Inside San Jose's BriteLab

First off, let me say that I have really missed Nathan Donato-Weinstein's articles in the SVBJ. I am thrilled to see him writing again in the SJ Economy blog.

He recently visited BriteLab, a high-tech South San Jose manufacturing company that makes everything from 3D printers to electric skateboards. The 55,000 SQFT space is a startup incubator that helps new companies bring their products to market. BriteLab provides product-development, design, engineering, manufacturing, and support services. Currently BriteLab employs 75 people, but they are planning to grow to 150.

For all the details, check out Nathan's article over here.

Source: SJ Economy

San Jose's NextEV launches fastest electric car in the world

North San Jose is quickly becoming a mecca for electric car companies and the history goes back far. Tesla originally wanted to build their factory in Alviso. Only after they were rejected by the state, did they choose the Fremont location. NextEV and LeEco on the other hand setup their US Headquarters in North San Jose. Access to high-end engineering talent in Silicon Valley and industrial space were no doubt major factors in those decisions.

Last week, NextEV finally pulled back the curtain on their first car. Like Tesla, they are starting with limited-production expensive cars and then creating mass-market vehicles. The NIO EP9 will be the fastest electric car in the world. It can hit 124 MPH in 7.1 seconds and has a top speed of 194 MPH. Range is about 265 miles. The EP9 just set a world record on the Nurburgring, video below. Unfortunately, those specs won't come cheap... the car costs about $1,000,000 (correct number of zeros).

We'll have to see how the less expensive cars in their lineup compete with both traditional car companies and Tesla, but for now you can take some pride in the fact that this is a San Jose company. NextEV is located at 3200 N 1st Street.

Source: Electrek

1st Annual Timmy Awards

The 1st Annual Timmy Awards is a new event recognizing the best places for tech professionals to work. There will be cocktails, hor d'oeuvres, music, and product demos. The moderator for the night is Katie Roof from Tech Crunch and the award presenters are Kerry Davis from Engadget, Marc Acton from Mix 106.5, and Jennifer Elias from the Silicon Valley Business Journal. Categories include Best Tech Startup, Best Tech Work Culture, and Best Tech Manager.

The event will take place this Thursday, September 22nd from 6pm-9pm at the San Jose Women's Club. For more information head over to the Tech in Motion site. You can RSVP for free over here.

We're excited to present Silicon Valley's 1st Annual Timmy Awards in an effort to recognize the best places for technology professionals to work. We asked the Silicon Valley tech community to weigh in by nominating companies they believe deserve to win and then voting for the finalists!

Organizations and individuals will be crowned the winners of each of the categories below on September 22nd. The evening will begin with cocktails, hor d'oeuvres, music and product demos from the best of the best in Silicon Valley tech.

Silicon Valley's Best Technology Manager

Bill Hu – CEO of Kika Tech
Erik Kostelnik - Founder & CEO of TextRecruit
Han Jin - CEO of LucidCam
Venkatachalam Rangasamy – Principal Software Architect at Equinix
Waqaas Al-Siddiq - CEO of Biotricity

Silicon Valley's Best Technology Startup 

Avegant
Blue River Technology
Cloudian
DataVisor
Datos IO
Engagio
Liquid Robotics
Loop Commerce
Primary Data
Rubrik

Silicon Valley's Best Technology Work Culture 

Branch
Drawbridge
Identity Guard
Kespry
MATRIXX Software Inc.
Peloton Technology
Pinger, Inc.
Retail Solutions Inc. (RSi)
Shipwire
Whipsaw, Industrial Design and Engineering

San Jose's New "SmartPoles" are a Global First

San Jose has become the first city in the world to get Philips SmartPoles, which are perhaps the most technologically advanced street lights ever manufactured. Besides having energy-efficient LED lighting (made by San Jose-based Lumileds), they have two other distinct features. There is 4G LTE wireless infrastructure built right into the top of the pole, which is likely what gives it such a funky shape. On the bottom of the pole is a PG&E wireless energy meter, which previously required separate boxes on the street.

