regulars:

brycedotvc:

I wrote a post last week that seems to have struck a cord.

In it, I talked about what I was calling Indie Businesses. Businesses that historically would have raised venture capital, but were deciding to forgo funding and blaze their own trail independent of the pressure and expectations that come with outside investment.

Many commenters rightly pointed out that Indie, or VC free, businesses are the rule rather than the exception and they would be right to posit that.They took issue with me suggesting that this was a new thing but they were only partly right.

You see, the point I wanted to make was that we’re at an critical inflection point for entrepreneurship. The company man and his accompanying gold watch and pension are a relic that I, nor my kids, will see again in our lifetimes. As the book that arrived on my doorstep this week celebrated, the startup is now you. And I believe that’s a fundamental change.

This video celebrating 9 Detroit based businesses captures much of that new independent spirit. Note that no one is talking about raising money, eyeing an IPO or changing the world. They talk of community, and independence, of filling a need and meeting a demand. They make crepes, coffee, pizza, bagels and custard pies. They watch dogs and watch out for visitors to their city. They teach, educate and inform. They share a love for their craft and seem to be collectively crossing fingers that their hard work and passion will be enough to make it on their own.

This video celebrates the spirit of the indie businesses I tried to capture in that post. Which is why it’s required weekend viewing on BRYCE DOT VC.

Go, indies, go.

As part of his building crusade, Dylan Ratigan carried FireflyLED from The Regulars to Jimmy Fallon’s show. Pretty dang cool, eh?

Fact.

ht Aarron Walter

modernhombrealpha:

Austin’s First Firehouse Transformed Into “Palazzo Lavaca”

Mike gets it. Read Techdirt.

deancruse:

Deb Roy of Bluefin Labs at TED in 2011 on the birth of language in a child and how the research his team did in his home was then applied to measuring the links between public media content and the conversation that surrounds it. They showed this video at TEDxAustin this weekend, and it was one of my highlights.

Ditto.

ht Jake

davemorin:

46 seconds on life from Steve Jobs.

grantimatter:

Rules of engagement. I think I may need to make these a wallpaper or transcribe them onto a Post-It or something.

Remind me about it tomorrow, OK?

[via girldefective: iateabee]

itbsb:

Peter Mayhew (Chewy) & Kenny Baker (R2D2), during Empire filming, July 1979.

jaucoin:

Vhils - Deconstruction

jaucoin:

Explosions in the Sky - Poster Process

jaucoin:

Schoolhouse Electric & Supply Co. (by Schoolhouse Electric & Supply Co)

This. All of this.

This too shall pass.

Peyto Lake (Taken with instagram)

View for the next couple nights, part ii (2nd window) (Taken with Instagram at The Fairmont Banff Springs)

Click for more info on Paco Barba, a photographer who plans to use handmade images of urban life in a cultural exchange between youths in the the US and Brazil.

In April 2011, Awesome DC awarded a grant to GirlTrek. Read more here.

Awesome Austin micro-trustee Sunni Brown spoke at TED last year. Check it.

The Awesome Foundation Launches in Austin
 
February 6, 2012 aka Awesome Day (Austin, Texas)

Would you like to do or create something that makes Austin more awesome? We want to help you.

Each month, we will give $1,000 to a project we pick because it forwards the interest of awesome in Austin and in the universe. We prefer projects that lead us somewhere new, that bridge communities, that bring to light new possibilities.

Your idea is your own. We want no ownership, and we will attach no strings. We just want to help you make it happen.

It’s really simple. Start by applying here. We will review applications received by February 28 to make our first selection by March 12.

We are excited to bring the Awesome Foundation to this great town. Begun in Boston in 2009, this network has gone global with 20+ chapters in places like San Francisco, London, New York City, Ottawa, Seattle, Berlin, Sydney, and Zurich. Funded projects have included a giant hammock in Boston, random swings of joy, and the wonderful Big Dipper project.

We will gather periodically to celebrate awesome projects like these. A fun night at The Alamo Drafthouse sounds about right. Keep a lookout.

Austin’s founding members are:

• Hank Blackwell
• Matt Blake
• Sunni Brown
• Burnie Burns
• Joel Bush
• Kenneth Cho
• Jacqueline Hughes
• Shimon Kogan
• Randall Macon
• Vitorio Miliano
• Kerry Miller
• C. Enrique Ortiz
• Rip Rowan
• Rodney White
• Peyton Wimmer

[image via boston.com, project via Awesome Foundation]

In June 2011 the LA chapter awarded a grant for swings in Los Angeles.

Global TV News profiled Awesome Toronto.

In January 2011, Awesome NY awarded a grant to the Laser Tweezer project of Ben Dubin-Thaler’s BioBus. Read more here.

In December 2011, San Francisco Awesome micro-trustee’s awarded a grant to Erin Bregman and Little Opera Company. Read more here.

Christina Xu, Chancellor of IHAS, talked Awesome Foundation at TEDxBoston.

The Institute on Higher Awesome Studies (IHAS) shared this awesome wrap-up. That’s a lot of awesome.

February 6, 2012 is Awesome Day in Austin, Texas, y’all.

The Awesome Foundation is saddling up in Austin, y’all. It’s on. It’s so on.

