Ycombinator, a technology incubator based in Mountain View and Silicon Valley, is taking applications (http://ycombinator.com/w2009.html)  through Friday, October 17th 10pm PST for its winter 2008 incubator cycle. A small group of us are interested in seeing if we can help increase the percentage of women accepted this time around. So--

If you are a woman who is planning to apply to ycombinator for this cycle and you'd like to have some mentoring and support before you submit your application from an  experienced woman  CEO/executive, there's a small group of people who are interested in working with you (yes, I am one of them).

To get involved with this group and ideally paired with a mentor, send an email with contact information and information about your proposal to pinkgaragementors@gmail.com; we'll circulate your information among our team and reach back to you.

If you are mentored, you will receive an hour or more of coaching with a woman  exec who has been through a tech incubator program, has been a tech CEO or co-founder or is a VC.

"When I look back at the dotcom apocalypse that was 2000 - 2002, I realize some of the best companies I've ever been involved in were created during that time.  In the midst of this, I remember the endless stream of "the Internet is over" and "the information technology business in now a mature business and there will never be innovation again."  Yeah - whatever."

brad feld, feld thoughts, sharing his view of the current meltdown and how startups should respond.

Yahoo stock $13.76 a share. Yeah, Jerry & Sue.

Melissa's got a nice talk about the crowd-sourcing of sex ed up.

We had about 40 people come to talk about the Knight News Challenge 08; deadline is November 1st, so this is the month to get your idea together and submit it. Some links and photos here:

SillyGailo on #KNC08 and the meet up

Trish Hussey pix(these are great!)

Space for VAN ideas and collaboration

Twitter feedback

So, I've been in Berkeley for two weeks and I love it here.
My little area in the flats has a much more active sense of community than my Palo Alto area did, and the mixed use, somewhat raffish range of stores on San Pablo around University has an ethnic diversity and charm that speaks to me (and reminds me of Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn). There are also a wide range of cafes, like the wonderful Cafe Leilia ( keep going there instead of exploring further), panderias, and so on.  The streets have the individualist architecture, mostly 20s-40s, that I enjoyed so much when I lived in Naglee Park in San Jose, and walking the dogs is a blast because there's endless detail to look at.

Of course, though, what makes Berkeley most distinctive are the people.

First of all, I have never been around such a broad assortment of old (60+) radicals in my life, There are lots of people here who clearly worked hard to put the Free in Free Speech and just left left (or let up.) I was totally reminded of that at the George Lakoff talk last week, when a fairly imposing woman got up to make a statement and prefaced her exortion to political action with the reminder she had lots of graduate degrees and had gotten good grades in all her classes.  I was reminded again when the mostly middle-aged audience at the talk started heckling the local librarian to turn the video off and get on with the program already. For someone who lived a chunk of her life in Brooklyn, this urban over-educated smartass behavior is just delightful.

Secondly, there's a diversity of age and race that wasn't as accessible to me on the Peninsula. The broader community I have access to in the East Bay is far more diverse--and far more integrated--than the tech crowd in the Valley, so I feel privileged to have roots in one and be building new ties in another.  The folks in Berkeley and Oakland who are into co-housing, sustainabilty and environmental justice are also interesting to me, and I'm very much enjoying the chance to deepen my sense of purpose around social change, very much right now through learning what others are doing.

And finally, there's a richness of art and music that is greater here than other places I have lived recently. All the small clubs and venues mean there are outlets and rehearsal spaces for musicians, and the warehouses and studios mean that welders, fabricators, theatre people and lots of other types have room to create as well, I am still learning my way around, but it's something new to savor, (And did I mention all the great events at the Hillside Club?)

Yeah, Berkeley seems special. And while I am here, I am going to savor it.

So Melissa and Jackson are among the people who lost their jobs at Gawker Media  this week--damn!

There s dignity in getting laid off in a recession, but it doesn't make losing your job in the last quarter of the year--the classic layoff time everywhere--any easier to bear. Hopefully, some other sites that are expanding will pick up these super-talented writers, or start up bears will descend with cash and fund the latest bit of boffery or whatever.

Meanwhile, stories about the cuts are circulating, Owen has penned a homage of sorts to Mr. West, and  a big vanilla milkshake of a farewell to Melissa. Now, that's classy(as is the quick pick up of lots more work Owen and Paul Boutin seem to have done so smoothly.)

Where's the rest of the wreckage? Denton says he wants to support the big winners and invest in those poised for success--Jezebel, io9, Deadspin and Jalopnik as the newbies and Gizmodo, Kotaku, Lifehacker and Gawker as the cash cows. That means FleshBot, Valleywag and Consumerist get the cuts.

Clearly, everyone is scared and no one knows how bad the ad market is going to get. BizWeek's response to the news was  the following: " If this is happening at a Web-only company with low costs (ask any past or former Gawker Media employee about their pay, but first prepare yourself for an earful) and impressive traffic, one has to wonder: what shoes are about to drop on, well, just about any- and everything else?"

Susan sez: It's cleat if advertising is doubling down, known quantities and narrowly targeted demographics will be sweet spots, but I wonder if advertisers will run right past Gawker and into the arms of BlogHer, Hearst and other women-focused networks for their CPG and product launch needs?

Update: Just caught that Jonno got the slip at Fleshbot and the lovely Lux of Boinkology will take over. Hmmmnnnnnnnn.

We've got two meet ups planned for the Pacific Northwest--one in Seattle and another in Vancouver. Details here:

• Oct 6: Vancouver: 7:00pm - 9:00pm; Rain City Studios, 420-1 Alexander Street, Vancouver, BC http://www.new.facebook.com/home.php#/event.php?eid=73319110202.
• Oct. 7: Seattle: 7:00pm - 8:30pm, Location TBD.
  http://www.new.facebook.com/event.php?eid=53805617176.

However, I'm hoping someone can give me some help in getting the word out in Seattle--the guest list so far seems really small, far smaller than in any other location we've done one of these.
 If you're reading this and are a blogger or have Seattle connections can you help spread the word? Full details about all meet ups are on the KNC home page, newschallenge.org.

Thx

Jeff Clavier, Craig Newmark, Gabe Rivera, Maria Thomas, are among the people covered in a new BizWeek slide show. Seeking Gabe there, in particular, is a kick,

Jeff Clavier, Craig Newmark, Gabe Rivera, Maria Thomas, are among the people covered in a new BizWeek slide show. Seeking Gabe there, in particular, is a kick,