User Generated Book Tour Archive

Where's the Love Boulder?

At first glance, it appears the title of this post could also serve as the title of a seventies-style lite rock album. Hm. Truth be told, Sarah and I are feeling pretty chilled out after amazing beach-filled holidays with our families. Which is why we're really pumped for the LAST tour stop on the epic User Generated Book Tour: Boulder, Colorado!

It's been a rocky road getting to this final stop, what with some crazy unforeseen scheduling conflicts, so kudos are in order for New Tech organizers Robert Reich and Micah Baldwin. Thanks to their undying enthusiasm, Sarah will be appearing at the December Boulder Denver New Technology Meet-up on THIS Tuesday, December 2nd with books and t-shirts to sell, and pen poised to sign. (more details here)

However, Robert and Micah are probably the only two Boulder-ites (Boulder-ians?) that I can think of as we've heard nary a peep from the rest of you! Despite numerous requests for return trips to neighboring cities like Portland and Seattle, Sarah's had her reporter's eye trained on Boulder. Yet, we've had crickets chirping in return. I mean, Boulder's constantly touted as a hotbed of entrepreneurial and tech activity, right? So what gives? Where's the fire that led Sarah to select Boulder as a UGBT stop in the first place?

Here's my proposition: SarahLacy.com will be in town for one night only, and we want Boulder entrepreneurs to show Silicon Valley's top reporter what mountain men and women are really made of. If anything, it would be terrific to end the UGBT with an icy beer and a bang! So BE THERE.

Really, it's easy. Easy like a Tuesday evening. (How's that for some seventies-inspired cheese?)

Houston: I'm Talkin' to YOU

Sarah couldn't have said it better early this morning. It seems we keep looking at each other with watery eyes that say "It's just this month that's so crazy, not next month right? RIGHT?" She's quite the trooper. I just attempt to keep up with her, which undoubtedly involves a lot of focus, drive, caffeine, and alcohol.

Coincidently, that last one is very apparent, given that I came home yesterday to a giftbox of lovely martini glasses resting on the coffee table. Thus, we just want to let Erica O'Grady and Matthew Wettergreen of Caroline Collective, and the rest of the  folks in Houston know that they are not forgotten! We have some great footage on the way! It's just being tackled in a foggy, sleep-deprived, round-about manner. Kind of like the cab ride below.

Quick Disclaimer: now, we've had some wackadoodle taxi experiences on this UGBT tour. Austin? I think I groped a pedi-cabber the first night, and decided it was appropriate to recount the story to Earl, our driver the next day, who then laughed so hard he got lost in the AMD parking garage. Whoops. And there was the Memphis cabbie, who tried to kill us by going 80 mph down the quiet neighborhood street we grew up on, and then refused to help with our bags. Typical. And who can forget our Toronto taxi experience? I believe the seats were upholstered to look like Winnie the Pooh, complete with ears. And the West African driver kept shouting "MAMMA MIA" and giggling. Weird.

And yet, they all knew where they were going. Which is more than I can say for the new guy below... ah bless his heart (said through gritted teeth).

BREAKING: I Actually Like a Republican

So apparently there was some big Orange Festival-Carnival-Dance-To Do or something in Houston that anyone who is anyone goes to….the same night as my signing. Brilliant timing right?

Actually, yes. I’m always secretly happy for a small intimate crowd because you can actually have deep conversations with people. I had quite a few last night. One guy marched up, barked a few questions at me including “WHAT VCS DO YOU KNOW?” to which I blankly stared and finally asked how long he had. I mean, it’s pretty much been my job for ten years to know as many as possible. It’s a bit like asking an Eskimo to describe all the snowflakes he’s ever seen. Said guy also informed me if you had an innovative new drill bit you could start a company in Houston. Otherwise, you leave. Period. Not a single good software developer to be found in the city limits. He was there for “free babysitting” and then getting the hell out. And then he marched off. As someone who loves efficiency and bold statements, he was a man after my own heart.

