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In addition to being an event for networking and collaborating, Internet Week New York is also for showing off the high-tech creative atmosphere in the Big Apple.

“Internet Week NY is a festival celebrating New York’s Internet industry,” says event chairman David-Michel Davies. “We're in our third year. It's a totally open-source festival. There are more than 200 events happening this year created by the city's Internet industry: panel discussions, educational stuff. There are tons of exhibits and art to see. Everything from food bloggers to advertisers, it's very diverse.”

Many of those in attendance say they have chosen to setup shop in New York as opposed to someplace like Silicon Valley because they feel New York businesses have a huge advantage over companies located in any other part of the country because of the city's size and diversity – not to mention it's the media, advertising, and finance capital of perhaps the world.

“It attracts some of the smartest, most ambitious people around the
world, and therefore it's one of the best places to start,” says Nate Westheimer of the New York Tech Meetup. “You start with that foundation, and also it's a culture that really rewards innovation, risk taking, creativity, all these things that are required in startups.”

“It's a digital space, it's a digital world,” says Copia Interactive’s Anthony Antolino. “We're everywhere we need
to be at any given point in time. I think being in New York, it's a great place to be, no matter what business you're in.”

The city itself is using Internet Week to make some big announcements, most of them involve making the Big Apple an even-more attractive place for businesses and entrepreneurs to develop and grow their high-tech ideas.

“We’re introducing a new department, the Mayor's Office of Digital
Coordination and we're looking to hire a chief digital officer,” explains Katherine Oliver, commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment. “The Internet is a very powerful tool for government to be able to promote its services to New Yorkers and visitors and more importantly get feedback back, so that we can do a better job at providing those services. So it's an exciting opportunity to redesign the website, look
at mobile applications, look at look at how city agencies can use social networking and social media.”

The announcement of the new department comes just about two weeks after the city presented the creation of a $19 million Entrepreneurial Fund for investing in New York-based tech start-ups.

Internet Week NY runs through Monday.

To either attend or follow the week’s events, go to InternetWeekNY.com.