As a beta test, 50 of these will be manufactured and installed in Downtown San Jose and North San Jose. 14 have already been installed and the rest will be live by March 2016. These will add much needed capacity to cellular networks in San Jose. The best part is that the pilot program will cost nothing to the city. If everything works out, this technology will be deployed to other cities across the US.

I do wish they did not look like giant tampons, but hopefully that can be fixed in future design iterations.

Source: SVBJ

Saturday Stats: San Jose has the Most Future-Ready Economy in the Nation

At the 2015 Strategic Innovation Summit held by Harvard University and Dell, San Jose was proclaimed as the most future-ready economy in the country. Their definition of a future-ready economy is one that has sustainable economic output and growth potential. There are three key attributes that the study looked for:

1.) Human capital, or people equipped with the right skills to drive meaningful social and economic change.
2.) Commerce from sustainable business opportunities to continue improving entire economies for year to come. This includes collaboration, such as the formation of public-private partnerships.
3.) Infrastructure prepared to support people, businesses, and technology needed to drive growth and change.

San Jose scored well above average when it comes to human capital, having strong salaries, educational achievements, and by far the highest number of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) occupations per capita. San Jose also nailed it on commerce, having a collaborative and innovation-driven economy. Where we lost some big points was with infrastructure, particularly traffic congestion and poor public transit. Despite that, we still took the top position in the study with San Francisco coming in second and Washington DC in 3rd place.

Source: Dell, SJ Economy Newsletter

Top 25 Future Ready Economies

1. San Jose, CA
2. San Francisco, CA
3. Washington, DC
4. Boston, MA
5. Austin, TX
6. Raleigh, NC
7. Seattle, WA
8. Denver, CO
9. Portland, OR
10. Dallas-Fort Worth, TX
11. New York, NY
12. Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN
13. Houston, TX
14. Atlanta, GA
15. Charlotte, NC
16. San Diego, CA
17. Chicago, IL
18. Louisville, KY
19. Salt Lake City, UT
20. Des Moines, IA
21. Los Angeles, CA
22. Pittsburgh, PA
23. Kansas City, MO
24. Columbus, OH
25. Philadelphia, PA

Happy Hour as a Service @ ZERO1 Garage

Now that we have over 110 technology companies in Downtown San Jose, why not have some networking events to keep the momentum going. Well, that is exactly what the Silicon Valley Business Journal is doing. They are hosting a mixer with appetizers and cocktails at the ZERO1 Garage this Thursday between 6-8pm. The event also includes a tour of Whipsaw Inc. (industrial design company working with Nike, Google, etc.).

For more info and tickets, just head over here.

Sourisseau News: Quest for Flight

Did you know that Santa Clara County was home to several aviation pioneers and inventions? Check out the two minute video below for your weekly dose of interesting history.


Quest for Flight - 110 Year Anniversary of Early Aeronautics in Santa Clara Valley from WMS media Inc. on Vimeo.

Saturday Stats: San Jose is #1 For Advanced Industry Sector Employment

San Jose has the greatest share of advanced industry employment in the country. Advanced industry includes tech, engineering, and energy jobs that drive innovation. In fact, it took first by a mile. 30% of employment in the San Jose metro is in the advanced industry sector. Seattle came in second at 16% and San Francisco was in 5th with 14%.

Why is this important? Not only are these the jobs that drive economic growth in the country, but the pay is spectacular. In 2013, workers in this sector nationwide raked in an average of $90k a year. However in Silicon Valley, that number is doubled to an astounding $180k per year.

Source: SiliconBeat, Brookings Institute

Downtown San Jose Now Has 100+ Tech Companies! - The Latest Addition is Datawise Systems

Downtown has become a haven for tech start-ups. With available office space of all sizes, access to multiple types of public transit, tons of urban amenities, and suburban housing less than a mile away for workers with families... this is an ideal location for high-growth tech companies. A year ago Downtown had around 80 tech companies... now we're at 100+!!!

Over the last year there have been 150 new office leases Downtown. We have had 7 quarters in a row of positive net absorption of office space, bringing us down from 25.54% vacancy 17 months ago to 18.39% today. Also over those 17 months, Downtown has netted 233,897 SQFT of new tech tenants.

