Dani Diaz, the local Microsoft Dev Evangelist who was the hookup for the recent XBOX party at IndyHall, asked me to post a couple of events that are coming up this weekend out at their Malvern, PA HQ. I know there are some local dev types reading, so this might be something you’re into. Also, a portion of the day’s programming involves robots, and WHO doesn’t love robots. C’mon.

Really, I want to encourage you to go, if for no other reason , to meet Dani if you haven’t already. I’m pretty openly not a Microsoft user, but Dani and I have had some EXCEPTIONAL conversations about the more overlaying issues in software development and the tech industry today. He’s a smart guy coming at it from a different angle than I am, and I think it’s totally rad.

From Dani:

Microsoft is hosting 2 great events this Saturday at the Microsoft office in Malvern, PA. We have a full day of free Silverlight training and a full day or XNA Game Studio and Robotic Studio. XNA Game Studio is free tool that makes it super easy to create great video game for the XBOX 360 or the PC.

You can find more information on my blog http://www.smallandmighty.net. Both events are FREE.

We are giving always one XBOX and 2 Zunes as well!

Registration information for the Silverlight event is here

Registration information for the XNA/Robotic Studio event is here

I haven’t made an event posting here in a while, and while I DO have some seriously substantial stuff I want to post, I wanted to get this on everyone’s calendar as soon as I could.

On Thursday, December 6 there will be a Twitter-er Happy Hour at National Mechanics (the place we hang out all the time right around the corner from IndyHall).

Unfortunately, I just noticed that I’ll be on a plane to Seattle and unable to make it, but this will be a rad opportunity for people who only know each other on twitter to meet, and even better, an excuse to go to our favorite bar/restaurant on a Thursday. After all, how many bars tweet back at you with their menu when you mention you are hungry?

Thanks to @Philatweeters for setting this up, whoever you are!

Tags: twitter, meetup, philadelphia, national mechanics

Thanks to Jeremy at B5 Media for putting together an extra day of event programming at the Blog World Expo and New Media Expo and inviting me to come and present!

Jake McKee and I will be bringing some of our experience with community building and identifying ways to create valuable conversations to a pro-blogger audience, and I’m REALLY excited to get up there with Jake as well as be in Vegas for a conference that is smattered with some of my favorite people.

I know quite a few friends who will be attending the expo so I’m looking forward to all kinds of fun while we’re in Vegas. There’s still time to register (today is last day for discount tickets, though).

If you’re going, thinking about going, drop me a note in the comments so we can plan to meet up!

Tags: vegas, blogworldexpo, b5 media, jeremy wright, jake mckee, conference, public speaking

isn’t for the lack of interesting things going on. Quite the contrary, in fact. I have a MILLION things I want to write about. Among them:

• The opening of Independents Hall on 32 Strawberry Street
• The power of building the community before the product or service
• My own discoveries about balance and time management
• Neat new development projects
• A summary of what I’ve learned so far along the path of building IndyHall
• and much more…

In the mean time, to tide you over, you can read this piece in the Philadelphia Inquirer about IndyHall.

I’m about to walk away from my computer and all connectivity for 3 full days…the longest I’ve unplugged in as long as I can remember. Today is the 3 year anniversary for Ryan and myself. It’s been a crazy road, and she is amazingly supportive of everything that I do even though, at times, my time commitments to work related things make for bad juju. I love you very much sweetie, thank you for a great 3 years.

Oh, but before I sign off and leave the state for a long weekend, one other big announcement.

Geoff and I signed a lease on a space for Independents Hall last night. I’m going to drop off our first rent check and security deposit, getting the keys and then trying to forget that on Monday, the next chapter of Philadelphia’s coworking community begins.

Congratulations to everyone who helped us get here. Ecstatic doesn’t describe what we’re feeling.

Tags: vacation, Ryan, love, anniversary, independents hall, coworking, lease

Sorry this is a day later than I had planned. I’ve got 2 events on my calendar this week that happen to be at the same time. Which one do I go to? I’m not sure yet! MAYBE BOTH!!!

Social Media Club Wednesday August 1st @ 6-8pm

This month’s Social Media Club meetup will be at the upstairs bar of Triumph Brewing, at 2nd and Chestnut (and right around the corner from the new home of Independents Hall…more on that soon!). I’ve never been to one of these, but it seems to be a catchall for social, marketing, and media folks. If you’re interested in any of that, think about checking it out! Plus, Triumph is a sweet, sweet spot, it’s where Indy Hall had our BlogPhiladelphia party for those of you who remember that shindig.

Green Drinks Wednesday August 1st @ 6-8pm

Green Drinks invites anyone interested in or curious about green, ecological, environmental, organic, renewable, regenerative, or restorative issues for drinks and conversation with like-minded individuals in their community.

