Maybe it’s the steady stream of ex-AOLers. Maybe it’s increasing numbers of tech-minded graduates from local universities. Whatever the reason, there’s a thriving and energetic new media community in the greater DC area, and it’s exciting to be a part of it.
The latest round of Frank Gruber’s (Somewhat Frank) Tech Cocktail series took place last night in DuPont Circle, and as usual when it comes to this crowd, it was packed with people with great ideas. I shared demo space with Ann Bernard of Why Go Solo, who’s also spearheading the upcoming Social Dev Camp East. And everywhere I looked in the room there were newly familiar faces from the DC New Media community.
For weeks I’ve been hearing Frank, Ann, Jimmy Gardner, Nick O’Neill and others pump up the vibrancy of the community, and stress the importance of nurturing it. It’s hitting home in a big way. I haven’t lived day-to-day in Silicon Valley, but it’s gratifying to witness first-hand how an entrepreneurial community can fuel itself.
Where does the community go from here, especially in uncertain economic times? In part because of what Loladex is all about, my personal definition of New Media revolves around social networking, which has only scratched the surface of what it can do. Humans have been social networking for a hundred thousand years, and we’re only beginning to figure out how to use the great communications innovation of the 20th Century – the Internet – to facilitate and supercharge social networking.
In the DC area, it’s natural to look for government applications to increase their use of social networking concepts, in conjunction with developments in Enterprise 2.0. Associations and advocacy organizations have been quicker to adopt social networking practices, and the concentration of these organizations in DC ought to appeal to local innovators.
Some have complained about the lack of attention DC’s New Media community gets, but as long events like Tech Cocktail DC keep happening and keep drawing capacity crowds, it won’t go unnoticed for very long.
Posted by Dan Goodman 
