Loading Twitter

Twitter

Austin, We Have a Problem

19 June 2009 | austin social media, austin social media events, social-media | 19 Comments

moon

One small step for Austin…

…one giant step for technology-kind. There are several networking groups, educational events and social gatherings surrounding technology and/or social media which is incredible- some cities are void of this level of interaction. Sometimes the event calendar looks like it did last night when five events happened simultaneously:

So why is it a problem?

Kind of like when five of your favorite bands playing the same night in Austin, you either choose your favorite, go club hoppin’ or go to the one that is giving away free shirts or whatever. It’s a problem to some people because some events are scheduled far in advance and while happy hours are never meant to split audiences, it can happen despite peoples’ intentions.

Like when your five fave bands come to town, you may have had to make a choice- so which did you choose last night and why?

Get our Twitter updates via SMS by texting follow NewMediaLab to 40404 in the U.S.
Get blog updates by subscribing to our RSS feed or get our RSS by email.

19 Comments for this entry

  • Krist
    June 19th, 2009 on 12:08 pm

    I picked Social Media Club for the speakers and topic, AND the Tweetup for the drink & the company.

  • Robert Quigley
    June 19th, 2009 on 12:10 pm

    Lani,
    Good post.
    Want to add my apologies for playing a part in making last night’s schedule so difficult. We didn’t intend to schedule the Austin Tweetup at the same time as Social Media Club, a group that I really enjoy. Next time, I’ll be sure to check calendars much more carefully (and remember that Austin Social Media Club meets every third Thursday!).
    Cheers,
    Robert Quigley
    @Statesman
    social media editor

  • Jen Wojcik
    June 19th, 2009 on 12:12 pm

    I actually didn’t end up being able to attend any, but I chose the tweetup mainly to hang out with friends/relax a little.

    I do wish that these events could be spaced out a little though…presents a huge conundrum for those involved in both social media and high-tech.

    Really hate having to choose one over the other when they are all valuable.

    Jen Wojcik

  • Wesley Faulkner
    June 19th, 2009 on 12:22 pm

    From my prospective Happy Hours and Tweetup are centered around meeting new people while Clubs and Associations help reinforce existing relationships. For those reasons I chose to go to Social Media Club. Deeper conversations with people I know are far more inciting to me than the “getting to know you” chats that come along with new introductions. Don’t get me wrong, both have value, and I do enjoy both, but when presented with options one must determine a criteria for ranking one over another.

  • Kate Morris
    June 19th, 2009 on 12:24 pm

    I went to the Austin Tweetup. I generally don’t attend events other than AustinSEM.org and Austin SEO Meetups because I am doing my master’s right now, and any more is too hard. AustinSEM is on Tuesday and Austin SEO Meetup on the first monday, so few conflicts. But there are many groups right now. Each has it’s own benefit, but it is hard choosing.

  • Summer Huggins
    June 19th, 2009 on 12:28 pm

    I chose the Statesman tweetup because we had 8p tickets for a movie at the Ritz. Two birds, one trip downtown.

    Also, after traveling the last two weeks, I had no idea what day it was and it totally slipped my mind that SMC was the same night.

  • Chris Bailey
    June 19th, 2009 on 12:33 pm

    Yeah, I agree…but then maybe this is all just the inevitable consequence of Austin’s growing online interactive scene. It would be rather nice if we could do a bit more coordinating as a community, though. Just trying to take the high road on this, I guess.

  • Steve Golab
    June 19th, 2009 on 12:41 pm

    Lani – great observation. Last night was incredibly busy and is very much part of our culture for some time now. I am one of those people who thinks technology (eg, calendaring application) alone will not solve the problem. We need to come together behind a vision for what Austin can achieve through cooperation.

  • David J. Neff
    June 19th, 2009 on 12:48 pm

    Ahh you worry too much Lani! Its really simple to me. I keep these dates in my mind:

    501 Tech Club is every third Monday (non profits and social media and programmers)
    Austin Social Media Club is every third Thursday (social media, marketers and PR folks)

    The rest of the stuff is great when, and if, it happens. I love the Statesman tweetups when I can make them. I think we doing great to have so many events in one town.

    I wouldn’t live anywhere else!

  • Phil West
    June 19th, 2009 on 12:51 pm

    Would have loved to check out Austin Social Media Club as well as the Opal’s Tweetup. But family prevailed last night … and then our cable and Internet took a dive at 9:30 when I was getting online. Some days are better for social media than others.