The latest tech company to move here is Datawise Systems, a startup in stealth mode that was founded by a team from Cisco, VERITAS, and VMware. They are moving into 10,000 SQFT at 111 N. Market Street. Originally they looked at the entire corridor from Palo Alto to San Jose. Their key criteria were close proximity to Caltrain, located in or near a downtown area, expansion capabilities, and reasonable pricing. Downtown San Jose hit all of those and is high-tech friendly to boot (no Google bus protests here).

BTW, Datawise is hiring hardware and software engineers as well as storage and networking architects that want to "put a dent on the universe." If you are interested in learning more, email jobs@datawisesystems.com.

Source: SJ Economy Newsletter, SVBJ

Tech + Tastings at Santana Row

A unique "tech-walk" event is coming to Santana Row in a couple weeks that combines wine and food tastings with various tech exhibits courtesy of The Tech Museum of Innovation (you have to check out the 3D printers). Tickets are only $40 and benefit the museum. All of the info is below:

Tech + Tastings at Santana Row
Presented by The Tech Museum of Innovation

6 p.m. to 9 p.m., Thursday, September 4

San Jose, CA – Join us for the first-ever tech walk, an only-in-Silicon Valley event that brings together two of San Jose’s favorite attractions, Santana Row and The Tech Museum of Innovation.
The evening’s highlight is a wine stroll around Santana Row with shop stops that will feature exhibits from The Tech. The event is a benefit for the museum. Tickets are $40 and are available at santanarow.com. Ticket holders will be given:

• Access to hands-on tech exhibits
• Wine & food pairings
• Exclusive discounts to Santana Row shops and restaurants
• Signature Santana Row wine glass

Registration is in Santana Row Park, and will begin at 5:50 p.m.

Here’s what you’ll see from The Tech:

• “Your Life in Data” lets you experience the latest in wearable data gathering. Brainwaves, muscle tension, pulse, light levels, colors, faces, speech and voice levels will all be logged and displayed back to you.
• “Minimasher,” a multiplayer electronic instrument that allows you to jam out on three sets of drum pads triggering drum, bass, and synth sounds.
• “3D Printing -The Future of Making” demonstrates the wonder of 3D with various printed objects on hand. You can try freehand plastic creation with the 3Doodler.
• “Hacker vs. Hacker” challenges you to break into a safe and win a prize. Find the best way in: do you pick the lock, crack the code, or jump the right wires?
• “Scribble Scratch” is a modified consumer DJ controller that puts you in charge of the DJ rig, the iconic Hip Hop instrument. 

About Santana Row
Santana Row, a 647,000 square foot mixed-use development in San Jose, CA, is Silicon Valley’s premier destination for shopping, dining, living and working. Santana Row features over 70 shops, 20 restaurants, a boutique hotel and movie theatre. In addition to the dynamic retail & restaurant collection, Santana Row offers 615 luxury rental homes, 219 privately owned condos and 65,000 square feet of Class A office space. Santana Row is a property of www.federalrealty.com (NYSE:FRT), headquartered in Rockville, Maryland. For more information, please visit www.santanarow.com.


About Federal Realty
Federal Realty Investment Trust is an equity real estate investment trust specializing in
the ownership, management, development, and redevelopment of high quality retail assets. Federal Realty's portfolio (excluding joint venture properties) contains approximately 20 million square feet located primarily in strategically selected metropolitan markets in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and California. In addition, the Trust has an ownership interest in approximately 1.0 million square feet of retail space through a joint venture in which the Trust has a 30% interest. Our operating portfolio (excluding joint venture properties) was 95.3% leased to national, regional, and local retailers as of June 30, 2014, with no single tenant accounting for more than approximately 3.2% of annualized base rent. Federal Realty has paid quarterly dividends to its shareholders continuously since its founding in 1962, and has increased its dividend rate for 47 consecutive years, the longest record in the REIT industry. Federal Realty is an S&P MidCap 400 company and its shares are traded on the NYSE under the symbol FRT.


