If you work in a web business (hint: you do even if you don’t think so!), you need to at least scan through the program at Twiistup, LA’s biggest and most influential Web event.   Events like these help you get a feel for the climate and energy of the community you live in.  If you are a student at any level, and interested in building a startup of your own, I would highly recommend attending (too bad there isn’t a student discount though).

This year, the topics and panelists are top notch — here’s a brief rundown:

THURSDAY July 30^th

9:45 -10:45 Showoffs (BakeSpace, BantamLive, Diddit, Educator, EQAL, ExpenseBay) pitches and Q&A on stage (with Showoff Judges)

10:45 – 11:30 Incubators and new trends in early stage investing (Dave McClure, Andy Sack and Brad Feld)

11:45 – 12:45 Showoffs (JamLegend, Mobophiles, PeopleBrowsr, Streamy, Uservoice, Blip.fm) pitches and Q&A on stage (with Showoff Judges)

12:45 – 1:15 Getting your Startup Noticed (Brian Solis)

2:35 – 3:15 Future Trends in Online Video (Dmitry Shapiro, Justin Kan and Taryn Southern)

3:15– 4:00 Crossing the Mainstream/Online Divide (Brooke Burke w/ Lisa Rosenblatt) (moderated by Adam Weinroth of Demand Media)

4:00 – 5:00 Music and Technology (Chamillionaire, Ian Rogers, and QD3)

7:00 – MIDNIGHT The Twiistup Evening Open Bar party 80s Tech Prom

FRIDAY July 31^st

9:45 – 10:30 Leveraging the Social Web (Chris Brogan, Ben Huh and Micah Baldwin) (moderated by Sean Percival)

10:30 – 11:15 The (LA) Startup ecosystem - money, talent, benefits and challenges outside of Silicon Valley (Mark Suster, David O. Sacks, Michael Jones and James Montgomery)

11:15 – 11:45 Investing and marketing based on the 7 Deadly Sins (Cyan Banister - early investor in Facebook, Paypal, Slide etc)

12:30 – 2:00 Jason Calacanis and guest – This Week in Startups Live

In a addition to a few LA “regulars”, this conference features a large number of speakers are coming in from other tech centers throughout the world, so be sure to expect a good current of new ideas and fresh thinking. In addition, its a great opportunity for LA companies to show off their stuff.  I’ll be at the party this evening, so please look me up via http://twitter.com/dbenyamin

See you all there!

Photo Credit: adamjackson1984