N3rd Street gets hotter [LINKS]

A bubbling of tech firms in Philadelphia’s Old City [Philadelphia Inquirer] “It’s not California’s Silicon Valley, or New York’s Silicon Alley. Instead, this gaggle of geeks is flocking to N3RD Street, a geeky play on words that both describes the nerdy workforce and turns the “E” into a reversed “3”, perfect for a password.”

We love to see more coverage of the ‘gaggle,’though some were critical of the N3rd Street article’s characterization of the corridor: see tweets here and here. Check out our recent coverage of N3rd Street here.

WebLinc a success after some tough times [Philadelphia Inquirer] “Started as a Web-design e-commerce business in the mid-1990s, WebLinc, now housed in Old City, caught the e-wave, expanding in the excitement surrounding the Internet’s then-untapped potential for marketing and sales. But in 2000 and 2001, the dot-com bubble burst, the euphoria faded, venture-capital money evaporated, and a recession ensued.”

WebLinc’s expensive, but worth it meeting [Philadelphia Inquirer] “Here’s one company tradition that Hill absolutely plans to maintain. Every Friday at 4 p.m. there’s a company meeting. People update each other on their projects and whatever sales initiatives are happening are discussed. But the pressure is on for new employees. Each employee must give a 15-20 minute presentation about himself.”

Lead411 launches “Hottest Companies in Pennsylvania” awards [Lead411] Names TicketLeap, appRenaissance, Monetate, ThingWorx and more.

Phila. man, 32, shot dead at 4th and Lombard [Philadelphia Inquirer] The victim, Michael G. Hagan, Jr., was information-technology consultant for a Center City firm. He was tragically shot and killed last Sunday.

Philly Tech News VentureWatch 6/29/2012 [Philly Tech News] “ISGN, the heavily funded and expanding mortgage technology company that had been based in Bensalem, apparently picked up and moved its headquarters early this year to Melbourne, Florida.”

Twitter battle between Councilman Jim Kenney and Buzz Bissinger [Philadelphia Daily News] A Storify of the strange social media fight between the Councilman and the Friday Night Lights author.

Specops Software Appoints New CEO and Expands North American Presence [MarketWire] The Swedish software firm opens up shop in Center City.

Independents’ Day BBQ (July 6) &  IGDA Philadelphia Friends and Family Summer Picnic (July 14)