Good morning, All,

First, our next SOS+EW+ ER ROOTT breakfast is January 10^th, just for the record, and we do limit the number of attendees, so do sign up early. $25 includes breakfast and it’s $30 at the door. To RSVP: http://roottbreakfast3.eventbrite.com/

The internet is creating a star factor in our sector and fine, when it’s deserved, but there is an element out there who are becoming Media Stars by either jumping on an issue du jour but at the end of the day, seem little more than self-serving, or who are the recipients of Lucky Sperm. Having Fred Wilson blog about you helps as does having Business Insider refer to you as a ‘scenester.’ (Star-Studded Party Photos From The Fabulous Manhattan Home Of The Huffington Post Co-Founder: http://read.bi/uaioZH. By request, the raisecache video: http://raisecache.com/video/) In case you don’t know who she is, a couple of years back, Rachel Sklar decided it was time to change the ratio and “promote visibility, access and opportunity for women in tech”. She has mostly succeeded in promoting visibility, access and opportunity for… Rachel Sklar, who quickly became a Media Star. A scenester she is: you’ll often find her at events usually hanging with…the guys.No one expected her to single-handedly change the ratio, but from the feedback we get from women who meet up with her at events, she might at least consider changing the attitude. Just a thought. And when did BI decide to become the Vanity Fair of the tech press?

Next, a few weeks back, a certain accelerator held a well-attended hospitality event in NYC, the point of which was to attract early stage startups to apply to the program. Not unusual at all, save for the fact that the host/managing director spent the evening pretty much insulting the attendees, who’d ventured out on a cold and rainy night to be there. We were not in attendance, but were informed about it by a number of you, who were quite put off by all of this and rightly so. Note to the host: you need us as much as we need you. Lucky Sperm aside, you’re not a tech star, even if you do play one on TV and the idea is to win the room, not alienate it.

Ego is a dangerous thing or as Michael Arrington put it when he finally vented his anger over the whole TechCrunch/CrunchFund debacle this past Friday following Heather Harde’s announcement of her departure from TechCrunch: “AOL needs to decide whether it exists for the benefit of stockholders, users and employees, or whether it exists for the greater glorification of Arianna Huffington.” (http://uncrunched.com/) OK, no love lost between the two, but TC has lost a lot of talent since Arrington’s departure. Press is good for startups, absolutely, but creating Media Stars who’ve glommed on to an ‘issue’ in order to catapult themselves into the spotlight benefits no one. Oh, and just for the record, in case you missed it, from Penelope Trunk: “Stop Telling Women To Do Startups” http://tcrn.ch/sFWKfA – an excellent read. Speaking of Lucky Sperm, the Chelsea Factor refers to former First Daughter Chelsea Clinton, who entered the spotlight this past week on NBC news with a segment entitled ‘Making a Difference.’ Interestingly, she chose for her subject a woman who is standing up for kids surrounded by poverty and crime in rural Arkansas (http://bit.ly/tUhGJd).  Think Ms. Clinton knows anyone who, for years, had the opportunity to have made a difference in impoverished Arkansas? Just asking. Onward and forward.

Deadlines:

NEW The @ShortyAwards for brands and agencies early submission has been extended to 12/22! Submit here: shortyawards.com/industry_awards

Thiel Fellowship, Deadline December 31^st. Yes, it’s Peter Thiel. An ideal candidate is 19 years old or younger as of December 31, 2011 and has ideas that simply cannot wait. She or he wants to change the world and has already started to do it in some fashion. We want fellows who dream big and have clear plans, who take risks and learn from mistakes, who think long-term and like to tinker. Inspire us. To apply: http://bit.ly/sf9t4p

In SF: DEMO Enterprise Disruption: An Evening of Innovation & Change, January 5, 2012, DEMO and Fusion-io (DEMO alum) are joining forces to create a memorable event featuring enterprise product demonstrations; special Fusion-io demonstration featuring Fusion-io Chief Scientist Steve Wozniak and a New Year’s party open to the entire tech community of entrepreneurs, developers, press, investors and DEMO alumni. For more information: http://bit.ly/sos8Rt

• Apply to demonstrate at the Enterprise Disruption event: Applications are currently being accepted for three student-run companies focused on the enterprise and three DEMO alumni with new enterprise products, to give product demonstrations at DEMO Enterprise.  Apply today!  (If accepted to demo at this event, fees are waived thanks to scholarship support from Fusion-io) To apply: http://bit.ly/tSD8AA
• DEMO Enterprise Disruption Party: Join Fusion-io, DEMO and VentureBeat at Temple Nightclub on January 5 to welcome in the New Year with a rockin’ party for the entire Bay Area Tech Ecosystem! Complimentary Event! To attend: http://demopartysf2012.eventbrite.com/

