Update 01/11/09: Just wanted to post an update on this, I have gotten a lot of good feedback on this idea and a great suggestion from Jonathan Barket regarding Refresh. By going with a Refresh type group, we can leave ourselves open to a wide range of technologies and platforms. This may be just the thing we are looking for, I know the guys in Jonesboro really get a lot out of their Refresh meetups, hopefully we can get something like this off the ground for Central Arkansas. Keep commenting below if you are interested in being in the loop or a part of this…
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I had lunch today with Nick Brewer and we discussed the idea of starting a Central Arkansas group that would be open to not only developers but also bloggers and site managers as well. Pretty much anyone that would like to further their knowledge of emerging technologies.
Our goal initially is to have either monthly or weekly meetups at a local restaurant or business with a guest speaker and possibly some door prizes. A lot of these groups are able to secure sponsorships for free lunches, etc. I see these meetings as an excellent networking opportunity for all of us. If you are interested in being added to the invite list for this group, please just leave a comment below and we will be sure to let you know once we have enough interest to pursue this.
We got the idea after checking out the Dallas WordPress Meetup Group but we don’t have to limit ourselves to just WordPress, we can also dive into some Web2.0 / Social Networking topics if there is enough interest.
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I can probably get my partners in town for our first meetup, so that will be 3 folks for sure. I bet we need to get about 20 or more committals before we can get a good sponsor or worthwhile speaker lined up.
I would like to attend an event like this. I am no master blogger or developer but it would be informative and fun to be present for this.
GTD Cotton
I am looking forward to our first meetup. It’s going to be a great resource of information for WordPress and other interests.
Considering how small our active community may be, I’d really think about focusing on something like the Refresh concept rather than narrowing in on something like WordPress.
Take a look here: http://www.refreshingcities.com/
When I lived in Boston, we had a handful of things for focusing in on new innovative ideas from local developers, coding sessions, examples, tutorials, and just discussions. Keeping it structured, but widely focused will get a lot more people’s attention I think.
That and well, I dropped PHP and everything relating to it like a bad habit years ago, haha.
Looking forward to attending. Sounds like a great source of information. Thanks guys.
Jonathan, you bring up a great point. I don’t know why I didn’t think of Refresh before, great idea! Thanks.
That’s the thing about being in Batesville, you have to go somewhere to do anything like this. I would be interested though.