Jackie Danicki

I got back to California from NYC just in time to enjoy a day that reminded me exactly why I yearned to work in Silicon Valley in the first place.

Yesterday was the TechCrunch Real Time Stream Crunchup, a one day conference packed with excellent panel discussions and speakers, plus a handful of fantastic demos (including our own launch of Qik Push APIs and phone-to-phone live video streaming). The content of the day was good and often hilarious - Mike Arrington always cracks me up; I’d love to see him moderate every panel. But, as ever, the best part was who was there. I reconnected with some of my favorite people within seconds of arriving, including Jeff Nolan and Hugh MacLeod:

As he does every year for the summer TechCrunch gathering, Hugh drew a special edition lithograph for the 2009 edition, entitled dream big. techcrunch 2009:

Even before the first panel had started, I’d met one of my longtime tech idols - Danny Sullivan, who is pretty much Mr. Search. I first got to know about him when we both lived in the UK and I was working for Europe’s largest search engine marketing agency, becoming a voracious reader of his prolific, clever output. But yesterday was the first time we’d met, and Danny did not disappoint.

Again, before the event had actually commenced, I also got to catch up with one of my top four people in tech: Kevin Marks, who recently left Google (and was previously at Apple and Technorati and God knows where else). Kevin, along with the aforementioned Jeff Nolan, BT’s JP Rangaswami, and Cubic Telecom’s Pat Phelan, is on my top four tech mensches list. They are all not just brilliant minds but also deeply valued friends, who have been there for me through the best and worst of times. So I was thrilled to learn that Kevin has left Google so he can work with JP at British Telecom. People, the world is going to explode from the awesomeness that results from this pairing - mark my words. (The question is, how do we bring Jeff and Pat in on this? [insert smiley here])

After the full day at the Crunchup (which was conveniently held at the Fox Theater, just downstairs from Qik HQ), I headed to legendary Sand Hill Road - home to so many venture capitalist firms - with Bhaskar, Michael, and our CEO Ramu for the August Capital/TechCrunch summer party. One of the first people I spotted was Mr. Iain Dodsworth, whom I first met at TechCrunch 50 last September. Iain’s the creator of the phenomenal TweetDeck, and had just announced yesterday morning a further $2 million round of funding he’d raised to continue his business’s growth. Iain’s a hard worker and singlehandedly created one of the market leading Twitter apps out there. He and I have seen one another a few times lately and one thing we always talk about is how the tough times of incredible struggle are such a gift, because they teach you so much and lead you to better circumstances. I think $2 million in financing for a killer product, as well as being hunted down at parties by the likes of Guy Kawasaki, counts as “better circumstances”.

Iain and I also had to make Pat Phelan’s ears burn by talking about what a good guy he is, which is exactly the same conversation I then had with Craig Walker from Google Voice. You couldn’t throw a Grey Goose cocktail in that party without splashing someone who’s a Phelan fan.

Finally, it was great to reconnect with Facebook’s Randi Zuckerberg, who is a lot of fun in addition to being wickedly clever. I can’t imagine the kind of pressure she’s under, yet she’s always got a smile and a kind word for everyone.

There were many more valuable discussions had throughout the day, with some of the most important ones not captured on camera. Perhaps the highlight was having a conversation with Hugh MacLeod at the party on my way out. As he signed prints of his lithograph for people, I harangued him to hurry up and draw something for me so I could go home. He then turned our conversation into a cartoon in mere seconds. Title: “I don’t want to pressure you,” she lied. (Anyone who knows me will find that almost too perfect.) Hugh is - and I do not use the word lightly - a true genius, touched by God with a talent that always leaves me awestruck. (Scroll through these cartoons of his if you doubt me.) Ignore Everybody, his new book, is a must-read. The next one is titled Evil Plans. Talk about a killer title.

I don’t typically attend many events in the Valley, because most of them are not like these two. Maybe it’s because there was so much on display that was clearly the result of hard work and ingenuity. My heart always breaks a little for entrepreneurs who demo a product that I think is obviously going nowhere. But you gotta love them for trying, and having the gumption to get up on stage and try their best. And when they get knocked down by failure, odds are good that they’ll get back up and start a new company. Being around this kind of resilient, creative, upbeat crowd just makes me so happy. The recession sure didn’t turn the mood somber, either.

Thanks to the Techcrunch crew - including CEO Heather Harde and logistics magician Daniel Brusilovsky - for busting their backsides to make this such a great day. And thank you to all the dreamers and risk-takers of Silicon Valley, who make this place unlike any other on the planet. I’m often cynical and unkind about some of the seedier aspects of Valley life, but the truth is that it’s a privilege to work and live amongst you.

Filed under: Life