Olivia and I also got personality tests that showed—among other things—we have no secrets and my husband is like candy to me: The sweetest part of my life, but it can also give me a toothache at times. Also, Olivia sees problems in life like a little chipmunk she can solve by patting them on the head. (Delusional!) I see them as a big grizzly bear on hind legs charging at me. What do I do? MACE THE BITCH! (Bad ass!) We lifecasted the “readings”….posts to come later.

But I have to say the single best conversation I had was with David Wallace, with whom I shared the event. David wrote “One Nation Under Blog” and is the former mayor of Sugar Land, Texas. He’s a Texas republican who was introduced to me by my new BFF Erica O'Grady as the man who will one day be President. Another republican Texan as President? You can understand my hesitancy to shake his hand.

But it was perfect at this moment in American history and my own life to do an event where politics and Web 2.0 were colliding. David’s book is about how Web 2.0 is determining the future of politics; my book chronicles the rise of those very technologies. He’s a politician who can’t stop thinking about the Web and its impact. I’m a tech reporter who can’t stop thinking about this upcoming election and its impact. We probably could have talked for about 45 hours, each wanting to somehow can-opener the other’s brain and just cherry-pick the contents.

From the conversations we did have, I have to say W has given Texas republicans an unnecessary bad name. David isn’t a fear-based, reactionary politician. Although terrified by the ugly side of the net-- think pedophiles lurking on MySpace and anonymous bloggers calling him a drug dealer-- as mayor David worked to understand the net and educate parents and schools how kids should be careful using it—not lobby banning it or somehow trying to regulate it. He’s also an avid Twitter user—writing his Twitters himself, not outsourcing it to a staffer. (Wait: does that mean he’s a terrorist?)

During our public chat—which is Qik’ed below—I prefaced a lot of obnoxious statements with “I’m just a crazy San Francisco liberal…” as my way of apologizing in advance for the jerky partisan statement-masquerading-as-a-question I was about to ask. (The recording stops before I go too far, sadly.) One of the things I just had to know was his opinion of McCain picking Sarah Palin as a running mate. He said he was horrified and said we could talk about it more later. We did. And I was impressed with how many issues a crazy San Francisco liberal and a Texas Republican politician could actually agree on. Perhaps the most important thing we agreed on: We both voted for Obama. Boo-ya. I left with a huge appreciation and hope that a non-Karl Rove republican party actually exists in America in larger numbers than it seems and that maybe Sarah Palin isn’t the future of the party—maybe people like David are.

I also got a copy of his book, which I’ll read and review once, um, Erica ships it because apparently I waltzed right out of Caroline Collective leaving it on the table.

UGBT Houston: We Have Lift-off

And you thought the UGBT was over.... After a month living the sedentary life at home in San Francisco (literally-I think I've created a personal butt groove on the living room couch), Sarah and I are itching to get back out on the road. Which is why we are really excited about the Houston stop THIS SATURDAY.

Coordinated by the divine Erica O' Grady, the Houston UGBT event promises to be a combination of three of SarahLacy.com's favorite things: a fantastic co-working space, Caroline Collective; a great group of entrepreneurs; and free food and drinks. Click here for more details and to RSVP!

Of course, there will be books and t-shirts on sale, and Sarah will be poised, pen in hand, to sign your copies and meet as many of you as possible. Also in attendance will be David Wallace, the former mayor of Sugar Land, Texas and author of the new book, One Nation Under Blog. It's a Web 2.0 weekend, folks. So y'all come on out ya hear! (sorry, couldn't resist the temptation... after all, it is Texas)

Calling LONDON

In just a little over a week, Sarah and I will be touching down in London, and the excitement is brewing here at SarahLacy.com HQ (aka the couch). If you've been reading this blog since last spring, you know that Sarah loves the Brits and the Brits (mostly) love Sarah in return. The new UK edition of her book is entitled The Stories of Facebook, Youtube, and Myspace: The People, The Hype, and the Deals behind the Giants of Web 2.0, and accordingly, we're rolling into town for its November 3rd debut.

