How the City of Los Angeles Plans to Gain a Competitive Edge

Los Angeles is about to unleash one of the most ambitious city-led broadband infrastructure projects to date — with the goal of bringing a fiber network to all of its 3.5 million residents and all businesses.

The new fiber network would offer free Internet access of 2Mbps to 5Mbps and paid tiers of up to a gigabit. The fiber network would also power Wi-Fi hotspots in public areas.

via Ars Technica

How Los Angeles Silicon Beach Sprang Up from MySpace

Almost every member of Myspace’s founding team has begun a new venture, and several are among the leaders of the Los Angeles blossoming start-up industry, now known as ‘Silicon Beach.’

That community is growing for a number of reasons — an influx of capital, lots of young programming talent, a convenient nexus with Hollywood celebrity.

via NYTimes

UK Creative Media Firms Attend Innovation Forum in Hollywood

Industry leaders from the UK creative sector will arrive in Los Angeles next week for the first ever “LA Innovation Forum.”

It will bring together top names in the film, entertainment, music, global media and technology industries from both sides of the Atlantic to encourage closer working.

“The creative industries are a priority for Government. They are a real exporting success story, which is a key part of our growth strategy.”

via UKTI

Transmedia: How the Comics Creator Universe is Expanding

From cratering sales to diminishing creative returns, comic books seem headed for extinction. But comics-based everything else — from blockbuster movies to television series and beyond — is going gangbusters.

Who knew we needed to kill comics to save them?

Matt Pizzolo, that’s who. “Anyone who loves comics and sees them as a vital art form capable of telling unique and challenging stories must recognize that [the industry’s] business corpse has to be put out of its misery so a new one can be built,” said Pizzolo, a publisher and filmmaker who has been busy engineering the transmedia spine that will take comics into the future.

via Wired

Venture Capital and New Media Summit in Los Angeles

The Variety Venture Capital & New Media Summit, will explore how the investment community is driving technology innovation — so critical for the growth of the evolving entertainment industry.

Start-up companies with strong ideas can thrive, thanks to the post-recession financial support and Hollywood’s fight to attract today’s digital consumers.

via Variety

Los Angeles Tech vs. Silicon Valley Creatives

L.A. isn’t just a mecca for film and video game studios. In the past three years, the Los Angeles tech scene has evolved from a small cadre of social media-happy party animals to a legitimate and sustainable tech community to rival Silicon Valley.

But what’s going on in Los Angeles today is a far cry from what was happening there four or five years ago. The parties have died down, and angel investors and smart business minds are getting to work.

The city’s tech scene is a few years more mature, more realistic, more productive — and it’s making headlines for its entrepreneurial atmosphere. Meet the new face of L.A. tech.

via VentureBeat