Friday
2:00pm - Making a Grant Entrance: How to Launch a Product
3:30pm - Show Me the Money: Where to Get Funding and What Are They Interested In?
5:00pm - Altimeter Group Cocktails at The Brown Bar
8:00pm - Techset Party at The Parish
Midnight - Party-hopping

Saturday
9:30am - Help Wanted: Hunting High & Low for Digital Talent
11:00am - (Not Just) Shit Startups Say: Anatomy of a Rockstar Product Cycle
2:00pm - SXSW Co-Founder Speed Dating
3:30pm - Finding Co-Founders: the Who, Why, Where & How
5:00pm - PARTIES! Find me on foursquare

Sunday
11:00am - Startup Breakthrough: Speed Coaching for Founders
12:30am - Adding Value As a Non-Technical No Talent Assclown
2:00pm - Allhat 4: Mootown's Greatest Hits
3:30pm - Investor Spotting 2012
5:00pm - Big Data: Privacy Threat or Business Model?
7:00pm - MORE PARTIES! Find me on foursquare

Monday
11:00am - Wonder Woman (documentary)
2:00pm - Expanding Our Intelligence Without Limit (Ray Kurzweil Keynote!!!)
3:30pm - The End of Business As Usual (Brian Solis Keynote, with special guest Billy Corgan, lead singer of the Smashing Pumpkins!!!)
6:30pm - Pitch Some Good
8:00pm - PARTIES!.... you get the pattern here.

This schedule is highly subject to change, so shoot me a tweet at @Zak_Kirchner or @digthevibe if you want to meet up. If you know of any parties, events or sessions that are can't miss, let me know! I'm keeping my expectations low for the weekend and trying to go with the flow.

Good Vibes.

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If you want to connect this week, there are a number of ways to get my attention. You can email me at zak (at) digthevibe.com, tweet me at @Zak_Kirchner or @digthevibe, find me on foursquare or write on my Facebook wall.

Please also take a second to "like" digthevibe on Facebook. I'll write a full post explaining what I'm doing at digthevibe and how we're going to change the world, but for now you'll just have to track me down and hear the pitch in person. One of my top goals for the weekend is to refine our story and pitch for potential investors.

Speaking of, we are looking for funding... a lot of funding. digthevibe is a very ambitious idea with a potentially explosive business model and we're going to need a lot of money to pull it off. If you know any investors who I should talk to, I would love to meet them.

Good Vibes,
Zak Kirchner
Co-Founder & CEO

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It's true, we are almost ready to go.... 

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The dig the vibe team are having a lot of fun over at turntable.fm dropping beats. Come on over and check us out.

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A little late night dig the vibe app testing. We are getting close and can't wait for people to dig the vibe. Did you dig the vibe of that....bar? club? concert? movie premiere? opera? street festival? anything... real-time event and place ratings online and on your phone.

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For those of you that haven't, head on over and like our new Facebook page to get updates and special offers. http://www.facebook.com/digthevibe

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Flux Pavilion and Dr. P are on their first U.S. tour of all time this summer, and let me tell you, the fans in Chicago were ready. We have never seen the Congress theater so crazy, and for good reason. Everyone wanted to see these top Dubstep/Drum and Bass Dj's throw it down hard, and that they did just that! These guys were blasting the bass so loud you could feel the floor and walls vibrating, while drinks on tables were falling over.

Watch this Short clip of Dr. P throwing it down! P.S. check out that crowd, crazinesss!!!

It was awesome to see so many people all get together like that, and great see that everyone there was digging the vibe. The place was packed to capacity and every single person in the place was getting down serious style to some massive tunes from Flux Pavilion and Dr. P. The show was so epic this was Flux Pavilion's facebook post later that night:

Thanks Flux, you made ours!! Come back anytime! Good vibes all around.

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So it's summer and festival season. Everyone's rolling out to the fields, barns, and massive tents to hear the good stuff. The past 5 years the festival scene has really exploded. Before it used to be large groups of band wanderers - you'd follow the Grateful Dead or Widespread Panic for the summer and that was how it went down. Now massive festivals are in every city and comprise bands from every genre. Although it's hard to boil it down to just five - these are the dig the vibe all time top 5 how to pack for a festival tips.