Of course, most of you already know this- which is why tickets for her book release event "Secrets from Silicon Valley: Sarah Lacy and the Rise of Web 2.0," are almost, ahem, sold out. If you haven't bought your ticket yet, RUN DON'T WALK. The event features a Q&A session and networking opportunity sponsored by Fidelity Ventures and co-hosted by Robert "British Michael Arrington" Loch and Paul "Irish Jason Calacanis" Walsh on Friday, November 7th. C'mon, you know you want to see Sarah grilled onstage by her own British counterpart, the irascibly charming Paul Carr, and the always delightful Mr. Loch himself (provided he's avoided anything lobster-related beforehand...) You also get free drinks and a copy of the book, which Sarah will be more than happy to sign. If you're still too cheap then you can also try and win a ticket here, ok?

In addition, SarahLacy.com will be headed to the Hampstead Tech Meet-up on Wednesday evening, November 5th. But that's not all London. We have a whole six days to see what you have to offer so give us some insider info! Any awesome entrepreneurs or angels we should meet? Co-working spaces we should visit? Pubs we should imbibe in? Let us know!

Leave your suggestions in the comments section or send them to olivia@sarahlacy.com. DO IT.

October Is "Sarah Is a Sucky Blogger Month"

OK, here's the thing. I have about five or six things per day I want to blog about. I have never, ever sat down and thought, "I really want to blog, but what about?" I keep a running list of posts I want to write everyday. So why don't I write six posts a day? Little things called time, husband, sleep, Yahoo and BusinessWeek.

Lately, I've even gotten a few emails from readers asking me to blog about certain topics. That hurts about as much as when I came back from the September leg of my book tour and my poor cat, Mr. Vinnie (pictured here), greeted me with a bald spot on his back. (He'd started to rip out his fur from loneliness. It's grown back since, with much petting and about a bag of Greenies.)

I hate to tell you, but October isn't going to be much better. Last week, I felt like anything I had to say just paled in comparison to the urgency of the election and the crisis of the stock market. It all felt so trivial. This week--and going forward--I have a better excuse. I am writing again. For reals. None of this quippy blog post, video script writing. Chapter writing, bitches!

Once You're Lucy, Twice You're Good is not only debuting in the UK in November under the far more commercial-- and yet equally long-- title, The Stories of Facebook, YouTube and MySpace: The People, the Hype and the Deals Behind the Giants of Web 2.0. (Londoners: Come party with me and buy a signed copy!) But the paperback of the good old U.S. version hits in March 2009. That means a new chapter. A new chapter due, ahem, October 31.

Now, normally I am very deadline-oriented. I'm one of those few dorky authors who actually turned her book in early. But that was when all I was doing was the book. This time, I'm having to squeeze in intensive reporting and writing around an already crammed schedule. Yesterday, that meant a work day that spanned 5 a.m. until 8:30 p.m. and another 5 a.m. wake up today. Since I can't actually mint more hours in the day, this means I won't be able to blog as much as I'd like for the next few weeks.

But here's the good news: I really, really love book writing. I've always described the year I wrote OYLYG as the best year of my life, but really forgot the rush that came along with it until yesterday. Spending hours in deep, substantive conversation with entrepreneurs, seeing the chronology and scenes arrange themselves in my head as they spoke, witnessing the common threads and themes leap out in front of me, and of course, the sleepless night of sentences and paragraphs and structure working itself out in my half-awake dreams like some sort of alternate personality that won't shut up. As I told my husband, I've enjoyed sleeping over the past year, but the intensity? Well, I didn't realize how much I missed that until yesterday.

So even though I'm not quite sure how I'm going to find time to get this chapter done, (on the plane to Kona or on the beach at the Lobby might be necessary options!) I'm thrilled to be writing it and I think conceptually it completes the book in a very profound way. This is what I'm good at. Everything else, I'm just pretending.

(BTW: Yes, book two is in the works. More news when I have it. Meantime, wish me luck...)

Yes, the Rumors Are True...UGBT Is Hitting London

Ok, it's not officially part of the User Generated Book Tour, but Olivia and I are indeed coming to London for a big, big Robert Loch-style party. [Update: Apparently also hosted by Paul Walsh who will hopefully not steal my Blackberry and write Twitters about how hot he is. Hrmph.] Why are we throwing a party? To launch my new book. (Ok, ok it's just the UK edition of the same book only with a far more commercially appealing title...)

