The CodeAway UT Development Community Ones-To-Watch for 2008!
Only a few years ago networking events for the area’s bloggers, developers, and computer savvy entrepreneurs were few and far between. The various language-centric groups did exist but the frothy, repeated mingling of talent, characters, and opportunity is only now starting to come into its own. 2007 was a fantastic year for geek social events along the Wasatch Front and 2008 looks to be even better - and these are the folks that will make it happen. It is with much pleasure that I am pleased to present the completely biased and largely preferential CodeAway UT Development Community Ones-To-Watch for 2008!
#5. Jesse Stay (Futurist) - Jesse emerged in the local development community as a staunch advocate of social networks. But where most would simply be content with forming a consultancy (in this case, SocialOptomize) Jesse has rallied other developers to begin taking social networks seriously as development platforms. He continues to organize the Social Media Developer Garage series of events (formerly the Facebook Developer’s Garage) and has co-authored the upcoming book, “I’m on Facebook, Now What?”
#4. Laura Moncur (Promoter) - Laura’s tireless enthusiasm for all things geek and organizational follow-through make her an ideal match for this list. She is a copious blogger (Pick Me, Starling Fitness, Starling Travel, GadgetsPage and the online serial Merriton). In addition she contributes to this site and is a primary driver for the monthly CodeAway geek social events (hosted out of her home). She also has become a leading promoter and organizer of the ongoing Blogger/Geek dinners. When she’s not planning the next event she’s in attendance - always quick with a smile and supportive comment.
#3. Pat Wright (Organizer) - Just Pat’s month-to-month extracurricular activities (leading the Salt Lake SQL User’s Group) would make him worthy of consideration for this list. However, over the past year and a half Pat has spearheaded three Utah Code Camp events. Once limited to .NET technology developers, the last event expanded into Java and attracted nearly 100 attendees. Pat continues to promote a ‘technology-agnostic’ lineup and is preparing for an even bigger camp sometime in April/May 2008.
#2. Clint Savage (Advocate) - In September Clint, in conjunction with the Utah Open Source Foundation, threw the area’s inaugural Utah Open Source Conference. Pulling in several hundred people, corporate sponsorship from the likes of Google, and a number of renown speakers Clint has already promised that the 2008’s event will be an even bigger affair to remember. He continues to blog about Linux and open source topics at Sexy Sexy Penguins.
#1. Steve Spencer (Patron) - Like the others mentioned Steve organizes and promotes an area monthly event, Utah Tech Spotlight. However, through the Salt Lake branch of Twelve Horses, he is responsible for aiding a number of other local efforts. Whether its through sponsorships, attendance, or his own personal management Steve is a large reason why the region is enjoying a full calendar of opportunities. The continued growth of Twelve Horses and a revamped Utah Tech Spotlight can only mean more good things from Steve and his crew in the coming year.
What do you think? Who are you excited about in 2008?
Laura Moncur said,
January 2, 2008 @ 11:27 am
Thanks for the shout out, Matthew! I’m the promoter for entirely selfish reasons. I was feeling so lonely here that it was do this or move away.
I’m glad the Utah Geek community is so vibrant here and I’m so glad I can stay!
Steve Spencer said,
January 2, 2008 @ 7:08 pm
Matthew, thanks so much! It has really been an exciting year to watch Utah really start to wake up in a whole new way. You are starting to see the community really see the value of relationships. While I really, really appreciate you putting me on your list here, I have to point out to everyone that you in fact, were the one who invited me out to my first “geek” function, and that through events like the Blogging for Business that you and Jason Alba put on you have helped us all learn a ton! I think the selfless post, and promoting of others is indicative of what we have all seen, which is your efforts to try to improve the community. Thanks for the mention, and thanks for your efforts!
matthew.reinbold said,
January 2, 2008 @ 7:33 pm
Kind words Steve, thank you. While I suppose I belong somewhere in the mix my momma always told me “You’re eating too much bread.” It’s a statement that has absolutely no relevance here, but I’ll pretend it means “you don’t put yourself on your own list - its just tacky”.
But again, I do appreciate the sentiment.
David LaPlante said,
January 2, 2008 @ 9:28 pm
Mathew, thanks for the props to my good partner and you’re very accurate statement of “Steve being a large reason” 8-). haha! I’m a scrawny one at best
Always enjoy seeing you out in the SLC and hope to see you again soon!
(PS Great to meet you too, Laura! You’re an awesome Rock Band singer!)
Twitter Updates for 2008-01-02 by Stay N’ Alive - Social Media, Technology, and Rants From the Life of Jesse Stay said,
January 3, 2008 @ 12:00 am
[...] Look - I made #5! (thanks @libel_vox): http://voxpopdesign.com/wordpress/?p=104 # [...]
Props to the President said,
January 10, 2008 @ 8:09 pm
[...] Somehow I did not see this blog post in my Google Alerts when it got posted last week, but I thought I would share because it gives some pretty cool props to our president, Steve Spencer who runs our Salt Lake City office. [...]
Sexy Sexy Penguins » I’m Famous! Woohoo! said,
January 14, 2008 @ 7:00 pm
[...] Here’s the article:Â http://voxpopdesign.com/wordpress/?p=104 [...]
The Vox Pop Log – On Business: Big and Bigger said,
September 16, 2009 @ 9:43 pm
[...] Then there is the big merging with big to get bigger. On Monday Twelve Horses and a Boston based digital based marketing firm merged (operating under a much more benign yet admittedly SEO friendly ‘One to One Interactive’ moniker). Twelve Horses was a great company well beyond a quirky name. It had a fantastic story. It had a winning crew based in Reno, NV. It also had great leadership growing something special in Salt Lake City. All involved seemed devoted to nurturing a rich ecosystem of community events. I even went so far as to call Steve Spencer, head of the Salt Lake office, an area “patron“. [...]