Avencia becomes Azavea, relents on trademark dispute, to launch redesigned site

Update: Technically Philly has received additional information about the reasons behind the name change and is seeking to clarify the confusion.

Robert Cheetham doesn’t want to change his name.

The founder of Avencia doesn’t want to be forced to develop a new brand for his Callowhill-headquartered GIS software firm.

“Avencia will now be known as Azavea – pronounced like “azalea”. There is no particularly good reason for this, and this was not a change that we sought,” Cheetham says. “We liked our name just fine.”

But the change has come just the same, the result of giving into the financial pressures of a three-years-old trademark dispute.

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Event Highlights for March 8-14, 2010

Can we all stop and agree how freakin’ nice it was this weekend?

And there’s even better news: everyday this week is slated to have a high of at least 55 degrees. So ditch your winter coat and skip the usual routine of heading home straight after work. Our event calendar is jam packed you have no excuse to miss out.

This week: the 140 conference strikes again, PSL get happy (and possibly political) and 8static throws down with a free show.

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Friday Q&A: Adam Dotson from SeventySix Capital

Adam Dotson

Technically Philly would like to begin with an apology.

In Tuesday’s VC Roundup, we speculated that ETF Ventures chose their new name based on their proximity. Turns out, the opposite was true.

“The reason we wrote it out (as SeventySix instead of 76), actually, was to not be associated with the highway,” says Associate Adam Dotson.

When the VC firm formally known as Eastern Technology Fund changed its name this week, it was mostly due to the rise in popularity of exchange traded funds, a sort of mutual fund for alternative investments. The resulting confusion between ETF the firm and ETF the investment vehicle prompted the group to rebrand themselves as SeventySix Capital: an homage to what Dotson calls the “entrepreneurial spirit of our founding fathers.”

The company also wanted to have a clearer connection to Philadelphia.

Below, we ask Doston for the rejected names as well as the difference between Philly startups and 67th Ward or D.C. startups.

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Thanks to our weekly sponsors

Technically Philly is made possible by advertisers and sponsors that are important to Philadelphia’s technology community. This week we’d like to thank:

Chariot Solutions – Long-time Technically Philly advertiser Chariot Solutions is host of the annual Emerging Technology for the Enterprise conference. This month, the developer and training partner is promoting the popular conference, which takes place April 8-9.

Springboard Media – Springboard Media is a certified Apple Specialist and retailer based in Center City and now, in Exton. They’ve got a ton of accessories and a great trade-in program that can score you up to $1,500 when you’re ready to upgrade.

Alex Hillman – IndyHall‘s Alex Hillman has signed on as Technically Philly’s first “Philanthropist” sponsor. Be sure to check out his blog.

Nonprofit Technology Resources – Fairmount-based NTR refurbishes used computers and peripherals for families and individuals in Philadelphia who may not otherwise be able to afford to buy a computer. We urge you to donate to this great local cause.

Interested in joining these organizations and individuals in supporting Technically Philly? Check out our ad packages and contact Ad Sales Manager Tara Levin. Can’t find something that fits? We’ll customize a package for you.

Ex-offenders seek training to improve computer literacy

In partnership with Temple University’s Multimedia Urban Reporting Lab, the university’s capstone journalism class, students Chelsea Leposa and Jared Pass will cover neighborhood technology issues for Technically Philly and Philadelphia Neighborhoods through May.

“I’m an individual that wants to try and get ahead in life,” says Hymine, 53, an ex-incarcerated felon who reentered society in 1992 after spending a year in prison for drug possession, who asked Technically Philly to not share his real name.

Hymine’s story illustrates the difficulties and inequalities ex-offenders often face upon returning to society.

Hymine says that he is a military veteran. He served in the Army and the Army Reserves from
for two decades in the 70s and 80s. He is also well educated. He received a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Cheyney University in 1987. In 2006, he returned to Cheyney and received his Master�s in Public Administration. In addition he is currently working on his Doctorate in Human Services through an online program.

