Alan, Wish I had time to respond to all these points right now, not sure you read me the way I would prefer however. Its not so grave a warning, just getting the word out on my first hand experiences. Im just one of many- but hopefully an impartial observer and someone genuinely concerned for AZ. all the best, jmz On Fri, Jul 31, 2009 at 3:12 PM, Alan Dayley wrote: > Josh, > > I feel warned.  And I don't understand the reason for such a strong warning. > > There are people in every industry, government or community who wish > to fleece their "community" for their own profit instead of mutual > benefit.  The trick is to find the positive people and ignore the > rest.  Apply the same filter with every event, group or blogger in the > lists and links I provided.  I don't expect bloggers or techies to be > any different, as if being techie makes one a saint. > > Some of those bloggers are purely commercial or completely neglected, > I'm sure.  Some of the groups or events or sites listed are lousy, > boring or poor marketing excuses to sell something.  Some are not out > to create community but to build a "kingdom" for their own benefit. > They are the duds. > > Let's look at a few positives: > > - Read the Gangplank Manifesto on their home page at > http://gangplankhq.com.  That looks like a great articulation of their > goals and purpose.  Ones I strongly support! > -- Read how the manifesto came to be on Derek's blog at > http://derekneighbors.com/2009/07/collaborative-writing-or-how-the-gangplank-manifesto-was-written/ > > - Gangplank has hosted or is hosting: > -- MobiFest - a day long conference on developing for phones like > iPhone or Android > -- Gangplank Jr. - a 2-3 hour Saturday event for kids 5-15 to learn > programming concepts > -- Wordpress training classes for minimal cost or no-cost for non-profit orgs > -- Laid Off Camp - a day long conference on job searching and entreprenuership > -- Barcamp Pheonix - a day long conference on software development > -- TEDx night - Watch ted.com videos and discuss them > -- OpenPhoenix - a night of open mic music and entertainment > > - The last http://desertcodecamp.com/ was held on June 13th and nearly > filled DeVry's Phoenix campus with developers talking about code or > making code.  Free lunch of pizza and sub sandwiches was provided too. >  Put together by volunteers. > > - If you're into Microsoft based development tech, the people who > maintain the http://azgroups.com site do an annual all-day event at > venues like the Orphium Theater and at no cost to attendees.  Fine, > it's marketing for MS but it's put on by volunteers here in the valley > and a great way for people to learn about things that improve their > career skills. > (http://www.componentart.com/BLOGS/milos/archive/2009/06/02/scott-guthrie-event-2009-phoenix-az.aspx) > > - The local Ruby On Rails group has monthly meetings with around 30 > regularly in attendance. > > - The Java group is also well attended every month. > > - The third http://podcampaz.com/ is coming up in November, put on by > voluteers at no cost (donation requested) to attendees.  Had about 350 > people attend last year (if I recall) for two days of conference. > > - The http://azentrepreneurship.com/ conference will be in November > for the forth year.  This one costs $100+ but should be as well > attended as last year with 200+ people.  Funded and organized in part > by a local venture capital group. > > - The first http://ignitephoenix.com event was held a year ago with a > little over 100 in attendance and has grown to fill the 600 seat > Theather at Tempe Center for the Arts back in June.  The connections > made there live well past the event. > -- Oh, a city council member and the mayor of Tempe spoke this last > time, though he was a bit silly trying to be Tempe exclusive.  That > seems to be at least verbal political support. > > - The second ABLEConf on FS/OSS is being planned for October and > should be better than last year. (Go Hans and team!) > > I'm not going to go on, though I could point out several purely social > events like http://phoenixfridaynights.com/, it's east and west valley > analogs, East Valley Thursday Morning breakfasts, Tempe Geeks Lunch, > South Valley Geek Meet and Eat and Gangplank's Brown Gag lunch > presentations every Wednesday. > > Now, having said all of that "giddy blind optimism," I'd like to > understand how the above does not address the efforts of the past or > provide improvement over past efforts.  What are the real needs of the > community, if not some of the above?  What would you suggest?  How can > PLUG be a part of it? > > Alan > > On Fri, Jul 31, 2009 at 1:34 PM, Joshua Zeidner 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 > --------------------------------------------------- > PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us > To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: > http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss > --------------------------------------------------- PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss