Social Media Club NorthWest Round Tables
So the bag is not packed yet, and I have a ton of work to get done, but that is not stopping me from leaving in about 12 hours for a week on the road talking with insightful people about Social Media. These are straightforward round table discussions, with everyone being encouraged to participate. Primarily I want to hear what people are thinking about around Social Media, talk a short bit about what we are doing with Social Media Club, and then jump into what I think will be a very interesting conversation. It is that time of year again, when we begin to reflect on the year past and look to the year ahead. I think a good way to think of this is with a clear question:
“A lot of great things happened with Social Media over the past year - some expected and some surprises. What are the most important things that have happened in Social Media during the past year? Imagine yourself sitting here one year from today - what do you hope you would say about what happened in 2007?”
On Tuesday night we will be in Portland at Fehrenbacher Hof, on Wednesday night we will be in Seattle at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, and on Thursday we will be at Bryght offices in Vancouver, B.C. So if you are in any of those towns and have an interest in talking with other Social Media peeps who get it, please register for a Round Table near you (Portland, Seattle or Vancouver) and join us with your experience and insights. There is no cost to attend and we will most likely be heading out for some food and drink afterwards.
On a more personal note, many thanks to my friends who are helping to make this whole thing possible. Tomorrow (TUE DEC 5, 2006) Alex Williams of Podcast Hotel and Feedia is my gracious host and lead organizer in Portland, along with his other friends from Portland Social Media Portland (PDXSOCIALMEDIA) Tim Germer (Northwest Noise) and John Hartman. Not only did he line up the venue and get several cool, smart people to join us, he is also letting me crash at his place so I dont have to put money into the hotel system. It sounds like they have found a really kick ass place to host the gathering and have some great food and beer options for afterwards.
On Wednesday, I am in Seattle crashing at Randy Stewart’s suburban jewel (thanks to his wife and young baby for opening your doors). In addition to Randy, both Chris Pirillo and Mitch Ratcliffe have been helping get things underway up there - I am really looking forward to seeing who all might have some time to really help push things forward in Seattle.
Then I am in Vancouver on Thursday, being hosted by my good friends up at Bryght (who host BrainJams and have an all around kick ass Drupal hosting environment). I am actually staying at a hotel that night, though I could have had a couch somewhere - I just figured after all the airport time this week, I am going to need some real rest and quiet.
While I have a few meetings lined up and a ton of work to do from the road, I am happy to set aside some free time during the day to meet with folks for a chat. I will most likely be working somewhere near the evening venues, but I have a rental car which makes me somewhat mobile. Just let me know if you are interested through my blog or call my cell or email.
[...] By this time tomorrow morning I will be on a plane on my way to Portland, then Seattle on Wednesday and Vancouver on Thursday - just about a day in each city before flying back on Friday afternoon just in time for Chris and Kristie’s Wine-a-palooza Holiday Extravaganza. I have a few time slots to sit and chat if you are interested in saying hi. I am looking forward to seeing many of you on the road and many more here at my house later in the week… More details are in this post I wrote over at Social Media Club on the NW Round Tables. [...]