ReadWriteWeb

A few days ago, demoslam.com, a mysterious - but clearly Google-related - website appeared, which resulted in a lot of head scratching in the tech blogosphere. Now, Google is officially taking the wraps of the site. Google Demo Slam is a competition for tech demos - not just by startups and other tech companies, but for anybody who wants to create a video that shows others how to use a cool tech product. As a Google representative told us yesterday, the company is asking people to create the most inventive, entertaining tech demos possible.

We've talked now and then about college programs that are making strides to provide students with entrepreneurial training, but the Harvard Business School (HBS) has so far not come up in our discussions. This might seem odd that one of the top business schools in the nation doesn't gather much attention from things like The Princeton Review's ranking of entrepreneurial programs, but one HBS grad may have an answer to that puzzle.

As the month of March trudges on, we are getting closer each day to spring and eventually summer when numerous startup incubators hold their camps for early-stage companies. Many incubators are still taking submissions, including TechStars Boulder, but in case of Y Combinator, the deadline has since come and gone. Theoryville is a startup that has already been asked to interview for a spot with Y Combinator, so if you are still looking to apply for one of this summer's incubators, you may want to heed its founder's advice.

Since we published our Never Mind the Valley article on the growing startup scene in Chicago, I have received several emails about various events and startups that call the city home. The technology culture in Chicago is quickly expanding, just as it is in most major metropolitan areas, because startups as a culture are breaking further and further into the mainstream. As we've shown with our series of profiles, no longer is Silicon Valley the one true home to startups; Boulder, Austin, New York, Portland and many others have stepped up as worthy contenders for national (and international) startup attention.

If I see another screencast using the iMovie default songs, I'm going to go nuts. Music sets the tone for how you want others to perceive your company and choosing a generic soundtrack is like branding yourself boring. In the past, videographers were forced to work with lawyers to gain appropriate licenses for samples. Thanks to the Free Music Archive and a number of other services, we're free to use original songs while still maintaining the rights to attribution. This morning's launch of the Free Music Archive's guest curation series further expands on this environment of collaboration.

Here at ReadWriteWeb, we're not usually in the "report it before you've tried it" camp, but a couple of trusted sources - Dan York and Rafe Needleman - are reporting that the latest version of Skype for Mac - Skype 2.8 - will include the ability to share your screen during a Skype call. And that's a feature that is sure to change the way many of us engage in Web-based demos.