I often ponder why I moved back to the great Pacific Northwest after studying (& playing) in the California sun?! It's definately not the weather. It must be the air-waves or caffeine they put in the water...or entrepreneur zing in the gas. Maybe it's the amazing sunsets on a summer evening?

Whatever the case, Scientific American thought Seattle was it, voting it the top city for technology. Now, if we could just get a network of angel investors up here!

We hear all the time about city and governments lobbying for improvements in their local resources. Libraries included. You would think it would be all about acquiring new books or computers. Nope. In this day and age of Social Media, corporate downsizing, and working virtual, libraries are fast becoming small meeting havens. Think about it. It's quiet; no loud Starbucks in the background. It's resourceful; plenty of free wi-fi, clean bathrooms, and newspapers and magazines to browse. Finally, it's free.

For the community of Niles, Illinois (just outside Chicago), they seem to be in the heat of battle. Their library is due to be receiving some funds and the town is up in arms on how to spend it. Books v. meeting space.

These are just the types of problems we like to see! :)

Not all accelerators, incubators, and co-working dens are created equal. Depending on who you ask, there can be debate on the similarities and differences between all three. The latest comes from Jason Johnson, one of the founders of the Founder Den, a co-working space in San Francisco. To quote Jason:

"Most co-working spaces lack a curation process which we saw as important to creating a dynamic, iron-sharpens-iron community, similar to the traditional private clubs which appealed to the entrepreneurs of prior innovation eras (steel, railroad, oil, etc.). In New York, SoHo House and The Core (while less of a co-working space and more of a lounge) appeal to entrepreneurs. With Founders Den, we sought a unique, differentiated model of one-half private club and one-half co-working space."

Read the entire NYT story here.

Coffee retailers and distributors are beginning to feel the pinch on operating expenses from escalating coffee bean prices as featured in this Inc. article. As a result, coffee houses are forced to create new ways to generate revenue. Anyone say meetings?

In a move to promote more social events, Meetup today announced "Meetup Everywhere" - a new portal for organizations to sponsor and initiate worldwide meetups. Within hours of launching, several sponsored meet ups from Seth Godin, Groupon, and others had worldwide meet up movements.

We happen to meet with Scott Heiferman, CEO of Meetup yesterday at TechCrunch to talk about the demand for social events...and venues. According to Scott Heiferman, there are nearly 50K Meetups each week! Youzzaa...that's a lot of get togethers!

Congrats, Scott & Meetup on the launch!