1. Bring something fun and crazy to do when you aren't at the shows. Think campground fun - guitars, drums, frisbees, or digeridoos. The activities will also help you make festival friends with those around you and keep you feeling it.

2. Pack clothes that look clean even when they are super dirty. Showers are often a luxury at these gatherings, so make sure you can wear and re-wear some of your duds. Reverse it, water bottle wash it, and hang out it to dry.

3. Bring a grocery bag of your favorite snacks from home or wherever. But only bring one bag - don't go crazy with the food. Biting into your favorite snack bar or treat will go a long way when you are tired, been dancing all day, and just can't move from your tent.

4. Bring along a camel-bak or multiple ways to hydrate. People can go a week without food, but die quickly without water. Hydration is key. Even if you aren't thirsty keep drinking. Pack powdered Gatorade or whatever you need to stay hydrated. It will keep you going and digging the vibe all weekend long.

5. Last but certainly not least - pack efficiently. Don't bring too much stuff. Or to little.  Be strategic and understand that everything you pack needs to have a purpose. Also don't forget the essentials - water, clothes, and fun stuff. Toiletries optional (j/k bring a way to clean off with a water bottle and t-shirt).

Have fun and stay safe out there kids. Put on them dancing feet.

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Because this is what the kids are into. Skrillex's hotter than a tv dinner. Anything bumping. Give it the beat. Boom. Happy Monday night from all of us here @digthevibe

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Since we are getting closer to release over here at dig the vibe, we decided to put up a new website at http://digthevibe.com, with a way to sign up to be a part of the beta testing and a countdown. Check it out...

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A little bit different than over here at dig the vibe, but this captures the spirit well. There is a lot out there right there - the key is being clear, transparent, and having a unique value proposition. What really differentiates you? Alright.... just watch. #DTV

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About a week ago, I went to the Congress Theater in Chicago, IL with a group of friends to see the Shpongletron experience - and what an experience it was! Shpongle usually tours with a live band, which is always an awesome time - but this year he is taking it to the next level with his massive Shpongletron set.

With a monstorous lightshow boasting glowing hula hoop girls, led wings, the shpongle morfing 3 eyed face, and a giant eye shooting laser beams - it's almost a given that when melded with the various #chill #melodic #bumping #tribal melodies that Shpongle brings you, you're going to have a great time.

Not only was the show amazing, but there was a great crowd at Congress that night - everyone was friendly with a smile on their face, the whole crowd was feelin it. On top of that the venue wasn't over crowded, so there was plenty of room to get your groove on. I was definitely digging the vibe, and can offically say "I got Shpongled" at Congress last week.

Check out the video below from my beautiful friend Michelle for a little taste of the Shpongletron Experience.

The Shpongletron Experience from dig the vibe on Vimeo.

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coming soon....

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The current flurry of investments in tech startups is reminding people of the 90's dot-com bubble, but this article from the HuffingtonPost called Champagne And Easy Money: The Web's Young Stars Confront Another Bubble makes a couple very interesting points. Here are some excerpts from the article we found interesting:

