While the subject of this post isn’t strictly an “event,” there is a deadline associated with it, so we’re going to bend the rules a bit.

The City of Seattle is seeking new members for a Seattle Citizens’ Telecommunications and Technology Advisory Board. The full press release is available after jump, but in a nutshell, the 16-member board advises city officials on issues of community-wide interest relating to telecommunications and technology, including cable television access and community technology access. Members of the board are residents of the City of Seattle and are appointed by the mayor for 2-year terms. During their tenure, board members attend monthly meetings and may participate in a few other related events. Members are not compensated.

If you’re interested in promoting technology in Seattle and shaping city policy to get community residents better connected, this is a great opportunity. The deadline for expressing your interest is October 20. See details below for where to send your resume and cover letter.

NEWS ADVISORY

SUBJECT: Seeking telecommunications and technology advisory board members
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
10/8/2008 4:23:00 AMFOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jill Novik (206) 684-8583
Kristine Kertson (206) 233-0073
Karin Zaugg Black, Mayor’s Office (206) 684-8358
Seeking telecommunications and technology advisory board members

SEATTLE – Mayor Greg Nickels is seeking candidates for the Citizens’ Telecommunications and Technology Advisory Board (CTTAB) for terms beginning in January, 2009. Members are appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the City Council to serve a two-year term. Board members must reside in Seattle and serve without compensation.

“I urge those with a strong background in technology and telecommunications with a passion for keeping Seattle in the forefront of technology to consider this important work,” said Mayor Nickels.

The 16-member board advises city officials on issues of community-wide interest relating to telecommunications and technology, including cable television access and community technology access.

The board is involved in the Community Technology Matching Fund and My Neighborhood Map, a Seattle geographic information system available to the public. The board has also been actively involved in the City’s exploration of providing fiber to the premises, the digital television transition and looking at ways to make boards and commission meetings more accessible to the public through technology via podcasting and other methods.

The CTTAB reflects a broad range of professional and community experience and perspectives and seeks to be representative of the cultural diversity of the Seattle community. It includes residents from different city neighborhoods, members of various technology or telecommunications concerns, educational institutions, lawyers, and media activists. The board is seeking candidates from fields related to telecommunications or technology.

Participation in the CTTAB requires attendance at monthly meetings (second Tuesday of each month) and participation in at least one sub-committee that meets monthly. Board members also attend and participate in infrequent relevant public meetings and events.

To be considered for appointment to the Board, please email or send a letter of interest and résumé by October 20, 2008. In keeping with Mayor Nickels’ “Paper Cuts” program, electronic submissions are preferred. E-mail your letter and résumé to Jill Novik at jill.novik@seattle.gov including CTTAB in the subject heading or mail them to:

Jill Novik
Department of Information Technology
City of Seattle
700 – 5th Avenue, Suite 2700
P.O. Box 94709
Seattle, Washington 98124-4709
The Nickels Administration is committed to promoting diversity in the city’s boards and commissions. Women, senior citizens, persons with disabilities, sexual minorities, and persons of color are encouraged to apply.

Visit the Mayor’s Web site at www.seattle.gov/mayor. Get the Mayor’s inside view on efforts to promote transportation, public safety, economic opportunity and healthy communities by signing up for The Nickels Newsletter at www.seattle.gov/mayor/newsletter_signup.htm

The Six Hour Startup concept has been kicking around Seattle for the last few months, with two solid projects under it’s belt: tagmindr.com and gamewrangle.com. Over the course of a Saturday afternoon a group of about 15 people or so all gather to put togther a rapid-prototype startup. You can read a bit more on the first iteration from John Cook’s article back in October.

The next Six Hour Startup session is coming up this weekend, and it’s going to be a little different: we’re going meta. I’m actually running this group and we’re focusing on the SHS web presence, or lack thereof. We want to start telling more of the SHS story, setting up a blog and maybe some other content, focusing on the goals and vision of the overall project. But by the end of the day, we intend to make a serious push of information about this new Startup project – call it Guerrilla Marketing.

This particular session is going to focus a lot less on tech and hackery and more on marketing, BizDev, general blogging and spreading ideas. So if you’re curious about Six Hour Startup, but have been nervous about your tech skills, feel free to stop by and observe for a little while. And of course if you have any useful skills along these lines, please show up as well. This is a joint venture with SoDo Saturday House, so there will be lots of people working on a whole bunch of different projects. You can get more information by signing up on the Six Hour Startup mailing list.

The Seattle tech scene is abuzz right now with the news that Startup Weekend is coming to Emerald City. This will be the 14th such event, and if previous instances are any indication (San Francisco, London, Atlanta, etc.), then it should be a blast.

Participants gather on a Friday night, without any knowledge of what they’re going to create, or how it’s all going to come together. About 54 hours later (sometime late Sunday / early Monday), the product is launched and everyone celebrates. It’s not really clear if the sites they build are overwhelming successes, but the point of it all is really “building community and a company in a weekend”. Tickets are $20, which covers basic operating costs for the event. But register soon, it looks like it’s going to fill up fast.

If you’re interested in some similar events that occur more regularly around Seattle, you should check out the Tech Startups group or the Six Hour Startup list (which I help run).