Startup Weekend

Posted by Andrew Hyde

Two days ago I ‘leaked‘ the new way that Startup Weekend locations will be decided on the Startup Weekend twitter.  I think it is a great way to reach out to the local communities with a concept that does nothing better than build community.  Community drives the weekend, (the #1 goal of the weekend) and it should also drive where we go next.

I wanted to see what happened when I sent it out to a few friends on Twitter, to see how far it reached.  I am surprised at the results (200 votes), with lesser known tech markets such as Bloomington and Portland leading the charge through a couple local blogs making the difference.

Now we officially launch the City Vote project for Startup Weekend 2008:

VOTE HERE to bring Startup Weekend to your town.   If it helps, a Google Map is available (thanks 4braham) with the locations.  More cities will be added (we don’t have any of the most recent SW’s on the list, will add them for the next round).  Don’t stuff the ballot box, and vote only if you would like to personally attend.

These events will sell out, and quickly.  It took Seattle about 48 hours to sell the majority of their tickets, fueled by great local blogs and newspaper reporting.   Sign up for each city you would like the weekend to travel to with an email address and we will let you know when we launch the signup and set the date.

As a final word, I am assuming a flurry of questions such as ‘why should I participate’ or ‘what is the experience like?’  Alex King just wrote about a success story he had from the Boulder Startup Weekend.   The weekend is about community, and that should be your first motive of signing up and bringing it together.  Show what you can do, meet some great people, and take part in building community.