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In the newsrooms of Silicon Valley, they call it "going native." In New York, media is a semirespectable profession, and the skyscraper snobs of the world's leading infotainment conglomerates assume that those who drop out for lesser arts like PR just couldn't cut it. Not so here. Erika Brown, who covered venture capital for Forbes, is leaving the magazine to join Matrix Partners as the VC firm's director of marketing and business development. (Biz dev? I can't picture Brown, a snappy dresser, in blue shirts and pleated khakis.) Did Brown parlay her contacts from reporting into a new job? It's hard to imagine she didn't. And one can hardly blame her. The death of magazines may or may not be imminent. But serving time in a distant bureau of a magazine which is mostly diffident about the Valley is a career killer. Brown's note to friends:

I am about to take a big leap into a new and exciting career.

Starting mid-June I will be the director of marketing and business development at Matrix Partners.

It will be an amazing opportunity to work with a top-tier, 31 year-old firm with a history of stellar returns, and is a great way to leverage my research/networking/relationship building skills.

I am thrilled to be joining such an impressive team. Matrix has helped build a number of tech leaders, including Apple, Sandisk, Veritas, Alteon, Aruba and JBoss. The firm currently has $2+ billion under management, offices in Silicon Valley and India, and is headquartered in Waltham, Mass.

Matrix has a solid reputation and is looking to increase its emphasis on the West Coast. I will be based in the firm's Sand Hill Rd. office.

My primary responsibility will be to investigate new areas of investment. I am hoping to discover and reach out to innovators in multiple sectors, including green tech, consumer Internet, digital media and software-as-a-service. That means establishing new relationships with entrepreneurs, executives and other industry experts to collaborate with them to solve business problems and unearth new investment opportunities.

So, for all you entrepreneurs, innovators and industry leaders out there: Let's do lunch!

All that said, I will be sad to leave Forbes. I have loved my ten years at the magazine and Web site, and have built many life-long friendships. It has also been a great learning experience and career opportunity for me. I am going to miss the place.

For those of you also considering new directions, a little inspiration:

"Begin doing what you want now. We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand—and melting like a snowflake."
-Marie Beynon Ray