We fly out just after we vote for Mr. Obama (holla!!) and hopefully land on Nov. 5 to UK papers trumpeting his victory. (If not, we may just stay in London.)

Now, several of you keep *harassing* me to come to London and have a big party so I fully expect you to be there and bring friends.

Stay tuned for party details...

So, We're Back Home. Finally.

Olivia and I just got home to Sarahlacy.com HQ -- aka my house-- and we're collapsing on the couch, petting some very lonely cats and salivating over an impending feast of Chinese food. I wanted to do a quick post just to thank everyone we met or danced with or sang to or shoved a Flipcam in the face of while we were traveling these past few weeks. We sold lots of books, which is of course the ostensible purpose, but as a reporter it was a life changing experience to get to check out so many tech-scenes around the country. I feel like I have a deeper sense of what it means to be an entrepreneur in America, and what the Web 2.0 movement means beyond the land of Slide, Ning, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook. We must have met thousands of you in what seems like months since we took off for Austin!

A few other blog-keeping notes:

- The lifecasting went over hugely well, with many people saying they felt like they knew us better and lived the tour with us. That said, it sort of took over the site. And for people who missed more standard blog-analysis, it was undoubtedly a bit much. So we're working on a separate video channel that will continue to document our adventures in the Valley and other tech hotbeds. For now, notice the "Video" tab where at least all the videos will be collected and easy to find when you have a few moments to waste in your day.

- Speaking of videos, we've got more footage from Memphis and Toronto coming up so stay tuned! (We're split on whether the karaoke night is actually making it on the site. We're both a little scared to watch it!) Either way, I'll be editing like a fiend all weekend!

- Last night, the transit was down in Toronto and cabs were incredibly scarce so we got a bunch of notes from people who tried to get to the event but couldn't. I left behind about 20 signed copies of the book with Will Willis, in case you live in Toronto and would like one. They are $20. Email Will (dot) Willis (at) bitepr.com. Please don't make him ship them all back to me!

- The UGBT isn't over yet! We've got a very quick stop in Boulder and Houston in November. Check here for details!

And now it's time to revel in an evening of no makeup, no heels, no books to sign (ok, that one never gets old) and as little speaking as possible (ok, who am I kidding here? It's me.)

I miss you all already! Stay in touch! We promise to come back to each city very soon and throw even more epic bashes.

UGBT: Toronto Bound, Y'all!

Unfortunately, we had some plans fall through so we only have one day in Toronto and one Toronto event. So let's make it the best one ever, shall we?

Olivia and I have spent a few days resting, recuperating, and catching up on real work so we are ready to go in Toronto. The event is tomorrow night and sponsored by Bite PR. Sean Mills, of Bite, is long one of my favorite guys in PR (let's face it, one of the only guys in PR...) and he'll be on hand, along with the lovely and talented Kelly McCarthy and the new head of Bite's Toronto office Will Willis-- a guy so nice, they named him twice.

Bite was incredibly generous to tackle this event for us, so I want to make sure it's amazing. I think 45 people have RSVPed so far, but we can do better than that, right? Go here to pile on. I promise a good time with great conversation. Don't believe me? Go here.

This is actually the best endorsement my UGBT has gotten so far, and made me feel truly humbled to be part of the greater Web 2.0 movement: Des Moines, Kansas City and Omaha are planning a new "Highlight Midwest" event to bring together all the cool people doing cool stuff in so-called Fly Over states. I got an incredibly sweet note from Nathan T. Wright of Des Moines-- who calls these three cities the "Triangle of Awesome"-- with the info, saying, "Always remember that our cities got connected because of your book tour! Wooo!" That's what the UGBT is all about-- an excuse to bring like-minded entrepreneurs and passionate Web people together.

So, Toronto, it's your turn. I know close to nothing about the tech scene there, so come on out and show me what you've got. You can't let little old Memphis show you up, right?

UGBT Memphis: Don't Just Spread the Wealth, Focus It

Now that I've heaped praise on one corner of Memphis and its entrepreneur scene, time to criticize a bit. Whether corporate or private, it's clear there's a lot of money to be thrown at building a Memphis-Tech scene. But it's not always being focused in the right spots.

Two examples make the point, I think.