Happy New Years! We hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and had a blast ringing in 2009. If you’re anything like us here at Development Seed, you have a lot you want to accomplish in the coming year. One thing every Washingtonian knows is that networking gets you far in this town. So start working on your 2009 professional goals this week by attending a technology meetup or two.

Here are a few events we’re hoping to catch, and you can find a full listing of the week’s events here.

Tuesday, January 6

7:00 pm

SEO Social 2.0: Do you want to push your organization’s website or Facebook page to the top of search rankings? Of course you do! Come out to this meetup to talk to people about how to best do this and to find out what else you should be doing as a website or brand manager.

Wednesday, January 7

Artomatic Happy Hour: Artomatic is one of the best local art shows in town, and we’re hoping their happy hours turn out to be almost as good. On top of the opportunity to meet and talk to local artists, this event will also feature the unveiling of the results of a scientific investigation into the correlations of casual drinking and creativity.

Thursday, January 8

3:00 – 5:00 pm

USAID Development 2.0 Challenge Awards Ceremony: Several months ago USAID and its Global Development Commons asked for innovative ways mobile phones could be used to impact development efforts. The winners have been announced, and this Thursday is your chance to meet them and see what ideas they came up with. Look for Eric if you go.

Friday, January 9

Noon – 1:30 pm

Can Obama Use Technology to Transform Government?: There has been a lot of hype – and hope – that as president, Barack Obama will use technology to have a two-way, open conversation with citizens, much like he did in his campaign. But with all the security and regulations that come with the job, will that be possible? Come out to hear a discussion about this, hosted by the New America Foundation and Wired Magazine.

Hope to see you out this week!