By: Senior staff writer – Easton Ellsworth

Here are today’s three hottest tech startup news items and links:

• Fast Company’s Chris Dannen explains why tech startups with VC funding may be able to weather the global financial downturn better than you might think.
• Startonomics, a tech conference focusing on startup companies, had its shindig today in San Francisco. More below.
• Slideshare.net has a superb presentation by Sean Ellis from today’s Startonomics sessions. Title: “Creating & Implementing a Web 2.0 Marketing Plan.”

Startonomics (which is going on live as we type this – and no, not this one) has a Twitter account pumping out frequent session updates. The offical Startonomics blog is also pumping out updates.

Mashable has a UStream embed of social media superman Muhammad Saleem’s session.

Why attend an event like Startonomics?

For starters (no pun intended), the networking opportunities are tremendous. In the startup depression of ‘08-’10 (tentative schedule, mind you), it will pay more than ever to know and make deals with the right people.

Another compelling reason: the uber-download of fresh knowledge. The speakers and session leaders at such events are often so deeply immersed in their topic that their main challenge isn’t mastering it, but explaining it to the rest of us in plain English.

Of course, travel prices being what they are, you could always save a bit of coin and feast on the archived conference content afterwards (or live if some of it’s broadcast).

Either way, you’ve gotta stay aware of these startup world conferences and know what is being taught at them and who attends/runs them.

Kudos to the Startonomics folks for putting on what appears to be a highly successful, useful event.

Got a hot tech startup news tip or topic suggestion? Let us know here in the comments or via Twitter!