More than 20 high-tech companies, including Google, JibJab and Mogreet, will participate in a company showcase Thursday during a "Silicon Beach" town hall in Venice that will include a moderated panel discussion.
The Venice Neighborhood Council and the Venice Chamber of Commerce are hosting the town hall meeting to discuss the emergence of Silicon Beach in Venice and the Westside.
Internet giant Google, which opened offices last year in Venice, will be among the numerous high-tech companies on hand during the showcase. Other Venice-based companies participating in the showcase include mobile marketers Mogreet, animators JibJab and visual effects house Digital Domain. Other participants include director Guillermo del Toro's high-tech production and design workshop Mirada, Demand Media, Wemo Media, Nexon and Fishbowl.
Los Angeles City Councilman Bill Rosendahl will moderate a one-hour panel discussion on "The Emergence of Silicon Beach" that will touch on a variety of topics concerning Silicon Beach. The panel will include Tom Williams, a senior engineer at Google; James Citron, CEO of Mogreet; Jeff Solomon, co-fouder of Amplify LA and JJ Aguhob, co-founder of Viddy.
Silicon Beach has emerged as a Southern California version of Northern California's Silicon Valley with dozens of high-tech companies setting up shop in coastal areas stretching from Santa Monica through the South Bay, including Santa Monica, Venice, Marina del Rey, Playa del Rey, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach and Hermosa Beach.
The event will take place at Westminster Avenue Elementary School, 1010 Abbot Kinney Blvd, with an hour-long company showcase at 6:30 p.m., followed by the one-hour panel discussion at 7:30 p.m.
The free town hall is open to the public and has its own Facebook page. The official after-party will be held at the Venice Ale House.
