How would Twitter have changed the Constitutional Convention?

If Twitter was around in 1787, maybe we’d have a little more insight into the secret proceedings of the Constitutional Convention where our forefathers signed that all-important ancient document.

But at least we can pretend and be enlightened with a little history while we’re at it.

In anticipation of the 223rd anniversary of the signing of the Constitution, Independence Mall’s National Constitution Center is tweeting daily fictional observations as a secret delegate of the convention. [Full Disclosure: Technically Philly's staff is in discussions on collaboration with the National Constitution Center].

The identify of the secret delegate—whose thus far has noted that in 1787 Philadelphia was still as diverse place as it is now and that no, Rhode Island was not present for the convention—will be announced on Constitution Day, September 17. Folks can email their guesses to organizers.

Some of the tweets were sent by an iPhone, which adds another dimension to the imaginative tweets:

Would Ben Franklin have been a Droid or an iPhone guy?

Steven Wray and the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia looks toward 2026

Headshot at center courtesy of Candace diCarlo.

Updated: 5/30/10 @ 11:48 p.m.: Wrong David

It’s 2026 and a lot has changed.

Online databases, tracking codes and service applications have washed over much of the country’s municipalities, making leaner, more transparent and effective local governments, and Philadelphia became among the movement’s leaders. A smarter, cleaner, more efficient mass transportation system shuttles residents from a reshaped Frankford to a recast Kingsessing.

Philadelphia exports enough entertainment, eating, music and culture that we can cool it on the cheesesteak and Rocky references. Our sports teams win, and City Council has enacted smart policies around affordable housing, education and healthcare. Every flashy magazine city list — however those magazines are distributed and in what form — explores our depths.

Philadelphia is again regarded as among the best places to live in the world.

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Comcast: Launching social networking site Turnerfish, a call to drop Hulu and More

DEFINITE READS

• Businessweek reports that in the coming weeks Comcast will unveil a beta version of a social networking service focused on allowing users to share their TV and Internet video watching. The service is currently called ‘Turnerfish.’
• Politico reports that 78 former government officials, including former congressmen, staffers and others, have been registered as Comcast lobbyists in the final quarter of 2009 and first quarter of 2010, in a blitz to push forward its move to purchase a majority stake in NBC Universal. H/T Philly Tech News

Below, we bet you can guess what three governors are leaning on approval of the Comcast-NBC deal, another round of Google-Comcast rivalry brewing and more.

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Shop Talk: Philly Beer Week gets an app

Update: The new version is out.

Edit: Corrected some minor features that aren’t in latest version, clarified Bilotta’s position.

Thanks to a new iPhone app, navigating Philly Beer Week just got a whole lot easier.

Philly Beer Week is a yearly festival – started in 2008 – where the city’s breweries, taverns and restaurants hold tastings and other events to back up the claim that Philly is America’s best beer-drinking city. Something that gets other cities (ahem, Portland) all hot and bothered.

To help Philly Beer Week attendees navigate the hundreds of events as efficiently as possible, the non-profit has enlisted the help of six members of Philly’s CocoaHeads to make a free iPhone application.

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Startup Roundup: Judge backs anonymous flamers in USA Technologies case

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. Follow along with the Startup Roundup’s dedicated RSS feed. If you’ve got news to share, get in touch.

DEFINITE READS

A federal judge has struck down USA Technologies‘ attempt to silence anonymous critics online in a decision that backs First Amendment rights online. Flame on, folks.

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Economy League’s Steven Wray says entrepreneurs can save 2026

In an informal partnership with Philadelphia magazine’s new Philly Post daily news blog, Technically Philly will be offering our insight on Philadelphia technology to a broader audience of tech-interested individuals every Tuesday. As is true of so much of our effort, this is yet another opportunity to voice the triumphs and concerns of the community to a broader audience in the city and beyond.

Inside the pages of this magazine’s December 2008 issue, the 100 moments that most shaped this city were listed in careful detail.

No. 66 was Philadelphia’s 1976 celebration of the 200th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence — and the celebration’s failure to live up to expectations of what could have been a “splashy affair befitting its status as the nation’s birthplace.” Instead, that feature’s contributors dubbed it “a glorified community-theater production of The Music Man.”

Maybe that’s what has the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia and its Executive Director Steven Wray all hot and bothered.

Read the rest here.

VC Roundup: Safeguard is all over the place, NuPathe goes for an IPO

Edit: Removed old Safeguard news.

Welcome to the VC Round-up, where we’ll parse through venture capital news related to Philadelphia-based private equity firms and the companies they fund. Subscribe to the roundup as an email newsletter. If you have any VC-related news to pass along to us, please drop us a line.

MUST READS

MentorTech Ventures has led a $1.1 million Series A round for SeniorHomes.com, a site that helps people search for nursing homes and similar housing. MentorTech primarily invests in companies with founders and senior staff that have some connection to the University of Pennsylvania. CEO Chris Rodde went to Wharton and subsequently wrote a post on TechFlash about raising the cash.

NuPathe, the pharma company focusing primarily on drugs that are absorbed through the skin, continues its quest to take over the world by announcing an IPO. See our previous coverage here including an interview with CEO Jane Hollingsworth.

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Nominate a small business for the Chamber of Commerce Excellence Award

You’ve been hard at work. Or you know someone that has. Now, the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce wants to honor that.

The Chamber is accepting nominees for its 28th annual Excellence Awards, its ceremony for small business owners across the region.

In 10 categories, Philly entrepreneurs will be awarded for their savvy, specifically for categories like small business owner, young entrepreneur, emerging business, sustainable business and yes, even technological excellence.

Past winners have included marketing agency DMi Partners, Vanguard Group and healthcare payment platform InstaMed, among dozens of others. We can already think of a handful of nominees in the last year of our coverage.

Deadline for nominations is June 7.

Events highlights May 24-30, 2010

Clear your Tuesday, folks.

There’s six events that evening, which all go down about the time your stomach starts growling.

Whether you’re looking for media, graphic design, coding or you’re a die-hard Apple user, we can guarantee there’s something to suit your palate.

PANMA wants you to get to know Web security a little better, ‘lil hacker. MediaBistro is in from New York and there’s a newcomer event in Philly, at least to this particular events column.

All events listed on the event calendar are free to attend. Be sure to check our complete calendar for more.

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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:

Spark Networking (May 24th, Cira Center) – Be sure to head out to Spark Networking, an interactive entrepreneurial conference that focuses on developing business ideas and vital business relationships in a creative environment.

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.

Caffeine Fish – Caffeine Fish develops the Trainboard iPhone app and offers iPhone development consulting in the Philadelphia area.

Towerstream – Towerstream is the leading 4G service provider in the U.S. and is setting up shop in Philadelphia. Contact Towerstream to find out how, in less than a week, you can have first-class 4G service for your business.

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.

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