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).
The next Birmingham Social Media Cafe is this Friday, 31 July 2009. As ever, everyone will be meeting downstairs at the Coffee Lounge on Navigation Street from 10am.
Our quarterly sponsors, Rhubarb Radio, will be paying for the coffees. If you see any of those good folk (and do seek them out – they’re doing some interesting work) then please say thank you. Even better, tune in and check out the shows – this week they’re broadcasting live from the renowned Supersonic Festival at the Custard Factory.
The BSMC is an informal get-together for anyone using (or interested in using) social media. If that sounds like you, then come on down and have a chat with someone – there are always enough friendly faces around. This month, Andy Mabbett has volunteered to be the chief friendly face making sure all goes swimmingly.
There are no tickets or invites – if you’d like to announce your intention to come along then you can do on Facebook, Upcoming or the wiki.
Also, we’ll soon be announcing an evening event taking place on Wed 19 August – keep an eye out (and your diary free) for that.
Flick to page 29 of this month’s copy of Wired UK and you’ll see we got a mention as part of an article looking at free-form workplaces. Which was very nice of them.
The next meet-up is on 10am to midday, Friday 26 June downstairs at the Coffee Lounge. Feel free to just turn up on the day but it’d be nice if you could sign up on one/all of:
Please allow a short moment for some trumpet blowing. These are a few messages about yesterday’s Birmingham Social Media Cafe that cropped up on Twitter:
grunt121 – Had a brilliant time at #bsmc next time I promise to talk to more people. As @gabysslave said these events are a jolt of caffeine
pezholio – On my way back from #bsmc Great to speak to so many like-minded, interesting people. Good coffee too!
daveharte – wow – intense 20 mins at #bsmc that place rocks. even had a massage offer!
However! Lest we rest on our laurels, if you have any suggestions for the greater betterment of these get-togethers then please make haste for the comments box below.
So, thanks to everyone who came down yesterday, especially the many new faces that made it along and Jason from Clarity Digital who stumped up for the drinks. The next one will be on Friday 26 June with info going up in the usual places very soon.
Time really has flown since the last get-together and the next one is already just a couple of days away.
As ever we’ll be downstairs at the Coffee Lounge on Navigation Street from 10am to midday. Coffees this month are being provided by Clarity Digital. If you take advantage then do say thanks.
As with the last few meet-ups there’s likely to be a few people hanging around to do some work in the afternoon (co-working, as the kids are calling it).
There’s a good number of people signed up on the Facebook event and a couple more on the wiki so that’s all good. If you’re planning to come then maybe add yourself to one so others can see.
If you’ve not come down to the Birmingham Social Media Cafe before then it’d be good to see you. Things are nice and informal and the best way to get involved is simply to walk up to someone and introduce yourself. Everyone’s there for chats so get stuck in!
The next Birmingham Social Media Cafe will be on 24 April at the Coffee Lounge on Navigation Street.
The marvellous Rhubarb Radio will be getting the coffees in.
All are welcome, whether you’ve come along to the past seven meet-ups or have never made it down before.
As before, there are likely to be a few people bringing laptops with them so they can spend the afternoon there too, using the space for some ad-hoc coworking. See Pete’s post for info about this.
There are plenty of places to announce that you’ll be coming. Feel free to use all or none of:
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…
What? A chance for a whole bunch of people who are interested in social media to get together and discuss, plan, scheme and share.
You won’t even have to pay for your coffee/beverage of choice – Screen WM have offered to provide some support to the BSMC and will be covering the drinks tab tomorrow.
If there’s anything in particular you want to chat about, or anyone you want to speak to, then say so in the comments and perhaps we can make that happen. I’ll kick things off below.
Btw, if you’ve not seen who’s said they’re coming you can have a look (and add yourself) on the wiki and the Facebook event.
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
Sponsorship slots:
2010:
January: Periscope
February: Gas Street Works
March: Available!
April: Available!
May: Available!
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 