About The Tech Museum of Innovation
The Tech is a hands-on technology and science museum for people of all ages and backgrounds. The museum—located in the Capital of Silicon Valley —is a non-profit, experiential learning resource established to engage people in exploring and experiencing applied technologies affecting their lives. Through programs such as The Tech Challenge presented by Cisco, our annual team-design competition for youth, and internationally renowned program to honor technology benefiting humanity, The Tech Awards presented by Applied Materials, The Tech endeavors to inspire the innovator in everyone.

Techmanity 2014 Coming to Downtown San Jose

Being billed as Silicon Valley's first official technology conference, Techmanity is coming to Downtown San Jose on October 1st and 2nd. The event will be curated by Fast Company and has a nice list of speakers including CEOs, entrepreneurs, and VCs. Also, what's a tech conference without some fun? In addition to multiple networking opportunities Techmanity will also host several musical events with bands like Weezer, the Kongos, and Young Rising Sons. You can get all of the details in the press release below or visiting the Techmanity website over here.

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Techmanity 2014, Silicon Valley’s first official technology conference, today announced its lineup and open registration for its inaugural event, taking place in San Jose October 1-2. Headline speakers include Houzz founder and CEO, Adi Tatarko; Samsung Electronics president, Young Sohn; and a keynote by actor/musician turned tech entrepreneur, Jared Leto.

“Techmanity summons the best minds of our generation—the firestarters, malcontents, trailblazers and dreamers to rethink and re-imagine the future of work, play and life in a networked age”

The two day event, curated by Fast Company, will feature rapid-fire presentations from dozens of “radical entrepreneurs and vanguard geeks” representing the most disruptive and compelling ideas from Silicon Valley. After-hours entertainment and networking is being produced by Live Nation, and includes national music acts such as Grammy-award winner Weezer, who will be debuting its new album, Everything Will Be Alright in the End. Top-level sponsors include Samsung Electronics, Silicon Valley Bank and Adobe.

Designed as a next-generation conference experience and networking festival, Techmanity is a gathering of the Silicon Valley tribes celebrating the region’s future-bending companies, entrepreneurs, inventors and ideas. Techmanity will feature a riveting mix of the Valley’s movers and shakers – people who are cultivating new business models and disrupting the status quo – alongside passionate social entrepreneurs leveraging new innovations to improve the lives of those who might otherwise be left behind by technological progress.

“Techmanity summons the best minds of our generation—the firestarters, malcontents, trailblazers and dreamers to rethink and re-imagine the future of work, play and life in a networked age,” said Tom Hayes, the tech executive who founded Techmanity. “Techmanity is about doing business in a whole new way in a profoundly connected global economy—about new ideas to improve human creativity, productivity and quality of life for a planet made much smaller by technology.”

In addition to Leto, Techmanity will provide an opportunity for two days of high-energy networking, socializing and idea-sharing with disruptive industry leading executives including:

• Elizabeth Cutler and Julie Rice, co-founders, SoulCycle
• Leah Busque, founder and CEO, TaskRabbit
• James Freeman, founder and CEO, Blue Bottle Coffee
• Troy Carter, music industry pioneer and tech investor, Atom Factory
• Catherine Hoke, founder & CEO, Defy Ventures
• Ido Leffler, co-founder, Yes To brands; founder, Yoobi
• Marissa Sackler, founder, BeeSpace

Topics on the agenda include the Internet of Us, the future of post-job work, building a cult brand in a media-saturated world and the power of second chances, among many others. In addition to these conference sessions, Techmanity will also celebrate the winners of its Techmanitarian Awards, and showcase the hottest, most disruptive startups in its Startlandia exhibit.

In the evening, attendees will have the opportunity to enjoy networking events featuring performances by Weezer, Thievery Corporation,Kongos, Crown and the Mob, Young Rising Sons and more acts to be announced.

To register for Techmanity 2014, please visit www.techmanity.com/registration. Media registration can be found here:www.techmanity.com/media.

Tweet this: .@Techmanity opens registration and reveals speakers for first annual conference http://bit.ly/1ymnNKD

Follow Techmanity 2014 on Twitter
Follow Techmanity on LinkedIn
Like Techmanity 2014 on Facebook

About Techmanity
Techmanity is Silicon Valley’s first annual technology and lifestyle event celebrating the companies and people whose products and services are revolutionizing our world.

