Electric City Weblog

Electric City Blog Meet

As many of you know, I am going to sponsor/host/whatever a conference/bbq/party/meeting/convention this summer on July 18, 2009, in Great Falls.

This meeting will not just be open to bloggers, but will be open to just about anyone who wants to attend. You will need to disclose your identity to me, but as far as anonymity among attendees, I will maintain it. If you want to disclose your identity to others, that’s up to you.

This will be a meeting about blogging, not politics. Everyone is invited, and we’ll all get along just fine.

If you are interested, please send me an email with your name. I would also appreciate it if you would copy and paste the following into your email. I am trying to get some sort of a feel for what everyone wants or expects, and I think this will help me with planning.

Please answer the following questions for me to help with planning:

Times/Accommodations:

• What is the earliest you could arrive in Great Falls on Saturday, July 18?
• Would you plan to stay overnight?
• Would you want assistance in finding a place to stay?
• Would you camp?
• Would you bring family or friends? If so, would they want to participate?

Meals:

• Would you like a potluck, a monetary contribution, or will you only attend if I feed you for free?
• What do you like to drink? Would you like a BYOB, pre-selected drinks with a contribution, or will you only attend if I buy all the beer?

Program:

• Would you attend a discussion session?
• Would you prefer it if I provided a moderator?
• What topics would you like to see discussed?
• Do you think we should invite guests, i.e. political figures?
• How many hours would you like to have discussion/program vs. social hour?

Social hour:

• Do you water ski, wakeboard, or tube? Would you want to do this?
• Would you want to do a short float on the Missouri?
• Would you stick around late enough for a bonfire?
• Are there any other social activities that interest you?

That should give me a start. I hope that many of you will plan to attend. I will start maintaining an email list, and so once I hear from you will communicate with you that way. As details emerge, I will trust you to keep them confidential. I don’t want any party crashers.

Thanks!

UPDATE:

I have a beginning plan for the July 18, 2009, Blogger Meetup in Great Falls.

11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Talk:   “The Power and Danger of Blogging, Social Networking, and other Technology” by Rob Kailey. (location to be determined, see below)

12:30 – 2:00 p.m. Discussion “Do Bloggers Add Value?” by Gregg Smith (location to be determined, see below)

3:00 – 6:00 p.m., Fun in the sun, hosted by Gregg Smith

6:00: Barbecue Dinner

6-whenever: Drinks, open discussion

As far as the 11-2:00 location, I am considering several. Most of the meeting rooms are free if I can commit that the majority of my attendees will be ordering lunch. Please confirm if you will be eating, so I can book a room accordingly.

For the food, I will ask that everyone brings a snack item like chips, cheetos, or whatever. I will ask that everyone sign up to bring a specific category of food, probably salad, side dish, dessert. I will provide hamburgers, buns, cheese and basic condiments.

For drinks, I will buy a case of pop and some basic beer. If anyone wants wine, I will buy a bottle of wine.

For now, please just email me, and let me know whether I can count on you to eat lunch so I can get a meeting room. I will work out more details vis-a-vis food and drink shortly.

Final Update:

Schedule of Events (email me for locations):

12:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Talk:   “The Power and Danger of Blogging, Social Networking, and other Technology” by Rob Kailey.

1:30 – 3:00 p.m. Discussion “Do Bloggers Add Value?” by Gregg Smith (location to be determined, see below)

3:15 – 6:00 p.m., Fun in the sun, hosted by Gregg Smith

6:00-ish: Barbecue Dinner

6-whenever: Drinks, open discussion

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