As well as the usual chance the usual chance to meet, chat, scheme and share with likeminded souls, the evening will have a theme. We’ll be looking at data – why it’s increasingly important/useful for it to be made available and what can be done with it.
This event will be slightly different from the usual BSMC get-togethers:
As ever, the chance to chat with the other people in the room will be just as important. I know people have been discussions about organising hack days and the like. Hopefully this event will give people a chance to talk more about that.
There’s a little more info on the Eventbrite registration page. If you’d like to come along then please sign up (it’s free).
The Birmingham Social Media Cafe will be back at the Coffee Lounge on Friday 28 August, 10am to midday (listings soon come).
A common complaint is that there’s no easy place to find all the ‘digital’ events that are going on in the region.
To go some way to remedying that I’ve dug out a selection – some regular, some not – and listed them on the Other Events page.
There are plenty more to add to that list but, in the meantime, it’s a decent start. If you know of any others that would fit the bill then please help out. Just send:
Speaking of other events, the launch of the Black Country Social Media Cafe is now mere hours away. It’ll be at Alchemy Bar in Wolverhampton (map) at 2.30pm on 7 April. Pete Ashton and myself (Chris Unitt) will be there to talk about what we learned at SXSWi.
by Pete Ashton on
March 26th, 2009
in
Other events
A few weeks ago I was in London on a Friday and happened to pop into the ICA’s cafe in the afternoon. This is where the Tuttle Club, London’s Social Media Cafe, meets every Friday morning to do the sort of things we do at BSMC. Three hours after it had officially ended there were still people there working away on their laptops and having the sort of discussions that aren’t really possible during the more intense morning session. That got me thinking.
Last week, at SXSWi, I spent a lot of my time talking to people who were running coworking spaces and organising meetups in various cities around the world, sharing ideas, plans and notions about this kind of thing. One thing I’ve noticed about Americans is when they get a good thing going they tend to formalise it, BarCamp style, into a set of guidelines or rules so that others can take that knowledge and implement it in their own city. A number of these models are potentially useful for doing stuff in Birmingham but the one that immediately seemed relevant to the Social Media Cafe was Jelly.
The original Jelly took place in someone’s home but the principles are pretty simple. Provide free wifi, comfortable seating, an informal atmosphere and fill it with interesting people. What distinguishes this from the morning BSMC is it’s about getting work done. Here’s a handy video from the New York Jelly:
I don’t think that’s a million miles from what we’ve got going at Coffee Lounge.
So, here’s my proposal. When the networking finishes around noon those of us who don’t have to get back to a specific office stay on for a few hours for some ad-hoc coworking. The idea is we get work done but do so amongst our peers for mutual help, support and advice. This way we can maybe take the energy and passion generated in the morning and rather than let is dissipate turn it into something real.
And then we’ll see where it takes us. Maybe a formal Jelly, maybe something completely different. We’ll see…
by Chris Unitt on
October 14th, 2008
in
Other events
The next event (31 October) is already looking very promising with sign-ups on the wiki going well and the Facebook event proving popular too.
The Birmingham Social Media Cafe isn’t the only game in town though. Actually, there are a quite a lot of good things coming up that might be of interest:
Blog Action Day
Blog Action Day is an annual nonprofit event that aims to unite the world’s bloggers, podcasters and videocasters, to post about the same issue on the same day. Our aim is to raise awareness and trigger a global discussion.
Every Thursday, 4-6pm Social Media Surgery
Rootys, Custard Factory Pete Ashton provides an opportunity for people to get help and ask questions about blogging and other social media tools. It’s free and informal so you’re welcome to just pop in. Other social media professionals might be hanging about to help too.
Friday 17 October 8-10am Likemind
Saint Caffe, St Paul’s Square
Likemind is a monthly coffee morning that’s open to all and has no agenda other than simply to get people talking.
23-24 October (various times) Hello World conference
Millennium Point
Hello World is Birmingham’s international digital media conference and part of the Hello Digital festival. Hear from industry leaders including Channel 4, Pixar Animation and photo-sharing phenomenon Flickr. Admission to all sessions is free.
Monday 27 October? (date & time TBC) Birmingham Bloggers Meet
(venue TBC)
Organised via the Paradise Forum blog and the Facebook group. A chance for anyone who blogs on any subject (or who is interested in/curious about blogging) to get together for a natter.
Saturday 8 November 2pm onwards Multipack
Old Joint Stock
If your work or study involves putting websites together it’s a chance to meet and network with other people doing the same thing, right here in the Midlands. There’s an Upcoming page) too.
Sponsoring a social media cafe simply involves covering the cost of the coffees (approx. £200).
Your name will be included in our communications for that month and you will have a short slot at the event to introduce yourself and your organisation.
To sponsor an event please email: birminghamsmc@gmail.com
A few weeks ago I was in London on a Friday and happened to pop into the ICA’s cafe in the afternoon. This is where the 