[photo by Trey Ratcliff]

brycedotvc:

I wrote a post last week that seems to have struck a cord.

In it, I talked about what I was calling Indie Businesses. Businesses that historically would have raised venture capital, but were deciding to forgo funding and blaze their own trail independent of the pressure and expectations that come with outside investment.

Many commenters rightly pointed out that Indie, or VC free, businesses are the rule rather than the exception and they would be right to posit that.They took issue with me suggesting that this was a new thing but they were only partly right.

You see, the point I wanted to make was that we’re at an critical inflection point for entrepreneurship. The company man and his accompanying gold watch and pension are a relic that I, nor my kids, will see again in our lifetimes. As the book that arrived on my doorstep this week celebrated, the startup is now you. And I believe that’s a fundamental change.

This video celebrating 9 Detroit based businesses captures much of that new independent spirit. Note that no one is talking about raising money, eyeing an IPO or changing the world. They talk of community, and independence, of filling a need and meeting a demand. They make crepes, coffee, pizza, bagels and custard pies. They watch dogs and watch out for visitors to their city. They teach, educate and inform. They share a love for their craft and seem to be collectively crossing fingers that their hard work and passion will be enough to make it on their own.

This video celebrates the spirit of the indie businesses I tried to capture in that post. Which is why it’s required weekend viewing on BRYCE DOT VC.

Go, indies, go.

joelbush:

As part of his building crusade, Dylan Ratigan carried FireflyLED from The Regulars to Jimmy Fallon’s show. Pretty dang cool, eh?

#regularing

austin360:

A map of all the SXSW Interactive 2012 campuses

We made this for you because we care.

Real dialog going down

#regularing

atxawesome:

February 6, 2012 is Awesome Day in Austin, Texas, y’all.

Would you like to create or do something that makes Austin more awesome? The Austin chapter of the Awesome Foundation wants to help you with $1,000, no-strings-attached grants awarded each month. Click here to apply. Let’s have some fun.

Eino brought a small artifact from his big sculpture project for Dell Children’s.

I like Friday mornings at Mozart’s. Come on down and join us tomorrow morning. We will be there from 8 a.m. till at least 10:30 a.m.

Thanks, y’all.

It’s Paul’s birthday today. HBD, sir.

Kevin Gant hung out with us this week and shared great stories of the film festival circuit in support of Kevin.

#regularing

austinstatesman:

Police: Man who committed suicide linked to two New Year’s Day attacks

Austin police said Thursday night that a man who committed suicide Jan. 12 has been linked to a pair of attacks on 31st and King streets early New Year’s Day, and is the prime suspect in the fatal assault of Esme Barrera that morning.

You haven’t seen or met Austin’s own Zach Anner yet? Let’s fix that this Thursday.

Come on down to ZACH ATTACK! at the Alamo Drafthouse on S Lamar, 7 p.m. Thursday. Buy tickets here.

Zach Anner will appear with Zach Weiner of Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal.  They will entertain.

In addition, the evening’s MC will be none other than Alexis Ohanion, co-founder of Reddit, proprietor of Breadpig, co-conspirator of Hipmunk and Y Combinator, anti-SOPA campaigner, and all around talented Internet nice guy.

It should be a good time. Proceeds benefit DonorsChoose classrooms in Austin.

Please do join us. Thanks.

Again, that ticket link is:
http://drafthouse.com/movies/zach_attack

#regularing

staff:

Two days ago, you guys stepped up once again to show the world just how much we care about protecting the Internet. Together, we generated more than 140,000 calls to Senators, spent more than 4,200 hours on the phone with their staffers, and blacked out 650,000 of our blogs to make our point and inspire others to get involved. And what’s more, this was on top of the 90,000 calls we sent to members of the House of Representatives a month ago. Incredible.

It’s now becoming clear just how much impact our action is having. On January 18th, only 31 members of Congress opposed these bills. Just one day later, 101 members of Congress publicly stood with us in opposition. We are being heard.

And as of today, it looks like both the Senate PIPA and House SOPA bills have been shelved, for the moment. It seems pretty likely that the bills won’t pass as written—a big first win. We now hope that Internet companies, the creative community and the content industry join together to innovate and devise new partnerships to combat online piracy. We’re confident there are effective ways to do this without damaging the Internet or diminishing our freedoms.

You’ve made a big difference in keeping the Internet a safe and open place for creators. Thank you again.

Topics:

• community management in general and in Austin
• a community for community managers
• Awesome Foundation
• the campaign, debates, etc.
• SOPA and PIPA
• ZACH ATTACK! (Join us next Thursday.)
• the Chamber of Commerce, StartupAmerica
• Michael Lewis and his books, including Boomerang
• Echelon + what are the odds that our phones are permanent bugs capable of sharing audio and video with agencies
• managing nonprofit organizations

• web development

Topics 12.30.2011:

• The Unthinkable
• great ol’ tales from The Hole in the Wall
• the passing of Momo’s, Emo’s, and Gowalla
• leadman
• Homeland
• How We Decide
• Cleveland, Ohio
• West Texas
• Roku, Apple TV
• Stratfor hacked by Anonymous
• Cybersecurity
• Geopolitics and intelligence services
• Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

#regularing in December