report from happy hour
Dave LoweWow. I mean… wow! It was great meeting everyone that showed up at Bobalouie’s on Friday. Tommy, Wifey, Brett, Bob, Micheal, Miguel, Mariella, Lisa and more. Would have been nice to have a bigger turnout, but for short notice it was great fun.
It hearkened back to the “glory days” when we had the Tampa Bay Blogger Fest meetups in fall of 2004. We had one at Splitsville in September, and the turnout was great. Then, it was SoHo’s turn to host and we had a Blogger Pub Crawl in October. It was decided to put the TBBF on hiatus until after the holidays, and it was set to resume in February of 2005. I am not sure how or why but it all fell apart.
I think the problem with the TBBF was we tried to outdo the last one, make it bigger and better than the one before. There was a website, a forum, etc. We also had a web ring (remember those?). But it kind of collapsed under its own weight.
I would like to see something maybe monthly along the lines of the Happy Hour. Just a meet and greet, we’ll put on those silly “HELLO MY NAME IS _____ ” name tags and get to know each other. Spread the word from our own blogs, and of course here on Sticks, and see how may bloggers we can fit in one room. We’ll talk shop, have a few beers, and just socialize and fellowship.
I would be willing to spearhead this effort. Hell, it’s about time I did something here on Sticks (right, Tommy?). I think all we really need to make it work is word-of-mouth to other bloggers. Maybe a mailing list or something to communicate, but above all just keep it simple and fun.
Discuss…
Tags: blogs
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October 29th, 2007 at 8:59 am
I think that is a wonderful idea. We had a good time, maybe a weeknight is better since people have weekend plans made with family and such.
October 29th, 2007 at 11:03 am
It was a really fun get-together, and I’d love to do it again sometime!
Thanks for offering to put something together, Dave.
October 29th, 2007 at 2:06 pm
Those of you who left (who would be everyone who was not myself, Tommy, and our significants) missed quite a karaoke show. Tommy + Gloria Gaynor = fun for the whole family.
But it was great to meet everyone who did come - and I’m definitely up for another one.
October 29th, 2007 at 2:38 pm
Brett and A/C D/C = even better fun for all! Our night did not end until 2AM!
October 29th, 2007 at 2:45 pm
Oh, now I am jealous. I **love** karaoke. My work schedule really sucks for a social life, but I love having three days off.
Maybe Wifey has a point, a weeknight. It has some benefits. Crowds would be lighter. It would easier to find a venue, as most bars would welcome a party like that to boost sales on a slower night. Plus the karaoke rotation is usually lighter on a weekend!!
October 29th, 2007 at 5:37 pm
would that be something to also list on http://www.meetin.org/city/MEETinTAMPABAY/ ?
October 29th, 2007 at 6:19 pm
I’ll look into that site. I once used MeetUp for organizing blogger gatherings, but they went to pay-for-play and I was not going to shell out fees to them just to plan events.
There’s always E-Vite and the like, too. I am kinda partial to Google Calendar, but I am biased.