• As U.S. venture capitalists raised $7 billion during the first quarter of 2011, Internet firms snatched up $2.3 billion in funds, according to research firm CB insights. Those totals were up 76 percent and 46 percent, respectively, from the first quarter of 2010.
• As cash piles up and today’s top entrepreneurs become pickier about whom they take money from, a new class system for investors is emerging. “We’re not just looking for money, we’re looking for someone to offer advice, networks and relationships,” said one tech entrepreneur at the Summit Series who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
• For one, venture capital firms are investing considerably less capital than they were during the boom. Ben Horowitz, co-founder and general partner at venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz,crunched the numbers and found that venture capital firms had invested $200 billion between 1998 and 2000. More dollars were invested in that single 3-year period than in total over the prior 18 years. Between 2008 and 2010, venture capital firms invested $90 billion, which is less than half the 1998-2000 level.
• “I remember 1999,” said email service ccLoop founder Michael Wolfe, who was previously the vice president of engineering at Kana, a web-based communications firm that went public in 1999 at a multibillion-dollar valuation. “Today’s valuations may be 20, 30 or 50 percent too high, but they’re nothing compared to the valuations we saw during the late-'90s bubble." Those valuations, according to Wolfe, were around 10 times what they should have been.
• “I’m bullish on the fundamental’s of today's Web startups,” said Wolfe. Internet businesses, he points out, can be built with substantially less capital than in the '90s because technology costs have dropped precipitously, enabling entrepreneurs to develop products and bring them to market quicker and with fewer resources. During the late-'90s boom, investors placed bets on capital-intensive Internet companies that burned through cash quickly and took years to turn a profit.
• Valuations for most late-'90s dot-com rockets generally didn’t soar until after companies went public, after which money from the masses piled in. This exposed ordinary investors -- the day-traders and giddy optimists -– to risk as they rushed to the public markets to buy up tech stocks, some technology investors say.
• Today, about one in three people are online, or roughly two billion global users, according to data from Internet World Stats, compared to 1999, when less than five percent of the global population used the Internet.

Call us old fashioned here at digthevibe, but we believe as long as we stay focused on delivering tangible value to both our users and businesses, everything will work out in end.  Too many startups rely on their technology to be a "shiny object", hoping the business model will come later, but we're doing our best to avoid that pitfall.  What do you think about the current market for tech startups?  Is it a boom or a bubble?

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So the weather is starting to turn in Chicago. It's been an incredible weekend. We are all itching for those summer parties. It looks like Tao in Vegas knows what's up. Check it out. dig the vibe

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Check out the iPad of @Zak_Kirchner - representing the one and only DTV from Cali. "It's not about where you are, it's about where you want to be." dig the vibe

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So you want to throw a party huh? Like a once in a lifetime straight feeling it for weeks party? We'll over at dig the vibe we're in the party business. The real party business. From the backyard shindig to the party in the Hamptons to a legit night on the town rager, we've got you covered. There are some common threads you need to be aware of. Here's a list of five things that every party needs to be killer bro... or sis

1. The venue matters- pick somewhere that speaks to your audience. Make someone feel comfortable enough, but still excite them with visual candy...

2. Invite the right mix of peeps. You definitely need a solid guy girl ratio and it pays to invite a few of your rainmaker friends. You know the party types that get everything going and as the night goes on, keep everything going.

3. Establish the ideal drink food combo situation. Don't leave anyone wanting, but also don't give too many options. There's no need for a gin and root beer, know what I'm saying? That ain't classy or fun. Speak to the people and give them the goods. It fuels the party and rounds out the vibe.

4. Have a surprise. Something, anything and pull it at the right time. If you know your peeps you'll know what to do.

5. Know when to make moves. If it's getting awkward or people aren't feeling it, have the next step lined up. Be flexible and ready to move at an instant. If you've gotta take the party somewhere else - know the place.

keep it bumping. what up now? dig the vibe

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So it's almost one and it's one of those Saturday nights - out with with friends, dinner, wine, laughs, and incredible conversations. The party is still going on, but has moved to the first floor art gallery and I am tucked away working on dig the vibe feeling the bass through the floor. These days I carry my mac and mobile hotspot everywhere.

That's the power of a startup - carry it with you, set it up anytime, and make it happen. The rest of the team in San Francisco and Chicago are crushing it too. This is it. Burning through a Saturday night. What up Chicago? This party's bumping. You better get ready for dig the vibe. It won't be long now. Straight up. When you're feeling it.

DTV

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Help us translate dig the vibe into as many languages as possible and spread it around the world...

挖的心情  - chinese simplified

気分を掘る - japanese

grafa skap - icelandic

גראָבן די שטימונג - hebrew

scavare l'umore - italian

cavar el ambiente - spanish

creuser la vibe - french

копать Вибе - russian

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