will start with the highest level and work my down to the nitty-gritty of the tech trade. For meeting interesting People, Companies, and Startups , I recommend the following events: Digital Family Reunion – DFR is a descendant of the VIC (Venice Interactive Community), LA’s first Internet networking group. My friend Mark Long recently asked me about networking in Los Angeles. Mark is a CTO, see, and his company, PortBlue , was recently acquired (congrats, Mark!).

Last week my team was reviewing our upcoming event calendar and the subject of PerfectBusiness.com’s “ Perfect Pitch 2009 ” event came up.  We start with socalTECH first, each and every time. And…it’s the number one place where Startup Army finds new, innovative companies who we want to be working with and who need help building and scaling their businesses. This event is perfect for us – thousands of entrepreneurs and a list of business leaders that reads like Fast Company and Forbes had a love child.  Richard Branson is the keynote

This has afforded him some runway to try his hand at his own startup. What started as an evite-like competitor has shifted gears to a resource for other entrepreneurs.  Andrew Tired of having to make a scene at other people’s events, Francisco started to arrange his own unique series of fun-inspired get-togethers. Due to the funemployed    n.

A beefed up export feature for Google Docs now allows you to convert, zip and download multiple files in a couple simple steps. You can zip up to 500MB of files (more than almost anyone needs in one run…unless, maybe,  you’re using LOTS of graphics) with an option to have an e-mail linked to you once the zip file is ready (this allows for any necessary processing time on Google’s side). Follow @StartupArmy for articles on technology, I’ve written about Google’s Data Liberation Front before … They are the nice people dedicated to making sure its as easy to get your data out of the cloud as it is to get it in .

So here's the Hot List for 1/1/2009 - 1/15/2009 Top 5 Posts The 7 Ways to Get Traffic on the Web Why You Need To Lead A Tribe - Seth Godin LA Gets Dugg, Hammered, Screwed How To Get The World Excited About Your Business –The James Siminoff Interview Viral analytics and metrics - go viral young startup Top 20 Keywords SEO Metrics Marketing Social Media Alelo Google Yahoo Mahalo MySpace Tech Coast Angels Idealab Mission Ventures Clearstone Hollywood Santa Barbara Venice San Diego Santa Monica Twiistup

This month (in lieu of our normally scheduled Startups Uncensored Series, which will resume in Jan ‘10) we are hosting a very a mixer for Job Seekers and Los Angeles Tech Companies.  Come meet a group of cool new start ups and talented job seekers at this informal networking happy hour where you can find startup jobs. Date: Wednesday, December 9, 2009 at 4:30pm (Company Docstoc is putting this event on with our friends at JobNob . To Register for the Event: [link]

Last night, I went to the Jobnob Docstoc Happy Hour at Air Conditioned in Venice. The idea behind the meetup is to connect technology startups with prospective hires who may be interested to work for “alternative compensation”–e.g., The event was co-hosted by Julie Greenberg and Jason Nazar of Jobnob and Docstoc respectively. reduced salary, partial [...] ...Tags:

Wednesday, December 9th, 2009 Jobnob Docstoc Happy Hour – Come “Jobnob” with cool new start ups and talented job seekers at this informal networking happy hour where you can find startup jobs. Be flexible on commitment and compensation- bootstrapped startups may be offering *alternative compensation: reduced rates, equity, internships, part time, etc. We’ll be in Paris this week attending Le Web, but that doesn’t mean you should stay at home and mope. Here’s what’s happening in Los Angeles tech this week.

Venice, California-based Mota , a venture backed startup developing a web site to help users buy and sell used cars, announced this morning that it has hired two automotive industry executives. The firm said that Charlie Vogelheim has been named Chief Trust and Transparency Officer, and Steven J. McAuley as Chief Automotive Officer.

Tuesday, January 12th, 2009 LAVA Breakfast - CEOs Talk Startups – Discussion on start-up issues including i) team building and recruiting, ii) business plan issues, iii) developing a concise message, iv) building credibility (with customers, partners, employees and early investors), v) getting the business model to work properly, and vi) finally getting funded. Exactly one month before Valentine’s Day, come hear all about how social media can help you with the hook ups. Check out what’s happening in Los Angeles tech this week. Be sure to