Here’s a quick overview of Boulder’s new media startup scene. A good article link, and some places to go to meet the movers and shakers.

Reading assignment. The October 2008 issue of the magazine The American had a good article about Boulder’s burgeoning Web startup scene. The piece paid appropriate homage to Brad Feld and others who are leading a remarkable surge of entrepreneurial activity, ranging from estoric enabling technology to fun doo-dads and usable productivity tools.

Meetups. Our favorite place to hang with a crowd of almost maniacally upbeat web people is the Boulder Denver New Technology Meetup held monthly at the University of Colorado Law School in Boulder – a fast-paced pep rally showcasing brief pitches and demos by about five web startups per meeting. The meeting, preceded by free beer and decent guacamole in a spiffy anteroom, is well attended by entrepreneurs, investors, developers, designers and programmers. During the announcement time at the beginning of the January meetings, there were, for the first time, more people looking for jobs than for employees. Hmmm … those darkening economic storm clouds Barak has been warning us about?

The Creative Commons Meetups – held monthly at the offices of web developers Slice of Lime on Pearl St. – are also an excellent way to meet fellow developers, designers and programmers.

Coffee spots. Want to meet web people even less formally over coffee? The Cup, 1521 Pearl St., and Saxy’s, on 2018 10th St. just off Pearl, are two fave hangouts. Bring a Mac laptop and business cards.