Geek/Tech/Entrepreneur Stuff to do in PHX

[Lisa Kachold]

On 7/31/09, Joshua Zeidner <jjzeidner at gmail.com> wrote:
>   Alan,
>
>     while I appreciate your post, and anyone who is making a sincere
> effort to build community in Phoenix... be warned.  There are some
> small groups who periodically spawn off new 'communities' every month
> or so.  Look closely and you see the same few people with reused
> marketing recipes.  Lots of blog and not too much community I'm
> afraid.  Their efforts amount to some simple branding and putting up a
> blog.  While these things are not really particularily offensive to
> me, they do somewhat detract from interest in the real needs of the
> community here.  Some of these people are just outright idiotic and
> cannot deal with existing structure and refuse to accept the history
> of efforts in the past.  They lack any articulation of their goals and
> purpose.  Often times they have trouble organizing even small groups
> of 2 or 3.  Dont forget we've had a tech incubator here.  Lets not
> smack down sincere criticism in favor of giddy blind optimism,
> remember you can't improve without criticism.  I would take these
> people much more seriously if they addressed the efforts of the past
> and perhaps suggested how they are going to improve on them, or
> perhaps indicate what has changed that will make them a success.
> Maybe seeking real political support would gain some legitimacy.
>
>     on the positive side, I think Phoenix will attract a lot of
> technology business due to its relative low cost and no doubt you will
> start to see community infrastructure grow.  We are seeing some real
> urban development happening in Phx metro which has me very excited.  I
> think when the macroeconomic problems are sorted out we will see
> downtown Phx bloom.  Im hoping that the average Arizonan gets involved
> in the political process and make sure that the corruption stays out
> of city and state politics.  Coming from NY, Im recognizing a lot of
> positive development trends in Phx metro.
>
>   -jmz
>
> On Fri, Jul 31, 2009 at 9:07 AM, Alan Dayley<alandd at consultpros.com> wrote:
>> Hey everyone.  I wanted to point out some events and information I
>> have come to be involved with that many of you will probably also
>> enjoy.  I also would love to see more Linux/FS/OSS people
>> participating in these things.
>>
>> http://www.phxsug.org - Phoenix Scrum User Group website
>>
>> http://gangplankhq.com - A co-working space and group of tech
>> companies that sponsor lots of events.  Great place to meet other
>> developers.  Channel 3 had a segment about Gangplank on the news
>> Wednesday night.  It gives a good flavor of what the place is about:
>> http://gangplankhq.com/2009/07/collaboration-over-competition-w-3tv/
>>
>> http://azgroups.com - a calendar of geek group meetings and events
>>
>> http://eventification.com - another calendar of geek/tech/entrepreneur
>> events under construction by a friend of mine
>>
>> http://meetupstogoto.com - A list of valley groups, meetings and
>> meetups.  Something there for anyone!
>>
>> http://readphoenix.com - A list of many, many blogs written by people
>> who live here in the Phoenix valley.
>>
>> I know I'm missing others, like the Java User Group, etc.  You'll find
>> some of them in the above lists.  Please highlight ones you like or
>> share new ones with the group.
>>
>> The Phoenix tech social scene is exploding!  And that is a great thing!
>>
>> Alan
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I agree with Joshua in that there is always a new techo-marketing
angle, a new class, or a new FOSS support option, which provide camo
flauge for the poor organization and wanton lack of support for
excellent existing endeavors.

FOSS support in Arizona, compared with Oregon, is really sad, but the
freedom of the lifestyle and individuality of the technical people is
fantastic.
-- 

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