NEW Rockstart Accelerator Amsteram, deadline January 6^th. Rockstart Accelerator is a new program that helps the most promising teams from around the world to launch their startups and break through on a global scale. We support 10 startups for 100 days, backed by 99 mentors in the main European startup hub: Amsterdam. You build in Amsterdam and pitch in the US. For more information and to apply: http://bit.ly/vhfgVu

NEW FinTech Innovation Labs, deadline January 18^th. This is an annual program run by the New York City Investment Fund and Accenture for early and growth companies that have developed cutting edge technology products targeted at financial services customers. There’s also an information day on January 10^th. For more information and to apply: http://www.fintechinnovationlab.com/

Mini Seedcamp London, January 31, 2012 is a one day event aiming to connect the 20 best web-tech, mobile and software talent with some of the leading entrepreneurs, developers, and experts from all across Europe and all over the world. For more information and to apply: http://bit.ly/rqgVQm

TechStars NYC, early appliction deadline: January 10^th. Final deadline: January 23^rd. Time for the Spring session. To apply: http://apply.techstars.com/ For more information: http://www.techstars.com/

NEW Startup Bootcamp Amsterdam, deadline February 12^th. We provide seed investment, 6-months of office space, 99 mentors, daily coaching by serial entrepreneurs in residence and a 3-week road-trip to Silicon Valley. Teams receive a maximum of €17,000 per team and 6 months of free office space in return for 8 percent of equity. The accelerator program operates for 3 months. For more information and to apply: http://bit.ly/vWpBqW

NEW NXTP LABS/TechStars Argentina deadline 13 de Febrero – and that’s the extent of our Spanish. For more information and to apply: http://bit.ly/rYcDfN

NYC Big App Awards – New York City is challenging software developers to create apps that use city data to make NYC better. $50k in cash and prizes! You have from now until January 25^th to enter. For more information and to apply: http://2011.nycbigapps.com/

The Appy Awards – enter once and you could win twice. Deadline March 21, 2012 but any entry you submit today may also be selected as our “Featured App of the Week“, scoring you some seriously instant gratification. And we doesn’t love that? For more information and to enter – any time – http://appyawards.net/

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For you edification this week

Variations on a theme: Why You Can’t Get Funding: It’s Not Because You’re a Woman. Penelope Trunk set off a firestorm with her TC piece. Do female tech founders have less access to VC funding? Christina DesMarais points out the four mistakes that befuddle both genders when it comes to asking VCs for money. According to her, it’s not your gender; you’re just doing it wrong : http://bit.ly/vLBDtk

Just for fun, Andy Rooney on Women Over Forty: http://bit.ly/qFSTwW

Advice for 2012: Get Big or Get Bought. There are essentially three options for a tech venture outgrowing its startup days: Get big, get bought or go broke. Sensing hard times a-coming, a growing number of entrepreneurs are shooting for door #2. And remember: Google was founded during a down market and Larry Page famously tried to sell if for $1 million (Yahoo said no): http://cnnmon.ie/tH8xis

When Do You Throw in the Towel on Your Struggling Project? Yipit cofounder Vinicius Vacanti says that one of the hardest decisions you have to make, as an entrepreneur, is deciding when to give up on your current struggling project. It’s made especially difficult because you always seem to have an exciting new idea rattling in the back of your head. Oh, it’s also OK to start something new: http://bit.ly/uhnwpN

And if you are about to start something new, take a look at this: Clear, concise and to the point: Airbnb: A $1.3 Billion-Dollar Startup’s First-Ever Pitch Deck. http://read.bi/qaSVN8

Facebook Shareholders Suck…(Or, Why This Is Not Bubble 2.0). And according to James Altucher, sock puppets aside, there was never a bubble 1.0 either. And he makes a good argument. If only pigs could fly and pets could drive, eh?: http://tcrn.ch/tc0fbM

What kind of a world do we live in, where SOPA and PIPA, where the internet is legislated by congressmen who are basically clueless about technology (Dear Congress, It’s No Longer OK To Not Know How The Internet Works http://bit.ly/vDpZ1L)

Let Me Introduce Myself. Mark Suster has a pet peeve: when you bring your team to a meeting, let them introduce themselves. Why is it a pet peeve? For starters, if you bring people to the meeting with you they should all have a role in the presentation: http://bit.ly/vU4nit

The War on Christmas? Think Again. Yes, it’s that time of year and according to Mark Birch, it is definitively, unequivocally Christmas time in the US, so have a Very Merry Christmas and drink plenty of spiked eggnog (yes, recipe included): http://bit.ly/srkw3O

It’s Christmas and admittedly, we love snow, so just in case the flurries dont’ show up on the big day, you can always type “Let it Snow” on google, for a pleasant surprise, and our thanks to Mashable for pointing this out. For the wrapping-paper challenged out there: Here’s How to Wrap Your Holiday Gifts, Perfectly : http://tnw.co/uy1MRN

Have a safe and a very happy holiday and until then, as always, help is on the way…