourself sitting in a conference room with three coworkers. Only one of you would NOT consider a new job opportunity if approached with one, according to a newly released study.

Source: Plateau Systems

Are we in the early stages of a battle for talent?

Details of this survey of more than 2,500 U.S. workers are available in a press release and executive summary from Plateau Systems, a leading provider of integrated talent management solutions.

Sources of Hire Study

Whether you are actively seeking a new opportunity or passively awaiting a tap on the shoulder, the 10th Annual Sources of Hire (SOH) Study offers effective strategies for locating the exit sign.

This survey represents 36 large companies. These enterprises filled nearly 70,000 jobs in 2010. Where did these workers come from?

More than 50 percent of all jobs were filled by internal movement. Get your foot in the door. Do a good job. Move up!

The remaining jobs were filled by external candidates. If you are on the outside looking in, what is the BEST strategy for securing a new job with a new employer?

Land a referral!

Referrals: The #1 Source of External Hires

Referrals (27.5%) are more effective than job boards (24.9%).

Referrals (27.5%) are 11 times more effective than temp/contract-to-hire arrangements (2.4%).

Referrals (27.5%) are 15 times more effective than career fairs (1.8%).

Every 10 referrals results in one new hire. Compare that return with the number of times you may have launched your resume into the black hole of a computerized job posting service and received no reply.

For additional information access a press release and a full report of the 10th Annual Source of Hire (SOH) Study.

Conclusion

How do you land referrals?

~ get out and meet people in your industry

~ exceed expectations whenever possible

~ expand your LinkedIn connections

A referral could make the difference between "I'll stick around" and "I'm outta here!"

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

Startup Watch | February 2011

The number of tech workers in San Francisco today is nearing its peak in 2000. The city had more than 32,000 tech jobs last year, compared with approximately 34,000 in 2000. Could this be an indicator that a new bubble is about to burst?

Bay Area economists and commercial real estate experts think not. Today's startups seem more cautious. They rent less office space. Also, there is less risk of a bubble because investments by venture capitalists last quarter were less than one-fourth the value of investments made at the peak of the boom.

According to one Bay Area real estate expert:

"This leg of job growth is in its early stages. The whole dot-com revolution started in 1995, and it took five years to reach its crescendo."

Details are available in a San Francisco Chronicle article.

How does this translate to Boston? Perhaps it doesn't. However, startup companies do create jobs. According to StartUpHire.com there are nearly 800 job openings at startup companies in the Boston metro area.

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

Startup Watch for February

Here are 12 startup companies to keep your eye on:

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

» Aura Biosciences, Inc. | Cambridge

» Bliss Healthcare, Inc. | Waltham

» Conversation Media, Inc. | Brighton

» Good Start Genetics, Inc. | Boston

» HeadSpin Software, LLC | Burlington

» Jarvian, Inc. | Boston

» Owlchemy Labs, LLC | Watertown

» Playrific, Inc. | North Billerica

» Proteqt Technologies, Inc. | Franklin

» SocialSci | Cambridge

» SweetDeeds | Boston

» Ziptivity, LLC | Carlisle

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:

• Startup Watch | January 2011
• Startup Watch | December 2010
• Startup Watch | November 2010
• Startup Watch | October 2010
• Startup Watch | September 2010
• Startup Watch | August 2010
• Startup Watch | July 2010
• Startup Watch | June 2010
• Startup Watch | May 2010

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

SXSW Interactive Awards | 2011

This year's South By Southwest Interactive (SXSW) festival offered a showcase of trends in interactive design.

Taking home the Best of Show award was The Wilderness Downtown, the HTML5 experiment featuring the music of Grammy Award winning Arcade Fire. If you have not yet experienced the capabilities of HTML5 video coding technology, download Google Chrome and witness the future of interactive design.

Awards were handed out in 17 categories. The Film/TV category showcased Collapsus: The Energy Risk Conspiracy. Collapsus is a transmedia project that combines interactivity, animation, fiction, and documentary. The following three-minute video provides an overview of this emerging transmedia trend.

Collapsus Walkthrough from SubmarineChannel on Vimeo.

SXSW Interactive Awards Categories

Here are the 2011 award winners by category.

Activism: The Tiziano Project | 360° Kurdistan

Amusement: Most Awesomest Thing Ever

Art: The Johnny Cash Project

Business: Get Satisfaction

Classic: The Onion

Community: iFixit

Educational Resource: Rosetta Stone Version 4 TOTALe™

Experimental: Isle of Tune

Film/TV: Collapsus: The Energy Risk Conspiracy

Kiosk/Installation: Unilever - Smile Activated Vending Machine

Mobile: Airbnb

Motion Graphics: Record Tripping

Music: The Wilderness Downtown

Personal: JKVC Interactive & Print Design

Social Media: Conan O'Brien Presents: Team Coco

Student: FeedSpeaker

Technical Achievement: AP Timeline Reader

Special Honors

People's Choice: Groupon

Breakout Digital Trend: GroupMe

Speaker of the Event: Jane McGonigal

Digital Campaign of the Year: Old Spice: Smell Like a Man, Man

Best of Show: The Wilderness Downtown

For additional creative ideas check out The Finalists at the SXSW website.

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

Boston Market | March 2011

Job opportunities for Web technology professionals continued to expand over the past 30 days. The pace has slowed somewhat from last month's report. So have the referral bonuses.

March Referral Rewards

Marsh Sutherland at Walden Recruiting is offering $1,000 finder's fees for each of the following opportunities:

~ Web Designer (and mobile too!)

~ Senior Ruby on Rails Engineer

Joe Cronin at Edvisors is offering a $500 finder's fee for the following opportunity:

~ Director of Software Development and Engineering

What do these three opportunities have in common?

• highly developed technical skills
• experience implementing these skills in a Web (and increasingly mobile Web) environment

Dharmesh Shah from HubSpot, who fired the first $10,000 shot in the Boston battle for technology talent, reports as follows:

"For us, it's less about specific skills and more about finding people that have a passion for programming and a background delivering applications over the web."

Technical skills high on his list include the following:

• Java
• Python
• PHP

Boston Market

It pays to develop your technical skills.

Java, Python and PHP are three skills in the Top 20 Web Technologies in Boston. This list is updated monthly and appears in the right-hand column.

• Java | 667 job opportunities 66% in two months
• Python | 167 job opportunities 80% in two months
• PHP | 152 job opportunities 31% in two months
  

The list of Average Salaries in Boston has also been updated for March. Data is supplied by CBSalary.com, a service of CareerBuilder.com. A sampling of jobs filled recently and the salaries offered to the selected candidates reveal the following:

• Graphic Artist | $49,700
• Graphic Designer | $66,600
• Web Developer | $96,300
• e-Commerce Programmer | $107,200
• Web Architect | $116,100
  

It pays to develop your technical skills.

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