WHEN: first Wednesday of each month from 6-8pm-ish

WHERE: Standard Tap 2nd & Poplar Streets in Northern Liberties Philadelphia’s Center City www.standardtap.com for menu, specials, directions, etc. several local beers, including: Yards, Victory, Stoudt’s, Flying Fish, Sly Fox, Troegs, Appalachian, Weyerbacher, McKenzie Brewhouse and more… A NEW location! We moved recently to support several attendees’ green ideas + requests, trying to support local businesses and breweries, and staying convenient to public transportation, bicyclists, and carpoolers/drivers.

Not in Philadelphia? Check to see if there’s a GreenDrinks in your ‘hood.

As always, if I didn’t get your event leave me a note in the comments and I’ll add it!

Tags: green drinks, social media club, philadelphia

UPDATE: I messed up the time. Its from 12-2, instead of starting at 2. My mistake. Sorry!

Most of you’ve heard me rave about PhillyCarShare at one point or another, and my desire to get them involved with IndyHall.

This upcoming Sunday the 22nd, at 2pmNOON(sorry about the confusion about the time, it runs until 2), there’s an event at 2nd and Lombard (Headhouse Square, by the Wawa). If you’re a member, you should go. If you’re not a member, you should go and sign up (and use me as a reference, this email: dangerouslyawesome@gmail.com…we both get free credit for rentals!)

Reason #1 to go: sign up or sign up a friend.

Reason #2 to go: Prizes.

• Share a free $100 driving credit with each friend who signs up!
• First 50 members to sign up a friend receive a free reusable shopping bag (we’ll be there starting at 10:00am, so come by early to be sure to take home this great goody).
• Current member who signs up the most friends receives a $100 gift certificate to the Farmers’ Market.
• New members get entered into a raffle to receive a $50 gift certificate to the Farmers’ Market.

Reason #3 to go: Michael Nutter will be there. Might be nice to introduce him to Independents hall

Reason #4 to go: Still trying to get PCS involved with IndyHall. If we show up in force to their event, it bodes well for us.

I plan on being there from 2pmNOON, if some people want to meet me there that’d be cool. Otherwise, drop by whenever you can and look for The Indies!
We’ll be the ones that obviously rock.

See y’all Sunday.

Tags: Philly Car Share, Philadelphia, Independents Hall, Headhouse Square, events

Originally Uploaded by ducttapeavenger

First off, you should know about a blog that was started during BlogPhiladelphia. Literally, in the 30 minutes of me running an open grid session, a blog was created from scratch (domain purchase to live) as a response to Scott McNulty’s “Group Blogging” session. You can keep an eye on it’s evolution at PhillyGeeks.net. The most recent post by Viddler’s Colin Devroe, has elicited the following response from me. It’s sort of to Colin, sort of to myself, and sort of to you, the reader. Some of it requires reading his post first, which I suggest doing. In the end, I’ll likely end up taking it elsewhere, since this is effectively a brain dump.

So I apologize for any confusing direction of a message, or the language used. This is direct from my brain to your screen.

Here goes.

Den ganzen Beitrag lesen…

Now that we’ve wrapped on BlogPhiladelphia, it doesn’t end. Not even close.

There’s 4 events on MY calendar for the next 2 weeks, but there are even more beyond that. If you want me to add your event to the post, drop it in the comments.

Panma Summer Party Thursday July 19th @ 6-9pm

Every year at Rock Lobster on Delaware Ave, PANMA (Philadelphia Area New Media Association) has a big throwdown. I’ve never been, but I have been to Rock Lobster and it’s a fun venue. This event will host people from a long line of creative/new media/marketing/tech folks in Philadelphia, so it’d behoove you to make it out and meet up. Besides, PANMA board members hang out with Indyhall all the time, we should go support them. The event is free, but they ask for pre-registration.

Likemind.us Friday July 20th @ 8-9:30am

update: address fix. please use the linked to/provided address below.
The latest incarnation of our regular semi-social meetup groups, LikeMinds is a chance to come get coffee and talk with some industry folks before you start your work day. It’s going to be hosted at Benna’s Cafe, 1236 Wharton Street1236 S 8th St, Philadelphia. Geoff and I will be there for the duration, we’d love for you to stop by! This will be a monthly event, so be sure to help us set a good precedent.

edit: Roz pointed out that this is a great opportunity to share in the hangover from the night before @ the PANMA party. So come commiserate over a cup of coffee, if nothing else. :-)

Blogger Meetup Saturday July 21th @ 3-5pm

Thanks to Owen for the reminder: Once a month we get together and chat about blogstuff, web stuff, geek stuff…doesn’t really matter, since we all blog. As Owen said, this one’s definately social but another great chance to meet local bloggers if you missed BlogPhiladelphia. RSVP at meetup.com

