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March 10. 2013 6:22PM

'Tech Crawl' offers chance to network in Portsmouth

By GRETYL MACALASTER
Union Leader Correspondent

PORTSMOUTH - A group of tech savvy professionals on the Seacoast will combine dynamic discussion with their love of networking during the eCoast Tech Crawl from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday.

Attendees will visit three different venues in downtown Portsmouth in a unique pub crawl while learning about the local tech economy and trending technology topics.

eCoast board member Anne Brown said the group wanted to combine the educational components of their annual technology summit with the fun of their monthly eBrew events.

"There is a lot going on in the technology and creative industries here, and we wanted to provide another resource where it was sort of a crossover between the networking/camaraderie events with some dynamic content discussion," Brown said.

Brown said the event is targeted towards people working in technology or creative industries, including Web design, development and coding.

"Discussions will be more geared that way, but especially for that third stage of the crawl, anyone interested in networking with the technology community will be interested in that part," Brown said.

Built around the three stages of the software release life cycle, the event will start with an "alpha" stage at Alpha Loft, a co-working space for tech/creative/start-up professionals, where founder and freelance software developer Josh Cyr will talk about the state of the local technology scene while attendees check out one of the Seacoast's successful co-working models.

The crawl's second, or "beta," stage takes place at the Thirsty Moose on Congress Street and will feature three 20-minute topic-driven discussions on trending technologies.

The crawl finishes with "release" at the Press Room on Daniel Street, where eCoast will release a special announcement about upcoming developments with the organization, and crawl-goers can enjoy post-event conversation about the topics discussed.

Food and refreshments are included along the crawl, and there will also be giveaways and prizes.

Brown said reservations are limited to about 50 people for the first two stages, with the Press Room able to accommodate more attendees at the final stop.

Event tickets are $20 and can be purchased online at ecoasttechcrawl.eventbrite.com. Typing in the code "efriend" will reduce the cost by $5.

eCoast was established in 1999 by volunteers from the local technology business community and is a special committee of the Greater Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce.

gmacalaster@newstote.com