One of my favorite things about tech and innovation in Chicago is the passion of the community. However, that passion can lovingly dip into self-parody every now and then, especially at Techweek where some of the industry's sillier stereotypes and cliches are on full display.
Here are the 8 most "startup-y" things seen at Techweek:
1: Pong: KillerSpin has a solid presence at Techweek with a couple Ping Pong tables tucked in the corner of the conference. They are always occupied. And the games are a tad too intense.
2: Sports? During the US/Germany game, there were several people watching a couple guys playing FIFA 2014 from afar thinking that the video game was the actual game.
3: Logo Wear: The logo t-shirt underneath the sports coat is the unofficial startup uniform. And it needs to go. (Full disclosure, I'm guilty of this 3-4 times a week).
4: Light Weights: At any tech conference, the attendees go from sober to, um, "un-sober" really quickly. Happy Hour at Techweek really only needs to be 10 minutes. (At 4.15 yesterday, a lovely older woman who was posted up at the bar complimented me on my eyes, so I'm not complaining).
5. Empty Front Rows: Again, I'm part of the guilty party - back of the bus 4L! - but why do we never want to sit in the front row? At the Internet of Things panel, I saw a couple people standing in the back rather than sit up front.
6. Badge All Day: If you give us a badge, we're going to wear it all day - even out to dinner or at the Eric Prydz concert.
7. Pitch'n: Even if you just want to quietly eat a donut for a minute or so, if you're idle for too long in the startup section, you're going to get pitched.
8. The Intro Joke: Nothing falls flat quite like a vanilla joke made when introducing a panel speaker.
