Mass High Tech All-Stars

Last night was the Mass High Tech All-Stars Awards event (with tweet-up following at the bar downstairs) held at the Boston Park Plaza.  The gala event was well attended, showcasing local tech luminaries past, present and (here’s hoping) future.

Awards events can be tedious affairs (not every one has Rock Band Beatles like this event.)  We’ve all stood footsore and bleary-eyed while winners parade up and down a stage, thanking everyone from grandma and grandpa to their cat. Our friends at  Mass High Tech, honoring such a large group every year for the past 15 years, have always managed to avoid that by not allowing the winners to give speeches.  This year, that changed, and kudos to them for the clever way they did it.

They Twitter-ized the proceedings.  In addition to the ubiquitous tweeting from the assembled mob, they allowed the winners to speak but warned them that acceptance speeches of more than 140 characters would help fund “Girls in Tech”  at the rate of $1 per character, with Kate Brodock doing the counting.  I’ve never seen an audience so disappointed when speakers didn’t run long(er).

Maybe it was  Yankee thrift but among the 15 winners, it seemed that no one will be paying out more than a few bucks — to be fair, several went over on purpose but no REAL BIG spenders.  Darn.  This was a golden opportunity for someone to stand up and make a real big (and long) public statement on how Massachusetts tech companies support local charities, especially one so important to the industry.  (I would have been OK with, “Settle in folks, I’m gonna make you late for breakfast…)

And they would have been making that pitch to a room full of right people – Mass High Tech events bring out the industry leaders.  The room was full of people whose names appear on plaques on walls, if you catch my drift — the real influencers in the community.  Where they lead, others follow.

Speaking of industry leaders, @MassInno plunked down in the “open seating” section of the ballroom and Joyce Plotkin (president emerita, Mass TLC — we want to be Joyce and Mass TLC when we collectively grow up) sat down next to us, then Bob Metcalfe sat down next to her, and then Gregory Bialecki, Massachusetts Secretary of Housing & Economic Development sat down next to him.  (That’s only going around the table in one direction.)

There are lots of local tech companies who do tremendous charity work — we’ve all seen them doing it.  We all need to do it ourselves.  And, if you can’t afford $$$, give of yourself, of your time, expertise, and energy.  Somewhere, someone needs your help.

P.S. Tweetups are us

The addition of a Tweetup after-party was a great idea.  Many of the winners spent more than a little time in the downstairs bar with attendees who cared to stay late, those coming from other events, and the social media crowd who recognized a great opportunity to mingle.  All too often, the “paid” events end up keeping out the younger entrepreneurs who could benefit greatly by spending time with those who have “been there, done that.”

P.P.S. Check out some of the other blog posts, stories about the event: Scott Kirsner’s Innovation Economy post, (Congrats, Scott and thanks for the Mass Innovation Nights mention!), Bill Warner’s cool photos and pix, and Mass High Tech’s own story.