Now that I got done with AlwaysON NYC - while blogging at a Brooklyn Cafe near my studio, I came across Jason Calacanis's post about the TechCrunch 20 conference he's helping to put together with TechCrunch.
I began to wonder if the companies featured at AlwaysON, esp the new companies, had to pay in order to present at the conference:
"....It's wrong on so many levels (as a lot of folks have pointed out).
First, the best companies would never be able to afford that fee. This means the most promising companies who need the exposure the most--and who the audience would most want to see--never make it to the stage. When Kevin Rose started digg he was broke--he could NEVER have afforded demo. When I started Weblogs, Inc. with Brian we were really broke (in fact Brian had taken a second mortgage to build the company!)--we could never have afforded demo. I suspect that most of the great and up-and-coming Web 2.0 companies wouldn't have been able to cut that $20,000 check (or $12,000 as the case may be). I don't think a YouTube, TechMeme, Blogger, StumbleUpon, or CastFire could afford the ticket when they were starting up.
Second, even the good companies that make it to the stage have to spend around $20,000 to pay for their six minutes! What a rip-off."
Until I read Jason's post I had not even given it a thought - but maybe companies that are presenting at a conference need to pay for that.
Anyway, TechCrunch also announced the TechCrunch 20 Conference tonight - wish they were doing it in NYC (maybe they will down the line); seems there are several comments already.
One of the commenters said: "...The startups that are likely to be picked will probably be those of the well-connected entrepreneurs who know you or Jason personally (oh, wait, you call it a “committee”). So don’t make it sound like you are catering to the little guy in the garage ".
So, there's a concern the selection process will be biased.
I'm glad I went to AlwaysON, and that I got a press pass to cover it.
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