For two days in October 2014, Techmanity will command center stage on the tech world with mind-blowing conversations with the brightest people in the industry, dozens of exciting networking events hosted by leading Silicon Valley companies and an incredible line-up of special programs showcasing the best new apps, business models and startup ideas on the planet.

Civic Hacking: Code For San Jose

A group of local volunteers have decided to put their tech skills to good use outside of their day job. Code for San Jose enables civic-minded hackers to develop apps and tools that are useful to the San Jose community. It has just been around for a few months and they already have a couple projects underway. If you're a techie and you want to give back to the local community (while meeting like-minded folks), this looks like a pretty cool option. For more info, just head over to the Code for San Jose Website.

Who We Are

Launched in March 2014, we are a Code for America brigade: a group of volunteers who are passionate about using our skills to advance civic innovation in San Jose. Our members represent a range of skill sets and interests, spanning the high tech, local government and non-profit sectors. Our co-leaders are Kalen Gallagher and Michelle Thong.

What We Do

We promote civic innovation in two main ways:

1. Civic hacking: Our members develops civic apps, data visualizations and other tools that are useful and inspiring to the San Jose community. We hold twice-monthly civic hack nights and organize quarterly special events such as hackathons.
2. Policy and advocacy: Our policy team educates community leaders on open data and open government best practices, and advocates for local open data policies.

Join Us

We welcome coders, designers, data geeks, policy wonks and community members of all types with an interest in using technology, creativity and the human spirit to solve real problems.

Code for San Jose is a platform for you to work on projects that you’re passionate about and that make a difference in your community.

Come check out our Civic Hack Nights on the 2nd and 4th Thursday of each month at Nextspace San Jose from 6:30pm to 9:30pm. RSVP on our Meetup page!

Saturday Stats: San Jose is the #1 Place for STEM Graduates!

Today we have another one of those Saturday Stats to really be proud of. According to NerdWallet--which is based in SF by the way--San Jose is the #1 place in the United States for STEM jobs (Science, Technology, Engineering, or Math).

It wasn't even close. They looked at three main criteria: the mean wage for STEM occupations (25%), the size of the STEM industry (50%), and the median gross rent (25%). Despite coming in the highest with the median gross rent (a big negative), San Jose's $111,745 mean wage and the fact that 17% of all jobs in San Jose are related to STEM gave us a towering lead in the overall score.

The data is below, and is well worth taking a look. Only three other areas in California made the cut. San Francisco was #5, Sacramento was #15, and San Diego was #20.

Source: NerdWallet, Thanks to Christopher Rein for sending this in.

San Jose: The Smartest City In America (as seen on The TODAY Show)

In case you missed it - San Jose was featured on The TODAY Show this morning. In their "Healthy, Wealthy, Wise" segment, they showed a video about the innovative and awesome place we call home - San Jose.

Check out the video:

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

C2SV Technology Conference + Music Festival Announces 2nd Round of Performing Artists

Thee Oh Sees, Bosnian Rainbows, G.F.P., Stumblebunny, Among Latest Additions to Join Iggy and the Stooges and Over 70 Acts in Silicon Valley

 

Breakthrough event celebrates digital innovation explosion as tech fans and music lovers converge on Downtown San Jose Sept. 26-29, 2013

 

SAN JOSE, CA – The C2SV TECHNOLOGY CONFERENCE + MUSIC FESTIVAL – Silicon Valley’s celebration of the digital culture revolution among tech fans and music lovers – is pleased to announce the next round of performing artists for this year’s breakthrough “Creative Convergence” event being held Thursday, Sept. 26 through Sunday, Sept. 29, 2013 in Downtown San Jose.

