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Your time is limited (so is mine).  Here are the things really worthy paying attention to.  You’ll find most VCs, entrepreneurs, and industry insiders plugged into some subset of these.

If You Read One Thing Each Day

• Good Morning Silicon Valley – the daily news digest from the paper-of-record for Silicon Valley, the San Jose Mercury News.  A daily must-read that provides a perfect-size tech-news summary with links to noteworthy articles.  Subscribe to the e-mail version so you don’t lose an issue.

Online Media

• AllThingsD (by Wall Street Journal reporters.  Especially good is Digital Daily written by the former GMSV reporter, John Paczkowski).
• Wired News (daily tech news).
• TechCrunch (startup & tech industry coverage).
• GigaOm (startup & tech industry coverage).
• BusinessInsider’s Silicon Alley Insider – I particularly like the Chart of the Day (link to Twitter feed).
• CNet News (always worth a scan of RSS headlines).
• Things I check less regularly include VentureBeat, the often ignored but truly excellent SeekingAlpha (stocks), and gadget blogs like Gizmodo, GDGT, Engadget.
• TermSheet (VC/Private Equity activity) by Boston-based Dan Primack of Fortune – insider-ish, but a must-read for those interested in the PE/VC space as you’ll get to know names/players/dynamics & state-of-the-markets.
• Bostinnovation is a great source that writes about local tech/entrepreneurship happenings.
• Stanford e-Corner podcasts & videos.

Mainstream Media (MSM)

• Wired Magazine
• FastCompany
• New York Times Technology
• BusinessWeek Tech
• Fortune/CNN Technology
• Forbes BusinessTech

Boston College

• BCVC (Boston College Venture Competition) – compete for $15K in prize money, be paired with a mentor, teams must be 50% BC undergrads. They also run an Elevator Pitch Competition each Fall (pitch your idea to investors in 60 seconds flat, get instant feedback, win cash & trophies).  Participants should also join the BCVC Facebook Group and follow them on Twitter: @BostonCollegeVC.
• Undergrads should consider joining the IS Academy (Twitter @bcisacademy, E-mail: isacademybc@gmail.com), and also the their partner organization the Computer Science Academy (Twitter: @BCCSSociety),  while graduate students should join the BC Graduate TechClub (Twitter: @bcgradtechclub; contact bcgradtechnologyclub@gmail.com; BC Grad Tech Club on Facebook).  All groups co-sponsor campus speakers & run local TechTrek-style visits to area firms.
• Students interested in social entrepreneurship should consider joining BC SEED (e-mail: plantchange@gmail.com, twitter @bcseed, BCSEED on Facebook). They also run local visits & have speakers to campus.
• Boston College Technology Council – Dinner and breakfast series attracting A-list speakers and great networking.  For BC alumni and parents.  There is also a Silicon Valley chapter.
• Chief Executive Club – Boston College – Often voted the top speaker forum in the country (ahead of the National Press Club and Detroit Economic Forum), the CEO Club attracts top-tier CEOs.  Club membership required, but occasionally the Deans will invite students.  Videos are often served via Boston College Front Row.
• BC also has a thriving presence on Twitter, including @BostonCollege, @BCAlumni, and @BCchronicle.  BC is also on Facebook and there are several thriving BC groups on LinkedIn.

Local Events

• Greenhorn Connect – great directory of local, entrepreneurship & tech events.
• Women’s Entrepreneurial Council – an active community supporting Boston-area women entrepreneurs.  We need more women starting businesses (and my daughters need more role models)!
• MIT Enterprise Forum
• Harvard Cyberposium (annual weekend conference attracting star-caliber panels)
• Innovation Open Houses (Facebook Group), and Scott Kirsner’s Blog – cool Boston-area firms open their doors for student visits.
• Boston Web Innovator’s Group – events & meetups.
• Mass TLC (Technology Leadership Council) – many events, the Fall MassTLC UnConference is considered one of the best events for tech entrepreneurship in the Boston area.
• DartBoston – runs the Pokin’ Holes and Capitalize events (and webcast if you can’t attend), where entrepreneurs pitch their ideas & get on-the-spot feedback from experts. Must-see viewing for BCVC teams!
• MIT BiG (Business in Gaming conference)
• Boston Area Game Developer Meetups – small, informal meetings for area game coders.
• Boston BizSpark Meetups.
• EurekaFest & the Cambridge Science Festival – events that celebrate invention & science.  Family fun!
• Mass Innovation Nights – free launch parties at the Charles River Museum of Industry & Innovation, connecting entrepreneurs with the marketplace.
• MITX (Mass Innovation & Technology Exchange) – professional association for area digital media, marketing, and tech pros.
• Open Coffee – entrepreneur’s gathering co-founded by BC Alum Bijan Sabet of Spark Capital.
• Local investor Rob Go offers additional resources in the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Boston Tech Community.

Entrepreneurs and Startup Internships

• True Ventures TEC (Silicon Valley – have regularly selected BC students)
• Y-Combinator (Silicon Valley).  Sequoia-affiliated early-stage funding/coaching.  BC Teams have participated in previous YC rounds, and two BC alums are at Sequoia.  Also note YC resources Hacker News at: news.ycombinator.com and searchyc.com.

• TechStars Boston (get $18K in seed funding, plus mentoring and pitch opportunities, BC Team has participated in TechStars).
• Highland Capital Partners Summer at Highland (two BC alums are Highland Partners – Dan Nova and Prof. Peter Bell)
• Spark Capital’s Summer@Spark (Spark Partner Bijan Sabet is a BC alum)
• .406 Ventures has a Student Fellows program that develops deal sourcing skills for undergrads & grads.  Current contacts are: Graham Brooks <gbrooks@406ventures.com> and Graham Brooks <gbrooks@406ventures.com>
• MassChallenge – global startup competition & accelerator.
• Stay in MA – a Flybridge Capital Partners event scholarship program that funds event costs (up to $100/event) for Massachusetts-based college students.
• The Awesome Foundation – modest ($1,000) grants and BetaHouse co-working space, offered monthly to those deemed to be working on, well, something awesome.
• There are several great job boards for finding internships at startups, including Startuply, TechCrunch’s CrunchBoard, and Mashable Jobs.
• StartupDigest offers mailings of startup evnets in select cities.

Key players in all of these efforts are on Twitter.  Follow those that you are interested in!

Put these things into an RSS reader and scan headlines.  There’s a lot I didn’t include, but hey, there’s only so much free time in a day!  If you feel super-passionately about a resource or opportunity, shoot it to me along with a brief summary on why it’s important.

Still pressed for time?  That’s what the Week in Geek‘s for!

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