Last night I hit up Boston’s first TECH cocktail event in the shadow of Fenway Park. Reviewers think Tequila Rain is usually a Spring Break / frat party atmosphere, so last night was a little bit of a deperature. There was a good mix of different types of folks, who are often identifiable by their clothes. Flocks of people in bright orange t-shirt pumping Zoominfo or black shirts for Geezo, business casual for VC/lawyer/consultant types, more trendy for the PR/biz-dev ilk and code monkeys often have a certain look about them. Although some hybrid types can be tough to pick out, or some web designers are better dressed than typical nerds (hairgel or shirts with a cool font can be a clue). There was a solid turnout, but it wasn’t wall to wall (and a better gender balance that at many tech events). By the end of the night my voice was sore from yelling over the music and other conversations.
I had several interesting convesations about the Boston web scene. There are a growing number of events like TECH cocktail and the O’Reilly Ignite (that was also last night), and WebInno on Monday that bring people together. But I think there are pieces missing on the web that can help amplify the conversation and bring attention of Boston-area web startups. It is easy to whine about being overshadowed by Silicon Valley (which is a strange metaphor), but the answer is to help build a more vibrant community here. More to come soon on this, hopefully.