Our first Web Ascent Event went very well. We had a great time, and we appreciate all the folks that came out, as well as the sponsors that made the event possible. Eleven companies came to present and demo, and some took the opportunity make some big announcements about their products.  Joyce Park was our keynote speaker. She shared her experience from living in the midwest and moving out to the Valley, and noted the growth we’ve all witnessed here in Chicago.

ChaCha announced that it will be incorporating a mobile search component for its service, which allows you to also call in to speak with a representative in order to find what you’re looking for. Think of it as the web 2.0 version of 411. In addition, Userplane now offers a revenue-sharing platform called Userplane Money, enabling developers to integrate Userplane via the Facebook Platform. The service is free, and is monetized by displaying ads on the widget application.

timeXchange announced its launched its service has emerged from public beta, and the site is completely live for users. Its service provides free online time tracking for businesses small and large, and has gained over 6,000 beta users in the last six months. The team also announced some upcoming industry versions with more options for staffing and temp firms. Actionize made the trek all the way from Switzerland to present his team collaboration service, and Spongecell Promote was also there to present its event-planning tools for promotional and tracking purposes. iqzone gave out flash drives to guests and had a Playstation 3 giveaway as well.

MediaRiver won the prize pack for the evening’s event, which includes an ad spot here on Mashable and a full conference pass to ad:tech Chicago. ImThere has also gearing up to re-launch its service, which involves ways to meet local friends based on interests. List events, post reviews for venues and artists, and post photos and comments to the site on the go, with your mobile phone.

In all, Web Ascent Events was a great time. I hope to see some more of you out at the next event, in a new city. We’ll be going to Seattle and Boston next!

Disclosure: Userplane is a Mashable advertiser.

You can read below to see a list of the companies that will be presenting, and be sure to check out our gracious sponsors, who have made this event possible. —->

We do still have a few spots open, so be sure to get your tickets ASAP!

Here is where you can get your tickets: http://webascentevents.eventbrite.com/

Thanks to everyone for their support, and I look forward to seeing you all on Wednesday.

~Special thanks to Jim and Joe of timeXchange, Scott Robbin, David Dalka and Joey Curalli.

ChaCha- ChaCha combines the best of the web’s search engines with the human intelligence made possible by our vast community of skilled search experts. Receive top results combining the Web’s leading search engines and human intelligence made possible by our vast community of skilled search experts, our Guides!  http://chacha.com/

ImThere – created by University of Missouri-Rolla student Benjamin Roodman, connects members around events like concerts, film festivals and parties. Users start by completing a profile page, and ImThere helps you meet new friends by showing you local users with similar interests. You can then build a network of friends, list events, post reviews on venues, artists and post pictures and comments to the site via your mobile phone. IMThere will have a big announcement for Web Ascent as well. http://imthere.com/

Media River – MediaRiver’s patent-pending technology allows our publisher clients’ content to transcend the boundaries of their web sites. ClickSurge, our flagship product, reads and understand the contents of a web page, and uses that knowledge to find and deliver links to a publisher’s video, pictures, podcasts, and articles, allowing the right content to reach the right audience at the right time – anywhere on the web, even on social networks, blogs, and other user-generated sites. Our clients use ClickSurge to drive site-recirculation, to power content syndication partnerships, and to monetize their viral web widgets. http://mediariver.com/

timeXchange – the Chicago-based service provides free online time tracking. It’s scalability allows for small and large businesses to easily utilize their tools, from independent contractors to entire teams within a corporation. timeXchange enables you to record and report time and expenses, and collect and improve team reporting. timeXchange will be announcing its new business strategy at Web Ascent. http://timexchange.net/

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Spongecell – is showcasing its Promote features, which enables Event Promoters to increase event attendance while maximizing ROI by encouraging users to share event information through email, web, social and mobile media. Promoters can track and calibrate the speed and profusion of the event as it spreads, and Spongecell will deliver real-time awareness metrics, allowing event promoters to identify and re-connect with consumers who have shown a proven interest, helping to effectively target spend. https://spongecell.com/promote

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fix8 – fix8 is a free interactive communication tool that animates your expressions and movements in real-time. All you need is your PC, a webcam, and a dash of creativity. Use a wide mix of creative tools including avatars, creative “dress-up” accessories, flash animation and more to create your own world of videos to upload to your personal blog or post to video sharing sites. http://fix8.com/
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Actionize: Getting Business Done – Team up online to track sales, manage projects and support your customers. Actionize is the easier and smarter way to manage your business contacts and to collaborate on internal and external projects – all in one place. http://actionize.com/

iqzone - Take a photo or video clip of any product, service, or stuff around your house, text a description and upload to iqzone. It’s just that simple. iqzone allows anyone with a camera phone to take a photo or video clip of anything to post a classified ad in less than 60 seconds. Sellers can broadcast their mobile ad to a universe of free online classifieds, paid sites and print publications. iqzone will have an exclusive announcement at Web Ascent. http://iqzone.com/

Share this event with your friends!

A Mashable-sponsored event led by Kristen Nicole, lead writer

When: June 20th 7pm until

Where: Union Park (website)

228 S. Racine (West Loop)

Chicago, IL 60607

Why You Should Come: Because you get free cocktails and beer from 7pm – 8pm, and 1/2 price appetizers, $3 Chocolate Martinis, and $3 Blue Moon all night!

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**BUY ONE GET ONE FREE**

Buy your ticket now and we’ll give you a second ticket free. Bring a date or a friend!

Get your tickets here.

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Keynote Speaker, Joyce Park, CTO and co-founder of Renkoo.com

Joyce Park, a former senior web developer at Friendster, started Renkoo because the founders were spending all their time dealing with email and IM to arrange everyday social events like lunches, coffee dates, and movies. Renkoo is a new social network that paves a better way for connecting with the friends you already have. With $3 million in funding from Matrix Partners, Renkoo launched last fall to rave reviews as an Evite competitor.

Joyce attended the University of Chicago and will be speaking on her experiences in both Chicago and the Valley, and some of the challenges and high points of leading a venture-backed start-up.

About Web Ascent Events:

The web 2.0 technology community is experiencing a lot of growth in Chicago, and we would like to not only recognize this community, but help bridge the gap between Chicago and Silicon Valley and other traditional tech dominated locales, where there is a wealth of knowledge and resources for all things technology-related. The media sponsor for the event is Mashable.com

We will have 5-8 start-ups from around the world here to demo at the event ,and there will be plenty of time for networking!

Kristen Nicole, lead writer at Mashable, is holding an independent event in Chicago in June.

I am very pleased to announce Web Ascent, an event recognizing the sprouting technology communities. Web Ascent will be held in Chicago, Illinois, coming up this June.

We’ve seen a lot events in Silicon Valley. But I recognize that there is a need to showcase startups in other places of the country, where people are interested in technology and want to see the latest and greatest in the Web 2.0 space. There are tons of tech communities all over the country, and we need to showcase these start-ups.

I also think this is beneficial for start-ups, because they will reach an audience that may not have heard of their product. Others in the industry, from VCs to job seekers, are anxious to see what things are coming out of the Valley as well as from other parts of the country. Mashable will be a Media Sponsor for Web Ascent, and those attending are likely to receive coverage.

If you’re interested in presenting, sponsoring, or attending, email me at KristenNicole2@gmail.com.

More details to come soon! Subscribe to our RSS to make sure you get our updates first!