Putting the focus on entrepreneurs

Boston Region Entrepreneurship Week, being held for the first time, boasts an impressive schedule.

Joe Caruso, an angel investor and start-up adviser, had the idea to create an umbrella atop a few big events happening just after Columbus Day, to highlight entrepreneurial activity around Boston, across all industries. The concept took off quickly over the summer, and what Caruso had dubbed BREW grew into what should more accurately be called BREESAMO: Boston Region Entrepreneurship Events Spread Across the Month of October.

There are more than 100 events on the calendar (at http://brewboston.org). Here are my picks of the 10 that look most promising, in chronological order:

■Entrepreneurship in the Life Sciences, tomorrow.

UMass Boston’s Venture Development Center hosts a schmooze-fest and panel discussion.

■Take Flight!, tomorrow.

This fund-raiser will support the Engineering School, a Boston public high school. Donate $5, design your own paper airplane, and fly it against others for a chance to win prizes. (I’ll be there, flying an airplane along with folks like Avidyne chief executive Dan Schwinn, Mass High Tech editor Doug Banks, and Mary Lockshin of Zink Imaging.)

■Using PR and Social Media to Generate Buzz for Your Start-up, Wednesday.

A free panel discussion at a law firm’s downtown offices, featuring local journalists and social media guru Paul Gillin, author of “Secrets of Social Media Marketing.’’

■MassTLC Innovation UnConference, Thursday.

What’s an unconference? It’s a gathering where participants create the agenda at the beginning of the day, and attendees are encouraged to be actively engaged in each session, not just listeners. This one features industry experts who will sit down throughout the day for one-on-one meetings with the entrepreneurs, offering advice and guidance.

■Harvard Business School Entrepreneurship Forum, Thursday.

Staples founder Tom Stemberg discusses his career as an entrepreneur, board member, and investor, and a panel of four female founders share their learnings at this free event.

■Powered Up Boston, Thursday and Friday.

Boston’s video game community gets together for a conference and expo, featuring speakers from Quick Hit, Linden Lab, Turbine, Harmonix, and Rockstar New England.

■How I Got Funded, Oct. 19

Free evening panel discussion with the founders of SocialSci, Localytics, Assured Labor, and Retroficiency.

■Brewing Your Business Dream, Oct. 20.

Excellent: a BREW event at a brewery.

The Samuel Adams Brewery in Jamaica Plain is the site of a free seminar on marketing, public relations, managing cash flow, and more, designed specifically for entrepreneurs in the food, beverage, and hospitality industries.

■MassChallenge Final Awards Ceremony, Oct. 21.

Which of 111 start-ups will take home the big money in this entrepreneurship competition? The prize pool is $1 million, divided up however the judges see fit.

Entrants are working on everything from airborne wind turbines to online music education sites to customized women’s shoes.

■MIT Elevator Pitch Contest, Oct. 27.

What better way to hone your elevator pitch — the way you’d describe your business in 60 seconds or less, with no visual aids — than by watching a dozen entrepreneurs do it on stage?

A handful will win cash prizes. The event is free.

Testing a new Bluetooth headset. I’m not a fan of Bluetooth headsets, so sending me one is kind of like inviting a lactose-intolerant food critic to review your fondue restaurant.

But last week, the MoGo Talk for iPhone 4, designed by ID8-Mobile in Natick, arrived. (ID8-Mobile was known as Newton Peripherals when I last wrote about the company.) The idea behind the MoGo ($99) is that it’s both a protective case for your phone and a place to store a slim Bluetooth headset (in the back of the case).

The good: The headset was easy to pair with my iPhone, and I was using it within a few minutes of charging. I like all things to have their own place, and it was handy to pop the headset in and out of the back of the case.

The bad: Like most (all?) Bluetooth headsets, even though this one integrates into the phone’s case, it still requires its own micro USB charging cable. So it’s one more thing to plug into your computer or a wall outlet.

ID8’s chief executive, Stuart Nixdorff, says a future version will feature a unique solution for charging both simultaneously, but it won’t be out until next year. Nixdorff also says that ID8’s forthcoming Blackberry version of the MoGo will allow the phone and headset to share the same power source.

I tried each of the half-dozen rubber earpieces that came with the MoGo, but the thing wouldn’t stay in my ear. There’s no hook that allows it to hang from the top of your ear; you’re supposed to jam it into your aural canal and hope for the best. The result was that a supposedly hands-free headset turned into one that I had to hold in with two fingers most of the time.

Like other Bluetooth headsets I’ve tried, there is a flashing blue light that announces to passersby that you are wearing a Bluetooth headset. There is only one button on the headset that does everything, if you can remember numerous Morse-code-like commands. It can answer the phone or reject an incoming call. It turns the headset on and off. It summons the police if you are being mugged.

I’m returning to my small collection of inexpensive wired headsets, which fit my ears better, don’t require charging, and allow me to listen to music.

For the full Innovation Economy blog, updated daily, visit www.boston.com/innovation.