 

New acts on board for C2SV includeThee Oh Sees, Bosnian Rainbows (featuring former members of the Mars Volta and At the Drive-In), G.F.P. (with Greg Hetson from Bad Religion and skateboarding legend Tony Alva), and Stumblebunny, led by Chris Robison (New York Dolls, John Lennon’s Elephant’s Memory). Those and many more new additions join previously announced headliners Iggy and the Stooges,‘90s alt-rock pioneers The Lemonheads, electro-pop duo The Limousines, Oakland’s The Coup, featuring Boots Riley and DJ Pam the Funkstress, and modern funk pioneer Dam-Funk, among others, as the newly re-branded festival expands on the success of last year’s inaugural Silicon Valley Sound Experience to showcase more than 70 emerging and established acts in over a dozen downtown venues. 

 

Tickets, including multi-venue music passes and technology conference passes and wristbands, are on sale NOW at www.c2sv.com.

 

C2SV (Creative Convergence Silicon Valley) affords festivalgoers a rare opportunity to see bands in much more intimate settings than usual, at an affordable all-inclusive price.

 

Iggy and The Stooges guitarist James Williamson — whose intertwining careers personify the “Creative Convergence” of music and technology — will deliver the keynote music address on Saturday, Sept. 28 at noon. Later that evening, he performs with the protopunk legends at St. James Park in San Jose. Williamson’s keynote will be open to badge holders of the C2SV Technology Conference as well as VIP ticket holders for the Iggy and The Stooges concert later that day in St. James Park. The concert ticket is being sold in combination with a wristband that enables concertgoers to experience four days of music by more than 70 acts at 12 venues in Downtown San Jose.

 

THE C2SV TECHNOLOGY CONFERENCE + MUSIC FESTIVAL allows Silicon Valley innovators to converge on their home turf with leading innovators in music.

 

Visit www.c2sv.com/music for the latest details on performing artists, more of whom are being added each day.

 

The complete list of performers to date is as follows:

 

Iggy and The Stooges

Thee Oh Sees  

Bosnian Rainbows

The Lemonheads

OFF! (Keith Morris from Circle Jerks and Black Flag)

The Limousines

Deafheaven

The Coup

Mondo Generator

Tera Melos

G.F.P. (Greg Hetson from Bad Religion and skateboarding legend Tony Alva)

Party Ben

DAM Funk (DJ Set)

Sleepy Sun

Black Milk

BVMO

The Revival (Julius Papp and The Selecter DJ Kirk)

Tom, Dick and Harry

Sonido Clash

The Phenomenauts

Oro 11

Deejay Theory

Picture Atlantic

Soulful Obsession

The Trims

Brother Grand

E V Kain

DLRN

Affinity DJs

The Trims

Finish Ticket

Workout DJs

Dirty Ghosts

The Jurassic

The She’s

Penthouse Penthouse

Stumblebunny

Cartoon Bar Fight

Finish Ticket

Torches

Claw Hammer

Bibles and Hand Grenades

Amonie

Haptic Synapses

The Icarus Line

Onward, Etc.

Shinobu

The Flames

Containher

Holy Child

The Albert Square

Trails and Ways

Holy Child

Talky Tina   

Fatso Jetson

The Bang

Dinners

Curious Quail

K-VON

Dirty Pillows

The New Trust

Occult Wisdom

* * *

 

The Creative Convergence Silicon Valley (C2SV) technology conference will feature three days of speakers, including many notable Silicon Valley CEOs, entrepreneurs, technologists, authors and academics.   

 

Other speakers include Internet personality Robert Scoble (Rackspace, Scobleizer); author and entrepreneur Jeff Stibel (the bestseller “Breakpoint”); and Yahoo! chairman Maynard Webb.

 

Complete information about the conference can be found at www.c2sv.com.

www.c2sv.com
@C2SVTech
@C2SVMusic
Facebook.com/C2SVFestival 

Vitriflex Raises $3M

There is always a lot of buzz around new start-ups raising money on the Penninsula and SF, so I want to make sure to at least mention San Jose area start-ups that close a round of funding. We do have plenty of start-ups as well, not just tech giants like Cisco, eBay, Cadence, etc.

Vitriflex is a company that develops gas barrier film technology for use solar panels and mobile screens. They just raised $3 million, which is in addition to the $5 million that they raised last year. The new money likely means more jobs and more opportunities in the area.

