E-Commerce

Battle of the bands, tech-style

By // July 18, 2006, 8:39 AM PST // billdetwiler

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  • ITA Software, which makes online reservation systems, is in recruitment mode. It came up with the idea of sponsoring a for groups who had at least one "techie" in them.

    We noticed a strong correlation between musicians and serious hackers, programmers," said Cara Kretz, a vice president of marketing at ITA. "The event gets our brand out there in the tech community."

    Martin LaMonica/CNET News.com

  • Musicians got to perform at the Middle East in Cambridge, Mass., one of the premier local clubs for up-and-coming acts. A band made up of all ITA Software employees played at the preparty.

    Martin LaMonica/CNET News.com

  • Here, rockabilly band Three Day Threshold rocks out with its last number. In addition to helping recruit music-savvy programmers and raise brand awareness, the event was a fun night out for ITA Software employees.

    Martin LaMonica/CNET News.com

  • The band Joe Turner and the Seven Levels shows originality by having an accordian accompany their rock tunes. After a technical glitch with their keyboard, singer Joe Turner quipped: "I bet with this crowd, everybody's going to want to run up and debug the problem."

    Martin LaMonica/CNET News.com

  • Although acts were chosen by a panel of professionals, it's unclear how stringent the requirements were for having a "techie" in the band. Nicole Russo, who fronts the band of her name, is a graphic designer at a local technology publication.

    Martin LaMonica/CNET News.com

  • Here, the Francis Kim Band performs. The ITA event has proven the perceived affinity between musicians and programmers, Kretz said. Another thing developers are passionate about is food, she noted. Could that lead to another event?

    Martin LaMonica/CNET News.com

ITA Software, which makes online reservation systems, is in recruitment mode. It came up with the idea of sponsoring a for groups who had at least one "techie" in them.

We noticed a strong correlation between musicians and serious hackers, programmers," said Cara Kretz, a vice president of marketing at ITA. "The event gets our brand out there in the tech community."

Martin LaMonica/CNET News.com

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About Bill Detwiler

Bill Detwiler is Managing Editor of TechRepublic and Tech Pro Research and the host of Cracking Open, CNET and TechRepublic's popular online show. Prior to joining TechRepublic in 2000, Bill was an IT manager, database administrator, and desktop supp...