Count Arianna Huffington among the believers that MapQuest [2] can overcome competition from Google Maps. Both Denver-based Mapquest and the Huffington Post Media Group are under AOL's widening umbrella, and the new-media matriarch was in town yesterday to celebrate the mapping company's 15th birthday (Denver Business Journal [3]). Also part of the occasion: the unveiling of shiny new downtown digs, intended to revitalize Mapquest as a "born-again startup" with plans to launch microsites and a nationwide traffic service. Off the Quad [4] feted a rebirth yesterday as well, with the dispatch of its Trendsttr algorithm (Westword [5]). The Boulder-based company intends to woo college students with its invite-only service that gauges one's viral (read: popularity) potential on Facebook.

Mike Stemple also likes to keep tabs on the online habits of the "younger generation" as a means of generating business ideas. Stemple is the man behind the Founder Institute, a "mentorship program for budding tech entrepreneurs" in Denver (Denver Post [6]). In the shadow of Boulder's digital dominion, Mile High techies continue to carve a niche with events like Startup Weekend Denver [7], which is holding its second event June 3 to 5.