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The monthly Providence Geeks gathering happens tonight in the AS220 storefront at 115 Empire St. beginning at 5:30. Grab a beer and a nametag and mingle with a wide range of folks interested in the local tech scene.

Cofounder Jack Templin set the tone in his announcement of the very first geek meet in February 2006:

Topics of conversation will vary as they will at any gathering of geeks, but many of us will be talking about AJAX, Mashups, Startups, and Web Services.

There's always a brief presentation of an interesting local project and tonight's is by software developer Jeffrey Hagen of Providence startup Digication.

Digication provides an easy way for schools to create online communities and for teachers and students to showcase their work. Digication is founded by faculty at RISD’s Art + Design Education Department. Digication was made available to US schools in August 2006, within 10 months, it has attracted users from over 1000 schools in all 50 states in the US.

Providence Phoenix news editor Ian Donnis profiled the geeks in last week's issue. From Geek Power,

Providence Phoenix photo Geeks, from left: Soren Ryherd, Providence Geeks co-founders Jack Templin and Brian Jepson, Matt Obert, Sam Killay and Jef Nickerson.

Getting Rhode Island’s geeks out of their solitary fluorescent-lit dens was a natural, says Templin, his tongue partly in cheek, since, like artists and entrepreneurs, they are marked by a passion for their work and a strong interest in sharing ideas. While the dinners are decidedly casual — the chance to grab a taco and a beer from AS220’s in-house Taqueria Pacifica — a different Rhode Island start-up is highlighted at each dinner, and more than 100 geeks, their admirers, and the simply curious cycle through in the course of a night.

As simple as it sounds, Templin says, there’s no replacement for making the creative entrepreneurs at these get-togethers aware of one another, and their work and needs: “Who’s doing what down the street? How is it complimentary? Who has money to invest? Who has needs for my talent? We’re seeing hiring, collaboration, investment. We’re seeing all that stuff,” he says, “and that stuff adds up.”

It's called a dinner because you can munch through the presentation: The adjoining Taqueria Pacifica offers food and a bar, but don't expect banquet tables. Come as you are, of course.

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