PodCamp NYC 2.0 - Afterthoughts

I drove up to Brooklyn Polytechnic in New York to attend the Podcamp NYC 2.0 this Saturday. This was my 2nd Podcamp, since I attended and helped out with Podcamp Philly last year. I personally love the idea of Podcamp and that its very laid back and has that “unconference” feel to it. I signed in approximately around 10:30AM and checked out the schedule to see which sessions I would be interested in.

As the day progressed I met several interesting people in the new media sphere, exchanged business cards and enjoyed the atmosphere of this event. I did bump into several friends from Philly that I knew and it was great catching up and and finding out what they were up to.

Attending Podcamp is like walking into the Best Buy store, you see all kind of gadgets and the latest technology. I must have seen dozens of iPhones, Apple Macbooks and even those new Nokia n95’s that several people were streaming live from. At one point my iPhone could not even login to the EDGE network because of so many iPhone in the area! Overall, it was awesome being in the middle of it.

Walking around the campus you can’t help but notice small “cliques” hanging out and chatting with each other. It would have been nice to have a introduction type session where each person, whether they are a newbie to Podcamp or a veteran, introduce themselves and tell a little more about what they do in the new media.

The sessions I attended were:

11AM - Affordable PR using New Media for Non-Profits.Chris Penn & Maria Thurrell

1PM - Chris Brogan, Laura Fitton, and Roxanne Darling: Finding Your New Media Voice

2PM - Relationships 2.0- WankerGirl & Ms. Something

3PM - Chris Penn- New Media Marketing

4PM - Drew Olanoff- “bringing it all together”. Using social media as your toolkit and not a distraction.

I would have to say that I enjoyed the day and would go again next year. My main goal of Podcamp NYC 2.0 was to check out how it was organized and get some tips for this year’s upcoming Podcamp Philly 2.0. I am involved this year as an organizer and invite everyone to attend.

See you in September!

You can see the photos I took at Podcamp NYC 2.0 on my flickr stream.

April 30, 2008 | Filed Under Events, Travel | Comments

PodCamp NYC 2.0 - This Weekend!

This Saturday, I will be attending PodCamp NYC 2. I am taking a ride there with Bill Rowland, a friend of mine who runs an interesting podcast show: PhillyFoodGuys.com. Since both of us are involved in organizing PodCamp Philly 2, this would be a great experience and a great place to network with the industry folks.

I am looking forward to the trip and meeting some people face to face that I only interacted with online. If you are working with podcasts, blogs, social media and any of the web 2.0 technologies, then PodCamp is the perfect “unconference” for you!

Here are some photos from last year: http://flickr.com/search/?q=podcampnyc

I will be posting some photos after the event.

April 25, 2008 | Filed Under Events, Travel | Comments

Vic Sushi Bar - Hidden Gem in Philadelphia

I usually do not write reviews about restaurants I visit, but I decided to create a category for restaurants reviews that I really enjoyed and would like to share with visitors of this Blog.

Last Friday I was working downtown and was invited by my cousin for dinner to Vic Sushi Bar. Several of my friends have been raving about how great the sushi was at this place, so I decided to try it out for myself.

This place is meant for ordering takeout, but if you are lucky enough to grab one of the 6 seats at the sushi bar, then you get to watch the Chefs create their work of art.

I let my cousin Igor order the signature dishes that were recommend by the regulars. First dish we ordered was the Tuna Dumplings. I really enjoyed these Tuna dumplings filled with crunchy mix of avocado, wasabi and a secret ingredient. We had to ask for a second order because it was so good.

Tuna Dumpings VicSushibar

The second appetizer we had was the “Spicy Seafood Salad” (chopped seafood with spicy sauce). This Salad was made out of different fresh chopped fish covered with their signature spicy sauce, small red caviar with diced cucumber. It was very fresh and delicious, if you like sashimi then you have to order this salad!

Spicy Seafood Salad Vicsushibar

As we ate the appetizers we glanced over the sushi bar as Vic did his magic. The quickness and skill of this sushi chef is amazing. The way he prepared the sushi rolls was truly fun to watch. I have to learn to make sushi!

We ordered several special rolls:

Volcano Roll
(spicy tuna avocado roll with spicy sauce on top)

Black Dragon Roll
(eel avocado roll with eel on top)

3 Roll Specials
(fresh made Alaska rolls)

Sansom Roll
(Vic’s creation)

Vicsushibar

The beautiful & unique presentation of the sushi plate added to the experience. We couldn’t wait to try the rolls. The spicy and eel sauce on the plate were perfect with this selection!

As Vic finished preparing our order, he quickly transitioned and started working on the 60 piece sushi plate. I had a chance to snap a photo as he gave it to guests.

Vicsushibar

I would highly recommend this hidden gem for Lunch or Dinner or even a take out. If you have a chance to visit Vic’s Sushi Bar you won’t be disappointed!

Vic’s is located on the northern side of Sansom Street, between 21st and 20th Streets in downtown Philadelphia, just blocks from Rittenhouse Square.

Vic Sushi Bar
2035 Sansom Street
Philadelphia, PA, 19103
215-564-4339

Web: http://www.vicsushibar.com

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Photos taken by Me with Apple Iphone.

April 21, 2008 | Filed Under Reviews | Comments

LinkedIn.com - Reid Hoffman of LinkedIn

I came across a great interview from Venture Voice Podcast about Reid Hoffman, the founder of Linkedin.com.

Real business networking takes place in the country club, at the chamber of commerce and on the golf course. After all, the Internet is just for friending strangers on MySpace and poking friends on Facebook. If you said all that to Reid Hoffman, he might think twice about adding you as a contact in LinkedIn, the business networking site he started that connects over seven million professionals. Although his Palo Alto-based company is now profitable and growing rapidly, Reid still thinks he has yet to hit the tipping point. Reid’s goal wasn’t always to be an entrepreneur: He just wanted to change the world. His original career choice was “public intellectual”. Hear if his career switch is paying off..

Feel free to connect to me on www.linkedin.com/in/sinelnikov

April 5, 2008 | Filed Under LinkedIn, Networking | Comments