Geek/Tech/Entrepreneur Stuff to do in PHX

[Joshua Zeidner]

  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<alandd at consultpros.com> 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<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
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