Source: SVBJ

Saturday Stats: San Jose Leads the Nation in Tech Jobs per Capita

A staggering 33% of all jobs in the San Jose metro are related to Science, Technology, Engineering, or Math (also known as STEM jobs). This is higher than any other region in the US. The Washington DC area came in second place with 27%. SF and New York did not even make the top 10 list.

The report also found that areas with high concentrations of STEM jobs are likely to see higher wages, better employment rates, and faster growth. To see the Top 10 list, just click the image below.

Source: SVBJ, Brookings Institute

Click to Enlarge!

Is SXSW Coming to San Jose?

South by Southwest (SXSW) is an epic-sized event located in Austin that is part music festival and part tech conference. To give you and idea of scale, last year 300,000 people attended and it generated $190 million for the city of Austin. This is one of the largest events in the US. For some perspective, the largest show in Las Vegas is CES, it takes up millions and millions of square feet of event space, every hotel is booked and you can barely walk in the streets... it attracts about 150,000 people.

Well, I have some good news. It looks like Dan Pulcrano, the CEO of Metro Newspapers, wants to recreate something similar to SXSW in Downtown San Jose! Given his background with the San Jose Jazz Festival and Music in the Park, he might just be the person to pull it off. The new event is called Creative Convergence Silicon Valley (C2SV) and it is scheduled for September 26-29 this year at the newly remodeled San Jose Convention Center.

While it's not quite up to the scale on SXSW, it will be one heck of a start. Dan and the rest of the organizers are trying to book over 100 musical acts across 20 different venues! There will also be all sorts of tech events and exhibits, as well as keynote speeches from tech luminaries.

Given the timing of C2SV, there is also a chance that this could coincide with ZER01 in future years. How awesome would that be? See the tentative schedule below and the festival website over here.

Source: SVBJ (Requires Subscription)

Schedule

The 2013 C2SV schedule is shaping up very nicely, and we’ll have additions to add and announcements to make.

In the meantime, here are some highlights to calendar.

Thursday, September 26, 2013

C2SV Opening Party
First Night of Music

Friday, September 27, 2013

Keynote Speakers
Conference Sessions
Music at 20+ Venues
Expo at Convention Center

Saturday, September 28, 2013

Keynote Speakers
Conference Sessions
Music at 20+ Venues

Sunday, September 29, 2013

Final day
Closing Party

SWSW in Austin, Texas

C2SV Mockup

San Jose Artists Sculpt with Sunlight

Below is a story on how emerging San Jose artists are utilizing solar energy to produce their art. Thanks Matt for sending in this information.

---

Two San Jose artists have integrated solar electricity into their artwork, creating sculptures made with the power of the sun—while protecting themselves from utility rate hikes thanks to electricity provider Gen110.

San Jose native Richard Starks has been fascinated with working metal into imagined shapes for more than 50 years. He’s a San Jose State University graduate, and his work has featured around the region, including Santa Clara's City Council Chambers and Carmel's Sculpture Garden.  Starks has also worked as a welder and metal fabricator for many years, and is intimately familiar with the pragmatic, artistic and electric-bill-boosting impact of power tools.

San Jose resident Keith Bush been creating large and small-scale sculptures for both indoor and outdoor, private and public spaces for more than 30 years. After starting as a painter, Bush moved into sculpting where he employs vibrant color and design to combine a “Wow” factor with peace and thoughtfulness. He went solar to keep up with growing electric demand of his new craft and is known for his social commentary, including creating the world's largest Breast Cancer Ribbon—a nice fit for breast cancer awareness month in October—and “The Educators,” a series of eight sculptures commemorating the 150th anniversary of the San Jose State University.

The solar installations were handled by 'energy concierge' Gen110, which has managed more than 1,200 solar installations across the South Bay since 2009. The company scouts heavy energy users who can save money right away by going solar and provides a high-touch customer facing approach to make going solar as easy as possible. Gen110 pays for a home solar system up front and sells power directly to homeowners like the artists just like PG&E, protecting them from utility rate hikes to the tune of saving $37k over 20 years.