Even with his impressive resume, Hymine says finding employment is challenging. “I have one little smear and they treat me like I ain’t shit,” Hymine says.

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Links: Cultivating IT professionals from poor neighborhoods, Drexel gamers and Sency

CIO has a story on the development of IT professionals from impoverished neighborhoods.

Geekadelphia reports on a survey that put Drexel’s video game developing program as the third best in the country.

The Inquirer’s Joe DiStefano has a followup with real time Twitter search engine master Evan Britton and his Sency.

Every Friday morning, we make sure you didn�t miss anything with Friday Tech Links.

Nutter proposes “unprecedented” $120 million IT budget, moves toward paperless

Mayor Nutter has announced plans to significantly invest in city information technology and pursue paperless government efficiencies in an attempt to improve tech infrastructure, cut costs and streamline city services.

“We may not be completely paperless, but we will use less paper,” Nutter said in his budget address to City Council this morning before a packed crowed that filled the historic Council chamber’s floor and balcony seating.

If City Council approves the budget, Nutter says that an “unprecedented” investment in city technology will provide $120 million to improve IT over the next five years, including $25 million in FY11.

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Comcast Roundup: Xfinity is the new iPod, more channels on the way and more

Every Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m. EST, find all the stories you need to know about your friendly telecommunications giant in�the Comcast Roundup. Get�an e-mail subscription for our Comcast news updates.

DEFINITE READS

Another week, another round of questions from Congress about the NBCU/Comcast merger. In this week’s episode, both companies deflected accusations that the merger would result in significant job losses. Also: Brian Roberts gets stuck in a well.

Thanks to its new “World of More” effort to digitize all channels, the company will�will be able to offer 30 more channels to basic subscribers.

The Inky’s Joey D�chatted with CFO Michael J. Angelakis. Among the highlights: Comcast�believes�Xfinity is to Comcast as iPod is to Apple or Windows is to Microsoft.

Below: Comcast gets a new DVR mobile app … and a new public service�announcement.

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Startup Roundup: myYearbook generating $20 million in revenue yearly, 123LinkIt and Mailroom launch

Introducing Technically Philly’s Startup Roundup. Here, we’ll parse out the small pieces that make our greater Startup ecosystem thrive. We want to keep you in touch with the innovations that we can’t quite get to covering, but that deserve highlight. If you’ve got news to share, get in touch.

DEFINITE READS

Mashable reports that myYearbook is generating $20 million in revenue per year, up 70 percent from 2008 and growing, with its base of 20 million users. The company’s virtual currency and virtual goods model was estimated early in its existence to be generating a third of the company’s revenue, as we’ve reported. myYearbook is focusing on expanding its partnerships with gaming platforms like Zynga and SGN with new hire Scott Levine, formerly the Senior Vice President of Corporate Development at Sony Music Entertainment.

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Philadelphia to apply for Google’s experimental ultra-high speed broadband

It wasn’t at a press conference or inside the Inquirer editorial boardroom. The city’s announcement to join the rush for Google’s ultra-high speed fiber broadband came during a few minutes of a presentation, backed by dense slides at a technology community event inside a rock venue.

“Let’s light this joint up,” city Chief Technology Officer Allan Frank said, throwing his hands in the air and walking off stage at the fifth Ignite Philly, seemingly surprised by the cheers and laughs the slide earned.

The announcement at Johnny Brenda’s last night, a bar filled with mostly 20 and 30-somethings, came 10 months after Frank first unveiled his $100 million city technology investment vision to Refresh Philly, another young, hip, technology community event staple. Technically Philly urged continued involvement by the community and Frank and, in many ways, that’s continued.

The decision marks something of a marriage between likely the city’s two most prominent officials whom have hands in the region’s technology community: the son of a former mayor and, as City Councilman Bill Green put it last night, “the baddest ass CTO of any city, Allan Frank.”

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