So you’ve a great product, you’ve spent time and money, working tirelessly to make sure that it’s got all the bells and whistles that you think people will love. But how do you know? Does it really reflect what your customers need or want? Both new and established businesses fall into the same trap, thinking: We have a great product, people are going to love it, and we are going to rake in the dough. The main focus is on product development with minimal contact with customers. But not focusing on customers’ needs and wants can break a business. It’s putting the cart before the horse, and unlike in Field of Dreams, if you build it, they won’t necessarily come.

 It's another great week in the startup scene with exciting events featuring DartBoston with their Family Dinner which includes a night of Bowling at Lucky Strike and Boston University hosting an awesome event for the students and the greater community. There are over 30 different Boston startup entrepreneur networking events and office hours this week. Check out the show and notes below to find out all about them and all the other great happenings in the community this week. And don't forget to check out the Greenhorn Connect Calendar for all your Boston startup entrepreneur networking events and office hours needs.

Some of the most misused and misunderstood terms in technology today are Web 2.0, the cloud, Agile, NoSQL, and HTML5. Today, I'd like to describe where NoSQL came from and how it applies to internet startups in Boston.

NoSQL Summer

The first thing to know is that there is a bi-weekly NoSQL reading group every other Thursday at the Microsoft NERD Center. The next event is July 29th. We read the academic research papers on different techniques, eat dinner together, and discuss the papers, whiteboarding with a gorgeous view of Boston.## SQL

Developed in the 70s and relying heavily on mathematical theory to work efficiently, SQL is a language for talking to relational databases. SQL databases have worked so well that they've become the de facto standard for storing data, particularly on the web. You've no doubt interacted with thousands of web applications that used a SQL database.

Have you ever noticed that girls always seem to travel in groups at night?  Or that smaller guys at the bar always seems to act tougher when “their boys” are around?  Not so much a coincidence.  People are very much a product of their community (or “tribe” as Seth Godin might point out).  In fact this concept of “community” is a very powerful one.  It’s a pretty democratic idea when you think about it.  Community is what empowers petitions and protests to be such powerful tools.  Community is the power of people.

In fact, social media and web 2.0 websites have only made this idea of tribes even more powerful.  Why else would there be well over 40 pages of open “Community Manager” Jobs?  Why would I do what I do at Grasshopper Group and Jason do what he does for oneforty?  Because it works…and businesses need to care about their community now more than ever.  Here are a few reasons why if you don’t have a community manger…you need to hire one:

It's another great week in the startup scene with exciting events featuring Paul English of Kayak talking about Hiring to Cirque de Soleil performers at a street party. There are over 30 different Boston startup entrepreneur networking events and office hours this week. Check out the show and notes below to find out all about them and all the other great happenings in the community this week. And don't forget to check out the Greenhorn Connect Calendar for all your Boston startup entrepreneur networking events and office hours needs.