Purple Cow Brainstorming Circle Tuesday July 24th @ 6-9pm

Monthly, the Purple Cows (that’s Seth Godin speak, for those who missed my previous post) have a brainstorming circle. This is kinda like a rapid-fire barcamp. The model goes like this:

You get 3 minutes to pitch an idea. Any idea. This isn’t just tech stuff, it can really be anything. At the end of 3 minutes you give 3 things you need to realize the idea, and 3 things you have to offer to it. Follow up with 3 minutes Q&A. So in ~7 minutes, you’re ready to move onto the next idea. Its fun, efficient, and a great way to inspire and be inspired.

The next one is at Joe’s Coffee Bar, - a socially-responsible business participating in the “Buy Local Philly” campaign. RSVP on the wiki.

Junto Thursday July 26th @ 6-10pm

Another monthly event held at P’unk Avenue. Born out of the pages of a history book, Benjamin Franklin created the Junto as an opportunity to bring everyone from the common man to the aristocrat together to share ideas, interests, and goals with the understanding that you can better yourself by bettering the community, and vice versa. Our Junto follows those goals, but updates it to current times and puts a focus on creativity in the community. Each month we have a different “keynote” topic or presentation, and from there it’s open forum for discussion and industry chat. Rumor has it that the Junto format wants to be a barcamp when he grows up. P’unk Ave chips in beers and tomato pie, feel free to bring other snacks or a favorite drink/mixers if you would like. We’re not quite a happy hour, but we’re not all business, either. You can sign up on the site to get notifications for this event.

Cream Cheese Session Friday July 27th @ 9am-5pm

Every other Friday the members of Independents Hall come together for a coworking session. Since we don’t have our own space (yet), we move all over the city. The location of this next one has not been locked in yet, though I will announce it as soon as possible. To catch those announcements (and anything else about Independents Hall) be sure to subscribe to our list.

And much, much more to come. This is 5 events in 14 days, and its just the events that I’m going to. I’m currently working on a method for publishing all of them and building a community out of the roots planted by BlogPhiladelphia and many other events. I’ll announce the launch of that VERY soon. In the mean time, keep your eyes trained here!

Tags: panma, rock lobster, likemind, purple cow brainstorming, junto, cream cheese session

the last 2 months have WHIZZED by. I remember on May 1st when Brian Oberkirch emailed me and said,

“Alex: I thought you might want to tell some of your pals about this.”

By “this”, he meant a social media “unconference” being organized by GPTMC.

I immediately tracked down the organizer, Annie Heckenberger, and offered my assistance in any capacity. Next thing I knew, I was attending planning sessions, discussion how to make the event greener, planning a social event…oh man, what did I get myself into?

Now, 2 months and change later..we’ve got well over 200 attendees signed up, some incredible social media leaders slated to be in attendance and leading/presenting, and some awesome night events.

For those of you playing along (that is, planning on being in attendance), some notes:

The schedule, it’s all here :-):
http://blogphiladelphia.net/schedule/

The open grid thing: I’ll be giving a presentation after lunch about how this will go down, and why we’re doing it. If you’re interested in leading or presenting during an open grid portion and havent talked to me already, email me at this domain (no www or dotcom) at gmail.com. Make sure you catch my intro though, it will be good.

Social Events:

Tonight @ P’unk Avenue for a pre-event warm up with out of town guests.

Thursday Night at Triumph Brewery, 2nd and Chestnut for the big throwdown. We’re doing a microsponsorship of the bar tab. How does that work?

Triumph is donating pass around appetizers, but running a cash bar. So to maximize the “having fun” factor of a cash bar, we’re going to be allowing ANYONE to sponsor a bar tab as big or small as they like. This tab will be applied for the group when the previous tab runs out…and if all goes well, nobody should end up paying for their OWN drink for the whole night. It’s the equivalent of “a round for the bar on me!” As a thank you, we’ll send out your or your business name over Twitter, immortalizing your contribution on the interweb!

To kick things off, Independents Hall will be throwing in a $500 tab. Interested in joining us for the first couple of rounds? Find me at the event!

Also, I won’t be liveblogging or anything like that. I’ll send out twitter updates when things get interesting, most likely, but want to make sure my focus is on the event and making sure that I and everyone else gets the most out of this awesome venue for exchange.

MANY MANY thanks to Annie and her team at GPTMC for ALL of their hard work on this event, and for listening to my purist, grassroots banter :-). I’m so excited for this event and can’t wait to see how it leads Philadelphia to the next level.

SEE EVERYONE THIS WEEKEND!

Tags: blogphiladelphia, philadelphia, unconference, events, GPTMC