  • Krist
    June 19th, 2009 on 12:54 pm

    Don’t forget Refesh Austin on the calendar as well. Happens (I believe) second Tuesday of the month.

  • Aaron Strout
    June 19th, 2009 on 1:03 pm

    Sounds to me like we need to start keeping a master calendar. Maybe a neutral third party like the statesmen might be just the ones to do it. If that’s the case, then we just need the heads of the 6-7 local groups to check in with that calendar before organizing. Of course, not all conflicts will be avoided but at least people will be in the know.

    @RobQuig, is this something the Statesmen could take on?

  • Chelsea Stark
    June 19th, 2009 on 1:14 pm

    Hey guys,

    I’ve been working hard over at KEYE, and I’m proud to say we actually have the functional workings of a social media calendar started! The only problem is since all the events are spread out, I need AUSTINITES to e-mail them to us. We’ve even got a cool e-mail address: smnews@keyetv.com. Use it. Love it.

    This town is definitely busy enough, and we’d like to be the unbiased party that helps control all this stuff. Hell, I’ll even post stuff for @statesman (plus Rob is cool, right?) :)

    So think of us over at KEYE, kay?

    Chelsea Stark
    @chelseabot
    runner of @keyetv

  • @ggroovin
    June 19th, 2009 on 1:30 pm

    Personally, I’ve been wanting some type of calendar wiki for a while now. If such a thing could be set up, we could all go put our events in a “AustinSocialCalendar.org” site or something. Hence, when scheduling we could be sure to avoid at least the recurring events.

    I’d much prefer a wiki solution than a calendar sponsored by a media outlet. Key organizers would be automatically granted rights to input their events, and new organizers could request such access. Everyone could benefit by having one calendar to look at, and there could conceivably be color-coded “threads” for types of events/topics.

    The big question:
    Does such a thing already exist? I haven’t looked exhaustively, but I have yet to find one.

    Cheers!

    Ricardo G.
    @ggroovin

    Stwittergy
    @STWITT3RGY

  • elmun
    June 19th, 2009 on 2:37 pm

    Good point Lani. I usually attend the events that add value beyond meeting people. I prefer going to events that give people tools or connect them in different ways. It’s good to meet people and drink but why not add learning or community engagement -doing good!

    Also, there are so many new people coming on board with social media, I think it’s good to give people choices. And it’s always good to see new people at the these events; not just the usual suspects.

    Mando
    @elmundodemando

  • Bryan Menell
    June 19th, 2009 on 8:30 pm

    There is a great community tech calendar at http://www.door64.com. I believe the guys at Conjunctured made it very flexible, including integration with Google Calendar.

    Anyone can add their event to the calendar, and then any website or blog can add a simple script to display the calendar on their website. If you go to http://www.austinstartup.com/calendar it’s the door64 calendar.

    So there’s a suggestion for an already existing system that is open, flexible, and is already being used by many in the tech community.

  • Sheila Scarborough
    June 21st, 2009 on 9:49 pm

    I second the vote for Door64’s tech calendar – it’s usually the most comprehensive anywhere but for some reason didn’t reflect all of the available events on this particular Thursday.

    I chose Social Media Club because it’s locked into my calendar, I’m not into random cocktail-hour type stuff and I hate having to fight my way into downtown from Round Rock. Vignette is a long way for me too, but parking isn’t much hassle.

    Agreed – this is a nice problem to have!

  • John Wohn
    June 22nd, 2009 on 10:13 am

    Not to be argumentative, but I don’t see this as a problem. I went to the social media club meeting and as far as I could see the other events didn’t hurt attendance there. Maybe it would be nice if the leaders of these various groups could coordinate more thru door64’s calendar or something. But in the end, calendar collisions are fact of life. In fact, it can viewed as a good thing: Having to make a conscious choice forces me to clarify my priorities, purpose, objectives, etc., and that can only be good.

  • John Wohn
    June 22nd, 2009 on 10:20 am

    And honestly, I think a much bigger problem is this: Affordable Austin: No Longer a Tech Mecca http://sn.im/kiy49

    At the end Stacey Higginbotham sort of kinda maybe recants her headline but it only takes one or two such headlines to start a meme. And that’s a meme we *really* don’t want started.

Leave a Reply