Omaha With the Opening Party presented by Rackspace kicking Big Omaha off on Wednesday, the mood will be set for the first day of presentations on Thursday. After a full day of speakers, including Aneesh Chopra, Shervin Pishevar and Sarah Lacy, day one will wrap up at KANEKO (1111 Jones St.) and pick up with the post-party at The Slowdown (photo, left, from theslowdown.com). Starting at 7:30 p.m., conference-goers will have the opportunity to grab a front-row spot for The Hood Internet Concert presented by Microsoft BizSpark. Doors will open to the public at 8 p.m., and tickets will be available at the venue … read more

Ames Harry Potter. That was the first name called out when Google's PJ Anderson and Drew Rowny asked a room full of elementary school students to name a children's character. Anderson and Rowny traveled from Silicon Valley to Ames last week to honor Nathan Hidajat for being chosen as a regional prize winner in the Doodle 4 Google contest. They kicked off the ceremony with a demonstration of Google … read more

You're looking for events? On the Silicon Prairie? This week? Oh, boy. We really wish we could help you there, but … OK, clearly we're not fooling anyone here. You'll have to pardon the unconvincing poker face, but we're a tad excited about the event schedule on the Silicon Prairie this week. Perhaps you've heard us mention Big Omaha a time or 87 in recent weeks. Well, the conference is this week, and even if you didn't snag a ticket to the main event, there are parties open to the public on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights. …  read more